CHAPTER 11
368 Words
The attack didn't stay digital.
At 8:00 PM, the power in Obsidian Tower went dead. The massive floor-to-ceiling windows went dark, the lights of Manhattan outside providing the only illumination in the executive suite.
"Marcus, report," Julian said into his satellite comms, his voice tight.
"Enforcers on the perimeter have been engaged," Marcus’s voice crackled through the static.
"It’s a multi-pack strike force, Julian. Sterling brought in rogue mercenaries from the north. They’re inside the building. They’re heading for the top floor. You need to get Elena out of there!"
Julian looked across the dark room at Elena. She had already pulled her heels off, standing barefoot on the hardwood floor, her face pale but determined.
"The secure bunker in the sub-basement," Elena said, her voice a whisper in the dark. "The private elevator has an independent generator."
"No," Julian said, running to her side, his instincts completely taking over. He grabbed her hand, and this time, he didn't care about the terms or the rules. The sheer, terrifying reality of her being in danger smashed through his walls like a battering ram. "The elevator shaft is too vulnerable.
We take the emergency stairs. Stay behind me, Elena. If anyone touches you, I will burn this city to the ground."
They ran out into the corridor, the heavy fire doors clicking open as they plunged into the concrete stairwell. The sound of distant gunfire and savage wolf howls echoed up from the lower floors, the ancient world violently colliding with the modern steel structure of the tower.
As they reached the thirty-fourth floor, the door below them blew off its hinges with a concussive blast of splintered wood and metal.
Three large, gray wolves with blood-red eyes bounded into the stairwell, their claws clicking against the concrete as they snarled up at them.
Sterling’s mercenaries.
Julian didn't hesitate. He pushed Elena behind him, his suit jacket tearing away as his chest expanded, his muscles swelling as his inner wolf finally exploded into the physical world.
His claws tore through his skin, and his teeth elongated into sharp, predatory daggers as a deafening, golden Alpha roar echoed through the stairwell.
"Go, Elena!" he bellowed, throwing himself into the fray.
- Writer
