“We have,” Kye snapped. “It doesn’t matter. I love her, and she will be my mate.”
“What if she touches another male and finds her true mate?” Talon asked as he leaned against his desk, folding his massive arms across his chest.
“I would let her go,” Kye lied. There was no way he’d be able to handle her being with another male. It would kill him.
“You’re lying to me,” Talon growled. “Damn it, Kye. I’ve seen it before. The other party will go insane. Are you sure you can handle it if you are alpha and your female is destined to another?”
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Kye said truthfully. “What I can promise is that she is mine, I know it.”
“You will need to make a decision if you touch and are not mates,” Talon said. “For now, I need you to concentrate on learning the ropes to be my replacement. You will need to train with the other males who are wanting to fight in the summer. Malaki is giving the Guardians trouble with his attitude. This will be your first test. Go talk to the male and find out if he is ready to straighten up and be a functioning member of this pride.”
“Fuck,” Kye cursed, standing up to leave when his brother jutted his chin out toward the office door.
The situation with Malaki was strained, knowing his anger stemmed from his sister wanting to learn to protect herself. Just like Taze, and even himself, that male was going to have to warm up to the idea that the females were going to learn to fight regardless of what the males said.
The sheriff left his deputies at the gate to the Shaw pride, driving up to the main house. There’d been no sign of anyone from the Community in town, and even though the relief from that felt good, Garrett knew it was probably a bad sign of things to come.
He parked his personal SUV around the back of the alpha’s home, close to the back door. Guardians filed out the door as he opened up the back hatch, throwing aside the cloth tarp to reveal weapons.
“This is the first shipment,” he said as Savage approached. The huge Guardian nodded and reached inside the back to grab a handful of assault rifles, handing them off to Noah, and then Ranger. The three males took a few trips to empty his personal vehicle. “I’ll be back with more in a few days.”
“Thank you,” Talon said as he took the steps down from the porch. The alpha looked weathered and tired. The stress of the kidnappings of other shifters was wearing Talon down.
“Things are quiet…” He suddenly froze, his vision going white. He could hear the voices of the males around him, but he couldn’t reply.
She was scared. Two men held her arms tightly as she was led into a hillside bunker. The walls were concrete and the lights that hung overhead were bright enough to hurt her eyes. She dug deep inside and cried for her alpha, but he never answered.
Talon! Help! Please!
Cries of others could be heard as they moved further into the corridors with unmarked doors. The males were supernaturally strong, but they were not of her kind. She tried to break free, but the guards only tightened their hold and rushed their steps. The cuffs on her wrists were unlike any that she’d used in training. Those she could break with her strength.
At the end of the hallway sat a metal door with a small window. When it opened, several men inside turned to look at her. Their faces were covered with masks like her healer wore when he was working on his patients.
“Ah, what do we have here?” one man asked as his eyes roamed her body.
“Female black panther,” a guard said. “Careful, she’s a fighter.”
The guard removed her cuffs and pushed her into the arms of the other men, slamming the door behind her. She twisted and kicked out like she’d been trained, knocking one of them to the floor. The second, she punched in the jaw. Her fangs thickened and she pulled at her beast, but a familiar prick to her backside had her eyes going closed. She used all of her strength to fight the medicine. Another male shoved her against a wall, but she took that moment to bounce back and attack him. A fist caught her face, spinning the female to the side and directly into the arms of the male who looked at her like she was going to be his next conquest.
Talon!!!
“Garrett!” Talon snarled as the Watcher’s vision fled.
“Where’s Evie?” Garrett yelled, his heart thundering in his chest. That female couldn’t be harmed again. If she was taken and killed, it would change the future of the shifters. It would destroy them.
“I’m right here,” Evie called from the porch. She looked at the sheriff with an odd expression. “What’s going on?”
“Inside! Inside now!” Garrett ordered, his eyes swinging to the alpha. “They’re coming for her.”
“What?” she gasped, her eyes flashing amber. “Who?”
“The Community,” Garrett replied, taking long strides to reach the back porch. “Don’t make me touch you, Evie. Get inside, now!”
Savage and Noah backed Evie into the house. Her icy blue eyes were wide with confusion. Ranger covered Talon as they made their way down the hallway to the security room that housed the safe room and all the weapons. Garrett was glad. They needed to keep the young female detained until they could sort through his vision.
“Tell me what you saw,” Talon demanded as he whispered to Noah to go get his mate and child. He sent Savage to get Kye.
Garrett replayed the vision, word for word, as Evie sat in a rolling office chair. Ranger was squatted down next to her as if to give her comfort if she needed it, but Garrett knew the female wasn’t going to back down, and he felt pride when she stood from her seat.
“They will not take me,” she declared, her eyes flickering between icy blue and the amber of her beast. She rested the palm of her hand on the butt of the gun she carried with her whenever she was in human form. “I am never unarmed.”
“My vision shows you going into an underground bunker. You have some type of cuffs on your wrists that you cannot break. The male guards are not human, nor are they shifters.”
