Crossed Fates by Lexi C. Foss

Alaric

Two alphas.

One beta.

Four enforcers.

And the director of E.V.I.E.

I quickly analyzed our situation, calculating our next move. We were surrounded by at least twelve assailants. That was an estimate based on the trajectory and number of flashbangs erupting around us. I couldn’t actually see or hear a damn thing.

Another blast went off to my right, making my ears ring.

I flinched.

Better than gunfire, but still painful as fuck to a shifter’s senses.

They’re trying to distract us,I realized as another set went off shortly after the first. Or incapacitate us. Assailants didn’t use flashbangs for any other purpose. If these assholes wanted us dead, they would have started with guns.

Alaric?Makayla whispered, her voice dreamy and fading in my mind.

Damn it. Her soft tones were accompanied by a hum of burning life, her inner flame near its end. I growled, the dual hit of the attack and her hanging on by a thread setting me distinctly on edge.

Take what you need,I commanded, shoving vitality to her through the little pinpoint in our connection. Take it, Makayla.

I needed her to focus on using our link for recovery so I could properly concentrate on my situation.

These assholes were attacking my pack. My men. And they had my mate.

I clenched my jaw, my mind working in overdrive as I assessed my options. Makayla whimpered, her wolf releasing a low whine that had me snarling in response.

We did not have fucking time for this.

Stop. Fighting. Me,I demanded. I possessed an antidote in the form of life energy, and she needed to accept it—and me—right fucking now.

I didn’t wait for her acceptance. This wasn’t up for debate. I couldn’t divide my attention between her and my wolves. And by some stroke of fate, I had the ability to help her.

So I did.

I shoved all my vitality into her with a blast of power that knocked down every mental wall between us. No more hiding. No more calling this connection between us impossible. No more denying destiny.

We were linked for a reason.

And it was time we used that link for our joint survival.

The flashbangs continued to erupt around me, the sound deafening. But I put all my focus and effort into Makayla, forcing her to acknowledge and indulge in our bond.

This wasn’t how mates worked for my kind.

But I felt in my bones how it worked for hers. And I fully embraced it, demanding she accept it and survive.

Her mental gasp traveled to my mind, her shock a palpable electric wave that jolted my chest. Then a typhoon of emotions and comprehension followed, her soul opening to mine and finally acknowledging what I’d known from the beginning.

We’re mates, she marveled, her voice holding a hint of deliriousness. True mates.

She’d said that earlier, but I picked up on the understanding in those two words now. Not only did she feel it, she believed it, and that revelation unraveled a cyclone of insanity.

My pulse raced, my breathing erratic, my awareness slipping.

Chaos unfolded inside me, the sensations and thoughts and varying strengths a whirlwind of confusion slashing at my mental faculties. The world fractured around me beneath a web of voices that penetrated my concentration, each word assaulting my ability to process logical thought.

What’s happening?I wondered, dazed from the onslaught.

Makayla’s hum of life cascaded over all of it, her heart beating in time with mine as our souls rejoiced in a matrimony deeper than any explicable bond.

My blood heated, my chest warm with the knowledge that not only had I found my other half but she was also alive and starting to thrive again. I felt her contented sigh all the way to the depths of my core, could hear her quickening pulse, her mind locking irrevocably with mine.

But there were others.

So. Many. Others.

I cursed, blind and deaf from my surroundings and positively crippled inside my mind.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, my world crashing and rebuilding in a breath.

I sensed everyone. My wolves. My pack. My own father. And still, above them all, my mate. Like a net of connections, each life strand tied to me and Makayla—as their bonded alpha pair.

My palms met my eyes, a single word roaring through my mind as I attempted to sort through the disorder. Quiet!

I needed to be able to think. To focus. To fucking survive. And I couldn’t do that with all this mayhem unraveling in my damn head.

Everything went still.

No, not everything. Everyone.

All my wolves.

All their minds.

Silenced beneath my command.

I rubbed my forehead, confused as hell. Then my father whispered my name. Not out loud, but via some invisible connection. I looked at him, or tried to, anyway, but the flashes of light continued to erupt around us. Not gunfire. Not a war zone. Just constant bombs meant to keep us paralyzed in the car.

Holding us captive, I realized dizzily. They’re disabling our senses to keep us here.

Yes, my father agreed.

I hadn’t realized I was talking to him, but it felt right. Easy. Like I should have always had this ability to speak to him telepathically. However, it’d only manifested in me today. Right now. Tonight.

Because of Makayla.

I tried to ask her to explain, but she wasn’t quite ready yet, her soul still healing. But I felt her strengthening with every breath.

Almost there, I thought at her. You’re almost there.

She absorbed strength from me in response, depleting my reserves in an instant. Only for my pack to re-bolster my power in the next second, their psyches all miraculously connected to mine.

It was impossible, and yet, exactly what I required to survive. A sense of rightness settled over me as I explored the links once more, the voices softer now, like everyone had heard my demand to quiet their minds and were doing their best to listen.

