An Alpha's Choice

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “Two bombings around them is not a coincidence,” Walker drawled, his voice deceptively calm.

  “No. It’s not,” Gideon agreed, Alpha to the bone.

  “We’ll find them,” Ryder vowed. “Call the Redwoods. Someone took our Pack, our sister. We’ll go for blood.”

  His words didn’t surprise anyone. After all, he spoke when it mattered.

  His sister was in trouble, and the humans better pray that she and her mate made it out alive. Because if she didn’t? The lines of war wouldn’t be so blurry.

  No, the lines would be drawn and filled with blood.

  The Talons didn’t let anyone hurt their own and live.

  And Ryder knew that deep in the dark valleys of his soul.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Either a two-ton pickup had rammed into her, or Brynn had been blown up by a bomb. From the way her body ached and her eyes refused to open, she wasn’t quite sure which. She held back a moan as she forced herself to wake up. As she didn’t know where she was or what had happened, she didn’t want to make any excess noise and alert someone of her presence. If that were even the case.

  Her eyes opened slowly and she tried to take in her surroundings. Darkness surrounded her, but her wolf eyes could at least make out some shapes. Metal bars, a dirty floor, and a low ceiling.

  A cage.

  She was in a cage.

  Pushing away the memories that threatened to boil over, she inhaled deeply. Rot and blood overwhelmed her senses, but she pushed past it and tried to scent where she was. She could only see that she was in a dark cage, nothing more. Her other senses, however, went into overdrive.

  There.

  She knew that forest scent of man and strength.

  Finn.

  She slowly rolled to her belly, placing her hands on the dirty floor. The coolness of metal beneath her palms surprised her, but it shouldn’t have. This was a full-on cage, not just a prison cell.

  Her wolf rose to the front, and she tried her best to make out shapes in the darkness. If there had been more than a slight sliver of light, she might have been able to fully see. As it was, she could barely figure things out.

  She squinted at one blurry shape in particular and sucked in a breath.

  Finn.

  The shape wasn’t moving, but if she focused, she could hear the slight intake of breath, the slow beat of his heart.

  Her wolf whimpered, but she didn’t make a sound. Finn was alive, most likely hurt, but alive. Speaking of being hurt, she quickly assessed her injuries and wanted to curse. Dried blood matted her hair to the back of her head, and she felt a few scrapes and bruises over her skin. Other than that, she wasn’t really injured. Whatever had blown them up in the forest had knocked her out cold so someone could pick her up and bring her to wherever she and Finn were now.

  It couldn’t be a coincidence that she and Finn had been near two bombings right outside the wards. The first had to have been a practice run to test the wards.

  The second was to take them in.

  Brynn couldn’t scent anyone other than Finn and humans near the cages, so she had a feeling that the war that wasn’t quite a war had escalated.

  The shadow in front of her moved, and she bit her lip, trying not to call out to her lover, her mate.

  She watched the shadow as it moved as if to assess its injuries and surroundings before finally turning toward her.

  Praying she wouldn’t alert anyone who could be watching, she reached through the bars toward the shadow. She was only guessing Finn was in a cage, as she couldn’t quite make out the bars, but she wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

  The shape reached out for her, and she strained her arm through the bars, her shoulder pressed tightly against the opening.

  Their fingers didn’t touch, but she felt the brush of air against her skin as Finn tried desperately to reach for her. Her heart lurched. So close, yet she couldn’t feel his touch, couldn’t feel him.

  Overhead lights clicked on. The harshness burned her eyes, and she blinked twice so she could focus. Finn met her gaze, his green eyes intense. Quickly, she took in his appearance, noting every single cut and bruise.

  Someone would pay for hurting him.

  Finn gave her a nod, and they both moved their arms back and slowly turned to whoever walked toward them. Their footsteps were light, but she could hear the muted taps along the floor as the human came closer.

  “You’re up,” the man noted. “Good. I was afraid the blast had knocked you out too hard. It would suck if you died right away. Our plans didn’t account for that.”

