“Rylan.” The name was a whisper, full of resignation as he finally let go of his long-held dislike of the vampire. Durant tightened his arms around her, and he glanced at Felix, his eyes darkening at the severity of the wounds, as if seeing her image superimposed over his. “We’ll find him.”
Resolve hardened his voice, and a small knot of worry unraveled at his vow. For the first time, she trusted him not to leave without Rylan. Raven traced her fingers over his skin, not daring to look up at him. “Why are you here?”
His chest heaved as he gave an aggravated sigh, nearly tossing her off him, but she persisted. “I mean, you were forced against your will to be in my pack. You even refuse to bear my mark.” Raven hadn’t been aware that it bothered her until now. “Why risk your life for me when you know I can survive death?”
“Surviving death isn’t the same as being unable to be hurt. I think your ability makes you take foolish risks. We don’t know how it works. I’m not willing to risk your life on the chance that you won’t come back. You are not invincible.”
Claws danced delicately over her skin, and she shivered, fighting the urge to demand more.
Then his hand stilled. “What does the mark do to Jackson and Taggert?”
Her brows furrowed at the change in subject. No one had ever asked her that before. “Jackson sees it more of a badge of honor, while Taggert acts like it’s a talisman.”
Durant’s shoulders jerked with silent laughter, and her stomach dipped, her body responding to his nearness by wanting to burrow even closer. “When a male alpha takes blood, it is a mark of ownership and shifters feel pride that they were selected. A connection is forged between them. It’s different when a female leaves her mark.” He leaned down, nuzzling the top of her head. “What happens when you touch the mark?”
Raven fought a blush as she remembered their reactions. “They like it.”
Durant grunted, then countered bluntly. “They lust for you.”
She ducked her head, wishing she’d never brought up the subject.
“Do you really think I would have allowed myself to be caught if I didn’t want to be a part of your pack?” His claws retracted, leaving only his rough fingertips to trail down her spine. It was all she could do not to wiggle under his ministrations. “Look at me.”
She lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest.
“When you touch my mark, you have the same effect on me as you do on Jackson and Taggert.”
Against her will, her gaze dropped to his mouth.
Sneaky cat.
Raven unconsciously licked her lips. “So every time we kissed, the effect is multiplied…”
With a sly smile, he whispered, “No sense in leaving it to chance.”
She snorted, charmed despite herself. When his arousal pressed against her stomach, she closed her eyes against the temptation to test his theory, then laid her head back down on his shoulder, cursing his rotten timing and their audience.
Five minutes passed before his hand stilled against her back.
She thought he’d fallen asleep until he spoke.
“Were the labs like this when you were younger?” The question was toneless, but tension vibrated through him, like he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Raven rubbed her cheek against him, allowing his soothing heartbeat to calm her. “It was worse, although it’s always worse for the females.” She exhaled, allowing sleep to pull her under. “With you and the other guys nearby, the nightmares don’t bother me as much anymore.”
He wrapped his arms protectively around her, cocooning her in warmth. To her surprise, she fell asleep instantly.
A scream of pure terror tore Raven from her first deep sleep in weeks. This time it wasn’t her own. Jerking away from Durant’s comforting arms left her disoriented. Those seconds cost her as she saw Felix claws desperately scrabbling for purchase while he was slowly, inexorably being pulled over the edge of the pit.
Something had grabbed a hold of him.
His terror was palpable, threatening to crush her with his despair.
They were going to kill him.
Her throat tightened against a scream of rage.
Everyone launched to their feet and scrambled after the kid. Raven ran toward the pit, ready to vault over the edge, but Durant came up from behind her, snatching her out of midair.
“Release me.” Raven rammed her elbow back, aiming for his throat, but Durant only tightened his hold, her blow glancing harmlessly off his shoulder. The more she struggled, the more restricting his grip became, until she grew lightheaded from the lack of air.
Only then did she notice the rest of the pack had circled the edge of the pit, no one bothering to leap to the kid’s defense.
“Training has officially started.” The older shifter shrugged and stopped next to them, just out of reach. “They won’t kill him…at least, not on purpose.”
It took her a few seconds to process what he said, and she stilled at the calm, defeated words.
She edged closer to the pit, Durant’s hold clamping around her in warning.
The first sight made her swallow hard.
Training obviously meant getting the crap beaten out of them.
Down in the pit, Felix did his best to stay beyond reach of his opponent. The man was three times the cub’s size, and least two hundred pounds of raw muscle. Even hunched over, he was well over six feet tall.
The beast appeared to be caught between forms, resembling a huge ape that had turned vicious and feral, his humanity long been stripped away. The man’s head was twice the normal size, his neck melted into his shoulders, while his arms were bigger around than her waist, nearly stretching to the ground.
The lone wolf exhaled in resignation. “Meet the alpha of the Charlie Team.”
Felix didn’t stand a chance, even in a fair fight.
His best bet to survive would be to avoid the long reach of those apelike arms.
