Breeder Nation

CHAPTER NINETEEN ~MADDIE~

"Travis?" I ask again, knowing that the person I see in front of me is real; it's not a dream. How is he here? How did he find me? It doesn't even matter. He found me; I should have known he would come.

Relief instantly floods me. "Travis!" I smile, my tears brimming over. I sit up, scooting away from Aiden, and the heavy weight I've been carrying lifts from my body and falls away, making me feel a million pounds lighter. I want to run into his arms and stay there forever, but I hear the commotion behind me and when I turn to look, Alex has scrambled herself to the back wall, and Aiden sits beside me looking pissed, his hand inside his jacket, no doubt gripping the gun inside.

"What the fuck is going on?! You know him?" Aiden asks in a rush.

I turn back around to look at Travis, not even sure myself that this is really happening. It's only then that I realize he isn't alone, and he doesn't look happy to see me. His expression is one of pain and anger as he looks between Aiden and me.

"Shit, man, we're not alone," the guy beside him says.

Travis turns to look behind him then faces me again with a look of defeat, quickly slammed down by a wall of rage.

"Fuck," he growls. His jaw clenches tight as he lowers his gun slightly. My face falls. How did I not notice the gun before? What is going on?

My question is answered immediately as two more men move in behind him. It takes me far too long to process the next few moments. I take in the matching uniforms...the weapons...the walkies. Looking back into Travis's eyes, my tears continue to fall but for a completely different reason.

"You–you're... you're a..." I stutter, my body shaking, my breaths heavy and quick. "What the f–"

"Quiet! Everybody down on the ground! Hands above your heads where we can see them!" his voice booms into the room. "Secure the perimeter!" he gestures to the men behind him.

He still has his gun drawn, now pointed at Aiden. "Hands out of the jacket, now! Get down on the fucking ground!"

Aiden stills on the couch, not obeying his orders. His other hand grips his chin and rubs at his face roughly; he looks like he's going to lose it. Pulling the gun from his jacket, he levels it on Travis.

"Aiden, don't!" I plead. My gaze darts between the both of them as panic begins to claw at my chest.

The man beside Travis pulls his gun on Aiden now, too, "Gun! Down! Now!"

"This is him?! A fucking Hunter?!" Aiden screams at me in disbelief, his eyes never leaving Travis.

I shake my head, my mouth opening and closing..."I didn't kno–"

"Don't be stupid. Put the fucking gun down, before you get yourself or one of these girls killed," Travis cuts me off, his tone brutal and intimidating.

Aiden's expression wavers between guilt and anger, uncertainty and defeat. "Fuck!" he bellows as he tosses the gun to the ground and kicks it to Travis's feet just as the other Hunters move in behind him. He quickly picks up the gun and tucks it into the back of his pants.

"Perimeter clear," one of the men report.

Travis nods his head. "Everyone down on the ground now! Hands above your heads!"

I sit and stare at him in shock and in horror as tears continue to stream down my face. "What the hell is going on? What happened to you?" I barely manage.

"Down on the fucking ground, Breeder!" He screams over me, looking me directly in the eyes, his face completely devoid of any emotion...just steady determination.