“We were created by the Lupreda, ones like that nasty dog you just defended back there.”
Emma gave a low growl. She didn’t like the contempt in his voice when he talked about Caine.
He clenched a fist on his knee. “He’s your enemy! Meant to hunt you down and tear you apart. That’s all you are to him. His kind created you for prey!”
No! He didn’t hunt me. Instead, he protected me from the likes of you and the others who kidnapped me. Emma quieted and tilted her head to let him think she was beginning to listen to him. She needed as much information as possible if she had any hope of escaping.
Malac gestured toward her. “Don’t you see? You’re special and that’s why he took you. To keep you from us. From your own kind. To keep us weak,” he finished with a snarl of disgust.
Emma’s ears perked. What made her so special? And how were the Velius weak? It suddenly struck her where she’d heard the term Velius before. Caine was on the phone talking to his friend Landon when she was half out of her mind from the drugs. He’d said something like, “If you want the Velius, they’re here,” before he gave an address. Why did Landon want the Velius? Caine had saved her, so why had he sent Landon after the other panthers? Were they—the Lupreda—trying to destroy her panther race? Was the man right? Did Caine save her because she was special? Whatever “special” meant.
“We need to reinforce our army. And you’re the key, Emma.”
Malac’s comment drew her out of her musings. An army? Were they at war? Where in the world had the Lupreda and Velius come from? And how did the humans not seem to know they existed? And, damn it, how was she the key? She grunted to encourage him.
Malac gave her a calculating smile. “I’m the Velius’ leader, but my rule will be fully solidified now that I have you. Unlike the rest of us, you’re the only one who can shift at will. If you mate with a Velius, chances are that the offspring will be able to shift like you, without the need for an injection. That would give our army a definite advantage when fighting the vampires and werewolves.”
Ah, that’s why he didn’t shift when Caine went after him! But an army against vampires and werewolves? He was psychotic on all counts. She couldn’t produce enough children for an army! And something like that would take decades. Not to mention the most important fact—He. Was. Not. Touching. Her. Emma began to growl, low at first but the growl of outrage steadily grew.
Malac scowled. “You act like you have a choice in the matter. You don’t. I’m taking you to our facility where our doctor will check you out and make sure you’re physically fine and then we’ll proceed with my plans.” His frown slowly curved into a deadly smile. “The Lupreda may have engineered us to mature very quickly so they could have quick replacements for the ones they killed, but in the end, our rapid reproduction will be to our advantage this time around. Any offspring of yours will be physically mature by age four and ready to wage a war.”
Emma snorted and shook her head back and forth. Age four? Going to war? He was insane. She could only guess he was referring to the Lupreda when he spoke of werewolves, since he’d called Caine a dog and she’d seen him start to morph, but what of the vampires? They existed only in history books, a bloodthirsty race who’d attacked humans. Wait, there was that article in the paper a few months ago about vampires returning. Was it true? Were the vampires never really extinct? And if so, Malac wanted to wage a full-on war against these two other powerful species? He was a power-hungry nutcase.
Pulling something out of his pocket, Malac popped the lid on a pill bottle and scattered the contents on the floor between them. “Soon there will be no more need for these.” His upper lip curled in disdain as white pills pinged everywhere.
They looked like the same vitamin pills she’d taken all her life. Emma’s gaze snapped to his and she stood on her feet to slowly push one of the pills over with her nose. When she batted at it with her paw, he gave a harsh laugh.
“Those are how you’ve stayed hidden for so long. If you didn’t know you were a panther, what did the old woman tell you that you were taking?”
Another lie. Why, Aunt Mary?
He waved his hand and continued in a dismissive tone. “It doesn’t matter. The pills mask our scent, keeping us hidden from the vampires’ and werewolves’ detection. But when that bitch stole you away, the pills worked too well. We couldn’t find you either.”
Stomping on one of the pills with his shoe, he ground it into the truck floor with relish, showing just how much he resented having to take them. “An unfortunate side effect for an immature panther like you was that the medicine slowed down your maturity.” He met her steady gaze. “Which is why, unlike many of us who were already mature before we started taking the pills, you grew up at a similar pace to that of a human child and not as fast as a panther should’ve matured.”
