by Unknown
having a chick moment?”
Alexander barked out a laugh, the sound forced. “Not hardly,” he replied, grimacing. His voice held an edge of anxiety that Marrok hadn't heard before as he continued, “More like a desperate attempt to hold onto my sanity. You know, I'd rather face a hundred of our fiercest enemies, than have to go through something like this.”
Marrok exhaled deeply at Alexander's words. “I know what you mean. I've been battling guilt
since the moment I learned about Taylor. Doesn't seem right that she was the one locked up and being tormented. It would have been a lot easier had it been me. I've heard her crying, listened to her nightmares, and learned the things she was keeping hidden from me. It's hard to be the one that stands by helplessly, isn't it?”
“We're alpha wolves,” Alexander replied, hoarsely. “Our mates are everything to us, but they
are also our biggest vulnerability. That makes them a target. Most of our foes know if they take down our mates, they've destroyed us.”
Marrok navigated the jeep around a pile of boulders, his expression fierce. “It's getting to be a damned obstacle course in here.” Straightening the vehicle back up, he continued, “There isn't a day I wake up and feel that I haven't failed my mate. Hell, I know I have. Even worse, she does too. I wasn't even half-alive without her, but I was free. I should have tried harder to find her.”
“What did you think happened to her?” Alexander asked, curiously.
“In the beginning, I thought she'd returned home. When I found she hadn't, I went wild, using
every resource possible to locate her. It was like she'd disappeared from the face of the earth. After a year of looking and grieving, I had the lake searched. There was no body, but they did find the clothing she had been wearing. I never really had an explanation, and it ate me up alive. Attempting to live without her was a hell that never faded, despite the years that passed me by. It's not a fate I would wish on anyone, especially one that mates for life like we do.”
Alexander stared straight ahead. His focus shifted, his body growing tense as he leaned forward for a better look. “Is it just me, or do you see the slightest glimmer of natural light off in the distance?”
Marrok narrowed his eyes. “Looks like we're reaching the end of the tunnel. Let's hope it leads us to the place we need to be.”
Marrok drove all the way to the end. It was blocked off by a solid, rock wall. There was
nowhere else to go. A small slit ran down the length of the cavern ceiling, too straight to ever be natural. “What do you think it is?” he asked, eying it with speculation.
“Carlos had to have a way out of here. Let's get out and look around.”
Marrok grunted in response, quickly sliding out of his seat. When he did his foot pressed down on something lying on the ground. A whirling noise began, the floor vibrating underneath them.
“What in the hell is that?” Alexander yelled out, holding onto the jeep. “What did you do, set off a bomb?”
The floor directly underneath the jeep lifted up, making a slow ascent to the ceiling. At the same time, the split above them began to separate as sunlight flooded the interior of the tunnel. It was nothing more than two metal doors, carefully designed to blend in with the cavern ceiling.
The large, circular, hydrological lift stopped at ground level, completely sealing off the area underneath. Marrok jumped back into the jeep. “We need to get off of this before it decides to go back down. You walking or riding?”
Alexander beckoned for him to move forward, turning to step back onto natural ground. A
gravel road led away from the lift, so he pulled the jeep onto it and killed the engine before climbing out. He surveyed the area, attempting to figure out where they were at. By his guess, they were ten to fifteen miles away from the heart of the research facility.
“Know where we are at?” Alexander asked, squinting at him in the bright light.
“I know the general area, but it's not really someplace I hung out a lot,” he replied sarcastically, gesturing at the isolation surrounding them. They were next to some rocky formations, but otherwise, the land was flat. It was very remote, and not a popular area for the humans to be in.
“I'm going to try to figure out the way to lower that back down,” Alexander told him as he
turned away. “We don't want to leave the others without a way to make it to the top. I hope they can figure it out because we don't have time to wait.”
Walking back to the edge of the lift, Alexander hunkered down in the dirt to look at the pedal.
With one rugged hand, he quickly palm-slammed it before leaping back onto solid ground. The
hydraulic lift came to life, disappearing back into the cold cavern depths. The doors closed over it as both men gaped. Once the doors sealed, they appeared to be nothing more than part of the gravel road.
“Technology like that is just scary,” Alexander muttered, dusting off his hands. He tentatively stepped on the surface of the doors, testing them with his weight. “If I wouldn't have known they were there, I would have never found it from out here. The doors are just as solid as the ground around them.
It makes you wonder what other secrets are out here, hidden in plain sight.”
Marrok shrugged, squinting in the sun. The sage brush and ground seemed to shimmer in the
distance, the daytime heat especially hot. The flat lands of New Mexico could play tricks with a man's mind, sometimes.
A rattlesnake slithered out from behind a cactus, quickly working its way to the next shadowed area of dry ground. It never made it. A large eagle swooped down, trapping it easily in its sharp talons as it viciously attacked it. The rattlesnake fought back, but it was no match for its competitor. In the span of a minute, the eagle flew away, its beak locked securely behind the dead snake's head.
