Mark Of The B*E*A*S*T*

by Rebecca Goings

She chuckled with him and searched for his mouth in the dark. He held her face and guided her lips to his, kissing her as if they had all the time in the world.

  A sudden, pungent scent wafted on the breeze, making Mac's hackles rise. He released Robyn's mouth only to take deep puffs of breath.

  "Mackenzie?” she whispered. He shushed her with his finger to her lips.

  That scent. He'd smelled it before. A jumble of human mixed with... Oh...God.

  Just before he was about to shove Robyn into the car, a voice cried out in the darkness.

  "Desino!"

  Instantly Robyn sagged in his arms, her eyes fixed and unfocused. The safe-word. Lucian's goddamned safe-word!

  Exhaustion overcame Mac, a side effect of the word, but he fought it off. Not too long ago he would have been laid out, just like Robyn. But the guys had managed to condition themselves against the word by gradually waking each other up again and again after going catatonic. Over time, they'd seemed to become immune to it, and right about now, Mac was cursing himself that he hadn't done it for Robyn.

  He lay her on the ground and turned to face the threat, his skin itching to shift.

  "Show yourself, you coward!"

  The scent still permeated the air, but another scent—surprise—came to him. Mac grinned.

  "You can't take me out so easily."

  A loud chuff came from the bushes not too far away a moment before something black and enormous came bursting forth. Mac's vision turned red and rage pulsed through every fiber of his being. This son of a bitch killed his friends and laid Robyn out. He was going to pay.

  Without a thought of remorse for his clothes, Mac shifted, and in a split second, the garments shredded. He took off like a shot. His growl echoed across the parking lot, but he didn't think twice about the people at the rest stop. He meant to kill the shifter before him, didn't matter what the hell he was.

  But the closer he got, the more he could make out. It looked like a huge, hairy man. No, it wasn't a man. It was a...gorilla! For a split second, fear flooded his heart, but he wasn't about to stop. Not when his claws and teeth were bared.

  Mac launched himself into the air, fully intent on ripping the ape limb from limb. The shifter roared and easily batted him away as if he were a pesky fly. Something burned into his side before he hit the ground and rolled. His legs refused to work and he was barely able to lift his head to see the gorilla inching closer. A red-feathered tip of a tranq protruded from his own belly.

  Shit.

  The world went dark.

  "I got ‘em."

  "Where are you?"

  Dylan looked around. He needed to leave, and soon. A few patrons of the rest stop had screamed and taken off during his fight, and he knew a few of them had probably called the cops. Even in the cover of night, nothing could hide a silverback gorilla and a jaguar from prying eyes. Not to mention the fact that he had shifted and was now naked as a jaybird.

  "Some podunk rest stop on the ninety-six."

  "Are they intact?"

  Dylan growled. He was sure his eyes probably flashed. “Yeah, I got ‘em. I'm damn lucky this jaguar fits in my trunk."

  "And the girl?"

  "Look, Lucian, I got ‘em. If you don't believe me, come see for yourself. Oh, and they've mated. Just recently if the stench is any indication."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. Practically choking on it."

  "Interesting..."

  "At any rate, I gotta get out of here. Too much attention if you know what I mean."

  "No, you'll stay put and meet up with the team. Give me another report in a few hours. I'll give you new orders then."

  Dylan didn't bother saying goodbye. He hung up, threw the cell phone on the driver's seat, then grabbed his clothes from the backseat. He had to pull them out from underneath Robyn. He stared at her face, remembering his time with her in their cage. She'd been a beautiful bird, but that didn't compare to her beauty as a human.

  Pity she'd mated with Mac. Thinking of her having sex aroused him, but not in the way he expected. Christ, he wanted to shift and see if she liked taking it from a gorilla. Or maybe they could try again as owls.

  No! Jesus, no.

  Dylan grabbed his head and pounded his temples a few times. These crazy thoughts were going to drive him insane, if he wasn't already. All he had to do was hold on to his sanity long enough for Lucian to extract the shifter in him.

  "Hold on, buddy,” he whispered to himself.

