7. Kye

Chapter 7

Kye

I wrap my body around Apryle, holding her tight against my chest as bullets ping off the metalwork of the car we are hiding behind.

Apryle clings to me, making herself small as the firing continues. The only thought I have in this moment is to keep her safe. I don't know how many hunters are here, and the fact I cannot scent them puts me on edge.

Is it a spell, or are these soldiers not wolves?

Before, I wouldn't care if I lived or died. I lost everything, which made it all meaningless.

Now that has changed.

The death of a mate can unravel the mind of the survivor. I owe it to her to stay breathing, even if she does not feel the same about me.

Lifting my head slightly, I glance around the street, trying to find somewhere safer for us to hide. We are sitting ducks here.

"Can you use your magic to get us out of here?"

In the time I've been around hybrids, I have learned that everybody's power is different. I hope Apryle has something useful in her arsenal.

Of course, she misunderstands what I mean and gets tetchy with me.

"Do you think I can just snap my fingers and we'll be transported to the other side of town?" Her words drip with sarcasm, and it would piss me off if it came from anyone else. Instead, my lips kick up at the corners, something that doesn't happen very often—if ever—these days. "This isn't a movie, Kye. I can't just teleport us away from danger."

"You done?" I drawl the words, which earns me a scowl.

"I'm not even close to being done," she fires back, her sassy tone making my cock strain in my pants. She must feel it against her, considering how tightly I have her pressed against my body. "Seriously? We are about to die and all you can think about is your… little wolf? "

I'm about to tell her there's nothing little about my wolf when a bullet shatters the window above our heads. Instinctively, I pull her against me, shielding her body as much as I can while glass rains down. Small shards nick any skin that is exposed, leaving little trails of pain that I ignore as I try to protect my mate. My wolf roars in my head and urges me to give him control.

Not yet. I need to get her to safety first.

"We need to move—now," I hiss as another bullet pings close to us. "If your magic can help, now is the time."

When she lifts her head, she is pale, though determined. "Get ready to run."

The smell of burning fills my nose as she closes her eyes, mumbling under her breath before she stands and unleashes her magic.

The firing stops and screams fill the air, bloodcurdling noises that should make my stomach fill with ice, but all I feel is relief that we have a chance to survive.

Apryle's hand reaches down, gripping mine, and I come to my feet quickly. I trust her magic will hold our enemies at bay long enough for us to get somewhere safe.

I pull us into the closest store, ignoring the patrons ducked down behind counters and tables. It should concern me that the Order doesn't care about humans seeing our fights happening. It doesn't. Those assholes have been getting bolder with every attack. More desperate.

As Apryle loses eye contact with the hunters, the shooting resumes, and I have to pull her in front of me to stop her small body from getting hit by roving bullets.

There's a kid wearing a uniform crouched down at the edge of the counter, his eyes wild with fear as he takes us in. "Is there another exit?" I ask, maneuvering us so we are out of range of the shooting.

The kid stares at me as if I'm the one with the gun before he points a shaky finger toward the door at the back of the room.

"Everyone keep low and stay hidden. They won't hurt you."

My adrenaline is pumped as we move through the building, down a small, narrow corridor to a fire door. The urge to slam through it at speed almost takes over, but I exercise caution as I slowly open it and peer out through the small gap. I get a glimpse of dumpsters to one side, and as I open it wider, I spot a couple of cars parked up behind the chain-link fence surrounding the back of the store.

Sniffing, I don't smell anything that gives me concern, though that doesn't calm me. I didn't smell the hunters that attacked us either. I would love to know how they mask themselves so well. It would be a hell of a gift in this fight.

My back twinges as I pull my mate behind me and rush out into the sunshine that seems so at odds with the battle we're facing.

"We need to contact the others," Apryle says, stumbling to keep up with my pace.

I don't stop moving, though that twinge in my back is becoming more persistent.

"They know," I assure her.

There is no masking the sound of gunfire.

My steps falter as pain lances through my flank, almost stealing the air from my lungs. I grunt, surprised by the sharpness of it.

Fuck .

I lick the sweat off my top lip, forcing my feet to keep going. Our attackers are behind us somewhere, and Apryle isn't safe.

Keeping her close, I guide her toward the back of the yard and through the gate that opens out onto the street. There's a thick, heavy chain wrapped around the locking mechanism, and my stomach sinks.

I release her hand to grab it, trying to tear the padlock apart with my bare hands, but nothing happens. "Shit."

"Let me try."

She steps in front of me, her fingers brushing over the chain, before she closes her eyes and murmurs something under her breath.

I smell the magic, feel the pressure of it in the air before the lock clicks open. Apryle's pleasure flitters through the bond.

"Sometimes it's too easy," she murmurs and a moment before my vision wobbles, her brows come together. "Kye?"

The weight of my body is suddenly too much, and my knees give out. I try to grab the fence while Apryle reaches for me, but she's half my size and I drag us both down.

"What's wrong?" She sounds panicked.

"My back." I grind out the words between clenched teeth as her hands roam under my shirt.

The guttural groan that escapes me as she lifts the material to examine me is uncontrollable.

"Shit. You're bleeding." I realize her hand is smeared with blood.

My energy is depleting fast, and I can hear gunshots getting closer. Her panic filters through the bond. Usually, she tries to hide her feelings from me, but she's not holding back now.

Blowing out a breath, I force my body to move.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? We need to patch up your wound."

She comes up with me, gripping my biceps as I wobble. Everything sways around me and melts together before sharpening again. "There's no time."

