NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team

by Chelsea Handcock

  Chapter 18

  Ethan woke fuzzy and disorientated; instantly on guard, he pushed his Shifter senses out to evaluate the danger. Sensing nothing but Wyatt, Ethan allowed himself a few minutes to gather his thoughts. Then he remembered, he remembered seeing Wyatt in the woods after the dart pierced his hide. He remembered distinctly smelling Jacks and Peyton in the surrounding area, and he remembered the betrayal he had felt before his beast was taken from him.

  Jumping to his feet Ethan went into attack mode. His body was slower than usual, but he could still cause some damage, and that was exactly what he was planning on doing. Then he remembered Sophie and her words to him.

  “Do not think about me again. I’m a decoy a person these men are using to get the information. I was planted here for your benefit alone. The moments we have shared will always hold a place close to my heart, but that is all they were, moments conceived and contrived by evil men. It’s time to let them and me go, protect your people, your family, and run as far away from here as you can get. They have already hurt so many, don’t let their taint enter your world. Protect the weaker, just as you are meant to it is what you were born to do, Master. I am not weak, but I am also bound.

  More fucking betrayal.

  “Fuck!” Ethan screamed and turned his hateful eyes on the only person he could retaliate against at the moment. “How the fuck could you, Wyatt? How could you let your woman put me down like that, do you know what it feels like to have your beast ripped from your conscious? To feel that part of you splinter from your soul?”

  Ethan noticed that Wyatt at least had the decency to look down, reflecting his guilt for the part he played.

  “I was following orders just like you brother,” he mumbled. “If I could have come up with a different way, then I would have, but your bear was out of control.”

  “My fucking bear was fine. I was dealing with everything and him. But, fuck man, I have to say I regret that decision now, I should have listened to my beast and followed his wishes instead of remaining loyal to my fucking team. Sophie should have been my first priority, she is what’s important here, not the fucking mission. I could have had her and found Lucas. Fuck, how long have I been out?”

  “Twelve hours.”

  “Jesus, do you know what they could have done to her in that time?”

  “You don’t need to worry about Sophie anymore, Ethan. You need to worry about yourself and your bear, let us worry about Sophie.”

  “Yeah, fucking right, asshole. I trusted you and the team and look where that got me.”

  Ethan stalked Wyatt he was going to make him pay. Ethan knew that Peyton was the person who shot him, but he would never do anything to hurt the woman. Hell, he even knew on some level that she was probably beating herself up over what she had been more than likely ordered to do. But Wyatt, that was another story, he would bleed him and not have a second thought about it. Like the good little soldier, he was, hell like they all were, until now, Wyatt stood ready waiting for Ethan to attack.

  Just as Ethan was about to attack, Ethan sensed another presence, one he wanted to hurt more than Wyatt. Motherfucker, Ethan stalked his prey, Jacks. The man he respected and followed blindly for years was in for a rude awakening. As soon as he was within reach, Ethan grabbed onto his jacket lapels and pulled him closer, so they were nose-to-nose.

  “For five days, I followed orders leaving my mate in the hands of those monsters. Allowing them to do whatever they wished to her; I watched them beat her and drag her from the room. I spent nights thinking about what state she was in, fighting myself and my bear's natural instinct to go to her, to help her. If it was your sweet and precious Ryleigh could you have done the same?”

  “Why the fuck not?” Ethan pushed Jacks away. “Hmm, what makes Ryleigh more important than my mate or hell what about the other mates of Alpha Team; Emma, Skylar or even Peyton? You fought all of us in bringing them to safety because of your precious mate and how it might affect her well-being. What makes her more important than the rest, giving birth to Quinn? Or was it a more selfish reason?”

  “Leave Rye and Quinn out of this, Ethan. I get that your pissed, but I won ‘tallow you to repaint the past because of your anger.”

  “Why are you here, Jacks? I followed your orders to the fucking T, and the moment I realized that your orders were fucking bullshit, Peyton tranquillized my ass. Explain that shit. Explain how my team and my Alpha would turn on me and my mate on a dime. Explain how my years of loyalty and dedication to Alpha and NAC have somehow resulted in lack trust and betrayal.”

