Marcus spun around, checking the room to see if there was any other information he might need while the two reserves took off down the escape route.
The tall blond opened a door on the side of the room. Marcus approached, realizing it was a connector to the room next door. The blond lifted his gun as he crossed the threshold. “It’s clear.”
Marcus followed him inside. They rummaged around for a few minutes with the other remaining reserves before Marcus picked up a photo of a man with a child. “This is the guy I almost ran into in the hall earlier. He’s the one who made me late to open the door for you.”
“He must be Cunningham’s assistant,” the blond said, taking the photo. “Luis and Conrad will catch up to them. They can’t have made it too far yet.”
A commotion in the hall sent all three of them running for the door. Reserves were screaming as they ran toward the other end of the hall. “Freeze. Hands up.”
“Stay back,” the blond instructed, holding out a hand to keep Marcus from the fray. “Let NAR handle this.”
It wasn’t as though Marcus didn’t have any training. He was far more capable than most people after yearly summers spent at what he now knew were military camps for the supposedly disenfranchised. Nevertheless, he turned toward his grandfather’s room while the other two reserves took off down the hall. After rummaging around in several desk drawers and cabinets in both rooms, he found a semiautomatic in the adjoining room. It would serve him much better than the pistol he’d stuffed in his back pocket after taking out the security guys.
He stepped back into the hall to find several shifters with the Romulus had managed to escape their rooms and were involved in a shootout with the members of NAR. Shit. There must have been an auto-release of some sort in case of invasion. Of course. Melvin wouldn’t leave his entire bunker without the ability to defend itself.
Someone screamed as they went down hard. Marcus watched as one of the Romulus hit the ground so hard his head cracked, reverberating through the hall. A reserve stepped over his dead body and continued to pursue the other individuals as they became trapped at the end of the hall.
A vibration in Marcus’s pocket made him duck back into his grandfather’s room and dig for his phone. He’d only made one call out. If the call coming in were either Heather or Alex, he wanted to know.
Sure enough, the screen indicated the call coming from Alex’s phone. Marcus flipped it open. “Hello?”
No one responded. He heard a scream and then a shot. He gripped the phone tighter and held it closer to his ear. “Alex?” He shouted again, “Alex? Heather? Talk to me.”
Another scream, this one high-pitched. Heather.
Marcus turned and ran, giving only a long enough glance down the hall both ways to ensure he wasn’t in any eminent danger. He took off for the main hall and headed for the exit they’d blown in the side of the building.
West, he told himself as he bounded over the debris and bolted for the tree line. He could see flashes of light. Another gunshot rang out, helping guide him. His heart bounded. If that bastard kills Heather… He pulled the pistol from his back pocket as he ran.
When he heard voices, arguing, he slowed to avoid detection. He ducked behind a bush and tried to get a handle on the scene in front of him.
He spotted Heather immediately. His grandfather held her around the neck. She was pleading, her sweet timbre standing out above the men surrounding the clearing. “Please. You don’t have to do this.” Her voice was hoarse. She held on to Melvin’s forearm.
“Listen, bitch, unless you want me to shoot that bastard again, stop squirming and go peacefully.”
Heather stared at the ground, freezing in her spot.
Marcus followed her gaze and found Alex on his back. He was moving, one foot pushing against the ground in an effort to get out of the line of fire.
Heather screamed.
“Shoot him,” Melvin demanded.
That’s when Marcus saw the larger soldier from the hall earlier behind Melvin, his gun aimed at Alex. He didn’t hesitate. His shot rang out loud, piercing the air. Marcus watching in horror as Alex rolled at the last second, barely avoiding the shot.
Marcus lined up his pistol and took aim, deciding to go for his grandfather first. He was the immediate threat to Heather. Please stay still, baby.
He paused only long enough to ensure Heather wasn’t going to get shot. His grandfather snarled. “Fucking kill that bastard,” he shouted at the soldier to his left.
The man took aim again.
