CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kyle
"Is it ready yet?" I walked into the medical room where Curtis was busy putting the wolfsbane spray together. He was pouring some liquid into a small bottle.
"Nearly," he said, busy screwing on the top.
James walked in along with Cade and Blake.
"I've sent a message to start mobilizing my fighters," Cade informed me, and I nodded. We would need all the werewolves we could get.
"It's important to keep enough fighters back to defend the compounds," I reminded him, and he nodded.
"I know that," he replied. "This isn't my first rodeo."
"Sorry," I mumbled. I had been running a pack longer than he had so it was hard not to remind him of things like that. He just shrugged it off.
If anyone had told me before my sister's return that Cade and I would be on the same side, I would have told them they were smoking something. But here we were.
"I think it's best that Scarlett stays at your compound." I didn't want my sister to be anywhere near this.
Cade looked at me. "You do know she has a mind of her own and when she finds out what's happening she will be here in a heartbeat."
"She isn't safe here," I added.
"Maybe you should try to tell her that," Blake suggested with a knowing smile in Cade's direction.
"We'll deal with that later. Have you spoken to Keri yet?" I asked Blake, changing the subject.
"Keri has also started to gather her fighters," Blake told me. "They will be arriving in the morning."
We were building an army for an attack we knew was imminent. But it would be worthless unless we had a way to weaken the Keepers.
"Are you ready to test it?" I asked Curtis.
He nodded.
"You guys figure out the best way to protect the compound," I instructed James, Cade and Blake.
Curtis and I left them behind as we made our way to the house and into the basement.
This had to work. Our survival hung in the balance. If there was no way to make the fight fair, we had no chance. I didn't like that there was so much riding on this. There was no backup plan.
The guard outside Flynn's cell greeted us before opening the door for us. I walked in first. I kept my features free of any emotion. I would not allow Flynn, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, to see my angst.
His eyes met mine, the dislike clear in his gaze. The feeling was mutual.
"How close do we have to be?" I asked Curtis without taking my eyes off Flynn.
It wasn't like we could ask him to come closer; he knew whatever we were going to do wasn't in his best interest.
"We might have to restrain him," Curtis said to me while eyeing the Keeper with apprehension. That wasn't going to be an easy task.
Flynn pushed off the wall, keeping his eyes on us. He gave me a look that dared us to try.
Guards! I yelled through the mind-link. It took only moments for them to arrive.
There was no time to waste. Flynn's gaze flittered over the guards. His fists tightened like he was ready to rip them into pieces one by one as he waited for them to enter the cell.
I walked in first, not allowing the captured Keeper to intimidate me. The guards followed behind.
He flexed his arms.
The two guards went right as two went left. He tried to evade them but there were too many. Still fighting, my guards managed to pin him to the wall, two on each side and one in the center pushing against his chest.
"Quickly," I instructed Curtis, seeing that they wouldn't be able to hold him for long.
Curtis gave me a sideways glance before he stepped forward and held the small spray bottle in his hand.
He pressed down on the button and it sprayed the wolfsbane a couple of feet away. Flynn tried to avert his head but the wet particles landed on his face.
His response was instant. He hissed in pain. The guards began to slacken their hold on them as Flynn closed his eyes tightly and his face contorted in pain. The Keeper broke free and put his hands to his face as he moaned, dropping to his knees.
It was like watching someone get hit with pepper spray.
The one guard who had held him against the chest was rubbing his own face and the others were rubbing their arms. Flynn had taken the brunt of the hit but some of the spray had landed on the uncovered skin of the guards. Was there a way to limit their exposure to it?
The Keeper was definitely worse off than we were but the spray would be useless if my fighters were trying to fight off the effects of it as well. I contemplated a scenario where we could have two waves: one wave to spray the Keepers and a second that could fight them.
It wasn't a clean plan and that nagged at me.
"Unfortunately there is no way to limit the disbursement," Curtis said while standing behind me.
"What have you done to me?" Flynn asked tensely. He was still fighting the effects of the wolfsbane.
Even if it didn't weaken them it would be enough to incapacitate them.
"I'll need to monitor how long it takes for him to recover," Curtis added.
