She tripped and fell over a tree root, but she picked herself up quickly, ignoring the cuts on her hands and knees. “I'll be back, Michael. You stay alive, you hear me?” she whispered. With a sob, she got to her feet and thought of her promise to Michael. She'd promised to go back for him. He had helped her escape, and she didn't want to think of the horrors Dr. Faizel would inflict on Michael once he discovered what Michael had done.
Michael had managed to free her from her restraints. He couldn't work himself free of his collar and chains but he directed her towards a secret opening in a side wall. “Go. Keep moving through the tunnel, and you'll emerge in the middle of a forest. Run, don't look back,” he'd told her.
“W-what about you? And Luke?”
“I'll try to protect him, for as long as I can,” Michael said, glancing at the sleeping Luke. “But I don't have much time. Neither do you. Now go.”
“I'll come back for you. I promise!”
“Press that small button in the wall and move quickly. You only have three seconds.”
With a shaky nod, Aubrey depressed the knob at the corner of the wall and a narrow door slid open. The instant she rushed through the opening, the door slid shut behind her. If she had been just a second slower, her foot would have been crushed by that heavy door.
Aubrey kept moving through the narrow tunnel which seemed to go on forever. She finally tumbled out of the tunnel, blinking and gasping, to find herself in the middle of a forest. She had made it out. Now she had to get help and make it back before it was too late.
Aubrey spun round, but all she saw were trees. Which way should she go? She glanced back fearfully at the opening of the tunnel which was well hidden by the tall grasses and a large cluster of rocks. She just had to keep moving away from the tunnel. Aubrey limped forward, dragging her bleeding leg behind her. She had fallen on some rocks and there was a deep cut on her leg.
She hoped that there weren't any wild animals in these woods. The beasts would be attracted by the scent of fresh blood. She didn't want to be eaten by a pack of ravenous predators.
Eaten.
God, Michael had confessed to eating his friend alive.
Aubrey whimpered as she limped on as fast as she could. They were all in terrible danger. She didn't fear Michael. But she was desperately frightened for him.
Michael was a victim, not a monster.
She had to help him, and Luke.
Aubrey heard a roar echo through the woods and froze. It sounded like a bear. She stared round frantically for a place to hide. What should she do? Climb a tree? Lie down and play dead? Roar back to warn the animal away?
She turned and saw a shadow moving swiftly between the trees. What was it? A bear? A wolf? There was no time to scream. The beast would be upon her in a heartbeat.
Aubrey tried to back away but the dark, hulking shape loomed nearer. She raised her arm to block a blow that never came. Lowering her arm, she gasped as she stared into a pair of mismatched blue and green eyes.
“Y-you...” she stammered. “Thor!”
Thor took a step towards her, and she flew into his arms.
“Aubrey! What happened? You're bleeding!” He held her tight as she sobbed and clung tightly to him. It took her a moment to compose herself. She was being a baby. She shouldn't be bawling and blubbering and being a wreck. She should be getting help for Michael and Luke. She had to go back for them. Now!
“H-how did you find me?” Aubrey blew her nose loudly on her sleeve and looked up at Thor. “Ah, never mind that now. We have no time. You have to come with me, Thor. This way! We have to save them!” She began to tug at his arm.
“Who do we have to save? You have to tell me what happened to you.” He gripped her wrists, his eyes scanning the cuts on her limbs. “I'll get you back to the hospital.”
“No!” she gasped. “Not the hospital! The hospital Director is in on this!”
His frown deepened, but she saw that he was listening intently to her. “What have you uncovered, Aubrey?” His tone gentled. “Don't be afraid. I'll help you. I'm on your side. I'll always be on your side.”
“I...I found out that Dr. Faizel is working for a Mob boss, Alberto Birns...”
“Alberto?” Thor breathed. “Alberto Birns has been harboring ambitions to take over Ray Shapez's position as the number one Boss. He's been scheming and plotting against Ray behind his back...”
