Destiny Forgiven (Shadows of Destiny) (26 page)

_{Sage and James looked at each other and seemed to exchange some silent thought
before she answered, “Okay. Let’s do it.” A moment later she snapped, “But if you get me killed, I’m going to be pissed.”}

_{Maddox smiled and patted Felicity’s hand still on his arm. It was an overly simple plan and a smaller team than he’d like but he believed in them. The important thing was keeping Felicity safe. Later, away from Felicity, he’d ask James to take care of her if something should happen to him.}

_{“She done anything impressive?” Sage asked, nodding to Felicity.}

_{He chuckled and turned to the face the woman he admired and loved. Gazing down at her, the weight of what she’d been through sunk in. “Yes,” he answered. “She survived
Marwolaeth Du.”}

_{“S
tay
in your falcon form.” Maddox held Felicity by the shoulders and stared down at her, frowning. “Be careful of sky watchers. And if there’s any sign of trouble, go straight to the Falls and hide there.”}

_{She rolled her eyes. Even Salvatore didn’t give her this much grief before a mission. “Yes, I’ll look both ways before crossing the street too.”}

_{“Smart-ass.”}

_{The morning air gave her a chill even with Maddox’s warm hands against her skin. She wasn’t looking forward to shifting and flying against the wild ocean wind. James and Sage were a few yards away, whispering what she guessed were similar sentiments as she and Maddox. The crunching sound of rocks under tires signaled
that the shifter team Dalton had assembled had arrived. A car door slammed shut behind them and Dalton barked orders as more jeeps pulled into the clearing where they were meeting. It was only a few miles from The Fortress of Night.}

_{Nerves made her stomach flutter. That wasn’t unusual before a mission but feeling
nauseous with worry was excessive. Normally, she had constant contact with the members of her team through ear buds. Today, she’d have no visual on Maddox, no way of knowing where he was or if he was okay. That made her most uncomfortable. After she led the prisoners out, she just had to wait. And, everyone knew, she hated to sit and wait.}

_{Pulling free from Maddox’s death grip on her shoulders, Felicity reached up and stroked his face. “I’ll be fine. You just worry about yourself. Your situation is way more dangerous than mine.”}

_{Tears filled her eyes and she fought to hold them back. What if she never saw those deep brown eyes again? Or felt the hardness of his muscles? Even the scars covering his arms started to represent comfort. How would she go on without him? She had once but it’d been hell and the constant ache in her heart hadn’t dulled much in all the years they’d been apart. Could she go through that again?}

_{“Be careful, Maddox. Don’t put me through losing you a second time.”}

_{“My sweet girl,” he crooned and bent his head to touch his forehead to hers. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you never hurt again.”}

_{She smiled. “That’s sweet but impossible. Life is full of pain. That’s what makes the good stuff seem better. Just don’t die on me. That’s all I ask. It’s not much, right?”}

_{“I have no intention of dying today.”}

_{Before she could respond, he leaned in and kissed her. Soft and sensuous, he licked the top of her lip, sending shivers down her spine. Then he teased her, sucking her tongue into his mouth. She matched him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands came around her waist as their mouths wrestled for dominance.}

_{Her knees trembled and she melted against him, feeling like a warm, tingly mess. His hands drifted lower and cupped her ass. When he yanked her hard up against his groin a startled moan escaped her.}

_Fuck.

_{Someone cleared their throat beside them. She pulled away and turned to face their audience. Dalton. Her cheeks heated and she shot Maddox a glare. His smug expression told her he’d done it on purpose. Bastard.}

_{“We’re ready,” Dalton said, clearly struggling to hold back a smile. “I have five jeeps. I think it should be enough. We can always drop some people off then come back for more.”}

_{Nodding, she tried to snap into work mode. “Right. Sounds good.”}

_{James and Sage strolled to their side, holding hands. “Everybody ready?” Sage asked.}

_{Dalton’s team joined them and they stood in a semicircle, all eyes on the Queen, some in awe, others looking unimpressed.}

_{“So this is the Queen of the Underworld?” Dalton smirked and crossed his arms.}

_{“Let me guess,” she answered. “You thought I’d be bigger?”}

_{The Queen was dressed to the nines today – tall headdress adorned with bejeweled spikes, dark heavy makeup, and black leather pants and jacket. Felicity imagined that without all that, she’d probably look like a typical college kid. The impressive, though a bit dramatic, costume was obviously for show.}

_{The rising sun glinted off the tips of her headdress, revealing what they really were. Throwing knives. And as Felicity looked closer, other weapons tucked into her costume became evident. She was a deadly weapon wrapped up in a shiny package of feminine beauty. Now that she thought about it, the costume was brilliant.}

_{“You don’t need to be big to make big changes,” Felicity said to Dalton. “You only need to have big courage.”}

_{Sage gave her a small smile and she couldn’t help but think they’d taken a step toward friendship.}

