Chapter 158
Chapter 158
ARIA
Frushed
I whipped my attention forward. Two large trucks had pulled across the road, creating a makeshift barricade. We were boxed in-hostiles behind, obstacles ahead, forest too dense on either side to navigate off-road.
“It’s a trap,” Nina said, already reaching for her weapon. “Classic ambush formation. They’re trying to force
us to stop p>
“Don’t stop,” Kael ordered. “Ram through the barricade if you have to p>
“Alpha, at this speed, the collision could p>
“I said don’t stop p>
The driver obeyed, maintaining speed as we hurtled toward the trucks blocking our path. I braced myself for impact, certain we were about to crash catastrophically.
But at the last possible second, one of the trucks moved. Just enough to create a narrow gap. Just enough to let us squeeze through if we were precise and lucky.
The driver took the opening, our vehicle scraping against both trucks as we forced our way through the gap. Metal shrieked. Glass shattered. But we made it through, emerging on the other side with our vehicle damaged but functional.
The security detail behind us wasn’t as fortunate. I heard the sickening crunch of metal on metal as their vehicle couldn’t quite make the same maneuver. They hit the trucks hard, their vehicle spinning out and coming to a violent stop.
“Security detail is down!” someone shouted over the radio. “Vehicle disabled! We’re under fire p>
“Keep moving,” Kael ordered, though I could feel his anguish through our bond. Leaving pack members behind went against every instinct. But stopping meant all of us would be captured or killed. “Get to Shadowmere. Send reinforcements back for them p>
Gunfire erupted behind us. I twisted in my seat, trying to see what was happening to our guards. Saw figures emerging from the forest-more attackers than I could count. Saw our security detail taking defensive positions, returning fire even as they were clearly outnumbered.
“Alpha, we can’t just-” Nina started.
“We can and we will,” Kael interrupted. “Our priority is getting Luna Aria to safety. The guards know their duty. Reinforcements will come p>
It was the right tactical decision. The correct choice for an Alpha who had to think beyond immediate emotion to larger strategic concerns. But I could feel how much it cost him. How much he hated abandoning pack members to an unknown fate.
We sped away, putting distance between ourselves and the ambush site. But the pursuit wasn’t over. The
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SUV that had initially rammed us was still following, and now I could see at least two more vehicles joining the chase from side roads.
“They’re herding us,” Nina observed. “Pushing us in a specific direction. Away from the main roads. Toward more isolated terrain p>
“Where they’ll have more opportunities to attack without witnesses,” Kael finished. “Can we break through? Get back to the main route p>
“Not without going through them,” the driver said. “And we’re already damaged. Another collision might disable us completely p>
We were being maneuvered. Manipulated. Forced into increasingly dangerous territory where our attackers would have every advantage.
“There!” Nina pointed ahead. “That turnoff. It leads deeper into the forest, but it’s also more defensible terrain. If we can reach higher ground, we can hold position until reinforcements arrive p>
“Do it,” Kael ordered.
The driver took the turn sharply, our damaged vehicle protesting but obeying. The paved road gave way to dirt and gravel, the ride becoming rougher as we climbed into more mountainous terrain.
The pursuing vehicles followed, maintaining distance now rather than attempting another ramming attack. They knew where we were going. Knew we were being pushed into terrain that favored them.
“Call Jordan,” Kael said to Nina. “Give him our coordinates. Tell him we need extraction and armed backup immediately p>
Nina was already on her phone, relaying information in clipped, efficient sentences. But I could see the problem even before she finished the call. We were deep in neutral territory now, in terrain that would take significant time for reinforcements to reach. We’d be on our own for at least an hour, probably longer.
An hour was an eternity when you were being hunted.
The road became steeper, narrower. Trees pressed close on both sides, their branches sometimes scraping against the windows. We were climbing into the mountains, elevation increasing rapidly, the air becoming thinner and colder.
“There’s a clearing ahead,” the driver reported. “Natural defensive position with sight lines in multiple directions p>
“Head for it,” Kael said. “We make our stand there p>
We emerged from the tree line into the clearing. It was exactly as the driver had described-a flat area maybe fifty yards across, surrounded by forest, positioned on high ground that gave us visibility of the approaches. Defensible, if we had the resources to defend it.
But we didn’t. We were three people-Kael, Nina, and myself—with whatever weapons they’d brought, against an unknown number of attackers who’d planned this ambush with professional precision.
The driver positioned our damaged vehicle to provide some cover, then grabbed weapons from the trunk. Nina was already checking her ammunition, her face grim but focused. Kael moved to the edge of the clearing, assessing the terrain, calculating angles and approaches.
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And I stood there uselessly, unarmed and untrained, a liability rather than an asset in the fight that was
coming.
“Aria,” Kael said, turning to me. “When they come, you stay behind the vehicle. You don’t engage. You don’t try to help. You protect yourself and you survive. Understood p>
“Kael p>
“Understood?” he repeated, m
ore firmly.
“Understood,” I whispered.
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