Page 74 of Her Forbidden Shifters
Liam pulled over and killed the engine. All of us climbed out and I stood in the middle of the street, raking my gaze along the shadows, double checking there was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was peaceful here. The sound of nature erupted all around us. Owls hooted in the distance, and crickets chirped their songs to each other. Fireflies blipped in and out of sight.
The air was warm and carried on it was the smell of death and magic.
“We’re close,” I said. “Gather round.”
Once the men had collected around me, I closed my eyes and covered us all in a protective barrier that helped shield us from being seen. It clicked into place, and the spell was done.
I sent a small thank you to the goddess and then said to the men, “All right. Let’s go. Try not to make any sound. They won’t be able to see us, but they could still hear us.”
Each of them nodded.
About half an hour later, we arrived at the warehouse. It was dark and made to appear abandoned. Except for the dozens of guards and the security gate. None of them hid their faces. I was almost shocked that they all looked like ordinary human beings. Regular people just doing their job.
It was a good thing I knew better.
“Are you sure this is the place?” Noah whispered.
I nodded and moved forward, leading my men toward the fight of our lives. I just hoped that we reached Avery in time. I prayed she was okay. We were so close. I couldn’t afford to let anything go wrong now.
Once I reached the main door, I gripped the handle and waited for the passing security guard to move out of sight. When he did, I gently turned the handle and pulled slowly as to decrease the likelihood of the door making a sound. The second I had the thing fully opened, I let out a deep breath.
So far so good.
We continued inside the building, stepping into a massive, open room filled with a collection of bodies. In the corner, hidden in the shadow, was Avery. I noticed her by the braid in her hair and the bright blue of her eyes. She looked ill and in desperate need of fresh air. I rushed to her, remaining as quiet as I possibly could be. As I drew closer, I saw she was cuddling a baby.
I slowed in my approach as to not draw any unwanted attention. This whole plan relied on us getting in and out without announcing our position. Seeing Avery with a baby was an unexpected sight. But then she saw me and started to whimper.
“Shh,” I said quietly, arriving at her side. “We have to stay quiet.”
She nodded.
I gestured to the baby. My expression revealed my question.
Avery nodded to the woman lying next to her. “She died.”
The three men caught up and Noah wrapped Avery in his arms.
“We need to take these women out of here now,” I whispered. “Go out the back and stick to the shadows. Quietly move them off the property.”
“What about you?” Liam asked, keeping his voice low. “What are you planning on doing?”
“My thing,” I said with a smile. “Now go.”
The men nodded. Noah guided Avery out of the doors first and then returned to help collect more. Liam and Jacob took up opposite sides of the room, trying to quietly guide everyone out as silently as possible.
Then the baby outside started to fuss.
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath.
Alarms sounded.
“Get them out now!” I shouted and turned to face the rush of shadowed figures filling the warehouse.
There were a whole lot more of them than I had anticipated. Of course, I had thought I was going to make it out of this without much of a fight as well. But the saying about best-laid plans rang with a lot more truth than I cared to give it.
With the sound of the alarm, the prisoners took off in all directions, hiding or escaping out the back. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to take out several dozen men, even with my magic. Not with all the chaos happening around me. The last thing I wanted was to hit one of the innocents. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try, and I certainly wasn’t going to let them take down my men.
I wasn’t sure what exactly made the men mine, but the thought felt right. I didn’t put much further thought into it as I faced off with the first of several attackers. I was able to blast them back with my magic, but they kept coming back.