He shook his head before looking back at Alexander. “Even the most dangerous secrets of this
land can't stay hidden forever. They get too secure in their environment, and their awareness grows lax.
Eventually, something more powerful comes along, and when it does, it's all over with. Let's drive around, and see what we can find.”
Jumping in, they took off down the gravel road. He drove slowly, not wanting to stir up a dust cloud. The road only allowed one way out, the other side blocked with rocks.
They followed the road as it winded around the tall rock formations. Coming around a ledge,
Marrok hit the brakes at the same time Alexander gasped, “I'll be damned.”
Both men sat and stared at the sight in front of them, allowing their senses to run freely to detect any danger that might be hidden within.
Their skill and patience had paid off. Out in the middle of nowhere sat a pueblo-styled house, built right in front of a dip in the large rock wall behind it. It was well-maintained, with a few shrubs strategically placed in the front yard. On one side were several steel buildings, otherwise, the area was completely private. As innocuous as the home appeared, nobody would guess it to ever be the
residence of a monster.
“You see the name on the mailbox?” Alexander asked him with a sneer.
“You better believe it,” Marrok growled out, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
“Figured you had. The question is, what are we going to do about it?”
Marrok slammed down the accelerator, pulling up on the sidewalk leading to the front door.
Turning off the jeep, he swung out before meeting Alexander's amused eyes. “What? You asked what we were going to do about it.” he grumbled, turning away as Alexander jumped out. “We are going in.
It's not as if we don't know there's nobody home.”
Stopping in front of the door, he broke the lock by carefully kicking the area next to the
doorknob. He didn't want to break the door down. If his suspicions proved correct, Carlos was headed straight back here. Alexander followed him in, both men immediately going in d
ifferent directions.
“You know, that key in your pocket probably unlocked the doorknob,” Alexander's voice floated
back to him from another area in the house.
Marrok snorted. “Maybe, maybe not,” he replied, looking in a closet. “It just felt better to do it that way.”
The house had an open floor plan with high, airy ceilings. Each room was equipped with a
ceiling fan that spun lazily, circulating the air around the house. It didn't help to dissipate the acrid scent of his enemy, though.
Marrok could smell Carlos, everywhere. It was like waving the proverbial red flag in front of
the bull. His anger increased by the second. The man had lived in comfort, while forcing others into a torturous existence.
Alexander and Marrok met back up in the living room, coming in from opposite directions. The
other man's face was set in hard lines, his eyes as icy as glacier chips. “The bastard's scent is too strong for me to doubt he's headed anywhere but here. He's probably using one of those large metal buildings to hide vehicles and God only knows, what else. We need to get the team over and clear those as soon as possible.”
Marrok quickly called Alonzo, giving them their location. Hanging up, he asked, “Do you want
to wait on checking those buildings?”
“No,” Alexander replied, his eyes cold. “Let's go now.”
Closing the front door, they walked over to the first building. With another well-placed kick, the door flew open. Marrok shook his head as he walked inside. “It's incredible, but I don't think this cocky bastard ever expected to get caught.”
“I know he didn't.” Alexander flipped on the lights overhead. It was nothing but an empty
storage building. “Let's move on.”
The men went from building to building. The last one was big enough to be a warehouse, with
gravel leading up to a large industrial door. The two men moved stealthily around the side, stopping in front of a regular-sized door.
“There's something alive in here,” Marrok hissed, listening carefully. His dark eyebrows pulled together in a heavy frown. “I can hear their heartbeats, but they are muffled. It's almost like they are buried or something.”
“I can, too,” Alexander replied, quietly. “Our reinforcement is here. Let's get them on board
before moving in.”
Alonzo and a group of men came running from the direction of the house. Marrok raised his
arm and waved to attract his attention before holding a finger to his lips. The other man nodded, sending teams of two and three to the other buildings.
With a handful of guardians following him, they ran over to Marrok and Alexander. “What have
you found?” Alonzo asked quietly, his eyes looking past him to the building at his back.
“Heartbeats,” Marrok replied.
Alonzo's eyes widened. “Friends or foes?”
Marrok shrugged. “That's what we're fixing to find out.”
He turned and walked to the door, the men behind him rigid in their stances and ready for
action. They spread out, preparing to storm the building as soon as the door opened. With one powerful thrust of his shoulder, he was in.
Marrok moved to the side and crouched, his senses on red alert for any possible dangers. It was quiet, with no echoing shouts or gunfire in the large, open space. The building was free of any soldiers.
The other men moved in, with Alexander stepping in last. Someone flipped the lights on,
illuminating the windowless building. Standing up, Marrok surveyed his surroundings.
Inside was a variety of warehouse equipment, including cranes and forklifts. The walls were
stacked high with pallets of supplies. His eyes narrowed in suspicion on the rectangular, metal storage trailers in the back of the building.
They were stacked to the ceiling, one on top of the other. In horror, he realized what was stored within them. Charging past the stunned guardians, he ran across the vast, concrete floor, hoping his suspicions were wrong. It wasn't to be. The sound of heartbeats grew louder the closer he got.