_{“Underestimate her, shifter,” James added with chuckle, “and it’ll be the last mistake you ever make.”}

_{James looked as dangerous as his mate, dressed in black leather pants and a trench coat. Flashes of polished metal, silver bullets, and knives could be seen with every movement of his coat. She was beginning to feel underdressed in just khaki pants and a black t-shirt – though she wouldn’t be wearing clothing for long.}

_{“Maddox.” James lifted a black case he’d been holding and popped it open. Inside, guns and knives lined the bottom and sides of the case. “Take what you need.”}

_{Maddox nodded, then started assembling the weapons and concealing them in his soldier uniform. He was going in first so he could hack the system. When that was done, he’d give James and Sage a signal. Sage would start the attack by sinking the entrance as James and a few of Dalton’s friends charged the prison. James would fire Bolts to start it burning while Maddox searched for his father. They figured they’d have about ten minutes to get in, start it burning, then get out before Sage turned it to rubble.}

_{“Ten minutes,” Felicity reminded Maddox after he’d armed himself. “You better get your ass out of there.”}

_{He chuckled as she straightened the collar of his uniform. It looked so wrong on him even though she should be used to it. The putrid green made her want to vomit. If he never donned that uniform again, she’d die a happy woman.}

_{“I know this must bring back awful memories,” he said, looking down at her regretfully.}

_{“I’ll get over it. I doubt we’ll use it for role play in the bedroom though.”}

_{She only managed to pull a pity smile from him. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “I love you, Maddox Blackwell. Please come back to me.”}

_{He returned her kiss to her forehead and cupped her face in his hands. “I love you too, Felicity mine. I promised once to find you and I failed. I was lucky enough to get a second chance. I won’t fail you again.”}

_{They kissed softly for a moment
but were forced to break away when Sage started barking orders to get going because she had other shit to do. Maddox walked backward toward the forest, keeping his gaze on hers, then he turned away and disappeared from view.}

_{A hand fell on her shoulder. “He’ll be okay,” Sage said.}

_{“Yeah.” She wished that was a guarantee.}

_{The team waited in the clearing for what felt like forever. Felicity could barely breathe. She longed for an ear bud so she could hear his voice. Thirty long minutes later, a flash of green exploded in the sky, right above where they knew the prison sat.}

_{Everyone went into motion, like clockwork, focused on their part in the plan.}

_{“Good luck,” Sage said to her. Then she and James disappeared into the trees in a blur.}

_{Felicity looked at Dalton. “Be safe.”}

_{He gave her a small smile. “You too.”}

_{A chill raced down her spine as she unclothed to shift. The falcon shape was easy to slip into, especially now that she was well fed and well rested. Wind ruffled through her feathers as she glided through the air toward
Marwolaeth Du
. Upon seeing the formidable place, a sense of dread grew in her stomach. A strange dichotomy because, though she was terrified of the place, she was also glad she’d been there – it was where she’d found her Maddox. Steeling her courage, she circled the outer edge.}

_{A boom sounded from below just as a billow of smoke poured into the sky. Felicity slowed her flight as she dodged the smoke
and gazed down below. She spotted Sage just on the outskirts of the prison, her arms held out in front of her. Moments later she disappeared into a heavy mist.}

_{The wall surrounding the fortress was now a pile of rubble. James raced over the debris, taking out guards as he went. Voices shouted and soldiers poured out of the building. Streaks of light zoomed back and forth in the chaos. A loud crack echoed across the sky as a piece of building fell into a hole in the ground.}

_{And so it began – the first step in taking down the most powerful government in the supernatural world.}

_{M
addox let his disguise disappear and stalked the familiar hallways in his true form, unconcerned with who saw him. The smell of dust and grime in the cell blocks fueled his rage. Heat shot down his arms then flared in his palms, just waiting to release on an enemy. The cells were empty – the shutdown of the security system had worked. Hopefully the prisoners had followed his escape route and found Felicity outside. Thinking about her, what he’d done to her in this very building, only made him angrier. Ignoring the chaos, the screams in the distance, the building shaking and debris falling from the ceiling onto his head, he stomped through the corridors, heading straight for where he knew his father would be.}

_{Footsteps sounded behind him. He turned and blasted two soldiers with Bolts. Another came from the front and he threw a knife into his chest without flinching. Most of the guards were fleeing the prison, especially after an entire wing had been crushed. Orders were barked through the loudspeaker system, commanding officers to back up the security system. He couldn’t tell if they were unifying to accomplish a single goal or panicking. It didn’t seem like they were faring well without him in charge. Part of him was glad to know that.}

_{He stepped over the body, twitching and bleeding on the ground, barely registering that he recognized the man. Heartless, yes, but he was fucking pissed. This place had destroyed years of his life, traumatized his mate, and plagued his dreams. Destroying it and everyone in it felt almost therapeutic.}