A howl rented the air.
It sent chills down Kinsey's spine. It was a hunting howl, full of anger and hate. It undoubtedly came from Damon.
He had survived the homunculi and now he was looking for her.
"Damon!!" she cried. He sounded close, but he wasn't close enough to see the elevator door open and Victor's alarmed features.
A moment later, Damon and Dayton rounded the corner. Their bodies were stained with blood and bruises, but they didn't seem to feel them. Her heart went out to them. They had gotten hurt because of her, but they still chose to stay and fight for her.
"Let Kinsey go," Damon commanded, like any powerful Alpha. His tone sent an excited trickle down to her toes.
Victor snorted. "Do you think I would give up my most valuable subject so easily? Echo, deal with them. I'll take her."
Echo grunted then dropped her on the marble floor. Fiery hot pain flared up her side, and she cried out, hand instinctively reaching for the bullet still imbedded in her shoulder.
The next thing happened so fast she could barely keep up.
Damon and Dayton rushed them. Echo moved to stop Damon, but Dayton intercepted, tackling Echo into the wall. Swearing under his breath, Victor hauled Kinsey up to her feet and dragged her back for the elevator. Her shoulder hurt too much for her to fight back. Victor slammed his fist on the control panel, willing the doors to close faster. By the time Damon reached the elevator, the doors had closed and they were moving. His growl echoed in the shaft below them.
Victor sagged against the wall, releasing a long breath. After a moment, he regained his composure and straightened out his suit, as if he was about to step on stage and give a presentation in front of a large audience. The look he set on her was collected, calm, but undeniably bitter. "I'm willing to look passed all of the trouble you've caused today if you behave."
"Go to Hell, Victor."
He lips pressed together in a tight line. He looked at her. Like truly looked at her and saw the woman she was, not an image someone else had painted of her, or a delusional idea of the woman he wanted her to be. "Carissa was right. You aren't ready for this. You've spent too much time with shifters, you've been blinded to the threat on humanity." He nodded, determination falling over his features. "There will be plenty of time to show you the truth. You'll come around."
She couldn't fight the quiver in her bottom lip. He seemed so sure that she wasn't going anywhere, that she feared she might never see Damon again. That this was the end of her life as she knew it. "I'll never change for you, Victor."
His glower was as hard as steel. "Whether or not you change your mind is irrelevant to our experiments. However, it would be beneficial for the both of us if you cooperated."
"You have Serum Four. You don't need me."
He stepped towards her, pressing her against the wall. His breath brushed over her cheeks. She bundled her fists up at her sides, fighting every urge to throw up at his feet. Now more than ever, was the time to be strong. To show no fear. "It's not perfect. With your blood and strong subjects, we can make Serum Five."
The elevator came to a stop. Kinsey hadn't even thought to look which floor they were going to. She wished she had, because it opened up to a helipad. The propellers were already in motion and Carissa was in the back.
She jumped out of the cabin when she saw them. Her hair, even tied back in a ponytail, fluttered about in the wind. She didn't bat an eye in Kinsey's direction. "You said you were leaving her behind." She had to raise her voice to compete with the helicopter engine.
"Change of plans."
Victor's voice didn't leave much room for argument, but Carrissa wouldn't be her sister if she didn't bite back.
"I told you, we don't need her. I have enough samples from her to make Serum Five."
Victor peered down at Kinsey, his grip tightening on her wrist. "She's a valuable asset. If we can-"
Carissa scoffed and threw her hands up in frustration. "Valuable? She can barely stand by herself. She's bleeding all over the ground; I doubt she'll survive the flight."
"She's strong. She'll make it. With the two of you, we can rebuild what the shifters destroyed here."
Carissa's face screwed up in disgust. "The shifters? Victor, she did this to us! Years of my research--down the drain--because you are blinded by her pathetic doe eyes!"
The roof access door burst open. Damon charged for Victor. Swearing, Victor brandished a gun from his waistband and aimed it at Damon.
"No!" Kinsey pushed Victor to the ground--and tripped on his feet. They went down, the gun flying out of his hand.
Two guards leapt out of the helicopter to stop Damon. Victor picked Kinsey up over his shoulder and ran for the cabin. Screaming, she reached around for his face; her claws came out and raked across his jaw and cheek. He dropped her on her shoulder.
Blinding pain flashed before her eyes. In the next second, a gun barrel stared back at her and Carrisa was the one who held it.
Tears lain in her blue eyes, but they weren't sorrowful. Kinsey had never seen Carissa cry because she was sad, only when she was furious.
