The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 110

Tristan

The jet touched down on a small airstrip that Derek had somehow arranged on an island I'd never heard of, and the moment we stepped off the plane, I could feel that something was wrong.

The bond with Athena was there but it felt different, like she was further away than she should be based on what we'd tracked during the flight.

"She's not here," I said immediately, and my voice came out tight with frustration.

Orion nodded beside me, his face grim. "I can feel it too. She's close but not on this island."

Derek was already talking into his radio, coordinating with his men who had spread out to secure the landing area. When he finished, he turned to us with a frown.

"My scouts are reporting activity about two miles across the water," he said, pointing toward the dark ocean.

"There's a cave system built into the cliffs on the opposite shore. Natural formation but it looks like it's been modified."

I followed his gaze and could just make out the dark outline of rocky cliffs rising from the water. Somewhere in those shadows, Athena was waiting.

But a part of me couldn't help but wonder what Daxon was really up to. Why was he doing all these? This was more than just a revenge.

This was more than we thought it was, but I was ready to get to the end of it.

"How do we get across?" I asked.

"Boats," Derek replied. "But here's the thing. My surveillance shows Daxon's main operation is still running on those ships we identified. They're using the cave as a secondary location, probably for whatever they're doing to your mate."

My wolf snarled at the thought of what they might be doing to her, and I had to force myself to stay focused.

"So we split up," Orion said, and his voice was steady despite the rage I could feel radiating from him. "Some of us go to the cave, others hit the ships."

Derek nodded. "That's what I was thinking. Jackson can lead the assault on the maritime operation while we handle the cave."

I looked around at our group. Besides Derek, Orion, and myself, we had my trusted gamma Jace and Orion's gamma Lucas with us. The rest of Derek's men and Orion's beta were preparing to split between the two targets.

"I'm going to the cave," I said, and there was no room for argument in my voice. "That's where she is."

"We're all going to the cave," Orion corrected. "The five of us can handle whatever they've got waiting there."

Derek was studying a tactical map one of his men had provided. "The cave entrance is here," he said, pointing to a spot on the coastline. "But there are at least three guard positions we can see from our surveillance. Probably more inside."

"How many men total?" Jace asked.

"Unknown," Derek admitted. "But based on the heat signatures we're picking up, at least twenty, maybe more."

Lucas spoke up for the first time since we'd landed. "Five against twenty isn't bad odds."

"It's not, when three of us are Alphas and two are highly trained gammas," I said.

Derek folded up the map. "The boats are ready. We move in ten minutes."

Those ten minutes felt like hours, but finally we were crossing the dark water in a fast boat that Derek's people had waiting.

The cave loomed larger as we got closer, and I could see lights flickering from within the rocky entrance.

The bond with Athena was getting stronger, more urgent, and I could feel her distress like a physical pain in my chest.

"Remember," Orion said quietly as we approached the shore, "we go in fast and hard. No hesitation, no mercy. And be careful. I'm sure their weapons are loaded with wolfbane."

"We all must come out alive." He continued looking at me like he was speaking to me particularly.

I nodded with the others in understanding.

We beached the boat on a narrow strip of rocky shore and immediately I could smell other wolves. Many other wolves, along with the scent of weapons and something else I couldn't identify.

The cave entrance was about fifty yards up a steep path carved into the cliff face, and I could see the guards Derek had mentioned. Three men with automatic weapons positioned at strategic points.

"Lucas, Jace, you take the two on the left," Orion said in a low voice. "Derek gets the one on the right. Tristan and I go straight up the middle once they're down."

We spread out and moved into position, and I had to force myself to wait for the signal instead of just charging ahead. Every second that passed was another second Athena was in danger.

Orion held up his hand, then dropped it.

Lucas and Jace moved like shadows, covering the distance to their targets in seconds. Derek's man went down just as quickly, a throwing knife taking him in the throat before he could raise his weapon.

"Go," Orion hissed, and we sprinted up the path toward the cave entrance.

The moment we crossed into the cave, everything went to hell.

Gunfire erupted from multiple positions deeper in the cave system, and I could hear shouting in languages I didn't recognize. These weren't just Daxon's wolf allies, he had hired human mercenaries too.

"This way," I said, following the pull of the bond toward a tunnel that branched off to the right.

A man stepped out of a side passage with his weapon raised, but I was already moving. My claws extended and I ripped his throat out before he could fire a shot.

Behind me, I could hear the sounds of the others fighting their way through the cave system. Jace was roaring in his half-shifted form, and I could hear the wet sounds of claws tearing through flesh.

"Tristan, go," Orion called out, and when I looked back I saw him surrounded by three men with silver weapons. "Find her. We'll cover you."

I wanted to help him but the bond was pulling me deeper into the cave, toward where Athena was being held. I had to trust that Orion and the others could handle themselves.

I ran deeper into the tunnel system, following passages that seemed to go on forever. The cave had been modified extensively, with electric lights strung along the walls and metal doors installed at regular intervals.

Another guard appeared ahead of me, this one a wolf who had partially shifted. His eyes glowed in the dim light and he bared fangs that were longer than they should be.

I didn't slow down. Instead, I let my own wolf come forward, felt my fangs extend and my strength multiply. We collided in the middle of the tunnel and went down in a tangle of claws and teeth.

He was strong but I was stronger, and I was fighting for my mate. I sank my fangs into his neck and tore, tasting his blood as his life left him.

More sounds of fighting echoed from behind me, but I pushed forward. The bond was getting stronger now, so strong I could almost feel Athena's heartbeat as if it were my own.

I turned a corner and found myself in a wider section of the cave that had been turned into some kind of laboratory. Tables covered with equipment I didn't recognize, computers, and in the center of it all, a chair with restraints.

The scent of Athena's blood was strong here, and my wolf went wild with rage.

But she wasn't here and the bond was pulling me further in, toward what looked like a natural chamber deeper in the cave system.

I heard footsteps behind me and spun around to find two more guards approaching. One had a silver-loaded weapon, the other was carrying what looked like a tranquilizer gun.

I moved before they could fire, crossing the distance between us in a single leap.

My claws caught the first one across the chest and sent him flying into the cave wall. The second one got off a shot with the tranquilizer, but I twisted away and the dart went wide.

I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "Where is she?" I growled, and my voice came out distorted by the partial shift.

His eyes went wide with terror. "The inner chamber," he gasped. "Daxon... he's got her in the inner chamber at the far end."

I dropped him and kept moving, following the tunnel as it sloped downward into the heart of the cliff. The bond was so strong now it was almost overwhelming, and I could feel that Athena was close.

The tunnel opened into a massive natural chamber that took my breath away.

It was huge, easily a hundred feet across, with a ceiling that disappeared into darkness above. But what caught my attention wasn't the size of the space.

Or the huge chains laying on both sides like it had been melted away.

It was what was in the center of it.