9. Kye

Chapter 9

Kye

T he taste of iron in the back of my throat is the first thing I'm aware of. Blinding pain follows, spreading to my back and down my thigh. It takes everything I have not to scream out in pain, but some instinct warns me to keep quiet. I'm not sure where I am, and as my eyes adjust to the darkened space, it doesn't offer any insight either.

The last thing I remember is bullets flying at us and hunters trying to take Apryle from me.

Panic surges through me as I try to sense her through our bond. It only intensifies further when I realize she's coming through muted.

Apryle, I say through our bond. Nothing. Apryle, are you there?

Kye, help me.

Her terrified voice reverberates through my mind and if I hadn't been lying down, it would have driven me to my knees.

Terror that my strong mate is in trouble has me tossing back the blankets covering my hips. I'm naked beneath, my junk hanging out, and there is a large piece of gauze wrapped around my thigh. A second spans my torso, disappearing behind my back. Did they undress me or did my wolf try to come out? I don't remember anything, and my only thought is reaching Apryle.

My body has other ideas.

As I swing my leg out of bed, pain ripples through my side, blinding me momentarily.

I clutch the edge of the mattress, the cold metal frame burning my hand. Son of a bitch. I don't have time to waste. My mate needs me. Pushing through the dizziness, I suck in air through my nose before I stand on my injured leg. The moment I put weight on it, it gives out.

I let out a yell of both pain and frustration as my body folds. I catch myself on the edge of the bed before I hit the floor.

I don't have time for this. She's in more danger with every second I waste. I try to reach her again through the bond, wanting to reassure her I'll be on my way just as soon as I can get to my feet.

She doesn't reply, and that scares the hell out of me. Especially when I can feel her fading. She's not dying, which is the only thing that stops me from freaking out. It's like she's going to sleep. Was she drugged? If they've harmed one hair on her head, I will destroy them. For simply daring to make her afraid, I might just kill them anyway.

Ignoring how much my body trembles, I straighten using the edge of the bed. Every inch of me hurts, but it is nothing compared to the rising panic of knowing my mate is out there alone.

The darkened room makes it hard for me to navigate, even with my wolf senses, but I follow a stream of light to a door.

I can sense my mate is close by, and my wolf growls, eager to have her back in our clutches. I have to ignore his demand for me to shift. I don't know what state Apryle is in, but I'm willing to bet I'll be more useful to her in my human form. Besides, I'm not entirely convinced I can shift right now.

As I open the door, my mind is a one-track song, the only word in it is "Apryle". There is no one on the other side, but the light is bright. The backs of my eyes burn as I try to get my bearings. There are desks scattered around the room, and high tables covered in equipment. It's some kind of lab.

Wrapping an arm around my middle, which is aching fiercely, I make my way across the room. I'm wheezing by the time I get to the other side. How am I going to protect us both when I'm like this?

I push through another door as I shove away my doubts, and as soon as it opens, I come face-to-face with a large man. I barely have time to react before he attacks. His fist lashes out, catching me in my injured side, making my vision wink out for a moment. Sheer desperation and the buzz of adrenaline gives me the strength to attack back. I grab him by the throat, and in a movement swift enough that he can't react, I snap his neck.

The weight of his boneless body nearly drags me to the floor, and I have to release my hold on him as he slumps.

He's a vargr, which surprises me. The Order recruits wolves to their cause, but vargr are just as hated as tau. Why would they be fighting for the Order?

Find our mate, my wolf growls in my head.

I bend over my arm, which I wrap around my middle as a wheeze escapes my mouth. All I want to do is lie down, but knowing Apryle is close by keeps me going. I can't connect with her again, and that scares the hell out of me.

I exit through another door, but this room is also empty. Still, my gaze is instantly drawn to a large window overlooking another room.

My heart clenches so tightly, I see stars for a moment. There is a gurney in the middle of the room, raised high up, and my mate is bound to it. Her arms and feet are captured in thick leather bands that come from under the mattress.

Her movements are sluggish and her eyes heavy. Anger builds inside me, threatening to flow over as a woman steps up to the bed in a white coat. I notice the syringe in her hand, and as a man steps into view, holding Apryle's shoulders down, white hot rage floods my veins like a tidal wave.

My pain and exhaustion are forgotten as I launch the nearest object I can find through the glass. It happens to be a fancy-looking fucking computer, but I don't care.

I expect screams of terror, but instead the woman glances up at me before she moves closer to Apryle's side.

She's not leaving this room alive.

Considering the state I'm in, it's a lofty threat, but it's something I intend to see through.

First I have to deal with the wolf snapping his teeth at me, though. He's not vargr, but he's not entirely wolf either. I'm not sure what he is, and I don't care.

He touched Apryle. He tried to hurt her, and for that he's going to suffer.

I'm filled with the strength of a thousand vargr wolves as I attack him. My mate's whimpers fuel the fire burning inside me as I land my first punch. It's a brutal hit, one that snaps his head to the side so hard his neck crunches. I don't give him time to respond as I slam my fist into his jaw again.

