by Cheree Alsop
“Let her go,” a voice growled on my left.
“She’s been through enough,” another said.
I turned to find a small ring of hostile werewolves watching me. They had bandages on various body parts and wore minimal clothing; hostility and anger rose from them in waves along with the scent of unwashed bodies and pain. The effect was intimidating. I pushed down the urge to phase and teach them a thing or two about manners. “She’s my sister,” I replied, meeting each of their eyes. “I came from here like she did, and I’m getting her away from this place.”
“There’s no way out,” the first werewolf said. “The walls are guarded on the outside and there’s some sort of battle going on.”
I followed his gaze to several werewolves on the top of the barricade, then looked down at Colleen. I couldn’t leave her, but I had to know what was going on.
“I’ll take care of her,” a female werewolf said, jogging up to me.
The werewolf read the trepidation in my eyes at trusting a stranger. “Colleen and I roomed together for a while. I tried to teach her how to control the phasing, but I couldn’t help her and they separated us. It’s okay,” she said with a warm smile that surprised me considering what they had been through.
I pushed down the worry in my chest and handed her my sleeping sister. She took Colleen into an alcove along the wall and sat down in the corner. I looked at my sister one last time, then climbed the cement stairs to the outer wall and joined the werewolves waiting there.
Dr. Tannin’s armed guard stood below us. It didn’t make sense to me that they were outside until I saw a familiar SUV pull up to the edge of the sparse tree line. The worry in my chest eased when my friends piled out. Other vehicles skidded to a halt near it and men filed out armed to the teeth. I assumed they were Jaze’s Hunters; they gathered around him and awaited orders.
I climbed back down the wall and met the gazes of the werewolves waiting inside. “My friends are out there with Hunters ready to get us out of here, but they’ll need our help. If we can cause a distraction, fewer of them will be in danger.”
One of the werewolves, a brawny man with brown hair and wearing only shorts, shrugged. “A chance to give a little payback for the things they put us through?” He looked at the others and they answered with matching grins. “Why not?”
“Do you have a plan?” a smaller werewolf asked. He dropped his eyes to the ground when I looked at him and I fought back a smile at how much he reminded me of Mouse.
I nodded. “We split into three groups. Group one will cut the power. I’ve already disabled the control room, so I doubt there’ll be many guards to stop you. Group two will gather as many guns as they can find, and group three, well, you’re with me.”
I let them decide who would do what and jogged back to the werewolf watching over Colleen. “How’s she doing?”
She gave a small shrug. “Still sleeping. Dr. Tannin’s quiet liberal with his tranquilizers. Maybe it’ll give us time to get her somewhere safe before she phases again.”
I nodded and tried not to show my concern. I glanced around and saw a protected corner near one of the walls. “She’ll be safe there if you could stay with her.”
“I’d be glad to,” she said. She rose and when I moved to help her, she shook her head with a smile. “Werewolf, remember?” She carried Colleen with ease to the corner and made her comfortable near the wall.
The second group returned with several guns. “Okay, four of you take the doors to the Development Center so any security left inside can’t attack our backs. The others follow me.”
“What are we doing?” the brawny man asked.
“We’re going to even out the odds a bit,” I answered.
“Be careful,” the man warned. “A group of werewolves tried to get out when we were set free and the guards gunned them down without mercy. They’re waiting for us.”
I opened the steel gate a few inches, peered out to see guards standing in front of it, and shouted, “The werewolves have escaped. We need help in here!”
Several of the closest guards turned in surprise and ran in with their guns raised. I shoved the gate shut after eight had entered and the brawny werewolf held it closed against the protests of their companions outside.
“What’s going on here?” a guard demanded.
I jumped him from behind and held a knife to his throat. “You’re too late. The werewolves have taken over,” I growled in his ear. His muscles tensed under my arm. “That would be the stupidest move you’d ever make,” I warned him, pressing the knife tighter. He dropped the gun and his companions did the same. Werewolves grabbed up their guns and led the guards to a corner of the yard. “Tie them up,” I ordered. “The Hunters will deal with them later.”