I folded my arms as I watched. The guards stepped back.
Go clean up, I instructed them. Flynn, who was still on his knees holding his face, was in no state to attack Curtis or me now.
The bonus was the wolfsbane could hurt us but it didn't weaken us. And any point in our favor at this stage could mean the difference between losing and winning.
"I need to get a blood sample," Curtis said. I nodded, walking over to Flynn. He tried to push me away as I tried to get him to his feet. I lifted him up and with an arm around his waist helped him to the bed.
"You will pay for this," he promised, finally opening his eyes. They were watery and slightly red, but I couldn't miss the hatred they held for me and my kind.
There was only a moment of guilt before I brushed it away. I had to remember he was the enemy and given half the chance he would end my life. I ignored his threat and watched Curtis take a sample of his blood. Flynn was too weak to fight back or struggle.
For the first time since the threat of the Keepers had materialized, I felt we were in with a fighting chance.
Curtis left to go back to the medical center to test the blood and I gave Flynn one last look before I left to go and update the rest of the gang on the good news.
I found them in the study going over some tactics.
"And?" Cade asked, lifting his head as I entered.
"It works," I answered, seeing the relief in their eyes. "But we have to come up with ways to limit the exposure to our fighters."
"Wearing longer shirts will keep it off their arms," Blake said, straightening up. I nodded. It was a simple solution but it was going to be harder to keep it from their faces or hands.
"So how bad was it?" James asked.
I shrugged. "It was probably the same as someone getting a dose of pepper spray."
"That had to hurt," Cade said, rolling his shoulders back slightly. I nodded.
"It did."
Now we had a way to fight the Keepers. There was still so much more to do. We began to throw around ideas of how a possible attack would go down and what our defense would be.
I rubbed my chin. Killing Flynn wasn't something I was looking forward to. Ending a life while in a fight was very different from a calculated move to keep my mate safe. It wasn't something I was comfortable with at all, but I had to. There was no backing out of it.
Crystal
"Will you do it?" I asked, feeling like everything hung on his answer.
Dean studied me for a moment before his eyes moved to Bay, who sat beside me.
"Yes," he answered after a few seconds that felt so much longer. His tone was as serious as the situation we were in.
We were running out of time. It was dark and Kyle would be back soon. We went over the plan a couple of times before they stood up to leave.
"Please let me know once he is in the car," I said to Dean in a whisper. He nodded. I gave him my spare dose of wolfsbane to give to Flynn. I hoped my dose of wolfsbane would start wearing off to ensure I was able to hear him through the mind-link.
"Thank you," I said to Bay as I hugged her at the door.
"I should be the one thanking you," she replied before she left. "I don't want him to die."
Neither did I.
I expected Dean to leave, but he lingered.
"Are you okay?" I asked, knowing I was asking a lot of him.
"I wanted to thank you for saving my life," he said.
I smiled at him.
"You're welcome. You would have done the same for me," I told him. He didn't look as convinced but he left it at that before he left me alone in the room.
There, I had put my plan into action.
Stop it, I told myself. I felt nervous and on edge. If I didn't get a handle on my emotions, Kyle might be able to feel them and figure out what I was up to.
What if Kyle never forgave me for this? I felt a rising panic at the possible repercussions of my actions. But it didn't matter. My survival wasn't a part of my plan. I hurried to the bathroom to throw some water on my face and pat it dry. My reflection in the mirror stopped me for a moment.
Would he be able to read the betrayal in my eyes? Only if you allow him, I said in answer to my own question.
I entered the bedroom and began to pace again while I began to go through my plan, making sure I covered each step. Processing every thought with meticulous concentration allowed me to keep my anxiety and nervousness from exploding into debilitating panic.
But there was only one likely scenario that was going to take place. And there was very little chance I was going to survive. The only comfort would be that I would save my mate and our pack.
I closed my eyes briefly when I felt the pain of my betrayal. He couldn't stop me if he didn't know. I couldn't let him find out.
The sound of footsteps made me stop and I held my breath. The door opened and Kyle entered. The sight of him made me swallow my emotion. The smile he gave me made my heart leap in response.
