Outlaw (Wolves of Royal Paynes #4) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,7

with fraying tape around the handle. What once had been a long line of chain links had been whittled and sharpened into something that moved like water and cut without mercy. "He is a fighter."

No, that wasn't how my Quinlan was. He'd had no need to fight with me around to protect him.

"Pierce clearly isn't here, but I don't want to linger," Faust growled. The cut on his cheek was nothing more than a pink line. His arm draped heavily over Storri's shoulders. With the smoke holding him down, Faust had been powerless to help his mate when he'd been threatened. The alpha's arm shook, the moment clinging to him like grease to a paper bag.

Whatever the mission had been when we'd infiltrated the mansion ceased to matter. Quinlan didn't belong anywhere near this place, and imagining him waiting years to be rescued made me want to rip off my skin. Though the man we found, the one who hid behind smoke and wielded a razor whip, that man hadn't been waiting to be rescued. He'd been on the attack.

"We're leaving." Let Knox try and argue. Faust was right. Pierce wasn't here, and Quinlan needed medical care more than we needed to rip apart his shitty mansion.

He said nothing as I carried Quinlan's unconscious body from the room. I stepped over the threshold, cupping the side of his head so he wouldn't suddenly wake up and see the blood smeared across the door. He didn't wake up, and not even the way the mansion suddenly began to shake could rouse him.

"What the fuck?" Huntley attempted to pull Sitka closer, but his mate refused to leave Quinlan, so Huntley just stepped nearer instead.

Jagger punched a chunk of molding to the ground and away from his mates' heads. "Earthquake?"

I kept Quinlan's head against my chest and continued forward. I didn't care if a fucking tsunami slammed into the side of this place; I was getting my mate out.

The shaking escalated. Rolling seismic waves made running down the hallway more like running through a funhouse. Chunks of molding and plaster rained overhead. The pieces grew larger the closer we neared to the door.

"It's coming down," Knox warned, carry-dragging Jazz forward with an arm twined around his waist.

We ran as a pack back through the mansion, making better time than we had going the opposite direction. My nose burned. The scent surrounding us turned acidic, burning my lungs with each hazardous inhale.

Safety lay feet ahead. It wasn't like the earthquake would stop at the door, but outside, we'd have fresh air and wouldn't have tons of ceiling material and plaster dropping like meteors.

The twins made it there first, pulling Sitka out moments before the chain holding the chandelier in the entrance snapped, sending the once-opulent decorative light smashing to the marble floor. I stuck my shoulder up, hunching so my body acted as a barrier between Quinlan and the sharp shards. The other alphas responded similarly, protecting their mates.

Knox hung back and took the rear, making sure the rest of us were out before leaping from the crumbling structure with Jazz firmly in his arms.

"That was close." Faust wiped the dust from Storri's face before letting him slide down to his own feet. "Is anyone going to try to say that was a coincidence?"

I felt Knox's burning stare, but I didn't look from Quinlan's face to confirm its presence. That had been no coincidence. The timing was too perfect. Somehow, removing Quinlan from that room had set off a chain of events that ended with an earthquake powerful enough to bring a building down.

But only the building.

None of the trees surrounding looked affected. The branches weren't even shaking.

What, the fuck could do that?

Once released from their alphas' protective embraces, Sitka and the other nephilim hovered closely around Quinlan's head, troubled expressions etched over their features. They remained within touching distance the entire way back to the Hummer. Knox, the twins, and Faust formed a protective circle and kept guard as we sprinted quickly through the forest to where we'd stashed the car.

I slid wordlessly into the back row of seats, raising my eyebrows at Sitka, Jazz, and Storri as they attempted to all climb in beside me. Jazz ended up having to sit in the row ahead, but immediately turned around.

Sitka hovered his hand over the black layer of smoke covering Quinlan's body. "It…it feels like him. All him."

Like the smoke was a part of Quinlan's body? No. That couldn't be true. Whatever had