The Secret Beneath Blackthorn

The first section of the basement ceiling collapsed before anyone could speak.

Wood and plaster crashed onto the floor, sending a cloud of dust through the tunnel. Rei covered her mouth and stumbled backward while Dominic grabbed Mara and pulled her away from the falling debris.

"Move!" he shouted.

A second impact shook the farmhouse.

Someone above them was deliberately breaking through the floor.

Dominic looked toward the tunnel.

"We're out of time."

Mara nodded.

She grabbed a lantern from a shelf and hurried toward the far wall. Behind a stack of wooden crates was a narrow passage that Rei hadn't noticed before.

"Through here."

Dominic helped Rei toward the opening.

She glanced back.

"What about the people upstairs?"

"Forget them."

"They'll follow us."

"That's the point."

Dominic shoved the crates aside.

A figure dropped through the hole in the ceiling.

Then another.

A gunshot echoed through the basement.

Dominic pulled Rei down just as a bullet struck the wall.

"Go!"

Mara disappeared into the passage.

Rei followed.

Dominic remained behind long enough to kick one of the crates into the opening.

Another shot rang out.

He ducked and sprinted after them.

The passage was barely wide enough for one person. Rei moved as quickly as her injured ankle allowed, gripping the wall whenever the pain became unbearable.

Behind her, Dominic was breathing heavily.

"Keep going."

"I'm trying."

"You don't have to outrun them."

"What?"

"We only have to outrun the ones behind us."

Rei glanced over her shoulder.

"That's not reassuring."

"It wasn't supposed to be."

Despite the danger, she almost smiled.

Then the tunnel shook.

A loud explosion came from behind them.

Rei stumbled.

Dominic caught her.

"What was that?"

"They blew the entrance."

Mara looked back.

"That won't hold them long."

"How long?"

"Five minutes."

Dominic cursed.

"Then we'd better move."

The tunnel sloped downward.

Water began rushing around their boots.

Rei looked at Mara.

"Why is there water down here?"

"The old drainage system."

"And we're going into it?"

"It's the only way out."

The water reached Rei's ankles.

Then her knees.

The tunnel grew darker.

Dominic took her hand.

"Don't let go."

"I wasn't planning to."

They moved deeper.

The water continued rising.

Soon it reached Rei's waist.

She could barely keep her balance.

Dominic wrapped one arm around her waist.

"Lean on me."

"I can walk."

"I know."

He pulled her closer anyway.

"This isn't about whether you can."

Rei looked at him.

"Then what is it about?"

"Whether you have to."

She didn't argue.

They continued through the freezing water.

Mara suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

Dominic nearly collided with her.

"What?"

She pointed ahead.

The tunnel split into three directions.

Rei looked at the passages.

"Which one?"

Mara stared at them.

"I don't remember."

Dominic frowned.

"You said you've used this route."

"I did. Thirty years ago."

"Thirty years?"

"Before you were born."

The sound of rushing water filled the tunnel.

Then came another sound.

Voices.

They had found them.

Dominic looked toward the three tunnels.

"Which one goes to the chapel?"

Mara closed her eyes.

"The middle."

Dominic started forward.

"Wait."

Rei grabbed his arm.

"How do we know?"

Mara stared at her.

"We don't."

A flashlight appeared behind them.

The hunters were coming.

Dominic made his decision.

"Middle."

They rushed forward.

The tunnel narrowed.

The water became deeper.

Rei's feet left the ground.

Dominic grabbed her.

"I've got you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

For several seconds, he carried her through the freezing water.

Behind them, gunfire erupted.

Dominic ducked.

"Keep your head down."

Rei buried her face against his shoulder.

Another bullet struck the tunnel wall.

Then the passage suddenly dropped.

Dominic lost his footing.

Both of them disappeared beneath the water.

Rei's lungs burned.

She couldn't tell which way was up.

Her hand searched desperately for Dominic.

Something grabbed her wrist.

He pulled her toward the surface.

Rei broke through the water, gasping.

Dominic surfaced beside her.

"Are you okay?"

She coughed.

"Ask me when we're dry."

He laughed breathlessly.

Then the ceiling above them collapsed.

A wave of water surged through the tunnel.

Dominic grabbed Rei.

"Hold on!"

The current swept them forward.

They were carried through darkness, crashing against walls and debris.

Rei screamed as something struck her shoulder.

Dominic wrapped himself around her, taking the impact.

Then suddenly they were falling.

They plunged into a pool beneath the chapel.

Rei surfaced first.

Dominic came up beside her.

Mara climbed onto the stone ledge.

"Are you both alive?"

Rei coughed.

"Unfortunately."

Dominic laughed.

"She's fine."

They climbed out.

Rei collapsed onto the stone floor.

Every muscle in her body shook.

Dominic sat beside her.

"You have a talent for getting into impossible situations."

She looked at him.

"I met you."

He smiled.

"Fair."

Mara walked toward the old chapel door.

"Come."

