He fought as best as he could to avoid the thing, but Karun was so much bigger and stronger than him, and he was having trouble breathing with the hand on his neck closing his airways. It took Karun only another punch in the face to be able to slide the collar low on Finn’s neck, just above his collarbone, and close it, dangling the plastic key in front of his eyes.
“You’re mine now, little Finn.”
* * * *
Bryce was discussing the changes he would have to make in the house they were renovating with his boss and best friend. The client kept changing his mind, and Bryce wasn’t sure he would manage to keep pleasing him. It was already the fourth time he’d made a last minute change. First he had wanted bigger windows, but then he’d decided that having more cupboards was more important. Then he’d wanted a bigger fridge, but he didn’t like the only place in which it was possible to put it. Usually Bryce loved his job, loved to see the client’s dreams come true, but this one was becoming more of a nightmare than a dream, at least for him.
“Ward, there literally no other place I can put that thing! The kitchen already has too many cupboards for that, but he just doesn’t want to eliminate some to make space for the damn fridge! Where do I have to put it, in the bedroom?”
Denver, a fellow pride member and a tiger shifter, stayed silent while the two of them argued. He never said much anyway, but Bryce would have liked to have more input, since Ward was asking him to just give in to the client’s whims and there was no physical way in which he could do that. He knew his friend was just as frustrated as he was by the situation, and this was a big job, but they couldn’t do miracles, either.
Bryce was about to be very imaginative as to where the client could put his fridge when Ani shimmered in right in front of him. The small Nix gulped loudly when he saw Denver sitting with them, but he didn’t pop out right away as he would normally have done. Denver was big, probably as big as Dominic if not more so, and his body was thick with muscles, so Bryce took it as an indication that Ani was getting better until he saw the sheer terror on the man’s face.
“Hey, he won’t hurt you. Denver is big, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.” It wasn’t technically true, since the man was a trained ex-military and Dominic had asked him to stay with them to help protect the pride after Jamie had been kidnapped, but Bryce knew Denver wouldn’t hurt anyone who wasn’t a danger to their family.
Ani stayed silent, his eyes riveted on the big tiger as he handed a stack of paper to Bryce. When Bryce didn’t immediately react he pushed it in his hands and Bryce finally looked down. Frowning, he read what seemed to be a list of people. For every name there was a species and an amount of money, and his stomach dropped. “Ani, where did you find this? Did you go back to your clan? Dominic will paddle your ass when he finds out about this!” Okay, so it wasn’t the brightest thing to say to someone who was scared of big men, but Bryce didn’t want the Nix to get hurt. How could he have gone there after what had happened to him?
Thinking about it, Ani didn’t seem to be the type of man to do something like that, especially not in this situation. Shit! “Ani, where is Finn?” Please, tell me he’s at home, safe and waiting for me.
“H...he went there. I didn’t want to leave him alone, so I...I followed him. Karun found us an-and he hit Finn, and Finn told me to come back, and you have to go—” Ani’s voice was getting more piercing and Bryce could literally see the fear and panic pouring out of the man. Damn it, he needed Ani to be calm so that he could shimmer Bryce to the clan’s village! Finn had to be hurt or he would have already shimmered back.
Hauling Ani up in his arms, Bryce ran to their office’s door and to his car. “Get in the back with him, I’ll drive,” Denver growled next to his ear, and Bryce was glad to give him the keys. Not only was he too agitated to drive safely, but he also needed to calm Ani enough for him to help them. Right now the little guy was shivering and trembling in his arms, but Bryce couldn’t say if it was because he was scared of him or if he was worried for Finn. He just knew they had to get to the mansion ASAP and tell Dominic what had happened.
Bryce barely had the time to close the door before Denver shot the car forward, gravel shooting all over Ward’s car. Ward was following them, knowing that Bryce needed his support just like Ward had needed it all those months ago. Bryce could only hope he would get Finn back sooner. They already knew who had him, so it was only a matter of getting there and hoping the man hadn’t moved Finn.
