Chapter 259: Hostage situation

Yuki’s heart hammered a frantic, deafening rhythm against her ribs, the cold steel edge of the blade biting just enough into her skin to leave a stinging burn.

The rogue holding her was massive, a hulking brute who easily matched Xavier’s height. Despite the deep, bleeding laceration tearing across his torso, his grip around her chest remained agonisingly tight.

The grand concourse of the shopping mall was in complete disarray, shattered glass and abandoned shopping bags littering the marble floor.

At the far end of the open atrium stood Kaden. Clad in full tactical combat gear with his dark hair pulled back into a messy bun, his face was smeared with streaks of fresh, dark blood that clearly belonged to someone else, making his sharp features look terrifyingly lethal.

Xavier stood frozen a dozen feet away, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth threatened to shatter. He couldn’t risk taking a single step forward without triggering the rogue’s instinct to slice her throat. Meeting Yuki’s terrified emerald eyes, he forced his voice into a steady, hushed tone.

"Stay calm, Yuki. Breathe. I’ve got you."

"Shut the fuck up, pretty boy!" the rogue barked, his hot, metallic breath fanning against Yuki’s ear as he tightened his hold. His bloodshot eyes snapped back to Kaden, who was standing entirely motionless, his piercing sapphire gaze scanning every millimetre of the perimeter.

Realising what Kaden was doing, the rogue hissed through his teeth, dragging the blade slightly sideways. A thin sliver of crimson welled along the edge of the steel.

"Don’t you try anything funny, General, or her head comes off!"

Kaden’s jaw locked, his gloved fists balling tightly at his sides. Every instinct screamed at him to tear the rogue apart, but he forced his explosive temper into an ironclad vault. He couldn’t afford to act on impulse right now.

Inside their shared mind-link, Xavier’s voice slammed into Kaden’s thoughts with furious intensity. ’What the hell is going on, Kaden?! This operation was supposed to be restricted to the outer border, miles away from the capital!’

Kaden’s expression remained stone-faced, his voice replying flatly through the mental thread. ’Some of their targets infiltrated the inner city hours ago. I didn’t exactly plan on running into the little wolf on my sweep.’ He let out a dark, silent scoff through the link. ’What’s the matter, Velmore? Pissed off that your little ring-shopping date got crashed?’

’Is this a joke to you?!’ Xavier growled back, his golden-brown eyes flashing with suppressed fury. ’She has a blade to her throat!’

A few hours prior, just as Kaden’s tactical unit was prepping to deploy to the border, an anonymous military tip had flagged multiple rogue signatures slipping past the city gates. The squad had been split to execute a covert sweep, and running straight into Yuki had been an unpredictable variable.

"Let her go," Kaden stated aloud, his voice dropping into a calm, authoritative command that echoed off the high ceiling. "You’re bleeding out. Make this easy on yourself."

"Give me a clear path to the garage and an armoured vehicle, or the girl dies right here!" the rogue demanded, his voice raspy from blood loss.

Yuki’s head swam as she tried to process how her peaceful evening had turned into a hostage situation. Her fingers twitched once against the rogue’s arm, not enough to break free, but enough to test the tightness of his grip. The blade pressed closer in warning, and she went still again.

Kaden’s eyes flickered, taking in the rogue’s unbalanced stance. He turned his head slightly towards Xavier, his voice turning cold and sharp. "Stand back, Xavier. Move to the rear pillar."

Xavier stared at him in utter disbelief. He knew the rogue wouldn’t simply hand Yuki over once he reached an exit, and he hesitated, his muscles coiled to spring.

"I said step back!" Kaden barked aloud, laced with a heavy, suffocating wave of Alpha authority that vibrated through the air.

Reluctantly, Xavier took two steps back, his chest heaving as he kept his eyes locked on Yuki.

Kaden then released a broader wave of his commanding aura across the entire concourse, freezing the remaining fleeing civilians in their tracks and forcing them to back away slowly towards the safety of the stairwells. The rogue felt the crushing weight of the pressure, but because he didn’t belong to the Ravencourt pack, the aura failed to force his submission, merely making him growl in discomfort.

"The concourse is clear," Kaden negotiated smoothly, opening his hands to show he carried no weapons. "You can walk."

Deep within Kaden’s mind, his wolf bristled with nervous energy. ’Are you sure about this, Kaden? If you miscalculate the angle, she dies.’

’This isn’t my first time managing a high-risk hostage extraction,’ Kaden snapped back internally to his beast. ’Our only real problem right now is keeping Xavier from losing his mind and rushing him.’

Seeing the path to the elevator bank completely cleared, the rogue let out a rasping, triumphant laugh. Cautiously, he took a step backwards, dragging Yuki with him. When no one moved to intercept, he took another, his grip on her shoulder tightening.

"I guess I picked the right leverage," he muttered, pulling her towards the glass lift. "Stay quiet, sweetheart, and you might actually keep your head."

Xavier’s frantic voice flooded Kaden’s mind again. ’Kaden, you’re letting him reach the lift! We’re going to lose sight of them!’

’Trust me,’ Kaden ordered flatly through the link, not moving a single inch.

The rogue backed into the elevator alcove, his back flush against the rear glass wall while keeping Yuki pinned in front of him like a human shield. He kept his bloodshot eyes glued to Kaden, his gloved thumb aggressively slamming the call button behind him.

A victorious, mocking grin spread across his bloodied face. He had heard rumours of General Kaden’s ruthless efficiency, how he never hesitated to strike down an enemy, yet here the famous warrior stood, completely paralysed by a civilian hostage.

The elevator chimed, the heavy silver doors sliding open behind him.

The rogue grinned, preparing to step backwards into the cabin. But the instant his weight shifted, the doors slid fully open to reveal five tactical barrels pointed directly at his head from inside the lift, and the deafening, thunderous roar of automatic gunfire erupted through the hall.

Yuki squeezed her eyes shut, instinctively bracing for the lethal tear of metal. The rogue spat a furious curse, his arm tensing to drag the razor across her throat, while Xavier yelled out an enraged roar and lunged forward at full speed.