  Once he was dressed, he tranqed Robyn too. The effects of the safe-word would only last for a few more minutes before she woke up. Best if she remained sleeping until he knew where he was taking her.

  With a sigh, Dylan pocketed the phone and fired up

  the Lexus. The cops would be looking for the vehicle Mac and Robyn stole, but they wouldn't be looking for the one right out of Mac's garage in Miami.

  Mac wouldn't be able to shift back into a human. Robyn wouldn't be able to shift either. Their tranqs had been laced with serum, and not the old four-hour crap either. Lucian had given him a batch of the good stuff, the shit that lasted for nearly twelve hours.

  But now, he needed to meet up with the others, the ones Lucian unleashed to find more wayward shifters. Only one out of the four B*E*A*S*T* agencies were still intact, meaning shifters were everywhere roaming the countryside. Hundreds of experiments had gone missing, which had prompted the scientists to demand every shifter in Florida be equipped with a GPS locator beacon under the skin. The beacons were in different places in different shifters so they were hard to find should someone discover one in another person.

  It also kept the others in line. If anyone on the team had a mind to defect, Lucian could easily find them unless they got lucky and destroyed the beacon.

  It was how Dylan had found Robyn so easily, and Mac along with her. Mac didn't have a beacon, but Lucian knew wherever the snowy owl was, the jag wouldn't be too far behind. In fact, he'd been counting on it.

  Waiting for him to come to Robyn's rescue in the swamps had been part of the plan all along. Lucian knew Mac would take her back to the others, where he'd capture his entire pack. He'd just needed Dylan to sit and wait for him to come.

  He had no idea if the rest of the team had procured their quarries. He didn't much care.

  Grabbing his phone once more, he called Victor.

  "Lucian wants us to meet. I got mine."

  "I'll tune in to your frequency. We're not too far away from you."

  Victor's tone was mocking. Or was it? Dylan growled. He couldn't tell and it pissed him off.

  "I'll be here."

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  TWELVE

  Consciousness gradually returned to Mac as he lay on a hard floor. The cool metal underneath him sent a shiver down his spine, making him more aware of his surroundings. His hearing came back to him in a rush, and he couldn't hear anything beyond a deafening roar. The sound of it sent vibrations through the very floor he was laying on.

  Lifting his head, he couldn't help but notice the thick grey bars surrounding him on all sides. He was in a cage.

  With a growl, he stood, only just realizing he was still in his animal state. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shift. He let out a yowl, but he barely heard himself beyond the drone of what sounded to be jet engines.

  Robyn. Where the hell was Robyn?

  Taking a deep breath, he smelled her, not too far away. His jaguar eyes rested on her, curled into a ball in another cage, but hers was made out of chain-link. She was in her human state, oblivious to the world. She was probably still under the effects of the tranq.

  Once he had that thought, a consuming fury overcame him as another familiar scent came to him. The gorilla.

  Swinging his head about, Mac glanced around, seeing other crates and boxes stacked upon each other and tethered to the walls with nylon belts. Where the hell was he?

  It looked like the inside of...a cargo plane.

  The constant drone
filling the hold told him what he already knew—they were in the air.

  Turning completely around, Mac spied another chain-

  link cage a few feet away with a man sitting in the middle, staring back at him. There was no malice or anger on his face, merely a quiet, curious regard. He was the source of the scent. He was the one who'd captured them, who'd killed Trevor and Jet!

  With a roar, Mac pressed against the bars and swiped his paw, unsuccessful in reaching the other man's cage.

  "It's worthless!” the man yelled against the noise. “Your cage is pretty tough."

  Mac screeched again, fearing not only for his own life, but that of his mate as well. Jesus, they'd run away hard and fast only to be caught by B*E*A*S*T* again!

  "Keep it down, will ya?” the man shouted. “They'll know we're awake."

  Mac's mouth watered at the thought of sinking his teeth into the man's throat. Every instinct he had demanded he do so.

  "Look,” the man said. “These bastards double-crossed me. I thought I was winning my freedom, but it appears I was only chasing you to get myself returned right back to the agency."