Or maybe I’d thrown up a barrier.

I didn’t know how any of this worked, but part of me instinctively understood the hive mind—a part of me that was heavily tied to Makayla. Like she’d been brought here to help me in this moment, to ensure I knew how to take over the mantle as alpha of Silver Lake.

Her soul brushed mine, a soft kiss of reassurance, and I responded with another charge of vitality through our wide-open link.

My pack immediately balanced me, shooting an electric boost through my veins.

I inhaled deeply, reveling in the sensation. It helped me see and hear beyond the bombs going off around me. It revitalized my senses. Gave me a mental map to follow that overrode my reality.

Everything softened, my eyes falling closed as I focused on my new senses, seeking out the minds of the wolves closest to me. We were in three different cars, all encircled by assailants and their unending flashbangs.

But no gunfire.

No death.

Except… as I tentatively reached out to the psyches of my four enforcers on-site, I found a severed link.

How?I demanded, frowning. Where?

The web inside me expanded, showcasing a myriad of invisible strands tied to each life under my rule.

Steve, I realized, stroking the frayed end of his connection. His mind was quiet. Gone. Dead.

Yet another set of thoughts were very much alive nearby, the panicked undertones catching my focus and pulling me to the essence in question. Paul.

Ah, fuck. What’s happening? Why do I feel so weird? Focus, idiot. Keep the gun on Jude. He might have a knife. A hidden weapon. Boss wants him alive.

A low rumble echoed inside me, my wolf furious by the hint of disloyalty lurking inside Paul’s mind.

The male went silent, but I felt his fear.

Oh, fuck,he whispered to himself, his thoughts reigniting with a flourish of alarm.

He’d killed Steve.

But that wasn’t all.

I anchored myself in his psyche, ripping out his thoughts and diving into the source of his betrayal. He tried to mask his guilt, running through each memory that he wanted to hide in a poor attempt to lock them away. But I heard everything. Every fucking statement he’d made, in every fucking situation.

Makayla is Alaric’s mate. She’s not from here. She has gifts. Unique ones. I overheard them talking about her ring at the lake. She can portal and switch realms.

Kristen’s body. Placed on Alaric’s lawn. Message received.

Makayla’s taking quadrant one. I’ll distract the others.

Alaric’s mentally linked to her. She’s telling him everything. Yeah, you can test it when you grab the E.V.I.E. director.

The sequence ended with the memory of killing Steve.

All the pieces came together in succession, bolstered by his thoughts. Paul was working with Bortex. He’d passed along intimate details regarding Makayla’s origin and then provided her location to be taken. And he’d engaged in a conversation right before we’d left tonight, informing Bortex of my mental connection to Makayla.

This had all been a trap, one Paul had helped orchestrate.

To capture Jude.

That was the reason the men hadn’t started killing yet. They were waiting for permission, and for something else. Some sort of trial. Something involving me.

I rolled my neck, my anger mounting with each passing second.

Makayla breathed into my mind, her pain bolstering my resolve.

Bortex and his men had taken my mate and shot her full of silver. All for some sort of fucked-up experiment, the details of which weren’t located within Paul’s mind. That was fine. I’d find out more my own way.

These bastards were attacking my wolves. They had Savannah. And now they wanted Jude. While the E.V.I.E. director might not be my charge, he was still my boss and friend.

And their worst offense—they’d hurt Makayla.

My wolf snarled inside, taking over my instincts.

Fuck the flashbangs.

Fuck the outnumbering odds.

And fuck Paul.

I took the gun from my holster in one hand and opened the door with the other. These assholes wanted to play? We’d damn well play.

Paul had given away a key secret within his mind—these military jokers were under orders not to kill, which gave me a clear and obvious advantage.

Because I had no problem pulling the trigger.

A few of them shouted when I rolled out of the car, their trajectory of attack shifting to me.

More flashes and loud noises sounded, but I sprinted right into the fray, taking one of the men out with my fucking fist to his throat.

He went down, his helmet rolling off his head.

I grabbed it, securing it over my head, then put a bullet between his eyes.

Humans.

They’re fucking humans.

I sent those messages to my wolves, pissed off all over again. Bortex was using soldier types to attack a bunch of well-trained wolves.

That explained why they were more immune to the flashbangs.

But it also made them exceptionally easy targets. I assumed they all had on armored vests, just like me, which left their necks as the only viable place to put a bullet. And now that I had on a helmet, I could hear again.

See, not so much. This thing had night vision enabled—something I didn’t need as a shifter—and it was distorted to a human-grade sight.

I ducked behind a massive tree, listened for the sources of the flash grenades, and focused on their footsteps over leaves and grass and the scrape of boots against rocks. It helped me paint a visual of our surroundings, locating each assailant by sound alone.

I was wrong.

There were only eight of them. Seven now that I’d taken one down. And according to Paul’s thoughts—which I remained tapped into—these men were supposed to distract us with flashbangs as they surrounded the automobiles to detain us.

They’d almost succeeded.

