Chapter 100

Harper’s POV

The hallways are eerily quiet as we make our way down them. The soft padding of wolf paws on the floor surrounds me and Lucas. They keep a bit of distance from us, but they don’t fall behind. The brown she-wolf stays at my side, switching between my left side and right side. She prowls protectively around me, only moving for Lucas when he steps close.

Lucas’s hand on my back keeps me going, even as we pass through darker hallways. The guards Lucas beat earlier are nowhere to be seen, yet, as we turn a corner, a lard alarm blares.

It screeches through the air, making the wolves growl. I cover my ears then look over to see Lucas doing the same, except there’s a pained expression on his face.

“The door is beyond this hallway!” Lucas shouts, but before we can run, guards pour into the hall.

“Brace yourself!” He calls, crouching in a fighting position. “If you can get through, run for the exit where Mason is!”

“What about you?” I shout over the blaring alarm. Red lights flash above us, and the group of guards stops between us and the hall we need to exit through.

“I’ll catch up,” Lucas says. “Take the wolves and get out while I distract them.”

Leaving him doesn’t feel right, but I can’t fight. If I stay, I’ll slow him down or get him injured.

“You better be right behind me,” I order. He nods and charges at the guards. A few of the wolves move with Lucas, attacking the men as well. The she-wolf pushes at the back of my legs, helping me move forward while also barking at the remaining wolves.

They move with me, swiping claws at anyone who comes close. The she-wolf sinks her teeth into the arm of a man who tries to grab me, and he screams. I push through the guards, ducking and weaving when a fist swings toward me.

When I reach the end of the hall, I stop at the door and look back. Lucas tears through the guards, moving closer to me with every step. The wolves around him respond to his movements and commands like they’ve always known him.

The last two guards attack Lucas as I grab the doorknob. I find that I can’t make myself turn it, though, so I look back at Lucas.

“Lucas! Come on!”

His head whips up just as he spins the last guard, slams him into the wall, and drops him to the floor.

“I said to run!”

“Not without you!” I call back, and in a blink, he’s beside me and pushing me toward through the door. A wall of sound hits me as I stumble into the main room of the Domain Market. The blaring alarm, buyers and sellers rushing about, and guards shouting.

A hand on my shoulder yanks me back just as a large man nearly runs me over. My she-wolf snaps at his leg, and he stumbles away with a yelp.

“Wolf!” He screams shrilly, bringing unwanted attention to us.

“Shit,” Lucas growls, pulling me to where my back is at his chest. “They’ll be on us in minutes.” He points to the guards pushing through the frantic crowd. My stomach flips, and my heart jumps, kicking into an even faster pace.

Then, Lucas’s hand is in mine, and he’s pulling me to the left. People steer clear of us and the wolves. They snap their powerful jaws at anyone who comes close, but with swift and heavy kicks, the guards get through.

“Stay where I can see you, and keep going,” Lucas demands, his voice leaving no room for argument. He moves me to his right side before launching himself at the nearest guard. I grab a long metal rod from a booth we pass and swing it at a man trying to drag one of the wolves away.

I hit him right in the head, giving the wolf enough time to attack. I cringe as he screams because of the teeth sinking into his thigh, but I ignore my instincts to heal and force myself to keep going.

No time to stop.

No time to worry about the enemy.

I whack every guard that comes too close, even hitting one that sneaks up behind Lucas. The man hits the ground, and Lucas spins around.

“Are you alright?” He asks, throwing a fist out and punching another incoming enemy.

“I’m fine. We’re close!” I tell him, pointing to Mason who is still by the exit. He’s fighting too, and several men from our pack back him up. They keep the exit clear so we can easily leave, but there’s still a good distance between us and them.

Guards come from right and left, blocking us.

Lucas glances at me, his eyes a canvas of worry.

“Don’t worry about me,” I tell him, laying a hand on my she-wolf’s head. “I’ll be safe.”

The dim lights of the Domain flicker above us as I swing my makeshift weapon at a man trying to grab me. My wolf jumps on him, sinking her teeth into his forearm and making him drop his weapon.

Another man near me goes down, and Lucas grabs me by the waist, pulling me away from something that whizzes through the air. It flies right past me and when I look back, an arrow is sticking out of the wall behind me.

Even among all this chaos, Lucas is able to watch over me.

“We’re almost there,” he says, tugging me toward the exit.

Ten feet.

Six feet.

BANG.

I duck at the loud sound, but we keep moving.

Three feet.

The wolves around us run at our heels as we reach the exit. Loud gunshots fill the area behind us, but we don’t stop. We run into the night, toward the dark forest, with the wolves and pack members around us.

Lucas stays at my side, but soon, I’m being scooped off the ground like a sack of potatoes and hauled into Lucas’s arms.

The trees blur past me in streaks of black and dark green. The chaos of the Domain falls behind us, replaced by the eerie silence of a forest at night. The only sounds that reach my ears are the raging beats of my heart and the sound of the air whooshing around us.

The adrenaline fades as the distance between us and the Domain becomes larger, until I’m leaning into Lucas’s chest. My body feels heavy and my mind a bit fuzzy by the time he sets me on my feet.

The she-wolf rubs against my leg and then does the same to Lucas.

Crouching, I wrap my arms around her and let the familiar feeling of intimacy fill me at her presence. If I had any doubt that she was my wolf before, I don’t now. Everything about her—the way she looks, the way she moves, the way she feels—is familiar.

The rescued wolves howl and run around the clearing. A few extra wolves join, and I realize it’s Lucas, Mason, and the men we brought from the pack.

I stand and watch them, my chest tightening at the sight.

Seeing them celebrate with the rescued wolves brings a warm sensation to me that chases away the tightness in my chest. It doesn’t fully banish the feeling of longing within me. Instead, it creates a new yearning to be reunited with my wolf.

Hope and yearning fill me as I watch them.

Then, one of the wolves turns toward me and runs over. He circles me and my wolf, bumping lightly against both of us before shifting back to his human form, grabbing me, and planting a kiss on my lips.

I freeze, but the electricity that zips through my system stirs the desire inside me. I melt into Lucas’s arms, giving myself over to the kiss.

Maybe, just maybe, we can work out our issues.