The Sigma Menace Collection

by Marie Johnston

  “You need backup?” Jace asked. Mercury knew either male had his back, but Jace felt obliged as Mercury shadowed his mate several times on her runs when Jace couldn’t go with her. It’s not like it was hard. She only had two legs.

  “No.” He was off.

  The feeling continued, unabated, for weeks. Mercury ran every day, searching. Someone was out there and they needed him.

  Chapter 2

  Dani lay in the bed in her tiny dorm-like room. It had been almost two weeks since the procedure. She considered it assault.

  She didn’t know what had happened specifically as she only gained random moments of lucidity. She at least knew that Madame G terrified Agent T enough that he kept his “junk” away from her. She remembered that he wasn’t concerned with covering her when he carried her unceremoniously to her room, dumped her on her bed, gave her a lewd wink, and left.

  Once enough strength had returned, Dani crawled to the shower and sat under the spray for an hour. On autopilot, she finally shut the water off, half-heartedly toweled off, and put on the thickest pants and sweater she could find. With every light in the room on, she burrowed far under her covers and made a pathetic attempt at sleep.

  But her mind wouldn’t shut off. For days Dani stayed in a near zombie state, rousing only to nibble at some crackers, sip tepid water, and go to the bathroom. The rest of the time she used to think. Think about her past, present, and future. And plan.

  After the first week had passed, Agent X started coming to her. First, to make sure Dani ate at least once a day. While she forced food down, loathe to even taste it, X would prattle on about the latest Agent gossip. If Dani had to label an Agent as friend, it’d be X. They weren’t close exactly, but in this fucked-up world created by Madame G, she respected the hell out of X. She knew nothing about the rocker chick other than she was a shifter and they had similar histories—Dani’s family was wiped out by rogue shifters, and X’s family was wiped out by an unknown entity. At least unknown to everyone else. Dani had a feeling X knew who was responsible and they would eventually be made to pay.

  The second reason X came to her room was to escort her to the weekly lab visits. For now, all the mad doctor wanted from her was her blood. A quick draw to test for insemination success. It was more sensitive than urine, they said. And more painful, probably why they preferred it.

  The first week’s results were inconclusive.

  A knock on the door told Dani that week two’s results were being greatly anticipated.

  “Open the fuck up, doll,” X called from the other side.

  In spite of her dire situation, Dani smiled. She really was fond of the convivial Agent. Unlike many of the other Agents, X and her partner Agent E were not mindless followers of Madame G. They didn’t target just any shifters, mostly ones like the feral pack that took out Dani’s family. Both of whom they helped Dani hunt and put down, training her in the process. Otherwise, their main mission had to do with keeping the Guardians distracted, and Dani bet there was some juicy history there.

  The grin quickly faded as Dani swung her legs down and ambled toward the door. Swinging it open, she faced the female on the other side. X’s hair was as short as Dani’s was long and slightly darker. The style of the day was Elvis, slicked up with the swirl hanging down onto her forehead. X’s stunning green eyes always caught Dani a little off guard—dead serious, but with an air of mischievousness.

  X cocked an eyebrow. “Ready, my little recruit bitch?”

  “Let’s do it.” They headed down the hall to the elevator.

  “Pos or neg? Wanna make a bet? Do your tits hurt? I heard that’s the first sign. Puking?” X waited for Dani to shake her head. “Nope. Hmmm, I’m gonna go with negative. But what do I know? The lunk’s baby juice could be superpowered.”

  “Wait. What? Do you know the shifter they used?” Lunk? A flash of irritation flitted through Dani.

  X raised her eyebrows. “You mean they didn’t tell you? Oh doll, I’ll fill you in as soon as we get back. I gotta meet Biggie in an hour, so we have time.”

  Numbly, Dani nodded her head. “Biggie” was what X called her partner, Agent E. “Get it? Big E,” X had chortled when Dani asked why she called him that. Not knowing just how closely the Agents worked together, Dani wasn’t sure she really got it.

  The elevator chimed and they went inside. Ten minutes and a little bit of blood later, they had their answer.

