The government knew they were getting close because it seemed they were sending in their troops, full force. Remus glanced out the window again and saw three very large, very green helicopters flying overhead, heading east toward the exact destination they were driving.

  Grabbing his cell phone, Remus called Rick. “We’re about ten minutes out from our meeting point and three humungous helicopters just passed by us.” They were big enough to transport soldiers.

  Ground warfare was about to take place. Remus knew the only way out of this was to run. Not that Rick and the Rebellions were cowards, but their fight wasn’t with the troops. Their fight was in Washington.

  “I know. I heard them in the distance but—shit, there they are. Gotta go.” Rick hung up.

  “Speed up,” Remus instructed Bryson. “Rick and his group are about to haul ass, and I don’t want us to lose them.”

  “We’re running to the fight?” Marco asked.

  Remus cupped his mate’s face and laid a kiss on his lips. “We are, baby. Just keep your head down and stick by me.” Remus prayed it was that easy. He wished he could have left Marco back in Shelton where he had been hiding out, but nowhere was safe and he couldn’t stand the thought of not having the man by his side.

  Marco gave a few quick, jerky nods. Remus could see how terrified his mate was. Neither Remus nor his leopard liked seeing Marco this way. He knew since childhood Marco wasn’t a fighter. He accepted that and loved him in spite of and for that weakness.

  “Do I need a gun?” Marco asked.

  “Uh, no,” Remus replied, cringing inwardly at the thought of Marco trying to shoot someone. He was more liable to shoot himself in the foot. Remus knew for a fact the man had never handled a gun in his life.

  Remus looked up when he heard the sound of gunfire. The sight before him chilled him to the bone. Not only had helicopters come into play, but there was an army of military vehicles blocking the road ahead. It looked like a fucking invasion.

  “We need another route,” Bryson said as he took the closest exit ramp. “There is no way we’re getting through that.”

  Remus agreed. Just as they exited, he saw a large tank discharge.

  The sound was like nothing he had ever heard before and prayed he never heard again. The only person Remus had to lose was Marco. He had no family. Sasha was the closest thing he had to family, but Remus wasn’t even that close to the leopard alpha.

  He cared about the other shifters, but he never had anyone who meant the world to him like Marco did. The man had always held a special place in his heart, since they were kids.

  Hearing the tank discharge again was a very grim reminder that he could lose not only Marco, but the men and women he had become friends with—although he had known the soul-aching fear of losing Marco when he thought the man dead.

  Remus didn’t ever want to go through that again. Reaching over, he twined his fingers with Marco’s, needing the contact, the closeness.

  “Somehow I never thought anything could top high school gym,” Marco said. Remus remembered those days. They had been hell for Marco. He was a scrawny teenager who lacked the coordination it took to participate in many sports. The other teenagers had been brutal.

  Remus hadn’t always been there for his best friend when he needed him. But from the moment he had claimed Marco, Remus knew the leopard wasn’t going to face anything alone again.

  One thing Remus would always be grateful for was the fact that he and Marco had finally gotten their act together and confessed their true feelings for one another. It had taken almost losing the man for Remus to realize how he felt, but he knew deep down inside that the feelings were always there. They had always been there.

  Remus pulled Marco closer, burying his face in his mate’s neck as a multitude of emotions tore through him. A tight knot formed in his chest as he thought about the fight ahead of them.

  Please don’t let me lose him. He’s my best friend and all I have in this world.

  Marco wrapped his arms around Remus, hugging him tight, his soft lips touching Remus’s cheek. “We’ll get through this, Remus. I love you and we are not going to lose each other.”

  Remus wanted to keep the sweet scent of his mate close, the warm feel of his mate’s body in his arms, and the pretty words his mate was murmuring in his heart forever.

  “There they are,” Bryson said as he navigated the truck around a field and pressed it to move faster as they raced to catch up with the convoy of changeling vehicles racing to get away.