Unfortunately, every time the kid tried to crawl up the walls, the ape would grab him and fling him back to the ground with a bone-jarring thud.
Spotlights snapped on, illuminating the pit in all its gruesome glory. The floor and walls were so stained with blood it could no longer be absorbed into the saturated dirt.
When she located the source of the light, she saw the two-level observation deck high above them. Watching hungrily from the bottom level was a mutant pack of animals, none of them remotely resembling humans.
“The Charlie Team?”
Reed nodded, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he glared at them.
Raven had thought everyone trapped in the dungeon was a prisoner, but she was beginning to suspect it wasn’t true. Even from the distance, Charlie Team’s craving for violence pulsed in the air. If they were given their freedom, they would not be able to be integrate back into either the human or shifter societies, and shunned by both sides. But even as she watched, she wondered if they’d care. They seemed to be more the type to kill anything and everything they encountered.
None of them were normal shifters, and Raven suspected Frankenstein had tweaked their DNA in hopes of improving them in some way, but ended up with some unintended side effects.
Some had long whiskers, a few had tufts of hair sticking out of their ears, while the majority of them had more dramatic transformations—from fully body stripes to being completely covered with fur.
Some were downright bushy.
Most had fangs and claws that didn’t retract.
No doubt all their senses were enhanced.
The perfect killing machines.
Almost.
The doctors weren’t able to dampen their uncontrollable rage, too much of their beasts remained, but it meant the scientists were one step closer to creating their super soldiers.
The deck above was at least ten feet higher, and hung over the first level, giving the spectators an unobstructed view of the spectacle taking place in the pits. It also granted them privacy and a small measure
of safety from those below.
Since the observation decks were encased in glass and metal, they were almost impossible to reach unless she could figure out how to scale thirty feet of smooth rock, then another fifteen feet of flat metal at a twenty percent back angle. The so-called medical staff watched in comfortable safety, untouched by the brutality and violence.
To her surprise, Tara and Mack were ensconced among them. While everyone else watched what was happening in the pit, their attention was riveted on her. Tara scowled, clearly disgruntled to see Raven alive and whole, while Mack studied her like a stalker planning his next move.
A bit unnerved by the intensity of his stare, Raven peered down into the pit. Rage surged through her when she saw Felix struggling for his life. She gripped the rail so hard the wood splintered, and she debated her options.
“You have a choice…Rylan or Felix?” Durant harsh whisper froze her to the spot. “If you act now, you will lose your vampire.”
An impossible decision.
How was she supposed to choose one life over the other?
“But he’s just a kid.” Acid churned in her gut until she wanted to throw up.
“He’s a shifter.” Durant’s tone was harsh. “He will survive.”
Raven prayed he was right. As much as she wanted to rescue Felix, she wouldn’t be able to hide her true self if she acted. Self-loathing coated her insides with a thick tar, but instinct warned that now wasn’t the time to act. Durant tightened his hold on her, offering her comfort, but it didn’t penetrate the icy wall of self-hatred surrounding her.
The high-pitched warble of a microphone echoed in the cave. “Begin.”
The big ape was more of a lumbering giant until he dropped down on all fours.
Felix was a scrapper, his movements almost liquid as he scampered out of the way, springing off the walls like a gymnastic monkey.
But no matter how fast Felix ran, he was eventually cornered.
Instead of defeat, Felix ran up the wall, then sprang backwards, flipping over his opponent’s head. The ape bellowed in frustration, straightened upright, his arm extended, and struck a glancing blow that sent the kid spinning through air.
Felix landed with a resounding thud, and it took him precious seconds to push himself upright. He shook his head, as if to clear it, staggering clumsily when he tried to walk.
The ape charged like a freight train, slamming into his unprotected back, and launching Felix directly into the cave’s granite walls.
Her stomach clenched with dread when Felix slid facedown in a heap and didn’t get up.
This wasn’t training.
Training meant teaching. This was pure, malicious bloodletting for the titillation of those watching from the observation decks.
The big ape had strength on his side. Felix was out cold, all the ape needed to do was land a few well-placed blows, and he would crush the kid’s skull.
Panic clawed up her insides when the ape didn’t stop, his lumbering gait practically shaking the ground, as he sped toward Felix. He grabbed the kid’s leg, then swung him around like a shot put. Raven wasn’t aware of leaning forward until Durant wrapped both arms around her to keep her from falling into the pit.
“Steady.”
A jarring buzzer blared like an air raid siren.
The ape halted like a well-trained dog, dropping Felix on the spot.
The boy landed with a thud, then skidded ten feet, before plowing face-first into the rough stone.
The elevator doors slid open, and the lumbering ape-like man left without a backward glance. Raven heaved a sigh, exhausted just watching the fight. When the microphone squawked again, she nearly leapt at the sound.
“Bring the boy to the lab.”
Unease skittered down her spine, the touch like hundreds of spiders crawling over her when the ape halted just outside the door. His shoulders stiffened, and her heart leapt with hope that he would disobey.