Aubrey shook her head. “He's not just scheming to control all the mobsters. He's scheming to take on the law enforcement agencies as well. C-18.”
“How do you know about C-18?”
“Michael told me.”
“Who's Michael?”
“Michael Lee. He's a senior police officer in the Investigation unit. He's been transferred to C-18 and he said he would be reporting directly to Walter Nguyen.”
“Michael Lee is the new deputy head of C-18. But he's been on long leave. His colleagues said he submitted his leave application through the system, and no one could contact him.” Thor's eyes flashed as he concluded, “His leave application was faked.”
Aubrey gave a jerky nod. “Michael said he was at the hospital for a routine checkup when Dr. Faizel injected him with this drug and the next thing he knew, he was strapped down on a metal table with wires all over him. He's been Changed, Thor.” Her voice cracked as she gripped his arm. “He's been drugged out of his mind and made into some...weapon, he said. I don't know what he's been Changed into but I've seen his claws and teeth. H-he can't shift. Not like your Black Bears. He's...trapped! He's become a weapon for them.”
“For Alberto Birns. He's using Michael to take out the crucial members of C-18. Alberto is targeting the members of C-18, destroying them from the inside,” Thor snarled.
“Yes. Michael said...on the night of the murder, he was given an injection and dropped off at Walter Nguyen's house in the middle of the night. He walked into Walter's house and went to the bedroom. And he...he killed the man, and...ate him,” she stuttered. “He didn't want to. But he couldn't stop himself. He said he was screaming in his mind, trying to fight whatever was driving him to attack Walter, but his body just wouldn't obey.”
“Alberto has many people working for him. He got someone to pick Walter's lock before Michael arrived. And Michael was just...a puppet. I've heard of this drug,” Thor said grimly. “The drug renders someone's body unable to respond to the commands of his or her own brain. Instead, someone else takes control of the target's physical body, his muscles, nerves and cells. The one at the controls can even direct the target's body to Change form and shape, if the target has already had some shifter toxin injected into his bloodstream.”
Aubrey grimaced. “How...”
“It's like a computer virus. The hacker injects a virus into your computer and takes complete control of your computer. But the drug is still in its experimental stages. It shouldn't...”
“Then Michael is their...prototype, their guinea pig. And Luke...” She gasped. “No, we have to save them! They're still down in the chamber. Michael said he'll protect Luke, but...what can he do? He's alone, and they'll torture him, kill him. Thor, you have to do something! You have to get them out now!”
Thor took a few sharp breaths as he squinted off into the woods. “I know where they are. I'll be able to find them, but I can't leave you here alone...”
“Who says I'm staying here?” Aubrey retorted. “I'm coming with you!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I'll show you the way to the tunnel.” Aubrey kicked up her chin imperiously. “You won't be able to find it without me.”
Oh yes he could. But he didn't want to tell her that.
He couldn't talk her out of it. The stubborn little human insisted on leading the charge. She was going to rescue those two trapped men. She wasn't going to succumb to terror. Thor knew that she was scared and anxious, but Aubrey didn't let her fear slow her down.
“Let's go get 'em!”
&nb
sp; She began to stagger and lurch through the undergrowth at a frenzied pace, shaking off his attempts to hold her and support her. She had just escaped from a horrific underground laboratory, but she was right now charging back in.
“I'm fine. Stop asking me if I'm hurt. I'm not the one stuck down there,” she grumbled. “Hurry up! You're too slow! They'll be dead, worse than dead, if we don't get them out now!”
Thor spoke rapidly into his watch as he jogged to keep up with her. As he clicked off, he put out an arm to stop her. “I've contacted the clan. The Black Bears will be arriving soon, but you're right. Time is running out for Michael and Luke.”
“So we'll be going in first?” She bounced on the balls of her feet.
“No. Not we.”
“But...”
“No buts.”
Aubrey scowled. She was risking her life, but she refused to let him do this without her.
Thor didn't release her even as she tried to twist her arm free. He didn't want her to come with him. He would never let her go back into that hellish chamber. But he couldn't leave her here alone in the forest.
