by M H Soars
“Come on, let’s go.” I grab Rochelle’s hand, pulling her toward the hallway I came from.
“Wait, even if we manage to escape, Martin can activate the chip at any time. We’re prisoners even out of here.”
Pivoting on the spot, I grab the woman by the shoulders. “You can fight the chip’s command, Rochelle. I was able to, so can you.”
My words of encouragement have the opposite effect on the enforcer. She’s downcast instead of motivated. It takes me a moment to understand why. Damn it, she must be feeling worse now, knowing she could have fought Valerius’s control.
“How? I tried so hard, especially when…he showed up.”
“The chip emits a sequence that blocks your human’s conscience from the wolf’s essence. But it’s possible to breach that barrier if you concentrate.”
She steps away from me, turning her face to a wall. Her jaw is clenched tight, and she doesn’t speak for a few seconds, before finally, she gives me an angry retort.
“Don’t you think I didn’t try everything?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t say you didn’t.”
The angry scowl marring her face softens a little as she sighs loudly. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to snap at you. There’s a darkness here.” She taps her forehead. “Tainting my thoughts, telling me I’m not good enough. I got what I deserved.”
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I didn’t sense anything like that.”
Rochelle’s gaze seems to go inward. “Or maybe it will come with time. I don’t know. I didn’t feel it at first either. Only when Va—that monster came.”
Biting my lower lip, I ponder this new information. What if Rochelle got the other chip Martin mentioned? I realize suddenly I can’t simply run away without trying at least to grab the stash of remaining chips. Without them, Martin can’t strip other innocent wolves of their free will.
“Besides Valerius, has anyone else been here? Martin said I’m expected to attend meals in the barn.”
“Yes, Martin came a few times to bring me food. I haven’t been out since I was brought in.”
A somber thought occurs to me. Maybe I did hear Rochelle when I escaped my first prison cell. If Valerius is keeping doors concealed with spells, who is to say he didn’t do the same thing in that empty hallway? Rochelle had been crying for help. Oh my God, what if it was the time Valerius went to see her and I simply ran away? Guilt begins to gnaw at my insides, but I can’t let Rochelle suspect my inner turmoil.
Turning around, I take us to the corridor I used to get here with Martin. As Rochelle mentioned, there’s no sign of a door leading out. The corridor is actually a loop that brings us back to the common area.
“I told you there’s no way out. And if there are magical runes in place, how are we going to find them?”
“I was able to locate the rune outside, but I was in my wolf form.”
Rochelle runs a nervous hand over her hair. “I haven’t been able to shift since Valerius’s visit.”
Her subdued tone hints me that trauma is keeping her from turning into a wolf. But it could also be the chip interfering with her ability. Does that mean I won’t be able to shift either? There’s only one way to find out.
“I’ll try.”
Closing my eyes, I focus on my core, on the swirling energy there. Immediately, white noise fills my head, blocking my connection to my wolf. That’s so odd; I didn’t feel the interference before when my nails turned into claws or when my canines elongated. Both times I had Martin’s death in my mind. Could it be that’s the only way to override the controlling chip is through anger? Why must everything wolf related have to be so volatile?
Instead of thinking about how I’m going take revenge on Martin, I focus on Valerius instead, the bigger monster in the picture as far as I’m concerned. Thinking about what he did to Rochelle is enough to give me bloodlust. The white noise fades away to almost nothing, liberating the wolf’s wild energy. It spreads through my body like a summer storm, bending and stretching my muscles until I’m on my knees and the world around me changes.
“I can’t believe it. You did it,” Rochelle says.
There’s awe and resentment blended in her voice. Sometimes I forget I’m a brand-new wolf. It must not be easy for those born a shifter to see a newbie able to do things they can’t. And they don’t know even half of what I’m capable of.
Trying not to worry about that now, I bring my nose down and expand my wolf senses, searching for the hidden runes I believe are here somewhere. It takes me a moment before I detect a hint of something different, a disturbance to the air, straight ahead. I make a beeline for it with Rochelle close behind. We don’t have much time. If the runes are hiding the exit, they must also be hiding the security cameras. How long until Martin storms here to stop us?
I skid to a halt when I locate the source of magic. Peering closely, I notice two very thin lines in the skirting board as if a portion of it had been cut and glued back together. It’s probably four inches in length. This is it.
I turn to Rochelle, hoping she can guess what I’ve found without me having to shift back into human form. In my haste to find the runes, I forgot to take off the stupid lab jacket Martin gave me, and it’s now torn in half. I’d prefer not to parade naked as we try to escape.
Crouching next to me, she examines it. “Oh my God. You found it.”
She grabs the small section, but due to the depth of the board, she can only hold on to it with the tips of her fingers. “Ugh, it’s stuck. It must have been glued together.”
I push her out of the way to try to dislodge the section with my paw, but it’s too big. What we need is something sharp, like a knife.
“I wish I could partial shift and turn my nails into claws.” Rochelle sits on the backs on her feet, sounding rejected.