Now what he said earlier made a bit more sense. By four her offspring would be fully matured and ready to fight—the panthers have one hell of a metabolism! He was still crazy. She didn’t want to wage war. She didn’t want to mate with him or any other Velius for that matter. She wouldn’t. Emma backed up and began to growl, the rumbling in her throat elevated with her rising anger. She wasn’t going to be anybody’s chess piece to move to whatever strategic advantage they thought she could provide them.
Malac narrowed his gaze and held the gun toward her. “You would choose the hard way. At least you’ll produce strong, willful panthers. Just don’t think you’ll ever rule me,” he said right before he pulled the trigger.
The tranquilizer stung her shoulder, embedding deep into her skin. She roared and leapt toward him, but he rolled out of the way of her claw’s swipe and slammed his fist against her snout the moment he came to a crouched position. Pain exploded across her jaw and she saw bright flashes behind her eyes as she flew back and slammed against the truck’s wall. Infuriated, she started to jump up and attack once more, but her legs wobbled. The strong tranquilizer was already doing its job. Toppling to her side, Emma’s panther roar slowly changed to a human moan. “No!” she said in a fading voice before she lost consciousness.
Caine wondered if he’d been thrown from the roof of a building. His eyes were heavy and his chest and body ached like a son of a bitch.
“Wake up!”
Who the hell was slapping him in the face? His eyes jerked open at the same time he snarled and grabbed the bastard’s arm, ready to snap the bone in two.
Landon grasped Caine’s forearm and said in a deadly tone, “Are you ready to find out who would win in a wrestling match, wolf?”
“Are you?” Caine shot back, even though he felt weak as hell.
Snorts of amusement drew Caine’s attention to the group of Lupreda who were standing behind Landon’s crouched form. As soon as he smelled the panther’s lingering earthy scent, everything came back to him.
“Emma!” Caine instantly tried to sit up and fell back to the floor. Dizziness blurred his vision for a second, while buzzing filled his ears. Damn it to hell, his brain was swelling inside his skull.
Landon put a hand on his chest. “Lay there for a minute until you get your bearings. The tranquilizer dart we pulled out of you is going to take a bit to wear off. Your body’s already fighting its effects.”
Glancing at the wood floor around Caine and then over his gouged chest, Landon frowned. “There aren’t any weapons around, but I see the blood and your wounds are healing slower than usual.” His gaze narrowed. “Silver?”
Caine nodded and sat up, grunting through the wooziness in his head. “The bastards must’ve taken the spikes they used on me. It was some kind of arrow that, once it finds its target, embeds itself deep in the tissue. If it weren’t for Emma pulling them out, I’d be dead by now.”
“If it weren’t for Emma, they would never have dared to come on our land,” Landon said.
Caine’s gaze narrowed. “They’re the ones who ambushed the zerkers. They bragged about how it took only one of their silver bolts to
take down each of the ‘others.’”
Landon’s jaw clenched before he straightened and folded his arms across his chest. “She’s still Velius.”
Caine stood and tied the blanket someone had thrown over him around his waist. Clenching his fists by his sides, he grated out, “Emma’s obviously valuable enough for them to take the risk and come back here. She didn’t go with them willingly. The only reason she went was because they have her aunt.”
Glancing from Landon to Kaitlyn, he continued. “Because they still have her aunt, I take it you were too late when you went to the address I gave you.”
Kaitlyn nodded. “The place was stripped bare by the time we got there.”
“Several humans left residual smells behind, including the human who took Emma from the club,” Laird said, sliding his hand through his auburn hair.
“We didn’t detect Emma’s aunt’s scent. I don’t think she was ever there,” Landon finished.
Caine tensed. Emma’s aunt wasn’t there? Frowning, he rubbed his overnight beard. “I’m beginning to wonder if there aren’t two groups after Emma. A human stole her from the club, but the leader of the ones who came here, Malac, he’s panther. I slammed into him back at the club. He was pissed as hell. You’d think if he was with the people who’d successfully taken her, he’d have snuck out of the club without drawing attention to himself.”