"From the day you were born, you've been a curse!" she spat viciously. "'Look at sweet, innocent Kinsey,' they'd say. 'Why can't you be more like your sister? Show a little empathy for a change.' Why would I want to be anything like you? You're weak. Pathetic. I'm brilliant. I'm what everyone should strive for. I don't need to lower myself to your level."
Kinsey didn't know who she was talking about--definitely not their parents. Kinsey had never been good enough in their eyes. They wanted her to be more like Carissa.
And now her own sister was going to kill her.
She had accepted she might not survive freeing all the shifters--her sacrifice was the least she could do for all the horrible things they had endured--but for her sister to be the one to pull the trigger? That hurt.
Survival of the fittest. Evolution 101. Are you prey or are you a hunter?
She was tired of being preyed upon. Of people using her for their own gain. She was more--better--than that.
With her new sight, she caught the slightest movement in Carissa's finger before she pulled the trigger. In that fraction of a second, Kinsey hurled herself at her.
Remembering the last time she put all her strength into one movement, she restrained herself just enough to knock Carissa out with a swift punch and leave her skull intact.
"Kinsey!"
She lifted her head up in time to see the pilot aim his gun at her. She wasn't fast enough this time.
But Damon was. He leapt, caught her in his arms, and rolled them away from the gunfire. He eased his grip on her enough to look her over. "You okay?"
Being pressed into the concrete floor by his weight didn't help the blaring pain in her shoulder in the slightest, but she didn't have any new wounds thanks to him, so she nodded.
Over his shoulder, she saw Victor, mangled face and all, lift Carissa into his arms and fold into the helicopter cabin. "They're getting away."
Damon didn't move an inch, eyes on her even as thr helicopter flew away. "I don't care. You're not with them, that's all that matters."
Looking into his verdant eyes, she could see that was all that truly mattered to him. How could she have ever doubted his feelings for her? It was plain as day on his face, on full display for the whole world to see, a big neon sign that said: "I'm in love with Kinsey Ashe."
Dayton stepped onto the roof, chest heaving. He had a fresh gash along his chest, but it didn't look fatal--or that it bothered him at all. He was only concerned for his brother. "Damon?"
"We're good." He pulled himself up to his feet and helped Kinsey stand, keeping an arm around her waist.
Dayton clapped him on the back with a big grin. "The entire building has been evacuated. Kalem and Camen are outside doing some damage control."
Kinsey could hear the sirens below them. She hoped the casualties were kept at a minimum.
Damon saw her concern and kissed the top of her head. "Let's get out of here, hmm? I want someone to have a look at your shoulder."
She wasn't going to argue with him there. The pain in her shoulder was agony.
Just when she stepped for the door, a vicous screech shook the air. Damon yanked her back, tucking her behind him protectively.
Moments later, the homunculi ran out of the narrow exit. The two winged monsters took flight as soon as they could, disappearing into the night's sky. The beastly homunculi lunged off the roof, easily clearing the street below it, and landed on the building opposite them. The last one slithered down the side of the building, slipping into the dark alleyway behind.
Dayton blinked off the edge, amazed the homunculi had entirely ignored them. "Fuck."
"I'll say," Damon agreed unethusiastically. "You know what I'm going to ask of you, don't you?"
Dayton waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. I'll make a few calls. No rest for the wicked, eh?"
"Never." Damon smiled like he wouldn't want it any other way.
He may not mind that four monsters had been unleashed upon the city, but Kinsey felt wretched. If it weren't for her, they would have never gotten free. "I'm so sorry."
Dayton shrugged casually, like it wasn't a big deal. "Nah, don't worry about it. My men need something to keep them sharp, anyway. This'll be perfect."
Kinsey felt green.
"Everything will be all right, Kinsey. We'll take care of it." Then Damon didn't give her another chance to worry; he picked her up, holding her comfortably in his arms. "For now, let me take care of you."
"I'm fine." She didn't want him worrying about her with those monsters out on the loose.
Damon gave her a look that left no room for argument. "You're losing a lot of blood, Kins. We need to get that iron bullet out of you."
It hadn't occurred to her that she was feeling sick and lightheaded due to blood loss.
Relenting, she let him carry her down the stairs. At some point, the sprinklers had gone off, leaving puddles on the floor. Blood--not hers, both shifter and human--ran through the building like rivers from Hell. She smelt the bodies before she could see them and quickly buried her head in Damon's shoulder. She had only wanted to save the shifters, but so many people had died in the process, it didn't seem worth it.
Not until they stepped outside. The entire block was quadranted off. Police cars and ambulances stood on standby, helping the hundreds of refugees in need of medical attention or help. Amongst the chaos before them, she spotted Cera talking with Kalem and a burly man who looked like a younger yet more troubled version of Damon. Behind the burly men, Sabrina sat on the hood of an SUV, peering over the sea of heads, looking for her.
