by Cheree Alsop
“You alright?” Kaynan asked.
“Much better,” I replied. I leaned my head against Rafe's shoulder and we watched the gentle flow of clouds beneath the wing outside our window.
***
Someone tapped me on the shoulder a while later. I turned to see Kaynan watching me, his dark red eyes searching mine. “Rafe, do you mind if I, uh, talk to my sister for a moment?”
“Of course not,” Rafe said, graciously giving Kaynan his seat and walking a few empty rows back to talk to Jaze.
Kaynan sat next to me and I waited, uncertain of what he wanted. He finally let out his breath in a sigh. “Colleen, I’ve thought of a thousand ways to say this, but nothing sounds right.”
I turned so that I faced him squarely and smiled. “You know you can tell me anything.”
He shook his head and his brow creased as he lowered his eyes. “How do I apologize for ruining your life?”
The thick emotion in his voice wrapped around my heart. I touched his hand and he looked up at me, blinking against the tears that brightened his eyes. “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” I said quietly.
He snorted in disbelief and waved a hand. “Look at this. Look at where my actions have brought you. You deserve to be finishing high school and worrying about what college to go to, not riding a private jet to check on your parents who are under threat by some unknown agency out to kill us for being werewolves.”
I pursed my lips. “Well, when you put it that way. I’m kidding,” I said quickly to chase away the pain that crossed his face. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
“I do,” he replied quietly. His eyes met mine. “We both know that.”
I fell silent for a moment to collect my thoughts, then nodded. “Alright. It’s good that you feel bad for the accident. Debra shouldn’t have died.” He nodded with his eyes on his hands and let me continue. “Nothing we do will ever change the fact that she died, and I miss her.” My throat tightened and I brushed away a tear that caught on my eyelashes. I gritted my teeth to keep the horror of that night at bay and continued, “But don’t regret the turn our life has taken. I like being a werewolf.” The admission caught us both by surprise and Kaynan looked back at me with wide eyes. I frowned, not knowing how to put my thoughts into words. “It hasn’t been easy, and my life is so different now I don’t know where I fit into it.”
I swallowed and refused to let any more tears show. His hands covered mine now, but I didn’t look up. I rejected his chance to blame himself for everything; there was one thing I wouldn’t go back and change. “But I met Rafe.” My words were quiet, but my heart beat faster and a smile spread across my face. “Without this, I would never have known how empty I was without him. I’m complete when he’s around, and it’s the best feeling in the world.”
Kaynan was silent as he processed my words. “Does he feel the same way about you?” he asked the thought that had circled through my mind since I overheard Nikki and Jaze on the porch.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
We both looked back to where Jaze and Rafe sat in deep discussion. Neither of us said anything, but Rafe looked up as though he felt my gaze on him. His golden eyes met mine and the smile that touched his lips was small, but it was my smile, the one he used only when he looked at me. It filled his eyes more than his lips, and the love he felt for me made them shine in the dimly lit cabin.
My heart felt like it would burst and tears trickled down my cheeks when I turned back around. “He does,” I whispered, more to myself than to Kaynan.
“I know,” my brother replied. He put his arm around me and pulled me close. I held him tight and it felt like we were brother and sister again.
Chapter 14
“They're not here,” Jaze said. The concern in his voice sent ice through my veins. “Mrs. Rasmussen said several gentlemen from the gas company came to take them back home. Your parents went with them without a struggle.”
“What are we going to do now?” I asked. I felt like I did when I was five and had gotten lost in a department store. I wanted to cry until they came back like they had at the store, but I knew that would help no one.
“We go to them,” Kaynan replied. He reached into the backpack he had brought and pulled out a square, flat object. He flipped on the screen and a tiny dot bleeped.
“What's that?” Rafe asked, peering close.
“Mouse's tracker,” Jaze replied, his eyes bright. “Did you bug your parents?”
