As I took a seat on the couch with Nixie, I realized it was already after dinner and we’d somehow missed two mealtimes during training. I tried to remember what kinds of snacks I had hidden in my stuff, and by the time I decided to get up, Nixie was already fast asleep in my lap. Moving her carefully to the table, I didn’t get far before Mason came over and pushed me back onto the cushion, leaning back and tossing his legs over mine.
“You did good today. Better than any day before it,” he said, his unexpected compliment distracting me from my hunger.
“Slowly but surely, you guys are killing my pain receptors. Good for me, I guess.”
He shook his head. “It’s not just about what you can handle, it’s also about what you give back. You’re ready to kick some serious ass.”
“Thanks, but not today. For the rest of the day, I want to rest until nothing hurts anymore,” I whined.
He laughed. “I think that can be arranged, but at least clean yourself first. We don’t need you stinking up the couch.”
A retort about how I’d already planned on it was on the tip of my tongue, but Spencer exited the bathroom and I decided arguing something pointless wasn’t worth my energy. By the time I emerged from my scalding shower, all of the guys were in the living room, dressed in regular clothes instead of the yellow jumpsuit I was currently sporting.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Rogue bear shifter in lower Manhattan. He killed a human, and we need to bring him in before the police find him,” Blake said, and my heart broke a little.
We’d brought other prisoners in since my arrival, but only two and with minor offenses, people who would be out within a couple months. But this kind of offense put someone behind bars at Mandora for life. Taking a human life was the worst law a supernatural could break.
Grabbing a different outfit, I darted back into the bathroom and changed into jeans, tennis shoes, and my sweatshirt. Nixie was still sleeping when I came back out, so I scooped her up and tucked her into my pocket like normal.
Once I was ready, we all moved for the door only to find Deacon standing at the entrance when Jaxon opened it. “Here’s the file. Be careful with this one. He has very little humanity left.”
Jaxon nodded. “Thanks. We’ll bring him in.”
“Dead or alive. The warden doesn’t care which. Just clean it up before attention is drawn to our area,” Deacon added before walking away.
Well, that made our job a little easier in case the shifter insisted on going psycho on us. Still, my stomach turned and reminded me all that I’d eaten during the day was a bagel, but the thought of possibly having to kill someone a little later snuffed out my appetite.
Once we were in the SUV, I took up my favorite place in the third row with Mason and Blake in the middle, while Spencer drove, and Jaxon navigated. As usual, Mason opened a portal and we appeared outside of Manhattan, still needing to drive another thirty minutes to the last sighting of the bear.
“His name is Gene. He was beta in his pack, but when the alpha died, he was challenged and lost. Gene not only lost his place in the pack, but he also lost his chosen mate, the alpha’s daughter,” Jaxon read from the file.
Damn, no wonder he went psycho. It didn’t justify him killing someone, but it at least explained the erratic behavior.
“Rumor has it, Gene wasn’t known for his compassion, and there are theories the alpha was poisoned. After fleeing his pack, the rogue killed a man in Central Park who was apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nobody saw it happen, but there was a witch who reported that she saw Gene running away with blood on his face.”
“Where is he now?” Spencer asked as we entered lower Manhattan.
“Last sighting was around Canal Station, lurking near the subway,” Jaxon answered.
I leaned forward and poked my head between Mason and Blake. “He’s probably going to try and escape through the tunnels. Unless he thinks he can blend in with the people on the streets.”
“We’ll check the tunnels first,” Spencer said.
When we found a parking garage, we all got out and I woke up Nixie. “Time for action, sleepy head. We have a bear shifter to find.”
“Seriously? Just leave me in the car,” she groaned.
“Not going to happen. You can’t leave me alone with these four. You know that,” I joked.
She sighed. “Whatever. Just leave me in your sweatshirt, at least.”
I laughed but complied as I tucked her into my pocket and followed the guys to the street level. We were still two blocks from the station, but we were all on guard. If the shifter had murdered a human, I doubted he’d have any problems killing a supernatural.
As tired as I was, I was equally glad Nixie had kicked my ass earlier by practicing my magic. At least I was confident in my defensive abilities before we faced a rabid bear.
“We can’t make a scene, so this needs to be done quietly and efficiently. Here’s his picture.” Jaxon handed the image around.
The shifter reminded me of Ethan, but there was something in his eyes that told me they were nothing alike. Ethan might have made mistakes that landed him in prison, but he still had his humanity. Gene’s eyes held no emotion, and that was scarier than anything else. People who didn’t feel did stupid shit.