Shit, he was going to paddle his mate’s ass when he got him back, and maybe put some sort of chip on him so that he could always know where he was.
Bryce let out a groan when he realized that he did have a way to find out what was going on. Finn? Love, can you hear me?
Bryce waited, holding his breath as he prayed for his mate to answer him. He also stroked Ani’s back, trying to sooth the smaller man even if he knew the only thing that could help him right now was the vicinity of his mate. He just wasn’t sure how Ani would react to that, but they had to try. If he couldn’t pull himself together, they would have to drive up into the Colorado Mountains. It would take them at least six hours, probably more with the snow, and he wasn’t sure Finn had all that time.
Bryce?
Bryce’s heart skipped at beat at the soft voice in his head. Thank god, Finn. Are you okay?
Yeah, mostly. I’m sorry, Bryce, I know I shouldn’t have—
It’s okay, love. We’ll talk about that later. Right now I want to know how you really are. Did he hurt you? Ani told me Karun hit you.
Yeah, but it’s nothing too bad. He locked me in his cabin and went out, probably to tell Leold that we found those documents. Did Ani give them to you?
Yeah. We’ll go over them once you’re back home. Why aren’t you shimmering out of there?
I can’t. He put one of those collars the scientists had on me.
The car jolted to a stop and Bryce looked up, stunned that they already were at the mansion. Denver must have broken more than one law to get there so fast.
Love, I’m back at the mansion. I’ll get back to you as soon as I talk with Dominic, okay? As much as Bryce wanted to keep talking to his mate, he needed to find his Alpha and come up with a plan.
Okay. I’m not going anywhere anyway. Bryce heard a faint chuckle in his head and he smiled at the attempt to joke his mate had made. At least he wasn’t losing his spirit.
Love you.
Love you too, Bryce. I’ll see you soon.
You can bet on it.
Bryce rushed Ani to Dominic’s office. He met Dominic halfway there, Ward having informed him of what had happened. The lion extended his arms to take Ani from Bryce, and even if the Nix resisted at first, Bryce could see him relaxing once he was in his mate’s arms.
“What are we going to do?” Bryce asked.
Dominic looked down at his mate, taking in his condition before answering. “I already called Nolan’s family. Three of his brothers have military training and they accepted to help us. They’re closer, so they’re going to head over to the clan and see if they can free Finn.”
“I heard from him. He says he can’t shimmer because Karun put one of those collars on him.”
Dominic nodded. “I think you should get in the car and start heading that way. Take Denver and Soren with you, and Ward if he wants to go. As soon as Ani calms enough to shimmer, I’ll call you and he’ll come to get you to shimmer you to the clan.” The lion didn’t say that if Ani didn’t manage to calm down enough they would have to rely on Nolan’s family, but Bryce already knew it. He actually trusted them to help his mate, but he wanted—no, needed—to be close to Finn right now, so the sooner he got there, the better it would be. Raising his hand, he ruffled the Nix’s hair.
“Finn’s going to be fine. You just stay here and relax.” Hopefully they’d still get there in time.
* * * *
We’re coming, love. It will take a while since we’re coming by car, bu
t Dominic talked with Nolan’s brothers and they should be there in a little less than three hours.
Is it safe for them?
Yeah, some of Nolan’s brothers are trained, so they should be fine. It really depends on how many warriors you have in your clan.
Just a few sentinels. The only ones who could create problems are Leold and Karun, the rest of us are not trained.
It had been a relief hearing Bryce in his head. Why he hadn’t thought about it before then he didn’t know, but he didn’t care at this point. Finn was just happy to know his mate was coming for him.
Okay then, I’ll let them know. How are you holding up?
I’m fine. Karun’s left me alone, so—
The door suddenly opened and Finn scrambled to his feet as fast as he could. It could be only one person, and he didn’t want Karun to see him kneeling in front of him. He might not be able to take on the man in a fight, but Finn would not voluntarily submit like that.
