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

by Rebecca Goings

  Silence descended before Wade piped up. “What if we lured some of the men away and jumped them? We could take them down, with or without guns, I'm sure."

  "Why?” Noah asked, turning his flashing eyes to his friend.

  Wade tsked his tongue in exasperation. “So we can steal their fatigues and walk right in, obviously!"

  "How do you propose we lure these guys away from the whole lot of ‘em without being discovered?” Rogan asked.

  "I don't know, it was just a suggestion."

  Robyn glanced back down at the facility. “Looks like they're securing the airfield. Lots of men and trucks headed that way. A few of them are rounding behind the buildings closest to us and they don't have an entire entourage watching them. Maybe we can take them out."

  "Good plan, good plan.” Rogan stroked his chin. “Except for the part where they scream for back-up and shoot us before we reach them!"

  "We're shifters, Wolfe,” Wade reasoned. “This is what B*E*A*S*T* engineered us to do."

  "It's too risky.” With a growl, Rogan looked back down the mountain. “If we had tranqs, it would be a different story."

  Robyn's heart leapt inside her chest. With a heave, she reached into the back of the jeep where Wade had tossed the duffel. The men watched with curiosity as she unzipped it.

  "You mean these tranqs?"

  With shock and awe, Rogan gazed into her eyes. “Robyn Bishop, I think I'm in love with you."

  Both Wade and Noah grinned from ear to ear.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  TWENTY ONE

  Lucian's hands shook as he calibrated the machine. Mac lay naked inside the pod, his hands and feet bound by thick nylon belts. More belts secured his head, waist and hips, to ensure he couldn't move during the process. The man had woken from the tranquilizers not too long ago. Still groggy, he'd been led dutifully to be mind-wiped at Lucian's orders. He hadn't resisted when they'd strapped him into the chair, yet once he'd been restrained, he seemed to have come to his senses. His deep-throated screams had permeated the corridors, but it had been successful.

  Now, he didn't resist at all as he stared glassy-eyed up at the ceiling. Once the lid of the pod closed over him, the twin tanks on either side revved to life, full of the soup that housed Kodiak DNA. The mixture needed to be stirred before being injected, and Lucian did so with the flick of a switch.

  From a small window on top of the pod, he watched as hundreds of tiny needles pierced deep into Mac's skin. Some even burrowed into his bones. The man screamed, but this time, the sound was muffled behind the door. It wouldn't take long for him to become the bear, a half an hour at most.

  Lucian prided himself at cutting the procedure's time to a fraction of what it had been at B*E*A*S*T*'s onset. Covington had been adamant that it not take twenty-four hours to change a man. They'd never sell the project to the other senators as being a lucrative way of creating super-soldiers if the men they changed took an entire day to transform.

  Even having five pods at each facility hadn't sped up

  the process in making new shifters. Both Covington and the Vice President had wanted it to be faster, more streamlined. They wanted B*E*A*S*T* to become a factory of sorts.

  Now, the goddamn Vice President had ordered the destruction of the facility. Lucian had to work faster to avoid the soldiers he knew were already surrounding the building. It was only a matter of time before he was made to destroy this very pod Mackenzie Bishop was transforming in.

  Even a half-hour was an eternity.

  Christ!

  Instead of standing over the pod and watching his own handiwork, Lucian turned and snapped his fingers at his two assistants waiting by the laboratory door. He'd need to get ready to take off—quite literally. The helicopter only held so many people. He had a choice few shifters he was bringing with him. No one would even notice he'd taken them until it was too late.

  He couldn't make a deal with the Chinese empty-handed.

  "I can't believe that actually worked!” Wade exclaimed as they dashed down a hallway inside the B*E*A*S*T* compound.

  Rogan and Noah were close on his heels, surrounding Robyn as they clutched their military-issued rifles. After tranqing the three soldiers who'd gone to investigate behind the building, they'd stolen their clothing and weapons, then given the men guarding the front door a crazy story about catching a wayward shifter, Robyn, behind the facility. She needed to be taken straight to Lucian, as per orders.