“It’s possible. Then again, he could’ve been trying to distract you to let them get away with her.” Landon gestured toward him. “Get dressed. We’re going home to regroup.”
Lowering his hand to his side, Caine curled his fingers inward until his knuckles popped. He didn’t want to think what they might be doing to Emma. There was no mistaking the lustful, possessive sweep of Malac’s gaze over Emma’s sleek panther form or the scent of testosterone rising in the man when she’d moved past him to retrieve her aunt’s pills. “I’m going after them. I won’t rest until I find her.”
“This team has been going all night with no sleep.” Landon’s green eyes slitted. “You’ll rest. At home. With your pack.”
Landon’s steady stare was hard to resist, like he’d wrapped an invisible chain around Caine’s chest and yanked. Hard. Caine rolled his head from one shoulder to the other and gritted his teeth, fighting his physical response to the Alpha’s powerful influence. Landon’s low growl made the chain cinch tight, closing off his air, burning his lungs. Any other time he’d be able to fight it, but the silver had weakened his body too much for him to challenge Landon’s dominance right now. “Fine,” he gritted out.
When Landon grunted in satisfaction and turned to walk away, Caine’s own alpha nature roared from deep inside, fighting like a junkyard dog, despite his weakened state. “I’ll stay for an hour and then I’m heading back to town,” he grated out.
Emma’s shoulder ached a little as someone shined a pen-light in her eye. She instantly shoved the light away and jerked back from the person, nearly toppling off the table she was on. Her heart raced at the near miss as the petite woman, with glasses and pale shoulder-length blond hair, grabbed her wrist and steadied her.
“Take it easy,” she said in a calm voice. “I’m all done now.” Releasing Emma, she backed away and picked up a clipboard from the counter. Squinting, she pushed her glasses up on her nose and began to jot down a few notes.
Emma breathed in an out of her nose, trying to calm her nerves. She quickly glanced down to see she was on an examining table and wearing nothing more than a thin hospital gown with tiny blue flowers.
Her gaze jerked to the woman, noting her crisp white coat and the name Doctor Thurman embroidered on the pocket. Malac had said he was going to have her checked out. Emma scanned the tiny exam room, her heart racing. On the counter, a vial of blood sat on top of other paperwork. Rubber gloves turned inside out and a couple other personal instruments were lying in a metal pan. Emma ground her teeth and panic knotted her throat. “What have you done to me?”
The woman glanced up from the chart, her green eyes sympathetic. “I didn’t do anything to you other than check that you weren’t violated.”
“You violated me!” Emma quickly sat up and swung her legs down the side of the table, her cheeks flaming with indignant heat. “How dare you!”
The woman’s gaze darted to the door and her voice lowered. “I insisted on doing your physical instead of Doctor Thurman.”
Emma’s eyes snapped to the name on her coat. “You are Doctor Thurman.”
“The other Doctor Thurman is my father. Would you rather a male have done your exam?”
Before Emma could respond, the door opened and Malac stepped into the room. He put his hand out and the woman instantly handed him the clipboard, saying, “She’s perfectly healthy.”
He flipped the first page over and his dark gaze narrowed. “Did he touch her?”
The doctor shook her head and her tone held a tinge of warning. “She’s a virgin.”
He raised a dark eyebrow and a pleased, calculating smile creased his narrow face. “An interesting development I hadn’t expected.” Snapping the page closed, he handed the clipboard back to the doctor and addressed Emma. “Eat and then you’ll be allowed to see the old woman to know she’s still alive.”
“The ‘old’ woman is my aunt, and she’d better be in good health or I’ll claw your eyes out,” Emma hissed.
Malac chuckled, but amusement didn’t reflect in his brown eyes. “So protective. You really believe she’s your aunt, don’t you? What other lies did the old bat tell you? You do realize she’s human, right?”
Now I know.