  Bile rose in her throat at the thought of whatever plans the human in front of her had. And they? How many were there? Where were they? And how the hell were she and Finn going to get out if they were locked in cages? But the human had said they hadn’t accounted for their deaths…so maybe they hadn’t accounted for other things, as well. Hopefully, she and Finn would be able to use the humans’ lack of understanding of wolves to get out of there.

  She prayed the humans underestimated the wolves.

  Because if they hadn’t?

  She and Finn were screwed.

  The man walked forward, and Brynn studied his face. It was one of the men from the car that had tried to run them over. The same man that had threatened her in broad daylight with unspeakable things. He looked like some backwoods criminal—his head shaved, spotty ink running down his arms, crooked as hell. He wore a leather vest over holey jeans and seemed to have forgotten his shirt. The cut he wore wasn’t of a local or national MC, but rather a wannabe one. It was evident the man had seen too many movies about what to look like if he wanted to be a delinquent, but that didn’t matter. He still had her and Finn in cages.

  He held the upper hand.

  For now.

  The man frowned at them then gave a nod. “I’ll be back in a few minutes so we can begin the fun.” He rubbed his hands together then turned toward a door she hadn’t noticed before. He paused then turned back, his brows lowered. “Fucking animals like you shouldn’t walk this earth, you know. You’re a mistake, a blight on humanity. Only you aren’t human, are you? We’re going to cut you open and see how you tick. Then we’re going to kill all of you. Once you’re gone, we can go back to being normal. Because you aren’t normal. You’re beneath us, and it’s about time you learn that.”

  With that, he stomped away, locking the door with a loud click behind him.

  Her pulse raced, and she let out a small growl. “I can’t believe that idiot caught us,” she said quietly. She couldn’t see any cameras in the small room they were in. In fact, other than the two cages and the lone door and light, she didn’t see anything.

  “I have a feeling he and his buddy have help from an outside source,” Finn said softly.

  She turned to him, her eyes wide. “They’re extremists. Who would help them?”

  Finn snorted, his jaw clenched. “Anyone who wants us out of the picture. Think about it. Extremities have received help through many sources over time. This is only the beginning.”

  Brynn let out a breath. “I know. I know that. I don’t know why I’m not thinking clearly. I’m older than you. I’ve seen way more shit than this, and yet my brain is slow right now.”

  Finn immediately rushed to the side of his cage closest to hers, gripping the metal bars. “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head and winced. “Damn it. I think I have a concussion. I should be fine soon, but it’s muddling up my thoughts.” She met his gaze, her face set. “I need to get over it if I’m going to help us get out of here.”

  “I’ll kill them for daring to hurt you.”

  “I already promised myself that I’d kill them for putting bruises on your skin.”

  Finn flashed a feral smile. “This is why I love you, dominant female of mine. And Brynn? We’re going to get out of here. There’s no way they can keep us forever, not when you and I can get out of this. Plus now they have two Packs after them.”
Finn let out a low growl. “They fucked with the wrong wolves.”

  She smiled back, though she knew she didn’t look happy. “Damn straight.” She ran a hand over her bare arms and held back a shiver.

  “What’s wrong?” Finn asked. “Other than the obvious.”

  This was her mate—bond or no—it wasn’t as if she could keep secrets from him. “My father used to keep us in cages like this. He’d wanted to see how much we could take before we broke.”

  Finn growled, this time louder than before. “I’d kill him again if I could.”

  She shrugged. “Gideon took care of that for us, though I wish I had been able to help. We took out our uncles since they were the ones helping him. But our father’s betrayal as Alpha hurt our Pack for a long time. We’re just now really whole again, and now look what’s happening.”

  “The Talons are strong, Brynn. Anyone can see that. And as for this cage? We are getting out of here.”

  She reached for him once more, their fingertips a breath away as he reached for her, as well. “Damn it,” she muttered.

