Chapter 111

Killian’s friends were… interesting? Was interesting the right word to describe Lane Stevens and Beau Mason? I wasn’t sure there were any good words to describe Lane and Beau. Killian had kept introductions incredibly short, leaving a lot of unanswered questions.

And it was clear as we drove down the path away from the pack house that he wasn’t happy to have Lane following us home. The line to leave was long—Maeve in front of us, Lane and Nolan behind us—giving us an uncomfortable amount of time alone together. His knuckles strained as he gripped the wheel of my car.

“Do you trust him?” I asked, desperate to fill the tense silence between us.

“With my life,” Killian replied without hesitation.

“But you don’t trust him with my life?” I frowned.

“Baby girl, I don’t fucking trust anyone but me with your life,” he stated. Well, that couldn’t be true.

“Declan?”

“Too passive.”

“Lucas?”

“Too impulsive?”

“Sam?”

“Let’s just assume no for all my brothers,” he said.

“Even Nolan?” I demanded.

“Especially Nolan,” he scoffed. “I love the kid to death, but he needs protecting just as much as you do.”

“Your mom?” I tried. There had to be someone.

“Considering I learned just how unhinged she can be, absolutely not,” Killian told me. “She’d probably get the two of you arrested, and I can’t protect you in jail, princess.”

“Killian!”

“Genevieve.” He glanced over at me, and I just knew this would be a stupid argument if we went at it. It was pointless.

Ahead of us, Maeve’s car drove through the barrier. Rapid gunfire and a loud pop exploded in the air as her tire blew. The car swerved. It rolled, landing hard on its roof, and skidded along the ditch.

Maeve!

Killian slammed on the brakes, throwing my car into park. He was out before I had the chance to understand what happened.

“Mom!” he shouted.

My heart jammed in my throat as he ran straight through the barrier. He ducked as he ran, an arm thrown up over his head. Dirt exploded in a trail that followed him as he rushed to Maeve’s car. I hurried out of the car, hovering at the barrier and feeling completely useless. What good was I against a gun?

I heard the chaos around me, but my head swam too much to focus on it.

Gunfire.

Shouting.

Something more I couldn’t make out.

It was all too much.

“Lane!” Killian screamed. He dropped to the ground on his stomach and inched as close to the broken window as he could. Through it, I saw Maeve grab his hand.

Oh, thank God she was alive and moving.

That did nothing for how my heart thundered in my chest. Another spray of gunfire came dangerously close to hitting my husband. He scrambled closer to the car for protection.

“Lane!” Killian hollered. “I need your fucking help!”

“Step aside, love,” Lane ordered and grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the barrier. I chanced a glance up at him and stumbled back. His eyes swam with complete darkness, and his veins pulsated black.

I’d never seen anything like him but the power…

Power vibrated off his body, making my stomach roll.

“Oh,” I whispered.

“Don’t cross the fucking barrier, and don’t let anyone else do so,” he growled. I nodded stupidly because what else was I going to do? Without a word, he strode right through the barrier and lifted his hands.

Black ink slithered through the dirt in rampant trails, gathering quickly around him until a wall of darkness appeared. It sliced the road in half. Bullets pinged off it but never reached Killian.

“Quicker, wolf boy!” Lane ordered. “I can hold off bullets, but if she tries—”

“I know!” Killian snapped. “Come on, come on, come on.”

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t think straight.

My whole body ached with a need to do… something. Though, there wasn’t a single thing I could do. So, I watched.

I watched uselessly as Killian helped Maeve wiggle and slide out of the car. Glass cuts decorated her skin, but she was otherwise mobile and angry. The look on her face was downright murderous while Killian yanked her back behind the house barrier with him.

“Get back to the house,” Killian told us gruffly.

“Don’t you dare go back out there,” Maeve said.

“I have to!”

“You don’t!” she yelled back at him. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“I’m not fucking arguing this with you,” he snarled. “Get your asses back in the house. All of you! It’s not fucking safe out here!”

“You can’t—” Grabbing a fistful of my sweater, Killian dragged me against him, his mouth claiming mine roughly. The drag of his teeth, the demand of his tongue, the smell of vanilla. It all overwhelmed me.

And as quickly as it started, he pulled away.

“I love you,” he whispered. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

What did that mean?

“Killian.” My eyes widened. I reached for him, but he stepped away. “Please, Killian!”

But he was gone, moving beyond the barrier.

“Killian!” I yelled after him, desperate for him to hear me.