That’s it. I can’t believe I didn’t think about it sooner. The ability to give myself fingers and opposable thumbs while keeping the nails long and sharp is one of a shifter’s talents. I’ve never attempted a partial shift deliberately before. Every time it happened, it had been spontaneous. I follow the same process I do when shifting between forms completely. This time, I picture exactly how I want my body to be. It doesn’t take long for the partial shift to occur—either the urgency of the situation or I’m getting really good at the whole being a shifter thing. It doesn’t matter. I focus on the task at hand until the little piece of wood comes off and with it, the hidden rune pops out.
Copying what Nadine did before, I rub the design on the small rock off, and ta-dah, a door with a window appears on the wall next to us, but also the security cameras mounted above it. Whoever is monitoring the feed must be either taking a nap or distracted with something else.
Rochelle springs to her feet, and then peeks through the window.
“It’s the lab, but I don’t see anyone. I think the coast is clear.”
I don’t trust this at all. It smells like a trap. It’s just too easy. I want to stay in my wolf form, not only because I ruined my only clothes, but because I feel better knowing I can defend myself with my claws and teeth. But I forgot to tell Rochelle I need to look for the chips first before we look for the exit. Since I don’t possess Dante’s gift to speak mind to mind when the other shifter is on two legs, I have no choice but to return to my more fragile form.
“What are you doing?” Rochelle asks.
“I have to tell you something. We need to find out where they’re keeping the chips used for mind control.”
“No, we need to get the hell out of this place. Maybe the remote control doesn’t work across great distance. Maybe I can escape before they activate it.”
“We can’t leave those chips behind. Martin is kidnapping wolves from other packs to turn them into mindless assassins. If he doesn’t have the chips, he can’t increase his numbers.”
“You don’t know where he’s getting those chips. Even if we steal all the supplies he has here, he might be able to get more within
a few hours. We would be risking our necks for nothing.”
“No. I’ve heard Martin talking to the doctor who operated on me. They only have ten chips left, and another shipment won’t arrive for a week.”
Rochelle furrows her brow, on the verge of arguing with me further, so I press on, “A week might not seem like a lot of time, but it could give us a break. We need any advantage we can get.”
Not breaking eye contact with the enforcer, I can almost see her conflicted emotions jarring against one another.
“Okay. Let’s look for those chips, but if we don’t find them in a minute or two, we’re going.”
“Fair enough.”
I take the lead, wanting to protect Rochelle from any nasty surprise waiting for us on the other side. Pushing the door open slowly, I stick my head out first, glancing left and right before I venture to the other side. Rochelle was right; there’s no one around. All desks and rooms are empty. A clock mounted on the wall across from us tells me it’s almost six. Where did the time go? Oh shit, soon someone will come here to take me to the barn.
“If you were a chip, where would you be?” I ask to myself.
Rochelle points at the door not too far from us. “The plaque says Dr. Felicia Smith.”
“Bingo. That’s the butcher who put the chip in me. Let’s start there.”
I turn on the knob, discovering the door is locked. “Damn it.”
“Move to the side. I got this.”
I make room for Rochelle, who bends her legs before bringing her right foot up to deliver a powerful kick to the door, breaking it off its hinges. It falls forward, landing on the floor with a loud thud, making me wince. So much for stealth. I hope no one is in the building.
We both don’t waste any time going through the doctor’s drawers and cupboards. I don’t find anything in the first places I check until I come across a small safe on the bookshelf, semi-hidden behind some heavy binders. Shit, I bet the chips are in there.
The sound of loud voices fills the silence. The lab personnel must have heard the ruckus. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Rochelle turns to me, eyes startled. “We need to go. Now!”
I glance one more time at the safe, then, just for kicks, I try to open it, not for a moment believing I’ll succeed. My jaw slackens when the damn door swings open, revealing a clear box with tiny chips inside.
“I got them.”
I don’t pause to think about my sheer luck, just clutch the box to my chest and head for the door, revealing myself to the group of lab workers who are now at the end of the corridor.
“Hey, stop! Sound the alarm.” The voice is panicked and high-pitched.
Rochelle and I run in the opposite direction, not knowing where the damn passage will lead. At the end, we veer right. An annoying sound blasts through the entire facility. The damn alarm. We’re so doomed. We just need one more strike of good luck to find the exit because, right now, we’re running blind. I skid to halt when I come across an intersection. The corridor to my right looks exactly like the one where I had been held. Dark and without any doors on either side.
“This way.” I don’t wait for Rochelle to follow before I bolt in the different direction.
“Are you sure? This doesn’t look like it leads anywhere.”
When I run pass the only door in the hallway, I’m relieved to see it’s my first room in this hellhole. We’re in the right place.
“The exit is straight ahead.”
“There’s nothing but a smooth wall.”
“Trust me. It’s there. There must be a rune somewhere. I just need to fi—”
A disgruntled sound cuts me off. I look over my shoulder, finding Rochelle down on her knees and clutching her head.
“Rochelle!” I make a move to get her, but she lifts her hand.
“No. Don’t come any closer. They’ve activated my chip. Oh, God. It’s happening.”
Fuck. She’s shifting. Her body is already getting deformed while grunts escapes her lips. When she meets my eyes, her irises have a different color, ember with a hint of red.
