by Brenda Trim
Zane had never seen anything so callous. They were stacked on top of one another like a pile of garbage waiting to be hauled to a dumpster. His chest constricted, and a grumble left his throat. How could anyone do such a thing?
His gaze flitted around the room. There were several metal tables, along with IV stands. Several metal containers in one corner of the room snagged Zane’s attention. “What’s that?” he asked and pointed to the cylinders.
“Blood,” Ryan replied, his tone laced with venom. Tension filled the room as the group stared at the pile of carnage. Even Zane wanted revenge for what the shifters suffered.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and took photos of the gruesome slaughter. He also took pictures of the containers of blood then took a short video documenting the scene. Surely, they didn’t need more proof than this to show shifters were being abused and murdered.
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed, and all heads jerked toward the sound. It didn’t sound like a wolf’s growl. Whatever that had been sounded lethal and pissed as hell. Zane took a step closer to Lawson.
“What the hell was that?” he whispered.
Lawson grabbed a weapon strapped to his back. When Zane glanced at the object, he noted it looked like a tranquilizer gun.
“Ravin,” Lawson muttered.
Chapter 13
Zane had no idea what Lawson was talking about, but the others certainly did. Ryan quickly loaded another tranquilizer gun while Devin took a stance in front of the two men. The three shifters walked slowly toward a closed door. Lawson and Ryan lifted their weapons in preparation while Zane grabbed his handgun and released the safety. He didn’t want to get blindsided if shit was about to go down.
Another growl rent the air, this one more ferocious than the first. Whatever a Ravin was, Zane was positive he didn’t want to find out.
As the three men paused outside the door, Lawson turned to Zane. “The tranquilizer takes a few minutes to take effect. You might want to take cover just in case the Ravin escapes from his holding cell.
Zane nodded, and quickly scanned for a place to hide. The open room wasn’t very big and there weren’t many places where he could duck out of sight. On second thought, his best position might be with the shifters. He knew the alpha would protect him as best he could, so Zane stood near Lawson.
“You’re a brave fool, I’ll give you that,” Lawson quipped with a crooked grin.
“My mom always said I was the dumbest smart person she knew,” he said with a shaky chuckle. Truth was, he was scared shitless, but he’d known this mission was dangerous when he agreed to go. No backing out now just because it came to fruition.
Lawson turned to Devin and nodded. In the next blink, Devin pressed the security card over the entry pad then yanked open the door. Lawson and Ryan rushed into the room and fired their tranquilizer guns. One dart landed in the creature’s chest, and the other lodged in its neck. As they turned to rush from the room another roar echoed throughout the place making Zane’s chest shake.
Before he jumped back, Zane had gotten a quick glimpse of the creature. The Ravin stood at least seven feet tall. Its entire body was covered in brown fur, including most of its head and face which captivated Zane’s attention.
It was like something out of a horror movie. A long pointy snout ended with razor-sharp fangs jutting from its wide jaw, and lethal claws extended from the tips of its fingers. Werewolf instantly came to mind as Zane gawked at the furious beast.
The monster snatched the darts from its body then lunged in front of the open doorway, blocking Lawson and Ryan from leaving the room. Lawson dodged to the side, but not before the Ravin’s claws slashed across his face. Blood instantly welled from the laceration, and Lawson cried out in pain.
Ryan charged toward the beast and tackled it to the concrete floor. The two rolled end over end and slammed against the wall. The Ravin jumped on top of Ryan, and Ryan pushed against the creature’s chest to keep its snapping jaws from devouring his face.
Lawson jumped back into the melee and grabbed the Ravin around the waist. He pulled the creature off Ryan and slung it across the room. Granted, the large beast didn’t go far, but at least Ryan was out of immediate danger.
Zane noticed Lawson’s face had stopped bleeding. Seeing a shifter’s rapid healing in action was unfucking real.
