The Six: Genesis | A Reverse Harem Novel

Four

Beep.

“Oh my gosh, Ryker. There’s so much blood, we n—”

Beep.

“The fire! It’s spreading to the f—”

Beep.

“Get her on the chopper now!”

Through the haze, the violent chop of helicopter blades echoes over heavy bursts of frigid air. I dangle between consciousness and unconsciousness, gasping frightened breaths. Something’s wrong.

What’s wrong?

The rattle of the bed I’m on sends a shard of piercing pain through my skull and I grunt, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip. Hands secure around my shoulders and legs, followed by distinct strips of restraints closing down on them. Darkness overcomes me again as the doors to the helicopter slam shut.  

“Move! Move! Move! She’s losing too much blood.”

Groaning to life, I open my mouth to speak, but my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. Heat sears my right side, anchoring itself in my chest and side, before exploding to the tips of my toes and fingers. 

Fuck. 

That hurts.

“We’re nearly there.” A voice screams. “Get her on the stretcher.”

Hands touch me, lifting me from the jittering bed to a different one. The bed protests as they drop me. With a whine and squeak, the wheels protests as they’re forced into motion. Where am I? Where are they taking me?

“She’s strong.” Ryker’s voice cuts through the chaos like a knife to butter. He’s here. “She’ll make it.”

“What the fuck happened out there?” A feminine voice asks. “Is there a warzone around here I’m not privy to?”

“We were attacked.”

Her gasp follows Ryker’s answer and weighs heavily on me. We were attacked? How? When?

The last thing I remember is the cold black of the operating table’s anesthesia. I’m safe. I’m at the Oleum Hold.

No one can get in there. Nothing can get in there. We designed it to be impregnable.

“She’s—Is she?”

“Get the fuck away from her, Catrina!” 

I flinch as Ryker bellows at Catrina. The hustle and bustle ceases around us, but the bed keeps moving. There’s a low tune playing as the wheels scream in disuse, and it reverberates in my brains as I struggle to gather enough information to determine what happened.

“My job is to protect her, Ryker. How am I supposed to do my job if you won’t let me near her?”

“You’re joking, right?” He continues. “Where were you when she needed you, huh? Where were you when the Hold was infiltrated and Blue was nearly k—”

Awkwardly, his voice cuts off as doors bang open. My strength ebbs and flows, floating toward my extremities, but it flits away when I try to access it. I’m weak, trapped in my own body. 

Desperate to move, I groan. Yet, no one is listening. They’re speaking to one another in low voices, whipping out instructions and cautious advice. 

What happened to me? What happened to the Hold? Why does it hurt?

“We don’t have any choice, Ryker.” 

Levi. 

He’s here?