“Open the gate,” a guard from outside demanded, banging on it with his gun.
“He insists,” I said to the brawny werewolf. He grinned and opened it again. A dozen guards rushed inside this time before we could close it, but the werewolves took my cue and had several of them hostage with guns to their heads before the gate ws even shut.
“We won’t kill you if you surrender quietly and allow my companions to tie you up,” I offered.
The guards glanced at their comrades across the yard, then threw down their guns.
“Good choice,” I agreed as the werewolves led them away.
The brawny werewolf opened the gate again, but the next group must have seen what we were up to because they came in with guns already firing. Werewolves fell around me with gaping wounds. A bullet tugged at the sleeve of my shirt before it found a resting place in the werewolf behind me. I attacked the first two men and threw their guns away, then left them to the mercy of the other werewolves.
I ducked under another gun just as it fired; the bullet whizzed past my ear so close the hum sounded like it came from inside my head. I chopped upward with a fist that sent the gun flying, then picked up the guard and threw him into the others. Several fell back with the force of his body and the other werewolves attacked before they could regroup. Bloody but victorious, the surviving werewolves took the remaining guards’ guns and tied them up with the others.
Blood streamed from a bullet wound in the brawny werewolf’s his thigh when he limped back over and opened the gate, but no one came inside. He stepped out, then hurried back inside and slammed it shut. “They have bigger fish to deal with than us.”
I rushed up the wall and stared at the dozen vehicles that had pulled up while we were working with the guards. Hunters dressed from head to toe in black waited in groups. Bullets whizzed back and forth in front of the wall. A Hunter fell, followed by a guard. Two more Hunters let out cries as bullets hit home, then they rushed out from behind the trucks, a lethal, angry group ready to avenge their comrades. A hum sounded behind me, then the lights shut off. The Hunters slid on night vision goggles while the guards looked around in dismay, suddenly blind. I watched the scene below with the stark clarity of my werewolf vision.
Jet used the distraction of the absent light to overpower the two men closest to him and slam their heads together. He then attacked the next guards with such fierce brutality and a grace I had never before seen in human or animal. He slashed a hamstring with the knife he pulled from his boot, spun, and buried the hilt into the stomach of the next man. He ducked under a third who attacked with his own set of knives, used the man's body to bowl over two more which he quickly dispatched with slashes across the throat, then threw the man's knives into the stomachs of two more. He rolled to the left and pummeled another guard with three swift punches to the head and an uppercut to the stomach that left the man motionless on the ground.
Several guards pulled out guns and started shooting whether they could see or not. Hunters and werewolves fell under their bullets as well as other guards. Jet took down as many of the shooters as he could, flowing through the men with a polished destruction that left bodies in his wake and the other men running for their lives. Jaze and Mouse followe
d closely behind while Brock waited near the vehicle wearing night vision goggles and picking off any who tried to shoot at the werewolves and Hunters.
He was surprisingly accurate with the gun. Guards fell motionless to the ground around the gate. Fighting surged back as guards tried to escape back into the complex, but my team at the gate only let in as many as they could handle. Gunfire sparked as guards regrouped and fought back. Werewolves dove behind cover and Hunters shot who they could find, but the guards showed no mercy and used the night vision goggles they pulled from dead Hunters to their own advantage. Though Jaze had brought a small army with him, the security Dr. Tannin had bragged about outnumbered them. Hunters and werewolves were dying to save those behind the laboratory walls.
Adrenaline flowed through me and I couldn't fight back the urge to join the fray below along longer. I unlatched my knife, then jumped off the wall and landed on top of two men running from Jet. Jet grinned, his eyes lit with a wicked glee I had never seen before, and took off in the opposite direction. Gunfire sounded around me and dust chipped off the wall where the bullets hit. A footstep sounded behind me and I spun with the knife held loose like Jet had shown me. I slashed the man across the throat, then back across the stomach and stabbed him in the kidneys. He slumped to the ground at my feet.