Devin ran into the room and hit the Ravin upside the head with the butt of his rifle. It didn’t seem to faze the massive creature as it spun around and punched Devin in the face. The impact was so loud Zane was certain Devin’s jaw broke. The shifter dropped to the ground like a boxer sustaining a knockout. Devin was face down on the floor, unconscious.
Ryan hopped to his feet right as the Ravin growled and barreled toward Lawson. When the creature was in striking range, Lawson punched it in the face. Its head snapped back, but all it accomplished was pissing it off further. The Ravin swung and punched Lawson in the chest, and he flew across the room where he slammed against a wall.
Instinct, and a rush of adrenaline, had Zane rushing into the holding cell. The Ravin was focused on Lawson and didn’t see him enter the room. For whatever reason, Lawson didn’t want to kill the Ravin, so Zane aimed his gun at its backside. He pulled the trigger, and a pop echoed throughout the room. The bullet landed in the Ravin’s upper thigh, and the creature collapsed to its knees. It growled and turned its attention on Zane. Anger turned to fury in the next instant, and Zane wished he’d stayed put like Lawson ordered. Did he honestly think a bullet would stop the monster?
The creature leapt to its feet and bolted toward Zane. The Ravin plowed into Zane, knocking the air from his lungs. His body sailed across the room, and the gun flew from his hand. Stars winked in his vision as pain assailed.
He’d never been hit so hard, and that was saying a lot considering Zane spent four years playing college football. He’d been tackled by four hundred-pound linebackers, and that paled in comparison to the force behind the raging beast. Zane shook his head, trying to clear the confusion rattling his brain.
The Ravin stood over Zane, growling. Its long claws wrapped around Zane’s throat, and squeezed. He got an up-close view of the creature’s grotesque face. It was horrifying. Saliva dripped onto Zane’s face as the Ravin opened its wide mouth. If he didn’t do something fast, he wasn’t getting out alive. Zane reached out his hand, feeling for his weapon. When his fingers felt metal, he snatched it and fired. The bullet struck the Ravin’s shoulder, and the creature flew backward.
Suddenly, Zane felt someone lifting him to his feet. “Let’s go!” Lawson yelled and continued running toward Devin. He and Ryan picked up the unconscious shifter and rushed from the room. Zane was hot on their heels, and slammed the door shut when they reached safety.
The next thing they heard was the Ravin’s howl then beating against the steel door. The noise was so loud Zane thought the door would fly off its hinges. Lawson and Ryan laid Devin on one of the metal tables, and Zane collapsed against the wall as his heart threatened to burst through his chest from rapid pounding.
“Is he okay?” Zane panted as he glanced at Devin.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Ryan, see if there’s any smelling salts or strong solvent in the cabinets,” Lawson instructed then began shaking Devin’s shoulders. “Wake up, buddy.”
Ryan ran over with a bottle of something and stuck it under Devin’s nose. The shifter moaned and rolled onto his side. “I’m going to puke,” he warned Lawson before he vomited onto the floor.
“You alright?” Lawson asked Devin, and the shifter nodded as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
“Can somebody please tell me why we didn’t kill that thing?” Zane asked as the Ravin continued to pummel the door.
“That thing is a shifter. After we reach a certain age, if we haven’t shared our life force with a mate, we risk becoming Ravin. Liv discovered a way to reverse the effects, so we’ll take him back to Safe Haven where she can begin treatment,” Lawson explained.
“What about them?” Zane asked, and tilted his head toward the dead wolves.
“I can’t fit them and the Ravin in the van. We’re torching this fucking place as soon as the tranquilizer takes effect,” Lawson informed the group.
“I’ll let Knox know what we’re doing, and grab the gasoline cans from the van,” Ryan said before he exited the room.
Zane wasn’t sure how he felt about destroying someone else’s property, but he knew Lawson couldn’t be dissuaded. Not after seeing the slain wolves. Zane couldn’t blame him. Nobody deserved to die like that, not even an animal.
