Ryan's Predicament

by Fel Fern

  “You scared the hell out of me. I thought you left me.”

  Ryan blinked. “I’d never do that.”

  “Good.

  “Finished your lover’s spat?” Kayden asked. “We got a job to do.”

  Nathan turned on the hawk shifter, ready to unleash plenty of his rage, but held back his tongue, remembering. Even Tanner showed moments of doubt, but Kayden didn’t seem to feel anything. He nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  They got in and drove in silence. The coffee didn’t help.

  “Time to take the pills, we’re reaching the barricade soon,” Kayden said.

  Nathan didn’t have the time to mention the pills to Sergio, but showing hesitation might give him away. He reminded himself to act his role as if nothing changed. Keeping Sergio’s plan to himself for now was critical. He didn’t want to distract Ryan when he already looked strung out. He popped the pill in his mouth, wincing at the taste.

  True to Kayden’s word, their car soon joined a long line.

  “Why are there so many people?” Ryan asked, leaning forward to peer at the line.

  Ryan and he were in the backseat again. Nathan didn’t like the fact Kayden could simply drive them to whichever place he liked, but Sergio mentioned the brothers planned on betraying them once inside the facility. Their exact plan, Sergio hadn’t been too certain. For now, they were on their own.

  “Not sure either,” Tanner said, rolling down his window to look out.

  As they drew closer, Nathan saw a barricade manned by buff men in uniform. He came to the conclusion New Destiny Falls was no longer under the control of the government—both the local and paranormal agencies. Nathan heard Alpine Industries had allies in the government, so he wasn’t too surprised. He grew tense when the car stopped in front of the checkpoint.

  It didn’t help he noticed the guards’ bloodshot eyes, a sign they were taking Latitude. The last news Nathan had of the enemy, he heard the scientists were still experimenting doses on volunteers. Had they perfected the drug and started using it on all their guards? The thought made Nathan queasy. He’d fought a drugged mercenary before. Combined with military-like training, they were a deadly force to be reckoned with.

  They must have passed for human, because the bored guard said, “Pop the trunk open.”

  His heart raced, but Ryan started stroking his arm. The guards could probably sense the changes in his body, so he pretended to think about something else. Thankfully, the guards didn’t seem interested in opening up their bags.

  “Move along.” The guard waved them off.

  They entered the town proper, and Nathan had to wince. There were anti-paranormal posters and billboards anywhere. One sign read, “New Destiny Falls, the only place on earth where the monsters aren’t welcomed.” The people entering the town were all like-minded paranormal-hating individuals, Nathan realized. Maybe there was a gathering of sorts.

  “I fucking hate this place already,” Ryan muttered.

  “I can’t believe the lengths these humans would go to,” Tanner said.

  “They’re only a minority,” Kayden added.

  “Sure, but once Alpine Industries starts selling their formula to the highest bidder, they become a real threat,” Nathan muttered.

  “It’s not our problem. We get Allie and Ken out. That’s all.”

  “That’s all? Don’t you care about the other prisoners? They have families, friends, and mates looking for them too,” Nathan said.

  Ryan threw him a look. Nathan didn’t know where all this rage was coming from. Maybe it was because he knew Kayden and Tanner used Ryan’s feelings to manipulate them into coming here. Why would Alpine Industries agree to a trade?

  Actually, Nathan knew. Alpine Industries never negotiated. He knew that from personal experience. They thought it was fine to kill shifters because animals didn’t possess souls. Kayden and Tanner didn’t know they were being played, but telling them now wouldn’t help. They were far too invested in the mission at hand.

  “You don’t know what it’s like, having someone you care about taken,” Kayden stated. It was the first time Nathan heard fury in the werehawk’s voice.

  “I do. Most of my pack were murdered by these bastards.”

  “So you understand,” Kayden said.

  There was no use arguing with the werehawk. Besides, his anger might just ruin the task.

  “Sorry,” he said first. “I’m on edge.”

  “All of us are, it's okay,” Tanner told him.