“What do we do if he shifts?” I asked, since all of the others we’d brought in were easy to pass off as humans. Gene wouldn’t be so simple if he was in bear form with all of the people around the subway.
“Don’t let him shift. I saw what you did today with Spencer and Nixie. Gunner will open a portal, but we’ll need you to subdue him however you feel comfortable,” Jaxon answered.
Holy shit, this was another moment going on the calendar. Even though I wasn’t ready to say it out loud to Jaxon, I appreciated that he trusted me enough to make me an essential part of the plan. I also wasn’t ready to admit I had lingering doubts I’d be able to duplicate what I’d done earlier in a controlled setting. There was a lot that could go wrong if I screwed up.
Blake wrapped an arm around me. “You can do this, Siren.”
Annoying empath. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
We arrived at Canal Station, and it was bustling with an evening rush even though it was nearing ten—New York never slept.
As soon as we descended the stairs to search the tracks, a scream sounded from much too far away for us to have a chance of getting there in time.
Of course, the bastard couldn’t have been a rabbit shifter or something cute that didn’t entice fear just with his presence.
Taking off at a full sprint, all we could do was hope we weren’t too late to prevent another death.
Chapter 4
Chaos was everywhere inside the station. People were obviously running away from the shifter, who we could hear roaring even though he was out of sight. While we were trying to sprint toward the noise, the crowds were making it harder than it needed to be by pushing their way toward the nearest exit and not caring who was in their path.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we spotted the giant grizzly. He was standing on his hind legs in front of a woman whose pale face said she was moments from passing out.
Mason stepped up on a bench, waving around his wallet too fast for people to realize there wasn’t actually a badge within it. “You need to leave the area calmly. We’re with the zoo, and this one has rabies, but don’t worry, we’re going to safely get him out of here through the tunnels, so you won’t even see him leave.”
The few people who remained out of idiotic curiosity finally scampered off, but the woman was still stuck and shaking like crazy.
“Come on, Gene. You don’t want to hurt anyone. Let the lady go,” Blake said, likely sending out waves of calm emotions.
The bear roared and swiped out at us. Apparently, he wasn’t easily swayed by the empath’s powers.
His brown coat was matted with dirt and blood, and there were plenty of visible injuries. Whatever this bear h
ad been through was not good.
“Flower, quit gawking and help,” Jaxon snarled, and I wanted to punch him in the face, but he was partially right. I was feeling sympathy for the murderer, and I really needed to avoid that.
When we’d been training, I’d made contact with Spencer every time in order to use my magic. I wasn’t so sure throwing an orb full of the same stuff was going to work, but I was determined to give it my best shot, because there was no way in hell the shifter was leaving our sight.
Nixie crawled up my arm and stood on my shoulder. “Shut that damn thing up.”
“Nice of you to join us,” I mumbled as I began to build magic within my hands and compress it together.
“Yeah, well, I had to see what all the fuss was about. That damn bear sounds like a tortured animal. What did you do to it?”
“We didn’t do anything to him. He went rogue. You’d know that if you didn’t insist on sleeping. Now, shut it while I help the guys,” I snapped.
Nixie did just that, and when I felt like I was going to burst with energy, I finally flung a wave of magic at the bear who had been kept distracted by Blake and Spencer.
The woman caught sight of what I’d done and finally fainted, which wasn’t a bad thing as long as Gene didn’t turn around to attack. Nixie fluttered toward the ground, but I lost sight of her before she landed and hoped she stayed out of the way.
The bear was stunned by the impact of my power, but I’d intended for him to go numb and that didn’t exactly work. He was still flailing around, claws out and extremely dangerous.
“Gunner, restrain him,” Jaxon yelled, taking up position toward the back.
“In public?” Mason replied.
“We’ll deal with it. Flower already used magic.”
Jaxon’s words insinuated I’d done something wrong, but he had been the one to tell me to help. How else was I supposed to have done so?
Mason’s hands began twisting around, and thin green magical rope started to emerge, growing longer with every stroke he made. Once it was long enough to swing out, I watched as the fae went all cowboy and secured the bear.
The shifter roared the loudest I’d heard yet, and his fur started to burn in all the places the magic-made rope touched.
“Shift,” Mason demanded.
The beast tossed his head back and forth in defiance, but it was useless. He was on all fours, and there was no way he was getting out of the predicament he’d brought upon himself.
Spencer moved next to me. “You need to command the shift on him. We can’t get him into the prison like this.”
