one of the windows in the hallway. With a blanket covering his arms, the omega got rid of the glass. The others draped two more blankets on the sharp bottom edges and placed the chair under the window. “Let’s go,” the leader said, and Lucan’s heart beat faster when the omegas lined up, climbed onto the chair, and jumped through the window, one after the other.
“They have guns!” Maz called after them while Lucan already ran to the next room.
Here, it took a bit longer for them to convince the omegas they meant them no harm, but a minute later, they, too, crashed a window and jumped out. Thank fuck they were on the first floor.
They’d just cleared the fourth room when four armed soldiers came running into the hallway. “Hey! Hold it right there! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Maz shifted in an instant and came at them without hesitation, growling so menacingly and aggressively shivers danced down Lucan’s spine. The soldiers screamed. One managed to fire off a shot, but it hit the wall, only splinters of plaster raining down on Lucan. Should he help Maz? No, it seemed the alpha had it.
He unlocked the next door. “Everyone out! We’re fighting our way out!” he shouted.
As soon as Lucan threw the door open, the omegas burst out, almost running him over. Maz was fighting off two of the soldiers, while the other two sprinted away. A group of omegas came to his aid, completely unafraid of that massive alpha wolf, attacking the soldiers with their bare hands until they lay unmoving on the floor, their faces beaten to a bloody pulp.
Lucan opened two more doors, and the omegas dashed out. “Thank you, thank you,” they called to Lucan, then streamed into the hallway, Maz leading them. They followed the wolf without hesitation, without fear, as if they knew he was on his side. Did they think he was Lidon?
More soldiers. More shots. A cry. Maz growled so loud Lucan could hear it over the racket. Was one of the omegas hit? He couldn’t tell in the chaos. He followed the masses, passing several dead soldiers. One of them had an arm ripped off, sharp teeth marks clearly visible. Lucan turned his head.
The noise increased. Growls of wolves, terrified shouts of men, fists hitting flesh, more shots, cries of pain. What was going on? Lucan followed the sounds to a big hall, where soldiers had been pushed back into a corner, the omegas pressing up. The only ones standing between the two groups were three wolves: Adar, the big gray alpha wolf, flanked by the two omegas Yitro and Sivney, both white as snow and beautiful.
Maz was in the back, still in wolf shape, as were Sven and Riordan, standing next to him. Then one voice rose above all the shouting and screaming, above all the angry calls and the cries for revenge, loud and clear. “My name is Enar Magnusson…and I am the mate of Lidon Hayes.”
The room grew quiet, and everyone turned their head toward Enar, who had climbed on a chair and stood there, trembling but determined. Lucan’s father stood right next to him as if ready to defend him if needed. He would, Lucan knew. He’d kill for Enar if he had to. So would they all.
Enar took a deep breath. “The brutal regime of General Armitage will come to an end. No longer will we accept the horrors perpetrated by him and those who support him. It’s time for justice, honor, and freedom. Rise in the name of Lidon Hayes!”
Oh, the sound of that name, the way it stormed through Lucan, through the room, demanding to be heard, to be acknowledged. For one second, it was deadly silent. Then the omegas fell to their knees as one. “Lidon Hayes! Lidon Hayes!”
How could they not respond when they felt that power? Lucan wasn’t even surprised.
“We will honor the old ways.” Lucan’s flesh broke out in goose bumps. His father. “We will not retaliate. We will not seek revenge. We will not use violence unless provoked. We will fight when we have to, but we will fight with honor and justice. This is the code of the old ways, and we will honor that code once again. The storyteller has spoken.”
“Storyteller, is he the True Alpha?” an omega shouted.
“Lidon Hayes is the True Alpha, the most powerful alpha who ever lived…” Lucan’s dad confirmed, and the power of Lidon’s name thundered through the room.