  Remus pulled hard on Marco’s seat belt, making sure the man was belted in snugly. “This is going to be a bumpy ride.”

  Bryson jerked the wheel, sending the truck off road and through the field of grass, shortcutting their way toward Rick and the group that was outrunning the military.

  Remus and Marco were tossed about like popcorn. Thank fuck they had their seat belts on. But the tactic worked. The truck kicked up dirt as the tires hit pavement once more. Bryson slipped into the line of vehicles.

  “I’m not sure where Rick is headed,” Bryson said, “but I hope like hell he knows what he’s doing.”

  The changeling vehicles were taking up both sides of the road.

  Remus hoped no one was heading the opposite way because they would be run off of the road. They were also keeping a tight formation, not allowing any military trucks to get beside them.

  The humans saw them as animals with no souls. He was willing to bet they probably thought they had no feelings either. Remus liked to believe he had a soul.

  Yes, he was an animal. But he was also human.

  He also had feelings. That was the one concrete thing he could unequivocally argue. His feelings toward Marco, and the men he was fighting beside, were real, almost tangible. And he had to possess a soul because no one could love a man as much as he did without one.

  That was the belief he stood by. In his mind, it was solid proof that he was much more than just a disease that the humans were claiming the changelings were.

  When a three-way fork divided the road, some of the changeling vehicles went left, some right, and some stayed their course, straight ahead. They were splitting up. Remus even saw a few trucks go off road.

  They were dividing the military, breaking down the great number to a more manageable beast to handle. Bryson stayed with Rick who had torn off to the right. The changelings were trying to keep the military away from their Rebellion leader.

  Everyone knew that it was Rick who had to make it to Washington. He was their sole chance at ending this. He was the biological son of the man who had started this war. It was he who had the proof in his truck that would show the president that the changelings hadn’t started all of this.

  A few trucks filled with humans followed them. They fired their weapons as Bryson used tactical maneuvers to dodge the onslaught of bullets. Remus could not only see Rick’s truck ahead of them, but Nate’s red Yukon as well.

  The Yukon dropped back and drove up behind their truck. The next thing Remus knew, Nate was leaning out of the window, opening fire. There were a few more changelings who had taken the right and they were firing back at the militant men as well.

  Since spotting the helicopters, Remus finally felt as if they could actually get away.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Miguel cursed when he felt the bullet impact his shoulder. The heat and pain tore through his shoulder and almost made him slip back into the window, but he had to get those assholes off of Rick’s tail.

  “You’re bleeding.” Benito’s tone was filled with anger and worry as he drove. “Get back in here.”

  “I’m fine,” Miguel said as he sucked down the pain and continued to return fire. “Just concentrate on the road.”

  “Don’t make me pull this car over,” Benito threatened and Miguel gave a small smile. “I’ll do it.”

  And he knew that Benito would. His cousin was crazy enough to pull over to hand Miguel his ass for taking such a snappy tone with him. “Sorry,” he said as he aimed at the front tire of the vehicle behind them and shot his rifle repeatedly. The pain of shouldering his rifle reminded him that he was injured. But he had a job to do and an alpha to protect. Right before he slipped back into the car, Miguel flipped the men off who were following them.

  “What can I say?” Miguel teased, although the throbbing pain reminded him he needed to get the bullet out. He wasn’t sure how much damage had been inflicted, but if he didn’t get the damn thing out soon, he was going to have a scar. “I’m committed.”

  “You should be.” Benito’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. “You’re bleeding all over my upholstery.”

  “How is this your upholstery? It’s a stolen car, Benito.” Miguel winced and bit his bottom lip as he tied his shirt around his shoulder to stanch the bleeding.

  “While I’m driving, it’s mine.” Miguel knew Benito was using humor to hide his worries. Miguel hated to be mothered, just as Benito hated it as well. So they used humor when concerned.

