Infinity Unleashed (25 page)

“Azura?” My voice croaked. “What the hell is going on here?”

Azura's vibrant green eyes narrowed as her gaze locked onto me. She looked wicked pissed.

“That's what I want to know.” She tossed her long, dark, rich copper-red hair over her shoulder with annoyance. “You’re a pain in the ass, Valkyrie.” Her pale skin glowed as she pointed at me accusingly. “Didn’t I warn you? What’s all this talk about not letting him die? You must let him die,” she ordered, her voice was smooth like molasses, but her eyes were cold as ice.

My eyes glittered with frustration. “He’s your son. Why won’t you fight for him?”

She looked at me silently before saying. “I am, and you're fucking it all up. I brought him to you last night, allowing your mating. What else do you want from me?”

“Damn it!” I crossed my arms and widened my stance. “I want you to save him.”

“He doesn't need saving, Infinity.” She gave me a sliver of smile like a cat toying with a mouse. “He's my son and as such he must earn his birthright. He must die in order to be reborn. This is his journey to take, and I will not allow you to ruin it.”

Tilting my chin defiantly, I said, “I won't let him die.”

I meant every word. I've never loved a man in my life. Never gave my heart and body to anyone. He was mine. I was his, and I refused to stand by and let them snatch him away from me as if it meant absolutely nothing.

Raising one red eyebrow, she shook her head. “These are the rules of the Immortals.”

“Well, fuck the
Immortals.
For that matter, fuck you!” Jamming my hands on my hips, I skewered her with an enraged stare. “This is his life you’re playing with, and he's not a disposable razor and neither am I. So you go tell the Immortals or High Council or whoever you fucking want that I'm not letting him go.” I widened my stance farther like a bullfighter.

With a weary sigh, Azura glared at me. “Even at the expense of the Others?”

“Yes,” I said flatly.

Azura frowned.

I frowned right back. “And don't you dare give me that disapproving stare. You have no right to judge me when you people have been watching Others kill each other off for centuries.” I felt lightheaded from the anger coursing through my veins. I had to calm down or things would get very ugly between us.

“And does Boulder feel the same way?” she asked with a hard glint in her eyes.

My laugh was harsh. “I didn’t exactly take a vote, Azura, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to die for this bullshit. No one does.”

“You don’t know anything about Boulder. He belongs to us.” She looked at me with distaste. “In fact, you don’t know anything about yourself.”

My fists clenched. “I know enough to know that I don’t have to do a damn thing you people say.”

She pointed at me. “Boulder needs your strength, but instead of giving him what he needs, you are stomping around like someone just stole your fucking bike. You must do what is necessary. Sacrifice him. Believe me, he's willing to sacrifice his life for you. What are you willing to sacrifice for him?”

I blinked back the tears. Would I die for him? Honestly, I didn't know.

“I've made lots of sacrifices, Valkyrie. Aligned myself with enemies and broken many rules just to give my son what he wanted… you. So let's stop playing damn games. Boulder must be sacrificed or Others will die.”

Tears of frustration streamed down my face. My fists clenched. My heart was fucking breaking from the unfairness of it all. “So that's my only option? Give up the only man I love or kill an entire race of Others?”

Azura shrugged, her eyes turning dark and emotionless. “Sacrifices. We all have to make them, Infinity,” she said before walking up to me, sauntering around me like she was examining car.

Rage engulfed me. “Like how Mist sacrificed the Valkyries?” My body trembled with unchecked rage. I was one step away from lashing out and I knew without a doubt that I couldn't win against her. “If I wasn't born, none of this would ever happen. The Others would have ended with her. Why did she have me?”

“Countless lives would have ended if she didn't. The Immortals showed her the truth and her true purpose.”

My lips curled up with distaste. This woman was truly demon spawn.

Azura continued. “We all struggle with our personal demons.” She sighed heavily. “But we do what is necessary. Boulder must die.”

“Do you people even realize how crazy you are? Do you know about the lives you're playing with?”

She looked at me with cold disapproval. “Do you? This will happen with or without you. There is no other way. Decide their fate, Valkyrie.”

