Page 44 of Salvation
She looked over her shoulder. “Pray for us all.” Then she slipped out and closed the door behind her.
“Do you really think she will come back to save us?” Noah looked like shit. His eyes were glassy and there was a ring of red around his iris. His fangs were now nearly fully extended. Anyone who walked into the room would have no doubts he was a vampire.
“I can only hope.”
“I’m screwed, but you look pretty good. You might survive this disaster.”
Wolfe let out a grunt. “Do you really believe they let anyone walk away from this bullshit?”
“Are you able to link to Aurora?”
“No. Every link I have to all those I sired has been severed, along with my powers.” He tugged at his restraints, hoping that by some miracle he might break free. They didn’t budge. He was as weak as a child at this point, and while Noah might think Wolfe could pass as a human, he fought whatever had been in that syringe. His hunger had the points of his fangs pressing against his gums, threatening to break free. It was only his willpower that kept them at bay. How long he could hold out was an unknown.
Time slowed to a crawl as they waited in silence for Heather to return or for the greasy bastard who wanted to be their judge, jury, and executioner to come back and finish the job. Wolfe tried to hold on to hope, but it was quickly slipping away from him. He would gladly give all his limbs to know that Aurora and Luna were safe. He continued to try to reach his mate, hoping that their bond would be strong enough to break through whatever the fuck this shit was. There was only a quiet buzzing in his head. Like static when he fell asleep with the TV on and the station had gone off the air. Damn, that had been a lifetime ago. The life of someone else because it couldn’t have belonged to him. It seemed absurd that he had gone from a human, a Navy Seal who lived what he considered a fairly normal life, to where he was today.
As he drifted in and out of his memories, the sound of the doorknob being twisted jerked him back into the present. Someone was coming, but even his senses couldn’t tell him who it was. Would they be saved, or would they be doomed?
CHAPTERTWENTY
Aurora steppedout of the portal, with Kayla behind her while the others waited at their base camp.
“Luna is doing good. The doctor says we got to you guys just in time,” Kayla said.
Relief swept over her. At least she could stop worrying about Luna and the baby. “I’m happy to hear that.”
“Can you sense him?”
Aurora opened her mind and stretched her senses as far as they would go when she suddenly had a full-on panic attack. Her breathing became heavy as if something constricted her from fully pulling in air. It only took a moment to realize this was not her fear, but that of her mate. Things must be dire if he was in this emotional state, so she grabbed onto his emotions with invisible fingers and tugged.
“I have him, but we need to hurry.” She practically jumped back into the portal, fear a demon that rode on her back. She could not lose him again. Not when they had just found each other. Was this the mission she was supposed to perform? Saving her mate from a bunch of savages? She would fight with hands and fangs if that was all she had at her disposal until either the enemy or herself perished.
The time it took for the portal to open again was an eternity in Aurora’s world, when in reality it was mere seconds. Kayla was good at what she did, that was for certain. As much as she wanted to rush out, she succumbed to Decker’s idea that he and Emma go first so that the witch could hopefully take out any immediate threat.
She palmed the handle of Treachery, her most trusted blade, as Lilith touched her shoulder.
“I’m sure he is fine.”
Her words offered little comfort. “If I still had my powers, I wouldn’t be standing here waiting like some weak female.”
“You are anything but weak. Even without your power.”
She took a moment to look at her friend. “Thank you for finding us. For finding them.”
Lilith only raised a brow. “Why would I do otherwise? I thought by now you would realize I will always come to your aid.”
The demon was always so practical. She really needed to learn how to accept a little gratitude. There wasn’t time for further discussion. They had been given the all clear to enter the portal. Aurora jumped in, blade at the ready to take the heads of her enemies. When she came out the other side, she was greeted by Emma.
“This way.” The witch ran down a cold stone corridor. A few bodies lay scattered on the floor, and she had to assume they were casualties of either the witch or Decker. Perhaps both, but she wasn’t going to inquire. Her thoughts were with Wolfe. Aurora’s excellent hearing heard the muffled cry of a female in distress.
When they reached the end of the corridor, Decker was there, his pistol pointed, and it was when she came up behind him that the scene unfolded. A rather disgusting male stood with his thick arm around a female’s neck, a knife shoved to her belly. Inside the room Aurora spotted her mate, chained to the wall like some animal and anger coiled, ready to strike like a pissed-off cobra. At least he looked well compared to Noah, who was on the opposite wall and appeared to be in distress. He was in full-on vampire.
“I’ll kill her if you come any closer,” the disgusting male spat. “Drop that blade of yours.”
There was a moment that Aurora wondered why she should care about some human who meant nothing to her when her mate was in trouble. It was fleeting, and she knew that deep down, that wasn’t who she was. She tested her power again, but there wasn’t even a sizzle. Thankfully, this asshole had no idea who he was playing with. Unfortunately, the sound of pounding footsteps came up behind them and her instincts shouted they were soon going to be pinned in. Fighting started at the back and explosions reached her ears. Was the team detonating or was that the enemy? They needed to hurry this up and get out of here. Where was Lilith? And what about Emma? By the sounds coming from behind her, she suspected they were in fight mode.
Something brushed her leg and when she glanced down, she discovered one big, frightening black cat. “Kayla, I hope the fuck that’s you,” she whispered.
The cat responded by rubbing her enormous head against Aurora’s thigh. That was good enough for her to understand she had one powerful ally standing next to her. Kayla looked up at her. Those eyes seemed to try to tell her something, but what?