  “I’ll make sure to have the damn thing detailed before you return it to its owner.” The bleeding had stopped, but the pain seemed to have amplified. He needed to either grab Bryson or shift. Since they were in a high-speed chase, Bryson was out of the question. So was shifting. Every available man was needed right now. Miguel couldn’t afford to go furry. Not when they were trying to protect Rick and get him away from the men who wanted him dead.

  “I’m not feeling too well,” Miguel begrudgingly admitted when his blood began to feel as if it were boiling inside of him. He sat forward and then shouted in pain as his vision began to double and his body began to burn.

  “W–What kind of bullets are they using?” Benito asked.

  “Not sure, forgot to ask them.” Miguel slumped against the door.

  His heart felt like it was working overtime as it raced inside his chest.

  He swallowed hard as he closed his eyes. “I think I’m in trouble.”

  Marco was grateful the helicopters had chased the other men. The vehicles he was with had lost their tail and were heading down the road in the dark of night. He listened as Bryson talked on the phone.

  “How bad is it?”

  Marco curled deeper into Remus’s side. His mate was watching out the window, deep in thought. He wanted to ask what Remus was thinking about, but they weren’t alone. What he wouldn’t give for a nice, private room right now.

  “Okay, find the first place you can to pull over so I can take a look at him.”

  Marco pulled his head up from Remus’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “Miguel’s been shot.”

  Marco didn’t know who Miguel was, but from the firefight they had earlier, he was surprised more men weren’t wounded. It had been a harrowing chase, and Marco had thought they were going to be caught with as many pursuers as they’d had.

  He’d only been on the road for a few days. Marco gave his props to those who had been doing this since the beginning. He knew the war was brutal, but Marco hadn’t a clue how bad it was until he had seen it firsthand.

  Remus scratched at the stubble on his jaw and then turned to look at Marco. His brilliant green eyes softened as he gave Marco a warm smile. “How you holding up?”

  He rubbed a comforting hand down Marco’s arm, as if he could read his thoughts and knew how truly terrified he was. He knew his mate could probably smell it on him. Fear was a hard emotion to hide.

  Fear, anger, love, and lust were the strongest emotions. It took a changeling with a lot of strength to mask the scent.

  “I still wish we were heading to McDonald’s,” Marco confessed.

  “You owe me a Big Mac when this is all over.”

  “I’ll even toss in a strawberry shake.”

  God that sounded so damn good. Marco was hungry as hell. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten. Just the thought of food was making his stomach grumble. Remus glanced down at Marco’s stomach. “I’ll make sure you have something to eat later.” His warm breath stirred Marco’s hair and raised a chill on his cheek.

  He wasn’t even sure Remus was talking about food.

  He thought he knew his best friend inside out. But there was one aspect of Remus’s life Marco had never known until they mated.

  Remus was very dominant when it came to sex. He should have guessed that. The leopard was dominant in their friendship. What he hadn’t expected was the level of need Remus seemed to have inside of him when it came to fucking Marco.

  The guy seemed like he couldn’t get enough.

  Remus nipped his ear, a soft purr vibrating in his throat. “I can smell your arousal, baby, and it’s driving me mad.”

  Even in the severity of the situation they were in, Marco smiled.

  Remus could always make him smile. But he found the man had a way of making him blush profusely was well. “My stomach grumbles and you think of sex?” Marco scoffed. “You are a truly twisted man.”

  Remus gave a low chuckle that had his cock thick with need.

  The truck pulled into a parking lot and Bryson put it in park. “I’ll be back.” He climbed out and shut the door. The other vehicles had pulled in as well, making Marco take in their surroundings. They may have lost their pursuers, but that didn’t mean the military had given up. For all they knew, the bad guys were still after them, not too far behind.

  Cold, clammy sweat filled Marco’s hands. If they showed up now, the changelings would be trapped. His eyes trailed over to where Bryson had gone. It seemed every changeling that had pulled up was standing around the car.

