Goodbye, My Mate

Chapter 266

Leah's POV

The night swallowed us whole, the city's jagged edges blurring into a smear of neon and shadow as Darren pushed the Harley Davidson to its limits. The truck roared behind us, a steel beast with headlights like twin moons—bloody and unblinking—bearing down to crush us. Its grill gnashed at the air, inches from the bike's rear wheel, and the ground trembled under its weight. I should've felt my pulse jackhammering, sweat beading on my scarred skin, but I didn't. Not with Darren.

"Hold on to me," he barked, voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. I obeyed, arms snaking around his waist, fingers digging into the leather of his jacket. My chest pressed against his back, and I twisted my head to glare at the truck. It lunged, a predator snapping at our heels, tires screeching as it mirrored our every move. The Harley drifted, sleek and feral, sliding through the streets like a shadow on water, while the truck thundered after us, relentless, clumsy, a brute force of metal and rage.

Darren's hands gripped the handlebars, knuckles white, guiding us through the urban maze with a grace that bordered on unholy. He weaved between cars, their horns shrieking in protest, tires skidding as we slipped through gaps too narrow for sanity. The truck plowed on, smashing aside anything in its path, a rabid thing driven hell-bent on running us down. My legs ached to spring, to leap off and tear into the bastard with claws I couldn't show. But this was the human world, and my Lycan blood had to stay caged. So I clung to Darren, tighter, my breath hot against his neck.

And yet, fear didn't touch me. Not a flicker. My heart stayed steady, anchored by the man in front of me. Darren wasn't just my shield - he was my damn Batair, my guardian through years of blood and betrayal. More than that, I loved him, raw and unshakable, and that trust burned brighter than the danger snapping at our backs.

He'd get us out. He always did.

The chase stretched on, a deadly dance of speed and steel. Then Darren moved - sudden, reckless - his left hand abandoning the handlebar to snatch at something as we tore past a row of shuttered shops. Metal clanged, and I glimpsed an iron door ripping free, dangling from his grip. What the hell was he doing? Before I could process it, he yanked the bike left, low and vicious, the Harley tilting so close to the asphalt I tasted gravel in the air.

The iron door slammed down beside us, a makeshift shield as we slid, my legs tucked behind it. Sparks erupted, a cascade of fire where metal kissed ground, and I realized he was guarding me - my knees, my flesh - from being shredded raw. Ahead loomed another truck, parked and hulking, its undercarriage a dark maw. Darren aimed straight for it, and we surfed beneath it on that battered door, the bike screaming as it scraped along. The world narrowed to a tunnel of shadow and noise, the roar of engines above us, the heat of friction searing the air.

I twisted, peering back just as Cole's truck rammed the larger one. The crash was a gut-punch of sound - metal crumpling, glass exploding - and the beast flipped, rear wheels spinning uselessly as it skidded across the road. Flames licked up from its belly, a hungry howl rising with them. Darren let the Harley go, and we hit the ground hard, rolling. His arms locked around me, pinning me beneath him as the truck sailed past, missing us by a breath. Debris rained down - shrapnel, glass, ash - and he pulled his coat over me, a barrier against the chaos.

"Leah, are you okay? Are you hurt?" His voice cracked, urgent, hands roaming my body for wounds.

I shoved his coat aside, meeting his eyes. "No. Don't worry." Calm as death, I was, and it startled him.

Before he could argue, I pushed him off and bolted toward the wreckage. The crowd's gasps buzzed in my ears, a swarm of useless noise, as I reached the burning truck. The cockpit was a twisted ruin, but I saw him - Cole - slumped inside, flames clawing at his flesh. My boot smashed the door open, metal groaning, and I hauled him out, dragging his limp weight from the inferno. We'd barely cleared it when the truck erupted, a fireball that knocked me flat, heat singeing my scars.

Cole lay there, burns weeping across his skin, breath rattling like a broken thing. I knew him - Finn's grunt, a cog in that bastard's machine. Then his eyes snapped open, wild and mad, and his charred hands lunged for my throat. "You… die!" he rasped, face twisting into something demonic, limbs jerking like a puppet on frayed strings. My gut clenched. Finn's Plan Z flashed in my mind - zombie werewolves, twisted husks of what we were. Had he done it to Cole? I would ask Leo to figure it out.

Sirens wailed, closing in, a chorus of human law I couldn't face. Darren stumbled to me, face pale as he clocked Cole. "We have to go. Now. If they take him, his wolf's out. I'll get us a car..."

"Stand by, soldier. Let me take it from here," I snapped, yanking my phone free and dialing Seth. His lazy drawl answered, a lifeline in the storm.

"Boss, saw you on the news. Chinese food worth all that?"

"Shut it. We've got a casualty - emergency evac, now."

"I messed up some traffic lights and traffic's jammed - cops and medics stalled. Look up."

The whir of blades cut the air, and a Black Hawk descended, stark against the dying sun.

Darren muttered, "You've gotta be kidding me," but I was already moving. Medics swarmed out, scooping Cole onto a stretcher as we climbed aboard. The chopper lifted off, leaving the mess below, sirens fading into irrelevance.

Inside, Darren shoved headphones at me, his gaze flicking to Cole, now strapped down and sedated. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You know I'll get you a new Harley first thing in the morning."

"This guy tried to kill you. Why'd you risk it?"

"His brother Rory worked for me. Couldn't let him burn."

"You're not alone anymore, Leah. Our kid - think of that. No more diving into exploding trucks, yeah?"

I kissed him, soft and sure. "It's settled."

My phone buzzed - Finn. I answered, voice like ice. "Was just gonna call you. Plan flopped again. How's it feel losing to a Lycan?"

His reply slithered through, cold and venomous. "Don't know what you mean. Your human pet saved you this time, but he won't forever. Submit, Leah. It's fate."

I ignored the threat. "Talking about submission... How's Lycidas been?"

Silence.

"What, no visits? Typical. My brother tosses toys aside as soon as they bore him. Saw how you mooned over him last time. Are you in love with him, Finn?"

"You'll regret this, bi..." He cut off, line dead.

Darren's eyes held mine, worry and wonder warring there. "We'll handle Finn later," I said. "Cole first."

He pulled me close, breath warm on my skin. "Just don't leave me."

I sank into him, his heartbeat steady under my cheek. "Never."

The chopper sliced through the night, carrying us away - together, unbroken.