Chapter5:The siege

  Ellena observed the same crumbling brick and broken windows upon entering the abandoned textile factory after ten years. They said nothing after Dante parked his black SUV half a block away and killed the engine because there wasn't much to say.

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There was confirmation that the tunnel team had reached their goal when Dante heard Marcus's voice through his earpiece. It was the last few minutes before either everything went well or nothing worked at all.

‎Elena touched the knife strapped to her ankle again, even though she knew Viktor would notice it once he caught her. Keeping it there just made her feel a little less helpless.

‎ ‎ Ellena turned to the factory entrance and saw two of Viktor's men through the broken windows. “He will search for me once we get inside,” she said. Stop hiding the knife and other items from me.

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‎ Before she could finish her thoughts, Dante pulled her toward him, touching her hair and tilting her head to reveal her neck. He did this before she finished thinking. "I know," he whispered, biting her skin with more force than pain.

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‎ He said, "I know." Where his mouth touched her, the mark burned hot and warmed her whole body. Elena grabbed his shoulders without being told to because she felt something in her chest move. It looked like something was going on because of the mark.

‎Because he was leaving the room, she asked, “What did you just do?” Her whole body shook like she’d touched electricity.

“I marked you,” Dante said. His face showed he hadn’t expected her reaction. “It won’t warn other wolves immediately, but it tells them you’re under my protection.”

Elena’s back cracked, but it didn’t hurt because her bones were already changing. Pressure built behind her eyes, and it was hard to focus on anything except the sudden urge to run or fight. She gritted her teeth. “Stop. I don’t have time for this.”

“First shifts take hours,” Dante said, holding her face so she’d look at him instead of giving in to fear. “You have to push it down and make it wait.”

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‎ Ever since she was old enough to understand what her family did, Ellena has been fighting against her violent father, Viktor's obsession, and her constant fear. She closed her eyes and sucked in all the pressure that was building up inside her. Then she pushed it back down, telling herself in her head that she would deal with it later, when no one was dying.

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‎ Ellena didn't let go until she felt the wolf back away and what looked like a reluctant acceptance of her position. Dante was staring at her like she had done something impossible by the time she opened her eyes again.

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‎"Did you manage to pull that off?" he asked.

"Practice," Elena replied, because the point of her life was to take charge of things that were trying to hurt her. "Can we leave?"

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They got closer to the factory, and Dante held her arm like she was a prisoner. Viktor opened the door for them before they got there. He looked exactly like Elena remembered him, with sharp edges and a cold calculation. When she saw his eyes on the mark Dante had made on her neck, it made her skin crawl.

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‎ You wrote about her? Viktor said something while laughing. It's so possessive of you, Dante. It's possible to get what you want, or she gave it to you.

‎"My pack has made it very clear that they do not want a war over a single human," Dante said with disdain, and Elena was almost sure that he was right. Get her because you want her. We can end things then because I want my sister.

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‎ As soon as Viktor told his men to grab Elena, Dante let go of her and ran away, as if he couldn't get away fast enough. They dragged her through hallways that were exactly the same as the pack's layout. Viktor walked in front of her as if he were showing off his kingdom. Along the way, they saw stolen goods and makeshift offices.

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‎ Viktor said, "Your father always said that you were smart," as they went down the stairs to the basement. It was great that you could remember specifics. I want to make sure that your mother's medical history is included.

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‎ Elena's heart stopped beating all of a sudden. "Mama has died."

‎ Is she still there? Viktor asked, and then he opened a door to reveal a room that looked like a medical lab and had all the tools needed for long procedures.

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‎ She realized she had forgotten how to breathe when she saw the thin, gray-haired woman on a gurney in the middle of the room. She saw her face every time she looked in the mirror.

‎ Ellena whispered to her mom, "Mom?"

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‎Her mother slowly opened her green, cloudy eyes that were filled with pain. It's you, Elena. Leave this spot."

‎ Viktor told her that your mother had been very helpful while he was standing by the gurney.

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‎ For the past eighteen years, your dad has been giving me samples of silver wolf blood. This blood can wake up genes that are dormant in carriers. The 93% death rate is the only wrong thing, but you're not like other people. Since you were born with the genes, you may be able to make it through the whole change.

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‎ He took out a syringe that had something in it that shone silver under the lights. Suddenly, there was an explosion below them that made the building shake. Dante's voice filled the building at the same time that Viktor picked up his radio and started giving Russian orders.

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‎ Vic, please remember that it was the entrance to your tunnel. The second one is on fire. You have three minutes left before my group walks through that door.

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‎ Elena was about to move, so Viktor went back to her and put the needle in her arm before she could. The heat from the mark didn't seem to matter because of the liquid fire running through her, and the wolf she had pushed down came back stronger than ever.

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‎Her spine stretched out, her bones broke and then put back together in a flash, and she fell on four silvery legs that seemed to glow in the bright lab lights.

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Dante, in the form of a wolf, smashed through the door as it blew open, and the pack followed him. Everything in the lab was thrown into chaos. Elena's new instincts told her where to bite, and they meant Viktor. But as she grabbed him, she heard screams coming from deeper in the building.

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‎ Ellena learned that Viktor didn't want to trade with anyone. From th

e start, this trap had them in it, and they fell into it.

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