“Yes.”

  Riker glanced from one to the other. “How the fuck is Sedona first family?”

  “Her birth was manufactured, her father from one of the first two families created.” In my mind, the devil must be laughing his ass off.

  “Well, fuck,” he said. “That must piss her off.”

  I had to chuckle although every muscle was tense. “You have no idea how much. Birth rates are down. You’ve already been told that.”

  “Not with humans and wolves. They’re flourishing.” Eliza was putting the dots together.

  “Exactly. We’re the ones now facing extinction. At least of our attributes and ability to shift. As well as our ability to stave off human diseases. They are increasing exponentially.” That much I’d learned from Marla. Her data was some of the most complete I’d ever seen.

  “We can’t allow that to happen, brother.” Riker gave me a nod, a concerned look on his face.

  “Jeremiah is close. I can feel him. I can smell him.” And I could. My senses had gotten stronger even over the last twenty-four hours. It had to do with being in close proximity to my mate. I was certain of it. That was another reason my wolf would not be denied for much longer. “Riker, rally the packs that have come into the area. We’re going hunting.”

  “What do you need me to do?” Eliza asked.

  “Have the Warton place surrounded but keep a slight distance. The entire area could be a lure and we’re not going to lose any men.” I was determined to end this tonight. The prequel to battle couldn’t go on any longer. Jeremiah was biding his time to continue building his army, sending us in different directions for small skirmishes. I headed to the back door, throwing it open. I needed to smell the night air.

  The moment I did, my wolf reared to the surface and there was little I could do to contain him.

  “What the fuck,” Riker snapped. “You’re shifting.”

  I spun around to face the group, my canine just starting to protrude from my gums. “The bastard is at the lab. We will protect my mate. We will destroy him.”

  Even if it meant I lost my life, she would be saved.

  While some of the wolves were driving cars, remaining in their human forms in case other more dangerous humans were in the vicinity, most of us had shifted. We were far more dangerous as wolves.

  I raced through the woods lengths ahead of the others, only Riker keeping a close distance. Marla’s lab was an old building she’d purchased on the outskirts of the land my family had owned years before. She’d taken her time renovating until it was exactly what she wanted. Blood, sweat, and tears had been involved. I’d helped her with some of the renovations. Many of us had.

  However, I’d never pieced together the full reason why she’d become so determined to maintain her scientific abilities when as a human, she was a highly respected surgeon.

  The man she’d fallen in love with had died of a disease few Wolfen had ever succumbed to, but it hadn’t been unheard of. I’d thought nothing of it other than his death had been a tragedy.

  I’d wasted time in following my belief that being fully humanized was the best way for our packs to continue growing.

  What a fool I’d been.

  Now I stood the chance of losing the one woman I’d ever truly cared about.

  And my big, bad wolf brain hadn’t allowed me to share with her the building love, the need that could withstand time.

  I wouldn’t be able to survive if I couldn’t save her. There was no going on without her.

  So I ran.

  Hard and fast, allowing the scents to carry me. They were everywhere, the disgusting odors of humans intent on restarting the group formed to annihilate us. There were also rogue wolves from our own kind.

  Dead men walking were also represented, their abilities to shift into werewolves yet to be secured. But soon they would be, and Cartersville would be filled with monsters capable of destroying all humanity.

  So I kept running.

  Pushing myself to the limit of what I could do. I constantly searched the forest, detecting several beasts close by. They were also closing in, just as determined to take what belonged to me.

  When a rogue wolf made the mistake of getting in my way, I was quick to act, easily ripping out his throat with my sharp canines. He was dead within seconds, the light vanquishing from his eyes nothing I could revel in. Why would some of the Wolfen be lured toward Jeremiah? That question might not be answered tonight, but I would find out everything I needed to know.

  As I neared the building, I waited as Riker and several others made their way toward me.

  Almost as soon as they did, we were ambushed by a destructive combination of beasts, humans, and wolves.

  The fighting was brutal, the bloodshed tainting the woods. Snarls and growls could be heard from every direction.

  But there were more. It was only a slight setback to their plan.

  As I raked my claws down the face of one human hybrid that would turn into a brutal monster, I was aware one of the pack members had rushed from his truck. In his hand was a machete. He brought it down without hesitation, destroying the concept the dead man would be reanimated.

  There were dozens more.

  But our people were ready, using a combination of axes and knives, machetes and other sharp instruments, tearing them apart limb from limb.

  Those in Wolfen form continued exterminating all those in our way, our human brothers following behind us to clean up the mess we’d started.

  The woods would be a killing zone in the morning, cleanup a bitch, but necessary to protect the way of life in Cartersville. This was our land, the hundreds of acres purchased by the Wolfen Corporation considered a safe haven.

  If not a burial ground.

  Townies believe we were building a new plant there.

  The truth was nowhere close; it would never be taken for commercial use.

  Tonight proved it.

  “We’re almost there, brother,” Chase said mentally as he finally joined the pack.

  “Not close enough,” I told him. I smelled their approach. It was only a matter of seconds before they would break into the building.