  “I’ll hold you once we’re out of here, princess.”

  “I know you will. As for getting out of here? First chance we have, we break free.” She met his gaze. “You leave me behind and get help if you get free first.”

  Finn snorted. “And you’re going to leave me behind if the opposite is true? I don’t think so. We’re getting out of here together. No sacrifices. You get me?”

  She sighed. “I get you.” She wouldn’t have been able to leave him anyway, but the thought of having him hurt made her want to howl to the moon.

  The door opened again, and this time, two men came in. She leapt to her feet though she couldn’t stand fully. The other man raised his arm, shooting what looked like tranquilizers toward the cages. She growled and rolled out of the way of the first dart, only to be hit by a second. There was only so far she could roll away inside the cage. The dart pierced her skin and whatever was in it slammed into her body quickly.

  Fuck.

  She met Finn’s eyes and they each growled.

  Someone had found a way to sedate wolves. Finn had been right. These humans weren’t working alone.

  Her head hit the bottom of the cage as she passed out, praying she’d wake up again.

  Only when she woke up, she almost wished she were back in the cage. The humans had strapped her and Finn to separate tables so they were forced to look at each other. The tables were on an incline, so it was as if she and Finn were almost standing. Thick metal bars and straps across their legs, hips, torso, chest, and forehead held them in place.

  The human that had shot them with the darts stood between them, an odd smile on his face. “Thanks for joining the living, Brynn Brentwood,” he drawled. “I wanted you awake for this.

  She screamed as the man went to Finn’s table, a large blade in his hand. Finn met her gaze, his eyes narrowing as the human cut into Finn’s flesh. The butcher made two long cuts down Finn’s stomach, the thin trails of blood following made Brynn’s stomach heave.

  Finn’s jaw clenched at each cut, but he didn’t scream, didn’t let out a sound. The fucking humans had to know that having her watch would be another form of torture.

  The doctor finished up his cuts and turned to Brynn, a puzzled smile on his face. He wiped Finn’s blood off the blade using his white coat, forcing more bile to Brynn’s mouth.

  “Let’s see if female wolves bleed the same as male ones do.”

  “Are you really done with me?” Finn asked, his wolf in his voice. Her mate’s wolf didn’t come out often. This couldn’t end well.

  “I’ll be back to you soon,” the doctor said, not letting his gaze leave Brynn’s. “Now, you screamed for him, will you scream for yourself?”

  She raised her chin as much as she could, considering she was strapped down. “Fuck you.”

  “I don’t do animals, but my partner might.” He licked his lips then stabbed her in the hip. Not a slice, but a deep fucking stab that she was sure scraped the bone.

  A whimper threatened to break through, but she held it in, even as the fiery agony of the deep cut raced through her system. Her wolf slammed into her, wanting out, wanting blood, but she couldn’t shift while locked up like this.

  Finn growled, screamed, and cursed as the doctor slid the blade out of her skin and stabbed again, this time a little higher. Black spots danced behind her eyes, but she refused to pass out.

  The doctor tilted his head, as if studying her reaction then slid the blade back out once more.

  “Interesting,” he mumbled.

  “Fuck. You.” A trail of blood slid out of her mouth and she wanted to scream. He’d cut her deep, and for some reason, she wasn’t healing. Neither was Finn now that she thought about it. There had to be something on the metal of the blade or in the tranq they’d given them earlier. Hell, this wasn’t good. Not only for them, but for whoever the humans caught in the future.

  The game had changed once again.

  This wasn’t magic, this was science. She could feel it in her wounds.

  The doctor held the blade up to her eye and she tried to pull back. “I wonder if you would be able to shift without an eye. Of course, you would, but your wolf would only have one eye. Right? Or would it have two? I wonder…” He shook his head. “Soon. For now, just this.”

  He cut into her face, a single slice down her cheek. She screamed then. She broke, the pain intensifying with each passing moment. Finn howled, an agonizing song that turned into the crunching of metal.

