“They probably would have done it eventually,” said Max. “Thank God for Coach’s shield.”
I looked up at one of the Residence Halls. “Did anyone notice how the birds seemed drawn to that building?”
Sam hummed. “Yeah, I noticed.” Her gaze locked on something to our left. “Oi, where are you lot going?”
Tracking her gaze, I saw the female squad walking fast.
“To check on Maya,” replied Paige.
I tensed. “What about Maya?”
Alora pointed at the Residence Hall I’d just been staring at. “She told me she was heading for this building, and she hasn’t come back out yet. She’s probably fine, but we just wanted to check.”
“I’ll reach out to her,” said Jared, whose eyes then turned inward. Moments later, his face went tight. “Fuck.”
My stomach rolled. “What?”
Jared set his hands on his hips. “She’s at Coop’s apartment. Beatrix has him and Maya immobilised. She wants Maya to shift into her jaguar form so she can infect her. Beatrix is our culprit, she called the animals here.”
My heart slammed against my ribs, and then it was hammering like crazy. Urgency filled me from head to toe. “We have to get to her now.”
Jared teleported us all to Coop’s front door, having earlier learned his apartment number from Fletcher.
“What’s the situation?” Sam asked her mate, all business.
Jared’s gaze went unfocused again, and I knew he was talking with Maya. “All three are in the bedroom. Beatrix has her back to the doorway. Coop and Maya still can’t move. And Beatrix …” Jared looked at me. “She’s currently holding a knife to Maya’s heart.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “Motherfucker.” Nausea rose up fast, and a chilling dread settled over me like a heavy blanket, making me feel like I couldn’t suck in enough air. Noting the wary looks the Grand High Pair gave me, I said, “I won’t lose it. Just … don’t let her die.”
“Oh, that won’t happen.” Sam puffed out a breath. “Okay, we have to be careful about this, we can’t all barge in there. Cassie, Harvey—I want you both to be right behind me and Jared. This is what we’re gonna do.” She quickly relayed her plan.
“I’ve told Maya to keep Beatrix distracted.” Jared then teleported us into the living area.
My heart jumped as I heard Maya say, “You can threaten me all you want, Beatrix, I won’t shift.”
“You understand I have a knife pointed at your chest?” Beatrix snarked.
Even though it went against every protective instinct I had, I didn’t try to rush to Maya. I waited for Sam, Jared, Cassie, and Harvey to begin walking along the hallway before I moved, stepping in behind them.
“If you don’t think I’d prefer to be stabbed in the heart than infected with bloodlust, you’re highly mistaken,” said Maya.
“Infected?” echoed Beatrix, sounding shocked. “I do not infect animals.”
“Sure you do. They were rabid, absolutely crazed, lost all sense of who they were, killed indiscriminately. What kind of an existence is that? How could you do that to them?”
“I was building my own nest!”
“You were cursing animals with a fate worse than death, and then they slaughtered whatever they came across—even their own young. The bodies kept on piling up. You’re responsible for every one of them.”
A few feet away from the open bedroom door, Sam and Jared halted. The rest of us did the same. I glanced ahead of us, and the breath left my lungs. I could see Maya, see how stiffly she stood. And fuck if I didn’t want to fist Beatrix’s hair and haul her away, but I didn’t dare move.
The whole thing was like déjà fucking vu. I’d been forced to watch as Raquel was killed—I’d been too weak and dazed to do a damn thing to help her. It had been agonising to be so helpless. It had destroyed something inside me that would never heal.
I’d never been so fucking angry as I was in this moment. Never felt such debilitating fear that it put a rock in my stomach, tightened my ribs, and stabbed at my chest like an ice-cold blade.
Sam glanced over her shoulder and nodded at Cassie.
“I am done arguing with you, Maya. Shift shape now and—” Beatrix sucked in a sharp breath and went stiff as a board, hopefully now under Cassie’s control. My heart beat like a drum as I waited, praying this would work. Finally, Beatrix stiffly backed away from Maya. As per his instructions, Harvey telekinetically snatched the knife from her hand and sent it hurling across the room.
Knowing it was now safe to enter, I rushed through the crowd and went straight to Maya, the metallic taste of fear still in my mouth. I cradled her face with my hands. “Thank fucking Christ you’re okay.”
She gave me a watery smile. “I knew you’d all come.”
“Cassie, make Beatrix release whatever hold she has on Maya and Coop’s bodies,” Sam ordered.