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had pulled it off at the knee. The pain took my breath away. Another symptom of being a fated mate? The pain slowly faded into a dull ache and I could breathe again.
    Liam had pulled Calder off and the cat immediately jumped onto his his back, all teeth and claws.
    The bear struggled and twisted, then stood on his hind legs and fell backwards, crushing Calder under his weight. My chest suddenly felt lighter. Liam had the advantage! I was dizzy from the adrenaline, but was able to get to my knees. Shit! I had forgotten the shooter!
    He was taking aim to shoot Liam!
    Wait. Not Liam. Calder . The bear looked up at the gunman.
    “Can’t miss from this close, you bastard,” the man said.
    Suddenly, Calder pulled himself out from under Liam and knocked the gunman off balance. His weapon discharged as he fell.
    Liam took the bullet. His white fur turned red with blood. I fell forward on my hands as a burning agony tore through my chest. Blackness started to overtake my vision. Each breath was a gasping struggle.
    Liam�
    Liam looked at me, then shifted and collapsed.
    I’m sorry, Alanna. Again, his voice was in my head.
    Calder shifted into a half-man, half-tiger. He looked at me and smiled. Blood oozed from his wounds as he lifted the gunman off the floor, raked his claws across his abdomen, and threw him across the room. He landed in a heap.
    And his gun slid across the floor right in front of me.
    I didn’t even think. I picked the gun up with shaking hands. I’d never touched a gun before—it was heavier than I expected. Every muscle in my body in my body tensed as I raised the gun to Calder. My pulse hammered in my ears and I tasted blood in my mouth as I bit my lip. There was nothing else in the room besides the muzzle of the gun and the monster in front of me.
    My target.
    Shit. I’ve never fired a gun. What if I miss? I knew I would only get one shot.
    Impossibly fast, Calder pulled Liam up off the ground and hid behind him.
    Why couldn’t you be a scrawny guy instead of a wall, Liam , I thought.
    “Put him down, you motherfucker!” I said.
    “I’m afraid this changes things, Alanna,” Calder said. “I’m going to have to take some time to think about how to proceed. And I think Liam will help me.”
    “No! Put him down!”
    “Or what?” Calder scoffed. “You’ll shoot? I’m not sure he’d survive another silver bullet. What if you hit him in the head? Or the heart?”
    “What if I hit you in your fucking head?” I retorted with as much bravado as I could muster, but my hands began to tremble slightly at the thought of accidentally shooting Liam. I redoubled my grip on the gun.
    “I’d be surprised. From the looks of it, you’ve never held that weapon before. But maybe you’re a natural. Care to find out?” Calder was enjoying taunting me.
    Calder dragged Liam down the hall toward the helicopter pad.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked. “You destroyed the helicopter, genius. No way out there.”
    “I destroyed a helicopter, for sure. But some new friends came to visit today and brought along another. One of them gave me a…crash course? Is that the term?”
    “You can fly it?”
    “We’ll soon see.” Calder pushed open the door.
    I had a flashback from the day before of Ollie with a silver scalpel to Ben’s throat. God, I thought. Was that only yesterday? I followed close behind, gun first.
    Calder had been busy. My breath caught in my throat as I surveyed the carnage. They looked like a SWAT team. What was left of them, anyway.
    “Where will you go?” I’m coming, Liam, no matter how far he takes you. I hope you can hear me.
    “I think Alert, in the northern tip of Canada. Due south from here. You know the place?”
    I did. I’d met Ben there before I first came to the Station. Not a fun trip. Just thinking about it made my stomach drop.
    “Yeah, I know the place.”
    “Liam and I will be waiting there. I still have big plans for you, Alanna. You’ll be the mother