"I'm sorry," he said, shutting the door behind him. "I was longer than I expected."
I returned his smile as best as I could without giving away anything.
"I missed you," I told him, trying to cover my nervousness with a smile. He shrugged his jacked off and threw it over a chair before he came to a stop in front of me.
"I missed you too," he said, taking my hands into his. "Being away from you sucks."
Briefly I closed my eyes and allowed the feeling of completeness that only our touch could give me to flow over me. I reveled in it, not allowing the sadness I also felt to ruin it.
Shutting down the thoughts in my mind, I tried to concentrate on him. He looked tired, and I caressed his cheek when his hands rested on my hips.
"You need to rest," I told him, feeling protective over him.
But you're going to betray him. I shoved the thought away. I didn't want to ruin possibly the only time I might have left with the man I loved struggling with the guilt at my actions. My heart swelled with the emotion I felt for him. I cradled his face, allowing myself to take in every inch of his beautiful features.
"I need you," he whispered. Feeling breathless at his words, I reached up and pulled him down to kiss me.
"I'm here," I whispered against his lips before his mouth covered mine.
Shutting down all my thoughts, I concentrated only on the physical feel of his lips beneath mine and the touch of his hands that slid around my waist and pulled me to him.
"A lifetime of this won't be enough," he said softly when he broke our kiss. I felt a pang of guilt because there wouldn't be that for us. His eyes swept over me and I tingled beneath his gaze. I released my hold around his neck and my hands rested on his chest.
"I love you," I whispered. I had even before I had discovered we were mates. Our connection had only intensified and strengthened the true feelings I had felt before for him.
"I love you too, so much sometimes it hurts," he said. His eyes held mine. I liked the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.
It was hard to block out thoughts of what Dean and Bay were doing. How far had they gotten? Had they been caught yet?
"You okay?" he asked, his forehead creased. He touched my bottom lip with his index finger.
I nodded, trying to let go of the thoughts to ease the stress I was feeling.
"Yes."
We had decided they would let me know as soon as they could whether my plan had worked or not. There was so much riding on this. If we failed, people would die. I wouldn't be able to save anyone. If my plan succeeded, then I could save everyone.
My heart ached when I looked into Kyle's eyes. At times they were a silvery gray but when I looked closer there were flecks of blue, just like the sea. Beautiful.
"Love me," I whispered, needing him to let me feel what we shared one more time before everything fell apart.
He held my face gently between his hands as he leaned closer, touching his lips gently to mine. My stomach fluttered and I gripped his shirt. His lips strained harder against mine and I gasped, allowing his tongue to enter my mouth.
My tongue stroked his gently. His hand released my face and dropped to my waist.
His one thumb crept under my shirt and touched the skin of my stomach. His hands tightened around the hem of my shirt and our lips broke apart long enough for him to lift it up over my head.
I shivered momentarily before he wrapped his strong arms around me. His warmth reminded me I was no longer alone. His strength reminded me he would always be there to protect me. The sound of his heart beating reminded me he would love me forever.
Every touch reminded me of what we shared. Destiny had chosen each for us. We were a perfect match to love each other until our last breath.
I couldn't shut out the guilt I felt when I thought about how he would react to my betrayal.
He stilled for a moment as he felt my emotions but I distracted him as I pushed forward, kissing him like it was our last time. If I only gave myself this one last time with him, I would make it last for as long as possible. It had to be enough.
"Don't stop," I moaned against his mouth, needing him to make me forget about everything for one last time.
He pulled away to give me a look that promised me everything I wanted and more.
We discarded our clothes in a flurry of need and want. He slid his mouth over my skin, bringing me into a frenzy. He pressed a kiss to my birthmark on my hip.
I wrapped my arms around him and held him like it was our last time. My breathed hitched as he loved me like I had begged for. Sweat intermingled and dripped from our bodies. Afterward, he dropped his head in the crevice of my neck and touched his lips to my collar bone.
I felt guilty that my mate would find out soon I had betrayed him.
Kyle moved off me and lay down beside me, pulling me into his arms. I lay beside him and trailed my fingers across his skin, wishing I could stop time so this moment would never end.