When the only answer he got from Emma was her growling stomach, his chuckle turned to a full-out laugh before he sobered. “This is rich. Your reunion would be interesting to observe. Too bad I have business to deal with.”
The tips of her fingers tingled, curled tight underneath the examining table. Emma realized her claws were ready to unsheathe, while an angry growl rumbled in her chest. It was so much easier now to feel the panther lying in wait under her skin. This time she wasn’t afraid or scared. She welcomed her panther’s strength. Apparently, all it had taken to bring out her primal side was seeing someone she cared about threatened.
Malac ignored her hostile sounds and spoke to someone in the hall. “Once she’s eaten, escort her down to the old lady. Give her five and then bring her to my quarters.”
“What about my aunt’s medicine?” Emma snarled after him when he started to leave.
He turned back to her, his expression suddenly serious. “It’ll be up to you whether or not she gets her meds.”
The moment he turned away and walked out of the room, Emma was off the table, intending to go after the manipulative bastard. But a big man with light brown hair tied back in a severe ponytail stepped in front of her, blocking her way. She realized he was human, like the doctor, because he had a scent. “Eat, then we’ll go,” he said in a curt tone.
Emma glanced at the gun strapped to his side, then narrowed her gaze after Malac’s slim form walking down the hall.
“You need to eat.” The blond woman held out a plate that had been wrapped in aluminum foil on a far counter. An apple sat next to a ham-and-cheese sandwich.
Even though her stomach rumbled, Emma didn’t want to waste time. She shook her head. “I want to see my aunt.”
The woman shoved the plate toward her. “You won’t be allowed to see her if you don’t eat.”
Glaring at her, Emma jerked the plate from her hand and sat back down on the exam table. It took her less than five minutes to devour the food. The stem was the only bit of food left on the plate.
“Let’s go.” The guard grabbed her upper arm and escorted her out. Emma’s bootie-covered feet shuffled quietly, while his shoes made heavy tapping sounds on the hall’s gleaming white floors. She squinted at the fluorescent lights shining brightly on the stark white walls. Behind them, at one end of the hall, a young blond-haired man stood with a pulser gun in his hand, obviousl
y on guard. Everything about the space felt sterile and pristine—like a lab. Except for the presence of the guard and pulser guns. They made it feel like a military facility.
A man with shoulder-length dark hair exited the elevator at the opposite end of the hall and walked toward them. As he passed, the diamond stud in his ear caught Emma’s attention. Her gaze caught his for a brief second. The coldness in his deep green eyes surprised her. He was too young to appear so detached. She noted the gun strapped to his hip and tried to catch his scent, but couldn’t. He had to be another panther. He appeared to be of similar age to the young sentry down the hall. No more than seventeen or eighteen.
They reached the end of the hall and went through a door on the left which led to a stairwell. Emma’s heart raced while they walked down two flights of stairs to the ground floor. They turned down a long, carpeted hall with several doors lining the right side, reminding her of a hotel.
When they stopped in front of the third door on their right, the guy swept his card through the reader and pushed her inside, saying in a gruff tone, “You have five minutes.”
Her aunt turned from staring out the barred windows. “Emma!” she called, holding out her arms. She was still wearing her nightgown and slippers, but they’d at least allowed her to slip into her coat when they kidnapped her, Emma realized when she saw the gray wool overcoat lying on the bed.
“Aunt Mary!” Emma hugged the only family she’d ever known as tight as she could. “I was so worried.” Emma cupped her aunt’s pudgy cheeks and leaned back to look at her. “How are you feeling?”
Mary’s wrinkled fingers ran gently across her hair, then touched her gown. “Where are your clothes, child? Are you okay?” Her expression hardened and her blue eyes slitted. “Have they hurt you?”
Emma gripped her aunt’s hands to stop her fidgeting. “Are you feeling okay? How’s your heart?”
Mary pulled her close and whispered, “Don’t worry about me. The young female doctor has been checking my vitals.” Leaning back, she gave Emma a smile meant to eliminate her worry. “Really, I’m okay. Where are your clothes?”
Scions: Revelation Page 11