  The men didn't bat an eye, but merely stepped aside to let them through. Now, as they searched the halls, scientists scurried this way and that, intent on destroying papers, computers, and any other trace of the B*E*A*S*T* project.

  Noah shook his head. “Clearly, someone on high isn't happy with the state of affairs."

  "Damn, tiger, you're as astute as they come!” Rogan tossed Noah a grin.

  "Makes sense,” Wade offered, looking down a corridor that crossed with theirs. “Three out of the four compounds have been compromised. Shifters are everywhere. Someone wants to bury this agency."

  "Yeah, but who? Senator Covington's dead. We have no idea who's calling the shots now."

  Wade spun to face Rogan. “Whoever it is, they no longer have control of my fortune, Keira and I saw to that. They're well and truly effed."

  "Halle-fricken-lujah,” Rogan said, pointing his rifle at a few cowardly scientists who frantically tried to get out of his way. “Miracles do happen after all."

  "All these doors are locked,” Robyn said, tugging on a few of them. “How are we supposed to find Mackenzie if we can't get into any of the labs?"

  "Need a key card,” Wade said, pointing to the pad on the wall with the barrel of his gun. “Plenty of scientists to knock out and get one."

  "Fine,” Noah growled. “Next one we see."

  A door opened not too far away. A woman stepped out in a white coat, glancing at them like a deer caught in headlights.

  "Gadammit,” Rogan groaned. “A woman?"

  Robyn looked each of the men in the eye and shook her head. With a grin, she strode up to the woman, who'd flattened herself against the wall. Balling her fist, Robyn laid her out flat. The scientist slid down the wall to the floor.

  "Nice shot!” Wade exclaimed.

  Tugging the lady out of her coat, Robyn donned it and stood. “How do I look?"

  "Like one of them."

  "Excellent. Let's go find my mate."

  Robyn didn't leave any door unopened. Each room down this corridor was a lab. One was even a morgue. Thankfully, none of the bodies in the floor-to-ceiling freezer was Mackenzie. And there weren't just human bodies on those roll-out carts.

  With a shudder, she continued on, desperate to find him.

  None of the passing scientists paid them any heed. For all they cared, Robyn and the men following her were on a mission condoned by some military commander. Anyone who seemed as if they wanted to ask them a few questions

  stepped aside when Rogan leveled his rifle.

  "He's not here,” Robyn groaned in defeat. “Neither is any other living shifter. We've got to find the elevator."

  "She's right,” Wade said, glancing around them. “The shifters are usually kept in the lower levels."

  "And these aren't the experimentation rooms.” The moment she said it, shivers raced down Robyn's spine. If Mac was here, he'd be beneath them, somewhere far below the building.

  "Fine. Let's ask.” Noah jogged up the corridor and glanced into an occupied office. “You there!” he shouted to someone in a no-nonsense tone. The man shredding documents glanced up with a shriek once he saw Noah's gun. “Where's the elevator?"

  The man gave him a blank stare, his mouth wide open.

  "Now, soldier!"

  "That way!” he yelled, pointing to his left. “A-around the corner."

  Tilting his head for the others to follow, Noah left the doorway and made a beeline down the corridor to the next intersection.

  "Nice touch, tiger,” Rogan sa
id, clapping him on the back. “Almost had me convinced."

  With a shrug, Noah said, “Used to be in the service. It's like riding a bicycle. You never really forget."

  Rogan chuckled. “Unless you're mind-wiped, eh? Hey, I used to be a military man myself, but this get-up does nothing for me."

  Robyn rolled her eyes as they rounded the corner. There, a few yards ahead, was the elevator. Suddenly, it pinged and opened. Two men stood inside, both with black hair, both with similar Asian features.

  "Jet!” she cried, a smile on her face as she recognized him. Dylan had been telling the truth after all. He hadn't killed him. Jet was very much alive!

  She moved to run to him, but Noah caught her arm and growled, yanking her behind him.

  "Noah!” Rogan yelled desperately, leveling his rifle at the men. Wade followed suit. Robyn's mind clouded with confusion.

  "I know!” Noah yelled right back, his skin bristling.

  Their hackles weren't raised over Jet. She smelled their shock, their disdain, their hatred for the man standing next to him.