My body was trembling from the rage and fear. She wasn’t asking for permission to let him die. She was telling me what was to come whether I wanted it or not. It was her cruel way of preparing me for his death.

“One man for all. All for one man. You must let him go…” She trailed her fingers along my shoulders. I tried not to flinch as she pushed traces of warmth into my body like a soft hug. “But never forget that he loves you for who you truly are. Never forget. No matter how bad things get. He will always be there for you in the end.”

She moved away from me, disappearing into the darkness. Leaving the haunting words hovering over me.

Chapter 18

Colorado… Sunday

Tires squealed. Boulder powered the military-style vehicle around the corner, gathering speed. Mason’s enforcers shot at their vehicles. Factor drove around Boulder, driving straight at the gate. Cruz launched a grenade out the window.

Boom! Some of the enforcers fell to the ground, eyes rolling back. Torch raised his gun, shooting, taking the rest out.

Adrenalin coursed through Boulder's veins as he dropped a gear and floored it, right through the compound gate. Looking through the rearview mirror, he could see the Council's recovery team slipping into the shadows of the compound like ninjas.

He scowled. He wasn't happy with the arrangement of his team doing all of the grunt work. He was pissed that the Council refused to budge on their position. Their warriors would not fight unless absolutely necessary—in other words, until Kara, Torch, or he died. They refused to risk themselves for something they didn't believe was their fight.

Hitting the brakes sharply, they jumped out of the vehicle. Boulder and Torch shrewdly assessed the terrain.

"Okay, guys, I need you to keep it tight and stay alert. This could be an ambush," Boulder hissed.

“Team Charlie to the right. Team Bravo to the left, and Alpha down the middle. Everyone meets me at the extraction point,” Torch instructed sharply.

Torch, Kara, and Boulder ran down the middle, shooting while sustaining heavy gunfire to the left and right, and team Charlie and Bravo continued to push forward to the extraction point.

Boulder grunted with frustration when heavy gunfire pinned down Torch and Kara. He continued to the main door while Torch provided cover fire for him. Kicking open the door, his body tensed before opening fire, sweeping his gun around the room, shooting everything in sight.



***

Parker and Matt slammed into the suite, barrelling toward me with guns drawn. Matt grabbed my arm, yanking it back so hard I saw stars.

“Ouch! What the hell, Matt?”

Parker stalked toward the balcony with his gun drawn. He grunted loudly. “Damn! They took out all of the enforcers at the gate.”

Matt was sweating profusely. I could hear his heart beating frantically as he clutched my neck, squeezing me against his chest like a shield. “Can we sneak her out the back way?”

My heart raced at the sound of heavy gunfire. “What’s going on?”

“Shut the hell up, Valkyrie,” Matt spat while choking me.

Parker swore, his eyes darting around frantically. “Negative. They’ve got us pinned down.”

I gulped nervously when a red dot appeared on Parker’s forehead. A laser sight. My breath caught when a volley of bullets pierced his body. He collapsed, dead.

Matt jerked me back, using me as his shield. There was no way in hell I was going out like that. I needed to take matters in my own hands. I spun, swinging my leg around, striking him with a roundhouse kick. Enraged, he surged forward, aiming his gun at my head, seemingly undecided as to whether to shoot.

His head glistened with sweat as his fingers twitched nervously. “I'm not fucking around. Get your ass over here, Infinity.”

Hell to the no. There was no way I was going down without fighting. I surged forward instantly, going on the attack with a flurry of kicks and punches, but Matt was like a brick wall of muscles. And with all of my efforts, all I accomplished was pissing him off royally.

He stormed forward, backhanding me across the face, then snatched me up by the neck. My legs dangled in the air like a puppet’s as I clawed desperately at his fingers. Somehow I managed to knee him in the groin so hard he might never get his dick up again. His face turned beet red before letting out a howl of pain. I went crashing to the floor before wobbling to my feet.

My first instinct was to run as fast as I could, but he snatched me back, spinning me around, shaking me like a rag doll.

“Enough!” He snarled.

“I won't stop, so you might as well kill me now.”

“If only it were that simple.” He howled with frustration before hitting me on the head with the butt of his gun.