  Ryan patted his thigh, but he could see his mate knew something was up. Nathan wished he could tell Ryan it would be fine, but they didn’t have the time to be alone. Kayden drove further, to the outskirts of town. Like the old lab set up in Blue River, the new facility wasn’t located anywhere near town.

  They didn’t encounter any other vehicles. Kayden seemed to know where he was going. The werehawk made twists and turns. The gravel underneath the wheels of the car disappeared and turned into rough dirt.

  Eventually, they reached a shaded clearing and Kayden parked the car. A lone man waited for them there. Noticing everyone was focused on the man, including the hawk brothers and Ryan, he quickly took his phone out, turned on the GPS.

  Once he got the location, he sent it to Sergio, together with Tanner’s notes. He didn’t have time to check if the message got through. Nathan left his phone tucked into one of the seats before getting out of the car with the others.

  The brothers’ source was middle-aged and wore a lab coat, looking nervous as hell as they got out.

  The man looked at Kayden. “You said there will be more of you.”

  “Four’s enough,” Ryan said.

  Seeing Ryan, the man drew back, probably scared by Ryan’s size.

  Clearing his throat, the man readjusted his glasses. “Four’s fine. Do we need to go over the plan?”

  Apparently introductions and names weren’t on the itinerary.

  Behind the man, Nathan finally noticed the tunnel hidden between two trees. Where was the lab? According to Tanner’s notes, the facility here, but he didn’t see it either on the cliff above the tunnel or anywhere around the area. Shit. Was the facility underground?

  The humans were getting smart, hiding their base where shifters wouldn’t be able to find it. What if Sergio and the others didn’t find them? There was no use thinking about the “what-ifs” now.

  “Yeah, everyone knows their roles?” asked Kayden. At everyone’s acknowledgment, he nodded to the entrance. “Let’s go.”

  The werehawk seemed overly eager for them to start. Was the trap set inside the tunnel? They retrieved their gear from the back of the car. He noticed that unsettled their source, but the man didn’t say anything else.

  “I’ll temporarily stop the electricity remotely from here,” the stranger said. “The power will go back up in thirty minutes.”

  Ryan turned to Kayden. “I thought you said we had forty-five minutes.”

  “The higher-ups recently installed a new power generator. Be back here in thirty minutes,” the human asserted.

  Ryan grunted.

  “Ryan, are we having second thoughts?” Kayden asked. There was the first hint of desperation in his voice.

  “No. Allie’s in there. I’m not leaving without her.”

  With that, they entered the tunnel. Kayden’s source must have cut off the power because the overhead lights went off. Faint emergency lights lined the floor, but they encountered no one. Despite the illumination, Nathan could barely see what was up ahead thanks to the suppression pills they took earlier.

  “Over here,” Kayden said, leading their group from the wider corridor and into a smaller one. They made several twists and turns.

  Nathan checked his watch. Ten minutes had gone by.

  “Are we there yet?” Ryan kept his voice low, but Nathan could sense his impatience.

  Tanner raised his finger to his lips. Kayden put up a good act because hearing footsteps, they turned into another corner, al
lowing a group of guards to pass.

  “We’re reaching the entrance to the block G cells, where Allie and Ken are kept,” Kayden answered once the guards were gone.

  They hurried onward, making more turns, and finally entered an empty and windowless room. It was a dead end. This was it, Nathan realized, where the two brothers would betray them.

  “Did we make the wrong turn?” Ryan asked.

  Nathan’s pulse raced as the door behind them shut close. He hovered close to Ryan, but he whipped out his revolver. A voice spoke from speakers he didn’t see.

  “There’s no use fighting the inevitable animals.”

  Nathan tensed, eyes narrowed as the door began to rise again. The first two guards that entered pointed assault rifles at them. More mercenaries toting serious ammunition were behind the two. His hand was on the trigger, but Ryan grabbed his shoulder. There was no use shooting because there was no way out.

  “Hey,” Kayden called out. “We got them here. Give us our brother.”

  Realization finally dawned on Ryan. A growl tickled from his mate and Ryan wore a murderous expression. Nathan’s heart nearly stopped.

  “You fucking liar,” Ryan accused Kayden. “You’re going to pay for this.”

  “You have to understand why we did this,” Tanner pleaded.

