Mending the Beast

by Lacey Thorn

  “Isaac then played on Quinn’s emotions in the aftermath and sent her on a vengeance plan to infiltrate the hunters. We have no idea where she’s been or what they did to her, but she mentioned Dr. Talbot,” Gabriel continued.

  “And she’s pregnant with a shifter baby,” Daniel added.

  “Tony said she found Ariel where they used to live. At a trading post?” Koby asked.

  “Walker Trading Post,” Gabriel confirmed. “It’s where Gideon came from.”

  “Logan’s mate Clara also,” Holt said. “What was Ariel doing back there? Why’d she leave Riverton?”

  Gabriel stared at Daniel, letting him know he was leaving that one up to him. Daniel shook his head. “Running from me.”

  “Well, is that an Erikson brothers’ trait or something?” Slade asked and everyone laughed.

  “Very funny,” Gabriel said. “Besides, you should be grateful. Kenzie and I practically gift-wrapped Holt for you.”

  “Ha!” Holt snorted with a chuckle. “Gift-wrapped my ass.”

  “Which means you owe me for being here at the right time to meet your mate,” Gabriel continued.

  “Whatever,” Holt said, but he was grinning. Daniel knew the other man was totally devoted to his mate.

  “What about your mate, Laramie? I’ve barely seen her since we’ve been here. Are you sure she’s not a figment of your imagination?” Gabriel joked.

  “She’s definitely real.” Laramie’s voice was practically a purr. “She’s been busy with baby bear and getting to know Malachi’s sisters. Well, Xandra’s gone now, but Jaeda and Sidia are still here. Plus, helping the members of her former den get settled here as they arrive.”

  “Declan and his mate left to help Malachi?” Daniel asked.

  “Along with two of my enforcers. Malachi thinks he knows who planned the attack on Em’s den as well as ours. I sent back-up.”

  “I imagine it was hard for you to stay behind,” Gabriel said, and Daniel could tell by Laramie’s expression that it was true.

  “Malachi sent my mate and his daughter, Ruby, here to seek my protection. They come first. He knew that, and I agree. All the mate’s do. Especially with three pregnancies in our den. They must come first. Which brings me to why I asked you to come here. Hunters were spotted in town. Not sure if it’s a small group passing through or something bigger. I’ve got Brock along with two of my enforcers, Fletch and Milo, in town scoping it out. For now, I think it’s best if everyone sticks close to the lodge. No wandering off alone for anyone.”

  “You think they’ll try to come onto Holloway land?” Daniel asked.

  “Not hardly,” Koby scoffed.

  “They know if they do, they die,” Laramie stated. “We don’t ask questions here, and we don’t give second chances.”

  “Did you already let the rest of the den know?” Slade asked, rising from the couch.

  “Considering I just found out, no. My mate knows and will let those with her know. I called you all here first thing, so you’d be aware and we could make sure the necessary precautions are in place. I’ll make the announcement once we’re done here. Why?” Laramie asked.

  “Because Rissa has a habit of sneaking off by herself all the time,” Holt offered. “I’ve caught her going off property more than once. I’m still not sure she understands where the boundaries are.”

  “Or doesn’t care,” Slade muttered.

  “Why don’t you just mate her and put an end to these games the two of you are playing?” Koby asked. “You’re as bad as Laramie, letting your mate lead you around by the nose.”

  “Are you sure it was his nose she was leading?” Holt joked.

  “Leave Slade alone,” Laramie ordered, but he was smiling. “I’ll make sure everyone knows as soon as we’re finished here. Slade, I expect you to make sure Rissa understands that means her, too. No running off alone. Especially our women.”

  Considering the Holloways had once believed all their females had been killed off, Daniel understood that sentiment. Equally so as a mated man. He’d do everything to protect Ariel. And speaking of his mate.

  “On that note, I should go find my mate,” Daniel stated, coming to his feet as well.

  “She’s probably with Kenzie and the others,” Laramie offered.

