by Jade Alters
“The ones you washed that first night are in my pack. I'll get them for you, and the rabbit. Did you want it cooked?”
A strange look crossed her face and she said, “No...I don't think I need it cooked.” I chuckled as I stood up.
“You'll get used to eating some things you would have sworn you never would.”
“This wolf thing sounds like a blast so far,” she said, with a smile. I saw her bring her hand up to her neck and cover the bruise and puncture marks I'd left there the day before. I didn't like that it probably still hurt...but I was proud of putting it there. I got the food and clothes for her and then pulled on my own pants and jacket and followed Manny outside.
“So what's the plan?” Manny asked.
“I don't want to bring the rest of you into this...but, I'm not taking her there. I tried communicating with Grover, but I'm getting nothing. I feel so damned bad about not being there for him...but she's my mate, Manny. I have to protect her.”
Manny grimaced again when I said, “My mate,” but he let it go, except to say, “She's part of our pack now, it's all of our responsibility to protect her. If you take her and go, we all go.”
I nodded. “I hate leaving Lt behind...again.”
“Me too,” he said, “And I would love to get in there and find out exactly what's going on...maybe destroy them from the inside out...”
“Then let's do that.” Manny and I turned to see Courtney standing in the doorway of the cave. She was tossing out the rabbit bones, and it looked like she'd eaten it all.
“We can't do that without putting you at risk. They'll lock us up, and they'll use you to breed,” I said.
“Will they lock me up?”
“Yes, more than likely.”
“You don't think I could use my feminine wiles to get one of those horny wolves to help me?” she was smiling. I frowned and said,
“This isn't a game, Courtney, I'm not sure you understand what we're up against here.”
She put her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. “You think I don't know that this isn't a game? I've been kidnapped, almost attacked, turned into a wolf and killed a guy...Oh, and did I mention that now I'm hearing voices in my head?”
Manny and I looked at each other. “What kind of voices?”
“Well, not “voices” really, a voice. It's a man's voice and he seems to want to tell me all about being a wolf. So far, the most important thing he's said is that I'm an alpha...a white alpha, and that makes me rare. Which means that you didn't change me, Clay. I was always who I was...this place and this situation, and you all brought it to the surface. For some reason, I suppressed it all these years.”
I wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was my mate, I was sure of it. But if my blooding of her hadn't made her what she was, that meant that she was still free to choose someone besides me. I wanted to rewind back to that moment that we were in the forest and make it more clear to her that she belonged to me. I'd never felt so possessive of anyone in my life. While I was worrying about myself, Manny was still thinking of the team. I felt guilty about that. It was one reason why the Special Forces preferred single men. Women complicated things.
“This voice,” Manny said, “Did he say who he was?”
“He says he's your commander, all of you. He didn't give me a name but he says he's inside the tower. He says he probably won't still be alive by the time we get in there, but he is working on getting some of the wolves they want to breed with me to “fall in line,” I think, is how he put it.”
“It's him,” Manny said. “Fall in line, is Grover's favorite saying.”
“He said he'll be dead soon, so that's even more reason for us to not go in there. We can leave now with a clear conscience.” I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself or them. If I was trying to convince them, I was doing a shitty job. Manny was frowning at me, but that was nothing compared to how Courtney was looking at me.
“A clear conscience?” she asked, “We leave and go somewhere and start a new life, knowing those poor things are withering away in cages? We let these insane doctors or scientists or whoever they are...we just let them continue with what they're doing? Do you honestly think if I get away, they won't just go looking for someone else to take my place? How could that leave any of us with a clear conscience, Clay?”
“It would leave us, and most especially you, alive.”
“Running from my own shadow for the rest of my life? Not knowing if my own father set me up? Not understanding who or what I am? No, I don't think so, Clay. You can run if you want to. I'm not going.”
“You think I want to run? You think I'm a coward?”
Her eyes grew sad and she said, “No Clay, of course not. I think you want me to run though, and I'm just telling you that I'm not going to do that.”
“Fine,” I said. I wasn't happy, but she had a lot to learn about being a mate and I knew now was not the time to try and teach her. I just prayed we would all make it out of there so that I'd have another chance.
Part II
Courtney
While the men put their heads together and tried to come up with a plan, based on what they knew about the layout of the tower, I struggled to adjust to what was going on in my own head. I still felt that magnetic pull toward Clay, but I realized that even after making love to him, and letting him bite me that I wasn't sure he was my intended mate. The reason I felt that way was that as soon as I got close to one of the other men again, I felt that same pull.
Then of course there was the voice. It started out so faint that I could barely hear it. At first, I'd thought it was my imagination. But then it got louder and the man started telling me things about his team, who he now referred to as my “pack,” He told me that I was rare, and special and that the bite hadn't changed me, I'd been a white alpha all along. I was having a hard time communicating back. I had so many questions and he told me they were coming too fast for him to process them, so I was working on slowing my thought flow down...but it was hard.