He knew that once Dr. Faizel discovered that Aubrey was gone, he would either kill the two men, or move them swiftly to another hidden location. Luke and Michael might never be found.
Thor weighed his options and reached his decision in a heartbeat.
“Aubrey. Listen.” He gripped her hand. “You will come with me, but you have to stay out of the chamber. Stay outside, and stay hidden. I can get them out faster if I go in alone. Plus—the Black Bears should be arriving any minute now. I need you to point them in the right direction.”
She frowned at him. Then she thumped her chest and said, “You can count on me. You need a bear traffic controller? I'm your man!”
“You are not my man. You are my mate.” He tilted her face up and gave her a quick kiss.
“Y-your mate? Really? Y-you're sure?” she whispered, her eyes shining. “You're not lying?”
“Really. I'm sure. And I will never lie to you, Aubrey.”
When she gave him a small, tentative smile, he touched her cheek lovingly before turning his eyes back to the entrance of the hidden tunnel. It was well camouflaged by the tall grasses and rocks but he knew exactly where it was.
“Stay hidden, Aubrey. I won't take long. I'll be in and out in a jiffy. You won't even miss me.”
“I'll always miss you. Promise you'll come back to me, Thor,” she said softly.
He saw the fear and worry in her eyes, but she bravely gave him a wink and said, “There's so much we haven't done together. I want to do all the mate things with you.”
“So do I, Aubrey. I promise I'll do all the mate things with you,” he whispered. “For eternity.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Thor moved silently through the long tunnel. He stopped and flattened himself against the side of the tunnel when he heard a faint sound coming from the end of the tunnel.
A door was opening.
It was the door to the underground chamber.
Thor inched towards the door. He saw a man with a rifle standing guard at the door. There were angry voices coming from the chamber.
Thor palmed his gun out from his holster. He took a quick breath and pushed away from the wall. He fired a single, silenced shot and the man collapsed with a bullet hole in his forehead.
Thor barreled towards the door as it began to slide shut. He leaped in through the narrowing crack and rolled on the floor to avoid a burst of gunfire.
He raised his gun at a black-clad soldier. Thor gave a derisive snort. The soldier was a mercenary, and the coward had pulled a dazed young man up from a steel table to use as a human shield.
“Luke,” Thor said in a low voice.
The young man tried to open his eyes at the sound of his name and struggled feebly in the mercenary's grasp.
Thor kept his gun pointed at the mercenary as his eyes darted to the corner of the room. Dr. Faizel was standing over a man and sticking a syringe into his neck.
Thor jerked towards Michael. The man's eyes were puffy, bloodshot and utterly blank. His veins bulged from his neck and arms as he let out an impotent, tortured howl.
“A Black Bear. What a pleasant surprise.” The doctor stepped behind Michael and tossed the emptied syringe aside. “Now, let's see if you are a match for my creation. The serum was extracted from a bear shifter, so Michael here will become just like you in a few seconds. A bear, a killing machine.” Dr. Faizel jerked his head at Thor and said, “Slide your gun to me. Do it, or that nice young man will have a bullet through his head.”
Thor's eyes flew to Luke. The mercenary had his rifle pressed to the back of Luke's head and his finger was tightening on the trigger.
Thor slowly put his gun down on the floor and slid it to the doctor. With a smirk, Dr. Faizel picked it up and pointed it at Thor. “Now, I shall observe how well my prototype fares against a Black Bear.”
Thor swung his gaze back to Michael. The man was convulsing as claws stabbed out from his fingers. He opened his mouth and Thor saw his teeth sharpen to sharp, lethal points. He roared in agony as he became something no longer human but not quite animal.
Dr. Faizel clicked a control and spoke in a monotone into a transmitter on his wrist. “Kill him. Kill the intruder. The Black Bear is the enemy. Destroy him.”
Michael shook his head and growled. His eyes were turning feral, and they glowed with an unearthly, unnatural light.
