Fear welled in Selena.
This was it.
The Gizzida’s endgame.
“Tane, this is Holmes.”
She glanced up at Tane’s rugged face, listening to the general’s voice in her earpiece.
“You and your squad need to get to the Blue Mountains. And Selena, too. The other squads will continue to hold off the attack. You need to get to Blue Mountain Base and try to stop that bomb.”
A Hawk appeared in the sky above them, lowering down with a gust of air. A grim-looking Finn sat in the cockpit. He nodded at them.
Selena touched her ear. “General, it’s Selena. Tell Emerson to prepare the antidote. As much as she can.”
“She told me it’s not guaranteed, that it had unpredictable results,” the general said.
“It’s all we’ve got.” She met Tane’s dark eyes.
“All right,” Holmes said. “See you soon.”
“Listen up, Squad Three,” Tane said. “We’re headed to Blue Mountain Base to fuck up the Gizzida and their bomb.”
“Oh, yeah, baby,” Hemi said.
Shaw stepped forward, grinning. “We’ll take good care of your bikes.” The sniper eyed the armored bikes eagerly.
Levi pointed at the man. “One scratch, Baird, and I’m taking you down.”
Shaw stroked the side of Levi’s bike. “I know how to treat a lady. Ask my woman, I handle her just right.”
Claudia snorted and smacked him in the back of the head. “Lucky I’m in love with you.”
Selena looked at Hell Squad, wondering if it was the last time she’d see them. They’d been the ones to free her from her Gizzida nightmare. Her gaze met Claudia’s and the tough woman’s face softened.
Claudia hugged her. “Whatever happens, however long we’ve got, it’s all worth it.”
Selena felt a prick of tears and nodded.
“No regrets. Let’s go do what’s right and fight. With our men and our friends by our sides.”
Releasing Claudia, Selena followed Tane onto the Hawk. The rest of the berserkers climbed in with them. It was a tense ride back to the Enclave. She looked to the north and saw the shadow of the giant alien and her belly tightened.
They were facing impossible odds.
The general and Emerson met them in the Hawk hangar.
“Here.” Emerson held up two heavy-duty vials. The antidote glimmered inside. “Selena, it needs more testing. Since I saw you, it stopped working again.”
Selena touched the woman’s arm. “We have to try.”
Emerson nodded. “Gabe?”
“Out kicking ass with Hell Squad,” Tane said.
The doctor hugged Selena. “Be careful.”
The time to be careful was over. Selena nodded at the general. She was surprised when the usually stoic man leaned forward and hugged her as well.
“You’re one of us, Selena.”
Her heart swelled. “Thank you.”
She turned and let Tane help her back onto the Hawk. Moments later, they were taking off and spearing into the sky.
They turned away from the fighting. She caught one last glance of plumes of smoke rising into the air. Be safe.
Tane sat and pulled her into his lap. On this journey, there was no joking or laughing. The berserkers were all tense.
“Our chances aren’t good,” she whispered.
His arms tightened. She reached down and traced the ink on his forearm. She wanted more time with him—loving him, laughing with him, living.
“No,” he said. “But that won’t fucking stop us from fighting to survive.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’d die for you, Selena.”
Her chest hitched. “Don’t say that. Instead, promise me that you’ll live for me.”
That got her one of his rare smiles. “Okay, Butterfly. So, are you going to call in some bugs, or cause an earthquake?”
“Maybe.”
“My beautiful warrior fairy.” He played with her hair. “How come you aren’t burned out? You did some pretty wild things back on the battlefield.”
She shrugged. “I’m a little tired, but I feel more energy ebbing and flowing in me.” She focused on it, that core inside her. “I actually think it’s you.”
He raised a brow. “Me?”
“Our connection. Our naria are linked.” And Tane Rahia was an intense man, filled with powerful determination and strength.
He smiled. “I guess my naria is corrupting yours.”
She kissed him. “I like it.”
“Coming up on the drop zone,” Finn called out.
The plan was to use the same entrance they’d used on the recon mission. The Hawk lowered down into a clearing and stopped in a hover above the ground.