“Then what the fuck are they?” Ranger snarled.
“I have no idea,” Garrett replied, pausing when the door to the room opened and Liberty came in, holding their daughter tight to her chest.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Yeah, what the hell is going on?” Kye demanded as he barged in and went straight to Evie’s side as Ranger stepped aside to give him room.
“Garrett had a vision of Evie being taken by the Community,” Talon began. “They had her cuffed with restraints she couldn’t break, and the guards are something unlike us. The place in his vision is an underground bunker. From what I can decipher from his vision, Evie cannot call out to me, because I am unable to answer.”
“No,” Liberty gasped, moving toward Talon’s side.
Kye nearly vibrated where he stood, his hand reaching for hers. Garrett saw the moment they squeezed hands as a sign of strength. He was glad that Kye hadn’t lost his mind with the news. Evie was a strong female, and thankfully, the male that loved her saw that, as well.
“Fuck that nonsense,” Liberty snarled. “She will not be taken by them.”
“Agreed.” Evie nodded to the alpha’s mate.
Chapter Eleven
Evie swallowed hard. The news from the Watcher sent her worry into overdrive. She had to push away the flashbacks from her kidnapping to focus on the possibility it could happen again. Whatever he saw would come true, unless…
“I can change my fate, right?” she asked, squaring her shoulders.
“That’s a possibility,” Garrett said, nodding his head. “But we do not know what events take place for me to see you in that bunker. The path you are on now could be the one that saves you. If you choose to do something different, that could be the event that gets you caught. Does that make sense?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
“You need to stay here,” Kye said, wringing his hands as he began to pace. “It’s too dangerous for you to be outside.”
“Seriously?” she snapped.
“Do you know what you are asking of me?”
“I’m asking you to stay somewhere safe,” he replied.
“What if they come in here and take out the pride to get to me?” she growled. “I will not let that happen.”
“The Guardians will be close,” Talon promised, wrapping an arm around his mate.
Evie watched the two as they snuggled close, holding Ember. The alpha’s cub was fast asleep in Liberty’s arms. At a year old, she hadn’t even begun to live her life. What type of hell would Evie be bringing down on them if she was going to be the one targeted? She knew her pride was very protective of her ever since she’d survived her time with the wolves. There was no doubt in her mind that they’d fight to the death to protect her.
Obviously, the Community had been rounding up shifters from all over the world. The news stations reported daily on the takedowns of the hidden labs and jails that held the ones they’d caught. Deaths were nothing to them. They wanted more, and from the reports, they were finding them with ease.
“What is the government doing to protect us?”
“My deputies are posted at your gates.” Garrett frowned. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m talking about the U.S government, the military. If they are so concerned with our safety, and the military are the ones shutting down these facilities, why haven’t they sent more than just local deputies to protect us? Why do we only see them supposedly busting these hidden places, and during the removal of the deceased?”
“Because they are limited,” Garrett answered, holding up his hand when she began to speak. “There is also a war on terrorism overseas. Our military is spread thin and local governments are trying to work with the National Guard to bust these facilities, but it’s hard. They’re very good at hiding.”
Evie felt a tickle of awareness in her mind. Like she knew the answers to her own questions, but her brain just couldn’t put her thoughts into words. When she looked up at Liberty, Evie knew she was on to something by the look of fear on the alpha’s mate’s face.
“Evie, no,” Liberty growled, her eyes flashing amber.
“It needs to be done,” she replied, standing her ground.
“What are you two talking about?” Talon ordered, pushing his powers out. Evie couldn’t lie to him. His demands were law, and even if she wanted to lie to him, she couldn’t. His powers were too strong.
“Find out where this bunker is… and send me in.”
“NO!” The Guardians cursed so loudly, it hurt her ears. Kye growled low in his throat and walked right up to her. She had to look up into his amber eyes and what she saw there was fear.
“Are you fucking crazy?”
“Probably,” she answered. “If you send me in, I may be the only one who can keep it together long enough to get information. You can plant a tracking device under my skin so I can be found. That way, you’ll know where I am and how I got there. These people are obviously highly trained and have planned this for a very long time.”
“So, you think the humans knew about us before the coming out?” Talon asked.
“It’s been three years.” She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, but I have a feeling that this could’ve been in the works before Kye and Ranger were seen shifting by the humans.”
“Still doesn’t matter,” Kye barked. “You are not going in there voluntarily.”
“Well, I sure as hell don’t want them coming here,” Evie replied, looking around the room at the family she had within the pride; blood or no blood. “It’s too dangerous for the pride.”
“It’s more dangerous if you go in there,” he paused, lowering his voice, “Your birthday is in three days, Evie. I don’t want them touching you… hurting you.”
Fuck! He was right. Her plan was solid, except for the pain of a male’s touch if she and Kye were mated by that time.
“Then we don’t touch each other until after this is over,” she offered, wishing she hadn’t.