  Daniel shook his head. “No, Ariel’s not really a hanging out with the girls type of woman. She’d rather be alone than with a group of people. Especially ones she’s not familiar with. Hell, I think the only woman I’ve seen her with since we’ve been here is Rissa.”

  Laramie’s phone rang. “Excuse me for a minute.” He stepped to his desk and took the call. Anger suffused his expression, and his gaze flicked between Daniel and Slade. Daniel’s lion responded to the look, a rumble rising from his throat.

  “Easy,” Gabriel said, glancing at Daniel. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know,” Daniel admitted. “Something’s not right.”

  Laramie hung up then immediately dialed someone else, speaking briefly before disconnecting. He put his phone in his pocket and headed back to them.

  “Hunting party was spotted in the national park. Milo said it looked like they were going parallel to our land. Said it looked like they were looking for something.”

  “Where’s Rissa, Slade?” Daniel asked. The hair on the back of his neck bristled. His lion so close to the surface he worried it would break from his skin if he lost control.

  Slade’s face lost color. “She likes to head to the clearing by the national park. Not exactly on Holloway land, but not completely off, either.”

  “Shit,” Holt snapped. “That’s where we met Jaeda. My mate was running from hunters and cut through the national park thinking they wouldn’t follow her there. They did.”

  Daniel surged to his feet. “I’m going to find Ariel.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Slade offered, and they both turned toward the door.

  “Wait a minute. We’ll all go,” Laramie said, and they quickly exited the room together. “Matheus is checking camera feeds now. We have cameras all through the woods. We’ll find Rissa and Ariel.”

  They were just stepping outside when Daniel felt the ripple under his skin. His lion was pressing for dominance as a sense of danger filled him. He almost went to his knees as he felt phantom pain in his shoulder and thigh. He felt Ariel. Felt her fall. Felt her confusion and knew when it turned to panic.

  “No!” The denial tore from his lips as he scented the air and turned to follow where his lion led. They had her. Hunters. On Holloway land. They had her and Rissa.

  I love you, whispered through his mind, then he couldn’t feel her. A roar rocked the air, and he knew it was his. Someone yelled, but Daniel was already gone, lion bursting from human skin and taking off at a breakneck pace. He heard one of the bears roar behind him but paid little mind. He was only focused on one thing. Ariel and getting to her as quickly as he could. He followed his mate’s scent, tracking her to the point where tire tracks led away from Holloway land and into the park.

  “Stop!” His brother’s voice filled his head. “A fully grown lion in a national park will incite panic and potentially get you shot. Not to mention what they’ll do when they got a load of me.”

  Since his brother was a liger, Gabriel had a point. While Daniel stopped, a bear went streaking past, following the tracks without pause.

  Laramie in Kodiak form roared beside them, but two of the bears kept going. Daniel figured one of them was Slade, and he was hard pressed not to join him. His lion demanded they continue to hunt and find their mate. To kill the person who’d taken her from them.

  One of the bears came back and shifted in front of them. Not Slade, but another man Daniel vaguely remembered meeting when they first arrived.

  “They took my sister,” he howled, and Daniel put a name to the face. Adam. He and Rissa had followed Laramie’s mate to Wyoming and the Holloways. They’d joined the Holloway den. “They took Rissa. Tossed her in the back of the goddamn truck
like she was garbage. I’m going to find them and rip out their fucking throats.” The man swallowed, and his eyes took on a sheen he seemed to will away before he continued speaking. “She’s all I have left. I can’t lose her, too.”

  “We’re not losing anyone,” Daniel said as he shifted and stood facing Adam. “We’re going to get them back. Both of them.”

  Adam nodded, and shifting into their animals once more, they took off back toward the lodge. Daniel was getting his mate back, and no one would stop him.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ariel came awake with a vengeance. Every muscle in her body was clenched tightly as she prepared for whatever she faced. As awareness sank in, she tried to fight the panic that filled her. She was tied down to a hard surface. Flat on her back with arms and legs stretched wide. And she was naked. She bit back the scream that threatened to rip from her throat, drawing blood from her lower lip. Everything faded away until all she was aware of was the cool steel beneath her and the shackles at her wrists and ankles.