Rei stood.

"Where are we?"

"The chapel."

Dominic looked around.

"This place has been abandoned for years."

Mara nodded.

"That's why it's safe."

A deep rumble sounded behind them.

Dominic turned.

The tunnel entrance had collapsed.

The hunters wouldn't be following them through that route.

At least not immediately.

Mara pushed open the chapel doors.

Sunlight poured across the dusty floor.

Rei stepped outside.

The rain had stopped.

For the first time in hours, she could breathe.

Then she saw the vehicle parked beside the chapel.

Dominic froze.

"That's my father's car."

Rei looked at him.

"Your father is here?"

"No."

Mara's expression had gone pale.

"He's not."

Dominic stared at her.

"Then whose is it?"

Mara didn't answer.

The driver's door opened.

A man stepped out.

Rei had never seen him before.

Dominic had.

His entire body became rigid.

"Adrian."

The man smiled.

"Hello, little brother."

Dominic stared at him.

"You were dead."

Adrian laughed.

"That's what Father wanted everyone to believe."

Mara stepped backward.

"No."

Adrian looked at her.

"You haven't changed."

"You were supposed to be gone."

"I was."

He looked toward Rei.

"Until they needed me again."

Rei felt Dominic move in front of her.

Adrian smiled.

"Still protecting the Omega."

Dominic's voice was cold.

"Stay away from her."

Adrian ignored him.

He looked directly at Rei.

"You look just like Elara."

Rei's stomach tightened.

"You knew my grandmother."

"I knew her very well."

"Where is she?"

Adrian's smile faded.

"Dead."

Rei stopped breathing.

Mara shook her head.

"Don't."

Adrian looked at her.

"You've lied to her for years. Don't pretend you care about the truth now."

Rei stared at her mother.

"Is she dead?"

Mara's eyes filled with tears.

"Rei..."

"Is she?"

Mara couldn't answer.

Adrian did.

"She died trying to keep them from getting you."

Rei felt something inside her break.

Dominic reached for her.

She stepped away.

"Don't."

He stopped.

Adrian watched them carefully.

"There's something you should know."

Rei looked at him.

"Your grandmother wasn't the only person who escaped Blackthorn."

He pointed toward Dominic.

"Your Alpha did too."

Dominic frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

Adrian smiled.

"Your father didn't send you away for training."

Dominic went still.

"He sent you away because they were looking for you."

Rei looked at Dominic.

Adrian continued.

"That year you spent training wasn't punishment."

"It was protection."

Dominic's face hardened.

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

Adrian reached into his coat and pulled out a photograph.

He tossed it onto the ground.

Dominic picked it up.

It showed Dominic as a child.

Standing beside Marcus.

Behind them was a Blackthorn laboratory.

And on the wall was the same crescent symbol.

Dominic stared at the photograph.

Adrian spoke quietly.

"Your father knew what you were."

Rei looked at Dominic.

"What does that mean?"

Adrian's eyes moved between them.

"It means the academy didn't choose Rei."

He smiled.

"They chose both of you."

The wind moved through the ruined chapel.

Rei stared at the photograph.

Dominic's childhood had been a lie.

His father's harsh training.

His disappearance.

His return.

Everything had been designed around one purpose.

Keeping him alive long enough for the First Omega to awaken.

And now that Rei had awakened, the two of them had become the most valuable pair Blackthorn had ever found.

Adrian took one step toward them.

"You have two choices."

Dominic's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"Run."

Adrian looked toward the distant mountains.

"Or go back to Blackthorn and learn why your families have spent generations killing each other."

Rei stared at him.

"Why would we ever go back?"

Adrian's expression became cold.

"Because your mother isn't the only person they have."

Rei froze.

"Who else?"

Adrian looked directly at her.

"Your stepfather."

Rei's blood turned cold.

"He's alive?"

"Very much alive."

Adrian turned toward his vehicle.

"And he's the one who has been giving Blackthorn information about you."

Dominic stepped forward.

"Where is he?"

Adrian opened the driver's door.

"At Blackthorn."

He paused.

"Waiting for you."

Then he drove away.

Rei stood frozen beside Dominic.

Her mother was alive.

Her grandmother was dead.

Dominic's missing brother had returned.

Her stepfather was working with Blackthorn.

And somewhere inside the academy, the man who had terrorized her childhood was waiting for her to come back.

Dominic looked at her.

"We're not going back."

Rei shook her head.

"Yes, we are."

"Rei—"

She turned toward him.

"For the first time in my life, I'm done running."

Her eyes hardened.

"If Blackthorn wants me, they're going to learn what happens when the person they're hunting stops being afraid."

Dominic stared at her.

Then slowly smiled.

"Now that's the woman I met."

Rei looked toward the academy in the distance.

She didn't know what waited for them there.

But she knew one thing.

This time, she wasn't going back as a frightened scholarship student trying to survive.

She was going back as the First Omega.

And Dominic Vale would be standing beside her.