Several minutes later Ryan and Knox entered the room. They held gas cans in each hand. They moved fast and poured a trail of the fuel throughout the entire room. “We covered the perimeter, and most of the interior. We’re ready whenever you say,” Knox informed Lawson as he dumped the remaining gasoline onto the pile of wolves.
“First, we need to honor our deceased,” Lawson instructed as he made his way to the wolves. Zane and the others joined him, making a circle around the animals. “Let us pray.”
‘I give you this one thought to keep, I am with you still, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush- of quiet birds in circled flight, I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not think of me as gone, I am with you still in each new dawn.’
Lawson finished the prayer and the four shifters lifted their heads and howled. Zane swore he saw the souls of the deceased standing amongst the group. It was ethereal, and it shook Zane to his core. He was awed by the respect they offered to the dead. They didn’t know them, yet Zane felt their sorrow for the loss of one of their own.
“Do you hear that?” Ryan asked no one in particular.
“No,” Lawson replied.
“Exactly. I think our friend is out,” Ryan pointed then glanced toward the closed door.
“You’re right. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Lawson ordered.
Ryan and Knox scooped up the Ravin and carried him from the holding cell. Lawson, Devin, and Zane followed. The group made their way to the front of the building. Randy the security guard, was gagged and tied to his chair, so Zane helped Devin carry him outside. They placed the elderly man in the back corner of the parking lot. Lawson told him the police would arrive shortly.
They placed the Ravin on the floor of the van and climbed inside. Ryan cranked the vehicle while Lawson walked back to the building and tossed a match onto the trail of gasoline. Within minutes, the grass and weeds surrounding the building went up in flames. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Zane turned in his seat and looked at the building one last time. A blast sounded as the building exploded, and smoke and fire filled the night sky.
They rode the rest of the way home in complete silence.
Brenlee chewed on her fingernails. Why hadn’t they gotten back yet? Lawson called Liv and told her they were headed back with a Ravin, but that was an hour and a half ago. Jackson was only an hour away. She prayed nothing had gone wrong.
The tranquilizer should keep the Ravin sedated for at least two hours, but the effectiveness varied from person to person. She knew Lawson shouldn’t have asked Zane to go with them. Rescue missions rarely went as planned, and Zane didn’t need to get caught in the crossfire.
“Have you heard anything from Lawson?” She asked Liv as she stared out the back door of the hotel. The sun crested the horizon, brightening the sky with each passing minute. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the driveway because of the tent city on the property.
“No. Relax, Bren. He would’ve called if they ran into any problems. They’ll be here shortly, I’m sure,” Liv replied as she helped Ashley prepare for the breakfast crowd. Brenlee should help too, but her body refused to move from its location.
The van suddenly appeared and maneuvered its way to the back of the hotel. Brenlee was out the door in the next breath, rushing toward the vehicle. Lawson climbed out of the passenger seat then opened the side door.
The first thing Brenlee saw was the Ravin. It brought back so many memories of when Ryan turned Ravin. It was one of the most horrifying times of her life. She thought they’d never bring her brother back from the violent creature that took over his mind and body. He’d done unspeakable things while he was under the control of the Ravin, especially to Cassie. Thank the Gods Liv had saved him with injections of Lawson’s blood. Otherwise, they would’ve lost him to the raging beast.
“What took so long?” she practically yelled at Lawson then noticed he had a cut on his face. “Oh, no. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a scratch,” her brother said, dismissing his injury.
Devin and Knox climbed out next and scooped the Ravin in their arms. Brenlee scanned the interior of the van, searching for Zane. When he finally emerged she looked toward the skies and thanked the Gods for bringing him back safely. More than anything Brenlee wanted to run over and throw her arms around Zane’s neck, but his aloof demeanor kept her rooted in place. She couldn’t blame him after she ran out the day before.
“Let’s get him in the holding cage,” Liv informed the two males. “I’m so glad I thought to order one for the temporary lab. Otherwise, we’d be in a serious bind.”
