by Sky Winters
It was because they all were.
“And there’s just a bit more,” he went on. “Shifter babies aren’t like human babies. They don’t take a full nine months to come to term. You’ve only conceived two weeks ago, but the children are the equivalent of six weeks. You can expect to give birth in around two more months.”
Back in the car, Cassie tried to come to terms with what she’d learned. Part of her felt it was all too much, that there was no way she’d be able to handle the information she’d been given. She placed her hand on her belly, still unable to believe she was carrying not one, but three children inside of her.
One thing was for sure – Cassie knew she needed time to process what she’d learned. She hated the idea of keeping the news of the babies secret, but she desperately needed her own space to come to terms with the news.
So, when she arrived back at the apartment and Josh asked her about the appointment, she lied.
“The doctor just said I’d been under a lot of stress recently,” she said. “Told me I need to, um, not push myself so hard.”
She was a little shocked at how easily she was able to bend the truth, though it did pain her to lie to Josh. But Cassie knew she needed time.
“Sorry to hear that,” said Josh. “The girls are with Caleb and Nick now, and I’ll let them know you’re going to need a little time to yourself to relax and recover. Why don’t you take the day to unwind?”
“That’d be great,” said Cassie, meaning it.
“And if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Josh,” she said.
Cassie collapsed onto her bed as soon as she was alone, tears forming in her eyes. She felt helpless, alone and upset. All she could think to do was to call her Aunt Bess, the one person she could speak to who wasn’t part of this strange shifter world.
She took out her phone and dialed up her Aunt’s number.
“Hey, Cass!” said Aunt Bess, her voice as chipper as ever. “What’s going on?”
Cassie opened her mouth to speak, to start in on everything she’d learned over the last few hours. But before she said a word, she decided this was a conversation better to have in person.
“Bess, I’m in Boston now. But I…I need to see you. Can I come by the house?”
“Of course you can!” she said. “You know I’m only a few hours away. Come by the house and I’ll have some dinner ready and you can tell me about whatever’s troubling you.”
“Thanks, Bess,” she said. “I love you.”
“Aw, I love you, too, baby,” she said.
As soon as Cassie hung up she began looking online for bus tickets to Burlington. She hated the idea of leaving without telling Josh and the rest, but she knew she needed to be away from anyone who was a shifter.
And she told herself she’d only be gone for a short time. She’d text Josh as soon as she arrived at Bess’s to let him know where she was. Then, when she was ready, she’d tell the guys and they’d all figure it out together.
The plan seemed perfect.
“You feeling better?” asked Josh once she was back out in the living room.
“Yeah,” she said, meaning it.
“Great,” he said. “I’m about to go run some errands, so go ahead and relax here. Don’t leave unless it’s an emergency – we don’t know if the Redfangs are in town, but I don’t want to risk it.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she said.
Josh gathered his things and was soon out the door. Right when he left, Cassie booked her bus ticket and caught a taxi down to the station. She spent the ride mulling over the news, still unable to believe she was going to be a mother.
“Mother,” she said to herself as the bus rode on, taking her out of Boston and toward her Aunt’s.
The word felt odd to Cassie, but she knew she’d need to get used to it.
The ride passed quickly, and soon she was at the station in Burlington, her aunt waiting for her. Seeing Bess in person put Cassie at ease instantly, and she knew she’d made the right call in coming to visit her.
“There’s my darling niece!” exclaimed Bess through a beaming face, throwing her arms around Cassie and pulling her close.
“It’s so good to see you, Bess,” said Cassie. “I feel like it’s been forever.”
“It’s been too long, that’s for damn sure,” she said. “Now, let’s get you to the house and get some hot food in you. I made dinner, and all I’ve got to do is throw it in the oven.
A hot meal and time with her aunt sounded like the best thing in the world to Cassie. They climbed into Bess’s station wagon and, after a quick drive from the station through the outskirts of Burlington, they arrived at Bess’s place.
Bess put on some tea as soon as they stepped into the kitchen. Over cups of steaming, delicious tea, the two of them caught up with what they’d missed in each other’s lives since they’d last spoken. Cassie told Bess about the guys and their daughters, omitting only a few key details – like she’d been sleeping with all of them, and that they were men with the ability to change into bears at will.
“That all sounds so wonderful, kiddo,” said Bess. “But…I’m getting the impression there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Cassie cast her eyes downward. She realized how silly it was to try to keep something so big from Bess – her aunt had always had a way of seeing right through people.
“There is,” said Cassie. “Earlier today, I found out that I’m…”
Before she could finish her sentence, however, the blare of a car horn outside the house cut through the air. Whoever was out there was leaning on the horn, the noise going on and on.
“What the hell?” called out Bess, getting up and hurrying over to the door. “I don’t know who’s out there, but they’d better…”
She pulled open the front door, and as soon as she did, the horn stopped.
“Who on earth are you all?” Cassie heard Bess say.
