Page 32 of Howl For A Kiss
This feels exactly like that night at the Council headquarters,Elena realized, her stomach dropping.Everything going too smoothly before?—
"Something's off," she whispered to Damon as they reached the service entrance.
He nodded grimly. "I noticed. But we've come this far."
They breached the service entrance exactly as planned—no surveillance, no guards, nothing to stop their infiltration. Elena's dread intensified with each step through the richly appointed corridors toward the grand staircase that would take them to Thorne's private office on the third floor.
Tyler died because I missed something,the thought hammered through her mind as they began climbing the marble steps.I can't let that happen again. I can't lose?—
"Elena." Damon's hand shot out, stopping her mid-step. "We're not alone."
The words had barely left his mouth when armed figures emerged from the shadows above and below them. Council guards and human operatives, more than they'd anticipated, converged on the grand staircase with military precision.
Elena's heart hammered against her ribs as she counted—three guards descending from the top and four guards and operatives ascending from the bottom. They were trapped, sandwiched on the staircase with nowhere to run.
"Why are there so many guards here?" Elena hissed, her panic bleeding through despite her attempts to stay calm. "You said there wouldn't be many after midnight!"
Damon's jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with something that looked like guilt mixed with determination. "It seems very suspicious. Makes Thorne an even bigger suspect as the corrupt Council elder in my book."
But Elena didn't have time to speculate any further, her survival instincts kicking in as the armed figures positioned themselves for what was clearly about to become a deadly confrontation.
"We need to figure out how to survive these odds," Damon said, his voice dropping into that commanding tone.
Elena drew her guns, muscle memory taking over as the familiar weight settled in her hands. But her mind was racing beyond tactics and escape routes—something about this whole situation felt wrong, like she'd walked directly into another trap.
FOURTEEN
DAMON
Damon's tactical mind cataloged the armed figures emerging from the shadows with deadly precision—three Council guards descending from above, four guards and operatives ascending from below. Seven against two. Not impossible odds, but damn close to it.
We walked straight into a damn trap,he realized.This whole setup was too easy.
However, it was the flash of recognition in one of the ascending guards' eyes that made Damon's blood turn to ice. It was William—a decent man who'd served the Council faithfully for decades, and someone Damon had exchanged pleasantries with countless times during his Beta duties at Thorne's estate. The older guard's face lit up with surprised delight, his mouth opening to speak.
Fuck. Not here, not now, not like this.
"Beta Gray! What are you—" William started, confusion replacing recognition as he took in Damon's tactical gear and Elena's drawn weapons.
Damon's mind raced through possibilities in microseconds. His cover was blown, Elena had found out his true identity inthe worst possible way, and they were still outnumbered seven to two with no viable escape route except?—
"Follow my lead and cover my back," Damon commanded Elena, his voice dropping into the authoritative tone that had made him the youngest Beta in Silvercrest history. "When I shift, start shooting at the guards coming down behind us. I'll create enough of a distraction for you to run back the way we came—straight to that service entrance."
Elena's eyes widened with panic and confusion, her gaze darting between him and William's still-befuddled expression. But underneath the chaos in her light blue eyes, Damon caught something that made his wolf preen—absolute trust in him.
She trusts me implicitly, even when nothing makes sense.
The moment Elena gave him that look of complete faith, Damon felt his control snap. His wolf surged forward with supernatural speed, bones cracking and reshaping as dark brown fur erupted across his expanding frame. The transformation that usually took precious seconds compressed into a heartbeat of violent beauty.
His clothes shredded as he launched himself at the four ascending guards, his massive wolf form striking with the precision of a guided missile. William's shocked "Beta Gray!" echoed through the grand hall as Damon's wolf crashed into him with enough force to send the older man sprawling but not enough to seriously injure.
Can't kill them. Can't make this worse than it already is.
His wolf's enhanced senses registered Elena's gunfire behind him—sharp, controlled bursts that spoke of her exceptional training. The acrid smell of gunpowder mixed with the metallic scent of fear from the guards as Damon's wolf form moved like liquid death between them.
Terry, another guard Damon recognized from years of Council meetings, stumbled backward as claws raked acrosshis tactical vest—tearing Kevlar but not flesh. The two human operatives flanking him raised their weapons but couldn't get a clear shot with their own people in the way.
Confusion is our friend right now.