As Devin and Knox walked toward the back door of the hotel, the Ravin startled, and jumped from their hold. The creature growled and took several steps away from their group. It stumbled and clutched its head. Brenlee hoped that meant the Ravin was still disoriented from the tranquilizer.
“We can’t let him get away,” Lawson ordered. The shifters present quickly formed a circle around the Ravin.
An overhead buzzing caught her attention. Brenlee looked up. Her enhanced vision spotted a small flying object headed their way. “What is that?”
“A drone,” Devin replied as shifters exited their tents to see what the commotion was all about.
“Zane, do you have your gun on you?” Lawson shouted as he kept his focus on the Ravin.
“Yep,” Zane replied and reached inside his jacket. Brenlee vaguely remembered him pulling out the weapon when they encountered the Grizzly.
Just then the Ravin shot through the blockade they had formed and ran toward a group of shifters standing nearby. It pounced onto a female and attacked viciously. Blood poured from the female’s body as its sharp claws ripped at her flesh.
Chaos ensued as screams filled the air. Lawson ran toward the Ravin, shouting, “Ryan, grab the tranquilizer. Zane, shoot that fucking drone,” as he pushed his way through the crowd.
Several shots rang out but missed the drone. Lawson, Devin and Knox jumped onto the Ravin, pulling him away from the female. Her lifeless body laid there, covered in blood. Several shifters picked her up and carried her into the hotel as Lawson and the two males tried to pin the creature to the ground.
The Ravin roared as a dart lodged into its back. Ryan stood over the animal, ready to shoot again if needed. A few more shifters joined Lawson, and it took seven males to hold down the Ravin until the tranquilizer took effect.
Brenlee looked to the sky after she was sure the Ravin wasn’t getting back up but didn’t see the drone. She walked over to Zane and stopped in front of him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he replied but didn’t look her way.
“I’m glad,” she admitted and tried to force eye contact.
“I should see if Lawson needs my help,” Zane offered and walked away, leaving Brenlee standing alone.
She sighed. She knew he was upset, but she hadn’t thought it would come to this. Brenlee’s chest ached at the thought of Zane hating her, but she didn’t know how to make it right. Maybe it was for the best, she amended while her wolf howled in her mind. Yeah, who am I kidding?
Chapter 14
Zane paced the length of the loft he’d been staying in fighting the urge to seek Brenlee out. The female wolf shifter h
ad made it more than clear that she didn’t want anything to do with him. Never before in his life had he tried so hard to win over a woman. He wasn’t a glutton for punishment. And yet, he still fought the urge to go to her and try again.
What was it about the sexy wolf that made it impossible to walk away without a backwards glance? There were plenty of attractive females on the property and many of them had made it more than clear they’d give him a ride or ten. But he found no interest in pursuing anyone other than the frustrating Brenlee.
Focus on the matter you have a chance of impacting. Shaking his head, Zane heeded the admonition and forced his mind back to the bill and securing senatorial support for it.
It seemed appalling that they hadn’t learned from past mistakes. Modern lawmakers thought themselves so far above their ancestors. Many vocally disdained the actions said forbearers took against Native Americans and yet here they were condoning shifter abuse and torture. It sickened him to hear about more and more attacks every day throughout the country.
They needed a senator to have a stake in the issue but hadn’t yet found a way to force that issue. He’d managed to complete a first draft of the bill, including all of the provisions for sovereignty and protection.
Howling interrupted his musings. Was one of the packs going on a hunt tonight? Racing to the window, he marveled at how excited he was over the chance to witness something his relatives used to do. Some part of him awakened at the thought. Apparently, there was some instinct left in his genetic makeup.
A lone wolf darted by so fast he wasn’t able to make out much. He’d have sworn more than one wolf howled. Running down the stairs, he rushed outside hoping to get a better glimpse of the animal.
By the time he reached the barn doors, he heard enough noise outside that he was certain there were more joining in the hunt. He should stay inside. It wasn’t safe to be outside with so many on the prowl.
