57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

J ax watched the vehicles drive out of the gates, and several Hunters came out to hide in strategic points around the base wall. Beyond the open gates, more Hunters loaded onto their vehicles.

They wouldn't leave the base unmanned—that much was a given. But fighting even half those bastards was better than the whole army. He only hoped the others were ready. His gaze remained on the Hunters still loading into the cars. The morning sun shone brightly without any hint of a cloud in the sky. There was nothing to hide behind, no darkness to cover him.

The second he made his move, he needed to be ready to get attacked.

‘They'll lead the Hunters as far away from the base as possible before they attack,' Dylan said.

His Beta, his brother, stood beside him, bloody from the bait they set when they attacked the Hunter families. He could sense Dylan's eagerness to attack the base even though he stood perfectly still. It wasn't their first time fighting side by side. He and Dylan went through everything together from when they were pups. There was no one else he would rather have to watch his back.

But they were still significantly outnumbered, and the Hunters made themselves more indestructible.

‘You should stay here,' he tried again.

‘You know they'll be coming up here the second they realise what's happening. Just do what you need to do, Jax. I have your back.'

And so, too, did the other wolves standing quietly in the woods behind him.

The last car loaded, and he crouched to prepare himself. The guards at both gates stood on either side, focusing on the last vehicles leaving.

‘Since they have access to magic, keep your eyes open. Don't touch anything you don't have to,' he said as his final advice.

Would he still have a friend at the end of it all? It was hard to say, but even that wasn't enough to bring him to say any goodbyes. They were warriors—dying on the battlefield for their pack was an honour.

The moment the last car started going through the inner gate, he launched forward and shifted in the air. The speed he'd gained with his mating became his first advantage as he closed half the distance to the gate before one of the Hunters shouted a warning. But it was already too late.

The first guard at the gate only half turned towards him when his jaws snapped around his neck. The second guard only managed to point his weapon before he got him. As he suspected, the Hunters hiding along the wall left their posts and ran towards the open gate to defend their friends and territory.

He slipped past the first gate, and a wave of darkness washed over him—dark magic. There was no mistaking it. It rippled over his fur without slowing him down, but the other wolves would feel it.

"Shut the gat—"

The third guard never stood a chance. The fourth was fumbling with his weapon, pulling the pump back as if it was jammed. He didn't doubt these four men were trained properly, even if they were not part of the hunting parties.

But they were not prepared.

He dispatched the fourth guard and shoved the gate hard off its hinges before the occupants of the truck that stopped in front of the main gates got out of their car and aimed. Cain took cover behind their wall with a shield of their armoured vehicles on his other side.

'Dylan, abort! There's a ward at the gate.'

No answer.

Shots fired, hitting the ruined gate in front of him and forcing him to retreat. There was no telling what the bullets were made of.

'Dylan!'

'He won't hear us. It's the magic,' Cain growled.

Of course. That had to be the reason everyone the Hunters took hadn't been able to link them.

Diedre was the only one he knew who could put wards up without potions and talismans. That meant there was something next to the gates or inside the walls, and the only way to get to them was back through the Hunters who came back through the gates.

He stood and looked over the vehicles. The base was much larger than he saw going around the perimeter. And Layla was somewhere in there. Her scent was stronger. He took a deep breath and felt relief flood his body when their bond snapped back in place. He could sense exactly where she was. Exactly what she was feeling.

She was alive, but she was in pain.

The rage he'd sunk in took over as his mate beckoned him. Shots sounded again, forcing him to duck again. But the shots didn't hit the gate. They aimed at the other side, at Dylan, Chase and the others. It wouldn't be long until the other Hunters knew they had been played and turned back around. His wolves would be sandwiched.

He looked back at the vast building that looked like multiple warehouses on top of each other. There were more than half the Hunters left inside. Their plan hadn't done much except give him a way in. Which meant all those fuckers knew he was there and would try to keep him from Layla. He needed his people. He needed Dylan. He needed to find the talismans.

Most of the Hunters had their backs to him when he ran past the broken gate and rammed through them like a bull chasing a red flag. When he fought this new breed of Hunters at his hotel, he was partially shifted, only fighting at half strength. But they still felt like steel poles when he shoved them when they dug their heels into the ground. The Hunters turned back on him, but he was too close for them to fire on him. Some of them threw their weapons aside and squared up to him, surrounding him.

