After a second’s hesitation, he complied. “We set this place up as a base—”
Nadia shoved away from the wall. “We want to keep this place open as our headquarters and hunt down the shifters and doctors who escaped.”
Everyone in the room froze, waiting for Raven’s reaction, and her attention came to rest on Dominick. “You’re planning to stay.”
Her throat tightened at the loss, and Durant gave her neck a comforting squeeze. For the last few years, Dominick had been pulling away from people, practically turning into a monk. Without a pack to steady him, he was slowly losing himself to his wolf, barely holding himself steady.
“This place is a solid fortress. After a few months of cleanup, we should have this base operational.”
Raven pushed herself to her feet, then did something she’d never done before…she hugged him, her heart aching with both sadness and joy. “You found your mate,” she whispered, but she had no doubt everyone in the room heard. “I’m so happy for you.”
Dominick’s grin was slow to come, but it lit him up from within. He reached out, and Nadia tucked herself into his arms, her grip just as possessive as his. Then his smile faded. “I promised you a long time ago that I would stay.”
Raven shook her head. “You’ve more than kept your word. I think we both know where you belong now. What are your plans?”
“We’d like to maintain this place as a watch group, and help those who can’t be integrated back into society.” The two members from the Delta group stepped forward.
“We’ve decided to stay and help.”
Dominick nodded, falling comfortably into the role of a true alpha. He’d just needed the right pack to lead. “Thanks to Griffin, we were able to grab a lot of the information before they destroyed the computers. I’ve already started the process of transferring the estate over into our names.”
“Where is Griffin?” Concern chilled her. He’d been so damaged when she found him, he’d been barely clinging to life. That she didn’t see him twisted her spine into a knot.
“He insisted on heading back to update the council.”
Raven couldn’t blame him for wanting to escape this place as soon as possible.
“And Frankenstein?”
Dominick scowled, while Nadia didn’t bother to be polite, and swore. The two Delta men cleared their throats. “We were able to track him to an exit tunnel two miles away, but his trail has gone cold.”
Her insides turned to ice, knowing the doctor would never give up his experiments, especially now he knew his perfect army was possible.
Dominick studied the map stretched out on the table. “We’ve been scouring the countryside for him, but so far we’ve had no luck.”
Raven shook her head, fighting the urge to join the search. “A snake like him would’ve found a way to slither away. I doubt you’ve heard the last of him, and I don’t envy you the task you set for yourselves.”
Dominick straightened, his shoulders squared. “I’ll find him and any other labs they have operating. It’s only a matter of time before we shut every one of them down.”
Raven believed him. “Be careful. And, please, don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do.”
He gave her a grateful nod, and she turned toward Nadia. “Watch his back for me.”
Nadia narrowed her eyes, her smile more fangs than pleasantries as her possessiveness reared its head. “Always.”
The sun was just setting when Durant dragged her tired ass up the stairs. “I don’t need an escort. I can find my room on my own.”
Despite her protest, her feet barely cleared the steps as she climbed, exhaustion like leaden chains weighing her down.
Durant watched her with his golden eyes, then shrugged. “I want to.”
The simple words had the strength to slay her, leaving her insides all warm and tingly. Being inside the stone walls of the monastery no doubt left him on edge. After the torture he endured, she was surprised he managed to stay in his human form. Even across the room from him, she felt the tiger’s need for freedom.
By the time she reached her door, she was embarrassingly out of breath. When he moved to follow her into her room, she placed a hand on his chest. “You need to run.”
Those gold eyes of his burned into her as he stared down at her, his muscles twitching beneath her touch. Then he stepped back, taking her by surprise when he boldly stripped his shirt over his head. Muscles flexed, the movements so effortless, they were hypnotizing, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. When he reached for his pants, Raven leaned against the wall, uncertain her legs would hold her up.
He stripped down to nothing, every inch of him on display, and her mouth went dry at the sight of his magnificent body. Even bruised and battered, he was a sight to behold.
Then he began to shift.
Shifting was private and very intimate. For a few minutes, shifters were totally vulnerable, and her heart lurched at his absolute trust.
Bones popped and reshaped, flesh and sinew reformed, while a familiar pattern of fur erupted from his skin and spread over his body. In less than five minutes, a giant tiger stood proudly before her.
Raven pushed away from the wall, then very gently ran a finger down the fluffy tip of his ear, unable to help herself.
She needed to touch him.
In response, his big head nuzzled her stomach, leaving his scent behind.
Marking her.
Raven didn’t care. She ran her hand gently down the back of his head, burying her fingers in the scruff on his neck, unable to get over the different textures. She could have spent the entire night curled up against him, but forced herself to push him away. “Go. Run. Hunt.”
She leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose. “Be safe.”
He trotted a few steps away, then his big head swiveled back to glance at her over his shoulder, obviously reluctant to leave, and she smiled at him. “Be back by morning. I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary.”
As if reassured, he broke into a run, the giant pads of his feet quickly eating up the ground as he disappeared down the stairs in a single bound. Raven stood there for another full minute, unable to get the picture of him out of her mind, fighting the urge to join him. Only when her legs shook with fatigue did she reluctantly retreat back to her room.
Taggert remained unmoving on the bed, his lean body worn thin after the abuse he put it through in an effort to reach her in time. She began to crawl back into bed when his eyelids cracked open, the neon green of his wolf peering out at her through the slits.
“You’re awake.” She stopped in surprise, then winced at stating something so obvious. “How are you feeling?”
