Page 44 of Psycho Pack

A chorus of groans answers him. I lift my head, trying to take stock of our situation. We're upright, thankfully, though the transport lists heavily to one side. Snow drifts in through the broken windows, already dusting the twisted metal and scattered medical supplies.

"And so is my newest patient," Plague reports dryly. "For now."

"How far to the Chateau?" I ask, my voice hoarse.

"Not sure." Whiskey crawls out of the mangled driver's seat, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead. "Engine's fucked though."

"And our friends?" Thane asks flatly.

A final explosion lights up the night behind us. The pursuing vehicle must have hit the same damaged section of track. The fireball rises into the sky like an artificial sun, painting the snow crimson.

"That answers that question," Valek says cheerfully. He's somehow still perched in his sniper's nest, though his rifle is bent beyond repair.

I try to stand but my legs won't cooperate. Wraith rises instead, lifting me with him. His huge hands check me forinjuries with impossible gentleness, those bright blue eyes full of concern. He usually keeps his face turned so I can't see him clearly without his mask, but apparently not when he's worried about me.

"I'm okay," I assure him, giving him a light kiss on the nose. "Just bruised."

He blinks at me and doesn't look convinced, but there's no time to argue. We need to move before reinforcements arrive. I can already hear the distant thrum of helicopter rotors.

"We walk," Thane decides. "Stick to the trees, avoid the roads. They'll be watching for vehicles."

No one argues. We've come too far to give up now. The Knight's hollow breathing has steadied somewhat under Plague's care. He'll make it, if we can get him somewhere safe.

As Wraith helps me out of the ruined transport, I catch one last glimpse of the facility through a gap in the trees. It burns against the snowy night sky, a pyre of concrete and steel. Whatever secrets it held are ash now, mingling with the falling flakes.

But we made it out.

All of us.

Thane scoops me up without warning, his huge hands gentle but firm. "Up you go. Can't have our omega catching her death out here," he says gruffly, but I catch the slight softening in his voice.

He helps me climb onto his broad back, my bare feet warming as they leave the freezing snow. The heat radiating from his skin seeps through my damp hospital gown as I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Thank you," I murmur, pressing my cold cheek against his shoulder. His gunpowder and pine scent warms me up, too. And for once, it doesn't bother me that my body responds to him like this.

Whiskey comes up behind us and drapes his shirt around my shoulders. It hangs off me like a dress and I shiver as I thread my arms through the sleeves.

Much better.

"You want my socks?" he asks.

"No, thanks," I say dryly.

His brow furrows as he stares at my bare feet. "You sure?"

"Very."

He picks up one of the Knight's chains and gestures to Plague and Valek to help him as we move through the silent forest in loose formation. Wraith prowls ahead, his massive frame flowing between the trees with predatory grace. His sharp teeth flash silver in the moonlight when he glances back to check on me, still keeping his face turned away as much as he can.

I give him a little smile and he quickly averts his gaze.

But we have plenty of time to work on that when we get back to the Chateau.

Behind us, Valek, Whiskey, and Plague haul the Knight's unconscious form through the deepening snow, chains creaking with each step. His black blood leaves a stark trail the falling snow is barely covering, but there's no time to stop. Not with the sound of helicopters still echoing in the distance.

"How much further to the border?" I ask, keeping my voice low.

"Ten clicks, give or take," Thane replies. "But we're not taking a direct route. Too risky."

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