Kaynan nodded, a hint of pride in his eyes. “I put the bug Mouse had used on me to find Dr. Tannin's place in the necklace I gave Mom so we wouldn't lose her if something like this happened.”
I threw my arms around Kaynan's neck and hugged him tight. “Kay, you're the best!”
He shrugged and looked back at the tracker. “Let's wait and see if it works. Hopefully they didn't do a bug check.”
Jaze started the engine of the rental car. “There's one way to find out.” He gunned the gas and we flew back up the road.
The tiny dot beeped as we drew closer. Jaze drove as fast as he dared, darting around cars and taking shortcuts when Kaynan pointed them out. He crossed a grocery store parking lot and turned down Fourth Street in time for us to see a convoy of cars heading up the next road.
“That must be them,” Kaynan said quietly, his voice edged with steel.
“Buckle up,” Jaze commanded.
Everyone hurried to comply. Jaze raced up the road parallel to them, checked the tracker one more time, then turned left down the next road and slammed into the first car just as it was pulling away from a stop sign. Our car t-boned it, efficiently blocking the street so the other cars couldn't go around.
The force of the accident jolted me back to the night Kaynan and I died. I cringed at the sound of broken glass and the smell of burning rubber mixed with gasoline. My mind slowed, numbing to the chaos that began outside. I could only watch in horror as my comrades flew into action.
Jet dove out the side door and punched through the driver-side window of the car closest to us. He pulled the driver out of the window and head-butted him in the forehead. The man slumped unconscious to the ground and Jet moved to the next car.
Men began to spill from the vehicles. Rafe told me to stay put, then followed Kaynan and Jaze outside. Kaynan gave me a horror-filled glance that said he had experienced the same flashback from the accident, then a man grabbed him from behind. I screamed, but Kaynan crouched, elbowed the man in the groin, then swept his legs out from under him and elbowed him in the back as he fell to the ground.
I felt helpless and looked around for something useful to do. Jet had already put the drivers of the next two cars out of commission. The other werewolves were occupied in the fight and the cars were abandoned as far as I could tell. With everyone distracted, I figured it would be the best time to look for our parents.
I slipped out the door away from the action and ducked low behind the cars. I stepped around the unconscious driver from the first car and opened the rear door. My heart fell when I found the backseat empty. I left it open and ran in a crouch to the next vehicle. My heart fell even lower when I found that backseat empty as well. I crept around the moaning driver of the next car, checked the seat with a quick glance, and ran to the last two vehicles, barely slowing until I stared at the empty back seat of the last car.
The battle on the other side of the vehicle was intense. Bodies lay scattered on the street, but the werewolves were still fighting. The sound of sirens was heavy in the air as word of the accident spread. Jaze's cheek had been sliced and bled freely down his face. Jet limped, but fought without letting the injury slow him down. Rafe had two men cornered against a car; his shoulder bled from either a gunshot wound or a knife, but he ignored it, his eyes intent on the men as though he dared them to run. Kaynan was crouched on top of a man on the ground. He raised something metal and I flinched when he sliced the man's throat.
A sharp whistle sounded. Jaze spu
n around, an expectant expression in his eyes. From out of nowhere, werewolves and Hunters swarmed past the buildings and cars and overtook the men who attacked us. Within seconds, every man was on the ground, guns pointed at their heads. Jaze and Jet walked between them checking on bodies. Down the block, Hunters with police cars put up barricades and spoke to the drivers of two ambulances and a fire engine who argued to get through.
A limo pulled up slowly from the opposite end of the street. At Jaze’s word, his small army surrounded it, guns out and no mercy on their faces. The limo stopped in the middle of the men and the back door opened. A man in a navy blue suit with a red handkerchief in the pocket stepped out. He took one look around, spotted Kaynan and I, and started clapping.
“Well done. Very well done. Who would've thought you could muster a militia so quickly?”
Kaynan glared at him. “What do you want?”