While Melvin watched, Marcus took his opportunity. He lined up the shot and pulled the trigger.
As though in slow motion, a second shot rang out less than a second after the first. Marcus knew he hadn’t fired the shot. He stared at the scene in front of him as Melvin and then his body guard fell to the ground.
Heather screamed and screamed.
Marcus lurched to his feet, glancing behind him to find a reserve two feet away from him, lowering his weapon.
As Marcus jerked his gaze back to Heather, she collapsed to the ground, landing on her knees, grasping her neck.
For a moment, Marcus was sure she’d been hit. And then she removed her hands, and he realized she’d been massaging the spot where Melvin had held her.
He leaped over the bush and ran toward her. “Heather,” he shouted.
She jerked her face up, tears streaming down her cheeks.
As Marcus approached, she flinched, landing on her butt, and then she recognized him and relaxed her body as he reached her and pulled her into his arms.
She twisted around to face his grandfather before Marcus could stop her. “Oh, God.”
Marcus cupped her cheeks and brought her gaze to his.
“You shot him.”
“Yes. It was either him or you. He was going to take you hostage.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.
“You two okay?” The deep voice behind Marcus made him twist his neck to see the reserve. He shrugged. “I saw you take off from the facility like a bat out of hell and followed you.”
“Thank you. God, thank you so much.” If it hadn’t been for him, firing the second shot at his grandfather’s guard nearly simultaneously, who knew what might have happened?
Heather released Marcus and pushed to her knees, crawling across the ground before he could stop her. “Alex,” she yelled.
The reserve crouched in front of Alex, taking his pulse.
“I’m okay,” Alex whispered. “Just a flesh wound.” He grinned, clearly for Heather’s sake.
Marcus beat her to Alex’s side. “You’ve been shot.”
“Just in the leg. I’ll live. Thanks to you two.” Alex lifted to sitting. “Are you okay, Heather?”
“Yes.” She grabbed Marcus’s arm and leaned in next to him. “Fine.”
“I’m so sorry.” Alex turned his gaze to Marcus. “They came at us from behind so fast we couldn’t react. One second we were watching the scene unfold through binoculars; the next second I’d been shot in the leg, and Heather was in the grip of that madman. I still can’t believe a guy as frail-looking as Cunningham could hold on to Heather like that.” He pointed at Marcus’s grandfather on the ground. “Did you make sure those bastards were indeed good and dead?”
“I did,” said the reserve. “They were both shot in the head.” He wrapped a piece of his shirt around Alex’s leg as he spoke.
Marcus looked at Alex. “How did you manage to call me?”
“What? I didn’t call you.”
Marcus whipped out his phone. He stared at the incoming call. “You did. That’s when I came running.”
Alex reached for his pocket and found it empty. He glanced at the ground, located his phone near him, and lifted the device. “Holy shit. I must have accidentally hit redial as I fell to the ground.” Alex yanked his gaze to Marcus. “That was your grandfather.”
“In blood only. He was no family of mine.” He pulled Heather closer
to his body and buried his hand in her hair. “The only family I need is right here.” He laid his forehead against hers as he spoke. Relief didn’t begin to describe what he felt.
She gripped his shirt and held on tight.
“I need to get back,” Marcus stated.
“I’m going with you.”
He shook his head. “No way. You’re staying with Alex.” He hauled her to standing.
Alex spoke next. “Neither of you needs to be inside that building. Wait until you get the all-clear before you approach.”
The reserve helped Alex to his feet, and Alex braced himself against the guy’s shoulder to hobble behind Marcus and Heather.
They approached the facility slowly while Alex spoke to Jerard on the phone. “I’m fine. Flesh wound… We’re just to the west… Yes… Text me when it’s clear to approach… Okay… Yep… Got it.”
Marcus stared at him.
“We wait here until Jerard says it’s clear.”