  Dani knew it would be positive. Not because her “tits” hurt or because she was constantly nauseous. She just knew. She knew a life grew inside of her and despite her best attempts at ignoring it, at rejecting the idea that Madame G’s demented plan would take root, the little curl of warmth slipped through her mind and burrowed in.

  Her moods had changed. Weren’t pregnant ladies moody? Her determination to leave was solidifying, her anger at those involved in the conception was growing, and when X said she knew who the unwitting sperm donor was, she wanted to shove her against the wall, blade at her throat, and demand every morsel of information. Except with X, Dani would likely end up on her back on the floor, with a blade already cutting skin at her own throat.

  X shadowed Dani out of the lab and back to the elevator after the mad doctor rattled off the list of instructions for the expectant mother. The primary one being that she couldn’t leave the facility’s grounds “for safety reasons” because “she’s so important.” Dani just wanted to grab X’s arm and haul her down to her rooms so she could find out about her baby’s sperm donor.

  Turning the corner to the elevator, Dani almost groaned when she saw the fangbanger waiting for a ride. The “sexual artist” in charge of seduction training and vampire blood feedings was always annoying, but today Dani couldn’t stand the sight of Janice’s bottle-job red hair and cutsie outfits.

  “He-ey,” Janice called as they drew closer. “Dani, right? Are you the one carrying the shifter’s young?”

  Suppressing a growl—growl?—Dani refrained from pointing out that it was her baby, too. Not Madame G’s, not the mad doctor’s with the eager smile, not the shifter’s. It was hers.

  “’Sup, Janice?” X asked, irritation lacing her tone.

  The elevator doors opened and they filed in.

  “Hey, Agent X,” Janice greeted, then turned to Dani. “I was always wondering how you got out of participating in my training. I bet they wanted to save you for that male’s baby.”

  The lusty redhead fanned her ample bosom and kept going, oblivious to the lack of interest in her presence.

  “My word,” Janice drawled. “Between you and me, it’s been a little boring here for me since that mission. Those males… so virile. And their stamina… oooh.”

  Blood began to pound in Dani’s ears. Her heartbeat thudding strongly as she put two and two together.

  “What did you do for the mission?” Dani asked tightly.

  “What didn’t I do,” Janice panted, and kicked her hip out. “Let me tell you, the one they had me steal the product from, the weird one, he could go all night. And big. It’s a good thing you didn’t have to get pregnant by him the old-fashioned way. Giiiirl, he’d a broke you.”

  Anger built on top of anger for a reason Dani couldn’t understand, and this woman needed to shut the fuck up. But as the elevator door opened, she kept talking.

  “I sucked him off so long, I should’ve gotten a gallon of cum. But I had to be sneaky.”

  Must. Not. Throat. Punch. It was like a sledgehammer was hitting her brain and reverberating through her chest, her blood pulsed through her. As they neared the corner where they would hopefully part ways, Janice turned to what she must’ve felt was an avid audience and continued. By now Dani was breathing heavy, like a bull ready to charge, glaring at Janice through lowered lids.

  “It’s just not the same here. The new recruits are inexperienced with someone of my vast skills. The others… been there, done that.” Janice leaned in closer, speaking to X who had come to a stop next to Dani, and whispered
conspiratorially. “I’m going back to Pale Moonlight. I mean, those shifters don’t know what happened. I just need one more night. To wrap my mouth around his—”

  Dani’s fist whipped out and throat-punched the woman. There was no thought, just action. Not even X saw it coming. Janice dropped to the floor, choking, grabbing her throat.

  “Oh my god! What did I do?” Clarity rushed back. Dani stepped back, watching Janice writhe on the floor, struggling to draw in a breath. Sure, she’d killed before, but not an innocent. Well, Janice wasn’t exactly innocent but Dani didn’t know if she deserved to be watched while suffocating on the floor.

  Dani looked at X, who gazed back impassively, waiting for Dani’s reaction.

  “Shouldn’t we save her?” Dani asked, yet neither one made a move to do so.