I'd been afraid at first that the man could hear everything that was going on in my head. I was afraid he'd know my fear...or my guilt for being attracted to all four men and not choosing just one. But he didn't seem to be able to read my thoughts, unless it was a specific thought that I concentrated hard to send his way. It made my head hurt and my ears buzz, but I got enough of them through that it convinced me he was real and not just a figment of my imagination. I looked out at the men. Manny and Clay were squat down on one knee and Manny was drawing a diagram in the dirt. Titan and Will looked on. They were talking about the cages underground and what they remembered about the lab...and the “breeding” room. I was not about to let any “breeding” happen, unless I was the one picking the breeder. I'd be willing to fight, and kill any man or wolf that tried otherwise. I meant what I said to Clay about not wanting to leave all those poor souls behind, but I had a strong feeling all of a sudden that it was my responsibility to protect my pack. I also had a deep, driving need to find out what my father had to do with all of this. Grover's “voice” told me that I had been set-up and my father had been a part of that, but I had to know why. It was a need, like air or water. I felt like I couldn't go on with my life, I wouldn't survive without knowing.
“Grover...are you there?” I called to him in my head. This was so new, I wasn't sure how any of it worked.
“I'm here my alpha. How is your pack?”
“Alive and healthy. If we come in there Grover...what is going to happen to my pack?”
“They have traps at the doors. As soon as you walk in, the cages will descend on you, silver cages, too small to turn around in, much less shift.”
“So how do we get in, without going through the door?”
“Tunnels,” he said. His voice sounded like it was fading.
“Tunnels? What tunnels, Grover? Where are they?”
“Underground. No cameras. No sound.”
“Where Grover? How do we get to them?” Silen
ce greeted me. I tried to be patient but after only a few seconds I said, “Grover? Grover please tell me where the tunnels are.” He was gone and I didn't know if he'd be back. I went out to where the men were and said, “Do any of you know anything about tunnels?” The four of them looked up at me and a surge of something so strong hit me ...a wave of protectiveness, respect, and even love. I was beginning to realize that these men were my family now. Even when or if I chose one to be my mate...they would all, always be family. “We need to figure out how to get to the tunnels. It's the only way we'll be able to get inside, without being put in a cage.”
Courtney
“Tunnels. Of course they have tunnels. They're probably some of the tunnels that the Afghani's used during the war,” Manny said. “They're all over this mountain.”
“So how do we find them?” Will asked.
“Well,” Titan, the walking computer said, “A tunnel couldn't be dug just anywhere, especially not with the ancient tools these people use.”
“So where would they be dug?” Clay asked.
“There are a few places. There's the cut and cover which would be just a trench that's been covered up. The trench could be a dry creek bed, or canal. The thing about a cut and cover tunnel is that they're close to the surface. With the unpredictable weather up here, those tunnels probably wouldn't last long. They'd be likely to collapse in on themselves.”
Manny sighed. “Do we have to get a whole lesson on tunnels? Can you just get to the type you think they would use?” Titan rolled his eyes at his teammate and said,
“My best educated guess is that they used a “meet in the middle” technique. In other words, laborers would start on either end and meet underneath the primary entrance or exit. In this case, it would be the tower. So what we have to do is work with parallel lines. Two parallel lines never meet. An error of more than 2 meters horizontally would make them miss the meeting point...so instead of digging parallel, they would dig left to right to ensure a meeting point in the middle.”
Manny growled and looked at Will who shrugged. He looked at Clay then and said, “What the hell did he just say?”
Clay shrugged. It was me who said, “He's saying that we need to start out diagonally to the right of the tower on one side, and to the left on the other...and we'll either find an entrance, or we’ll meet in the middle.” I was no genius, but for some reason I could see what he was trying to say in my head.
“The middle of the tower? Well shit,” Manny said. “That might be a good idea if we had a way to communicate during the process. What if half of us find an entrance and the other half are still on the other side looking for it. We have to go in strong, together.”
“And how do we know where to start looking?” Will asked. “Like how far back?”
“We don't,” Titan said. “I didn't say this was going to be easy, or even that I'm right. It's a starting point.”
Clay stood up first and said, “Then let's get started. If one of us finds a way in, we'll stay and mark it while our partner goes to get the rest of the team. Nobody goes in alone. We all go in or no one, got it?” They all nodded and I said,
“I'll be the runner.”
“No,” Clay said. “It's too dangerous...if they spot you out there alone...”
“I'll fight, just like I did last night. I'm a wolf too, Clay and this makes sense. I'm the smallest and my fur will blend with this landscape the best. I'm not trying to be pushy, or be a hero or any other bullshit. It just makes sense.”
“She's right,” Titan said. “Let's do this.” The men checked their weapons and as they were splitting up, they did some weird handshake thing. I was feeling left out until Clay came over and kissed me on the cheek and whispered,
“Be safe.”
