Page 44 of Feral

The beta fumbled with his keycard and smacked it against the door, abandoning the food trays. The second the door swung open, he knelt on the floor by the unmoving woman. “Lillian? Lilli—!”

351 didn’t hesitate—he leapt through the room and grabbed the beta by the lapel of his white lab coat, swinging him up and around so his back hit the bars.

He groaned from impact, eyes wide and terrified as he clawed at the alpha’s fingers. Whether it was for show when his superiors reviewed the security camera footage, or he really thought the alpha was about to tear him apart, 351 didn’t know. He also didn’t care.

He grabbed the man’s keycard and threw him to the floor with a warning snarl—an unspoken threat of what would happen if he tried to move. One final look confirmed that the man was going to cooperate.

351 strode out of the cell, allowing himself a lingering glance at his mate, who was getting to her feet. “Stay here. I’ll get you in a bit.”

She blinked, confusion clear on her face when he shut the door behind him, locking her in the cell with the lab assistant—but for what he had planned now, she wouldn’t be safe out in the open.

Moving as quickly as he could, he ran from cell to cell, smacking the keycard against every single door until nearly one hundred alphas joined him in the now crowded center of the lab.

Snarls rose from the anxiously milling crowd, but every single one of them were focused on the exit.

351 leapt through the crowd and scaled the stairs in two steps, then touched the card to the lock. He didn’t have to guide them. The second that door swung open, the other alphas poured through it and into the hallway that led to freedom.

He didn’t know if they’d get stuck behind more sealed doors farther ahead, but even if they did, he didn’t expect anything to be able to stand between them and the smell of freedom. Not even steel.

But when he ran back to his cell, he noticed his neighbor was still there, clutching the terrified-looking female.

The smell of his fear rolled between the bars in waves.

351 spared him a single, pitying thought—clearly, he thought keeping his mate here was safer than risking her life out there among a hundred ferals and armed guards. Little did he realize the second Lillian and 351 were out of the compound, they’d be the new guinea pigs.

Lillian was dressed in a white lab coat, ill-fitting pants, and shoes that looked like they were too big for her when he returned to the cell. Next to her, the lab assistant had his arms wrapped around his body, now wearing nothing but boxers, socks, and a t-shirt.

“Got his wallet too,” she said, patting a pocket in the lab coat. “There’s enough cash to get us on the road.”

Pride swelled within him, and he rumbled his approval at her wits. But now wasn’t the time for praise. It was time to run.

“Come,” he told her as he unlocked the door again. “Hurry.”

The lab assistant looked like he wanted to follow, but a warning growl had him quickly stepping back into the cell again.

It was as much thanks as the beta would get for his help. He’d spent months assisting the doctors in tormenting 351—but he had made this escape possible, and for that, 351 put steel bars between the beta and any violent alphas who might get driven back here once the guards clocked on to what was happening.

351 reached a hand out, and his mate clasped it without hesitation. Her palm was small and cold against his, and he could feel the tremble in their bond from her nerves. But when he glanced down at her pretty face, she was all determination, eyes locked on the exit.

They ran through the lab and up the stairs, and were greeted with the distant sounds of snarling and fighting. A gun went off. The guards had arrived.

He kept her behind him as they ran down the hallway, holding tight to her hand. She tripped a few times in the too-big shoes, and he had to slow his pace to make sure she could keep up. Just when he considered throwing her over his shoulder to hurry things along, they passed through a shredded metal door—and entered into the fray.

The guards had guns, but the ferals were ferocious—and outnumbered them twenty to one.

351 kept close to the wall, ensuring Lillian stayed between it and his back as he edged around the fighting to the door the guards had entered through. He swiped the card against it just as the last guard was ripped in two, and quickly stepped aside as the horde of alphas tore through it.

Once again, he waited until they were all through, shattering glass and victorious roars indicating that the path outside was clear.

He led Lillian through the destruction of what had been the reception area, heart pounding as the first tendrils of cool night air hit his nostrils. It’d been so long since he’d felt a breeze against his skin that the sensation was startling.

“Come,” his mate urged from behind him, and only then did he realize he’d stopped at the threshold. “We’re not free yet.”

He stepped through, lifting her over the broken glass and into the fresh air.

That was when the sound of automatic gunfire filled the night.

351 snarled and ripped Lillian behind him again, following the sound to its source.

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