Chapter 42: Chapter 42

ALPHA

Sloan had had the custom-made vehicle built for speed and quiet, compared to other bikes on the market. It was one of the best purchases he’d ever made.

He couldn’t wait to have Myra riding with him, clenching his middle from behind, enjoying the ride.

The thought of their mate caused Alpha to push the bike to go faster. Was he worried about the police? Nope. They would have to try and catch him first.

He took the corners at breakneck speeds, and he weaved through the traffic using his lycan reflexes to manipulate his reaction time.

He even ignored traffic lights, since they only hindered his progress. He was the first one from their group to make it to the chamber’s grounds, just under eight minutes.

A valet approached him as he dismounted the bike. The man bowed and quickly took the helmet from Alpha’s passing figure. His lycan aura was so strong that the elders and other alphas just moved out of his way.

Two guards standing by the main doors to the chamber opened it as he approached. He quickly stepped inside.

“Alpha, we have everything you requested,” Elder Reagan stated when Alpha walked into the busy inner chambers. He patted a female acolyte’s shoulder, silently giving her instructions.

The girl sitting behind the control desk typed on some keys, and two images came up on the big screen.

As the images materialized, another alpha approached Sloan. “We’re all ready to join you in battle. Just say the word,” he said, and several others behind him nodded in agreement.

~“Have your people ready to leave as soon as possible,”~ Alpha instructed.

Everyone besides Elder Reagan looked at Sloan in shock. Some even bared their necks to him in submission.

He quickly dismissed their display and looked back at the screen. One image depicted the blueprint plans of the water treatment plant. Several areas were circled in red.

“What are those highlighted spots?”

“All possible entries and exits to the treatment plant. We got all the records of the buildings, outhouses, and grounds.

“Further scans showed that there are no hidden tunnels or passageways that we can find,” the female acolyte explained.

“The other image is the thermal scan of the surroundings. As you can see, a flurry of activities in and around this main building.”

Alpha shifted his eyes to the second image on the screen, taking in the different heat spots moving about the different levels of the building.

~“Very Marauders-Map-like,”~ Sloan marveled.

A different acolyte spoke up. “In the last twenty minutes, they’ve all moved to this area. It’s the old desalination pool.” He isolated a large area with multiple thermal signatures.

At the same time, the doors opened, and Sloan’s family was ushered in. The moment Megan stepped in, nervous murmurs broke out throughout the room.

Alpha snapped, ~“The human is under my protection. If you have a problem, tough luck. Any harm comes to her, you will answer to Declan and me.”~

His bark stopped all further conversation about her. ~“Also, this is Kenny. He’s my pack security IT specialist. He will be an extra pair of eyes during the operation.”~

“Alpha, Elizabeth sent us another link,” Tristan announced as soon as he entered. He nodded to the acolyte, and soon the link was up on the screen. It was blurry at first, but once it came into focus, a voice started speaking.

“Ready to see some fun? It’s a fight to the death!” the distorted voice announced as the video feed moved over to showcase the empty desalination pool, confirming their location.

It panned out, and there were several creatures gathered. They were wearing masks, cheering and booing at the two women in the pool, standing in the converted battle arena.

“A challenge for Alpha Sloan’s heart and to be his one true mate!”

The video cut to Elizabeth in one corner, and she looked a terrible sight.

Her usual platinum-blonde hair looked matted and unkempt. There was a wild look on her face, almost feral, and sick. The jagged bite mark on her neck looked out of place.

“It looks like someone tried to chew on her.” Myrielle frowned.

“Talk about desperate,” Bryn whispered to Pearl.

~“Kenny, it’s a live feed. Hack it,”~ Alpha ordered.

The video panned over to Myra, and she looked tired. But he knew Skye was still in control and pretending to be weak.

The act was to give Elizabeth a false sense of security and victory.

~“We’re leaving now!”~ Alpha barked to the room, and then he linked with Skye as they ran out of the chamber. ~“Soon, my love!”~

MYRA

~“Myra, I’m staying in control unless I need to protect our pup,”~ Skye stated as the two creatures wheeled her out of the room.

At this point, Myra was too panicky to take back control anyway. The gurney moved through the same pair of doors that Leanne had disappeared through. This hallway was different from the other, at least that’s what Myra thought.

The excited chatter of the creatures grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening. They came to an abrupt stop, and the two men unbuckled her hands and feet.

Suddenly, the gurney tilted, and Myra’s body slid off and over the edge. The drop to the dirt-covered ground was stomach-churning and painful.

The pain quickly subsided, thanks to Skye’s healing blood, but the gathered creatures laughed at her discomfort.

Myra slowly maneuvered herself to sit up, and she looked around. She’d fallen about twenty feet, but that wasn’t the surprising part. She was shocked by the number of creatures who associated themselves with this group.

She looked around for Leanne, but she was lost in the sea of creatures. Skye used her heightened sense of smell to locate her bleeding friend.

She tilted her head to the side and quickly found her. Leanne wasn’t lost in the crowd but had also been dumped in the same area as Myra.

Skye pretended that she was still weak and crawled over to Leanne’s mangled body. Her eyes were closed, her skin was ashy and sweaty, and her breathing was shallow.

Myra leaned over and listened to her labored breaths, and her gaze fell on the still-bleeding wound in her thigh.

Skye quickly unhooked and removed her bra. She took the adjustable straps and used them as a makeshift tourniquet to stop further blood loss.

Leanne groaned lowly when Skye moved her leg to tend to her life-threatening wound. Leanne would die if she didn’t receive medical treatment soon.

~“Forget about…me. Save…yourself,” ~Leanne linked with her.

~“Just hang on. Alpha will be here soon,”~ Skye responded lovingly. She saw Leanne’s brows furrow at the difference in Myra’s voice in her mind.

~“Myra?”~

~“Save your energy.”~ Skye hushed her by running a soothing hand over her sweaty brow.

The atmosphere changed, and the crowd became more unruly and impossibly loud. Due to her heightened sense of hearing, the noise was almost deafening for Skye.

Trying to tune out the noise, she almost missed someone jumping down to the ground. The vibrations of the drop caused Myra to look up.

When the dust settled, Elizabeth stood up proudly. She’d changed her clothing, and for the first time, they noticed how malnourished she’d become.

The black gym bra barely hugged her skeletal frame, and her skin looked like it was stretched thin over her implanted breasts.

The matching black pants were rolled up a couple of times and hung loosely on her protruding hip bones.

Her disheveled matted mop of hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head, making her face look even hollower. Like Stacy, there was a wild look in her eyes, almost feral.

“Ready to see some FUN?” Brian announced with the clearing of his throat to draw everyone’s attention to himself. He stood high up behind Elizabeth, still wearing that ridiculous mask.

Even in her weakened state, Leanne growled at the sound of his voice and tried moving.

~“Preserve your strength.”~ Skye patted Leanne’s arm.

“A fight to the death!” Brian continued, and Elizabeth started bouncing on her toes as the crowd roared in delight and then booed at Myra. “A challenge for Alpha Sloan’s heart and to be his one true mate!”

~“Soon, my love!”~ Alpha’s voice echoed in her mind, providing her with some hope.

Brian smirked. “The rules? There are no rules! GO!” he commanded, and Elizabeth immediately shifted.

Her wolf looked just as bad as her human self. Her fur was patchy and mangy, and like her human counterpart, the animal was skin and bones.

She growled and snarled at Myra, saliva foaming at the corners of her mouth. She snapped her teeth in anger.