As Tane opened the side door, Finn appeared. The pilot hugged Selena hard, and she held onto him tightly. There were no words to say. Her throat was tight at the thought that she might never see her friend again.
“Selena.” Tane waited at the door.
She released Finn and took Tane’s hand.
She leaped down and the berserkers surrounded her. Big, muscled, tattooed, they were all wild in their own ways, and so full of life.
As the Hawk lifted off, the berserkers turned, and they moved in a tight group into the trees. Selena looked up at the sun shining through the dappled leaves. She sensed water flowing nearby.
Such a beautiful place, but below, death was waiting.
“Illusion armor on,” Tane murmured.
Ahead of them, Levi and Ash disappeared from view. Then Hemi, Dom, and Griff.
But she knew they were close by.
They reached the doorway, and Ash worked on the lock. The door slid open.
Selena followed the men into the dark, dank tunnel and pulled in a deep breath. They moved quietly and quickly through the tunnels. They closed in on the inner core where the bomb was. A hum of ragged energy filled the air, prickling over her skin.
There were lots more raptors than last time. Lots more activity.
“Hide,” Tane murmured.
They ducked into an empty side tunnel. A moment later, a group of raptors stomped past.
Tane peered out, then ducked back. “More, don’t move.”
Selena sucked in a breath. She felt jagged energy hit her senses.
More raptors moved past the entrance to the tunnel, and one was holding the leash of an alien creature.
She’d never seen a Gizzida like it. It was almost cat-like, moving with a feline grace, but it was large, bigger than the canids. It had wicked spikes all over its body.
It paused, looking down the tunnel, and it made a funny coughing sound.
She felt Tane’s fingers digging into her hand.
The creature could sense them.
Selena tried to connect with it. She never attempted this with a Gizzida before. She gave it a mental nudge.
The raptor holding the creature grunted and tugged on the leash. The creature roared, and a second later, it moved on.
She sagged against Tane. It had worked.
“Let’s keep moving,” he ordered.
They crept out of the tunnel and pushed through until they found a shadowed spot near the central core. Sunlight filtered in from above, and they crouched by a broken railing, looking down at the bomb below.
“Fuck me,” Levi said.
Selena stared at the bomb in the center of the alien activity.
It was no longer all black.
Now, red lights were flashing all along the side of it.
Dammit. There were so many damn raptors around the bomb.
Tane stirred. “We need to get down there and get the antidote into the bomb.”
“I have to be the one to put the antidote in place,” Selena said. “It appears that without me, it stops working.”
Fuck, he hated this. He hated putting her right in the middle of the aliens and risking her life. It hurt, especially when everything inside him wanted to keep her safe.
“Okay, we’ll—” A wild squawk echoed off the concrete walls and a bird-like creature flew down from above. It arrowed straight at Tane.
What the hell? He spun, but the bird slammed into him. The thing was clearly Gizzida, covered in gray scales. He batted at it, dodging the claws and sharp beak.
“Shit.” Hemi and Dom hit the bird and it fell onto the ground with a squawk. They kicked it, then Dom ripped a knife off his belt and stabbed the creature.
It slumped, and they all stared at it. It was big and mutated. Instead of feathers, it had scales, and wicked, curved claws.
Selena crouched, looking almost sad. “It sensed us through our illusion.”
Tane looked up. “There are more of them.” Three dark shapes wheeled above, near the high, broken ceiling of the central core.
“We need to be careful, or they’ll give us away.” He paused. “Okay, let’s get to the lower level and get Selena to that bomb.”
“Tane.” She grabbed his arm. “Wait. Look.”
He turned and saw that she was looking at the bomb. More of the red lights had appeared on the side of it. Some were still flashing, but a short row of solid red lights glowed brightly.
She swallowed. “I think when the row of lights are all on, no longer blinking…”
The bomb would detonate.
Shit. “Let’s move. Fast.”
They snuck down the stairs and waited at the bottom until a patrol of raptors had walked past, then they darted out.
