Page 106 of Body and Soul

“Hand over the vessel,” he said, voice dripping with false paternal concern.

I clutched Eli tighter to my chest, shielding his battered body with my own. “You will never touch him again. He is MINE.”

A guttural roar ripped from my throat as the beast within me surged to the surface. The man with the shotgun took an involuntary step back, fear flickering in his eyes.

I lunged forward, still clutching Eli to my chest with one arm as the other shot out, seizing the shotgun barrel and wrenching it upward. The blast tore through the night, the muzzle flash blinding. The acrid stench of gunpowder flooded my nostrils.

Bones crunched and popped beneath my grip as I twisted the gun from the man's hands with savage strength. I flipped the weapon in my grip and slammed the butt of it into his face, a vicious upward stroke that shattered his jaw and snapped his head back. Blood and teeth sprayed, and he dropped like a sack of meat.

All around us, the night erupted into chaos and violence as the motorcycle club joined the battle. The percussive thunder of gunfire blended with the meaty thud of fists on flesh. Bear and his men crashed into the cultists like a tidal wave, a whirlwind of flashing knives and slashing chains, turning the clearing into a slaughter.

Eli clung to me as I spun and wove through the melee, using the shotgun as a club to brutally clear our path. The stock grew slick with blood and viscera as I smashed it into faces and throats with single-minded savagery. Rage and desperation fueled my movements, honing me into a force of pure destruction.

Muzzle flashes strobed in the darkness as Bear's men exchanged fire with the cultists. Bullets whined past my headand chewed into flesh with meaty thwacks. Screams and howls of agony mingled with the deafening gunfire, a hellish cacophony straight out of a nightmare.

But I was the only real devil in this hell.

I punched a hole through the battle with merciless efficiency, leaving a trail of broken, moaning bodies in my wake. All that mattered was getting Eli out, getting him to safety. The rest of the world had shrunk down to that single, overriding imperative.

Eli shuddered and whimpered in my arms as we plunged into the shadowed forest, fleeing the carnage behind us. I could feel his heart thumping against my chest, his panicked breaths hot and fast against my neck. Every tremor, every hitched sob, was a knife to my heart. I ached to soothe him, to promise that everything would be alright. But there was no time for it. Not until we were safe.

Sirens shrieked through the night, piercing and shrill, shattering the cacophony of screams and gunfire. Red and blue lights strobed through the trees as a phalanx of black SUVs roared into the campground, gravel spraying from beneath their tires.

“FBI! Everyone on the ground now!”

The amplified command boomed from a bullhorn, momentarily drowning out the sounds of violence and chaos. Flashlight beams cut through the darkness, sweeping over the scene.

I snarled, fury and frustration spiking through me at this new complication. The FBI was raiding the compound, an unwelcome intrusion that threatened to derail my mission to get Eli to safety. I had no intention of surrendering my mate to their custody. He was mine to protect now.

I spun, searching for an alternate route of escape, but the agents were already pouring from their vehicles, fanning outwith ruthless efficiency. They were heavily armed and armored, bristling with tactical gear.

And at their head, a familiar figure. Agent Ash Valentine. Of course it would be him.

I hauled Eli behind the thick trunk of a towering pine as bullets stitched the air, chewing chunks of bark from the trees around us. The sharp scent of sap and splintered wood mingled with the acrid stench of gunpowder, stinging my nostrils. Eli trembled violently against my chest, his panicked breaths scalding my skin through my shirt. I tightened my grip on him, trying to will some of my strength into his battered body through sheer force of desperation.

Gavin crouched beside us, his Glock held ready as his cool gray gaze scanned the chaos. The icy calm in his eyes was a stark contrast to the frenzied churn of rage and adrenaline that had me vibrating out of my skin. He was control and precision to my savagery, the scalpel to my sledgehammer. And I needed that steadiness now more than ever, with Eli's life hanging in the balance.

“We need to move,” Gavin said, his voice clipped and urgent over the din of gunfire and screams. “The FBI will lock this place down tight. If we don't get out now, we never will.”

I snarled my wordless agreement, my mind racing. The cult was putting up a hell of a fight, the crazed fervor of religious extremism making them unafraid to die for their cause.

Valentine's pained shout cut through the cacophony of gunfire and screams. I snapped my head around to watch him crumple to the ground, clutching his knee, his teeth gritted in agony. A stray bullet had found its mark, tearing through flesh and bone. His men swarmed to cover him, dragging him behind the shelter of a black SUV as they returned fire at the cultists.

It was just the distraction we needed.

“Go!” Gavin shouted. “Now!”

I clutched Eli tighter to my chest and lunged from behind the tree, my boots churning up the pine needles as I sprinted for the edge of the camp with Gavin at my side.

Eli's fragile weight was barely a burden as I vaulted over the hood of an FBI vehicle, landing in a predatory crouch on the other side. My enhanced senses flared, taking in every minute detail of our surroundings even as I moved - the acrid stench of gunpowder and leaking gasoline, the strobing muzzle flashes painting frozen instants of carnage, the panicked rush of blood in Eli's veins where his pulse fluttered against my chest.

A cultist leaped into our path, a rusted machete clutched in his shaking hands. I lunged to meet him without breaking stride, a feral snarl rumbling up from my chest. My free hand shot out, seizing his wrist and twisting with savage efficiency until bones popped and crunched. The machete tumbled from his nerveless fingers as he shrieked. I slammed my fist into his face, putting all my strength behind the blow. Cartilage shattered beneath my knuckles and he dropped like a stone, choking on blood and broken teeth.

I stepped over his crumpled form without a second glance, my focus narrowed to a laser point on the tree line ahead. Escape. Sanctuary. Safety for my little rabbit.

Eli moaned softly, his head lolling against my shoulder as I jostled him. Each pained sound was a barb in my heart, driving me faster, harder. I had to get him out of this hell. Had to get him somewhere secure, where I could tend to his wounds and soothe his battered psyche.

A bullet whizzed past my ear, close enough to ruffle my hair with its passage. I veered left, then right, making myself a harder target as I pounded across the weed-strewn gravel. Return fire from Gavin and Bear's crew kept the worst of it off us. The roar of engines swelled as the motorcycles peeled out in a spray of dirt and gravel.

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