Chapter 465
Chapter 465:
Below us, the golden rivers of New Jersey traffic blurred into streaks of light, but all I could see was the smashed screen of the encrypted tablet I had hurled onto the cabin floor. My ancient cedar scent had turned sharp and sour with panic.
Alpha, Fletcher’s voice echoed through a backup Mind-Link, relaying fragmented data from the Shadow Network. Local authorities are reporting a multi-vehicle pileup on I-95. A heavy truck —
Is she alive, Fletcher? I interrupted, my mental voice trembling with a despair I hadn’t felt in centuries. I can’t feel her. The bond is silent.
We cannot confirm her status yet, but —
𝖱ea𝖽 𝘁𝗁е l𝗮𝘁еѕ𝘵 t𝗋е𝘯𝖽𝗌 оn
I severed the link. I couldn’t bear the clinical uncertainty — it was a thousand cuts to my already bleeding soul.
When the orange pulse of emergency lights and a thick column of black smoke appeared on the horizon, my Lycan slammed against my ribs.
“Land,” I commanded as we hovered over the hellish scene on I-95. A tanker had been reduced to a twisted, burning skeleton. And there, resting against the median, was a black armored SUV, crushed and covered in soot.
“Alpha, there’s no cleared LZ,” the pilot protested, fighting the controls.
My eyes locked onto the wreckage. “Put this machine on the ground, or I will p>
The helicopter dropped like a stone, hitting the asphalt with a violent jolt. I didn’t wait for the rotors to slow. I kicked the door open and sprinted into the chaos, shoving past shouting human police officers as if they were paper dolls.
The air reeked of burning fuel, melted rubber, and human terror.
Then I saw her.
Adelina was sitting on the bumper of an ambulance, a blanket draped over her shoulders.
I crashed to my knees in front of her, my hands frantically roaming over her face, her arms, her legs, searching for blood, for the deadly burn of silver. Finding nothing but minor scrapes, I pulled her into my chest, crushing her against me with a desperate, suffocating force.
“Kain — Kain, you’re hurting me,” she gasped, her hands pushing weakly against my chest.
I couldn’t let go. I buried my face in her neck, inhaling her scent, trying to jumpstart the bond. She grabbed my face, forcing me to look into her eyes.
“I’m okay,” she said fiercely, her dormant White Wolf projecting a wave of calm over my frantic Lycan. “I’m okay p>
The moment the truth registered, the pride and control that had sustained me for centuries shattered. My legs gave out completely. I collapsed onto the cold asphalt, pulling my world into my lap and burying my face in her hair as my massive frame shook.
“Alpha,” Fletcher’s voice broke through the haze. He stood a few feet away. “It’s not safe here. We need to move p>
“I don’t care,” I growled without looking up.
“Alpha, the media p>
I snapped my head up, my eyes flashing gold. “Give us a minute,” I commanded, the Alpha’s Command heavy and absolute. Fletcher bowed his head and stepped back into the shadows.
Ten minutes later, we were in the air, leaving the burning highway behind. I held Adelina tightly against my side, still terrified she might vanish.