“Yes. They are.” She stroked Cori’s hair. “But you are here, and the Elite don’t have you. Want to stay with me for a few days? I am going to take some time off, and I can introduce you to more ladies like us. Like Lyric.”
Lyric walked up to them. “So, I see why you mentioned messy. Are you covered in your own blood?”
“No. I have a lot going on here. The bodies are stuck here and won’t be able to be teleported or moved through a portal.”
Lyric asked, “How can they get their dead back?”
“Oh, they have to ask.” Win smiled. “Me. They have to ask me. They won’t rot, but they won’t move.”
Rayd came over to them and said, “We have all the kids. They were live-streaming it. Lykon saw Lyric and called immediately.”
Lyric smiled. “See? I was useful.”
Win said, “Cori, can you get my purse from the car? It’s pretty much totalled. I also don’t fit in it like this.”
Cori smiled. “Got it. I am also going to grab your registration. Don’t want to make it too easy for them to find your house.”
“Oh, shoot. Right. Well, I made some new friends today. Perhaps someone can offer some advice.”
Lyric nodded. “I am sure they can. We can hide out at the winery. No one knows my face yet.”
Rayd nodded. “Good idea. Win, do you need medical assistance?”
“Probably. If I am not using blood, I get lightheaded. Right now, it is keeping me upright. I am using it as a second skin.”
Cori looked around. “Where did they put the bus driver? Miss Norelic tried to stop them from getting on the bus.”
Rayd sniffed around and grimaced. “I can’t smell anything but blood.”
“Sorry.” She looked around. “Cori, did someone else take her?”
“I didn’t see. They came on the bus, she got up, and they pulled her out. There were only ten of them. No more.”
Lyric nodded, looked at the bus, and jumped straight up. “Oh, fuck. She’s on the bus.”
Rayd nodded. “Got it.” He launched upward and landed on the bus. “Oh, fuck.”
He gathered the woman up, and Win could see that the arm she could see wasn’t hanging right. Blood and bruising were everywhere.
Win and the others ran for the last helicopter. Rayd handed the driver over to Lyric, and when the contact was made, the whimpers started as the body changed from short beta to Elite omega.
Cori stared as they lifted off. “Miss Norelic. Oh, my god.”
They held on, and two of the helicopters peeled off toward the school grounds while they split up and headed for the mountains.
They flew over huge homes until he set them down. “I have called in every medic in the families, the healers from the dark Elite, and everyone they could think of.”
Megan and Cori were holding hands, Wren was on the phone, and Lyric was facing off against her brother and his mate with a barely breathing omega in her arms.
Win got out of the helicopter, and the grouping stepped back. She didn’t smile. She was bloody, her scars had opened, and her clothing was shredded.
She looked at Cori and smiled. Cori clung to Megan.
Four men stepped forward. One said, “Hi. I am Nikolai; this is Rikart, Erik, and Feng. We are offering our fire for healing.”
“The driver is the most injured. Please attend to her first.” Lyric brought the woman out and set her on the ground.
The younger male, Erik, came toward them. “Please. You are covered in blood. They know what they are doing, so I will let them do it.”