  The air in the hallway crackled with tension as Noah suddenly dropped his weapon. He was ready to shift. One word escaped him in that moment, a word that spread icy fingers of fear across Robyn's entire body.

  "Tam!"

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  TWENTY TWO

  Pain. So much pain.

  The needles...piercing...fiery ice.

  Breathe.

  Again.

  Hold it together.

  Je—sus.

  For her. Do it...for...

  Breathe.

  Don't scream. She can't hear you.

  Hold still. Don't move.

  It will be over soon. It will...

  Fire! I'm on fire!

  Concentrate. Think of her. No pain.

  I'm going to die.

  No.

  Breathe.

  For her.

  For her.

  For Robyn.

  "Stop!"

  Jet's outburst shocked everyone in the hallway. Noah seethed, ready to shift and pounce, if only to rip out Tam's throat once more. That bastard had died in Colorado after he'd stolen Lanie in an effort to make her his mate. How in God's friggin’ name was he now standing alive and well in front of him?

  "Get outta my way, Jet.” Noah seethed with anger. “I'm not afraid to go through you to get to him."

  "No. I can smell your hostility. You...you're Noah Carpenter."

  "And you're a goddamn genius. Get out of my way!"

  Rogan's hand on his shoulder forced Noah to look at his friend. “I think Jet's been wiped."

  Noah's eyes widened. “How did you know my name? You shouldn't know anything if you've been wiped."

  Jet's face twisted in confusion. “I...don't know."

  "How is Jet not dead?” Wade said, asking the obvious question.

  "Dylan didn't kill him.” Robyn's voice was laced with apprehension. “He said someone named Craig blew up the Hummer, but the guys weren't in there."

  "So Trevor's alive too?"

  "I...think so."

  Noah turned his eyes back to Jet.

  "Rogan Wolfe. Wade McAllister. Robyn Groves. No, that's not right.” Jet shook his head and glanced at the floor. “Robyn...Bishop."

  "Jet!” Noah bellowed. “If you don't tell me—right now—what Tam is doing behind you, I won't wait for an explanation."

  "He's...not Tam. I mean, he is, but he isn't."

  Noah's eyes flashed. His anger was almost at the breaking point. It wouldn't take long before he gave in to his animal instincts and leaped to kill.

  "What the hell, Jet?” Rogan cried out. “How's about you start making some goddamn sense?"

  Noah gestured to Rogan, as if his words held the wisdom of the ages.

  "He's a clone!” Jet exclaimed.

  Well shit. Noah certainly wasn't expecting that answer.

  "A clone. You're kidding me, right?"

  Jet shook his head. “No. Look, it's not that off the mark from what we already are. We can shift into animals. Covington could shift into Wade. The next logical step from shifting was cloning, copying an actual person. Lucian's been honing the process.

  "In two months?"

  "Oh no, tiger. Bastard's been experimenting long before that. These past two months gave him just the time

  he needed to perfect it."

  "Good God,” Wade said under his breath.

  "You ain't lyin'.” Rogan cast him a sideways glance.

  "He's a good guy, Noah. This Tam. He's not at all like the Tam you knew. He's only the same on the outside."

  Jet stepped back and Noah managed to restrain himself as he stared Tam down. “That true?” he asked.

  Tam inclined his head and gave him a smile. “I have no idea what you faced with my namesake, but I can assure you, I am not the same man. I don't remember anything beyond a month ago. I...think that's when I was born."

  "Shit.” Robyn's soft voice sounded terrified behind him. Noah couldn't blame her.

  Well, there was one way to see if this bastard was telling the truth.

  Walking right up to the man, Noah pulled up the sleeve of his fatigues and held out his arm. “Smell me."

  "I'm sorry?"

  "Tam couldn't stand the scent of me. It sent him into a fit of rage. Smell me!"

  Leaning his head down, the man took a long, deep breath, right against Noah's skin. Noah could smell the panther Tam could become. But the man didn't smell crazy. He wasn't itching to shift. Damn, was it true?

  Noah gazed up at Jet with wonder on his face.

  "Told ya."

  "But...how can you remember a damn thing? You were wiped. Weren't you?"

