I don’t have time to track how far Stella’s managed to have gotten, but I have a feeling in my gut that they’re still okay. She said she wasn’t brave and that all she knew how to do was run, yet here she is now, running bravely to save her precious mortling.
My mate has skills no other female could dream of.
She’s not only a survivor, she’s a warrior who fiercely protects her young. I cannot wait to fill her with more mortlings and grow our little tribe.
I’ve taken out a couple more human men, blindly thrashing through them with the violence and animalistic movements of a beast like a sabrevipe. Nips of pain pierce into my flesh, but with my mind overwhelmed by the need to destroy them, they feel like pinches and I’m able to ignore them for the most part.
One of the humans pulls a magknife from his belt, panting hard as he approaches. He’s quick, but I’m quicker. I bend and ram him with my nog right in the center of his gut. We tumble to the ground, both of us snarling in fury. Pain slashes along my side, making my vision grow dark. With a thunderous growl, I snag the human’s wrist and twist it away from me. He screams in agony in time with the sounds of bones snapping in his arm. I shove him away and attempt to stand, but stumble as the pain overwhelms me.
An arm hooks around my neck from behind. One of the men managed to sneak around behind me. Though he’s not nearly as bulky as I am, his surprise attack coupled with my weakening body has him gaining the upper hand. Grunting, I attempt to throw him off but to no avail.
“Get. Off. Of. Me.”
I yank at the blade still lodged in my side. With a quick whip of my hand, I aim the tip at the man’s nog. A sickening sound can be heard as the blade slices through the rubber of his mask and through his skull. He collapses to the ground behind me.
Pain shoots through me again and I fall helplessly to my knees. I clutch onto my side, noting how blood gushes from the flayed site, soaking my clawed hand.
I need to get to safety—into the Facility.
But…
Darkness swarms around me and buzzes in my ears. I’m going to bleed out and enter The Eternals without my mate. Jerking my eyes back open, I try and blink away my weakening daze, looking around me at the carnage.
I took them all out.
All the men.
Somehow, in my blinding rage, I managed to destroy the monsters who wanted to take my family from me.
Stella and Henry will be safe now.
My duty is done.
I close my eyes for good.
There’s a blur of confusion around me. Yelling. Chaos. Pain. So much pain. And then a familiar voice. Another mort. Which one?
I can’t seem to make sense of any of it, so I focus on what I want to see. Memories of Stella’s golden hair and Henry’s sweet smile. Images of what a future would look like—our own space to settle down and grow our family. The thought of giving Henry little siblings is almost too beautiful to bear.
“Galen!”
The familiar voice calls to me, but I can’t seem to reach through the darkness to grab onto it. I’m once more thrust into dreams of my own making—dreams of Stella and Henry.
A small but strong hand curls around mine. I recognize the softness and feel of it.
“You’re going to be okay, Galen,” Stella murmurs, finding me in my own darkness. “You have to be. We need you—I need you.”
Something enters my bloodstream and ultimate bliss takes over, stealing me from everything and everyone.
A loud boom wakes me from a dark slumber. The entire building quakes and glass shatters as something falls. A hand squeezes around mine.
“Gawen huwt,” Henry whimpers.
“He’s going to get better, baby. I promise.”
I want to ask why everything is shaking around us and what the boom was, but I’m unable to form words. I’m not sure how long I fade in and out, my eyes barely cracked open, when I hear another voice.
“They’ve attempted a couple of attacks on our Facility, but thus far haven’t been able to penetrate it,” Breccan rumbles. “Draven and Theron have gone to The Tower to assess the threats and how we can defeat them once and for all. Oz’s weapon is too powerful. We will not fail.”
Avrell grunts in pleasure. “I want them all destroyed.”
“You and me both,” Breccan agrees, fury lacing his every biting word. “How’s Galen?”
I attempt to open my mouth to speak, but it’s too dry.
“Everything is healing quite nicely.” Avrell lets out a pleased sigh. “I missed my lab.”
“Don’t get too comfortable. We’ll be going back underground the moment he’s stable. It’s safer there until we eliminate the threat. How much longer until he rouses?”