  “Not again. Not again.” She muttered the words over and over. She knew she was losing it but seemed incapable of pulling herself free from the terror that filled her.

  Then a scream shattered the air.

  Ariel jerked her head to the side, trying to see through the closed door where the sound continued to come from. Rissa. She knew it was Rissa and fought like a demon to free herself. The noise she made attracted attention, and the door was shoved open. Ariel glanced down and recognized the boots on the man’s feet. He was one of the bastards who’d taken them.

  “This one’s awake, now. Want me to start on her?”

  “Shut her up!” The order was followed by a sharp crack then silence.

  “No!” Ariel screamed. Had they killed Rissa? She fought hard against the restraints but couldn’t manage to budge them.

  Another figure cut past boots and headed toward her. She had a feeling she was looking at the man so many wanted to get their hands on. Talbot.

  “If you weren’t so fucking incompetent, I wouldn’t have to deal with this mess, right now,” the man fumed.

  “Look, Talbot. You said you needed the blonde and the brunette. I got you a blonde and a brunette.”

  “I said I wanted Emersyn Langston, the blonde Kodiak who mated the Holloway alpha, and Kenzie Marshall, who I need to get my hands on again. I need to see how her body is reacting to the last dose of blocker she was injected with. She’s the key to making sure shifters cease to exist. I needed a specific blonde and brunette, you imbecile! Does Marcus Blain have any idea just how fucking incompetent you are?” Talbot was seething as he walked toward her. He gave her a cursory scan that managed to be detached. “She’s young and appears healthy. If I had more time, I could cut her open. See what I could see. Ovaries are probably good. I could use more ovum to experiment with since I had to leave the others behind. Stupid shifters thinking they can hunt us now.”

  Ariel struggled again, wrenching her wrists and ankles as she fought the bonds holding her in place. She wasn’t letting him take her ovaries, doing God only knew what with the eggs they held. Experiments? What experiments was he doing? How many women had he stolen from?

  “Listen, Doc.” The insolence in Boots’ voice was clear even to Ariel. “You wanted two female shifters. I got you two female shifters. Right off Holloway land, which you said was impossible.”

  Talbot grew still. When he lifted his head, his gaze burned with fury. “You took them from Holloway land? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  “Apparently, the impossible,” Boots said with a laugh. “I took them right out from under Laramie Holloway’s nose.”

  “He’ll kill you for this,” Talbot stated as if it was a done deal.

  “He’ll have to get his hands on me first, and I don’t catch easily. Now, what do you want to do with this one?”

  Talbot turned his glare onto Ariel then glanced at the clock. “I have a male shifter I can put her with.” His grin was evil. “He’s a prime specimen. Marcus bagged him for me. Strong. Virile. With enough drugs in his system, he’ll follow any command I give him. I merely need to break him first.”

  Boots ran his gaze over Ariel. It definitely wasn’t detached. He paused in places that made her cringe. If she were able to get free, she’d rip his throat out first. “Looks like she’s already mated.”

  Talbot glanced toward the bite Daniel had left on her. “It won’t matter. She doesn’t need to be willing. She merely needs to be spread for the male.”

  Bile rushed into her throat, and she forcibly swallowed it down. She had to think, had to push the terror away and figure a way out. A way to get to Rissa.

  “What about the brunette?” Boots asked as if he knew what Ariel was thinking.

  “If she’s still alive, do what you want with her. Use her for training or kill her. I have plenty of female bears at my disposal. I don’t need another one. If you’d gotten me the damn Kodiak female like I asked, it would be different.” Talbot’s face tightened, and his eyes narrowed as he looked at Boots.

  Boots glared right back, making Ariel wonder exactly what role he played within the hunter hierarchy that he felt comfortable speaking his mind with Dr. Talbot. From what she knew, Talbot was one of the formidable heads within the hunter clans. He directed most of the labs and came up with the drugs shifters were darted with. He also supervised the experiments conducted within the labs and in the fields. Such as what had been done to her. Yet, Boots had no problem going toe-to-toe with the doctor.

