Marked by the Alphas

Chapter 144: Chapter 144

Kane POV

Mother is resting in Elara’s room while I care for Stella. I put Stella to bed and joined Axel in the living room.

“Fed, dry and sleeping,” I smile. “Piece of cake.”

“Yeah,” Axel replies absentmindedly, and I look curiously at him.

“What’s eating at you?” I ask.

“You’re not worried?” He snaps, looking at me with irritation. “Elara and Mason are alone. In a room. At night.”

“I’m not happy about it,” I shrug. “But I’m not worried. I trust Elara, and we reached an agreement to get along. We need to grow up, Axel. We’re fathers, not bachelors. Seriously, Axel, you’ve been acting strange for days now. What’s going on?”

“I’m jealous, okay?” He snaps, and I look at him, stunned. I was not expecting this. “I can handle that you and Elara are closer than me and her, but Elara and Mason? I can’t deal with that.”

“What are you talking about?” I gape at him. “Elara and I aren’t ...”

“You are,” he snaps. “Even Mason noticed it.”

“Mason?” My jaw hits the floor. “You’re listening to that buffoon? The man whom Elara punched out? The man who desperately wants our mate and child. Axel, he will tell you unicorns are real if it helps his case.”

“And it doesn’t help now that we welcomed him into our circle,” he huffs.

“Oh, Axel,” I exhale deeply, closing my eyes in exhaustion. “Whether we include him or not, if we want to be a part of the twins’ lives, we will have to deal with him one way or another. At least, this way, we can do it with peace and harmony.”

“Kane’s right,” Mother walks into the room and sits next to me. “You must learn to trust. Not just Elara, but also Mason. This mission might take them days. They’re going to come back exhausted, maybe even hurt, and they’re going to need you. I know tensions are high. You both love those babies, and you both love Elara. You’re both Alphas, you need to act like it.”

“Okay,” Axel nods. “I’ll try.”

“Don’t try,” Mother says firmly. “Do, or you’ll lose everything that matters to you.”

Elara POV

The hybrid testing facility is massive and prison-like, with tall fences, barbed wire, and a ton of security.

“Damn, this place is even more intense than I imagined,” I whisper to Mason.

“It kills me to think my children are inside,” Mason croaks.

I take a deep breath and touch the hard bulge in my pocket, the potion bottle Rhiannon gave me. This is our ticket inside, but taking down a guard feels more impossible than ever now that we have seen the size and scope of the place. Even if I did make it in, I had no idea where the hell the twins even were.

“We should shift,” Mason suggests. “Our senses will be sharper, and we’ll be more ready to attack when the time comes.”

I nod, but before we move, we see a group of guards marching around the front of the facility. They look ... familiar.

“Are those the men from last night?” I frown. “In human military uniforms. What the hell? Since when are humans involved in shifter affairs?”

“This is much bigger than any of us realised,” Mason whispers, looking at me. “Are you still up for it?”

“We’re here for a reason,” I nod determinately. “We get in there and get the twins. That’s what we came to do. Anything else we learn along the way is just a bonus.”

My palms are sweating. I try to push away thoughts of what will happen after we rescue the twins. It is bad enough that the Council is after us, but the human military, too?

“Are you ready to shift?” I ask, and she nods.

“Should we target a human guard?” she asks. “At least one of those military guys was wearing the armband Braden told us about.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” I agree. Humans have guns and combat training, but they will never be as strong or as fast as a fellow shifter. “It would be a hell of a lot easier to catch one of them off guard and capture them.” fгeewebnovёl.com

“Great,” Elara says. “Then let’s do it.”

We fall back further into the woods and strip our clothes, Elara being careful to zip up the potion into her jacket pocket. My eyes briefly travel over to her, keenly aware that her perfect body is totally on display. Her scent is still overwhelming and intoxicating, almost making me forget what we are here to do.

I would love nothing more than to take her right here and now. Because fuck it, we might get killed by a soldier soon, but I know we cannot waste any time.

“Here goes nothing,” I say, reluctantly throwing my head back and letting Colt take over.

Elara shifts, her wolf just as beautiful as her human form. Slowly and silently, we creep closer to the facility again, keeping our ears and noses out for any guards.

After about an hour of silent watching, we finally see a couple of guards who seem like they are changing shifts. And as luck will have it, it is the assholes from last night. I am so going to enjoy repaying a favour.

I nod toward him, and Elara crouches low, preparing to follow him. We watch closely as he climbs into a car and pulls away. We gingerly scoop up our clothes in our teeth and pad through the trees as quietly as possible, following the car as it pulls out on the mountain road, travelling back the way we came, into human territory.

He finally pulls off onto a dirt road that leads deeper into the woods to a tiny cabin. We watch from a thick gathering of trees as he climbs out of the car, glances around, and walks inside.

We shift back to humans and quickly dress.

“Do you think he’s alone?” she whispers. “I didn’t hear anyone else inside.”

“I didn’t, either,” I reply. “But we should both be prepared to attack, just in case.”

We slowly creep closer to the cabin, peeking in one of the windows. Inside, the guard is lying down on the couch in the front room, sleeping. I motion for Elara to follow me, and we move around to the back door.

I try the handle, and to no surprise, it opens. Nobody locks their doors in the middle of the woods. We move from the cramped kitchen into a little hallway, keeping our footsteps as light as possible, me in the front and Elara just behind me.

I step into the front room, but the couch is empty.

What the fuck?

Behind me, I hear the cock of a gun and a quick gasp. When I spin around, the guard is there ... with a gun to Elara’s head.