Marcus fidgeted while they waited inside the tree line. They could see the building clearly beneath the lights NAR had put up around the outside. Shifters were being led out and brought to transport vehicles to be removed from the scene.
Jerard came out finally and waved them closer. “Flesh wound?” He raised his eyebrows at Alex as the four of them approached.
“I’ll be fine.”
They gathered with Jerard about five yards from where NAR was herding the Romulus into trucks.
Someone screamed. “You bitch!” The man broke free of the escort holding him and stomped toward Marcus’s group, fire in his eyes.
Heather gasped, gripping Marcus’s arm so hard he couldn’t feel the circulation.
“You goddamn whore!” the guy screamed.
“Shit. That’s the guy who kidnapped me.” She stiffened.
Marcus turned toward her as the guy approached. “You said you never saw him.”
“I would never forget his voice.” She trembled.
Two reserves grabbed the man by his arms to haul him back toward the truck. He was lucky they didn’t shoot first and ask questions later. Marcus assumed they’d already ensured everyone was unarmed.
Marcus peeled Heather’s hand off his arm and freed himself from her grip. “Stay here.” His voice didn’t sound like himself even to his own ears. He marched forward until he was less than a foot from the asshole who’d kidnapped his mate, drugged her, and held her hostage in a basement for a week.
Without hesitation he swung his fist through the air, breaking the man’s nose with a loud crunch. Blood splattered everywhere. Marcus’s knuckles hurt like a mother fucker, but he didn’t stop there. He ignored the pain and punched the guy in the stomach next.
When the guy buckled forward, the reserves lost their grip on his. He fell to the ground, landing in a ball with his knees drawn up.
Marcus kicked him this time. “You son of a bitch,” he screamed.
The reserves grabbed for the man on the ground while Heather tugged on Marcus from behind. “Stop it,” she yelled. “It’s over. They’ve got him.”
Marcus kicked again.
“Marcus! Stop. That’s enough. Let the reserves handle this.”
He turned toward his mate, his body tense with anger. “This man kidnapped you,” he shouted.
“I know. And I’m right here. I was rescued. Let NAR do their job.” She pulled his shirt sleeve until he inched toward her.
Staring into her eyes, he finally let his body loosen and slumped toward her. He buried his face in her hair and wrapped his arms around her middle. “You could have died…or worse.”
“I know. But I didn’t.”
Marcus took deep breaths, breathing in his mate’s floral shampoo. She calmed him by degrees as the seconds passed. The shuffling behind him grew distant as the reserves removed the man and carted him away. Marcus could hear the guy whimpering from his injuries. Good. Served him right.
“I’m okay,” Heather repeated.
He lifted his gaze from her head and stared into her eyes.
She was smiling at him, her hand soothing his cheek now.
He nodded. “I’m the luckiest bastard alive.”
She lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed his lips. “Close. Second luckiest.”
•●•
Hours later, after Alex had been taken to the hospital, Marcus sat in his grandfather’s office rummaging through his papers. Heather sat next to him on one side, Jerard on the other.
It had taken nearly three hours to round up and haul away all the captured members of the Romulus. Only five of the Romulus in human form had been killed.
Many of the superwolves were tranquilized. Others had cowered into submission when they realized the odds they faced. Three wolves were shot in the skirmish, but none of the wounds were life threatening. Marcus knew one of the aspects of the supergene was quicker healing. Those wolves would as be good as new before they reached their new prison.
Marcus looked around, realizing this facility was nothing more than a prison itself. It would take months of careful questioning to determine how many, if not all, of those superwolves had been created and held against their will. No one would be trusted in the time being.
After everyone was cleared out and the entire facility had been combed for stragglers, the transport vehicles left in a caravan headed for Seattle.
“Be aware. I believe the shifters in human form have been drugged to keep them from shifting. As that wears off, who knows what they will do,” Marcus told Jerard.
“You did a lot of research in the short time you had here,” Jerard said.
“I didn’t want to risk anything going wrong. I had a vested interest.” He smiled, glancing at his mate.