Kinsey wiggled in Damon's grasp. "Sabrina!"
"No. Doctor first. You can see your friend all you like when you're better."
She saw the worry in his eyes then decided to let whatever protests she had welling in her chest slide.
When they found a free paramedic, she went into action immediately, gesturing for Damon to set Kinsey down on the gurney and pulling out a kit with fresh gauze. When Damon didn't move out of her way, the paramedic ordered him to leave. He curled his lip up at her and crossed his arms with a murderous look.
Kinsey took his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze. "I'll be all right. She can't work if you're crowding me."
His eyes softened when he looked her over. "You get better."
The paramedic cut him a look. "She will if you leave. I know how to treat shifters."
Grumbling, Damon left them alone.
Kinsey smiled sheepishly at the medic. "He doesn't mean anything by it. He's just protective."
The woman ignored her and injected her with a sedative.
◇ ♡ ◇
Damon leaned against the side of the ambulance, refusing to be more than a few feet away from Kinsey. She might have brought the Bane Building to runes, but that didn't mean all of its employees were dead. Someone bitter could easily slip through the crowd unnoticed and kill her. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take on his mate.
What she had done today was incredible, though. It warmed his heart to see so many of his people make it out alive. He recognised almost all of their faces, though they were vastly different now. Those who hadn't been in long only had a few wounds that would recover properly now that they weren't constantly being mutilated. But there were others who had been in there too long, whose limbs would never grow back, whose minds would never forget the horrors they experienced.
He would set up a foundation for those people, get them the help they needed. Whether it be doctors, emotional support, or help assimilating back into the world, they would have it.
Kalem waded out of the crowd, handing him a pair of pants, which he gratefully stepped into. The police had done a good job at keeping the press at bay, but Damon still caught the occasional flash in the crowd, and the last thing he wanted was for his dick to be all over the Internet. He wouldn't hear the end of it at the next Alpha meeting.
"I've taken record of everyone we've recovered," Kalem told him tiredly. He looked haggard, hair askew, a light red scruff dusting his jaw. He hadn't noticed the buttons on his shirt weren't lined up. "I called their families to take them home after they've been looked after here. Things should start to thin out soon."
"Thank you." His friend might not want to be an Alpha, but he had really stepped up to the plate this time.
Kalem raked a hand through his hair, releasing a long breath then glanced inside the ambulance. "You've got enough to worry about. How's Kinsey doing?"
Even amongst this mess, he managed to smile. "They removed the bullet. She just needs to sleep. She's not what I'm worried about; Paton is going to want a word with me sooner or later."
"Sooner. He's here." Kalem pointed at a cluster of service vehicles and the portly man standing in the middle of it all.
Paton was the Chief of Police in Wensworth. Their relationship was symbiotic and, for the most part, constructive for both parties--as long as Damon didn't overstep any boundaries. One of them being calling in the police officers in his pack to do his work. So far every face Damon had seen in the blue uniform was a member of his pack. He couldn't imagine Paton was pleased to have half of his men disappear on the job, no matter the reason.
He sighed then peered back at Kinsey, fast asleep on the gurney. The paramedic had patched her up with temporary gauze, knowing her wounds would close shortly. Still, he didn't want to leave her side. He wanted to be the first person she saw when she woke up.
"I'll watch over her," Kalem volunteered.
Damon inwardly grumbled. Just once, could his friend not be so helpful?
"Thanks," he muttered.
Kalem laughed, sensing his reluctance. "It's good to have you back, Damon."
"You can thank Kinsey for that. She was already busting me out when Dayton showed up. Nice Mimic, by the way."
"It was Sabrina's idea to use Victor's DNA. She took a portal with High Witch Colleen back to her place and took some samples from the coat he'd conveniently left behind for us."
Damon blinked. "The High Witch herself made the potion?"
It was unheard of for Colleen to meddle in with shifters business, especially when humans were involved. At the very least, he'd expected one of her followers to make the potion.
Kalem huffed indignantly, crossing his arms. "Don't sound so surprised in front of Sabrina. She's been all high and mighty since she found out the Midnight Rose Coven loves her novels."
"You're shitting me." If he had known they were into corny human romance novels, he would have thrown a fucking library full of them at them a long time ago.
"I wish I was." He may have had his arms crossed and was huffing like an angry child, but his eyes were scanning the crowd for her.
"You know, it could be handy having someone with a good rep with Colleen around."
Kalem frowned at him. "What are you talking about? What about Jess, Dayton's witch?"
Ha! If Dayton knew they referred Jess as his witch, the wolf would have an aneurysm.
