Page 67 of Feral

LILLIAN

The first three nights of driving toward the border were uneventful, even if we were all on edge every time we left whatever remote bit of woodland we’d hidden in during the daylight hours. But the farther we got from SilverCorp’s compound, the easier it became to breathe.

I’d almost started to believe we’d truly escaped the horrors of Dr. Axell’s lab when the attack came.

We were lessthan thirty miles out from the Canadian border, four nights after we’d left the camp by the river, when Jerome glanced into the rearview mirror and cursed.

“What’s the matter?” I asked as Zach made a questioning noise, straightening in his seat.

“That van’s been following us for the past hour,” Jerome growled.

“Could just be headed for the border too,” I said, twisting to look behind us.

“Doubt it,” Jerome growled. “Fuck. All right—we’re gonna have to take care of this before we get to the border. Barnes, you capable of shooting a gun?”

Zach grunted in affirmation, and Jerome pulled out his phone to call the rest of our group driving ahead of us.

“Larry?” he said the second the line connected. “We’ve got company. White van behind us—from the size of it, I’m guessing they’ve got a team of six to eight fighters in there. Look for a side road up ahead—something that’ll give us some cover. We need the advantage, and we’re running out of mileage before they pincer us in at border control.”

I couldn’t hear what Larry said, but Jerome made a few noises of agreement and hung up. “All right—Barnes, grab my spare gun. It’s under my seat. Once we pull over, get the girl out of the car and use it as cover. We’ll be drawing their attention while the guys circle back around on foot and get them from behind. You with me?”

“Yes.”It was a rough sound, more of a grunt than a word, but Zach’s eyes reflected a grim determination as he nodded at his old friend in the rearview mirror. Despite everything he’d been through, despite everything he’d lost—thiswas who he was and would always be. A warrior.

Eric pulled the car ahead of us down a dark side road nearly two miles later. In our headlights, I could make out thick vegetation on each side of the narrow road, and my pulse quickened in anticipation of what came next.

Despite knowing what was about to happen, I still wasn’t prepared when Jerome yanked on the steering wheel, throwing the Jeep around so it blocked the road, brakes screeching.

I gasped when my seatbelt bit into my throat and chest, locking me in place, but the next moment Zach slammed his hand down on the release mechanism, grabbed me by the arm, and kicked out the passenger side door. We landed on the pavement just as the van’s doors flew open and a salvo of gunfire blasted through the night.

Zach draped his body over mine, smashing my face into the ground but also shielding me. His muscles worked above me, and then shots rang from right above my head as he returned fire. On the other end of the Jeep, Jerome backed him up with his own gun.

It felt like an eternity before a surprised howl penetrated the night, followed by more gunfire on the other side of the white van. The rest of our group had arrived.

The bullets stopped pelting our Jeep when our attackers turned to the ambush.

“Stay,” Zach growled, and then the heavy pressure of his body lifted off me, letting the cool night air surround me instead. I pushed up onto my knees and peered around the Jeep just in time to see my mate arrive at the black-clad men. The white van’s headlights illuminated his strong body as he leapt into the air like a panther and came down hard on the other side, a battle roar ringing through the night.

My heart clenched in terror at the thought of one of the many bullets finding its way into his flesh, but our bond hummed with nothing but excitement and battle lust. He was born for this.

More guns fired, but they mixed with screams of agony.

He moved like a whirlwind of destruction, tearing through the enemy with speed and strength that should’ve been impossible for a human man—even an alpha as powerful as he. For the first time, I saw why SilverCorp was so adamant that their sick experiment be completed. They’d wanted a super soldier, a weapon unlike any other. And in my mate, they’d created it.

He was too strong, too fast for them, pinned down by gunfire as they were. I stared open-mouthed as he ripped, tore, and shredded his way through them, human remains scattering around him like the mangled leftovers from a gruesome hurricane. It took less than ten minutes before silence spread over the deserted road, the only sounds Zach’s rough, panting breath and the thunder of my own blood in my ears.

“Anyone hit?” Jerome asked.

Murmurs of denial came from around the back of the van.

“Anyone left alive?” he added.

Silence was the only response.

“Fucking hell, Barnes,” Eric murmured from a few yards away. “I’ve seen cleaner butchering from a fucking hyena.”

“Don’t go near him,” Jerome warned just as my mate turned to Eric with a snarl, canines bared. The battle lust still pulsed hotly in our bond.

“Shit, calm down, we’re on the same team,” Eric said, quickly taking a few steps back, hands raised. Zach only hunkered down in response, eyes glued to the other man’s throat.

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