“I’ll go with Selena,” Tane murmured. “You guys stay hidden.”
He could tell Hemi didn’t like the plan by his thunderous scowl.
“We all go out there, the greater the chance we’ll get caught,” Tane said.
His brother lifted his carbine and reluctantly nodded. “Any trouble, and we’re there.”
With nods, his squad melted into the shadows. Then he and Selena started across the space, heading toward the bomb.
Just like the last time they were here.
Get in, dump the antidote, get out. He had to keep his eye on the prize.
A wild, guttural roar echoed across the space.
He and Selena froze.
“Oh, fuck, Tane, you seeing this?” Hemi’s voice came across the comm line. “To the left.”
There was a large doorway in the wall. It had once been a standard-size entry, but it looked like the raptors had knocked parts of the wall down to make it larger.
Three huge raptors stepped inside.
But these were no ordinary raptors.
They’d encountered enhanced raptors previously, like the wild super-raptors they’d fought before. But these ones were even bigger.
Over seven-feet tall, these aliens sported spikes around their shoulders, and tentacle-like protuberances dangling from under their chins. The tentacles were covered in scales and moved a little…almost like they had a mind of their own.
What the fuck?
“Tane.” Selena spun, her voice frantic. “I’ve seen creatures like this before.” She pulled in a breath. “Those tentacles are highly sensitive. They pick up scents, vibrations.”
Shit. “So they could detect us?”
She nodded.
Damn, Tane was getting the feeling that the Gizzida suspected they’d sneak in. The birds and these monster-raptors were here to be guard dogs.
One of the monster-raptors roared again. It was looking in their direction.
“Tane, get out of there,” Hemi bit out.
“Can’t. This mission is too fucking important.”
He grabbed Selena’s hand and they circled around some black crates. Get to the bomb, that was what he had to focus on.
The three monster-raptors moved, heading in their general direction.
Tane’s pulse jumped. “Keep moving. They can’t see us.”
Selena nodded, half running toward the bomb.
Several regular raptors stepped into view. They looked like scientists, clutching sheets of black glass that were probably some sort of portable comp.
Tane and Selena paused, and crouched in behind some equipment.
The monster-raptors roared again, the sound deafening in the cavernous space. The scientists broke into guttural speech, staring at the monster-raptors.
One monster-raptor took a step forward, then another. It was coming toward Tane and Selena.
“Move.” He pushed her.
A second later, the monster-raptor broke into a run, barreling at them. Shit.
It swung out a brawny arm, knocking over several crates. Tane dived on Selena, tackling her to the ground. A second monster-raptor charged in their direction.
Shit, the mission was going to hell.
Several raptor soldiers appeared, weapons in hand. They knew something was up.
Tane rose. They can’t see us. That was still their advantage. Selena scrambled up, her skin starting to glow.
Suddenly, a blast of energy rippled out of her. It washed over Tane, but it hit the raptors hard, toppling them. Several crates exploded.
The monster-raptors knocked into each other, losing their balance.
Carbine fire broke out.
“Keep your heads down,” Hemi warned.
Several raptors jerked and fell, slashes opening up on their chests. Dom was clearly getting up close and personal.
The carbine fire focused on the monster-raptors, making them roar.
“We can still get to the bomb.” The squad would keep the Gizzida busy.
There was fear in Selena’s eyes, but she nodded. Together, they darted toward the bomb. He saw that the device had more solid red lights on it now. They didn’t have much time.
Nearby, a raptor scientist leaped onto a crate. He held some strange device in his clawed hand.
What now? Tane grabbed Selena’s arm, jerking her away from the asshole. The raptor hit a button.
There was a blinding flash of light and Tane winced. He saw Selena lift her arm to shield her eyes.
“Oh, fuck,” Levi said.
Tane turned.
He saw all the berserkers in position, weapons aimed, firing on the aliens.
He could see his squad.
He sucked in a sharp breath and looked at the alien device. The raptor scientist holding it was looking right at him and Selena.
Whatever it was, it had caused their illusion systems to fail.
“They can see us!”