  X shrugged and looked back down at Janice, whose bulging eyes were pleading with X to help her. “I don’t know. You gonna miss someone who lures doped out young girls at the clubs to come here and be blood feeders and fangbangers?”

  Blood feeders were the blood supply for the vampire Agents at Sigma. Dani had heard Madame G even had a few vampires she kept for her studies and they required blood feeders also. Those poor girls were usually the most strung out, too far gone of the batch. And they rarely came back from the feedings. It was better for them if they didn’t survive. Sane vampires could seduce the blood from their prey, but vampires kept for lab experiments weren’t often sane.

  “I knew I never liked her,” Dani replied.

  Not looking forward to watching a person die a slow, painful death, especially one she caused, Dani was relieved when X used her booted foot to fling Janice’s hands off her throat and stepped down until the sexual artist’s air was completely cut off. It was only a matter of moments before the woman went completely still, her eyes vacant and fixed.

  “Besides, doll, she was just telling us she planned to disobey orders and jeopardize Mission Baby.” X flipped out her radio and spoke into it. “Clean up, aisle 5.”

  Once X was done radioing directions to recruits, she turned to head toward Dani’s room.

  “Did I understand her right?” Dani rushed after. “The shifter they got for the… stuff, he hangs out at Pale Moonlight?”

  “Yep.”

  “Is he… ”

  “Yep.”

  Fuck. A Guardian. Her sperm donor is not only a Guardian, he’s one of those Guardians. One of the pack that frequents the infamous back rooms in the shifter-owned club Pale Moonlight. Dani had heard many tales of what went on in The Den, especially about the three Guardians who liked to play together with their women in one of those rooms. And now she was carrying the baby of one of them.

  “Look, doll. I gotta jet and tell Madame G that I have to replace her seduction trainer. They were getting sick of her, anyway. ‘Loose and flappy’ was Agent W’s description. That vamp cracks me up. Any hoodels, you gotta be dying of curiosity so here’s the run down. He’s kinda weird.”

  Not quite what Dani was expecting, but the unexpected insult toward the baby daddy started the low thrum in her head again. What was going on with her?

  “He’s hot as hell, don’t get me wrong. They all are. His looks are… unique. If you ever see him, you’ll know why they call him Mercury. Helluva fighter, if I have to give a damn Guardian a compliment. Just seems a little… slow. Don’t know what his issue is, but we all got one. Am I right?” X clapped her shoulder and opened the door for Dani, who hadn’t noticed they already reached her room. She wandered in and turned back to X.

  “How did Madame G know that he and I could produce an interspecies young? Don’t they have to mate first?”

  The underlying seriousness that was always there suddenly dominated X’s face.

  “No mating required for baby making. I have no idea how she gets the information she does. It’s not through natural means. Can you imagine what she’ll do with a baby?” X turned to go and then turned back. “It’s a good thing those wolves don’t know what you carry. They’re protective as hell so imagine what a Guardian would be like. You’d be on lockdown with all of them protecting that little bundle of furry joy.” Shaking her head, X sauntered off.

  Dani let the door fall shut, but continued to stare at it. She knew what she had to do.

  Chapter 3

  Lying in bed, plans that were started during those dark days after her assault began cementing in her mind. Her Plan A needed to have a Plan B and C, and be meticulous. Madame G would keep close tabs on her now that she was the only successful interspecies insemination. Dani wasn’t naïve. There’d been more attempts. There had to have been. While she was off with Agent X and Agent E, hunting the bastards that killed her family, there were demented Agents that hunted and kidnapped innocents only because they were shifters. Dani didn’t know what Madame G did with the captives, but she heard enough screams, enough hushed conversations, to know it wasn’t good.

  At first, she’d convinced herself that those creatures crying in despair were guilty of the same crimes she’d witnessed those feral shifters carry out. Later, after more interaction with the recruits and Agents, Dani realized there were few under Sigma’s umbrella that joined with her same righteous intentions of forever protecting the innocent. Most joined because of their intense hatred of paranormals, unless they were a vampire, then their hatred was aimed at shifters. Many joined because they wanted a license to kill, anyone or anything—didn’t matter.

