Chapter 129

Harper’s POV

What the actual hell had happened?!

Everything was going so well. I truly believed that we were going to make it through. From the moment we arrived, Lucas, I, and the teams had been making strenuous strides to complete this mission. And suddenly, within meager seconds, it all fell apart.

As soon as I heard the awful sound of that blaring siren, I knew that our plan had fallen to pieces. What I really hadn’t accounted for was the possibility that these idiots would have thought to separate me from the rest of my team.

When that one guard had addressed me, I felt my blood run cold and my skin crawl. I hadn’t recognized him specifically, but the fact that my presence left a notable mark on the place when I managed to escape the last time I was here.

Another factor that seriously left me still stammering was how Lucas was so easily able to tear out that guard’s throat. I knew the man had a ruthless side, but seeing it firsthand and up close caused my entire body to freeze on the spot.

Half of him had become covered in the other man’s blood, yet it hardly seemed to faze him. Within me, I felt Erie practically preen and snarl with a deep sense of approval.

I was jolted back to reality the second I felt another guard place his hand on my shoulder. The air seized in my lungs as a hot flash of fear raced through me.

I tried to keep Lucas in my line of sight for as long as I possibly could. The moment I was pulled around the corner and I could no longer see him, I gained my bearings and re-evaluated my situation.

While I may have been torn away from my team, I couldn’t simply give up. What these men around me failed to acknowledge was that I was no longer the weak, wolfless woman that had nearly been a part of the auction.

Thanks to my extensive training with Lucas and Jaxon, I now possessed the ability to defend myself better than I ever had before.

I silently glanced at the two guards in front of me and took note of the two behind me.

“It would be four against one,” I said to my wolf. “How do we feel about those odds?”

“Start with the one whose hand is on our shoulder,” Erie responded. “The two in front are too busy talking to each other, and the third one is scrolling through his phone.”

She made a good point. If I were to make a move, it had to be now.

Without breaking my stride, I clamped my hand over the guard's and spun around to face him. I took the heel of my palm and struck him hard under the jaw, leading him to stumble backwards.

The man next to him finally glanced up from his phone to find his partner toppling over. “Hey! You sneaking, little bitch!”

A lethal snarl slipped past my lips. I dove at the second guard with the intention to knock him out like I had done to his partner. I brought my knee up to connect with his lower stomach, eliciting a broken grunt that drew the attention of the other two guards who were ahead of us.

They snapped their heads around and wore the same dubious look of disbelief.

“How the hell—”

“Shut up and grab her!”

I was quick on my feet. I had to be. Unlike all the previous times I was left to defend myself, it had always been one-on-one. This time, I was forced to face off against two men who were obscenely bigger than me.

But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from getting back to Lucas and the others.

“I’d like to see you try,” I hissed.

The man on the left made the first move. He attempted to lunge at my legs, hoping to tackle me to the floor. I swung my leg back and sent the edge of my foot straight into his chest, and took the sharp edge of my elbow and jabbed the side of his head.

I heard a satisfying crack. In the back of my mind, I could imagine Lucas’s prideful smile. But my victory was quickly interrupted by the screeching sound of a transceiver. I turned my attention to the last guard standing. He held the device close to his mouth and spoke in a bitter panic.

“All available units get to hall 119.”

Soon, the adjoining hallways were filled with the rapturous echoes of thundering footsteps. I let out a curse under my breath and glanced over my shoulder to see ten new guards armed for combat.

Oh God.

Although I refused to show it, I was exhausted. My muscles were sore from all the previous strain I’d put myself through just to make it this far.

I knew that if I chose to give up, there was no telling what would become of my fate—especially at the awful hands of these people. I couldn’t do it...But I was certain that the creature inside of me could.

“Erie,” I whispered. “I need you.”

The desperation and eagerness to make it through were too overwhelming. I was never someone who really struggled to remain in control of handling their wolf. Granted, it did take a little bit of time to find that balance again once the two of us were reconnected.

What I was requesting was a complete surrender to my own wolf. I needed Erie to take control and use her strength to get us both out of this tricky situation.

Her rough voice called from the back of my mind. “Let go.”

I let my eyes flutter closed and slipped into the recesses of my mind. My actions became Erie’s. Every step. Every slash of her claws. Every snap of her jaw.

I wasn’t entirely sure how much time had passed. All I knew was that a sharp, piercing pain had struck me somewhere on my side, which caused my wolf to slow down. Yet, she persisted.

I had become a passenger in my own body. All I was able to do was hear the manic screams and shouts of the unfortunate men who dared to cross us. The harsh, pungent smell of blood filled the air. Some of it was mine. Most of it was theirs.

When my vision started to come back, it was as though I had woken up in the middle of a warzone. I tried not to glance at any of the fallen guards that lay lifeless around me.

The second I tried to move a single muscle, I winced in pain. Glancing down at myself, I noticed numerous cuts and scratches marring my skin. I muddled up what little energy I had and healed all the topical wounds and pulled myself to my feet.

I had no choice but to hold onto the wall for the time being. Another wave of pain shot through me. My heart caught in my lungs when I started down at the source of my problem.

“Shit,” I gasped.

A short, metal arrow was sticking out of my side. One of the guards must have been carrying a crossbow and actually managed to hit Erie in the midst of her furious rage.

The problem with a wound like that...It wasn’t easily treatable. I couldn’t simply pull out the arrow and try to heal myself like I would a broken bone. The arrowhead had struck, while causing its own damage, and was the only thing that was keeping me from hemorrhaging.

“I h-have to keep going,” I said. “I can’t d-die here.”