I smiled and then I was shocked when Titan kissed my other cheek, and then Will. Clay was giving them both dirty looks and Manny looked like he was trying to decide if he wanted to piss him off or not. Finally I said, “We're a pack guys, a family.” Manny leaned in then and placed a kiss on my cheek where it was still warm from Clay's. I put a hand against each one of their faces, one at a time and said, “All of you be safe. We have a species to perpetuate.” I winked at them and they split up, Clay and Titan going one way, Manny and Will the other. I was still more shy about stripping in front of them than I was shifting. I waited until all their backs were turned, took off my clothes and changed, just like that. It was easier the second time, and not as painful by far. I felt good, powerful...alive.
Part II
The day dragged and the heat bore down on us as we walked the mountain, checking out every cave, alcove and crevice that might offer us a way into the tunnels we were only assuming were there at this point. Nerves were getting frazzled and tempers short. I tried my hand at hunting and found out that just because I was a predator now, it wasn't something that would just come naturally. I would need plenty of practice. Finally after chasing several rabbits and a few prairie dogs and even a snake with no luck, I shifted back, got dressed and switched places with Will for a while, walking the trail alongside Manny while Will went in search of food.
As we walked and searched, I asked Manny about his life...before all of this. “Where did you grow up?”
“In a small town in Texas, along the border.”
“Is your family still there?” His eyes grew sad as he nodded.
“Yes, my parents and my two brothers and two sisters. I haven't seen any of them for several years. I doubt that I'll be able to see them ever again.”
“When this is all over, why couldn't you go visit them?”
He looked thoughtful for a minute and then he said, “Maybe I could. I've just gotten so accustomed to being given orders. If we make it through this and I'm not taking orders any longer, I guess I won't know what to do with myself.”
I smiled at him. “Maybe it's time we all learn to live without taking orders.”
“You know, even as a pack, someone has to be in charge.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I've been watching the four of you for days now, and for the most part you seem to do well with the team work and compromise. You each have your strong points and your weak points. Just because something has been done a certain way for years doesn't mean it can't be done differently. We could create our own kind of pack.”
He smiled at me. I liked when he genuinely smiled, no sarcasm or cynicism, just a warm, sexy smile. “And where would you fit, in this new-fangled pack?”
I winked at him and said, “Well, since I'm the only one who can make the pups, I think I'll fit in quite nicely.”
He chuckled. “I guess I can't argue with that. Do you...” he stopped walking and talking so abruptly that I took a few more steps before I realized it. When I turned around, his dark eyes were looking downward, into a narrow canyon that was about six or seven feet deep. Tumbleweeds and different forms of desert foliage was grown up around and down inside of it.
Whispering, I said, “What do you see?”
“Look at the rock, there to the left.”
I saw the rock. It was jagged and gray, similar if not identical to hundreds of rocks I'd seen since I was on the mountain. I studied it for several seconds before finally saying, “I'm sorry, what about it?”
“It's flat across the bottom, but look at the marks against the ravine.” The ravine was smooth rock for the most part but on either side there were marks that looked like something had been scraped against it. The grooves were dusty and the foliage had grown across them in places. But...
“It's been moved back and forth, more than once. It's a door!”
“Maybe. We have to get down there to check.”
The canyon was deep, but it was so narrow that I couldn't imagine any of the guys being able to fit down into it, in either of their life forms. “I'll have to do it,” I said.
Manny frowned. I expected him to just flat tell me no, the way that Clay would. But after thinking it over he said, “If it's a door, and you're able
to open it, we might be able to drop down inside.” It would be a tight fit, but dropping down wouldn't require us to do any moving around like I would need to do in order to open it. “But, if it is an opening to a tunnel, we don't know what's in there. It could be wired with explosives. It could be manned and guarded...”
“It could be a passageway to hell,” I said, with a nervous smile. “I get it, Manny. I never thought any of this would be easy. But like I said before, we're a family now, and I intend to do my part.”
He took a deep breath and said, “Okay, but please don't let anything happen to you, Clay will rip my throat out.”
I laughed. “Deal.” Like a gentleman, Manny turned his back while I undressed and shifted again, to make my climb down easier. I slipped down into the narrow little ravine and began my descent into what could very well be an opening into hell.
Manny
Manny
By the time Courtney reached the bottom, Will was back, a rabbit in each hand and a snake thrown over one shoulder.
“What's going on?” he asked.
I told him what we were thinking and pointed out the grooves. I felt helpless just watching her and I could tell that Will did too. When she was close enough, she used her snout to push against the rock. It didn't budge. She didn't have much room, but she used what room she had and turned her body sideways, trying to push against it with her flank. From where I stood, it still looked like it hadn't budged.
“I've got a grenade,” Will said.
“We'd be risking caving the whole thing in...and them hearing us,” I told him.
“I don't think she'll be able to move it. Should I try to get down in there?”
“No. There wouldn't be any room for you to move at all.” I was looking at the rock from the top down. It started about three feet from the top of the ravine.
“What if I lay down on my stomach and grasp it from the top and push at the same time she's pushing from the bottom?” I said.