“Rochelle. You can fight it, please try.”
“I can’t. Run, Red, please run.”
“I’ll come back for you. I promise.”
She closes her eyes with a whimper. “I need a favor. If I can’t overcome the controlling chip, kill me fast. I don’t want to live like this.”
“Rochelle…”
She drops to the ground, twisting in agony as her bones snap and her muscles change shape. It wasn’t enough to strip the wolves of their free will. No. Valerius had to make them suffer while they shift. I wish I could kill him a thousand times over. And Martin, too.
The sounds of pursuit become louder, prompting me to swing around and turn toward the hidden door. Halfway there, intense pain flashes in my head, almost making me falter in my steps. I brace against the wall, unable to draw air in. The command comes, the compulsion to shift making my entire body tremble. My chip has been activated. Gasping in controlled pants, I concentrate on overriding the order. I’m able to see the waves of disturbance the chip is causing in my brain this time, which makes it much easier to pierce through it. Once I’m out of that vortex, the pain subsides, becoming a faint throb instead. But the moment it took me to regain control cost me. Rochelle has shifted, and hunters have just rounded the corner, barring my way.
I take off, not knowing how I’m going to get the door open. I hit the wall with all my strength, pounding with my fists against it. As far as I know, the runes only conceal the door; it doesn’t make it disappear altogether. I quit hitting the hard surface when I accomplish nothing. Instead, I begin searching for a button, conscious I might only have a few seconds left before the hunters are on me. I can’t help peering over my shoulder. The hunters have now reached Rochelle, but she has not moved from her spot. She’s trying to fight the chip’s order. Maybe she can. I’m about to yell an encouragement to her when she jumps forward, teeth bared and with soulless eyes. I won’t have enough time to shift before she’s upon me, so I lean against the wall and prepare to fend her off with my bare hands.
A swooshing sound catches me by surprise before the wall at my back disappears, making me lose my balance. Strong arms catch me, and I’m suddenly staring at Sam’s beautiful face.
“Hello, Red. Missed me?”
Chapter 33
Red
I can’t believe my eyes. Sam is here. He’s holding me. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. But then the sound of pursuit breaks me from my stupor. Sam rights me before dragging me with him up the hill. I sense Dante before he comes into view. Nadine is next to him holding a tranquilizer gun in her hand as they emerge from behind the trees ahead.
“Wha—”
“No time for questions. We need to move now.” Dante’s gaze lands on my face for a fleeting moment, before his attention diverts to the commotion behind us.
I dare to turn around, counting at least five hunters carrying guns, plus Rochelle. I can’t believe they haven’t reached us yet. And then they do something completely unexpected. They run in the opposite direction of where we are, not even glancing our way for a second. We’re in plain view.
“I don’t understand. Where are they going?”
“They can’t see us,” Sam replies with a cheeky smile on his lips. Oh my God. How I missed that smile. Despite the danger of this situation, my heart is full, or almost full.
“Where’s Tristan?”
Sam and Dante share a glance, before Dante replies, “There was no time to get Tristan. I got a vision you were in trouble while we were at the—while we were with your grandmother. We had to come straight here.”
Nadine frantically motions with her hands, signaling us to follow her. Sam, who is still holding my hand, makes me follow her next, with Dante bringing up the rear.
“How did you manage to get here, and how did you find Nadine?” I whisper to Sam, not knowing if there are sentries nearby.
“We drove here, we
ll, Dante flew here. I didn’t think we’d arrive in one piece. He’s a maniac.”
Dante grumbles behind us, the sound a balm to my sore heart. I’m giddy beyond comprehension that they’re here.
“And Nadine?”
“We found her. The cloaking spell didn’t work on her. Thank God she’s not with the enemy.” Sam squeezes my hand, sending chills up my arm.
A howl sounds in the distance, answered by a few more. The hunting party has been assembled.
“What’s the plan? Valerius has several controlled wolves at his disposal, plus the other members of the pack.”
“I wouldn’t worry about those emaciated wolves. Their spirits are broken; they wouldn’t put up much of a fight,” Sam replies.
“Don’t count them out just yet. You would be surprised what desperate wolves will do to survive,” Dante chimes in, earning a curious stare from Nadine.
“To answer your question, we don’t have a plan,” Sam continues.
“How are we getting out of here then?”
“The same way we came in. There’s an old hunting cabin ten minutes away from Valerius’s border. We parked there. Then we’re scot-free.”
“What about the whole pack politics that I belong to Valerius? Won’t he try to get me back?”
“He will try, but we’ll be waiting for him.”
Sam sounds confident, but they haven’t seen what I have. They don’t know what Valerius is capable of.
“What’s that you’re clutching so hard? Couldn’t find any clothes, but you got the first item in your way?” Sam asks in his usual casual manner.
“No. These are the last chips Martin had in the lab. He’s planning to create an army of controlled wolves and…” Shit, I need to tell them I have a chip implant, too. I have no idea how they’re going to react. Their father had one, and they had to kill him in the end.
“And?” Sam stops suddenly, turning me to face him “What is it, Red?” There’s no sign of levity in his expression anymore.