“You know, Leold isn’t very happy that his pet has disappeared. Do you happen to know where your cousin went?”
Finn stayed silent. He knew Karun was aware that Ani was at the mansion, and it wasn’t a good idea to antagonize the man. He would give Finn an enough of a hard time as it was.
Karun moved so fast that Finn didn’t see him coming. He wound his hand in Finn’s long hair, using it to wrench him close. Their faces were so close that he could feel the man’s breath on his lips. Finn shuddered, both in disgust and in fear. He remembered well what Karun had wanted to do to him last time, and he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to avoid it now. He couldn’t defend himself and he couldn’t shimmer.
Finn was vaguely aware of Bryce’s voice in his head, but he chose to concentrate on the current situation, hoping his mate would understand that something bad was happening. Karun stroked the side of Finn’s face, the side on which he had hit him earlier. “See, I wouldn’t have had to mark your beautiful skin if you had been obedient. You changed since you met those cats, and I don’t like it. Leold wanted to sell you back to the scientists, but I managed to convince him to give you to me. You better not make me regret it.”
What could Finn do? Karun’s hand was painfully tugging at his hair as he tried to step away, and his other hand moved to his throat, encircling it without problems. The man was so much bigger than Finn that his fingers touched on Finn’s nape. Karun moved, slamming Finn against the wall and pressing his lips on Finn’s, and Finn jerked backward. Well, he tried to, but he couldn’t move. A particularly hard pull on his hair tilted Finn’s head higher and he felt Karun’s thick, slick tongue probing at his mouth. He clamped his lips shut, because there was no way he was going to let that man kiss him! Karun bit at Finn’s lips, trying to make him open, but he resisted through the pain.
Bryce, please hurry up. He’s trying to kiss me. Finn knew he was hurting his mate by telling him this while Bryce couldn’t get to him, but he needed the distraction. A loud roar filled his mind, and he knew his cougar was angry.
Karun seemed to understand that Finn wasn’t going to give up. He left his lips and reached for Finn’s collar, but he froze. Finn knew the man had seen the mating bite when the hand on his throat tightened painfully, closing his airway until he saw black spots dancing in front of his eyes. It seemed it was useless to jerk and move, trying to free himself, because Karun didn’t budge. He did release Finn’s throat, though, and Finn sucked in a deep breath.
He was so intent on breathing again that he barely felt it when Karun tore his shirt off his body, leaving him naked from the waist up. It registered when the cold hit him, making his nipples harden as he began to shiver. Finn tried to wrap his arms around himself, but Karun stopped him, grabbing his wrists and jerking them up until they were above his head, his back flush against the cold, hard wood of the wall. The second roared, his anger nearly palpable. “You mated!”
Karun pushed Finn down, knocking his head against the wooden wall. He couldn’t be sure for how long, but he thought he had blacked out, because when he opened his eyes again Karun was naked, standing in front of Finn with his dick erect. Finn shuddered.
Bryce!
Karun leaned down and Finn closed his eyes. He knew it was childish, that he was going to get hurt even if he didn’t look, but he didn’t want to see how Karun was going to violate him. Finn felt hard hands grabbing his hips and pulling until he was flat on the floor. He jerked, his eyes flying open as he raised his hand and nailed Karun right in the eye. It was satisfying for about two seconds, until Karun hit him back, Finn’s head snapping back under the force of the fist.
A loud roar filled the cabin and Finn tried to roll into a fetal position, thinking that Karun had had enough with him and was just going to kill him, but nothing happened. Instead, Finn heard loud noises and growls. Slowly opening his eyes, Finn watched as a flash of tan fur moved past him and jumped on Karun, aiming at the Nix’s throat.
Karun’s hand shot forward, grabbing the cougar—Bryce!—around the throat and keeping it away from his body. Bryce swept his paws across Karun’s stomach, blood swelling from the gashes as Karun grunted. He didn’t release Bryce, though, and Finn knew exactly what it felt like. Bryce roared and swatted his large paw at Karun’s face, hitting him on the cheek. A large form appeared behind the Nix, Finn’s eyes widening as he watched the tiger jump on Karun’s back, his jaws open as he clamped them on Karun’s shoulder.
