Page 44 of The Sacred Wolf

Perhaps they’re right. My wolf admitted wearily.

My panic spiked. No! They can’t win on their own!

As if to make my point, the back door to the theater fifty yards behind us flew open and the Beta-hypnotized army plowed into the alley. The image of Sebastian and Kiana fighting alone through this possessed mob of humans and then trying to take down the strongest Beta psychopath we’d ever known made my gorge rise.

“Look, we can’t allow him to manipulate us again!” I argued, and their heads spun, eyes meeting mine, beneath the scrawl of twin frowns. “Kiana, you’re right that these humans would be running without his influence, and they should. Too many of them will be injured and die if they fight us… and this isn’t their fight. It’ll only make everything worse. We need to get back to Max as soon as possible.”

“She has a point, Sebastian,” Evan said, pulling a protesting Jayla toward the car. “C’mon, Jayla,” he urged. “We have to get you out of here.”

“But maybe I can reason with them,” she said, shaking her arm to wrestle free of his grip. “I’m a human too!”

“You can’t.” I said flatly, pointing at the advancing mob. “I know this is all new for you, but Damien has them under his control. Some sort of hive mentality?”

She stopped, her keen mind taking in the behavior, the coordinated movements. Instead of running at us, recklessly like you’d expect from an emotional human tsunami, they came in lockstep, advancing from the door in a steady, careful stream.

“Shit, you all have mind control too?” She took a step backward, hands lifted in surrender. “Uh-uh. Nope. I’ve seen Animalis. I don’t mess around with that shit.”

“Sebastian, I agree with Elyse,” Kenzo said, his voice low. “I want to find your mother as badly as you do…”

Sebastian grunted, his disagreement plain in his scent.

“…but nothing good can come of tearing through this group of innocent humans. That’s what Damien wants. He’s probably got some of them focused only on filming.”

“He does!” I said, latching onto the support. “He’s already got Kiana’s wolves and me on film all bloodied up. It will not look good.”

“Fine!” Sebastian sighed, his voice wrenching. “Let’s go.”

“What? No way!” Kiana protested, stepping forward, but Sebastian grabbed her arm, clasping her.

“This is my borough,” he growled, his dark eyes snapping. “We will have to fight another day.”

A sound like a transformer exploding echoed in the alley.

The gunman had made it outside, and he’d been joined by the shop owner with the shotgun.

“Shit!” Kenzo bolted for the car’s front seat and threw it into drive. “Hurry!” he called, as Sebastian ripped open the back door.

Evan and Jayla launched themselves inside, and I shoved my insane sister, who was still protesting that we should leave her—alone, no less—to tackle the mob, the gun, and Damien, as I tumbled into the back of the car after her. The backseat became a God of Shiva-like tangle of arms and legs. Evan yanked Jayla onto his lap to make room for Sebastian, who began clambering inside —

Another shotgun blast rang out, and Sebastian grunted, slumping to his knees in the wheel well, his torso crashing over my legs. Blood erupted from a hole in his shoulder. A useless scream tore from my throat, but my sister had the sense to grab his waist and haul him the rest of the way in.

“Go!” she shouted.

Another round shattered the taillight as Kenzo peeled out, the force of the acceleration slamming the open door shut as we pulled away.

“Sebastian!” I cried, my heart drumming in my chest like a hummingbird’s. He was sprawled across me and my sister, his skin graying and blood pouring from his shoulder blade like the acrid cloud of terror I was pouring from my pores. “Sebastian, talk to me.”

“I’m… I’m ok,” his voice tight. “He groaned, as Kenzo took a corner at warp speed, tires squealing. “We can only go this fast for a few more blocks, man,” he chided his best friend. “Or we’re going to have to explain a lot of crap to the cops.”

Always the Alpha. My wolf said admiringly, and not, I could tell, without an undercurrent of relief.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” I whimpered, and then gasped as we hit a pothole and caught air before landing, Sebastian’s deadweight crushing my torn-up thigh. My stomach tightened at the thought of how much worse that must have hurt him.

“Stop being a puppy bitch!” Kiana snapped. “He says he’s fine.”

“I…didn’t…exactly…say…fine,” Sebastian grunted, each word requiring a shallow breath between.

“Well, then don’t you be a pup,” she added, raising her chin.

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