“Good,” he growled. “I have a reputation.”
“Come on, big guy. Let’s go home,” she said, taking his hand.
“You hit like a girl,” Ranger smirked, looking over the top of the mitts as Evie stood there, sweat pouring down the sides of her face. He was goading her and she had no clue.
“Go to hell,” she roared, her eyes flashing amber sparks.
“Do it again,” he ordered, holding his hands up, waiting for her to use her anger to hit him properly.
If anyone knew he was teaching her how to fight, Ranger was sure he’d get his ass kicked, but he believed that this was what was best for the girl. She was frightened of her own shadow, and although she had Kye and the pride there to protect her, she wanted some freedom to be able to take out anyone who touched her. He couldn’t fault her for that.
In fact, he had to be going mad to allow a young female to defend herself. All of the males were so honored and proud to be the one who took care of the females, none of them would even think about sparring with a female. God forbid if one of the mates wanted to learn to fight.
“Focus,” he barked when her eyes dimmed. The light faded as her thoughts started invading her training. “Okay, take a break.”
“I don’t want to take a break,” she snapped, her canines thickening in her mouth. “I want to learn.”
“You can’t learn if your head is a million miles away, Evie.” Ranger grunted when she threw a punch and her glove slid between his hands, striking him in the chest. That kind of hurt.
“Damn it!” she growled, sitting down hard on the mat. She pulled the Velcro straps with her teeth, slinging the gloves away. “I suck.”
“You do not suck,” Ranger scolded, taking a seat next to her. “You are letting your fears keep you from moving forward.”
“Yeah, well,” she said, falling to her back and covering her eyes with her arms. “My mind won’t stop thinking. I can’t get it to stop.”
“You’re frustrated and then you are second guessing yourself,” Ranger explained. “Girl, you have got to find a way to block that shit out. You have to learn to put that in the past and grow from what you’ve been through. Don’t let them win.”
“It’s hard,” she whispered. “It’s really hard.”
“Explain,” he urged.
“Everyone walks on eggshells around me.” She cursed under her breath. “It’s like they’re waiting for me to go feral or something. I’m tired of being treated like a freak.”
“You are not a freak,” Ranger growled. That thought right there just pissed him off. “Everyone is worried about you, yes. But a freak, no.”
“Kye won’t let me lift a finger,” she sighed.
“Are you going to tell him about our little meetings?” Ranger asked, raising a brow when she removed her forearm from in front of her eyes.
“No,” she glared. “He’d be pissed.”
“I think what you are doing is brave.” Ranger shrugged. “As long as I don’t get my ass kicked for doing this.”
“I’ll protect you,” she laughed, holding up her tiny fists.
“I’ll do fine on my own,” he teased. “You want to go again?”
“I have to get home,” she said, sitting up. “It’s getting dark.”
The poor girl didn’t like being alone, but at least over the past week, she was finally able to walk by herself to her home during the daylight hours. She still hadn’t overcome her fears of the dark.
“Tomorrow, same time,” Ranger reminded her, picking up the gloves and stuffing them into his bag.
He watched her leave, making sure she showed no signs of stress as she stepped out of the Guardian’s dorm. When she looked over her shoulder at the door, Evie had a small smile on her face. It was working. She was getting better.
Ranger shook his head and zipped up his bag. As he walked toward the door, he rubbed his chest where she’d accidentally hit him and laughed to himself.
That punch had really hurt.
Chapter Ten
“This one shifts into a fucking grizzly bear,” the guard cursed, holding a large rag to his bleeding forearm.
“We will have to sedate him.” The scientist smirked as he looked at the computer screen, seeing the beast sitting in the corner as a nine-hundred pound bear.
“You sedate him,” the guard offered. “This is your mess.”
“You signed up for this,” the scientist reminded the guard. These men were lethal humans and needed for the experiments. The backer of the program demanded it, saying that the ones guarding the abominations needed to not be afraid to kill them.
“I better not wake up furry from this scratch,” the guard warned. “If I do, you’ll be my first kill, motherfucker.”
“Do your job or get the fuck out,” the scientist snarled. “I’ll take care of this beast.”
The guard mumbled something and left the room. The scientist watched the animal as it looked wildly around the room. There was no exit for him. The door locked from the outside and the only way to get out was to have someone on the outside open the door. Door handles could be used as leverage to rip the doors off the hinges by these shifters. They learned that the beasts were supernaturally strong and not afraid of the humans.
The scientist pressed a button on the panel to his left. A soft sheen of smoke started filling the room, causing the bear to panic. He roared and snarled, cowering down as the mist filled the room. It wasn’t but a few minutes before the gas started working on the bear. He laid down and closed his eyes, falling to sleep.
Grabbing his bag, the man met another guard at the door. “He’s sedated. Now, I’m going to draw as much blood as I can so we can get this started. When I knock twice, let me out.”
“Yes, sir,” the guard replied, turning the handle and pulling the door to the cell open.
He entered the room and set about gathering the blood. The animal in front of him was massive. His brown fur felt rough at the tips as he reached for the bear’s paw. He quickly grabbed a razor, shearing away enough fur to find a vein.