I'm getting the upper hand, fighting with everything I have, until a sharp pain explodes through my side. Agony spreads out through my chest and stomach and down my legs. I go down onto one knee, unable to bear my own weight any longer.

My attacker doesn't give me even a second of reprieve to try to defend myself. He hits me with a second charge, pain spreading through my body again as my vision blackens.

My wolf roars, and so do I, throwing my head back as my chest tightens so much that I can hardly breathe. I need to do something here and fast, or I'm going to lose this fight. It takes all of my strength, all of my discipline to block out the pain in my body, but I draw my fist back and slam it so hard into his chest, I feel his ribs and his sternum cave in beneath my touch. There is a satisfying moment when blood sprays out of his mouth and his eyes are filled with fear as bloodied spiderwebs spread through his irises.

I don't stop to see him drop to the ground as I stalk closer to the table and my mate. The female is scared. I can smell her fear even if her expression remains blank. I admire her bravery, but it won't save her.

I take a step toward my mate, and the female presses the needle against Apryle's throat. My feet come to a stuttering stop.

"Take another step and I'll end her."

I grind my molars together, envisaging her throat torn out. My wolf growls, peeling back his lips from his teeth and urging me to give him control. I resist the pull of the shift and instead lower my gaze to meet Apryle's. My heart clenches so tight I'm not sure how I don't suffocate on the spot. She's trying desperately to focus on me, but her glassy expression tells me she's struggling.

"Kye…" She whispers my name, and it feels as if she's cleaving my chest in two. The pain of my injuries pales in comparison to how I feel in this moment. I have never been so helpless, and I hate it.

There is no way in hell I am letting us die in this room or in this… place . It doesn't matter in this moment that I don't have a plan to save us. I'll figure it out somehow, but either way, Apryle and I are leaving together.

I'm getting us out of here, I tell her through our bond, sending waves of reassurance between us.

Drugged… The word reverberates through my mind, and with it my rage prepares to explode like a volcanic eruption.

I return my attention to the human in the lab coat, trying to figure out how I'm going to kill her. I wish I had time to dissect her piece by piece for what she has done, but I'll settle for a quick death. I need to get us both out of here.

"Nobody needs to die," the female says as if she's read my homicidal thoughts. There is a distinct tremble vibrating through her voice, and that makes me and my wolf happy. I hope her last moments are terrifying.

"I'd forget whatever notion you have of a peaceful resolution to this if I were you."

Her smile is thin at my threat, but it's not an empty one. "What makes you think you're going to have any say in what happens here? You're in my domain now, little wolf." She hisses those last words with so much savagery, but it's an act. I can smell her fear. She didn't expect to face off with a vargr, not like this, and the dead body behind us is messy enough to give her nightmares.

"She's not your creepy little science project. You let us leave and I won't destroy every member of your stupid little cult."

"Again, what makes you think you're in control? I have soldiers?—"

"Then where are they?" I interrupt. "If you have them, bring them here. I'm not afraid of your little robots." When no one bursts into the room, I snort. "We're leaving. Try to stop us and I'll rip your body apart until not even your mama can identify you."

Her chin lifts slightly to accommodate the way she swallows. "I can't let you do that. They'll be here soon."

"Who will?" I inch further around the edge of the bed, in movements small enough not to cause alarm, putting myself closer to the human. It's then I notice a little girl pressed against the wall. How the fuck did I not see her?

You're barely standing. Cut yourself some slack.

My vision chooses that moment to wobble, forcing me to blink to clear it. I'm running on pure adrenaline and fueled by my anger right now.

"You have no idea what she can do. Apryle is a rare jewel, you see, and that's why I can't let you leave with her. We were lucky that you crossed our path today. We weren't looking for you, but for another one of the children."

I have no idea what this crazy female is talking about, and I don't care. This ends now. Considering my size, I'm surprisingly fast as I round the bed and slam my hand around her throat. In a move I would never pull with any other woman, I force her down onto the ground, her small frame disappearing beneath my far larger one.

The panicked scream that tears out of her throat is not fake. I squeeze her neck, watching her eyes bulge as she realizes her life is about to end in this small, sterile room. Her fingers claw at my hands, trying to stop me from killing her, but I'm not losing my mate.

My wolf howls his excitement as our prey slackens her jaw and red lines spiderweb through her irises before the light vanishes from them.

Panting, my chest heaving, I sink back onto my heels. I don't feel remorse for ending her life. It was her or us, and I'll choose us every time. Slowly, mindful of my injuries, which are flaring up as my adrenaline fades, I climb back to my feet.

As I turn back to the bed, the little girl I hadn't seen as a threat is standing in front of Apryle, her hard gaze fixed on me. She looks truly pitiful, her skin tight across her emaciated bones, and yet she's facing me down as if she's planning to fight me.

"It's okay, Savannah," Apryle slurs the words a little. "He's friendly."

The little girl, Savannah apparently, pulls her gaze away from me to look at Apryle. "Who is he?"

Apryle's eyes meet mine, hers softening in a way they never have before, and the bond flares and pulses between us, warming every cell in my body.

"He's my mate."