  “Temper, temper,” Boots warned. “Remember, Doctor. I can make them disappear as easily as I can bring them to you.”

  “You sonofabitch,” Dr. Talbot snarled. “You should have just killed them. Without my medical intervention, they’ll both die anyway.”

  Ariel had a feeling they were speaking of Quinn. Had Boots been the one to let her go? And why was she going to die without Talbot’s intervention?

  “Now what would be the fun in that?” Boots gave a laugh. “Much better to watch them scrambling to try to save her and the animal inside her. Sucks the hope right out of them.”

  “One of these days, someone is going to show you your place, Hughes,” Talbot warned.

  “Not today,” he fired back. “Not you.”

  Now, she had a name for Boots. Hughes.

  “Get her ready for transport,” Talbot ordered as he headed out of the room. “We leave in ten minutes.”

  Hughes turned his full attention on her. He ran a finger along her clavicle, down her arm, then over across her stomach before trailing down her thigh as he circled the table she was on.

  “I’m going to enjoy you when Talbot’s done with you,” he vowed. “I have a taste for little kitties like you. Like to make sure you get all the cream you want, baby.”

  Ariel gagged and didn’t bother hiding it. He reached for her throat and shackled as she was, she wasn’t able to prevent him from grabbing her there and squeezing.

  “Oh, I’m going to make you gag. I’ll enjoy it. Every minute of it.”

  She tried to speak around his grip, and he eased up.

  “What was that?”

  She swallowed then met his gaze. “I said, I’m going to rip out your throat. I’ll enjoy it. Every minute of it.”

  Hughes grinned. “I’m definitely going to enjoy you. Even tied down you’re full of spunk.” His gaze traveled between her thighs where she was clearly displayed. “You will be.”

  She fought hard to maintain the sneer on her face, to not let the horror of the past bleed into the present. She’d keep the terror at bay, and when the time came, she’d get free. She’d get Rissa free. Then she’d find her way back to Daniel. She’d wasted too much time pushing him away, and they’d not had nearly enough time together.

  A red light began flashing on the wall, and Hughes tensed.

  “What the hell?” he muttered as he made his way toward the door. “Shit!” He slammed the door closed and locked it then looked aroun
d the room. His gaze settled on her.

  “Looks like someone came to get you. Too bad, I’m not done with you yet.” He headed toward her, pulling a large hunting knife into view. “I’m going to release you, and we’re going to make our way out of here. Just you and me. If you try anything, I’m going to gut you and leave you in pieces for them to find. Do you understand me?”

  She nodded. She understood he was going to free her, which would leave him wide open for attack. If he thought a knife would stop her from taking his throat, then he wasn’t as familiar with cats as he thought.

  He freed her feet first, being careful to stay out of range. Ariel flexed them, loosening her legs, so she’d be ready. One wrist was freed, then he placed the blade across her throat so tightly she felt the trickle of blood as he nicked her.

  “I’m going to free your other hand and pull you off to stand in front of me. If you move, I’ll slice you open. I can leave your head here for them to find. Your body will stay warm for a few hours.” He winked. “Lots can happen between now and then.”

  “Jesus, you’re a sick fuck.” He was going to fuck her dead body? The doctor had hit the nail on the head with his depraved comment.

  The knife pressed harder, nicking more of her skin and sending a steady stream of blood down over her chest. She clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath as she tried to pull back from the blade. There was nowhere for her to go. Her other hand was freed, and he was pulling her to him when something slammed against the door. Both their gazes flew in that direction.

  “Let’s go, kitty cat,” Hughes murmured at her ear. He had her back pressed along his chest. One arm was wrapped around her waist while the other maintained the hold on the knife at her throat. She’d reached up with both hands to pull at the arm around her throat, but her blood was making it too slick to get a good grip.

  Another slam against the door and Ariel saw the lock wasn’t going to hold. Another hit and it might give way, letting her mate inside. She knew he was out there. Was aware of his presence with every fiber of her being.