Love And Betrayal | ✔️

61. The great rescue (I)

Try to lock me in this cage
I won't just lay me down and die
I will take these broken wings
And watch me burn across the sky.

—Naomi Scott (Speechless)

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A D E N

OUR FEET HIT the ground in a land scattered with moonstone dust and dark magic.

In the distance, I glimpse the hedgerows dotted with white and yellow flowers swaying in the wind—a stark contrast to the shrivelled trees around it.

Kiara is the first to get onto her feet.

"Lets go." She urges us. "There's work to be done."

Taylor surveys vast ground and the behemothic buildings beyond. "It seems Greyhound only sent two third of his troops to the packs. This means one third is still here at his disposal."

"I suppose this was to be expected from someone like him. Good thing we came prepared." She remarks, before turning to me. "Right now, it's just the three of us against an army. What we lack is manpower. Major manpower. So, our first step has to be to gather our forces."

"We can't teleport every single warrior of our pack, Ki. We left them behind for a reason."

"I'm not asking you to." Her smile turns bladed. "Look around you. We have all the ammunition we need. All we need is a single spark to ignite the fire."

I suck in a harsh breath. "You don't mean—that's crazy!"

"Crazy and risky, but it will pay off."

"Both of you, make for the laboratory. Free Ernouf. He's the key here. He will lead you to the dungeons—the place where the Maikohs have been imprisoned. Free them. Get them on our side and the rest will fall in place on their own." She elaborates. "Meanwhile, I will disconnect the CCTV cameras to buy you more time. Once that's done, I'll head towards the South Tower."

Towards Greyhound.

"I'm coming with you." I say at once.

Taylor could free a captive by himself; it's Kiara I need to stay with.

She levels me a flat look. "This isn't up for debate, Aden."

My jaw hardens as I bite down the retort on the tip of my tongue. We're in this together, as a team. She can't make the decisions all by herself. Unless, unless—

"The Guardians put you up to this." I muse aloud. "You already knew this advance."

She doesn't have to answer. The look on her face speaks for itself.

The expression on Taylor's face is carefully blank. "This isn't the time to throw a temper tantrum, Carter." A knowing look passes between the two of them before he places a tentative hand over my shoulder. "We need to get going."

I don't look at him. My gaze never strays as she steps away from us. In the bright moonlight, she stands tall, her hair whipping wildly at her nape.

And despite my promise, it takes me everything, everything in my power not to come off as a possessive alphahole she's afraid I'll turn into.