  Mac couldn't bring himself to feel any remorse. He chuffed, in an effort to tell the man he didn't give a rat's ass.

  The man chuckled. “I don't blame you, buddy. We've both been through some shit, eh?"

  Mac bared his teeth and paced back and forth, never taking his eyes off the man. He was the reason Mac and Robyn were on this damn plane in the first place. And now he wanted to be friends?

  "I have an idea,” the man said again, looking this way and that. “Those assholes seem to think their serum is infallible. But I know better.” His eyes flashed as he spoke, and by the crazed look in his eyes, Mac had to wonder if he was stable.

  "Follow my lead!"

  "Mackenzie!"

  That was Robyn's voice.

  Her scream had him darting to the other side of his cage, growling in an effort to call out to her. She found him easily enough, her eyes full of tears. Mac pushed his head on the bars, trying to calm her as best he could.

  "Oh God, we're going back, aren't we? I can't shift!"

  She was terrified—her scent told him so. She tried the door to her chain-link cage. It wouldn't budge.

  Another sound came from behind him. The other man was screaming. Mac glanced over his shoulder and watched in horrified awe. His skin was bulging and black hair slowly grew. He seemed to be in pain, but that wasn't what fascinated Mac. He was actually pushing through the barrier of the serum!

  It took several minutes, but once the man's transformation was complete, he began pulling on his cage like the enraged gorilla he was. Apparently, the arrogant pricks who ran the agency took too much pride in Lucian's anti-shift serum. The gorilla tore through the chain-link like tissue paper.

  Two guards walked from the front of the plane, having apparently heard the commotion. By their scent, Mac knew they were shifters themselves. But neither of them were prepared for a silverback gorilla to jump them, and within seconds, the tang of blood filled the air.

  "Mackenzie!” Robyn yelled again. “What's going on?"

  The gorilla made its way through the crates to Mac's cage and grabbed hold of the padlock holding down the latch on the door. Taking a page from this man's playbook, Mac closed his eyes and concentrated on shifting. As always, he hit a wall, not being able to break through.

  But this bastard did it. There had to be a way!

  He tried again as the gorilla held a keychain in his black, bloody, leathery hand. Moments before he'd fitted a key to the lock, the man returned to his human shape.

  "You can do it!” he shouted. “Put your back into it. If I can do it, so can you. Use that rage, that hatred, and channel it into shifting. Do it. Now!"

  "Dylan?"

  The man glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Robyn! You're awake."

  This man was Dylan? This was the man Robyn had first claimed to be her mate? He was a gorilla, not an owl. But...there was something not right about him.

  With another breath, Mac could indeed smell the scent of an owl, mixed with a gorilla, and a man, and...something

  else. What...the...hell?

  "What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  Don't you talk to her! Mac wanted to scream. But all that came out was another roar.

  His anger seethed and he tried with all his might to shift. He pushed on the wall of the serum with a screaming cry. His skin itched and his bones popped, as if he was succeeding. He couldn't stop. He had to continue. Every sound vanished, every scent, every scene before him. Nothing existed but the need to shift.

  His entire body was on fire, but despite the pain, despite the difficulty, he felt as if he could conquer the world. It was amazing, knowing by his will alone he could conquer that goddamn serum.

  Before long, his feline growl turned into a human cry. He fell over with a sob, on his side on the cage floor.

  Another crash came to him, but he couldn't quite open his eyes, not yet. Every inch of his skin tingled, just like it did before a muscle spasm, but nothing happened. He didn't shift back, he'd broken through. He was human.

  Suddenly hands were upon him, caressing his chest, his arms, his face.

  "Mackenzie, are you all right?"

  Robyn.

  Without a thought, he grabbed her and sought her mouth. He tasted the salt of her tears. Her lips were soft under his and her hand fisted in his hair. The pain of it returned him to reality.

  Opening his eyes, he held her face, looking her over for any wounds.

  "You shifted!” The awe in her voice snapped his eyes back to hers.

  "I told you it wasn't impossible.” Dylan's voice raised Mac's hackles.

