sunfall by Nell Stark Read Free Book Online Page A

Brenner’s soldiers flanked the door, and as I barreled past them I saw them raise their guns in eerie synchronicity. I twisted in midair, ears flat against my head, willing my body out of their bullets’ trajectory. One passed millimeters above my head. The other clipped my shoulder, and I snarled at the bolt of pain that flamed down my leg. I crashed to the floor, paws skidding along the tile. My injured muscles screamed in protest, but I forced my body forward, desperate to feel my enemies’ flesh between my teeth.
    Before I could reach them—before they could fire again—Constantine and Malcolm took advantage of the distraction I’d created. One gunman went down without noise. The other’s hoarse shout became a wet gurgle that trickled off into silence. Valentine stepped out into the corridor and scanned in both directions before dropping into a crouch next to the bodies. Once she had deprived them of their weapons, she turned to face me.
    “Are you all right, baby?”
    I limped toward her, lines of fire radiating down my leg with each step. Val ripped an unbloodied patch of cloth from the shirt of one of Brenner’s soldiers, then knelt to press it against my wound. When I gently butted her knee with my head, she stroked my uninjured side. I leaned into her touch until the sound of Constantine tearing into his kill reminded me of my hunger.
    Belly twisting with the spasms, I edged closer to the two bodies. Constantine raised his head just long enough to growl, but Malcolm backed away from his kill. Last week in the arena I had shared prey with him, and now he was returning the favor. I wanted to believe this was another good sign—an indication that he was not totally lost to us.
    As I approached the corpse, my hunger ascended, clawing its way up to supplant human reason. A film of red slid over my vision and I surrendered to my feline instincts, cleaving flesh from bone, knowing Valentine would protect me as I fed.
    Finally, the urgency ebbed. As my human consciousness returned, I looked to Val who was inspecting her new weapons. Not so very long ago, I would have been ashamed to have her see me in a feeding frenzy. But we knew every aspect of each other fully now—the tender and the violent, the cutthroat and the compassionate, the dark and the light. She was my mate. I felt her in my soul and claimed a place in her body’s every cell.
    “If those guards weren’t alone, we’ll have company,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Alexa, are you okay to go on?”
    My right leg was stiff and sore, but the flow of blood had stopped and I dipped my head in assent. If I shifted back and forth again, I would be healed but dangerously weak. It was better to carry on, but I let Malcolm and Constantine share the lead as we moved forward.
    Ahead, the corridor ended in a T. The silence was oppressive. Every other time I’d visited this floor, the distant beeping of heart monitors and the hustle and bustle of human orderlies had filled the air. Were there no patients in the infirmary, or had they been evacuated? Or worse…
    Suddenly, the walls themselves seemed to sigh in a low hissing noise that came from somewhere to our left. I froze, every sense extended. The sound didn’t repeat itself, but I knew I hadn’t imagined it. Constantine and Malcolm quivered beside me, hackles raised. If Val’s reflexes hadn’t been so sharp, she would have crashed into them. The question in her eyes was obvious, but she didn’t speak and her finger hovered just above the trigger of her firearm.
    I began to move forward, but her hand on my flank made me pause. She shook her head once before flattening herself against the wall at the edge of the intersection. I let her go. Now that she was armed, she could lay down cover fire for us if necessary.
    In one fluid movement, she spun into the open, gripping her weapon with both hands. When her shoulders dropped infinitesimally, I knew we were clear to join her. She set a