  Where the fuck was Jeremiah? His scent had been masked, the bastard disappearing as if he hadn’t come this far.

  But I knew better.

  He was primal blood too, his ancestors from the first werewolves created during the darkest of ages. We were destined for a tragic fight, one of us eliminated and he was biding his time.

  I stopped long enough to throw back my snout, issuing a battle cry, a howl for all other wolves to hear.

  The Alpha leader had arrived and he wouldn’t allow anyone who wasn’t with our pack to survive.

  The building was in sight, my senses even keener than before.

  “What now, brother? How do we approach?” Riker asked.

  “Full on. They were close. Have Eliza and the other pack members surround the building.”

  “What about our men?”

  “They’re already dead.”

  And they were, taken out minutes before. I’d felt their last breaths, had heard their cries. My senses had almost been fully restored. Right now, their deaths pained me more than almost anything.

  I approached the entrance slowly, taking several deep whiffs of the air around us. I still was unable to gather a whiff of Jeremiah, but I felt him. The fur on the back of my neck was standing, my large heart thumping erratically.

  Then I gathered a single read of his mind.

  He was already inside.

  There was no time to reflect, no time to be enraged. I charged the building.

  Sedona

  “They’re coming,” Daphne exclaimed from the other side of the room.

  “I don’t sense them,” Marla said, jerking up her head from the computer.

  “She’s primal family. Her senses are increasing rapidly,” I told them. “We have the gas. We can use that to protect ourselves.” Only I hoped that would be the case. We’d yet to test, certainly not on a live corpse. Oh, my God. I couldn’t believe I’d just thought that.

  But it was the truth.

  There was no denying who or what I was as I felt the approaching wolves as well. Dozens of them, including Jax. The ache in my heart was immediate. I longed for him.

  “It’s not ready yet,” Marla insisted.

  The heat was rising, the electricity in the room surging. “We don’t have time. Are there any gas masks?”

  Marla frowned. “Yes, a few. Not enough.”

  “Don’t worry. It will be enough.” I was praying a few would be. I had no sense of how the gas would work other than it had eliminated the cells altogether in the samples. But that could mean nothing if a live form didn’t succumb to the effects.

  All I could think about was Jax and my foolish behavior. I’d acted like a prima donna when he’d needed me as much as I’d needed him. He was close. So close.

  And enraged.

  As we scrambled, suddenly the back door burst open much like it had when the creature had returned to life, the hinges torn off.

  “No!” I screamed, already panicking as I added gas to one cylinder. My hands were shaking, but the ache in my heart continued to increase. The Wolfen were in danger, the members surrounded. I felt death. Hell, I smelled it in the air. How was that even possible?

  As four creatures entered the facility, I continued working. They surrounded us and, in my mind, there was no doubt they were highly intelligent beings. They were calculating and coordinating their attack. Daphne was struck first, tossed aside as if she was a ragdoll. Her screams of agony persisted, pushing me harder.

  The gas was in the cannister. A small win that might not matter. As the front door surged, bulging from someone hitting it, I tried to keep from crying out. I sensed Jax on the other side, his brothers with him.

  But was it too little, too late?

  Please, don’t allow him to be killed.

  I backed away as Marla tossed me a mask, putting one on and racing toward Daphne.

  All hell broke loose the second the front door caved in, huge black wolves flowing into the room. Fighting began, the man I believed to be Jeremiah concentrating on Jax.

  Blows were exchanged, blood immediately flying from claw marks.

  I continued backing away, barely able to get the mask on my face. I had no clue what I was doing, but there was no other choice if any of us wanted to live.

  With the mask and the chaos, there was no way I could communicate with Jax verbally. I had to believe that he could read my thoughts.

  “Jax. Get out. Leave Jeremiah and the others inside. Do it. Trust me.”

  “No. They will kill you,” he growled. “Not your fight to fight.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I am one of you. I am Wolfen. You need to trust me. Please. Do it.”

  I sensed he understood, the single flash of his eyes as he threw his head in my direction sending tingles down my spine.

  “Get out, Marla. Take Daphne. Now. Don’t wait. Just do it.”

  “I’m not leaving you here.”

  “Please. I won’t let you die.”

  She was slow to respond but finally understood, grabbing Daphne by the arm and racing toward the entrance. Wolfen protected them, allowing them to get out to some safety.

  As Jeremiah reared back, he was already shifting into his werewolf form. Jax wouldn’t survive. My instincts kicked whether about being a wolf or a human. I would save the man I loved.

  “Jax. Now!”

  He and his brothers and at least a dozen others surged forward, some human Wolfen also wielding machetes and axes, beating down the horrible creatures. The moment Jax and the others were able to pitch Jeremiah and the other primal werewolves back, I only waited until Jax and the others were safe before I pulled the trigger.

  “Jeremiah,” I called to the big, bad wolf. “Come out and play. I’m the queen of the Wolfen and you’re not wanted here.”

  He spun around, jumping up from the floor. The beast was frothing at the mouth, his eyes blood red from hatred and hunger. But I could swear in his grotesque form, he was smiling, eager to slice open my body for a feasting frenzy.