I tear the gate open and shove her through it as the door behind us opens. Bullets start flying again, and I wrap myself around my mate as I maneuver us behind the wall of the adjacent business.

Apryle fights my hold, trying to take care of me, but I'm stronger, even with my energy depleting rapidly. There is no fucking way I'm letting her go while bullets are raining down around us.

We need to keep moving, but I don't think I can. The pain in my back is stealing my breath, making it hard to draw air into my lungs.

Apryle curls around me, as if trying to shield me with her small body, and I like the way that makes me feel. She tries to be cold toward me, but there is a part of her that is in this as deep as I am.

I'm about to drag her along the wall when a figure rounds the corner into our hiding place. His gun raises and my wolf tries to seize control, but my body is too hurt to shift.

I prepare to attack, but before I can do anything, Apryle blasts power in his direction, almost taking him to his knees as she defends us both.

The pain in my back is spreading at an alarming rate, making it hard for me to breathe. Every inhalation feels tight and wrong.

A second hunter appears to my left, and once again I'm looking down the barrel of a gun. I bare my teeth, peeling back my lips to snarl at him. In response, I get a smirk.

He can't be more than twenty, with floppy hair and angry-looking scars covering his neck. I feel a hint of satisfaction as I realize those wounds were made by a wolf. I can't scent him, but the tinge of magic clings to him, masking whatever he is.

"Stop attacking, or I'll put a bullet in your dog." He presses the gun against my temple hard enough to leave a bruise.

Son of a bitch.

Apryle's terror spreads through our bond even though her expression remains unreadable. I admire her strength, and I send her reassuring thoughts.

Raising her chin, her teeth gritted, she lets her power die down as her eyes lock on the gun pressed against my head. Then her beautiful irises find mine.

It's going to be okay, I tell her through the bond.

It's a lie, and we both know it. We are supremely fucked right now. Where the fuck are Callum and the others?

You're a terrible liar, she responds. I don't know why, but it eases some of the growing tension inside me.

It doesn't solve the problem, though, and the gun digging into my temple is insistent to the point of pain.

"Walk away while you can," Apryle threatens. Her eyes are dark, menace in every word, and I've never been more aroused.

The hunters laugh, the one pointing his gun at me looking at his friend. "These fucking tau bitches."

"You have no idea how much of a bitch I am," she threatens, and he just presses the gun further.

"Keep talking and I'll smear his brains across the asphalt."

While they're both focused on Apryle, I attack. I grab the gun by the muzzle, twisting it away as a shot breezes past me.

Apryle's screams will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my days, but I can't focus on her right now. I can sense through the bond that she's unhurt and I can smell her magic as she unleashes it on the other attacker.

Trusting that she'll take care of her side of things, I slam my palm under my attacker's nose, enjoying the blood that spews from it. The coppery scent fills the air, and my wolf howls his approval.

I'm going to enjoy killing both of these assholes, but we have to do it quickly. There is no telling how many hunters are with them, and I'm fading fast. We have to get somewhere more secure before they catch up with us.

The hunter I'm fighting doesn't give in easily. We both know this is a deathmatch and only one of us is walking away, which will be me. I'm not dying at his hands.

He comes at me with everything he has, but without his gun, he is not a fighter. I get him to his knees, but before I can take him out, he slams the fist into my side, just where my wound is.

I let out a roar as pain spreads through every inch of my body. I can barely breathe, the wind is sucked out of my lungs as I stagger and drop to one knee. Spots dance in front of my eyes, and I try to blink them away quickly so I can get back on my feet.

The crack of the gun fills the air before the pain registers in my shoulder. I don't think that was what he was aiming at, but I don't miss the tremble in his hands as he tries to keep control of the weapon.

I slide onto my back, the sky filling my vision as I hit the ground. Everything swirls around me as my pain blossoms through my shoulder savagely.

Apryle screams, and I can sense her through our bond, trying to comfort me, demanding I hold on, but I can't answer her. My brain feels slow and sluggish, and all I can hear are my labored breaths in my ears.

I try to find my mate among all the chaos. She fights and comes to my side, dropping to her knees. "Kye, hold on, okay? Please just keep breathing."

She's worried about me, and if I wasn't in so much pain, I'd call her out on it, but the darkness is creeping in at the edges of my vision.

I blink to clear it, my gut twisting as I notice thick metal bracelets wrapped around both of her wrists. I've seen them used before and it enrages my wolf and me. They are to subjugate those with magic—tau and witches. They deliver an electric charge to whoever is wearing them any time they try to use magic, like a shock collar used on dogs. The fact these fuckers think we're nothing more than animals pisses me off.

Clearly, Apryle has never come across these, because she tries to use her magic before I can warn her. She goes rigid before she drops forward onto her hands, her body convulsing as pain spears through the bond.

Fucking asshole. I memorize his face so I can find him again and tear his throat out.

"I'm going to kill you first for that," Apryle hisses even as she ducks her head. Despite her fire, she's suffering, and I urge my body to move, but I can't even manage a twitch of my limbs.

He steps up behind her, bending down so he can speak into her ear, and while he's looking at me, he says, "You won't even remember me when we're done with you, bitch."

"Don't worry, mutt," the one standing over me says, "you're coming too."

I can't do anything but watch as Apryle is dragged up to her feet with so much violence she cries out.

We'll get out of this, I promise her, even though it is not a promise I can keep.

I'm sorry for everything, Kye.

It's okay, I tell her.

And the last thought I have before my vision winks out completely is that I have to save my mate, no matter what it takes.