Mara's POV
The gunshot comes before I see anything.
I throw myself behind a rusted metal container. Bullets slam into the warehouse wall where I was standing a second ago. Concrete chunks explode everywhere. Dust fills my lungs. My heart pounds so hard it hurts.
"Mara Thorne." Kieran's voice fills the warehouse. "Come out. Let's talk like civilized people."
I press against the cold metal, trying to breathe quietly. My hand goes to my jacket pocket. The USB drive is still there. All of Declan's files. His business records. Territory maps. Everything Kieran asked for. Everything I stole to save Declan's life.
This was supposed to be simple. Give Kieran the information. He leaves Declan alone. Nobody dies. But my gut tells me I made a terrible mistake.
I step out, hands up. "I'm here. Alone like you wanted."
Kieran stands in the middle of the open space. Six wolves surround him, three on each side. They all have guns pointed at me. Moonlight comes through broken windows and makes his gold eyes shine.
"Good." He waves me closer. "You brought what I asked for?"
I walk toward him slowly. Each footstep echoes. I pull out the USB drive and hold it up.
"Everything's here. Access codes. Financial records. Supply routes. All of it."
He smiles and reaches for it.
The warehouse door explodes inward.
The metal door flies across the floor with a bang that makes my ears ring. Smoke pours through the doorway. Declan walks through it like something out of a nightmare. His eyes glow bright blue. He's wearing all black. The anger coming off him feels like heat from a fire.
"Mara." His voice is quiet. Too quiet. "Get away from him."
My stomach drops. "Declan, I can explain…"
"I said get away from him." He stares at me like he's never seen me before. Like I'm his enemy. "Now."
Kieran laughs. "This is perfect. Did you actually think she cared about you, Cross? She's been giving me your secrets for three days straight. Three days while she was in your bed."
Declan looks at the USB drive in my hand. Something in his face breaks.
"You used me," he says.
"No, wait…" I start.
"She played you from the beginning," Kieran cuts in. "The contract, the sweet words, the sex. All of it was an act to get close to you." He grabs my shoulder and yanks me against him. His fingers dig in hard. "She's mine now."
I try to pull free. "Let go of me."
"Not yet." His breath is hot on my ear. "I want him to watch you pick me over him."
Declan takes one step forward. Every gun swings toward him.
"Here's the deal," Kieran says. "Walk away. Leave your territory. Leave your company. Leave everything. Maybe I'll let you live." He squeezes my shoulder harder. "And the girl stays with me. I'll teach her how to behave."
"You'll have to kill me first."
"Happy to." Kieran nods at his wolves. "Do it."
They open fire.
Declan shifts in the middle of the first shot. His wolf form is huge and black. Bullets hit empty air. He's already moving, faster than seems possible. His jaws close around the first wolf's throat. Blood sprays.
I slam my elbow into Kieran's ribs as hard as I can. Something cracks. His grip loosens. I drop and roll as gunfire explodes around us.
Two more wolves shift and go for Declan. He meets them head-on. Fur and claws and teeth everywhere. Blood splashes across the floor. The sounds are awful. Snarling, gunshots, screaming.
I shift too. My wolf is smaller but fast. I run between the containers, heading for the exit.
A brown wolf jumps in front of me. His teeth are bared.
Declan hits him from the side like a truck. They crash to the ground, rolling and biting. I hear bones crack. Declan's teeth find the wolf's neck. The wolf stops moving.
"Stop!" Kieran yells.
Everyone freezes. He's still human, standing in the middle of the dead bodies. He's holding something in his hand.
A detonator. With a blinking red light.
"One more move and I blow this place up," Kieran says. His thumb is on the button. "Bombs on every support beam. We all die."
Declan shifts back to human. He's naked and covered in blood. Three dead wolves around him. Three more still standing with guns.
"You're crazy," Declan says.
"I'm smart." Kieran looks at me. I'm still in wolf form. "Mara, get over here. Last chance."
I can't move. My wolf wants to run but I'm frozen in place.
"Mara." Declan's voice sounds desperate. "Come here. Behind me."
"She's not yours anymore," Kieran says. "She picked me when she stole from you. When she gave me everything. She made her choice."
"Is it true?" Declan stares at me. "You were going to give him everything?"
I shift back to human. I'm shaking. "Yes."
The word feels like it sucks all the air out of the room.
"But not for my pack," I say fast. My voice cracks. "For you. I did it to save you."
Declan's eyes go wide.
"Kieran said if I gave him information, he'd leave you alone. No war. No one would die." I'm crying now. "I couldn't let him kill you, Declan. I couldn't. So I gave him what he wanted."
Kieran's face twists with anger. "You lying…"
A gunshot from above.
Kieran's shoulder explodes. Blood everywhere. He drops the detonator. I dive and catch it before it hits the ground. His wolves start shooting at the ceiling.
Eight more wolves drop from the rafters. Declan's pack. They were hiding up there the whole time. They shift and attack. The warehouse turns into complete chaos.
A bullet zips past my head. I spin and see one of Kieran's men aiming at Declan's back. Declan's fighting two wolves and doesn't see him.
I don't think. I just run.
I jump between them. The bullet hits my chest.
It feels like I've been hit by a car. I fly backward and slam into the concrete. Can't breathe. Can't think. Just pain and something warm spreading across my skin. Blood. So much blood.
"MARA!" Declan's scream shakes the walls.
Everything turns red in my vision. Declan shifts and goes crazy. He tears through the remaining wolves in seconds. Bones breaking. Screams stopping. Then silence.
He shifts back and runs to me. Falls to his knees. Picks me up and holds me tight. His hand presses on the wound but blood keeps coming through his fingers.
"Stay with me," he begs. His voice is shaking. "Don't die. Please don't die."
"I wanted… to save you…" I cough. Blood comes out of my mouth.
"You did save me." He stands up, still holding me. Starts running. "You saved me. Now you have to live. You have to."
Everything is getting dark. "Declan…"
"I'll burn it all down. The company. Everything my father built. I'll destroy all of it." He is crying. I have never seen him cry. "Just please stay alive."
"Why?"
"Because I love you." His voice breaks. "I love you so much. Please don't leave me."
The world goes black.
But I can still hear him. Running. Calling my name. Telling me to hold on.
I try. I really try.
Then there is nothing.