The man gave a small smile. “The real question is, what do you want?”
Kaynan glanced at me. “Our parents, and our freedom.”
The man met my eyes. “Did you find your parents in any of the cars, Colleen?”
I bristled at the sound of my name from his lips, but shook my head. “They're not here.”
“Huh, strange.” The man pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it toward me. The necklace Kaynan had given Mom landed at my feet. “Clever.”
“You're outnumbered,” Jaze pointed out. “We could just kill you now.”
The man gave a half smile. “But then you'd never find the Andersons. By the time you tracked them down, they'd be just bodies to bury in the cold ground.” His voice lowered. “You don't want that, do you?”
A growl rumbled in Jaze’s throat and he took a step toward the man. “One phone call and I’ll have a S.W.A.T. team on your tail. I don’t care what branch of the government you work for. This isn’t the way to handle business.”
The man held up a hand. “It doesn’t need to be this way.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Jaze replied. His dark brown eyes sparked with intensity and the threat of his words sent a shiver down my spine.
“Let me state my business and your friends can choose to go on their way, or help us with a little matter. All they need to do is listen for just a minute.” His tone was honest and he appeared unarmed. I couldn’t decide if he was insane or confident that we could come to an agreement.
The thought made my stomach roll. “What do you want?”
His eyebrows lifted. “What you want, actually. Your parents safe and your lives back.” He motioned toward the car door. “Give me a minute of your time and we'll see if we can come up with an amiable arrangement to make both happen.”
Jaze started to protest, but Kaynan met my eyes. “I'll meet with you, but Colleen stays out here.”
The man shook his head. “This is a deal you'll both have to participate in. You don't want the choice of saving only one parent, do you?” He ducked back into the limo to wait.
I grimaced and walked toward the car.
“Colleen, don't,” Rafe said.
I gave him a look I hoped was reassuring. “I don't have much of a choice. At least he can't do much in a car, right?”
Rafe didn't look so sure. He followed me and paced outside when I climbed in with Kaynan close behind. The man in the suit waited for us to close the door, then dropped all pretense of formality. He leaned forward and extended a hand. “I'm Agent Sullivan of the GPA.” At Kaynan's look, he lifted an eyebrow. “The Global Protection Agency.”
The title didn’t faze Kaynan. “Your ability to protect anyone is questionable. You're keeping our parents where?”
Agent Sullivan dropped his hand and grinned as if the snub didn’t bother him. “If only life were that easy.” He sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. “Look, I'll be honest with you. The GPA has little reason to let you go. The only way I could ensure the safety of both the world and your lives was to get them to accept a bargain.”
“You bargained with your own company on behalf of our lives?” Kaynan questioned. “Why would you do that?”
He glanced toward the front of the car where the tinted partition window separated us from the driver; he then leaned forward and motioned for us to do the same until our noses almost touched. “Because my wife happens to be a werewolf,” he whispered. “I refuse to believe that a person should die just because of what they are, or in your case, made to be.”
He sat back and cleared his throat. “The deal I'm offering is for you to wear suicide bracelets containing pills that will kill you as well as render your DNA uncloneable in a matter of seconds.” At our looks, he gave a sympathetic smile. “I know, sounds pleasant, but the government operates with its own insurance policy. Life or death situations aren't taken lightly, and neither is the cloning of a potential werewolf army.”
I glanced at Kaynan, the pit in my stomach matching the sick look in his eyes. “And if we agree to that?” he asked quietly.
Agent Sullivan continued lightly, “Then we move on to part two of the agreement, which is to destroy Base Omega.”
Trepidation joined the chaos in my stomach. “What's Base Omega?”
He pursed his lips. “Apparently, Dr. Tannin, with whom you are both familiar, decided to create a backup plan in case anyone destroyed his first facility.”
“The Development Center,” Kaynan said, his face pale.