Two dozen members of NAR remained to continue scouring the place for any evidence to help them piece together the big picture.
Why was the Romulus doing this? It seemed excessive as a means to overthrow The Head Council. And knowing the bulk of their supershifters were in D.C. only made the situation that much more suspicious. Someone had funded this operation. It was certain Melvin Cunningham hadn’t come up with the billions in research on his own. The idea someone in Washington, someone undoubtedly human, was behind this, shook Marcus to the core.
Heather glanced around. “What are we doing in here? This place gives me the creeps.”
“Digging through Melvin’s desk. We’ll hack into his computer later. But I want to comb the entire room for any paperwork that might be useful.” Marcus grabbed her hand and pulled her close again. “I love you.” He looked her in the eye.
“I love you too.” She smiled. “Now let’s get this done and get out of here. I’ve heard a rumor my mate can’t hold down a job, and he needs to start applying elsewhere.”
Marcus chuckled. “I heard a rumor my mate has a nursing degree, and she can get a job anywhere in the country and make me a perfectly content kept man.”
Heather swatted at his arm.
Marcus was joking. He’d never do any such thing, but it was good to know they could go anywhere Heather’s heart desired as soon as this was over. Marcus had no intention of ever returning to Iowa, and Heather had expressed no interest in going home to Oregon, so they were free to explore any option.
“What’s this? It has your name at the top.” Heather held up a document and handed it to Marcus. “What’s an Alu element?”
“Shit.” Marcus shook as he read the report. “Looks like it’s the result from the bloodwork the lab took yesterday. He read one sentence aloud. “Marcus Cunningham—excellent candidate for Alu47. He doesn’t have the gene marker for Alu79. Further testing needed to confirm Alu47/79.”
“What does that mean?”
Marcus’s hands shook as he let the page fall onto the desk, as though it were contaminated and might infect him. “I’m not sure. If I had to guess, judging from the past, I’d say I don’t have the gene marker that would allow me to become one of these superwolves.”
“That makes
sense. But what about the rest?”
Marcus gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to put a voice to his suspicion.
Jerard looked up. “It means he can’t be converted into a supershifter in wolf form through simple genetic alteration. The forty-seven indicates he could be transformed into a superwolf through alteration of his human DNA with the introduction of a new chromosome. Some of these giant wolves were altered through their human DNA and others through their wolf DNA.”
Marcus stared at Jerard. “How did you figure all that out?”
“We’ve been researching it for weeks. We took blood samples from the hostages we picked up at the ranch last month. It’s all a bit Greek to me, but I’m catching on.”
No one spoke for several seconds. When Marcus realized Jerard wasn’t going to continue, he broke the silence. “What’s the last one mean? The forty-seven, seventy-nine?”
“I’m not sure. We didn’t have evidence of that one. Until you found those vials in the lab, I hadn’t heard of that combination.” Jerard shuffled through the pages on the desk, busying himself with searching for something nonexistent.
“But you have a suspicion.”
He paused, blew out a breath, and lifted his gaze first to Heather and then to Marcus. “It’s nothing more than that. A suspicion.”
“And?”
The head elder held Marcus’s gaze. “There are a couple of possibilities. It could be a new drug that would alter shifters in either human or wolf form.”
“But you don’t believe that.” Marcus knew he wasn’t going to like the other option.
Jerard’s voice lowered. “It could be something entirely different that would convert regular humans into shifters.”
Marcus didn’t move. He’d known it was what Jerard would say. He just hadn’t wanted to voice it out loud himself.
Heather gasped, putting her hand over her heart. “Is that possible?”
Jerard nodded. “After everything I’ve seen lately, anything is possible if you have enough money.”
“Where do you think Melvin was getting the currency to fund this operation?” she asked.
“From someone in the government.”
“The human government? As in Washington D.C.?” Marcus feared that since learning the rest of the supershifters trained in D.C.
Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) Page 17