Bryce fell on the floor, hitting the wooden planks with all four paws before jumping back at Karun. The Nix was still trying to dislodge the tiger from his back, but the beast had slid his paws around Karun’s waist in a grotesque embrace, and Finn could see the blood running down Karun’s groin and legs.
A hand landed on Finn’s naked shoulder and he yelped, swirling around and preparing himself to hit whoever it was.
“Whoa! Calm down, Finn. I was just going to open that thing.”
Finn sighed in relief and launched himself into his cousin’s arms, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Ani. You brought Bryce here. Thank you.”
Finn felt Ani’s small arms wind tight around him and hug him back. “Of course I did. I’m sorry we weren’t here earlier, I was—”
“It’s okay, cuz. You got them here before anything happened. I’m fine.” Finn felt hot tears against his shoulder as Ani started to sob in his arms. He squeezed him tighter, wanting to reassure him as he looked into the fight’s direction. It was already over.
Bryce had his jaws around Karun’s throat and he was growling, but even Finn could tell that Karun wasn’t going to get back up. The pool of blood under his head and his vacant eyes were enough proof of that. He watched as the big tiger shifted, and he recognized Denver, one of the shifters who lived in the mansion and worked with Bryce. He didn’t really know the man, but he was glad when he knelt next to Bryce and softly talked to him, making him release Karun’s body.
The cougar swung around and focused on Finn, quickly moving until he was standing right in front of them. The tiger came up to Finn and gently extracted Ani from Finn’s arms, murmuring in his ear. Ani looked up, his eyes red but dry as he waved and shimmered out.
I love you, Ani.
Love you too, cousin.
Finn looked at the big cat in front of him. The pain and worry in those grey eyes touched his heart and he launched himself at Bryce, hugging the fur-covered neck tightly as he broke down. He didn’t care about the filth covering his mate or about the blood. Finn had tried to stay strong for Ani, but now that he was alone with Bryce he could let go, and he did. Tears started streaming down his face as he felt Bryce shift under him. Warm arms engulfed and held him until the tears stopped falling and Finn felt lighter. He was safe.
“Let’s go home, love.” Finn nodded and let his cougar take care of him.
* * * *
It took them a while longer to go home, actually. They had had to wait for Nolan’s brothers to get there, even if there was nothing more to do. Ward
and Soren hadn’t had any problems subduing Leold, the clan leader, but Bryce hadn’t been sure about what to do with him until Dominic had shimmered in with Ani.
The lion had taken care of the leader, taking payback for what the man had done to his mate and for the people he had sold to the labs. It hadn’t been pretty, but it had been necessary. There was no upper authority that could take care of him and imprison the man, and paranormals were used to dealing with those kinds of things like this. It had also been difficult choosing someone to guide the clan, but with Ani’s and Finn’s opinions they had managed. Bryce could only hope this man would do better than the preceding one. They would keep an eye on him in the beginning just to be sure, though.
“That hurts!” Finn yelped when Jared started stitching the wound on the back of his head. Apparently he’d hit it harder than he thought, and Bryce saw red every time he thought about what Karun had done to his mate. He still had to talk to Finn about going on a stupid suicide mission on his own, but at least they had gotten something good out of it. Dominic had told Bryce that he had quickly gone over the list Finn had found, and that they now had the precise location of at least one of the labs, maybe more.
Someone, probably Isaiah, would have to study it more accurately, but it was a start, and Dominic was planning a recognizance mission to check on the one they were sure of. Luckily for them, or maybe unfortunately, it wasn’t very far from the mansion.
“You’ll be fine, just avoid washing your hair for a few days. Bryce’s shifter DNA should make you heal in no time.” With that, Jared was finished, and he finally could leave them alone. Bryce saw him out, wanting to ask the man a question.
Finn Page 10
