Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

WRAITH

B lood sprays.

Bones crunch.

Screams echo.

My fists pound flesh.

Teeth rip throats.

Boots crush skulls.

More soldiers swarm.

An endless tide of white uniforms and black weapons.

I roar.

The sound rips from my ruined throat.

Raw.

Primal.

They fear me.

Good.

They should.

Gunfire erupts.

Bullets ping off my body armor.

Some find flesh.

I don't care.

Pain is nothing.

An old friend.

I charge forward.

Bodies fly.

Limbs snap.

I have to reach her.

Ivy.

My omega.

My mate.

They took her.

They touched her.

They'll pay.

A soldier swings a shock baton.

Electricity crackles.

I grab his arm.

Twist.

Bone shatters.

His scream cuts off as I slam him into tree trunk.

Once.

Twice .

He goes limp.

Toss him aside.

More come.

Always more.

Flashing red tracer darts hang from me.

Vision blurs.

Red.

Everything's red.

Hands grab at me.

Shake them off.

Teeth gnashing.

Muscles straining.

I push forward.

One step.

Another.

Bullet finds a gap in my armor.

Fire blooms in my side.

Doesn't matter.

Keep moving.

Grappling hooks bite into flesh.

Chains coil like snakes.

Cold.

Hard.

Unyielding.

Chain around neck yanks head forward.

Fall to my knees.

Chains trap me in place.

Arms pinned to my sides.

Muscles coil.

Rage boils.

A feral storm trapped inside skin and bone.

Helpless.

Weak.

Pathetic.

Captured like a rabid dog.

Barbed needles with red feathers hang off me.

Sedatives already working.

But Ivy's scent is on the wind.

She is afraid.

She is fighting.

She is alive.

Can still be saved.

I will not sleep. Not yet.

Soldiers circle.

Faces twisted in disgust.

Eyes wide with fear and fascination.

Repulsed yet unable to look away.

One approaches, device in hand.

He grimaces, holding it up like a gun.

Bar of blue light flashes over my face.

Scans my ruined features.

Device chirps.

Soldier flinches back.

"It says this is asset number 0663."

"The one that destroyed the Vytoskyk lab?"

"Fuck. There is a warrant out for it."

"Think it might have a bounty?"

Laughter. Cruel. Mocking.

Soldier stands too close.

Lunge. Sharp teeth gnashing.

Tear hand from limb.

Blood pours down my ruined throat.

Soldier screams. Wails. Howls.

Other soldier strikes me in head with baton.

World spins.

Boot slams into my ribs.

Pain explodes.

Air rushes out.

Can't breathe.

Another kick.

And another.

"Muzzle it before it bites someone's throat out."

Hands grab.

Struggle.

Snarl.

Gnash sharp teeth.

Miss by inches.

Cold metal cage closes around jaw.

Locks tight .

Can't bite.

Can't protect.

Useless.

Boot to my back knocks me forward.

Click. Flash. Cameras.

Soldiers posing.

Grinning.

Hunters with their trophy.

They look sick when they look at me.

Repulsed.

Green.

"Wait until the boys back home see this ugly fucker."

"It's even worse up close."

"How is it fucking alive?"

Exist.

Shouldn't.

Mistake.

Abomination.

Monster.

One soldier leans in.

Young. Handsome. Perfect flat smooth teeth flash as he grins.

"You excited to go home, freak? Bet you missed all those tests and experiments. Not like anyone else would have a reason to want to touch you."

No. No. NO.

Ivy is home.

Only Ivy.

Can never go back there.

Not again.

Never again.

Heart pounds.

Blood roars.

Vision blurs red.

Strain against chains.

Metal creaks.

Skin tears.

Blood trickles.

Not enough. Too weak.

"Whoa, it's pissed," a soldier says.

"Think it understands us?"

"Nah. That isn't something that thinks."

Another soldier. Older. Slight smirk. Dead eyes.

"We should dissect it here. See what makes it tick."

My breath comes too sharp, too fast.

Find myself not wishing for death.

Not wishing for bullet's mercy.

Let them take me.

Let them do what they want with me.

Because as long as they take me alive …

I can save Ivy.

Muscles uncoil.

Breath whooshes out.

Force myself to stay calm.

To stay docile.

"Brass said over the comms it needs to be intact."

That one sounds disappointed.

Wants to slice me open right here.

Maybe they all do.

"What do you think they'll do with it at the lab?"

That one sounds worried. Must be young.

"Who cares? It's not human."

Soldiers chatter.

Words blur.

Meaningless.

Until...

Shouts in the distance. Snarls. Screams.

"Stop!"

"Take the asset alive!"

"Tranq him!"

Valek's voice above the din. "Get your filthy hands off me!"

Asset?

Valek is like me?

Valek is a brother?

More yelling. Thuds of fists on flesh and bone.

Then silence.

Soldiers start calming down.

"Good day's work, boys. A full train of cargo we did not even have to derail ourselves, and it even came with two rogue assets and a pretty little omega."

High-fives.

Whoops.

Fist bumps.

"Maybe we'll get to fuck her," a soldier jeers.

Blood runs cold.

How dare they speak of her like that?

Want to rip.

Tear.

Destroy.

But no.

Stay still. Stay calm.

Survive. For her.

"Load them up! We're moving out."

"Where are we taking them?"

"The Tsarvychk lab just over the border."

"We'll hold the omega bitch there for processing."

Ivy .

How fucking dare they call her that .

Muscles tense.

But I stay still.

Stay calm.

Survive.

For her.

Chains tug.

World tilts.

Tossed into darkness.

Metal floor. Cold. Hard.

Engine rumbles.

Fans roar.

Moving.

Heading to hell.

But Ivy will be there.

And I will save her.

Nothing else matters.