"I will never call him my father again. He kidnapped a bunch of kids and kept them imprisoned in our barn. I've tried to protect you, but to see you standing here while you hold your own sons at gunpoint? I knew our family was fucked up, but I'm done. We need to leave these people alone and get out of here. I will drive you anywhere you need to go, but not with a gun in my face."
She sniffled loudly, shaking her head as crocodile tears began dripping down her cheeks. "Like I would really shoot one of my own babies. It doesn't matter how I got you. What matters is I was a good mom. The best. We gave you boys a perfect life, dammit. It can't end like this—it can't. No, the one who needs to die is the one who started all this by separating you from your family in the first place."
She turned the gun toward me and fired. Thankfully, the bullet went wide, and a shower of glass fell behind me. Without hesitation and a steady hand, she chambered the next round and lowered the gun slightly before firing again.
Alex jumped sideways, getting in front of the gun in time to take the bullet meant for me. He dropped with a thud, the coppery, fresh smell of blood filling the air. She screamed and started to chamber the next round, ignoring her son’s injury.
A small gray wolf darted past and lunged at Mistress. He took her down, the gun falling to the floor. Lucian was already moving to take over when Tom finished her off, breaking her neck between his jaws.
Everything went silent as Tom lowered his head, pained to have to take a life, even in defense of mine. Given his healing abilities, I didn't doubt how difficult it must have been.
The silence was broken when Josh ran past her body, rushing to get to Alex. Kneeling beside his brother, he pressed his hands against the bright red bloom of blood on the right side of Alex's chest, begging for help. "I don't care about her dying, and I swear I wasn't part of anything they did. All we wanted was to get her to a hospital so we could escape and get away forever. Please, can someone help my brother? Don't let Alex die. He's all I have."
Twelve
Lucian
Some might have thought it strange for Tom, the young, naked omega, to gently urge Josh aside so he could help Alex. Especially because he had recently taken the life of their supposed mother. But nobody in this room was one of those people. We knew the history and had watched it all go down. Fuck, having to stand here powerless while my pregnant mate was at the mercy of a crazed woman with a gun was undoubtedly the scariest moment of my life.
For once, I'd been unsure how to respond. I would have scooped Charlie into my arms and gotten him to safety without hesitation, but even going to him was risky. From the acrid stench coming off her, I knew the woman was ill. I just hadn't realized it was a mental health issue. I didn't know we could scent such conditions.
Tom ripped Alex's shirt open, his eyes closed as he probed a finger around the bullet wound. Since I knew he was about to use his healing powers, it occurred to me I should probably get people who weren't in the know out of here. I couldn't reach Charlie, not without stepping over Alex, which wasn't happening. I settled for our mental connection. "I love you, beauty. It was horrible to see you in danger and not know how to best protect you."
"I know, charming. I could feel your fear, and it made me sick at heart. Also, not gonna lie, I might've peed myself a little. Actually, I’m lying. I totally peed. If anyone notices, I'm blaming Gidget."
"And I will back you one hundred percent. Forgive me, but I need to clear the room so Tom can work. I'll be right here the whole time. I only wish I was there beside you."
"I know, but it's okay because you're here. Now go do your Alpha thing. You can fuss over me later."
I blew him a kiss, then remembered what I was doing. Starting with Pedro, I touched his arm and quietly passed my phone over. "Would you do me a favor, buddy? I need to hug my mate and make sure