Agent Sullivan nodded. “And since you were so accommodating on demolishing that one, Base Omega continued according to his plan.” He sat forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped loosely together in front of him. “Base Omega is the only other facility in the United States besides the Development Center that has the capability of cloning werewolves. Since the two of you are the only viable clones that ever came out of the Development Center, you are the most likely subjects for that cloning. You need to destroy it to ensure your safety.”
Everything muffled past the words 'viable clones'. I stared at my hands, unwilling to believe that he meant what he said. I opened one hand and closed it slowly, needing so badly to look at Kaynan and see if he had heard what I did, while at the same time telling myself that by not looking, I could pretend that I never heard it.
Kaynan's voice came out as a strangled whisper. “Did you call us clones?”
“Yes,” Agent Sullivan answered. He paused. “I thought you knew.”
“That we were clones?” I saw Kaynan shake his head from the corner of my eye. “I knew they were making clones of us, but I didn't know we were clones, too.”
“The human body wouldn't be able to phase into a werewolf. Only a body created with werewolf DNA already in place would be able to. I assumed you knew that.” There was a touch of pity in his voice. I met his eyes and he stared at me for a second before the pity left and his gaze hardened again. “If you refuse both conditions, I have orders to kill you and bury both you and your parents in unmarked graves.”
Kaynan gave a humorless chuckle. “Not much of a choice, is there?” His voice was flat, emotionless, and I knew his mind reeled the way mine did at the thought that we were clones. I needed time to think, but time was the last thing we had.
Agent Sullivan shrugged. “That's how the government works.”
“What about the wolves taken from Rafe's forest? Will you return them, too?” I demanded.
Agent Sullivan nodded. “We will.”
I glared at him. “Why did you take them in the first place? It's enough that you have our parents. Rafe's pack has nothing to do with this.”
He met my gaze. “We do what we must to ensure the safety of the human population. All the time that you spent in the forest without contacting your family left us doubtful as to your bond with them, but your actions with the wolf pack left us little doubt. Rafe was our target for your compliance, but the wolf pack was all we found, so we settled.”
“They killed the alpha,” I pointed out angrily.
He gave a littl
e nod. “Not of my doing. Apparently no alpha will stand by and watch their pack be carried away. The team was told to take precautionary measures and they felt killing the alpha was the best way to go about it.” His eyes softened. “Believe me when I say that I never take the loss of life lightly.”
I met his gaze for a minute, then looked away as the image of Rafe's alpha lying dead in the grove flashed through my mind. I blinked back tears.
“What makes you think we can just waltz into Base Omega and destroy it?” Kaynan asked, changing topics to give me a minute to collect myself.
The agent gave a calculating smile. “Because you're you. You are the only people they want.” His smile fell slightly and an almost embarrassed sheen came into his eyes. “And since clones aren't recognized by the Constitution and neither are werewolves, we retain no liability if anything happens to you. The GPA walks away and no one is the wiser.”
“One neat little package,” Kaynan said with heavy sarcasm.
Agent Sullivan gave us both a frank look. “Honestly, the whole situation makes me sick and I don't feel that anyone should be considered expendable, but very few individuals are offered a way out. As improbable as it may seem, it's better than nothing.”
His honesty struck me true and I knew we wouldn't get a better offer. I liked my life, a farce though it might be. I definitely had some intense thinking to do on that later if things ever slowed down. I put out my hand. “Thank you, Agent Sullivan. We'll take you up on your offer.”
The relief in his eyes countered the disbelief in Kaynan's. “We will not!” he growled.
Agent Sullivan ignored him and took my hand. “I wish there was any other way.”
“I know,” I consoled him, laughing inwardly at myself for comforting someone who was sending my brother and I off to an almost certain death.
He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out two metal bracelets. They were tube shaped with a bulge in the middle. Agent Sullivan showed us where to bite on the bulge to open it, revealing two orange pills inside. “It only takes one to do the trick, but two won't hurt.”
