36. Thirty-Five

The scent of pine sap wafted on the chill night air as I crept through the forest, my footfalls silent on the bed of fallen needles. My prey was close. I could hear the distant murmur of their voices drifting from the campground ahead. A thrill of anticipation shivered down my spine. These cultist bastards had taken what was mine. Stolen my mate. And for that, I would paint the forest floor with their blood.

I was fully unleashed, the shackles of Shepherd's conscience cast aside. Unfettered and feral. Keres incarnate. The primal beast within me yearned to rend flesh from bone with teeth and talon. To gorge myself on their terror and suffering.

The primal hunger for brutality pounded through my veins, feeding my bloodlust. Visions of the coming slaughter flashed behind my eyes. Bones snapping. Screams gurgling. Entrails steaming. My cock throbbed almost painfully, pulsing in time to the frenzied beat of my heart. Destroying those who took what was mine would be the ultimate release.

I prowled forward through the shadowed pines, every muscle coiled and ready to strike. The reek of cheap cigarettes assaulted my nostrils as I neared the ring of tents. Low conversations rumbled, the bored chatter of men unaware that death stalked them in the darkness.

Bear's hand signals flashed in my peripheral vision as he and the other MC members melted into the tree line, fanning out to secure the perimeter and cut off any attempts at escape. Gavin remained at my side, a sleek shadow armed with ruthless efficiency. His presence was a tether, keeping me from fully surrendering to the howling bloodlust. I needed to be able to come back, to be human again because my little rabbit would need those other parts of me to be whole. I had to stay under control for him.

My focus narrowed to a laser point on the largest RVs huddled together in the center of the camp. He was in there somewhere, my scared little rabbit. Every cell in my body strained toward them, desperate to reclaim what had been ripped away from me. The need to hold Eli in my arms, to erase every mark and memory of his suffering, was a physical ache in my marrow.

But there would be time enough for that after I painted this forest red with the blood of those who took him.

My lips peeled back from my teeth in a feral grin as Bear's men melted out of the shadows like wraiths, converging on the cult sentries. The snap of a neck, the wet gurgle of a slit throat, the muffled thud of a body hitting the ground…

I watched with savage satisfaction as the guards crumpled lifelessly to the forest floor, their eyes wide and glassy in death. The coppery scent of fresh blood mingled with the pine, an intoxicating perfume that made my pulse race and my mouth water. The beast within me growled its approval, thirsting for more.

But even as the primal hunger surged, Gavin's steadying presence at my shoulder kept me tethered, prevented me from losing myself completely to the feral need. His hand brushed my arm, the barest touch, but it was enough. A silent reminder of what I stood to lose if I surrendered fully to the monster inside.

I drew in a slow, centering breath, forcing back the red haze that clouded the edges of my vision. I couldn't afford to succumb to mindless savagery. Not yet. Not when stealth was still critical. I needed to stay in control until I had Eli safely in my arms once more.

With an effort of will, I wrenched my focus from the cooling corpses to the task at hand.

My nostrils flared as we crept deeper into the enemy camp, searching for any hint of Eli’s scent. Rusted RVs waited in the shadows like slumbering beasts, their paint peeling and tires rotting into the earth. A distant generator sputtered and coughed, the only sound in the oppressive stillness.

My mouth salivated at the memory of the sickly sweet taste of human flesh on a young tongue, the approving murmurs of the cult elders as they fed me their sacrament of blood and meat. They had made me, just as surely as Shepherd had. It was justice that I’d returned to be their undoing.

I prowled from RV to RV, ripping open doors with savage strength, chasing the elusive scent of my mate. But each one revealed only the leavings of the human vermin that infested this place. No sign of Eli. No trace of Dani. No trace of anyone.

Frustration snarled in my gut, twisting and building like a serpent ready to strike. Where were they keeping him? Why couldn't I scent him in the air? The urge to rampage, to tear this place apart board by board until I found him, pounded through my skull.

A flicker of movement caught my eye—a twitch of ratty curtains in the window of an RV set apart from the others, half-concealed in the shadows of the towering pines. My pulse jumped, senses flaring to high alert. Gavin touched my arm, inclining his head toward it. He sensed it, too.

I crept closer on silent feet, every nerve ending sizzling, screaming that my prey was near. The decrepit RV was pitted with rust, but I was sure I’d seen movement inside.

Two armed guards slouched by the door, bored and brawny, cradling assault rifles. The stink of tobacco and boredom clung to them like a miasma.

