At least in death, I would find peace. But the thought of leaving Griffin behind gutted me. Ihadto make it out of this, for him. Forus. We deserved to be with each other and make a life together. We couldn’t let them take that away.
I slunk deeper into the green leaves, desperate to hide behind the trunk. Maybe I’d be able to use the tree as cover after all.
The asshole fired, and the crack of the gunshot mocked that thought.
There was no getting out of this alive. The dart would hit my left side just as I reached the tree. I braced for impact, but something black flashed across the sky and sacked me.
Rosemary’s floral scent hit my nose as she wrapped her large wings around me. Then the sound of flapping wings reached us, disorienting me. She must have broken the sound barrier to reach me in time.
Theclinkof the dart bouncing off her wings amazed me once more. For her feathers to look so soft, they were stronger than anything I’d ever seen.
“Damn it, why do these angels keep getting involved?” Saga growled. “Get your asses out of the boat and kill the angel. Your guns won’t work on her.” She stomped her feet and glowered. “Ugh, this angel has caused enough trouble, especially since she and her parents decided to align with them instead of me.”
Yeah, she was completely irrational. How had she managed to keep up the act for so long? Maybe Dick dying and her being cast out was the final straw.
We’re here,Bart said as Rosemary lowered her wings, staring at the nine guards who were now climbing off the boat to get us.
Thank God.We needed more people, but we should be able to get by until the others could reach us.I linked with all three men.There are four of us and eleven of them. Each one of you take three while I go for Luna and Saga.I was being selfish, wanting to handle those two on my own, but they had caused so much suffering. I had the right to want justice.
As if Rosemary were part of the pack link, she turned toward the guards. “I’ll take the big burly one and the other two with guns. You focus on the ones who aren’t armed.”
Aren’t armedwas a stretch. The other six had knives, but at least they had to be much closer to us to strike.Follow her lead.When I nodded my head, Rosemary took off flying directly at the others with Julius, Darrell, and Bart racing after her.
I focused on Saga. Luna stayed at the riverbank, avoiding eye contact like she would rather be anywhere but here. Granted, her submissive stance could be an act, so I kept an eye on her anyway.
Shots fired, and I sighed with relief as I watched Rosemary twirl around, fending off the bullets. The guards were desperate to injure her since she was the most durable one there. If theydidn’t focus on her, she’d kill them with her strength and wings, so their hands were kind of tied.
Good, let them sweat.
“Just because you have her on your side doesn’t mean you’ll win.” Saga bared her teeth at me, reminding me of a vampire. Usually, wolves did that only in animal form.
She kept talking as if I cared what she said or she could somehow intimidate me. But that wasn’t how this was going to work. Her running her mouth only made me more determined to kill her since she had absolutely no remorse. Instead, she sounded proud, as if I should be in awe of her.
She was the worst kind of coward. She hid behind everyone else to try to get what she wanted. She wasn’t willing to fight her own war, even now. She watched as the guards fought on her behalf, and she tried to psych me out with her words.
I took long steady strides toward her. I wanted her to feel like prey…to feel weak and worthless. Killing her quickly would be too nice. She deserved to suffer for every life that she’d stolen, including Dick’s.
“It’s in your best interest to stop.” She took a step back, revealing some of the nervousness she had attempted to hide. “The more you fight, the harder this will be on your friends and even yourself. If you come willingly, then all the hurt and injury can be spared. We won’t even tranq you.” The rancid stench of her lie almost made me choke. Even outside, it didn’t appear to dissipate, which told me everything.
She wanted to hurt us all. No one was off the table.
Luna whimpered and rubbed a paw against her nose.
For once, I sympathized with her. She couldn’t handle her mother’s stench, either.
I growled and crouched, letting her know that I didn’t believe a damn word that she said. For someone so strategic, she sure hadn’t thought through the whole lie.
“Fine, you caught me.” She lifted her head and smirked. “Every single one of your friends and family will die, including your bastard brother. I thought I killed them all, but I won’t make that mistake again.”
My self-control snapped, and I jumped at the lady, wanting to rip her throat out.
Her eyes widened, and she stumbled back. “Luna, attack now!”
I’d expected her to want someone else to fight her battles for her, so when Luna charged toward me, I fell to the ground and rolled, causing her to miss.
I jumped back up on all fours and snarled. I wanted this all over.
Luna’s eyes deepened to navy as she turned to face me. Her breathing was quick and shallow, revealing the state she was in. She wasn’t thinking clearly.