Page 19 of Into the Fire: After
This was everything we’d been running from. Everything we’d been fighting against. And it was right here. If we entered this building—ifTarynentered this building—we’d never come out.
World went red.
Seven
Taryn
Rottenblackberryandcitrusexploded from the back of the second van as the doors flew open. I heard Caine snarling as the men around us talked.
I wanted nothing more than to run to him, to stroke his face and hold him. Let him hold me.
Stupid zip-tie binding my hands, keeping me from doing that.
The doc came back my way, grabbing my chin with an icy, firm grip and turning my face so he could see my neck. “She only has one bond bite,” he said to the others. “Only one of them is her alpha, at most.”
A hand ripped me from the van without warning. I barely landed on my feet as a security guard in a black uniform with a gun holster on his hip pulled me to stand before the doctor. Infuriatingly, my alphas were still hidden from me by the open doors of their van.
Doc Asswipe cleared his throat, clasping his hands over his clipboard in front of him. “Ms. Maddox, I’m Dr. Prentiss Hilt,lead researcher at this facility. Now, I know it’s been quite a fuss to get you here today, but my intention isn’t to harm you. If you do not follow instructions, however, you will force my hand. Is that understood?”
Anger and fear were a dangerous combination. The bleach-and-ammonia of emotions. It led to doing stupid things, like gritting out “Fuck. You.” And spitting in the man’s face.
A fiery agony broke across my face, and then I was on the ground. My temple throbbed where I’d been hit, and my palms and knees scraped on the concrete as the guard pulled me roughly back to my feet. I panted, glaring at the scientist standing before me.
He sighed, noting something on his clipboard. “Take her to decon and prelim, please.”
“And the alphas?” another guard asked.
Caine’s snarls and struggles were audible, even if I couldn’t see him.
Dr. Dickwad waved a dismissive hand toward the van. “We didn’t hire you to bring us feral alphas. Dispose of them, and we’ll add another twenty to your payment for the trouble.”
“NO!” I yelled, pulling against my captor’s grip. “Don’t touch them!”
“Ms. Maddox—”
“They’re right!” I shrieked, still trying to escape. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll—I’ll be a model patient for you, okay? Just don’t hurt them.”
The doc raised a single brow. “Quite frankly, I don’t have the patience to tolerate alphadrenaline episodes.”
“You won’t have to,” Lin’s voice came from the back of the van, and I nearly sobbed with relief to hear it. “We’ll handle it.”
Doc hummed in disbelief as Caine continued to growl and struggle.
“Let me calm him,” I pleaded. “I can calm him down, and then—then he can maintain control.Please.”
Silence rang in the garage as Doc Dickwad debated. Finally, though, he gave a small nod, and the guard brought me to the back of the guys’ van. The second he released my arm, I jumped inside and let Caine wrap his arms around me, tugging me against his chest.
I wanted desperately to just lay there against his chest, even withdraw into the numbness of catatonia like I had once before. But I couldn’t. And I couldn’t let Caine stay in his adrenaline rage either.
I pulled back. “Come back to me, Esquire,” I whispered as I pressed my forehead to his. “You’re in control here, not your wolf. You can take the wheel back. I know you can.”
His breaths slowed and evened, his skin still warm to the touch and his grip possessive. I felt the moment he returned in full. He curled even tighter around me, something akin to a whine coming from his throat. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he breathed next to my ear.
“Hey,” I said, pulling back to look into his eyes. “No sorries here.”
Lin was there behind me, his hand on my neck and turning my head so he could plant a fierce kiss on my lips. Lin framed my face with his hands. “You keep fighting, Omega,” he whispered. “This doesn’t end here.”
I nodded. I knew it wouldn’t end here. It couldn’t.