  “You and your bear were out of control, I made the call, and the others followed the order. That’s how this team works. You might not agree with my actions, but they facilitate the greater good. I will stand by all the decisions I have made, in this mission and in past missions.”

  “Fuck you and fuck your orders. I am sick and tired of following you blindly just to get my ass beat down. You ordered me to stand down. I fucking did it. You ordered my ass to leave her there with those people, and again I did it, but no fucking more, Jacks. Fuck, I don’t even want to breathe the same air as you and the rest of the team right now.”

  “Calm your ass down!” Jacks yelled, exerting his dominance, and for the first time, Ethan barely felt it. The rage he had going on in his body overwhelmed his urge to submit to his Alpha. Jacks sensed his motive, Ethan could see it in his eyes. They were glowing neon green as he pushed more of his dominance out Ethan fought it with everything he had in him; hurt, anger and betrayal were strong motivators. Ethan didn’t know if he could take Jacks, but he was sure as hell going to give it a try.

  “Sophie is safe, so is Lucas,” Wyatt called out, stopping Ethan before he could attack Jacks.

  “What? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “We executed the recovery six hours ago, Ethan. Sophie is safe.”

  “So, let me get this straight,” Ethan laughed, “you had your woman tranquilize my ass so that you could go in and save the day? This was my mission, mine to complete, and yet I don’t remember hearing one detail about a recovery mission; how exactly does that work in a team that is supposed to be transparent to all its members?”

  “This wasn’t our call, Ethan, Matthias was in charge of the recovery. He made the plans and put them into action; Wyatt, and I just went along for the ride.”

  “Fucking hell, never thought of you as a puppet, Jacks, guess I was wrong.”

  “You know what? Fuck off! I get that you're pissed, hell if I were in your position, I would be too. But I’ve had just about enough of your crap. You were out of control. You hadn’t slept for a least a week. Peyton and Wyatt couldn’t even get you to eat or drink anything. That mixed with the chemicals you were breathing in every day made you a liability to this mission and Sophie. I did what I am expected to do, protected the team and you, asshole. You want to be pissed and lay blame, go for it, but think about this, if you were me, what would you have done differently.

  “You might have found your mate, that still remains to be seen, but hell man, tell me what other choice I had, you weren’t being rational. Sophie was a plant, we know that, but we don’t know how deep that goes. These assholes were able to drug the air and only affect your ass. Don’t you think there is even the slightest bit of a possibly the mating instinct could have been a false positive? The answer is we don’t know, and we need to before we place any of the mates or children at risk. I know you get that.

  “From the moment, you told me there was even a possibility of this woman being yours, I wanted to tell you to bring her in where would could protect her, but I can’t do that, I have to think about everyone in our family. I don’t give a shit about Matthias and his directives! Fuck, I would go against Senior if I thought he was wrong, and you fucking know it, but he wasn’t wrong this time.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Sophie is fine. She is sleeping in the cabin as we speak.”

  “At least that’s something
. I don’t know if I can move past this Jacks. I hear what you’re saying, but fuck man, you have no idea what the drug does to your animal, and I hope you never do. I need to go to my woman.”

  “Wait, we need to fill you in on the rest. There’s fucking more.”

  “Yeah, man,” Wyatt said.

  “What! Fuck just get it over with, so I can go to Sophie.”

  “The men and women who were occupying Free have been either eliminated or detained. We also have Lucas; turns out you girl had a plan to save him, herself. By the time we got to Free, he had already torn through the place, we were just the cleanup crew.”

  “I think I can shed some light on that.”

  Ethan blinked a couple of times; shit, seeing Lucas was a sight for sore eyes. He looked like hell, but at least he was there. Going to the man, he hugged him.

  “Fuck, man, it's been too long.”