He lashed out, his hand clamping around her wrist, then yanked, sending her sprawling across the poor excuse for a mattress. He took advantage of her stunned immobility, quickly wrapping her up in his arms, tucking her in front of him.
“Better.” His lips brushed against her ear as he whispered to her.
“You were supposed to stay home.”
His grip tightened possessively. “I’m your protector. I go where I’m needed.”
Even sleepy, he sounded confident and determined.
Raven touched the hand resting on the mattress in front of her, not liking the way he threw himself into danger, uncaring of what happened to him. Dominick was right…it wasn’t healthy. “You could’ve been killed.”
“You’re the Queen. I’m your Knight. I’ve been created to serve you.” Taggert’s body grew heavier as sleep threatened to reclaim him. “You need me.”
He sounded so happy and content, she didn’t have the heart to argue with him further, and he quickly fell back into the unconsciousness of heavy sleep. Raven shook her head at his error. “You have it wrong. We need each other.”
Lightening crackled overhead, followed by a thunderous boom, and for the first time since she awoke, a tiny trickle of energy danced over her skin. The worry in the back of her
mind that her power wouldn’t returned gradually faded.
In the flickering light, Raven saw a shape move in the corner of her room. “Casper…er, Grady.” She slipped out from under Taggert’s arm, so she wouldn’t wake him. “I found the labs, but I didn’t find any trace of your brother. I promise I’ll look into the records on the ride home.”
Another flash of light splashed through the room, and a touch of unease slithered down her spine at the solid shape Grady had taken.
He appeared rougher.
Older.
Not nearly so innocent.
“My brother is dead.” The rough voice sent a shiver of dread down her spine.
A man stepped out of the shadows, and recognition slammed into her. Dressed in clean clothes, his beard shaved, his dark hair trimmed, very little of him resembled the lone wolf from the dens. “Gavin?”
He had a rugged handsomeness, if you could get over the dangerous way he held himself. His wolf was so dominant, she half expected the beast to spill out of his human skin.
He slowly stalked toward her. “How the hell do you know my brother’s name?”
“Your brother sent me to find you. He said you were in trouble.” Raven hesitated by the door, then stoically placed herself protectively in front of Taggert and Rylan, cursing herself for being a naive fool. “What do you want?”
“Have you ever heard of the Cadre?” His smile was all teeth, and he angled his shoulders to block the exit. Despite his lean form, he filled the small space with menace.
Raven didn’t like the cat-and-mouse game he was playing, and used the time to grab as much current as possible, silently cursing when it continued to slip through her fingers. “No.”
He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes on her, his gaze assessing. “We’re a group of paranormals bored with the way we’ve been domesticated and made subservient to humans. Once a month, we meet on the Darknet and download a list of names and numbers. The more dangerous the prey, the higher the points. The first to reach one hundred before the end of the month wins the game.”
Raven swallowed hard as things began to fall into place. “You weren’t captured and brought to the labs like the rest. You allowed yourself to be taken. You were following a target.”
He nodded, his face inscrutable. “A new list was posted three days ago.”
Raven clenched her fists, cursing her weakened state. “How many points am I worth?”
“Twenty.”
She flinched. “What do you win?”
“People are added to the list anonymously…for a price. Someone wants you gone, and they’re willing to pay a steep bounty to achieve it. One point is worth an hundred thousand dollars. So who did you piss off that they would pay such an exorbitant sum to add you to our list?”
Raven blinked in surprise, her mind unable to settle on any one name.
Too many people wanted her dead.
“I have a knack for pissing people off.” She gave him a wry smile. “It could be any one of a dozen.”
Gavin nodded, as if he wasn’t surprised, never once removing his gaze from hers. “I can’t just let you leave, and allow someone else to collect the bounty.”
Raven snorted, the man didn’t have an altruistic bone in his body.
“I normally wouldn’t hesitate to claim the prize for myself, but you’ve put me into a difficult position. Not only did you save my life, but you know something about my brother.” He straightened away from the wall, determination hardening his face. “You’ll just have to come with me until I can decide what to do with you.”
It took her brain a second to decipher his shocking statement. By then, he was already moving in a blur of speed, closing the gap between them in a single bound. She leapt to the side a heartbeat too late, and he plowed into her. Her head cracked into the wall, and her vision blurred. Her legs quivered as she struggled to remain upright.
She didn’t even see his fist until her jaw exploded with pain, and the world went dark.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my fans…thank you for all your support!
It means the world to me.
And to my husband —
I couldn’t do this without you.
About the Author
Stacey Brutger lives in a small town in Minnesota with her husband and an assortment of animals. When she’s not reading, she enjoys creating stories about exotic worlds and grand adventures…then shoving in her characters to see how they’d survive. She enjoys writing anything paranormal from contemporary to historical.
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OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:
Paranormal Romance
BloodSworn
Coveted
A Druid Quest Novel
Druid Surrender (Book 1)
Druid Temptation (Book 2)
A PeaceKeeper Novel
The Demon Within (Book 1)
A Raven Investigations Novel
Electric Storm (Book 1)
Electric Moon (Book 2)
Electric Heat (Book 3)
Electric Legend (Book 4)
Electric Night (Book 5)
Electric Bundle (Books 1-3)
Coming Soon:
Electric Curse (Book 6)
Academy of Assassins
Citadel
Electric Night (A Raven Investigations Novel Book 5) Page 30