The scientist was sweating as he worked, his eyes flickering to the beast’s face, looking for any sign that the big son of a bitch was waking up. Just as he was starting to fill the third vial, a low rumble came out of the bear’s chest. When he looked up, the bear’s eyes had fluttered open, a haze of the medicine clouding its vision. He scrambled backward, grabbing his bag and the vials of blood as he fled. His hand hit the door, knocking repeatedly, and he prayed he could get out before the beast fully woke up, but he wasn’t quick enough.
A paw reached out and swiped at the man just as the guard pushed the door open. The scientist was pulled through, but not before the bear grabbed the door, wrenching it from the guard’s grip.
The guard raised his gun and shouted a warning as the scientist scrambled to safety. The scientist reached in his pocket, wrapping his fingers around a large syringe. The bear lunged for the guard, his teeth wrapping around the man’s throat. The primal snarl was the only warning before the bear tightened his jaw and crushed his throat, ending his life.
Two guards entered the hallway, their guns aimed at the bear’s head. When the beast raised up on his hind legs, one guard pulled the trigger and a bullet imbedded into the bear’s right arm. He roared and lunged forward, racing toward the other guard.
“Sedate him!” The guard ordered, raising his gun, but he was too late. The bear swiped his paw across and knocked the gun from his hands.
“Distract him!” The scientist uncapped the syringe and circled behind the bear, jamming the needle into his hind end.
The bear roared and spun around, taking another bullet to his back. He didn’t even flinch as he stalked the scientist. The man’s heart thundered in his chest, seeing his life flash before his eyes. If he was killed, the research would die with him. No one knew where he had the files stored. His death would be for nothing, unless they found another scientist who was willing to do the things demanded of them by
the secret donor.
The bear raised his paw high, gaining momentum as he swung for the scientist’s head, but he never made contact. The sound of a large wooden bat cracking against the animal’s skull was an echo in the space as it made contact. The bear’s body shimmered and the man within the beast fell unconscious to the floor, blood seeping out of his head.
“Get that fucking bear out of my lab!” the scientist ordered. “Burn him, dump him…I don’t fucking care! Those bears are too vicious. I refuse to study them.”
After a confirmation from the guard, the scientist took his leave and found his way back to his office, needing a moment alone to calm his nerves.
They parked along the road adjacent to the warehouse where Rycon Industries was housed. The lights were ablaze even at two in the morning, and there were several white vans parked near a small side entrance. The front of the building held a professional sign, making it look as non-threatening as possible.
“That’s the same type of van that was leaving the bar,” Savage growled, feeling his panther pushing forward.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this at all,” Winter replied, narrowing his eyes.
Savage leaned forward to look at the security fencing. It wasn’t that much of a problem. Even in his human form, he could clear it without touching the razor wire at the top. Eight feet wasn’t an obstacle for a shifter…especially a cat.
“Not very good security,” he mumbled, seeing the two men at the guarded gate. They had pistols on their sides, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have anything else hidden in that little four by four shed that could actually hurt him or his brothers if they needed to get inside. Noah had reported that they had assault rifles, but Savage didn’t see any at the moment.
“Talon’s father warned us this would happen,” Winter stated, making his own sweep of the property with his eyes.
“Imagine what they do to animals,” Savage warned. “Then imagine what they’d do to us, our mates.”
“They won’t touch our females,” Winter vowed, wrapping his hands around the steering wheel. His knuckles turned white. “They’d never survive it.”
“No, they wouldn’t,” Savage agreed. “We need to step up security around our land. There can be no repeat of the wolves.”
“No one is getting through that fence around the property,” Winter promised. “It’s solid. We made sure of it.”
“This changes a lot of things, Winter,” Savage worried.
“We need to get Talon out here,” Winter suggested. “He needs to see this for himself.”
“Place the call,” Savage replied. He had to blink and take a deep breath because his panther was prowling beneath his skin. The amber glow from his eyes lit up the dark interior of the truck and would give them away if someone looked too closely.
As they waited, neither male spoke. They only watched and observed. A new van arrived about fifteen minutes later, backing into a loading dock. The gate rolled up and a pallet of what looked like office supplies was removed by a forklift.
“They’re getting staples and paper at two thirty in the morning?” Winter cursed. “I doubt that is what is actually in those boxes.”
“We need to get in there,” Savage urged.
“There is no way you are going in there,” Winter warned, placing a hand on Savage’s arm to steady him. “Your cat is sitting almost on top of your skin, brother. You are lucky the tint in this truck is dark because you’re eyes haven’t stopped glowing since we arrived.”
“Yeah, well,” Savage snarled. “I’m fucking pissed.”
“Here comes Talon,” Winter interrupted, looking in his rearview mirror. Talon’s truck rolled to a stop after he killed the engine. Savage and Winter slipped out of the truck and met him at the rear. They leaned against the tailgate, keeping their heads low enough to stay hidden. Lowering his voice, Savage brought the alpha up to speed on what they’d seen. Which was nothing other than recognizing the vans that were similar to the one that was at the bar earlier in the day. Talon was quiet for the longest time, taking in the information he’d been given.
