18. Mai

Chapter eighteen

Mai

I charged down the corridor, the sound of my footsteps echoing in the empty space. There, to the right, sounds of snarling. I charged down another corridor, then burst into a room on the left.

The space had probably once been an office, but whoever was running this ripple lab had stripped it of everything apart from an overturned desk in front of the window. In the far corner, an old, stained mattress lay on the ground, surrounded by a few tattered rags. It was the scene in the center of the room that held my attention, though. Jase had his back to the mattress and was fending off a huge brown wolf. The wolf had its jaws around Jase' arm, tearing into his flesh. Blood was scattered across the dusty floor, where Jase had tried to shake the wolf off. Jase kicked out, hitting the wolf in its chest. The wolf's grip broke, but in that split second I saw it readying itself to launch at Jase's neck.

I sprinted forward, desperate to help, but already knew the distance was too far. I was never going to reach Jase in time. With a vicious snarl, the wolf opened its jaws and lunged .

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light filled the room. The wolf yelped in pain, its body thrown against the wall.

What the hell?

I turned, my eyes wide with shock, to see a frail teenage girl huddled in the corner. Her hands were outstretched, trembling with the effort of the magic she had just unleashed.

The girl couldn't have been more than sixteen. Her face was gaunt, and she had drab, dirty blonde hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in months. Her thin body was covered in bruises, and to be honest, I was surprised she was standing; she seemed so weak. Yet in that moment, she had found the strength to save Jase's life. As the light in the room faded, the girl's eyes fluttered closed, and she collapsed to the ground, her energy spent.

I rushed to Jase's side, my hands shaking as I assessed his injuries. His arm was torn up, and he was losing a lot of blood. He was barely conscious, his breathing shallow and labored.

"Jase?"

"The girl," he whispered, his voice hoarse with pain. "Don't...don't hurt her."

"The witch, you mean?" He knew witches weren't supposed to be here, knew it was a death sentence to practice magic in the north. If Talia found her, she'd kill her on the spot.

"Please, Mai."

I nodded. "I won't, Jase. I promise. Just hold on, okay? Hold on."

I pulled on the Pack bonds, not sure what to do, just knowing that I needed to take his pain away. My hands suddenly felt hot. Like I'd stuck them in the oven hot. I stared at them for a moment, wondering what to do .

Put hands on the pup, my wolf nudged me.

Right.

I lay my hands over Jase's wound. He gasped, then his face smoothed out, his eyes closed, and his body went limp in my arms.

Damn it. Was that supposed to happen?

Mason ran into the room, his eyes taking it all in at a glance.

"You hurt?"

"No. It's Jase."

Mason strode forward to help me stem the blood still pouring out of Jase's forearm. These awesome Alpha powers didn't seem to extend to actually healing people. I'd have liked to have a word with whoever made that deal with one of the Goddesses.

"Who's the girl?" Mason asked as he put pressure on Jase's wound.

"A witch. One that saved Jase."

Mason raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Do you think you can get Jase and the girl to Thomas's? Without Talia seeing you?"

He scoffed, a smile playing on his lips. "You insult me, Mai. Of course I can. Where is the head honcho, anyway?"

That was a good question. Talia was supposed to be watching Jase's back. I hoped she wasn't dead somewhere. We'd have a hell of a time explaining that to the Wolf Council.

"Get them to Thomas's. I'll search for Talia," I said, standing up, and with one last glance at Jase and the girl, ran out the room.

The faint scent of Talia—jasmine petals and coconut—guided me back along the corridor, turning left at a junction, up a set of stairs and into a side room. This room hadn't been cleared out. Three computers sat on a long, sturdy desk at the front of the room. Papers were strewn all over the floor, and Talia was decidedly not dead. She was stooped over one of the computers, her fingers flying over the keyboard, a flash drive plugged into it.

"What the actual fuck are you doing?"

She didn't flinch, her eyes glued to the screen. "Getting what I came for," she responded coolly.

Fury punched into me. This was never about shutting down the lab. Whatever Talia was here for was on that computer.

"The whole mission was a setup?" My voice was cold. "You used us as a distraction?"

Talia finally looked up, meeting my gaze unflinchingly. "Yes. This information is vital. It's bigger than just shutting down one lab."

I clenched my fists, trying to contain the rage boiling inside me. "And Jase? You were his team. It was your job to watch his back!"

"He was a means to an end," she stated flatly. "Sometimes sacrifices are necessary."

"Sacrifices?" My voice cracked with emotion. "He's a kid, Talia. He's a member of my Pack."

She unplugged the flash drive and pocketed it. "Mai Parker, you need to learn to see the bigger picture if you want to be a good Alpha. Ripple is a threat to all Shifters. What I've found here could lead us to the source. It could identify the witches that are involved in this."

I stepped closer, my wolf snarling inside me. "I don't give a fuck about your bigger picture. You put one of my Pack in danger. I want you out of Three Rivers. Now."

Talia sighed, her expression unyielding. "You're being short-sighted. This isn't about one werewolf or one Pack. Ripple is destroying our entire community. The ends justify the means, no matter how harsh it may seem at the time."

I shook my head, disgust and anger mixing in a turbulent storm. "Whoever taught you that really fucked with your head, Talia. I don't operate that way. And I won't start now. Leave."

For a moment, we stood there, Talia frowning at me, a look of disappointment etched into her face. Me, I was trying not to rip her head off. Then, with a curt nod, Talia brushed past me and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.