  Shoving Robyn behind him, he crouched, still in the cell, facing the open door and the man filling it. He glanced at Robyn's cage. It had been shredded, just like the other one. Mac shuddered at the thought of his mate exposed to this man without being able to protect her.

  "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now."

  "Because you can't?” Dylan smiled, infuriating him all the more.

  "Like hell I can't."

  "You're a jag. I'm an owl. And a gorilla. And a croc. I really don't think you could take me."

  Mac's eyes went wide. “You're a..."

  "Crossbreed,” Dylan finished. “Yeah, Carver's been having some fun. Bet I don't smell so hot, eh?"

  That was the scent he couldn't place. The man was a friggin’ crocodile, too? Jesus.

  "Dylan, you fight my mate and I'm going to kick your ass.” Robyn scooted out from behind Mac, shooting daggers at the other man.

  He laughed. “I wouldn't dream of it, darlin'."

  Mac gave her a scathing glare. “Stay out of this."

  She responded with a glare of her own. “Don't you tell me what to do."

  "This man killed Jet and Trevor and handed us back to B*E*A*S*T* on a silver platter. I'm not going to sit by and—"

  "I haven't killed anyone,” Dylan interrupted. “Well, aside from those guards over there. Three more came in here while you were trying to shift, you know. Saved your ass a few times by my count."

  Mac growled as he turned his attention back to the man. “I watched my friends burn in my Hummer—don't you dare feed me some shit that you didn't kill them. You're a goddamn liar!"

  Dylan looked taken aback. “Oh that? Destroying the Hummer was Craig's idea. But we didn't kill anyone."

  Just before Mac was about to pounce, Robyn's hand on his shoulder stopped him. “He's telling the truth, Mackenzie. Smell him."

  He didn't want to, but for her sake, he took a long, deep breath. Sure enough, the sharp scent of deceit was nowhere to be found.

  "The two shifters who came out of that house in Miami, the Asian guy and the sandy-haired one, they were taken by Oliver and Alex. Don't know what happened to them after that. But Craig insisted on blowing that Hummer. Something about it destroying the
environment."

  Mac stared at Dylan in disbelief. Was the man off his rocker?

  "Oh, and he said it would make for a good show, too. Seems as if he was right."

  Definitely off his goddamn rocker.

  "You're telling me Jet and Trevor are alive?"

  Dylan shrugged. “Don't know. They were last I heard."

  "Wait,” Robyn said, rubbing her forehead. “So there was more than one of you on our trail in Miami?"

  "Oh yeah. A whole team of us. I just killed Craig. He's over there by the crates if you want to take a look. Victor's on the floor of Robyn's cage. But Alex and Oliver, they left after they caught your friends...you said one of their names was Jet?” He chuckled. “Ironic, don't you think?"

  Mac cocked his head in confusion.

  "We're in a jet!"

  With that, Dylan turned away and walked to one of the crates on the far side of the plane, ripping it open as if it was made of cardboard.

  "That man's not right,” Mac said, looking at his mate. Robyn's face was white with shock.

  "He said he's a crossbreed,” she said. “If Lucian is playing God again, it's possible anyone who can shift into more than one animal is unstable. It's hard enough coming to terms with being just one creature. Imagine having a few in your head at any given time."

  Mac shivered at the thought.

  "I found clothes!” Dylan's look of triumph lasted only long enough for him to wipe his bloody hands on a black t-shirt before turning and rummaging through the crate once more.

  "Come on, sweetheart,” Mac said, taking Robyn's hand. “I need some clothes myself and I'm not too keen on staying in this cage. Keep your eyes open and stay behind me. There might be more guards up front, and if Dylan isn't stable, I don't want you anywhere near him. You got me?"

  She nodded and squeezed his hand. Her trust bolstered his courage. Facing down one hell of a strong shifter who wasn't quite right in the head wasn't Mac's idea of a good time.

  But they were stuck a few thousand feet in the air

  inside a cargo plane on their way to God knows where. Right now, they didn't have many options. He had to play along and hope like hell the bastard didn't turn on him again. Mac would die before Dylan ever sank his claws into Robyn.