  All their expressions were grim. Whoever Miguel was, Marco could tell he was well loved. What would it feel like to have that many people concerned with his welfare? Marco had never known that level of compassion. His parents had made it known that they hated having a weak son. His father had said that Marco should have been a stain on the sheets. The man held no compassion in his heart for his son. He was as brutal and uncaring as the boys who had teased him in school.

  If it hadn’t been for Remus, Marco wasn’t sure where he would be right now. The man had stood by Marco’s side more times than he could count. Remus had been the one to defend him when the other boys would have hurt him.

  It had always been Remus.

  It would always be Remus.

  He was the one bright light in Marco’s utterly dismal life. Even working at the local restaurant had been a failed attempt at trying to live a quasi-normal life. The other changelings who worked with him saw Marco’s weakness and had used it against him. They pushed him around and made him do all the work.

  Marco had never told Remus about what happened at work down at the local pub. His best friend would have gone up there and beat the shit out of his coworkers. Marco had needed the job, so he had suffered in silence.

  He knew not all men could be tough and brave. That wasn’t how life worked. But he often wished he was a bit stronger, had a little more guts than he was born with.

  Marco sat up when a man was pulled from the car. From the blood he could see, it must have been Miguel. Three changelings held him down as Bryson worked on the wounded guy. Miguel was fighting tooth and nail. He wasn’t sure how anyone could work with the way the man was swinging his fists.

  “Damn,” Remus said. “I’ll be right back.”

  His mate slipped from the truck and closed the door. How could Remus go over there? Blood was all over Miguel. Wouldn’t his mate shift and try to eat him? The others hadn’t, which told Marco just how well loved the man truly was.

  “I’m going to slice your balls off!” Miguel shouted loud enough for Marco to hear across the parking lot. Bryson continued to work, ignoring the threat.

  Marco couldn’t take it any longer. He crawled out of the truck and closed the door, but didn’t move any further.

  “It’s silver,” Bryson said. “The bullet’s been in him too long.”

  What did that mean? Marco knew silver was very bad for changelings, but he’d never met anyone who had been shot by a silver bullet. What would happen to him now?

  Miguel swung again. This time his fist connected with one of the men trying to hold the man down. The guy who was struck seemed to take the assault in stride. He grabbed the Miguel’s arm and pinned it to the ground.

  “Benito is going to make him pay for that later.”

  An older-looking man was heading Marco’s way. He scented the air and found the man was human. The guy stuck his hand out.

  “Name’s Pappy.”

  Marco shook the offered hand, not really sure what else to do. It stunned him that they had humans in their group. He knew there were sympathizers who helped, but Marco hadn’t a clue they were running with Rick. “Marco.”

  “Ah, Remus’s mate.”

  Marco wasn’t sure how Pappy knew. “Who’s Benito?”

  “Miguel’s cousin and right-hand man. He’s the one Miguel hit.”

  Pappy leaned against the truck, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Although the guy was human, Marco could see an inherent strength in the man’s eyes. He was no one to cross.

  “How did you get mixed up in all of this?” Marco asked curiously.

  “My boys were in charge of Rick’s safety.”

  If Pappy was human, then his boys would be as well. Humans had been guarding Rick? Damn, it seemed Marco had missed a lot staying in Shelton. He felt like he needed some sort of handbook to read in order to catch up to current events.

  Maybe he would ask Remus when they were alone to give him some sort of condensed version. Marco had expected the human to gawk at his facial scars, but Pappy didn’t bat an eye at him. He had an urge to cover the two fine lines anyway.

  He was out in the open for all to see.

  Remus may have said they were barely noticeable, but for Marco, he once again felt very self-conscious. His hair wasn’t even long enough to use as a veil to hide the marks. Marco curled his fingers in, refusing to allow himself to cover his face.

  Remus walked back over, looking a bit pale. His green eyes were heavy with something Marco couldn’t read. “Is he going to be all right?”

 

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