  “I agree,” Lucas said, returning his hug, then slapped Ethan on the back. “Your girl is pretty amazing. I don’t agree with her methods, but when she puts her mind to something, there is no stopping her.”

  “What happened, Lucas, how were you captured in your own Club? Do you even know who these people are and what their motive was to capture you or bring me in?”

  “Fuck, man, I wish I had answer for you, but I only know the answers to a few. Do you mind if we sit? The injection Sophie gave me helped, but hell I’m still not at a hundred percent.”

  “Shit, yeah.” Ethan pulled some folded up lawn chairs and put them out for Lucas or the others to sit in; he was still too wound up, so he remained standing.

  “Shit, man, you’ve got to sit down. I’m not going to strain my aching neck to follow your ass, and I know you’re not going to particularly enjoy the story I have to tell.”

  Ethan reluctantly took a seat leaning forward bracing his elbows on his knees and waited for whatever Lucas had to say.

  “Almost a month ago, I started smelling things in the Club, at first it was subtle, but it began to bother my animal. When I couldn’t find a cause, I closed the Club down; with my clientele, I decided to err on the side of caution. I sent out emails and written letters. Hell, I even called you a couple of times, but figured you were out on a mission and couldn’t be reached.”

  “I never got anything man. I know now that Peyton looked into the server at the club and anything directed to you personally from my computer was diverted to another address.”

  “Shit. Yeah, I called in some contractors, but they never smelled anything; the best I can determine was while I slept the people who capture me upped the dosage of the chemical through the Club and what I smelled while awake was just what had lingered. One day I just woke up and was in the cell. Shit, I didn’t even know that I was still at Free.”

  “How is that possible you have owned that house for years? Why wouldn’t you have recognized your own basement?”

  “If I could answer that, I would, but the basement had been altered. The open space was separated into individual cinder block rooms. I was kept in an older area; the wall that separated the cells was original to the building. That was how Sophie and I were able to talk. Her cell was the old coal room. There was a grate that ran between the rooms I was able to pull off. Your girl, man, from the very first day, I could tell she didn’t trust me, but she still offered me water and anything else she had, which wasn’t much.

  “The people holding us were injecting me with something nightly, causing my animal to retreat. Fuck, there isn’t any easy way to say this, but they wanted me to provide them with a sample. A woman came in after the injections and tried to entice my cooperation. Needless to say, I didn’t comply with her requests. That is when the beatings started.”

  “Shit. Fuck, man, I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner, or hell take action earlier. If I would have…”

  “Leave it, Ethan. You had no idea I was there, hell, if Sophie hadn’t mentioned your name, I would have had no idea you were even in the state.”

  “Did Sophie mention me?”

  “Yeah, man, often. She wanted to trust you, and I encouraged her to, telling her every story I could think of, but she was resistant. She knows about Shifters, the people guiding her or hell forcing her compliance didn’t have a problem Shifting in front of her, often letting their animals play with her.”

  “What?!”

  “Listen, Sophie didn’t let a lot out about what she had been through, but she did tell me some and I heard when they would come to take her; she was considered a mongrel, not worthy of being treated with anything other than cruelty. They taunted her daily about her failures, and her lack of ability to attract you or persuade you to take her so she could complete her mission.”

  “What was her mission,” Jacks asked?

  “I’m not sure, but I could tell that she was reluctant to complete it. From the first day, she struggled with something, but never told me the details. I think they have someone she loves. Sophie is kind hearted and strong, fuck man, she took a beating from hell just to save my ass.”

  Ethan went to walk out the door; he needed to see Sophie for himself if she was beaten and hurt, he needed to get her to Mia, so she could help her heal and recover.

  “Stop, man, I promise you Sophie is fine and sleeping. We would have gotten her care if she needed, but we found an alternative. These other things need to be answered now.”

  Ethan heard the sincerity in Jacks' voice, but he still wanted to leave. He also knew he needed to get this last part out, but not before Jacks answered another question.

  “If Sophie was beaten so badly, how is she fine now and sleeping?”

