Layla didn’t fight when the Hunters wheeled back to the warehouse. She’d spat a few times, but the metallic taste and scent of blood still overwhelmed her senses. It made her nauseous. And she could still hear the Hunters' applause when they finally forced her teeth away from their guinea pig’s flesh. Everything else inside her was numb. Everyone has told her since discovering she was a red wolf that she was special and she would protect the pack. But now, she was just a weapon the Hunters would use against her people. They wheeled past the restricted door, but she didn’t feel the pull she felt when she’d gone past it before. That was because Rebecca was still in the room beside hers, unconscious. Vulnerable. There were no moves to make while the people she loved were at risk. Her hands were tied. The stench in the warehouse pulled her out of her thoughts as they wheeled through the door. The unit in the ceiling that gassed the room crossed her vision, reminding her again tha

Layla sat on the edge of the filthy mattress on the floor, staring at the blank wall. There was no TV or a comfortable bed, and they hadn’t provided another meal. The only thing they gave her was a new gown. The Commander liked mind games. Her people were stuck in their cages, cursing her for what they thought she did, losing their trust in their Queen. They thought she was living in luxury while they suffered. She hadn’t been able to mindlink Faith or Rebecca, but she could sense their emotions, even from the basement. The Commander never had any intention of treating her like a person. He was trying to alienate her to continue using her for his sick project. Mutherfucker. Her fists clenched for so long that they were numb. But she wouldn’t make the mistake of moving too soon again. The sound of wheels rolling on the concrete floor shifted her attention to the door. They kept the overly bright lights on in the small room, so she still couldn’t tell what time it was, but the

Did she mishear him? Layla’s eyes widened as she looked at the unhinged Hunter in front of her. She’d only briefly been in the restricted area, but she knew what those disfigured Hunters were—failed experiments. So the Commander was ready to risk his life after one successful bite? They weren’t even sure if there would be any side effects. It hadn’t been long enough to tell if the experiment succeeded. “Didn’t you hear me? I said bite me, Layla,” the Commander said. He stepped forward, forcing her to take a step back. His eyes sparkled as if he was high on anticipating what was coming. She wanted to bite him—right through his neck. But there were guards in the room with their weapons pointed at her, and she didn’t know if Faith and the children were safe. They were her priority. “You’re willing to risk your life?” she asked. “I’m not risking anything. Don’t you see what I’ve done?” he asked, turning back to the glass cage and sweeping his arm at the turned Hunter. “I have done

Jax watched the vehicles drive out of the gates, and several Hunters came out to hide in strategic points around the base wall. Beyond the open gates, more Hunters loaded onto their vehicles. They wouldn't leave the base unmanned—that much was a given. But fighting even half those bastards was better than the whole army. He only hoped the others were ready. His gaze remained on the Hunters still loading into the cars. The morning sun shone brightly without any hint of a cloud in the sky. There was nothing to hide behind, no darkness to cover him. The second he made his move, he needed to be ready to get attacked. ‘They’ll lead the Hunters as far away from the base as possible before they attack,’ Dylan said. His Beta, his brother, stood beside him, bloody from the bait they set when they attacked the Hunter families. He could sense Dylan’s eagerness to attack the base even though he stood perfectly still. It wasn’t their first time fighting side by side. He and Dylan went throu

Was she dreaming? Layla followed Jax out of yet another room, leaving destruction and bloodshed in their wake. Her head was a mess, but somehow Nia was holding everything together. Maybe her wolf had always kept things together, with all that shit they’d gone through growing up. But how could she fight like that when everything inside her was falling apart? How was Jax standing in front of her in the hellish place she’d thought she would die in? After watching him decimate their enemies, her hope they would make it out alive grew. Who would have thought that, after growing up in the slums of Wolfdale, she’d see so much bloodshed? That she would be a murderer? That she would like it. Watching Jax rip apart the enemy was like watching an artist at work. His movements were precise, smooth, and so quick that the Hunters couldn’t keep up with him. His red eyes matched all the red on the walls and the floor, and his teeth... She shivered when he dispatched the last Hunter in the room a