  I heard growls and yells from the men outside.

  I also heard Jax as he was being forced to remain outside.

  “Don’t do this. No. Sedona. I forbid you to do this.”

  “I have no choice. Trust…”

  It was all I had time to think or process as the monster from hell lunged in my direction.

  I pulled the trigger, the first wave of gas surrounding him. There was no reaction, the creature now right in front of me. He lifted his massive arm, bringing it down with tremendous force.

  I kept my finger on the trigger, my eyes watering from the gas and the pain as claws sliced into my arm and chest.

  As a haze filled the room, all I could do at this point was pray.

  In the few seconds after, images of Jax floated into my mind.

  His smile.

  His chiseled features.

  His gorgeous body.

  And the moment when we’d first made love.

  My mind was already foggy, the mask incapable of keeping all the gas from reaching my lungs. As I coughed, my body starting to crumple to the floor involuntarily, all I could think about was him.

  The words were easy to say.

  Even if he didn’t hear them.

  “I love you…”

  CHAPTER 34

  Jax

  “She needs to be in a hospital,” Marla chided for the third time in less than an hour. She removed the stethoscope from around her neck, twisting her head so I could see the full effect of her glare.

  “You know why we can’t do that,” I told her.

  “He’s right,” Chase told her. “The last thing we need to do is to place the FBI on further alert or cause any trauma in the community.”

  Trauma.

  We had a killing field full of heads and massacred corpses on full display proving that there’d been a bloody battle. While cleanup was ongoing, ensuring no one would ever learn what had occurred in the dark, that would still take time. The area was being heavily guarded, but I continued to fear a breach. That would be disastrous.

  I moved closer toward the bed, peering down at Sedona. She looked so pale, her soft skin blemished from chemical burns. But they would heal even without the full effect of her being a wolf. The toxins in her lungs were the most concerning. Marla was beside herself, Daphne as well. While they’d had no way of knowing what Sedona had planned given the chaotic situation, they blamed themselves for her condition.

  Because they’d followed her orders.

  Orders given by a future queen.

  Using the gas had been a premature decision and Marla had had no idea how to handle the symptoms or if there was a cure.

  I felt cold inside, dead in a way I hadn’t before. Sedona had asked me to trust her, disobeying my direct orders.

  In doing so, she’d destroyed the werewolf primal family.

  But at what cost?

  I felt my legs starting to falter and suddenly both my brothers were by my side, keeping me upright.

  “It’ll be okay, brother,” Riker said thoughtfully as he clapped his hand on my shoulder. “She’s strong. She’s a fighter. You’ve seen that.”

  I had, but that meant shit at this moment. “What about the other injuries?” I asked Marla.

  She pulled down the sheet, exposing the claw marks on Sedona’s arm and chest. “Well, there is no doubt the girl is Wolfen. She’s healing. More slowly than some of us would, but the process is working in her favor. The internal injuries would be considered life threatening in a hospital, but she’s stable at this point, all organs working as they should.”

  “What are you doing to alleviate the toxins?” Daphne asked. “She can’t die. She’s brilliant. She’s beautiful. She’s one of us.”

  Marla finally rose from the seat next to the bed, trying to offer a slightly comforting smile.

  It wasn’t working. Sedona was dying. I felt it. I sensed her spirit leaving. I couldn’t hear her thoughts. I didn’t feel her pulse as I should as her mate.

  “All I can do at this point is use fluids to keep her hydrated. We’re going to monitor her blood constantly for changes. There might be a few things we can do to boost her immune system, but right now, it’s wait and see. I can’t do any more.”

  Hearing Marla’s words nearly destroyed me.

  “Why did this happen? You need to round up the other primal members.” Daphne threw me a look.

  There was one left, Jeremiah’s brother. He’d been cornered, but it was only a matter of time before he managed to sneak out of the area. He needed to be dealt with.

  “No business talk in this room. Sedona needs her rest.” Marla shooed us toward the bedroom door.

  I pulled Daphne aside once we were out in the hallway. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

  My niece eyed me warily, finally nodding. “I’m not leaving until I know she’s okay.”

  “I’m not asking you to leave. I need someone I can trust to remain here at all times to take care of Britney. She’s already asking about her mother. I need her kept calm and occupied with books, music. Something. I can’t have her wandering into the bedroom. It won’t be fair to either one of them.”

  Daphne’s face brightened. “I can do that. Of course.”

  Eliza was suddenly on the stairs, peering up at me with rage crossing his face.

  “What is it?” I asked him, immediately on high alert.

  “The fucking FBI are here. They’re demanding to see you. I put them in your office but they’re antsy.”

  Antsy. Perhaps they got a whiff of blood that chilled their bones. I laughed. “What’s the status of our… project?” If they had a warrant to search the adjacent land, there could be an issue we weren’t prepared to deal with.

  “Almost complete. We had to remove a solid portion of our project samples.” Eliza was a smart man, following my lead. We didn’t need any additional trouble with the FBI, although I was still pissed how they’d handled the earlier situation.