“Okay,” Talon nodded, “first thing we do is make sure the females are protected. Secondly, we watch our asses. No one goes out alone until we have more information.”
“Anything else?” Winter asked.
“Yes,” Talon growled. “We need to see if we can get Harold inside the place. He is the only one who could pass as an employee.”
The males separated, returning to their vehicles. Talon took the lead, turning around in the middle of the road, keeping his headlights off until he was half a mile away. Savage and Winter followed behind with no more answers than they had when they’d arrived.
Chapter Eleven
“I can always try to get a job at the facility,” Harold offered, running his hands through his salt and pepper hair. “But that will be damn hard if they are trying to stay under the radar.”
Talon began to speak, but his phone rang, indicating that Noah was calling him from the gate. He went on instant alert as he answered, “Noah?”
“Sheriff’s here,” his brother grunted. “He says it’s important.”
“Send him up to the house,” Talon ordered. “Make sure someone is watching his every move.”
“Will do,” Noah said, hanging up the phone.
“What’s the sheriff doing here?” Harold frowned.
“I have no idea,” Talon said, standing up from his seat behind his desk. “Let me handle this and I’ll get back to you.”
“Be safe, alpha.” Harold nodded, leaving the office.
Talon was a little more relaxed knowing Liberty was at the bar with Savage there watching over his mate and Mary Grace. Winter was at his home with Nova and the other pride members were either at work or home with their families. The mates who were home alone had taken to gathering at a different cabin during the day to stay safe in numbers. Booth was responsible for checking on them every hour.
Needless to say, the pride was on edge.
“We have a problem,” Sheriff Lynch announced as he walked through the door.
“What is that?” Talon asked, narrowing his eyes. He still wasn’t sure if he trusted the sheriff. Hell, right then, he didn’t trust anyone.
“A body was found this morning dumped at the county landfill,” the sheriff said, slapping down a picture. “Do you know him?”
“Yeah,” Talon answered. He kept his features as neutral as possible after seeing the picture of the naked male unconscious and bleeding from being attacked. “That’s Drake Morgan’s brother, Gunner.”
“Well, he was rushed to the hospital, and within a few minutes, he up and disappeared,” the sheriff continued. “Seems that he grew a little hairy before he ran out of the emergency room doors. There was an old truck waiting for him at the curb, according to the surveillance cameras that caught everything. Is there anything you’d like to tell me about it, because I know this one isn’t one of yours. This one looked like a goddamn grizzly bear.”
“No,” Talon replied, knowing he wasn’t going to speak one word about the Morgan clan. It wasn’t his place to out the bears. “I only know who they are.”
“I can’t help you if you don’t help me, Talon,” Sheriff Lynch said, gritting his teeth. “Why don’t you take another look, long and hard, at that picture.”
Talon pulled the photo closer and examined it. Gunner was on his side, blood seeping out of the back of his head, but as he looked closer, a vicious curse came from his throat. “They used him for a fucking pin cushion.”
“Look at his ankle,” he said, pointing further down in the photo. “It says, ‘Subject 2 – Male’. Now, tell me what you think that is all about.”
“He was found at the dump?” Talon asked, wanting all the information he could get.
“Three miles from Rycon,” Sheriff Lynch confirmed.
“Son of a bitch!” Talon roared.
“I think it’s time you come clean with me about the s
hifters, Talon,” he said, taking a seat at a chair in front of Talon’s desk. “I need all of the information I can get so I can get inside that building to see just what they’re up to before it goes too far.”
“This isn’t something I can talk to a human about,” Talon said. “Our trust with humans is being tested right now, and here you are, knowing more information than you should. Honestly, Sheriff…I don’t really trust you with our secrets.”
“Right now, I am your only defense between the humans and your kind, Talon,” he said, standing up to lean over the desk. “I think I am the only one you can trust.”
“What is your agenda?” Talon demanded, standing up to lean over his desk. No one, not even a human, would come into his domain and demand information. No one!
“To keep peace in my town,” he replied. “To keep people safe…all people.”
“All I need from you is to find out what the hell is going on with Rycon Industries,” Talon said, offering no more information. “Get me proof that my pride isn’t in danger.”
“Do not go at this alone,” the sheriff warned, backing away from the desk. “Remember, you are not above my laws.”
“Noted,” Talon said flatly, not really caring what he said. They’d always lived by their own rules with no one the wiser for thousands of years. That wasn’t going to change.
“I’ll be in touch,” Sheriff Lynch said as he left the room.
As soon as he was gone, Talon lifted his phone to his ear. Harold answered on the first ring. “Alpha?”
“Get inside Rycon Industries.”
That demand was an order from the alpha and his word was final.
There was one question left that the sheriff didn’t ask about or go into detail, but Talon was very aware that if Gunner Morgan was subject number two…then who the hell was subject number one?
“Come on, Mary Grace,” Nova laughed. “You need to see the house he’s building for you!”
“No,” she blushed, rolling her eyes at Nova Blue, Winter’s mate and her boss. Apparently, they were going to be neighbors once Savage built this super-secret house she told him to surprise her with. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
Savage (Rise of the Pride, Book 3) Page 10