"She's still a witch," Damon reminded him. "She'll always be loyal to Colleen. But Sabrina? She's loyal to Kinsey--and you."
"Me?" His face went pink. "She's more of a free spirit than you think she is. She owes me nothing and she knows it."
"It's just a thought."
All he needed to do was plant the seed in his mind. Kalem could do what he liked with it.
"I better go smooth things over with Paton. No one goes near Kinsey--not even Sabrina."
Kalem nodded firmly. "Good luck."
He was going to need it.
◇ ◇ ◇
Damon didn't want to think about how long he'd spent making Paton promises. The moment he'd left Kinsey's side, he had felt a constant itch in the back of his head to return to her. He had a feeling he was stuck with the annoying tick until he mater with her. Until then, she could--and was very likely to after he had lied to her--change her mind and find a more trustworthy mate. The thought didn't sit well with him. At all.
Somehow he had managed--barely--to keep it together long enough to appease Paton. In the end, the Chief of Police and Damon shared a common goal: keeping the citizens of this city safe. After seeing how many people the Corporation had locked up, he felt a little more compassionate for the cause, but when he heard about the homunculi running loose in the streets, he thrust that responsibility on Damon. It was for the better. If Damon and Dayton could barely slow them down, he couldn't imagine humans doing any better. It might be time to ask the other Folk for help--and suffer whatever price he had to pay for it.
Once he was finally free of Paton's demands, he hurried back to Kinsey, and not a moment too soon. He caught sight of Krous expertly weaving through the crowd towards Kinsey's ambulance. Damon picked up the pace to intercept.
Kalem's head snapped in the bear shifter's direction before Damon could call out a warning to him. Kalem blocked his path, claws extended. "Back off, Krous. If you touch Kinsey, your life is forfeit."
Krous bared his teeth, fists trembling at his sides. "Fuck off, wolf. Let me pass."
Damon pushed through the crowd faster and finally caught up to them. He came up behind the bear shifter and yanked him away from Kalem and the ambulance. Krous staggered. Damon threw his fist into his stomach. The powerful force sent the bear shifter to his knees.
"I told you what would happen if you went near Kinsey again," he growled. Back then it had been a threat from an Alpha keeping his territory in line. Now, he was protecting his mate and he would make him pay thrice for attempting to hurt her.
Damon raised his fist, claws out, to exact his punishment-
"Damon! Stop!"
Kinsey leapt out of the ambulance before Damon could touch Krous and pushed him. Entirely underestimating her strength, he stumbled into Kalem. They fell over like dominos.
Her hands flew to her mouth when she saw what she had done. She gaped, horrified, then she rushed to help them up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to push you over. I'm still getting used to. . . this." She looked herself over helplessly, still coming to terms with what had been done to her.
As adorable as it was to watch her figure out the limits to her new strength, he didn't want her to feel any guilt for it. They all went through this; she just came to it under different circumstances.
He cupped her face, brushing her cheek with his thumb. She had made a full recovery. The blood staining her skin and clothes was old and dry, not a single blemish left behind.
"Don't apologize, Kins. It will take time to adjust to your new abilities and our world. I will help you, but first, I have a promise to keep."
He turned to bring a world of pain to Krous, but the shifter was on his knees still, head bent in submission--to Kinsey.
"I'm not here to harm you," Krous addressed her, more formal than he had ever been with Damon. "You saved my life--and many of my kin--even when I tried many times to kill you. I wish to thank you on behalf of everyone you saved today. If you'll take me, I want to swear myself to you and bear your Mark."
"Only an Alpha can Mark you," Kalem reminded him snidely.
Krous lifted his eyes to Damon. "She is your mate, isn't she? That makes her an Alpha by proxy."
Damon's heart felt heavy in his chest. While he was surprised the bear shifter wanted to swear his allegiance to Kinsey and he wanted nothing more than to show her how to Mark him, he feared what she had to say. Whatever she said to him, would tell Damon if he had a shot of getting her back or not.
Kinsey moistened her lips, tucking her scraggly hair behind her ears. "Thank you, Krous, but I. . . I'm not Damon's mate. I'm not even a shifter. I'm a. . ." She trailed off and shook her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. You don't want me as your leader."
His heart pounded in his ears. She wasn't rejecting Krous because she didn't want to be Damon's mate, she was rejecting him because she didn't know where she fit in any more. It killed him that she didn't think he, or anyone, would accept her.
He was about to change that.
He went to her side and addressed Krous, "Hold that thought. I need to talk to Kinsey." He turned to his future and held a hand out to her. "Come with me?"
It was time they talked. No matter what the result may be, there were some things he needed to say to her.