  The doctor flew back, the knife landing next to his body. Finn broke the man’s neck then went to Brynn. Bruises and cuts marked Finn’s body where the bands had been. He still had the long cuts on his stomach, leaving blood trails as he moved, but he seemed to ignore them. He’d broken through the metal by shear force, and she knew he had to have internal bleeding because of it.

  “He cut you,” he growled, his voice more wolf than man. “He won’t hurt you again.” With that, he let his hand turn to claws as he pulled at the metal encasing her. It creaked and groaned, breaking in his hands. “Can you walk?” he asked, his hands now human and pressed against the wound on her hip.

  Pain flared and she tried to nod, only to shake her head. “I think he broke my hip.” Her eyes widened. “How did he do that with just a knife?”

  “There was something on that knife, Brynn. We’re not healing. Fuck.” He turned and pulled out some bandages from a drawer, pressing them to her hip and face. She winced, trying to help with his wounds, but he wouldn’t let her. Damn man. Yes, she was worse off, but she needed to help him.

  “You can help me soon, princess. Okay, I’m going to carry you on my back. I can’t carry you in the front and still fight. Hopefully, by the time we get out of here, you’ll be healed a little bit more and we can shift. I just don’t want to use up the energy to shift now.”

  She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and climbing onto his back when he turned in front of her. She kissed his neck above the mark she’d left, which seemed like years ago.

  “We don’t know how many people are out there, and we don’t have a weapon.”

  Finn grunted, his hand on her thigh. He moved toward where the knife lay on the floor and picked it up. “Hold this. We need it analyzed anyway. We’re getting out of this, Brynn.”

  “I know, Finn. I trust you.”

  “Back at you, love.”

  Her body ached, and she was rapidly losing blood, but with Finn by her side, she knew they would win this. There wasn’t another option.

  ****

  Finn opened the door with Brynn on his back. He could feel her slipping into unconsciousness, even with the knife in her hand, and he held back a curse.

  “Give me the knife,” he whispered.

  She handed it to him, her movements slow, measured. She was fading fast, and he knew he needed to get them out of there. Under normal circumstances, both of them would have been able to walk way
from this easily. Only she’d been knocked out twice, forced to remember her father’s own brand of torture, and sliced up even more than Finn had. With whatever coated the blade, they’d been hit hard. He’d get his mate out of this and get her healed because there was no way he’d lose her because of some random elitist human shits.

  Finn inhaled, the coppery scent of her blood hitting his nose. He shuddered. Damn it. Those cuts were deep.

  “You okay, princess?”

  “Let’s just get the fuck out of here, prince.”

  It didn’t escape his notice that she hadn’t answered his question.

  Beneath the scent of her blood, he only scented two humans. The dead one behind them, and the one that had been part of all of the other alterations. It was interesting that he could only scent two, but that didn’t mean they weren’t working with others outside the building they were in. From the look of the walls, it looked like an old, abandoned warehouse, but Finn didn’t know much more than that.

  He had no idea where they were, or how far from help they’d been taken. Brynn needed a Healer. Now.

  Footsteps echoed, and Finn held back a growl. The stench of the other human came closer, and Finn gripped the knife in his hand.

  “Hold on,” he whispered to Brynn sub-vocally. Only a wolf would have been able to hear him. The human wouldn’t know he was there.

  The human came closer. The bastard’s eyes widened and he fired a shot toward Finn and Brynn. Finn ducked out of the way, Brynn still on his back, and then went closer to the human who’d taken too many breaths.

  He sliced the fucker’s throat before the guy could shoot again. The human dropped the gun, and thankfully, it didn’t go off. He gasped then fell to the floor, clutching his throat.

  “You should have let him live, we would have gotten something out of him.”

  Finn cursed. “They hurt you,” he growled.

  “I know. They hurt you, too. Damn it. Okay. We will find another way. Now, let’s get home.” Her words slurred at the end, and he pulled her closer to his back before running as fast as he could to the door the human had come through.