Chapter 10 10

I hadn't been able to familiarise myself with this compound. None of the shifters were nice enough to offer me a tour. The shifters weren't a polite species.

First, Oldy and his goons had shot me down from the wall of the Shifters Uni, then they drugged me, blindfolded me, and dragged me to this compound.

When I woke up, I'd found myself in confined quarters. Then I'd pick a fight with the Alpha's son and split his lip since I refused to be his mate. While I was riding him, not in a sexual way (no way would I ever let him touch me again), but pounding my fists into his ears,

Oldy and his minions shot me with enough drugs to take down a horse.

So I'd kissed the ground again, waking up in that special cell. So, no, I wasn't going to run blindly and then end up where I'd started.

"Trust issues?" Jason asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I bet you aren't a regular here," I said against the wind.

"And I don't plan to be," he confirmed.

"The shifters would wait for hell to freeze over before they let you become a citizen," I shouted drily. "So I need to know if you know where we're going, and you must reveal all of your plans to me. No more dark secrets if you want my cooperation-"

It felt like shifters materialized out of nowhere, their presence overwhelming and immediate.

Well, this was their military compound, after all.

The thought struck me like a cold wave: how could just the two of us fend off an entire army?

"If you have any new tricks, sweetie pie," I exclaimed in sheer desperation, "now's the time to pull them out of your pretty ass."

The vampire kong glanced at me sideways, both of his brows lifting in that infuriatingly arrogant way as he pulled me along at a breakneck speed. There was no slowing down, not even for a moment.

Twilight cast a warm glow on his face, bathing him in golden light, and for a fleeting second, he resembled a fierce god. If our circumstances hadn't been so dire, I might have stopped to appreciate his striking beauty, which stole half my breath away. Instead, I felt my heart skip a beat or two and found myself licking my parched lips repeatedly.

From the hole Jason had created in the wall, the jail guards surged out, hot on our heels. I could almost sense their thrill at the chase, despite their anger; shifters thrived on pursuit, relishing the adrenaline it brought. Some of them morphed into their animal forms, a last-ditch effort to gain ground on us.

Fair play was a thing of the past.

"How am I supposed to pull anything out of my ass before you do?" Jason shot back, irritation lacing his voice. "You told me to follow your lead."

"Keep your sparkling attitude, vampire," I retorted, frustration bubbling over. "If they catch me, they'll just send me back to jail. I can survive a few more days in that hellhole. My friends, Patrick and Diane, will find a way to get me out. But you-if they catch you-"

"They won't catch us," he interjected, his voice firm and unwavering.

My heart raced-not just from fear but from a growing sense of camaraderie with this vampire who was supposed to be my enemy. The shifters were closing in, the sounds of their footsteps echoing like a drumbeat in my ears. We were running on borrowed time, and with every passing moment, the odds stacked higher against us.

"Then what's the plan?" I demanded, desperately scanning the area for any possible escape route.

Jason's jaw tightened as he thought quickly. "There's a supply room just ahead. If we can reach it, we can barricade ourselves and figure something out."

"Great. But what if they break in?" I pressed, panic creeping into my voice.

"They won't," he insisted, but his confidence felt like a fragile facade. "Trust me."

As we sprinted forward, I could hear the shifters' voices growing louder, their laughter echoing off the walls. They were enjoying the chase far too much. I stole a glance back, catching a glimpse of a large wolf, its eyes glinting with predatory glee, closing in on us.

"Faster!" I urged, pushing myself to keep up with Jason's unyielding pace.

The supply room loomed closer, and with it came a flicker of hope. "Just a little further!" I shouted, my voice filled with determination.

With a final burst of energy, we reached the door, and Jason flung it open. We dove inside, slamming the door shut just in time to hear the first heavy thud of a shifter's body crashing against it.

"Barricade it!" I cried, rushing to help him. Together, we pushed a shelf against the door, our hearts pounding in sync with the frantic sounds outside.

"What now?" I asked, my breath coming in quick gasps as I leaned against the shelf for support.

Jason's eyes were intense as he surveyed the cramped room filled with supplies-everything from ropes to canned food. "Now we arm ourselves and figure out how to get out of here," he said, a fierce determination in his voice.

I nodded, adrenaline coursing through me. We were far from safe, but at least for now, we were together.

"We're surrounded!" I shouted, my voice rising in pitch. The reality of our situation bore down on me like a weight. "If and when the worst comes to worst, you'll have to leave me behind, okay?"

For a moment, his expression faltered, a flicker of doubt crossing his face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "No one is getting left behind," he said, his tone fierce. "Not now, not ever. I will never leave you again."

"Dramatic much? Just leave me behind-"

"Why?" he asked, surprised that I'd offer myself as a sacrifice.

"I'm slowing you down." I sighed. "You can still get away. You came for me. I won't forget a debt. And I won't see you gunned down."

"I'll never leave you behind," he said quietly, pain lacing his voice. "Never again."

My heart stuttered. Maybe we did have a history so epic that he wouldn't abandon me even when he could be killed. That was probably why he felt so familiar to me, even though he was a stranger.

As a horde of shifters closed in on us, I broke free of Jason's hold. This rescue mission was busted. It was a fool's errand in the first place. Now was the time for damage control. I couldn't let him die for me.

"I'd rather die than abandon you," he hissed, reading my intention.

He meant what he said.

His power rolled over me, buzzing on my skin, both delicious and alarming. The monster I'd felt inside me peeked out, as if wanting to meet its monstrous mate.

This was absurd, but what wasn't? I perked up as something came alive in me.

"Fine," I said. "We fight together. Just know that the odds are against us, and I don't want you to be too cocky and get us killed. Let's live and die together, sweety pie. But know this-I won't be captured, no matter what."

I knew in my bones that Alpha Jehg or his insufferable son would never let me go, so I wouldn't waste my breath trying to appeal to the shifters' better nature or demanding they set me free. The moment I had been dragged into this military compound, the clock had started ticking on my fate, and I had no illusions about what that fate entailed.