Kye exploded with a round of curses, causing Talon to push his mate behind his back. The Guardians shouted out a warning to Kye when his hand wrapped around her upper arm. “We need to talk.”
“You will let go of my arm first,” she warned, her voice soft and even. She waited a few seconds more, but he didn’t release her. “Two seconds, Kye, or I’ll remove your hand myself.”
“Son of a bitch!” Kye released her and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Evie released a breath and slumped into the closest chair.
“That didn’t go over well,” she whispered.
Kye stripped down and shifted as soon as he left the home. His claws scratched the wooden deck as he leapt from the porch, running across the backyard of his brother’s home. He needed to be alone to process everything Evie had just said and done.
How could she offer herself up for another event that could be worse for her than the first?
An agonizing cry sounded from behind him, making his panther spin around to search for the sound that he knew came from Evie. The panther’s heart galloped as he backtracked toward the house. She was calling out for him.
As he rounded a large tree, he saw her panther was running toward him. She slid in the wet leaves when she saw him standing there. Kye walked up to her and nipped at her ear, letting her panther and human side know he was not pleased with her decision. The male was angry at her for wanting to put herself in danger.
She whined and lowered herself to the ground, scooting on her belly until her head rested on his front paws. She whined again and looked up at him with the icy blue eyes of her human side. The panther shimmered and Evie’s naked body appeared. She climbed to her knees and wrapped her arms around his panther’s neck.
“Don’t be angry with me,” she whispered.
“I can’t be angry with you,” he sighed as he regained his human side.
“I have three days before my birthday,” she began, reaching up to cup his face. Kye’s panther purred from the softness of her hands. “If we touch and we are mates, I will still risk myself to keep this pride safe.”
“We will protect you,” he assured her.
“I cannot let Liberty or Ember be hurt,” she growled. “What about Nova and Mary Grace? Their cubs, Landon and Atlas?”
“We have more ammo and guns now,” he said, reaching up to hold her hand to his cheek when she started to pull away. “We are trained. Hell, you are trained, but I physically and mentally cannot let you leave this pride. It would be like throwing you to those wolves again.”
“They will be coming for me at some point,” she whimpered, showing her weak side. His girl had been so fucking strong and brave over the time she had been training, but this was setting her back and he refused to let that happen.
“And we will fight them when they come,” he promised. “I’m not allowed to train at the Guardian’s facility anymore, but I want you to be the one I train with on my own for the fights this summer. Evie, I need you strong, and I only trust myself to get you there. I promise you that I won’t let them take you, but if they do, I want to have no doubt in my mind that you will be able to take them out on your own.”
“Okay,” she nodded, looking toward the ground. “Okay.”
Chapter Twelve
Kye left his home to take off into the woods in his human form. His goal was to find Malaki and get him to see reason when it came to his sister, Calla. As much as he didn’t want to deal with the male, he knew something had to be done. And since his brother had insisted he intervene, Kye obeyed.
It didn’t take him long to reach the pond in the back of the property. He’d had a feeling this was where Malaki had been spending his time when he wasn’t giving Calla a hard time about training.
“If you’re here to talk, I don’t want to hear what you have to say,” Malaki barked when Kye approached.
“Then I’m here to train with you if you are wanting to try out for Guardianship in the summer,” Kye stated. “I could really care less if you want that
spot or not, but you will hear me out when it comes to your sister.”
“I don’t need you to tell me how to care for my blood,” the male growled. Malaki stood and turned around, a look of hate marring his features. “You can go on back to your female.”
“My female can take care of herself,” Kye smirked. “Evie’s a badass… just like Calla.”
“You’d trust your female to be able to handle another kidnapping?” Malaki chuffed.
“Yes,” Kye answered.
“She’s a female! They’re too small to fight a male of our kind.” Malaki walked toward Kye with his hands fisted at his sides. The male was too agitated to see reason, and that was just starting to piss Kye off.
“Listen,” Kye began. “Let your sister learn to fight. It’s that simple. Your anger at her is causing problems.”
“Like what?”
“She’s scared of you,” Kye answered honestly.
“She shouldn’t be,” he huffed. “I’d never harm her… unlike you who will throw your fist at a female.”
Kye’d had enough, launching himself at Malaki. One well-placed fist to the male’s jaw sent Calla’s brother to the ground, but he quickly regained his footing.
“I would never harm my female,” Kye bellowed, his panther wanting blood. “You, on the other hand, need your ass kicked for being a pompous jackass.”
Malaki charged Kye, grabbing him by the waist and knocking him to the ground. Kye rolled and came up over the male, hitting him with a right hook that caused blood to seep from the corner of his mouth.
“You need to train better,” Kye growled, “because you suck at throwing a punch. Maybe Calla is better off protecting you.”
“Fuck you, Kye,” Malaki snarled, climbing to his feet. “I will never agree to be a Guardian to a pride that allows women to be harmed.”
“We don’t allow them to be harmed, you dumbass,” Kye yelled. “They are learning self-defense, and if they want to help protect the pride, then so be it.”
Kye Page 7
