his cheeks. “Be careful, my love. And don’t forget that you have my power. Like Vieno did, tap into it when you need to.”
Palani leaned in and kissed him. “Yes, alpha. I love you, baby,” he added, much softer, maybe not wanting to let the other hear him call Lidon that, but Lidon didn’t care.
“I love you too, my strong beta.” He thought of what Enar had told him. He hadn’t brought it up with Palani, but it couldn’t wait any longer. “And, Palani, I’m proud of you. Now and always. You never let me down. I want you to know that. There’s no one I want at my side but you.”
Palani rested his forehead against Lidon’s. “Thank you. That means… Thank you.”
“We’ll see each other again.”
Palani’s face tightened for a moment. “Promise?”
Lidon looked him straight into his eyes. “Promise.”
As his team walked toward the entrance, he shifted back and followed at a safe distance. Showtime. This dictator was going down.
27
When Pierson made his statement about refusing to take a stand against Lidon, Maz could barely hold back a gasp. How many more felt that way? Was this something they could use?
“Enough chatting,” Gable said. “Let’s head back inside.”
He went first, and after he’d gone inside, Pierson held open the door and kicked a piece of wood to keep it from falling shut. Maz waited until it had become quiet, then carefully trotted over and pushed it back open. A quick look inside showed an empty hallway. He signaled Lucan and Riordan, and the three of them slipped inside.
Walking in a well-lit hallway as a wolf was creepy, and Maz didn’t like it one bit. All anyone needed was one glimpse at them, and they’d be shot on sight. Or taken prisoner, and Maz honestly didn’t know which was worse. They needed to shift back into human form, which would give them a much better shot at blending in. But they’d need clothes. Three naked men would stick out even worse than two wolves. Well, it would be a tie, probably.
Maz scanned the hallway. Where could they find clothes? Then his nose picked up a scent that rose above the unmistakable smells of sickness and death. Detergent. Somewhere close was a laundry room. He followed his nose, Lucan and Riordan right behind him, taking a right into a new hallway, and then a left, until wet heat hit his body. Bingo.
The laundry room had swing doors, much to their luck. He shoved against the door with his muzzle and peeked his head around. Nearby stood a large table with stacks of uniforms. Farther in the room were two more tables. At a small one, two women, with their back to the door, were folding uniforms. Every time they had one folded, they put it on a pile on the larger table next to them.
The three wolves carefully slipped inside, Maz first, then Lucan and Riordan last, and hid under the table with uniforms. Squeak. Damn, the door. Maz kept an eye on the two women, shaking and his heart beating fast. But nothing happened. The racket of washers and dryers running in the adjoining room must’ve drowned out the noise. Phew. That had been close. He waited for the right moment, then quickly dragged one uniform off the table with his teeth. A medium. That would fit Lucan.
It took three more tries before he finally got a large, and then another two to snag another medium. It would be too big on Riordan, but Maz doubted they had uniforms in omega-size. It would have to do. They sneaked out from under the table and padded into the adjoining room. Riordan shifted first, then unbuckled the packs Lucan and Maz were wearing. They shifted too, and they all got dressed at record speed.
“You okay?” Maz whispered to Riordan.
The omega looked pale and frightened. “I’m scared to death, but I’m good.”
Maz leaned in. “If we get into trouble, I want you to remember this. Vieno killed grown men without any trouble when in wolf form. I know you must feel weak as an omega, but you’re much, much stronger as a wolf than any human. Okay?”
Riordan nodded, some color returning to his cheeks.
“Look at that.” Lucan pointed at a pegboard with a collection of keys. They were neatly labeled with room numbers, but that didn’t mean jack shit to him. Then his eye fell on the top left: master key. “Bingo.” He plucked it off the board.