My heart slammed against my ribs, a war drum urging me to maim, to kill. To paint the rusted metal with arterial crimson. Gavin waited at my side, a sleek shadow with death in his eyes. At my signal, he melted into the darkness to take the guard on the left.

I lunged for the one on the right. My hand clamped over the guard's mouth, muffling his startled cry. In one brutal motion, I wrenched his head to the side, relishing the wet snap of his neck giving way. He went limp in my grasp and I let him drop, already turning toward the next target.

The second man's scream died stillborn as Gavin's knife found his throat, opening it in a crimson smile. Blood sprayed, black in the darkness, and he crumpled without a sound.

Barely a heartbeat had passed. Two more lives snuffed out, two more obstacles removed from my path to Eli. The beast within me growled its approval, relishing the metallic tang of blood on the night air. But I couldn't stop to savor it. My mate was close. I could feel it in my bones.

I wrenched the rusted door of the RV open. The reek of human filth and despair billowed out, but beneath it, faint and tantalizing... the scent of my rabbit. My Eli.

I shouldered my way inside, Gavin a silent shadow at my back. The interior was a warren of shadows and rot, lit only by the guttering flame of a kerosene lamp.

A whimper sounded from the shadows ahead - faint, broken, but achingly familiar. My heart seized, stuttering in my chest. I knew that voice, even twisted by pain and despair. Eli.

I surged forward, shouldering through the door at the end of the hall. There, curled on a stained mattress in the corner...

“There you are, my little rabbit.”

My heart clenched at the sight of him, my fierce protective instincts roaring to life. Eli lay curled on the filthy mattress, his hair matted, his perfect skin marred by bruises. Livid rope burns encircled his delicate wrists and ankles. His once luminous blue eyes were dull and glazed with pain as they fluttered open, struggling to focus on me.

“Keres...” he rasped, his voice a thready whisper. “You came for me.”

In an instant, I was across the room, gathering him into my arms with infinite gentleness. He felt so fragile, like a baby bird, as if one wrong move could shatter him irreparably. But the solid weight of him against my chest anchored me, soothing the howling emptiness that had consumed me in his absence.

“Always, little rabbit,” I rumbled, burying my face in the crook of his neck and breathing in his scent beneath the layers of fear and degradation. “I'll always come for you.”

Eli shuddered and went boneless in my embrace, a choked sob escaping his split swollen lips. I cradled him closer, mindful of his injuries, and the beast within me snarled with pure, possessive rage that anyone had dared to mark what was mine.

I nuzzled deeper into the crook of Eli's neck, unable to resist the primal urge to cover him in my scent, to erase every trace of the cult's violation from his skin. A low, possessive growl rumbled up from my chest as I rubbed my cheek over his throat, his collarbones, marking him as mine once more.

Eli whimpered softly, his pulse fluttering beneath my lips like a frightened rabbit. But he tilted his head back in instinctive submission, baring more of his throat for me to claim. Even broken and traumatized, his body recognized its mate, yearned for my touch.

I gentled my movements, mindful of his injuries, but the need to assert my claim, to overwrite their filth with my essence, was a compulsion I couldn't resist. My hands roamed over every inch of exposed skin, stroking, caressing, soothing the tremors that wracked his fragile frame.

I tilted Eli's face up before capturing his mouth in a searing, desperate kiss. The coppery tang of his split lip burst across my tongue as I claimed him with lips, teeth, and tongue. I kissed him like a man starved, like his mouth was my only sustenance and I would devour him whole.

Eli whimpered into the kiss, his hands scrabbling weakly at my shoulders. But there was no fear in the needy sounds he made, only relief and yearning. He opened for me without hesitation, pliant and submissive, letting me take whatever I needed.

I lost myself in the hot silk of his mouth, in the perfect way he yielded to me. The rest of the world fell away until there was only Eli. My mate. My heart. Mine, mine, mine.

“Keres.” Gavin's clipped voice dragged me back to awareness. “We need to move.”

I pulled back from Eli with a shuddering breath. I needed to take Eli somewhere safe where I could lick his wounds in private and remind his body of my claim until the only marks left on his flesh were made by my teeth and nails.

The RV door slammed open. Two men burst in, eyes wild and guns raised. More cult filth come to steal Eli back. Rage exploded through my veins, a red haze washing over my vision. I was moving before conscious thought could form, releasing Eli to lunge at the intruders with a roar.