  Jet rubbed his temples. “Yeah, I was. I just did everything I could to hold on to my identity. I remembered how we overcame Lucian's safe word and wondered if I could overcome the mind-wipe. When I woke up, I couldn't remember a damn thing. But I've slowly begun remembering bits and pieces.

  "I didn't remember your names until I saw you in the hallway just now. I knew I had friends, and I could even see your faces, but your names totally escaped me."

  "What are you doing outside of a cage? And Christ, you smell like shit!” Rogan never was one to mince words.

  All of them crammed onto the elevator and the doors closed behind them. There was no button to push—it went

  straight down.

  "Lucian ordered us to get the chopper ready,” Jet told them.

  Wade scoffed. “You can't fly a paper airplane."

  "No, but Tam can."

  "I thought he said he was just ‘born’ a month ago?"

  "Yeah, but I guess Carver has a way of getting information into your head. If he can take it out, he can implant it."

  "So you're working for him now, is that it?” Noah asked, unable to keep the venom from his voice.

  "In a manner of speaking.” Tam's soft voice filled the cabin. Every eye turned to him. Noah still didn't trust him, and he couldn't help but notice Rogan's not-so-subtle way of pointing his rifle right at Tam's chest.

  "What's that supposed to mean?” Rogan growled.

  Jet piped up. “That's how it started out. But the more I began to remember, the more I knew Lucian was a crazy bastard. He turned me into a crossbreed. He's obsessed with making them."

  "Good God, you're one too?” Noah exclaimed, his eyes wide.

  "Jesus!” Rogan's horrified gasp spoke for them all. “Guess that explains the smell."

  "I can shift into a leopard and a rhino now. He hasn't turned Tam into one yet."

  "A rhino? A goddamn rhinoceros?” Noah's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

  "Yeah. We were planning our escape when we saw you guys in the hallway. Why are we going back down, by the way?"

  "For Mackenzie,” Robyn said, pressed against Noah. He draped his arm around her shoulders to steady her, but mostly to keep her away from Tam's spitting image.

  "Mackenzie?” Jet looked conf
used.

  "My mate. Mackenzie Bishop. You must remember. You called me by his name just now!"

  Jet gazed at the ground before glancing back up, his face as white as a sheet. “Oh, God. It was him."

  "What?” Robyn shivered.

  "Carver got the call to raze this place, but he had one

  more man to transform. One more shifter to make. We didn't understand at the time, but—"

  "Get to the point!” Noah was at the end of his rope. Thank God Wade had picked up his rifle he'd dropped on the floor. He was about ready to grab it and put a bullet in Jet's brain himself.

  "It was Mac! I thought he looked familiar, but I...I—"

  The doors dinged open as they reached their destination. Robyn wormed out of Noah's grip.

  "Where is he?” she demanded.

  When Jet didn't immediately answer, she grabbed him by the collar and shoved him forward.

  "Show me!"

  He stumbled, but placed one foot in front of the other. “We might come across Carver."

  "Oh, we're ready for him,” Rogan said, pushing Tam in front of him while digging his rifle barrel into the man's back.

  "May I?” Noah asked, gesturing for Rogan's gun. If Tam tried anything, he wanted to be the one to sink a bullet in his brain.

  With one glance at him, Rogan passed him the weapon. “The pleasure's all yours, big guy."

  Wade handed Rogan the gun Noah had dropped.

  Noah didn't take his eyes off the shifter in front of him. If Carver cloned Tam, who was to say he hadn't cloned anyone else? That thought alone sent a coil of dread throughout his entire body.

  B*E*A*S*T* was a blight on morality itself.

  The sooner this agency breathed its last, the sooner Noah would be able to breathe easy.

  Just because these asshole scientists could wield the

  power of God didn't mean they should.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  TWENTY THREE

  Dylan looked up through the bars when one of Dr. Carver's assistants, a young man with slicked blond hair, approached his cage. That bastard scientist hadn't mind-wiped him. He wondered if Lucian started his funtime with Mac instead. Made sense. He'd need one of them to be conscious for the wipe to work. Dylan had only just woken from the tranqs himself.