  If Ryan had been capable of shifting, his pupils would have turned yellow, and his teeth turned into fangs by now. Despite being human, Nathan knew his mate was still lethal. With a snarl, Ryan came at Kayden, perhaps forgetting for a second where they were. From the corner of his eye, Nathan saw the mercenary lift his gun and point it directly at Ryan.

  “No,” Nathan protested, shoving Ryan aside.

  He grunted as the bullet hit. No, not a bullet, he realized, but some kind of paralyzing dart. Dizziness swamped over him. His vision wobbled. He slumped to the floor, but Ryan caught him. People started to yell, but Ryan let out a cry of fury and Nathan knew his mate had been shot too. He gripped Ryan’s hand but found he couldn’t squeeze. Fighting to remain awake wasn’t working. Ryan’s mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t make sense of the words.

  Unconsciousness took him.

  Chapter Nine

  Ryan woke before his mate did. Pain streaked up his spine, where the bastards shot him. Not by a bullet, Ryan remembered, but some kind of paralyzing dart. These assholes needed them alive.

  Gritting his teeth, he forced his eyes open and his limbs to move. At first, his muscles refused to obey, still shaking off the effects of the dart. Snarling softly under his breath, Ryan sat up, noticing immediately he wore different clothes. He tugged the orange jumpsuit with disgust. Great. The humans apparently wanted their captives to feel like prisoners.

  Panic set inside him when he remembered Nathan took a shot for him.

  “Nathan,” he whispered.

  A groan answered him. A wave of relief filled him when he sighted Nathan’s unconscious body a few feet from him. Ryan crawled to his mate, checking Nathan for any serious injuries. Nathan sustained nothing more than bruises. He sat by his mate, refusing to leave Nathan.

  Why the guards placed them in one cell eluded him. The reasons couldn’t be good, but Nathan’s presence gave him comfort. If he woke up with Nathan missing, Ryan knew he’d go crazy, insane even at the knowledge he had no idea where his mate was.

  He stroked Nathan’s back, smiling when Nathan let out a happy mumble under his breath.

  Ryan would trade anything to be back outside. If he could reverse time, he wouldn’t have fallen for the hawk brothers’ trap. Everyone warned him to be careful, told him this might be a trap. Nathan sensed something was wrong too, but his loyal mate stood by him when no one else would. Ryan would never forget that.

  “Ryan?” a voice called from somewhere, a female whisper.

  Ryan jerked his head at the familiar sound. It couldn’t be. Leaving his mate’s side a second, he went to the bars and peered out. On the opposite cell across from him lay Kayden and Tanner. Kayden stared at the wall, looking defeated. Tanner saw him but looked away at his growl. Those two, he’d deal with later.

  How two apparently strong shifters would give into these treacherous humans and not see it coming that the humans would go back on their word, eluded Ryan. Nathan would tell him they were desperate, that they wanted to save their brother as much as he wanted to save Allie. Well, fuck that. If Ryan ever got out of his cell, the first thing he’d do was tear apart those lying fuckers.

  His gaze moved to the cell on the right, and his heart nearly dropped. Sitting against the wall with her knees drawn to her chest was his baby sister. She looked worse than the photos Kayden and Tanner had. Allie was far too thin, pale and at his distance, Ryan could make out needle marks on both her arms. The effect of the suppressants must have faded off because he noticed other details too.

  “Hey, big brother,” she croaked but kept her voice quiet.

  Ryan looked left and right. There were no guards on the corridors, but he could hear a couple of them to the room next to the cells, laughing and joking around. Anger surged in him, but what could he do? Touching the bars told him the metal was reinforced with silver. The cuffs slapped on his wrists were the same, specially built to contain shifters.

  “Allie, how are you holding up?” As soon as Ryan asked that question, he felt stupid.

  “Not so good,” she answered, looking away.

  What the fuck had these bastards done to her? The Allie he knew and grew up with was strong-willed, a fighter. He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew it was Nathan. Nathan didn’t speak, merely placed his head on his shoulder, but it was enough to calm Ryan down. He wasn’t alone here. Ryan wouldn’t let desperation eat at him, although he knew eventually, despair reached even the strongest shifter captives in this miserable hellhole.

