Kinsey took one look at the homunculi, and her stomach hit the floor.
That could have been you. The same thing that ran through her veins ran through theirs. They used to be people. Just like her and the scientists who had done this to them.
Now they were monsters.
The only thing standing between them and her was the man she loved. She hadn't freed him so he could defend her. They were supposed to escape together. And talk. If he was going to risk being torn apart by unnatural beings, the very least she could do was hear him out. Partially because not just any man would growl fiercely at horrible monsters with the promise of death hanging in the air, but also she hoped he loved her, that everything they had shared, every word, every touch, had been real. It had been real for her.
Dayton tugged on her arm, who had shockingly snuck in as a Victor look-like? She would have to ask how this Mimic potion he mentioned worked later. "Let's move, Kinsey."
Move? Yes, she should be doing that, shouldn't she? She could try to process the fact Dayton knew she would be busting everyone out today once they were no longer being chased by monsters.
"But what about Damon-?"
He waved her onwards, gesturing to the elevator impatiently--as if she didn't already know where she was supposed to go. "He's fine."
Fine? He did not look fine! He was about to face off with four monsters, and she was supposed to run away? Nothing about this situation was fine.
Nevertheless, Dayton looked like he was going to murder her if she didn't start moving, so she turned and hurried to the elevator.
That's when she heard heavy paws coming their way. She refused to look back, even when snarls erupted behind her. Instinctively, she knew it was Damon, challenging the monsters, daring them to lay a claw on her.
This isn't how it's supposed to go. She just wanted him to be safe. She didn't mean for any of this to happen.
She reached the end of the hallway, deperately panting for air. The walls felt like they were closing in. Dayton watched her back while she opened the doors with strength she hadn't truly comprehended yet.
Boy, was she surprised when she saw the elevator. Terror set in when the real Victor ordered Echo to grab her.
She dove out of his way the first time, but the second time, he gripped her shoulder. The already angry wound protested and sent fiery hot pain down her side. She screamed. The pain was so much, her knees gave out. Echo caught her before she hit the floor and threw her onto his shoulder.
"Let me go! Dayton!"
But Dayton had joined the throng with Damon, fighting to keep the homunculi back. There was nothing they could do to help her.
Her claws came out--something they seemed to do when she was distressed. She sank her claws into Echo's back. Disappointedly, all she got out of him was a disgruntled grunt.
Victor slid an unimpressed glower her way then pressed the button to start up the elevator. "I never expected this from you, Kinsey."
"Wait! We can't leave yet!" She fought against Echo with everything she had, but even her newfound strength wasn't a match for him. The last thing she saw before the doors closed was Damon being thrown into a wall and surrounded by the homunculi. "Damon! We have to help them!"
Their battle was silenced as soon as the doors shut. The elevator began its grind upward, abandoning Damon and Dayton to a horrible fate.
"They are not important," Victor dismissed, jaw clenched. "Maybe we'll come back later to pick up whoever survives. You, however, are too important to our research." The hard edge in eyes faltered when he looked at her. "I thought we could have built a future together, Kinsey."
"You built something with my sister," she snapped viciously. "Something horrible and abominable. You're as much a monster as those creatures you hid in your basement!"
He caught her chin, forcing her to look at him, even when the sight of him made her sick. "You will change your mind."
She doubted anything he said could change her mind.
Once they reached the main floor, Echo carried her across the foyer to another elevator--not for the exit.
"Where are we going?" How much trouble was she about to be in if she couldn't escape Echo's hold?
"We have another facility in New York. You will be staying there until you change your mind and then we will find something more accommodating for you."
New York? That was across the freaking country! How was she supposed to escape and find Damon--because she refused to believe he was dead--from so far away? She didn't know anything about the East Coast. Didn't know anyone who would help her.
If she didn't escape now, she would never see the light of day again.
♡ ◇ ♡
Kinsey's scream reverberated in Damon's ears. Each echo was a lance to his heart. A reminder of his failure. His mate had been hurt. Which one of these fuckers had slipped passed him? As soon as he could find where one monster ended and another began, he was going was to tear into their flesh, savour their blood, make them regret touching an Alpha's mate.
Snarling in his rage, the beast within him tore his way to the surface. He sought for full control. There was a chance he would go feral and lose himself if he let his wolf half take the reigns, but it was the only way he was getting out of this alive. He trusted his wolf would do what needed to be done to save Kinsey. He loved her as much as he did.
His vision went red. He wasn't in control of his body, but he was aware of its movements, of the pain and the raging fury building inside him.
The homunculi healed faster than he could tear them apart--faster than he could heal. They wouldn't be able to kill these monsters with teeth and claws, so plan B was to render them incapacitated long enough for him to grab Kinsey and run.
He shared a glance with Dayton. After fighting together for over a century, one look was all they needed to communicate. As one, they systematically aimed for the monsters' joints and limbs, weaving between claws, maws, and talons. Between the two of them, the homunculi struggled to keep up. The moment they found their balance, Dayton and Damon cut them down.
They weren't going to get a better time than now to run. Damon turned to grab Kinsey--but she was gone. Not a single trace of her left in the hallway.
The homunculi had been too preoccupied to have eaten her. She was taken. Right from under his nose.
A howl tore from his throat.
He'd find the motherfucker who took his mate from him. He'd mark every corner of his territory with his enemy's lifeblood as a warning to all.
Consumed by primal rage, Damon launched into a dead run for the stairs. Dayton, having lost most of his muscle mass, was slower and struggled to keep up, but he'd be damned if he was going to let his brother go feral. He'd lost one years ago; he wouldn't lose another. Never again.
They ran up the stairs, taking four at a time, and burst through the door to the foyer. Damon made movements for the exit, but Dayton hopped in front of him and shifted, holding his hands out to stop him.
"Where are you going, brother?"
Damon snarled in response. He needed to find his mate; he'd run to the end of the world if he had to to find her. He definitely wasn't going to let his brother stop him.
Kill, kill, kill. Blood was all he needed. Blood was the only satisfactory payment for getting in his way.
Dayton growled back, holding fast. "Use your damn head, Damon. Running around killing everyone you see will not bring her back."
Yes, it would. It would put fear into his enemies. Make them cower before him. Taking Kinsey was a challenge against an Alpha, one he'd gladly accept to make an example of anyone who thought they could hurt his mate and get away with it.
Dayton snapped his fingers in his face. "Damon. Knock it off. Come back to me, brother. Kinsey needs you, not your wolf."
Damon bared his teeth. What did he know what his mate needed? He didn't know what it was like to love someone.
Dayton growled in return. "Fine. You wanna go outside and go on a killing rampage, I won't stop you. I'll follow her scent--which. Is. Still. In. The. Building."
The words cut through him like a hot knife. He was so irrational, he hadn't once stopped to think, to follow the most basic instinct and track Kinsey's scent.
The shock paralysing his wolf was enough for Damon to push himself to the surface.
Shedding blood isn't going to find her. We find Kinsey first--then taste the blood of our enemies.
The beast howled. A promise to Kinsey that he would find her. A promise to his enemy he wouldn't live to see the sun rise.
"Damon!"
Kinsey! She'd heard his call. She was close.
Without a moment's hesitation, his wolf allowed him to shift back to his human form. The relief on Dayton's face was brief, then it steeled over into a dark grimace. "You finally ready to get your girl back?"