Alexander caught up with him, following closely.
“There's bodies in those trailers,” Marrok yelled out, moving to the door of the container closest to them. “Living bodies.” He grabbed the door and pulled hard. Liquid fire shot through his palms and arms as he quickly yanked them back. Turning his palms over, he was stunned to see they were
severely burnt.
“These trailers are lined with silver. Bring me a crowbar,” he roared out, dismissing the pain.
The guardians scrambled to find anything that would free the prisoners.
The air was thick with terror and hopelessness on this side of the building. Walking around the metal container, he carefully surveyed it. Tiny holes had been drilled in strips along the sides, allowing a minimal amount of air to circulate within the closed up spaces. For a supernatural creature it would be enough, although, it wouldn't be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.
A guardian came running up with a crowbar. Alexander grabbed it, his eyes flaring brightly. “I'll be taking that,” he told him firmly, moving to stand in front of the door. The other guardians inched in closer, their expressions a mixture of horror and anger as they waited to see what was hidden within the trailers.
Marrok stood to the side, not interfering as Alexander opened the door. The crowbar, combined
with the supernatural strength behind it, was enough to pop the locks free. Using the handle, he opened each door wide.
As the light hit the interior, a collective gasp went up from the guardians behind them. Inside the cramped space were five bunk beds, with bodies lying still upon the thin mattresses. “Oh, shit,”
Marrok said angrily, moving to step in.
Alonzo pulled his cellphone out, dialing his headquarters. “Get the tribal doctors out to the
location I left,” he said angrily, before looking at Alexander. “Do you want your medical team in Missouri mobilized?”
“As soon as physically possible.” Alexander ordered, looking up at the rows of trailers that led to the ceiling. “If all of these are filled with bodies, we're going to need them,” he continued grimly.
Alonzo nodded, speaking rapidly into the phone. “Bring as much transport as you can. We've
got countless shifters stored in trailers out here, and we've got to get them out before Sanchez returns.
From what I can scent of them, they are alive but severely sedated. It's not just wolves, either. There are all kinds stored here.”
Marrok was grateful for the thick boots he was wearing as he moved to the back of the trailer. It protected his feet from the effects of the silver, but his skin was crawling from being surrounded by it.
How had these shifters survived endless hours in here?
He squatted down next to a woman lying on the bed, her body as still as death. She was alive,
but completely knocked out. Reaching out a hand, he gently shook her shoulder. “Wake up,” he
ordered, watching for any signs of awareness. There were none.
He moved from shifter to shifter, but none of them responded. “They've been heavily drugged,”
he called back over his shoulder. “I've never seen anything like it. Everything inside of here is marked with silver, except for the beds, themselves. None of them have shoes. If they ever woke up again, the humans made it damn near impossible for them to even stand up.”
“The cruel, inhumane bastards,” Alexander spat out. “They intended for them to be out until
they got back... Or maybe even longer.” A supernatural creature could last a long time without food, and even water, if they had to. It wasn't pleasant, though, in fact it was downright unbearable with their high metabolisms.
Marrok leaped out, landing firmly on the concrete floor with a thump. “Do any of you know
how to operate heavy equipme
nt?”
A few guardians nodded in response. “Good,” he continued, counting how many trailers there
were. “We need to get these opened up as soon as possible. Conference among yourselves and figure out the best way. We want to start loading them as soon as transport arrives.”
Someone had opened up the large industrial door. The late afternoon sunlight streamed in,
revealing the day would soon be over with. Time was running out.
Alexander and Alonzo stared at each other, both wearing similar expressions. “Now that we
know where we stand, we need to start a battle plan,” Alexander said, his voice grim. “There is no telling how many Carlos has with him. We need to catch them off-guard, but it's going to be difficult here. The land is too flat and open, without very many places to hide.”
Marrok rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. “I might just have a workaround for that. Let's step
outside. I have a plan.”
* * * * *
Taylor sat in the back of the limo, huddled against the door. Carlos sat on the seat next to her, his expression smug. He'd forced her to stay by him the entire trip, and she'd hated every second of it.
The headlights cut across the dark night, revealing a darkened home sitting out in the middle of nowhere. She swallowed hard, fighting the residual effects of the sedative. Just hitting the New Mexico state line had been horrendous. Knowing she was within miles of the research facility was too much to bear. Fear and hopelessness washed over her, just as powerful as it had been during her years of captivity.
“Home, sweet home,” Carlos purred to her as the limo pulled to a stop in front of the house.
“You should feel honored, Taylor. You're the first woman I've ever brought to my home, and you'll be the first woman in my bed here.” He laughed cruelly before adding, “I can't say you'll be the only woman I fuck, though.”
“You make me sick, you repulsive freak,” she replied, her voice thick and scratchy. “A real man wouldn't have to force women in their beds.”
He gripped her hair painfully in his hand, forcing her head back. His face looked sinister in the light from the vehicles behind them. “Why not? Breaking them is half the fun. When I'm done with you, you'll beg. Oh, how you'll beg.”