“Kaynan!” Jet yelled across the clearing.
I looked up in time to duck an attack by a guard with blood streaking the side of his head. His eyes rolled wildly and he tried to hit me again with his rifle. I blocked the blow with my arm and my knife went flying.
“Stupid werewolves! Always knew they’d be the death of me!” he said. He hefted the gun like a bat and slammed it against my chest.
I staggered back against the wall, my partially-mended ribs on fire as I gasped for air.
“Never knew when to quit,” he said in a self-deprecating tone. “Always had to wait for the next paycheck.”
He swung the gun again and I ducked, but was too slow. The gun clipped the top of my head and I slid to the ground, stunned. I reached up and felt blood dampening my hair where the gun had connected.
“At least I can take one with me!” the man said. He lifted the gun above his head to bring it down in a death blow, his eyes rolling wildly
I tried to think past the fog in my head, but pain clouded my thoughts. I moved my hand slightly and felt something cold and metal under my fingers. The touch of steel drew me back to the moment, but the gun was already bearing down. I didn't have time to block him.
A gunshot rang out and a bullet tore through the guard's skull and landed in the wall with a solid thunk that sent dust into my eyes. The guard collapsed to the ground with his rifle. I blinked and looked across the field. Mouse stood on top of Jaze's SUV with a gun pointed in our direction. He lifted a hand. I could only stare, my heart pounding.
“Never hesitate,” Jet said, reaching me and pulling me up to a standing position. “I guess we didn’t get that far.” Gunshots rang not far from us and someone called for help. Jet tore off his shirt and phased faster than I had ever seen possible. His black fur gleamed like liquid midnight in the light of the waning moon. Men whose eyes had started to adjust to the faint light backed away in fear. Jet lifted his lips in a snarl that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, then he dove at them. The men scattered and began to run across the lot. Another black wolf, Jaze, joined him as he took down one man after another.
My fingers trembled and I gripped the knife tighter to keep from dropping it. Dark blood glistened in the moonlight. Screams of terror from grown men echoed in the night until the guards finally surrendered and gave up their weapons. A wild howl pierced the night sky and reverberated through the compound. The urge to join it rose in my chest, but I forced it down, torn by the animal instincts that had made me kill. I walked slowly back into the complex.
Hunters filed past leading guards to the corner. The werewolves around me watched them nervously and I could see the trepidation in their eyes that they had just changed one prison for another. “These are my friends,” I reassured them. “They’ll make sure you get back to your packs.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” a hulking giant of a werewolf growled near the back of the group.
I touched my head and brought my fingers back wet with blood. “If bleeding for you wasn’t enough,” I said dryly, “I killed Tannin, and no one is leaving this compound without being held responsible for destroying the lives of countless werewolves and humans.” I gestured to the Hunters who wisely left the werewolves alone. “These men and women are Hunters who have joined forces with werewolves to keep the country safe. It’s in their best interest to see that each of you returns home in safety and settles back into your packs.”
The werewolf who spoke looked from me to the Hunters, then to where Jaze and the others waited. “And if they’re lying?”
I shrugged. “Then you do what I threatened to do to Tannin, tear off the car door and throw him under the first passing vehicle.”
The werewolf cracked a smile and nodded. “Alright, then.”
He walked passed me through the gate and several others followed him.
One of the werewolves toward the end hesitated and turned. “There are other werewolves inside in cages, the ones too wild to be left in the population. What’ll they do with them?”
I glanced back at the building. “I’m not sure, but everyone will be taken care of. Jaze has several facilities that handle werewolf rehabilitation.”
“Kaynan?”
