CRESCENT
More than five minutes passed.
More than ten.
Then twenty.
Karma purred reassuringly, both of us tuned into the bond with unwavering dedication. If they were in trouble, we would know.
He said it a hundred times, but it didn’t feel true.
And I wanted my keys back—mynestback.
Vandle hadpromisedhe would bring them back in five minutes.
“Can we go check on them?”
Karma hesitated. “That’s not the plan.”
It wasn’t, but the plan wasfiveminutes. We’d already veered from the plan. A whine slipped from me.
“Please?”
That broke Karma’s resolve. He took one stilted step forward, and I ducked out from under his arm to rush ahead.
As I took a step around the corner, a shout rang off the walls. One step into the hallway on the opposite side stood an alpha—one I didn’t recognize.
His huge aura burst into the air, a frightening threat as he took in the three men hog-tied on the ground in front of the open contraband room door.
I froze, eyes locking with his, the battering weight of the aura terrifying me.
We’ve been caught.
Vandle barrelled out of the room first, zeroing in on the threat and sprinting for him. The alpha snarled and ran for backup. How long until there were more alphas to come and attack us?
My heart skipped a beat as I watched Vandle chase, then Phantom burst from the room a second later, glancing frantically back and forth.
Sin was still inside.
“Get her out of here!” Phantom shouted.
Karma’s arm wrapped around my waist, hauling me backward and spinning me to face the way we’d come.
“Run!”His command spurred me into motion, my feet almost tripping over each other as I darted off.
I knew where to go—back to the cell.
They’d told me that was the plan if this went wrong.
Karma’s footsteps pounded the ground behind me, each sound comfort—proof he hadn’t sent me off on my own. My alpha was with me, just a pace or two behind to keep me safe.
And the others… they would follow close behind us, right?
SIN
My jobsoundeddeceptively simple: find the contacts.
No matter what shouts I heard from outside, or what auras burst to life.