  “Did you get caught trying to rescue me?” she asked.

  “Ryan, be careful with your words. There are cameras,” Nathan whispered in his ear.

  Keeping that in mind, Ryan nodded, looking at Allie. “Noel wanted to wait, but I got reckless and trusted some assholes who led us into a trap.”

  “Us?” she asked, sounding like her old self again.

  “Nathan. My mate,” Ryan explained, gesturing to Nathan.

  Her eyes softened. “Oh, big brother, I’m so happy for you.”

  “There’s a lot of things you missed out on, but we’ll catch up soon.”

  “Sounds like a nice dream,” she murmured.

  “Ryan, I need to tell you something,” Nathan muttered in his ear.

  He gave Nathan’s arm a squeeze. The voices of the guards grew louder, and Ryan knew they didn’t have the luxury of speaking much longer.

  “Be strong, little sis. I’ll get us out of here or Noel will.”

  She cracked a smile at him, but it was one of indulgence as if she knew he was telling her lies to make her feel better. A baton banged on his bars, and the ugly face of a guard appeared.

  “No talking,” the guard warned.

  Ryan bared his teeth. Nathan tugged his arm and Ryan decided for now, he could play submissive wolf. Taking a step back made the guard laugh.

  “That’s a good boy,” said the first guard’s partner. “Animals who know their place last longer here, but in the end? All of you end up in the ground.”

  The first guard seemed to find that funny and laughed his ass off. If bars didn’t separate them, Ryan would have wrapped a clawed hand around both their necks and ripped their throats out. Hell, they didn’t deserve quick deaths. Ryan would make it as slow and painful as possible.

  “Matthews, I don’t like how this one’s looking at me,” muttered the second guard.

  The first one pulled out his taser and banged it against the bars of their cells. Nathan jumped beside him, but Ryan didn’t flinch, merely gave the bastard a cold and calculating stare. If they made the made the mistake of opening his cell door, they were in for a nasty surprise.

  “Leave him be. The new captives aren�
��t our priorities, those in cell 244 are.”

  Cell 244 was where Allie was. Ryan glowered at the two guards.

  “That made you mad, big guy? One of these animals your friend?” mocked the second guard.

  Nathan grabbed him and this time, Ryan let Nathan drag him to the back of the cell, not that there was any space. Ryan continued glaring at the two bastards. Part of him was pissed off Nathan was telling him to behave.

  Wolves weren’t meant to be caged, but then, his wolf also knew Nathan knew what he was about. Attracting attention now wasn’t the best idea, not when Ryan knew so little about their situation. Nathan rested his head on his shoulder, and Ryan reached out automatically to stroke his mate’s hair.

  “Look at that. You two dogs are lucky because the higher-ups want to study you together,” remarked the first guard.

  “Not so lucky,” chimed in the second guard. The man’s eyes gleamed with malice. “The scientists have a fascination with mated pairs. They’re going to make you both suffer and wish you were dead.”

  Ryan nearly snapped out of his leash then, but Nathan gripped his arm, a silent plea in his arms. Breathing hard, Ryan counted silently to ten in his head. By then, the guards lost interest and started taunting Kayden and Tanner.

  Nathan pressed his lips to the side of his neck, distracting the hell out of him. How his mate could remain calm in the face of everything stumped him, but closer examination showed him it was all a front. He reached for Nathan’s trembling hand and gave it a squeeze. His mate was terrified, and it was all because of him.

  “I need to tell you something,” Nathan whispered.

  His mate kept his voice soft enough for the guards not to overhear. Nathan went straight to the point, and Ryan finally understood why. There were too many unknown variables.

  What if the two guards patrolling the corridor took L too and possessed supernatural hearing? But Ryan didn’t think so. Their eyes weren’t bloodshot, a sign the humans were abusing the drug and reports said it was addictive.

  “Before we drove up here, Sergio called,” Nathan began, his voice rushed.

  At first, anger pooled inside Ryan. He said nothing for a few seconds, even after Nathan finished explaining.