Chapter 41

FORTY-ONE

T he holding-room door opened and Emma stumbled inside, tears streaking her cheeks. Still chained to the chair, Lucas’s cat about broke through his skin.

“Did he hurt you?” the words sounded barely human.

She shook her head and knelt in front of him. “He showed me what he’s done. It’s horrible, Lucas. Someone has to stop him.”

“We will,” he said, fighting the bindings.

She shook her head again. “He destroyed the crystal. Without it?—”

Lucas jerked forward in the chair, tipping it forward to get closer to her. “No,” he replied. “What we share doesn’t depend on a rock shard, my mate. It comes from within us. It comes from our love. You have to let go of your scientific mind and trust your heart. Can you do that, Emma?”

Before Emma could answer, the sound of the door opening sharply interrupted them. Zayne and Victor appeared, both with expressions set in grim determination. Behind them, a squad of pride enforcers poured into the room, weapons raised. The heavy thud of boots on concrete reverberated throughout the hallway.

“Get them out of here!” Zayne shouted, his voice a low growl as he advanced toward Emma and Lucas.

Victor’s voice rang out above the noise. “We’ll cover you! Get them to safety!”

Emma’s heart leaped into her throat. This was it—the moment of reckoning. The pride’s survival rested on what happened in the next few moments. She turned to Lucas, who met her gaze with an intensity that matched her own. There was no fear, only determination.

“I’m getting you out of here,” he muttered under his breath.

The linked chain around his body didn’t stand a chance. With a primal snarl, Lucas’s form rippled as his panther side surged forward, his muscles rippling and elongating in a seamless transformation.

Within moments, he was a sleek, powerful panther, his sharp claws raking against the steel of his restraints. The metal snapped like a twig under the force of his strength, and Emma watched in awe as Lucas, now in full panther form, made short work of his bindings.

“Let’s go,” Victor said, heading toward the door.

Emma hesitated. She pushed herself to her feet. “No,” she replied, Lucas stopped in his tracks. Surely she didn’t want to take readings now? But that would be his mate’s MO.

“We have to stop Malcolm from experimenting further,” she said, determination strong in her voice. “We need to end this now. You didn’t see what he’s done to pride members. Not only is he limiting reproduction. He’s experimenting with genetic material to grow his own creations. I can’t let that continue.”

Damn, it. She was right. But did she have to be the one to do it?

“And I’m the only one who can do it,” she added.

Lucas could only sigh. He swung his head from her toward the door, telling her to go. He would be behind her every step of the way.

“We’ve got your back, Alpha,” Zayne said, “Let’s put an end to this bastard.”

As they stepped into the hallway, a siren shrieked overhead and the lights dimmed to emergency level. Let the games begin.

Through the hall, Lucas ran beside his mate and sniffed the air for any oncoming enemy. He had no idea where they were going, but he would let nothing harm her. Behind them, his group of enforcers followed. Zayne and Victor hollering out orders.

“Here,” she said stopping at a heavy, reinforced door. “Damn, he used a code to open this.”

Lucas pushed against her legs, moving her to the side. Then with a short running start, he launched his body onto the door, causing a ground-shaking crash that would wake the dead.

“Well,” Zayne said, “so much for panther stealth.”