  Still needing one light left on in the room, Dani drifted off.

  A faint sound woke her. What was it? A click? Rustling?

  Someone’s in here with me. Grateful she took advice from X and got used to sleeping armed with at least one knife, her hand crept under the blankets until it wrapped around the hilt. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

  The room was completely dark. Fear sizzled up her spine. I wish a light was on!

  Her bedside lamp flickered on.

  Her gaze landed instantly on the form that stood at the edge of her bed. Agent T’s face registered the shock of the light turning on.

  “I can’t get your smell out of my head,” he rasped.

  “You should’ve gotten enough of it a couple of weeks ago,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “There wasn’t much I could do. Couldn’t fuck you. Tried to play with you, but you kept passing out.”

  Her stomach roiled at the few memories she did have of that day. So, he was back for more.

  “I heard the news. Congratulations, by the way. Before you get big and bloated with that freak you’re carrying, I need to have you. I’ll keep my promise that you’ll enjoy it.”

  “I seriously doubt that.” The thrumming returned. He insulted her baby. Rage began to build. This man insulted her baby. He assaulted her, copping feels, attempting more, and now he thought he could rape her in her own bed.

  Fuck. That.

  “I need to have you.” Agent T lunged for her. Dani came up, snapping her knife out, aiming for a vital spot on his body.

  He was too fast for her, hitting her arm out of the way. She almost lost the grip on her knife, but managed to keep hold of it. He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head as she bucked wildly beneath him.

  Unfortunately, his size and fighting experience overpowered her quickly. Agent T used his free hand to snatch away the blankets while his large body immobilized hers. She continued to struggle, frantically looking around her room for something, anything, she could use against him. Nothing but her lamp and some books, but no free hands to grab at them.

  He ripped her tank top open and grappled at her shorts. Hot breath drifted over her breasts, his mouth too close. She spotted one of her old college textbooks. More ripping fabric and her bottom half would be open to him.

  I wish I could smash his head with a book.

  A heavy, thick book came flying off the shelf and slammed into Agent T’s skull. With an oomph, he fell to her side. Yanking her hands free, the knife still clutched tightly, she swiftly bro
ught it across the most vulnerable spot she could find, his throat.

  Hot blood sprayed her. Agent T gurgled, grabbed at his throat futilely to stanch the blood flow. A sense of déjà vu hit her. Another throat attack, she was two for two. She scrambled from the bed and spun on him. Agent T grabbed for his sidearm but his blood-coated hands were too slippery to get a good grip.

  Dani slapped his hands away and shoved him on his back; he was weakening rapidly. Climbing on top of him to pin him down, she made sure he couldn’t grab at any more weapons, then leaned down close where he gaped like a hooked fish.

  “Don’t worry,” she hissed. “I’ll make sure you enjoy this.” Dani waited until the last bit of life drained out of him.

  Mercury sat straight up in bed. His bed, in this case, was the floor. He’d only moved inside in the last thirty years, uncomfortable with a roof over his head. It’d be another thirty years before he slept on an actual bed. They were just so soft.

  He walked around all day feeling like something momentous had happened. But what? It was business as usual at the lodge. Kaitlyn was in the final phase of her training. Her youth and vitality were a breath of fresh air. The search for her true paternity was a welcome change to the daily grind. Jace was adapting to their brotherhood nicely and Cassie, his human mate, seemed happy living deep in the woods. Mercury thought it was nice to be around the mated couple, seeing them laughing and chatting, looking for any excuse to touch. Mercury’s missions usually took them to families devastated by Sigma or the dregs of their society—feral shifters that turned on humans or their own kind.

  Not everyone at the lodge got a little mood boost from the new arrivals. Mason Ternes, in charge of security and their IT support, was becoming progressively withdrawn. He went down to the club for sex more and more frequently, ignoring Commander Fitzsimmons’ and Bennett’s warnings. Mason was always an asshole, but his moods continued to grow darker, and his lack of respect toward those they helped in the field was concerning. It was convenient that modern times brought rapidly changing technology—it kept Mason busy with cameras, computers, and firepower, and away from society.