The first man screamed as I slammed into him, all snapping teeth and slashing nails. I raked gouges down his face, his arms, relishing the hot spill of his blood over my claws. His gun clattered to the floor as he flailed.

Behind me, the bark of Gavin's Glock and a wet gurgle signaled the end of the other man. The scent of fresh blood and cordite saturated the air, driving my bloodlust to a fever pitch. Bones crunched and popped beneath my hands as I wrenched the man's arm from its socket, reveling in his agonized shrieks. I sank my teeth into his throat and tore into his neck, ripping through tender flesh, cartilage and sinew until he stopped shaking.

I released the dead man and straightened slowly, blood dripping from my chin. I turned back to Eli, my chest heaving. His eyes were huge in his too-pale face as he stared at me, at the gore painting my skin. Shock and fear emanated from him, souring his scent. He shrank back, his gaze flicking between my face and the ravaged body.

My heart clenched. I never wanted my little rabbit to look at me with fear. But there was no time to soothe him, to gentle away the horror of what he'd witnessed. Shouts and pounding footsteps echoed from outside. More cultists rousing to stop us. We had to move. Now.

I lunged for Eli, scooping his fragile weight into my arms and cradling him against my chest. He let out a stifled yelp, body rigid and quivering. But he didn't fight me as I sprinted for the RV door, Gavin covering our exit.

We burst out into the night to find a wall of cultists gathering to block our path. They poured from the trees, from the RVs, faces fixed in anger. Men and women both, some barely more than children, all gaunt and filthy, with madness burning in their eyes.

They were armed, all of them. Some with guns, others with knives or clubs.

My lips peeled back from my teeth in a feral snarl as a man stepped forward, pointing a shotgun at my face.

“Hand over the vessel,” he said, voice dripping with false paternal concern.

I clutched Eli tighter to my chest, shielding his battered body with my own. “You will never touch him again. He is MINE.”

A guttural roar ripped from my throat as the beast within me surged to the surface. The man with the shotgun took an involuntary step back, fear flickering in his eyes.

I lunged forward, still clutching Eli to my chest with one arm as the other shot out, seizing the shotgun barrel and wrenching it upward. The blast tore through the night, the muzzle flash blinding. The acrid stench of gunpowder flooded my nostrils.

Bones crunched and popped beneath my grip as I twisted the gun from the man's hands with savage strength. I flipped the weapon in my grip and slammed the butt of it into his face, a vicious upward stroke that shattered his jaw and snapped his head back. Blood and teeth sprayed, and he dropped like a sack of meat.

All around us, the night erupted into chaos and violence as the motorcycle club joined the battle. The percussive thunder of gunfire blended with the meaty thud of fists on flesh. Bear and his men crashed into the cultists like a tidal wave, a whirlwind of flashing knives and slashing chains, turning the clearing into a slaughter.

Eli clung to me as I spun and wove through the melee, using the shotgun as a club to brutally clear our path. The stock grew slick with blood and viscera as I smashed it into faces and throats with single-minded savagery. Rage and desperation fueled my movements, honing me into a force of pure destruction.

Muzzle flashes strobed in the darkness as Bear's men exchanged fire with the cultists. Bullets whined past my head and chewed into flesh with meaty thwacks. Screams and howls of agony mingled with the deafening gunfire, a hellish cacophony straight out of a nightmare.

But I was the only real devil in this hell.

I punched a hole through the battle with merciless efficiency, leaving a trail of broken, moaning bodies in my wake. All that mattered was getting Eli out, getting him to safety. The rest of the world had shrunk down to that single, overriding imperative.

Eli shuddered and whimpered in my arms as we plunged into the shadowed forest, fleeing the carnage behind us. I could feel his heart thumping against my chest, his panicked breaths hot and fast against my neck. Every tremor, every hitched sob, was a knife to my heart. I ached to soothe him, to promise that everything would be alright. But there was no time for it. Not until we were safe.

Sirens shrieked through the night, piercing and shrill, shattering the cacophony of screams and gunfire. Red and blue lights strobed through the trees as a phalanx of black SUVs roared into the campground, gravel spraying from beneath their tires.

“FBI! Everyone on the ground now!”

The amplified command boomed from a bullhorn, momentarily drowning out the sounds of violence and chaos. Flashlight beams cut through the darkness, sweeping over the scene.

I snarled, fury and frustration spiking through me at this new complication. The FBI was raiding the compound, an unwelcome intrusion that threatened to derail my mission to get Eli to safety. I had no intention of surrendering my mate to their custody. He was mine to protect now.