Thor put up his hands and spoke carefully, “Michael, listen to me. I am not the enemy. You can overcome this. Don't let the drug control you. You can break free of the commands. You are a police officer. You are not...”
Michael's fevered, feral eyes locked on Thor and he bared his serrated teeth at him. With a roar, Michael flew at him, his claws and teeth aiming for his throat.
Thor ducked and Michael slammed into the wall behind him. But the man didn't seem to feel any pain. He simply pushed off the wall and attacked again and again.
Thor didn't want to hurt Michael, but he had to defend himself. Michael was going to kill him if he didn't fight back. There was no trace of the man left in his glowing, bloodthirsty eyes. Michael's face was contorted in a beastly rage, and his skin was covered with patches of coarse, discolored fur. His muscles were bulging and when he reared up, Thor saw that he had grown in height as well. He had the size and bulk of a bear, and his features were becoming more and more bearlike.
Thor let his claws inch out as Michael took a brutal swipe at him.
Michael was going to kill him. That was his command. Thor blocked his blows and pushed back against Michael's massive, furry frame. Thor dug his claws into Michael's shoulder but he couldn't stop those jagged teeth from coming nearer and nearer to his throat.
Michael opened his mouth wide and came at Thor with his sharp, deadly teeth. His jaws snapped inches from Thor's neck. He was going to sink his teeth into Thor's jugular. His claws were descending towards Thor's stomach, and with a forceful swipe, he would rip Thor's body open and spill his guts.
Thor took a sharp breath. He had no choice.
He didn't want to kill Michael, but he didn't want to be killed either.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Thor felt long, sharp claws rake across his side. If he had still been in human form, that savage blow would have opened up a gaping gash in his side.
But his thick black fur protected his body and prevented those deadly claws from doing much damage. In the space of a breath, Thor had shifted swiftly into bear form.
Thor let out a ferocious roar but Michael didn't back off. There was no fear, no recognition at all in those red eyes. Michael attacked madly, relentlessly, going all out with his teeth and claws. He was gunning for Thor's throat, snapping his jaws and snarling savagely.
Thor could hear light, quick footsteps coming from the tunnel. He knew his clan members had arrived. Thor had relayed his exact position to his Alpha,
and the Black Bears were always ready to move out at a moment's notice.
Thor lunged towards the button at the corner of the wall and slammed his paw against it. The door slid open and three Black Bears hurtled through the opening in rapid succession.
Dr. Faizel and the soldier fired immediately. Baxter shot the doctor in the leg and ducked as Dr. Faizel squeezed off another shot before crumpling to the ground.
Dylan aimed his gun at Michael, but Thor shielded Michael with his massive body.
Despite the arrival of the three Black Bears, Michael's attention was on Thor alone. No one and nothing else mattered to him. He had been ordered to take Thor out, and he would blindly carry out the order even if it killed him.
Paige took aim at the soldier, but he was holding Luke up as a human shield.
“Put down your rifle and step away from him!” Paige yelled.
Dr. Faizel pushed himself up and wheezed, “Shoot him.”
At his order, Michael turned around slowly. The command had been directed at the soldier, but Michael responded to the doctor's voice. The new command seemed to clash with the earlier command, and for a moment, Michael's brain was his own again.
Michael stared at Dr. Faizel and blinked rapidly.
“You...”
Thor saw Michael's eyes turn human once more. Gasping, Michael stared down at his clawed, furry, misshapen hands and made a strangled sound as he looked up and saw the Black Bears for the first time.
“Shoot him!” Dr. Faizel screeched to the soldier.
The mercenary's lips curled. Shooting someone in the head was the best part of his job.
Dylan and Baxter raised their guns simultaneously, but Michael was faster than either of them.
With an anguished roar, he barreled towards the soldier. The soldier pulled the trigger but not before Michael punched the rifle away from Luke's head. The shot went off as Michael plunged his claws into the mercenary's neck. His eyes widened in shock as Michael decapitated him with a single swipe.
Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) Page 6