Like before, he noticed their eyes first. Dead. They were just soldiers following orders and nothing else. One threw a punch on the side of his head that whipped his head to the side and surprised him.

That was one hell of a punch. It would have knocked anyone else out. The pain rang through his ears but cleared quickly, thanks to Layla's nature. He didn't give them another chance. His jaws snapped, and his teeth sunk into any limb that came too close to him. How dare they think they could take his mate and get away with it. Limb by limb, he went through them, splashing their wall and the ground with their blood. The thirst he left unquenched in the town became only partially sated when the last Hunter lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

He lifted his head to look across the open gate with blood all over his fur and dripping from his mouth. Dylan and Chase came out from behind the cover of the trees, still in their human form.

Right. The talismans.

He expected the Hunters left inside the warehouse to come out and fight him, but they didn't budge. It was as if they were waiting for him to enter their den.

He lowered his head and sniffed, following the pungent scent of dark magic along the wall. If they survived, he would find the witch who did this and rip them apart with his bare hands.

Finding the spelled ornaments on either side of the pillars didn't take long. Fucking gnomes again. He knocked them over and smashed them with his paw, and the overbearing scent immediately dissipated.

‘—the fuck is going on? Can you hear me?'

Dylan's voice sounded loud in his head as the wolves inched closer.

‘I can, now. They're waiting inside.'

He didn't give them another warning before he turned and followed his nose. It was time. Even if the rest of the Hunters returned, they would not stop him from bathing in their blood.

Layla's scent led him to the back of the building. The very place where the Hunters were gathered. Not just the Hunters; it was everyone. The scent of wolf mingled with the putrid smell of the Hunters, the weak heartbeats among strong ones.

And fear. So much fear that he started to salivate.

‘There's no door. No windows, either,' Dylan mind-linked.

He looked back to see his people, several packs working together as they followed him, probably to their deaths.

‘Makes sense since it's a fucking prison.'

It took a while to find a door. It was small and set on a lower level with stairs leading down to it. He quickly shifted back to his human form and rushed down the narrow steps. The door was a little rusty, but it still took a few tries for him to knock it down. It fell with a loud thud, opening a dusty room with flickering dim lights.

‘A basement,' Dylan said as he walked in behind him.

It was a forgotten room, that much was certain. Layers of dust covered stacked chairs and tables on one side and fuse boxes on the other. He stared at them for a moment before looking at Chase and Dylan. Both of them nodded as if they had the same idea.

Dylan walked over to the fuse boxes and then, one by one, switched them off. The basement lights switched off, bathing everything in darkness. Hunters were good in the dark, but wolves were better.

"Stay behind me," he ordered.

He didn't shift again as he headed for the door. This part of the building was empty; there would be no surprises. But there would be a wall of Hunters to get through before he found Layla.

Her scent got stronger. Each step towards her mended parts of him, but he would not be whole until Layla was in his arms again.

"What the fuck is this place?" Chase whispered.

An open door revealed a hospital bed with silver straps on it. His traitorous head of security, Ambrose, had been right. They were experimenting on wolves, and they had been dying to get their hands on Layla. His heart started to race. His anger returned in full force as he pictured Layla strapped down on one of those. Had they cut her? Broken her bones?

What state would she be in when he finally had her in his arms?

Enough. Those fuckers would not touch Layla again.

He jogged down the empty hallways with only one thought on his mind.

He'd kill them. He'd kill all of them.

For every drop of blood she lost, every bruise and blow she suffered, they would endure a million times worse.

It felt like forever when the air shifted, and he finally forced himself to slow down. When he turned into another hallway, it was full of Hunters. They were waiting for him. They stood in formation, three Hunters in a row, hands behind their backs and looking straight ahead. And they were the only thing between him and his mate.

‘Jax? Is that you? Have they captured you, too?'

He almost fell to his knees. Layla... Hearing her voice again was a balm on his soul.

‘I'm coming. Wait for me, baby.'

Even in the mindlink, he couldn't stop his voice from trembling.

‘No! Stay where you are. If you move, they're going to kill everyone!'