SWNOVELS Chapter 282
Chapter 282
James and I step out of the elevator on the restricted access floor to find Ryker running down the corridor toward us, Aaron
nowhere in sight.
Ryker is holding something, and I recognize the cylindrical
solid state drive we’d used at Roberts Corp with the full and final software on it. He has it!
The Al tech is in that solid state drive. The SSD is the key.
I don’t even stop to really think.
I have to get that SSD.
I launch into a sprint straight toward Ryker, partially shifting as I lunge.
Ryker barely breaks stride as we crash into each other, and while we both have Alpha power, he outweighs me by a hundred
pounds, and it feels like getting hit by a train.
Still, I try to grab for the drive.
Behind me, I hear the sound of James growling as he aims to
get into the fray.
However, Ryker picks me up by the back of my shirt and flings me into James.
We both go crashing into the nearby wall and then end up on the floor in a tangle of limbs, dazed and bruised from the impact.
By the time we get ourselves up, Ryker is nowhere in sight.
“Are you okay?” James asks, panting.
“I’m fine!”
I barely wait for James to agree before I sprint for the stairs.
I have no idea if Ryker went down the elevator or took the stairs, but with heightened speed, it makes no sense to wait for the
elevator.
When I arrive on the ground floor with James a step behind me, I almost crash right into Aaron coming from the other
direction with Axel on his heels.
“Did you see Ryker?” I demand, out of breath.
“No, the bas ard got the drop on me earlier and I lost him. I’ve
been looking for him ever since,” Aaron replies in frustration. “Why? Did you see him?”
We ran into him on the restricted access
floor. Aaron, he has the software!”
At this, Aaron’s expression becomes even more grim. “We can’t let him get away with it. He’s gone rogue, only God knows what
he’ll do with it. You and James take the north side of the building, Axel and I will go south.”
I agree, and then James and I rush off, running straight to the north entrance, because where else would Ryker go with the
drive? He’s obviously going to run and take the nearest exit.
We go outside and check the parking lot, asking the few wolves we find who are looking shellshocked from all the violence and
confusion if they saw Ryker come out this way.
No one gives us an affirmative, and eventually we give up, walking back through the Council Hall to find Aaron.
The inside of the building is quiet like a tomb, and we find Aaron in the main foyer, talking with the few Councilmembers we
managed to save from Ryker’s slaughter when we first
arrived.
For a moment I’m worried they’re going to detain Aaron again, despite everything that’s happened.
However, as I get closer, it seems they’re thanking Aaron for saving them.
to them.
Aaron asks as me and James step up next
I shake my head and Aaron curses under his breath.
“Alpha Rathborn,” one of the Councilmembers says, an older lady whose name is Eleanor. “I’m so sorry about what has
happened to you and your mate in recent times. I’m sure you realize by now, but there was a faction within the Council -mostly
overseen by Tobin, Karolina, Samsen and Petyr- who had started going to extreme lengths for their fanatical beliefs. Obviously,
in the end, that became their undoing.”
“I’m relieved we were able to get here in time to save you from Ryker, Eleanor,” Aaron says, and I wonder who she is to him,
because he seems to have a genuine regard for her.
“Obviously, you are cleared of all and any charges,” Eleanor says with a quick smile, and the other few Councilmembers all
murmur their agreements. “And while I’m sure the Council aren’t your favorite people right now, Alpha Rathborn,
nonetheless, we need to ask a favor of you...”