Now their footsteps told me they were scattering, searching for me while also trying to continue distracting the vehicles.

I’d divided their focus.

What now, Paul?I asked him, my voice darkened by a hint of violence. Are you waiting for Bortex to save you?

I didn’t understand how the whole hive-mind thing worked, but I caught his responding growl, just as I heard several of my wolves whining at the fury pouring off their alpha, and most importantly, I still felt Makayla. She’d almost returned to awareness, her thoughts syncing with mine.

Betrayed.

Trap.

Trial.

She was no longer muttering about dots but piecing together the events in my head with everything she’d learned through her interrogation earlier.

I took out two approaching men, their trajectory given away by their heavy stomps, and then I rolled behind another thick cluster of bushes. The flashes stopped, the men shifting the proverbial spotlight to me—the real threat.

A few of them cocked their weapons.

I grinned. Decided it’s okay to kill now? I mused.

Paul’s terror radiated outward, the sensation stoking my inner ire.

Yeah, you should be scared,I told him. I’m going to fucking destroy you.

The spike of his fear confirmed that he heard every word I said to him. However, the coward refused to reply. Not that I needed him to say a damn word. I could read every thought in his mind.

Start counting,I taunted. Three down. Six to go. Because yeah, I absolutely include you in that list, Paul.

The forest fell silent around me as the last of the flashbangs died.

About damn time.

This was the kind of moment I’d prepared all my life for—I could see again, hear every breath and sound for several yards in every direction, and I could taste my impending victory in the air.

I concentrated on another approaching set of footsteps, taking aim, and then paused upon sensing Paul’s resolve.

He wanted to use Jude as a shield.

Control him, I heard Makayla breathe, her mind opening up to mine to explain how alpha links worked for her kind. It was a crash course that I absorbed directly from her experiences. I took in as much of it as I could with the few seconds I had to spare and swallowed as the facts unfolded in my head.

The hive mind encompassed all my wolves, granting me access to their thoughts. Their life sources were formally tied to mine as their pack alpha. And that attachment allowed me a strand of control.

Not as a puppet master, but as a commander.

The lead wolf.

The one in charge.

The alpha of Silver Lake. His alpha.

Drop it,I demanded, blasting Paul with a wave of dominant energy that had his much weaker mind bending beneath my will. Now. The human part of him tried to fight it, his thoughts shouting out in the negative.

But his wolf… his wolf was mine.

And his wolf bowed.

His strand frayed a fraction of a section later, his mind telling me that Jude had just sliced a blade across Paul’s throat. I didn’t see it so much as feel it, and I sent out a warning blast to my wolves not to mourn the loss of his traitorous life.

My father responded in kind, his mind rolling right alongside mine as the approaching soldier finally reached my hiding place. I ripped the helmet off my head and fired a bullet into his throat. He went down with a gurgle, and the others all ran toward me, some of them reaching for flashbangs to toss.

But I was faster, stronger, and far more prepared.

I squeezed my trigger, taking out two more men before pulling up behind another tree just out of sight of the remaining two.

Their footsteps were uncertain, their breaths coming in pants.

A bullet cracked from the forest. Hardt.

A second one followed. Dad.

Leaving us in the clear, having taken down all eight soldiers and our traitor.

I pulled away from the tree, pride blossoming in my chest, as a pulse of energy whipped through the woods, bringing me to my knees. My cheek met the dirt, my eyes frozen in an open position while my mind tried to comprehend what the hell had just happened.

Another wave cascaded around us soon after.

“What the hell?” Jude’s voice carried through the clearing, his tone strong and entirely unfazed.

Electricity zipped through my veins, the static leaving me paralyzed on the ground.

Some sort of weapon,my father wheezed into my mind.

The fuck is that?Hardt gasped.

Timothy and Gregory were in a similar state of shock, their bodies equally still.

Only Jude appeared to be moving around. He had his fingers to my father’s neck, sensing for his heartbeat. I felt his touch as though it were on my own skin, but it was my father’s senses, not mine.

Then a slow clap echoed through the trees, a burning scent following.

Run,I wanted to tell Jude. Run!

He won’t run, my father replied.

And sure enough, the bastard merely stood, his expression blank as he waited.

Bortex stepped into view, his boots a few feet from my head. “Well now, that truly was impressive, Alaric.”

He finally stopped clapping, his grotesque appearance rivaling the description Makayla had provided me with earlier. She muttered something unintelligible back at me about a beauty contest.

“I expected a bit more weakness, what with Makayla’s silver situation and all,” Bortex continued. “But you took down all eight of my men in just a handful of minutes.” He crouched before me. “They were my best, too. All hyped up on Lycan blood.”

I tried to snort.

But whatever electric pulse he’d sent through me had left me a drooling mess at his literal feet.

The bastard ran a finger over my cheek, then flicked my jaw as he considered me thoughtfully. “You know, I wonder what a new team could accomplish under the influence of your essence instead.” He canted his head. “Let’s find out, shall we?”