Cassie’s eyes went wide. She couldn’t think of who it might be out front other than Josh and Caleb and Nick. She figured she’d been found out, and that as much as she’d wanted to reveal everything on her terms, it looked like it was all going to happen now.
She got up and headed over to Bess’s side near the front door. But when she saw who was there on the lawn, her heart stopped, her blood turning as cold as ice.
It wasn’t Josh and the rest of them – not at all. Instead, it was the man from before, the one who’d come to their house, the man from whom Josh had been trying to protect Cassie.
He stood dressed in a dark suit, four other similarly-dressed men standing near him, a large, dark van parked behind them on the grass.
“Evening, Cassie,” he said, a sinister smile on his face. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to borrow you for a little while.”
CHAPTER 24
CASSIE
The men moved quickly, their speed so overwhelming that Cassie and Bess had no tie to react before the men had the two women in their grasp. Cassie let out a shriek as she thrashed and flailed against the men’s grasp.
But it was no use – they were simply too strong.
“Just calm down,” said the man in the center, the one Josh had referred to as Elijah. “It’ll all be over soon.”
He reached into his suit jacket pocket and withdrew a syringe. Cassie struggled as hard as she could as the man approached her with the syringe, but she couldn’t break away from the other men who held her.
All she could do was watch helplessly as the needle pierced her skin and Elijah pushed down on the plunger. And then moments later, darkness.
*
Cassie was completely disoriented when she finally awoke. She found herself tied to a chair, her eyes covered by a blindfold, her mouth similarly covered. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a muffled cry.
“Hey, Elijah,” came a voice. “The princess is up.”
She heard the sound of footfalls echo, and Cassie realized by the sound
that she was in a large room.
“You there, little Cassie?” asked Elijah, Cassie recognizing his voice from before.
She tried to scream again, this time thrashing around on her chair so hard she nearly toppled over.
“I think that’s a ‘yes’,” said Elijah.
“Now,” he said. “I can take the blindfold and gag off, but only if you’re going to be a good girl. Can you handle that?”
Being “good” is the last thing Cassie wanted. But she knew that complying, at least for now, was the only way she was going to be able to see and talk.
So, she nodded slowly, sitting still in her chair.
“Good,” said Elijah. “Just what I was hoping to hear – nothing.”
A moment passed before Cassie felt the touch of fingers against her face. She shuddered instinctively, knowing it was Elijah’s hand on skin.
Next, the gag was taken from her mouth followed by the cloth from her eyes. Cassie’s first reaction was to squint at the harsh lights blasting down on her. When her eyes adjusted, she saw she was in a large warehouse, the men she saw on Bess’s lawn gathered around her.
Front and center was Elijah, that same sinister smile still painted on his face.
“Damn, that’s a good-looking lady,” he said, his eyes dragging up and down Cassie’s body.
“The things I’d do to her,” said one of the men.
“Patience,” said Elijah. “Besides, you know the pack leader has first dibs.”
“What’s going on?” demanded Cassie. “What are you doing to me? Where’s Bess?”
“So bossy for someone who’s tied to a chair,” said Elijah. “But let’s start with that pain-in-the-ass aunt of yours. She’s fine – don’t worry about that. I can’t say for how long she’s going to be fine, but that’s for another day to decide.”
“If you hurt her I swear…”
Elijah raised his hand, cutting her off.
“Don’t bother with any demands, princess,” he said. “You’ve got no power in what’s going on here – no control, no nothing.”
Dread took hold of Cassie.
“As for what’s going to happen to you…,” said Elijah as he clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing slowly back and forth in front of Cassie. “You ever learn anything about Gorillas?”
Cassie was confused.
“What?” she asked.
“Gorillas,” he said. “Big apes. Live in the jungle.”
Cassie said nothing.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Anyway, they’re really twisted fuckers. And they like to keep harems. Meaning, one male for a lot of females. Naturally, when one of the males manages to collect a little harem, he gets right to knocking up all the women. Makes lots of little gorillas.”
He stopped pacing and turned his eyes to Cassie.
“But that comes with a lot of responsibility. See, the male ape’s got a lot of ladies to look after, and lots of other males wouldn’t mind having that harem to themselves. Usually the males can stay on top, fight off whatever other males try to swoop in. But every now and then, one of the other males manages to take out another and takes the harem for himself.”
He went on, a feeling of hot anger boiling in Cassie’s stomach as he spoke.
“And you know what the first thing the new male does when he gets that harem?”
He waved his hand.
“Bye, bye, little apes.”
That awful smile returned to his face.
“I think you get what I’m saying here, right? You’re a special girl, Cassie. And we’ve had our eye on you since you hooked up with Josh and the rest. Because we suspected the same thing about you that they did – that you have the gift to carry shifter babies. And when we found out you were going to the doctor’s to confirm you were pregnant, we knew it was time to move in.”