I spun, searching for an alternate route of escape, but the agents were already pouring from their vehicles, fanning out with ruthless efficiency. They were heavily armed and armored, bristling with tactical gear.

And at their head, a familiar figure. Agent Ash Valentine. Of course it would be him.

I hauled Eli behind the thick trunk of a towering pine as bullets stitched the air, chewing chunks of bark from the trees around us. The sharp scent of sap and splintered wood mingled with the acrid stench of gunpowder, stinging my nostrils. Eli trembled violently against my chest, his panicked breaths scalding my skin through my shirt. I tightened my grip on him, trying to will some of my strength into his battered body through sheer force of desperation.

Gavin crouched beside us, his Glock held ready as his cool gray gaze scanned the chaos. The icy calm in his eyes was a stark contrast to the frenzied churn of rage and adrenaline that had me vibrating out of my skin. He was control and precision to my savagery, the scalpel to my sledgehammer. And I needed that steadiness now more than ever, with Eli's life hanging in the balance.

“We need to move,” Gavin said, his voice clipped and urgent over the din of gunfire and screams. “The FBI will lock this place down tight. If we don't get out now, we never will.”

I snarled my wordless agreement, my mind racing. The cult was putting up a hell of a fight, the crazed fervor of religious extremism making them unafraid to die for their cause.

Valentine's pained shout cut through the cacophony of gunfire and screams. I snapped my head around to watch him crumple to the ground, clutching his knee, his teeth gritted in agony. A stray bullet had found its mark, tearing through flesh and bone. His men swarmed to cover him, dragging him behind the shelter of a black SUV as they returned fire at the cultists.

It was just the distraction we needed.

“Go!” Gavin shouted. “Now!”

I clutched Eli tighter to my chest and lunged from behind the tree, my boots churning up the pine needles as I sprinted for the edge of the camp with Gavin at my side.

Eli's fragile weight was barely a burden as I vaulted over the hood of an FBI vehicle, landing in a predatory crouch on the other side. My enhanced senses flared, taking in every minute detail of our surroundings even as I moved - the acrid stench of gunpowder and leaking gasoline, the strobing muzzle flashes painting frozen instants of carnage, the panicked rush of blood in Eli's veins where his pulse fluttered against my chest.

A cultist leaped into our path, a rusted machete clutched in his shaking hands. I lunged to meet him without breaking stride, a feral snarl rumbling up from my chest. My free hand shot out, seizing his wrist and twisting with savage efficiency until bones popped and crunched. The machete tumbled from his nerveless fingers as he shrieked. I slammed my fist into his face, putting all my strength behind the blow. Cartilage shattered beneath my knuckles and he dropped like a stone, choking on blood and broken teeth.

I stepped over his crumpled form without a second glance, my focus narrowed to a laser point on the tree line ahead. Escape. Sanctuary. Safety for my little rabbit.

Eli moaned softly, his head lolling against my shoulder as I jostled him. Each pained sound was a barb in my heart, driving me faster, harder. I had to get him out of this hell. Had to get him somewhere secure, where I could tend to his wounds and soothe his battered psyche.

A bullet whizzed past my ear, close enough to ruffle my hair with its passage. I veered left, then right, making myself a harder target as I pounded across the weed-strewn gravel. Return fire from Gavin and Bear's crew kept the worst of it off us. The roar of engines swelled as the motorcycles peeled out in a spray of dirt and gravel.

At last, we broke through the trees and emerged near where I’d left the SUV parked. I yanked open the rear door of the SUV and dove inside, cradling Eli's trembling body against my chest as I sprawled across the backseat. Gavin was half a heartbeat behind me, vaulting into the driver's seat and slamming the vehicle into gear before his door had fully closed. The engine roared as he punched the gas, the sudden forward lurch pressing me back into the leather upholstery.

Tires screeched and spat gravel as we fishtailed out onto the narrow track leading away from the compound. I clutched Eli tighter, pulling him hard against me.

Eli shuddered and whimpered in my arms, his breath coming in sharp, panicked hitches against my neck. Each broken sound was a blade to my heart, a reminder of how close I'd come to losing him. I buried my face in his filthy, matted hair, uncaring of the grime, and breathed in his scent beneath the layers of blood and terror. The primal need to soothe and comfort him, to wrap him in my scent and shelter him from the world, was a physical ache in my bones.

“Shh, little rabbit. You’re safe now. I’ve got you, and I’m never letting you go again.”