That hope was short-lived, and her stomach dropped when he lumbered back into the pit. Something inside her short-circuited when she thought of the additional torture the kid would be forced to endure. Not willing to stand by any longer, Raven reached for the electricity powering the door, ready to slam it shut and lock them inside.
Durant must have felt the charge growing. He spun her around, then crushed her against him, grunting when the voltage slammed into him instead.
“Don’t do this.” Raven dug her claws into his side, managing to twist about in time to see the ape grab Felix’s leg, and drag him out the door. “Durant, please.”
When the doors whooshed shut with ominous click, the strength in her legs vanished.
“Hush.” He tucked his face into her neck, wrapping himself around her. “We won’t leave him behind.”
Raven wasn’t appeased, but couldn’t blame Durant for doing what he thought best. She placed her hand over the crescent wounds she’d carved into his side, her palms heating as she allowed energy to surge into him.
The speakers crackled again, and she stiffened, reluctantly pulling away. “I suggest you begin training. The next bout starts in an hour.”
Charlie Team rambunctiously hooted and howled, some dropping on all fours as they filed out of the observation bay.
The shifters around them split off into groups without hesitation, leaving Durant and Raven standing alone. “Why are they obeying?”
Durant looked just as baffled.
The lone wolf shrugged in resignation. “We need the practice. If we don’t win, we don’t eat.”
His explanation answered why everyone resembled nothing more than skin wrapped around skeletons. Every time they lost, it gave the Charlie Team another advantage.
The doctors were conditioning them to obey.
What frightened her the most—it was working.
Thankfully, once they left the controlled setting, Raven was sure they would revert to their true nature and bite the hand that tried to take away their food.
As they watched, the shifters begin to spar, and one of them whispered to them. “If you don’t participate, all of us will suffer.”
“How?” She wasn’t sure how things could be any worse.
“They will make us lose. We need to eat.” His eyes flicked toward her, both fierce and concerned.
Durant lifted a brow in challenge, and Raven just shrugged and dropped into the fighting stance London had pummeled into her. “I know you don’t like it, but they’ll make me fight whether you spar with me or not.”
When Durant looked like he wanted to protest, she gave him a crooked smile. “Think of it this way—you have one hour to teach me everything I need to know to survive.”
Durant looked grim, and mimicked her stance. “We don’t know that they will make you enter the ring.”
Raven just raised a brow. “You want to take that gamble?”
He swore under his breath. “You’re not at full power. They’ll sense any weakness and go in for the kill. While London trained you in the basics, I’m going to teach you how to cheat. You need to be faster, keep your distance. Take them out quick and dirty.”
Durant threw two punches. He was so incredibly fast, Raven barely blocked him in time.
“Don’t focus on my body. We’re not like humans. We’re fast, so we don’t telegraph our moves until too late.” Durant kicked out, aiming for her knee.
Raven twisted to the side, right into the fist he plowed into her gut. They went back and forth for another fifteen minutes, and she began to work up a sweat. Durant, damn him, wasn’t even winded.
He was pure magic in motion, his moves liquid, his muscles awe-inspiring, not to mention distracting, the light dusting of hair on his chest arrowing downward, as if in invitation to explore further.
“No fair,” she wheezed. “It should be illegal for you to fight without a shirt.”
Amusement brightened his eyes and he deliberately flexed his muscles, charming her into laughing. Then he became serious. “We were never meant
to be sent to the dens. I don’t like that they left you here.”
Raven threw two punches, whirling away from his longer reach, and surprised herself when she twisted and nearly landed a foot in his throat. “Maybe we were mistaken, and I’m not that important to them.”
Durant scanned the den, and she followed suit, startled to see so many men watching them spar. A few studied Durant in awe, clearly recognizing him as a full-blooded shifter, while the others shot her shy glances. They circled her in a protective ring that left her feeling uncomfortable at the attention.
“Or they’re studying the pack’s reaction to you.”
A chill snaked down her spine.
“Witches and shifters are not friends. Do you think they know the truth?” She didn’t move fast enough when he advanced, and he landed a glancing blow to her hip with his knee.
He shook his head, dodging the elbow she aimed at the vulnerable inside of his thigh. “They would’ve retrieved you long before now. They might suspect you’re different, but they don’t know how…not yet.”
He threw a flurry of blows, landing three of them. He straightened and scowled down at her lackluster performance, and she glared, throwing his words back at him. “Human, remember?”
Without the use of her dragon or the current flooding her veins, she was just bait.
Durant heaved a sigh, as if in agreement with her silent thought. “The most you can do is get out of the way and block. If you try to fight without your powers, you’ll lose.”
“That’s encouraging.” Raven huffed in annoyance, the dragon echoing her sentiments.
Instead of being repentant, Durant shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
When he suddenly muscled into her space, Raven dropped and rolled, and felt the earth thud when he tried to stomp on her. She twisted to her feet, lifting both arms to block the roundhouse aimed at her head. “Good. You have to concentrate on your two advantages. You’re female, so they will underestimate you.”
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 48