I turned with a smile toward the voice of the person we were just talking about. “Perfect timing as usual, Jaze.” My smile fell at the worried look on his face. “What’s up?”
“It’s your sister,” he said, his voice tight.
My stomach dropped. “What about her?”
“She’s just, well, you’d better come and see for yourself.”
Chapter 24
I followed him to his SUV. When we neared the vehicle, a growl rumbled through it laced with terror and pain. My heart sank. “Colleen?” I said quietly, putting a hand on one of the back windows.
The growl turned into a shriek, then a sob. “I can’t control it. I’m going to kill everyone,” Colleen’s pain-wracked voice cried.
“It’s going to be alright.” I moved to open the door, but her sob ripped back into a growl.
Jaze put a hand on the door to keep me from opening it. “We need to sedate her,” he said quietly, his eyes holding mine. “She’s a danger to herself and everyone around her if she can’t control her phasing. She doesn’t know where she is and what’s going on. We need to get her to a rehab center.”
“How?” I asked.
He lifted what looked like a pistol. “Mouse found some of Dr. Tannin’s tranquilizers. It’s the only thing powerful enough to control her until we get her somewhere safe.”
My heart slowed, but I knew he was right. I reached for the gun and his eyes widened. “I’m her brother and I take care of her. I need to be the one to do it.”
He nodded and let go of the gun. “Be careful,” he said.
I took a steeling breath and slipped into the SUV.
Dark purple eyes peered at me from the back corner seat. Colleen’s fur was long and colored cream and black; her eyes showed no recognition and reflected only fear. She bared her teeth and I lifted the gun.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. The dart hit her in the shoulder.
She yelped and dove at me. I raised my arms to protect my face and her teeth ground down on my arm, her muzzle inches from my nose.
“It’s okay,” I said quietly. “I’ll take care of you, I promise. You’re going to be alright.” Her grip on my arm loosened, then her eyes rolled back and she slumped to the side. I gathered her carefully in my arms and set her back on the seat. I made sure she was breathing steadily, then opened the door and stepped outside. “She’s asleep,” I said in as calm a voice as I could muster.
Jaze nodded, his eyes apologetic.
Brock appeared at his shoulder and held out a rag for my arm. I wrapped it, then watched the brigade of werewolves file into the waiting vehicles. The brawny, brown-haired werewolf who had helped me hold the gate lifted a hand in farewell, then disappeared inside.
“Will we hear back from them?” I asked Jaze.
He sighed. “Hopefully not. No news means they’ve reached their packs safely.” He gestured toward the gate where several Hunters carried cages. Growls issued from them and the Hunter closest to us yelled, then dropped his side of a cage. He clutched his hand and glared at the golden eyes within the shadows. “We’ll have our work cut out with those.”
He went over to help them and I climbed back into the SUV where Colleen slept. I leaned my head against the back of the seat and closed my eyes, but a tap on the window startled me from rest.
Jet stared in at me, his dark blue eyes serious. “You need to come see this,” he said.
I sighed and opened the door again. He led me across the clearing and back into the complex. My soul shuddered at returning, but I followed him down several long hallways, past the control center that was now empty of lab employees, and to a low-ceilinged, wide room filled with tables.
The scent almost floored me when Jet opened the door. Rot and decay along with old blood and antiseptic washed over us in a wave. I stepped into the room and my heart slowed.
“What is this?” I whispered, even though I knew deep down what I was looking at.
“Clones,” Jet said quietly. “Clones that couldn’t survive.” He met my eyes. “That’s why they needed you back.”
Row after row of cold metal beds held clones of Colleen and I, but every clone I saw was dead. Shriveled IV bags containing blood and fluids hung beside the beds, and blank monitor screens stared like uncaring voids at the bodies below them. The corpses were in various stages of decomposition and I wondered why Dr. Tannin had just left them there. It was impossible to miss the looks of agony on the faces closest to us, faces identical to Colleen and I. My throat tightened.