“So here’s what’s going to happen – you’re going to give birth to those baby bears you got in you. And when they’re gone, this male’s going to do with them what the new daddy gorilla does. And once they’re out of the picture, you’re going to get started on making little babies for the Redfang clan. That’s your destiny. And once you’ve made enough, we might let you and your loudmouth aunt go free. Maybe.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” said Cassie despite the horror taking hold of her. “Josh and Nick and Caleb are going to find me and when they do…”
“They’re not going to do shit,” said Elijah. “There’s more of us than them – it’s simple math. I know they’re powerful, but not nearly powerful enough to take us on. So, here’s hoping they do show up. Maybe once we wipe them out you’ll accept what we have planned for you.”
“In fact,” he went on, “it’s exactly what we’re hoping. You’ve been here for enough time that Josh and the rest of the boys likely know you’re gone. And when they realize, the first thing they’re going to do is check your phone tracker to see where you are – the tracker we just so happened to leave on.”
“As a matter of fact,” said Elijah, clasping his hands together. “If all’s going according to plan, they’ll be on their way right now.”
CHAPTER 25
JOSH
Josh knew it was a trap. When Cassie disappeared, not answering her phone but happening to leave it on so she could be easily found, he suspected instantly that there was something going on, and the Redfangs were behind it.
Seated behind the wheel of his fastest sports car, he tore down the highway leading to Burlington, Caleb in the passenger’s seat and Nick in the back. None of them said a word for the first hour of the drive, all three of them focused on the mission ahead.
“We’re sure about the girls?” asked Nick.
“Sure,” said Josh. “Back at the apartment with a couple trusted members of one of the local clans is the safest place they could be. Safer than bringing them with us.”
Caleb nodded.
“You’re right, but that doesn’t mean I like this. If Elijah and the Redfangs have Cassie and they’re making it this easy for us to find them…that just means they want us to come. They’re going to be ready for us.”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Josh. “Whether we’re walking into a trap or not, they’ve got Cassie. And we’ve got to get her back.”
Josh drove on, his eyes fixed ahead.
“And there’s more,” he said.
“Huh?” asked Nick. “What do you mean by that?”
Part of Josh had wanted to keep what he’d learned to himself, to not give Nick and Caleb something more to be distracted by. He took a deep breath and spoke.
“Cassie went to the doctor’s today. Said she wasn’t feeling well. I sent her to Dr. Walsh, and she came back acting strange. She tried to hide it, but for all her good qualities, she’s not hard to read. So, I called Dr. Walsh as soon as I could. When he started with a ‘congratulations,’ I didn’t need him to say another word.”
“No way you’re saying what I think you’re saying,” said Caleb. “She’s…”
“Pregnant,” said Nick.
Silence hung in the air. None of the men knew what to say.
“We knew this was likely to happen,” said Josh. “After all, the three of us felt the same pull toward her, and she obviously felt the same way toward us.”
“No kidding,” said Caleb.
“And if the three of us had been with her, that’s all it would take.”
“And you think the Redfangs know?” asked Nick.
“It’s entirely possible,” said Josh. “They’re assholes, but they’re crafty assholes. There’s a good chance they’ve got lines on information, maybe even someone in Dr. Walsh’s office.”
“But there’s no way the Redfangs would raise and of our offspring if they managed to get away with this shit,” said Caleb.
Out of the corner of his eye Josh watched the color drain out of Caleb’s face as he realized what this meant.
“A fucker like Elijah wouldn’t view a potential mother l
ike Cassie as anything other than a way to breed more Redfangs,” said Josh. “And you’re right – he wouldn’t keep around any of our kids. He likely wants nothing more than a chance to wipe out our line.”
“And you want to walk right in there and let him do it,” said Caleb.
“I’ve got it under control,” said Josh. “Just stay close and wait for the signal.”
“What signal?” asked Caleb.
“You’ll know it when you see it,” said Josh.
Silence returned as they drove on. It wasn’t long before they reached the outskirts of Burlington, and another check of the phone tracker showed that Cassie was being kept in a warehouse outside of town.
The drive took them through the woods, far away from civilization. Eventually, they arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned logging camp, a large gray warehouse on the property that corresponded with the tracker.
“This is it,” said Nick.
“Like I said,” spoke Josh. “Just stay close.”
Josh parked the car in front of the warehouse. A pair of tall, built Redfang men stood on both sides of the front door, their eyes locked onto Josh and the others.
“Wondered when the fuck you assholes were going to show up,” said the man on the right.
“We’re here,” said Josh. “Take us to Cassie, right fucking now.”
The other man snorted.
“Funny fucking thing, you making demands,” he said. “But Elijah wants to see you. So come on.”
The men formed up around the three and led them into the warehouse. They stepped into the vast, open room where the rest of the Redfang tribe was assembled, Elijah among them. He stood in the middle, his arms crossed over his chest and a pleased smirk on his face.
And to his left, tied to a chair, her eyes wide, was Cassie.
“There are the men I’ve been waiting so long to see,” said Elijah. “I was worried you all might keep me waiting all day.”
Josh’s heart took over his head for long enough to run into a sprint toward Cassie. But before he could reach her, two of the Redfangs hurried to his side and took hold of him, keeping him away from her.
