Zara

Mason, my pack member, stood at the end of the hallway; his arm was outstretched, as if he’d just thrown something. I glanced at the knife sticking out of the man’s back and assumed Mason had killed him.

Mason, Ryan, and four other men rushed down the hallway to my bedroom, dragging the dead brown wolf inside. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Familiar arms caught me, and I inhaled my brother’s scent, the knot in my stomach finally beginning to unravel. Ryan looked down at me incredulously.

"You’re completely insane, you know that, right?" Ryan snorted, quickly hugging me and pulling me to my feet. "Luna or not, Dad’s going to fucking kill you. You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t punish you for the rest of your life."

"It was the best option at the time," I shrugged, breathless with joy at seeing my brother and pack member again.

"The best option?" Ryan snorted. "We can continue this conversation when we’re not minutes away from being killed."

"Good to see you, Zara," Mason muttered, giving me a quick hug. "Sophia’s okay. Although she’s very angry with you."

"She’ll survive," I chuckled.

I approached the dead man and rummaged through his pockets, sighing with relief when I found a small metal key. It fit perfectly into the silver handcuffs that irritated my wrists, and I smiled as I saw the cracked skin begin to heal.

"Agreed," Mason nodded, his gaze hardening as he looked at Ryan. "Let’s get out of here."

"Wait..." I shouted, just as Ryan opened my bedroom door. "We have to find my sister."

The words caught in my throat as Marcus and Holly turned the corner at the end of the hallway. Holly wrapped her arm around Marcus’s shoulders, and he, supporting her, dragged her down the hallway.

Holly’s face was pale, and a terrible wound was visible on her forehead. I wasn’t sure how quickly witch wounds healed, but we didn’t have time to find a spare pint of blood.

Mason let out a harsh growl at the sight of Marcus. I grabbed Mason by the shoulder and lunged forward, placing myself between my friends and my new allies.

"Don’t hurt them." I shook my head, turning my attention to Marcus and Holly. "Is she okay?"

"She’ll be fine."

"Heal," Marcus grumbled. "Slowly, but it will speed up once the blood gets into her system. I would have arrived sooner, but we were delayed."

"Marcus said it got into her head," Mason muttered to Ryan, who glanced at me.

A worried look.

"He’s not in my head, and we’re wasting time!" I snapped. "Believe it or not, Marcus is the reason Kane has the information he needs. Now we either have to leave, or we’ll all be prisoners when my Father returns. As much as I like staying here, I want to go home."

It took Ryan only two seconds to see the truth in my eyes. He nodded sharply and gestured for us to follow him into the hallway. Mason stopped Ryan mid-step, tensing his jaw muscles, and looked at me.

"We can’t take him with us." Mason growled under his breath, "He got into her head before; now he can control her."

Season stared at me for a long moment, seeing the impatient glint in my eyes. "She’s our Luna and my sister. I trust her, and I guess you do too."

We ran down the hallway and met Marcus, who was currently returning Mason’s deep gaze. Ryan and Mason walked ahead with another of Kane’s men, and the three remained behind Marcus, Holly, and me.

I slung Holly’s other arm over my shoulder and supported her weight. Marcus and I practically dragged her down the hallway, stepping over a smattering of unconscious or dead men. I wasn’t sure which of them were Luna Freya’s men and which were my father’s, but that didn’t matter right now.

"Luna Freya’s daughter..." I snorted, glancing at Marcus’s stern face. "She was involved in this, wasn’t she?"

"Your father promised her your Alpha’s land once his pack was destroyed. She was smart to leave me behind. Her mother’s men followed her word and arrived just a week ago," Marcus grumbled.

"Looks like you’ve decided to come with us," I remarked, watching as Mason and Ryan took out another guard.

"I trust you, Zara," Marcus’s eyes darkened as they met mine. "I trust you not to kill me. Besides, Holly can’t escape without help."

"I trust you too, you know," I remarked. "Don’t make me regret this."

"I practically sealed my fate when I told you that information," Marcus grumbled. "Your father would have found out anyway. My family would disown me, erase every trace of my existence from our history."

I never considered how all this might affect Marcus. Not once did I consider that he had a family of his own. The thought made me feel guilty, but Marcus was an adult, perfectly capable of making his own decisions.

"Your family?" I asked.

"I have a family, Zara," he chuckled dryly. "Old and rich, stuck in the old ways, like most of us. My little sister has no idea what’s going on. They’ve been keeping her under their wing for years."

"That’s terrible," I frowned. "Why did they do that?"

"Let’s get through this, and maybe I’ll tell you." Marcus’s smile was fragile and a little sad.

We walked down and reached the parking lot before I could take a deep breath. The sun disappeared behind the clouds, and I squinted, trying to catch the last of the light. I hadn’t been outside since I arrived, and I missed the fresh breeze and the smell of nature.

I glanced around the parking lot, noticing how few cars were left. Ryan glanced at me briefly, the corners of his lips twitching as he inspected each car.

"We disabled the vehicles," Ryan remarked. "If they want to follow us, they’ll have to walk."

We hid behind the cars, remaining unnoticed, as we approached the darkened van. Ryan opened the side door, and Marcus and I carefully eased Holly into one of the seats. I climbed in next to her, followed by Marcus.