I staggered back. My knees buckled, and my vision went fuzzy as blood dripped down my face. I knew I had lost the fight. It was a matter of time before I passed out. Resigned to my fate, I stared at him defiantly.

The door slammed open, startling both of us. Shards of wood went flying everywhere. My eyes widened at the sight of Boulder standing in the threshold, pissed as hell.

He stared at me with eyes narrowed, slowly transforming from human to wolf. His head snapped to look at Matt. “You fucking touched my mate?”

Sighing with relief, I closed my eyes for a second, gingerly touching the back of my head. The world spun, and my knees started to give.

Boulder surged forward with a loud growl.

“You're going to die, wolf-shifter.” Matt growled, aiming his gun at Boulder.

The sound of bullets ricocheted around me before Boulder punched Matt so hard I heard bones snapping.

My muscles jumped and twitched before my knees gave out and I went crashing to the floor.

Chapter 19

Colorado… Sunday

His mate was injured.

Boulder's heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest at the sight of Infinity's bloody face. The feeling got worse when she looked at him with wide, dazed eyes. She was barely able to stand.

Mate.

All he saw was red as he tried to fight the shift. He needed to stay in human form. Shifting to his beast would leave him vulnerable to gunfire. Mason's enforcer roared at him, aiming his gun, and he surged forward, using his speed to evade the bullets. Gripping the enforcer's hand, he squeezed. The enforcer screamed as his bones snapped, the gun dropping from his grasp.

Growling with menace, Boulder punched his fist into enforcer's chest again and again.

“Boulder,” she whispered.

His eyes locked with hers and he damn near blacked out from rage when Infinity crashed to the floor. He tossed the now-dead enforcer across the room like trash before storming over to her. Hovering over her limp form protectively with fists clenched, he exhaled loudly, trying to calm down from his adrenaline high. He didn't want to hurt her by mistake, but in his enraged stage, his wolf was snarling, snapping, and rearing to get out and do further damage.

It took him a while to assure his beast that his mate was safe. He sighed loudly when his wolf settled, seemingly satisfied that danger was momentarily averted.

Crouching down beside her body, he reached out to her through their mate connection and felt absolutely nothing. His heart lurched with fear.

“Oh, darlin’, what the hell did they do to you?”

Quickly, he felt her pulse. It was faint but steady. He had to get her out of here before the next wave of tigers surged onto the compound. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his chest, sighing with relief that her pulse quickened at his touch. She knew he was there and would protect her.

Suddenly, his wolf growled, as if sensing something ominous in the air. His body tensed when he smelled the faint scent of…

“Get the fuck away from her.” Alik snarled, snatching him by the collar and dragging him away from her with brute strength.

Boulder cracked his neck to loosen his muscles.

If Alik thought he was going to be an easy win, he was fucking wrong. It was time for the showdown and his greatest acting performance yet.

He swatted Alik away and nimbly jumped to his feet. He smiled coldly as he surged forward, punching Alik in the face. The air chilled as Alik spun around with inhuman speed, putting him in a chokehold.

Boulder brutally banged his elbow against Alik's chest over and over again, growling with satisfaction at the sound of Alik's breaking bones and grunts of pain. Spinning around, he raised his knee, grabbing Alik by the head and snapping his head against it, sending Alik’s blood everywhere.

He felt Azura in the shadows, seething. She hissed in his mind.
Stop playing around with him, Boulder. Let him do what they sent him to do, so this can be finally over.

Just when I was starting to have some fun
, he hissed back. His beast howled and fought to be released.

Boulder
! she snapped.

Fine
, he barked before pretending to lose concentration, giving Alik the opening he was waiting for.

Alik pulled out his gun and shot him. Boulder didn't flinch when he felt the bullet enter his chest, blazing a trail of excruciating pain.

Shit! He hadn't expected it to hurt this much.

It felt like his blood was boiling. He gurgled, falling to the ground with a big thud. Clutching his chest, he felt the warm stickiness of his own blood. Pulling the last of his strength, he crawled over to Infinity's body, grabbing her hand before collapsing. Her hand was icy cold. Her skin lifeless.