They formulated a plan and got out of the SUV quietly. Though he wasn’t as trained as the others when it came to using all of his new senses, he was still a former elite soldier and could carry his weight.
They crept through the forest, and he ignored the sound of the wind in the trees and the animals going deathly quiet around four large predators within their midst. It was only a two-minute hike. But with each step closer to Charlotte, Shane felt as if it took far longer.
When they got to the edge of a clearing, the four stopped and crouched down behind a large row of bushes to look at the structure up ahead.
She was in there. He could feel it.
He looked over to mouth something to the others, then shot his attention back to the doorway of the large grey building in front of them.
“Holy hell,” Kameron whispered. “Your mate is one fucking tough wolf.”
Shane let out a growl, and the four of them moved as one to make sure Charlotte would be able to make it out completely. Blood covered her from head to toe, and she gripped a crimson tipped knife in her hand. She was about a quarter of a mile away, but he could see her clearly.
He couldn’t tell exactly where she was hurt, but his wolf howled to get closer.
“Get the guards on the side that are coming for her, Shane,” Bram ordered. “I’ll get the ones on the other side if Kameron can get the ones in the middle. Walker? Get Charlotte out of here.” Bram paused. “No survivors. Not this time. We can’t.”
It echoed Gideon’s and Kade’s earlier assessment, and Shane knew things were changed once again.
Though Shane didn’t want anyone else to take Charlotte, he knew Walker would be the best bet as it looked as if she desperately needed a Healer. As soon as the final words had left Bram’s mouth, the three of them were off, taking care of what they needed to.
The three men on the side of the building Shane ran to were familiar.
Too familiar.
He’d fought alongside these men, battled insurgents by their side when they’d been in war. He’d saved their lives, and he knew they had done the same for him. They had been his brothers in arms, and he’d thought brothers of his soul.
He had been wrong.
Oh so fucking wrong.
When he came into their line of sight, they looked shocked for a moment then raised their guns to shoot.
The betrayal of that action slapped at Shane, but he ignored it. They had betrayed their country, betrayed Shane, and betrayed their own sense of honor.
He was a wolf now, and had a new set of priorities that should have aligned with those in front of him, but not any longer. These men had signed their death warrants, and Shane would do what he had to in order to protect his people.
Before the soldiers could get off the first round, he had one guy down, his neck snapped. Shane’s wolf was at the surface, guiding him as he learned to blend his old knowledge with his newly developed skills.
He took down the other two easily enough, though one bullet did graze him. It burned like hell, but he ignored it. After taking a look around and deciding that was the last of them for now, he went back to the front of the building to see if he could help.
The others had been busy, their wolves in their eyes as he made their way to them. Walker was on the ground, Charlotte in his arms as he worked on Healing some of her wounds.
Shane went to his knees at Walker’s side. “Char,” he bit out.
She smiled painfully at him. “I got out myself.” She words were hoarse, and he couldn’t help the pride that flowed through him.
“Hell yeah, you did.”
“We need to get out of here,” Kameron growled as Bram hurried toward them. Relief covered Shane’s mate’s face for a moment before he was all wolf once again. “I don’t know how many others are in the building or who could be coming. We don’t have any time.”
Walker picked up Charlotte and held her close. “I’m not her Healer, and my magic shouldn’t be working at all, but it is enough that she should be good until we get her to the Redwood Healer or until Gideon brings her into the Talons. The mating bond with you is making things a little funky, but I’ve stopped most of the bleeding.”
Charlotte sighed and reached out for Shane. “Get me to the Talon den and I’ll let Gideon finish it. We have to go.”
Shane’s wolf howled with purpose, and he kissed Charlotte’s bloodstained hand before squeezing it. “Let’s get you home.”
They were sitting ducks where they stood, but Charlotte was safe for now. She’d somehow saved herself, and for that, he knew she would always have a renewed sense of worth within herself she might have doubted before.
But things weren’t over. Montag had to be creeping around, perhaps even watching them now, and that meant they needed to move. Shane wouldn’t feel safe until they were within their den wards, surrounded by his Pack and those he trusted.