  “That was me, Sophie took the beating because she knew they would give her an injection which would heal her; the stuff is brutal man, it’s like injecting pure fire into your veins. I know because she gave me the injection instead of taking it herself. Fuck, she begged me to. She wanted me to escape and find you, leaving her behind. I changed her plan. Once I got my animal back, I was able to free myself from the cell. I broke into hers, and she was barely hanging on.

  “I tore through the mansion until I found their supply, taking out everyone I came across. Once I located their medical supplies, I found pre-filled syringes, took them back to her cell and injected her with one. That was when Matthias, Jacks, and Wyatt showed up. Her wounds have healed, but she has been sleeping ever since.”

  “I sent Mia some blood samples and put on rush on the results. We are hoping to hear something soon as to what those syringes contained,” Wyatt said.

  “That still doesn’t answer why Sophie was there in the first place, and why that William guy was so intent on getting you to come to the Club.”

  “I can answer that,” Ethan replied, “she was sent to Free to get me to take her back to Alpha. These people wanted Skylar and Kenna.”

  “What and you're just now telling me this!” Jacks yelled and stood from his seat.

  “Fuck off, Jacks, I never got the chance to tell your sorry ass because you had me tranq’d, remember? Sophie told me when I left Free today, hell, yesterday. She told me to run and keep my family and friends safe, to forget about her.”

  “Jesus.” Looking to Lucas, Jacks asked, “Do you know who these people were and why they targeted you and Ethan?

  “I can’t tell you who they were and I have already told you why they were after me; it seems they know of a woman who will link with my genetics. They want children; why they want them, I can’t answer.”

  “Did you hear anything about Pandora, Dr. Franklin, Davis Defense, or the Association?”

  “No, but I did listen to a lot of talk about the Overseer. Sophie mentioned him a couple of times as well. The man scared her more than the people in the Club.”

  “It looks like there is only one person who can put the rest of these pieces of this puzzle together, and she just happens to be sleeping in the cabin.”

  “Fuck you, Jacks, you’re not talking to Sophie now or anytime soon. I can’t trust you to
put my mate’s health and well-being first, above Alpha and NAC. Any answer she gives will be given to me, and I will choose whether I share that information.”

  “That isn’t the way this works, Ethan, and you know it. Whether she is your true mate has yet to be determined; the information, she holds belongs to NAC.”

  “No, it doesn’t. The information she holds belongs to her until she chooses who gets it. I won’t be like the other people in her life, betraying her trust. If she decides to give me the information and allows me to share it, I will. If she asked me to keep it to myself, then I will make the decision when that time comes. I have already let her down enough. We strive to help the weaker, to prevent and obliterate people who cause harm, but NAC and Alpha decided that Sophie’s pain and humiliation were worth it to gain something in return. How are we any different from the animals Lucas just took out?”

  Chapter 19

  Sophie knew as soon as her mind came back online what had happened to her, she could feel the effect of the healing drug still lingering in her system. Fuck, why couldn’t they just let her go?

  “Babe, it's time to wake up.:

  Huh, what the hell, Ethan? Did they capture him because of her? She could have sworn he made it out of the building. Damn it had she been fooled again, was he one of them?

  “Babe, I know you're awake, show me those pretty, purple eyes.”

  Nope, not happening. Sophie didn’t want to face what had happened, either she failed, or she once again made the wrong decision and trusted the wrong man. Either way, she was going to lay here and hope it was all just a nightmare.

  “Sophie NOW,” Ethan demanded, and her body betrayed her instantly, answering to his command.

  Blinking her eyes a couple of times, the first thing she noticed, besides Ethan, was that she was no longer in the cell or any room she recognized from the Club. Not that she was allowed to wander much, but she considered herself pretty observant. This room was rustic and homey, knotty pine walls and old-fashioned décor, like the stained-glass lamp that sat on an antique table in front of the window directly in front of the bed. A window she noted that was open and held no bars. Looking down to her hands she noticed the blanket covering her was actually a quilt; running her fingers over it, she realized it was a handmade with beautiful patches or color.