“Okay,” I replied nervously and stepped forward, then noticed the woman was no longer where I’d last seen her. “Where did the human go?”
“Jaxon helped pull her away, and Nixie has her. Focus on the mark.”
Ignoring his attitude because I knew he was right, I stared down the irate beast. His head was as big as my entire upper body, and saliva foamed from his snarling mouth.
Spencer kept a tight hold on the back of my shirt and followed right behind me as I stepped forward, allowing me to feel comfort he could pull me back if shit went south while also giving me an extra boost in confidence.
“Gene, you will shift right now,” I demanded, forcing as much power behind my words as I could.
The bear’s form began to shimmer, so I kept going. “You have no choice. You need to change to your human form.”
With one final roar, the bear disappeared. In his place was a very naked man who had been beaten far beyond anything I’d ever seen. My heart instantly hurt for him, and I wondered if maybe he was another supernatural who was being forced into the prison like I had been. There was always a possibility that the file we’d been given was falsified.
Mason snapped his fingers and shorts appeared on the guy before he was further restrained. Then, Nixie was climbing up my legs and reappeared. “The woman is awake and extremely distraught. You’re going to need to make her forget a lot of this.”
I nodded and took a step to the human, but Jaxon stopped me. “Spencer is going to corrupt the footage, so the last thing anyone will see is us arriving. She only needs to know we were here, we work for animal control with the zoo, and she’s safe to go home.”
“Got it.” He let go of my arm, and I went to the petite woman. Her shoulders were shaking, and her auburn hair covered her face. I sat on the ground with her and reached a hand to hers.
“I’m Susie. I’m going to help you.” I figured a fake name was better than my real one.
“W-w-what are y-you?” she stuttered.
“I’m a friend, and you’re safe now. I promise.” Tilting her chin up, I ignored her frightened flinch and worked my magic. “We work for animal control at the Central Park Zoo. We took the bear away through the subway, so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. You are safe and you can go home now. Nothing else happened besides us capturing the bear safely. You won’t even remember our faces when you get home.”
A haze fell over her eyes. “I can go home?”
“Yes, go straight home,” I answered softly.
She nodded and tried to stand, but her legs were still weak. I moved first and gave her my hand until she no longer shook. After she said her thanks, I watched as she exited the platform, hopefully never to remember us.
When I turned around, Spencer was already gone to take care of the cameras, Mason had opened up a portal, Blake was holding on to the prisoner, and Jaxon was waiting for me. He gave me a curt nod when I joined him.
“You did good, but don’t hesitate next time. If the shifter hadn’t been restrained, you’d have been dead.”
“How do we know he even deserves this?” I countered.
“Deacon wouldn’t have given us a tampered file. You heard what was in there. Their pack is better off without him, and so is the rest of the world,” Jaxon answered gruffly.
Trusting his judgement, I let it go and reached down to grab Nixie before we walked through Mason’s portal, leaving the subway behind, and hopefully no evidence of our time there.
Gene began to buck against his restraints, so I placed a hand on him and put him to sleep using the same spell we’d practiced earlier in the day. Once the shifter couldn’t stand on his own, Blake and Jaxon dragged him inside and brought the prisoner to the guards. That’s when I realized Spencer was missing from our group.
“Uh, guys? We left Spencer behind,” I said before Blake and Jaxon were out of earshot.
Mason slapped a hand on my shoulder. “No, we didn’t. I’m headed back to get him and the SUV now. We’ll see you in the lair before you can even miss us.” He winked, then walked through his still-open portal.
The other two continued in the opposite direction as Nixie and I headed for the room. My adrenaline was finally wearing off as we entered the lair and I plopped down on the couch.
“How did that feel?” Nixie asked.
“I’ve helped bring in prisoners before,” I answered..
She huffed and jumped onto my lap. “You’ve never been this involved with the actual capture before, smartass.”
She was right, and I wasn’t sure how I felt. Part of me might always second guess if someone was truly guilty or not, and I hated it. Mostly, I hated that we couldn’t trust our own kind.
There was a knock on the door, and I sat Nixie on the table to answer it, assuming it was Deacon or Alex, but ended up surprised by Owen’s presence.
“Cara,” he drawled.
“Owen, how can I help you?” I glanced back in the room at the clock. “At midnight, no less.”
He smirked. “Take a walk with me.”
My head shook. “I think it’s best we stay here. What do you want?”
“Where were you guys?” he asked.
“Bringing in a prisoner.”
“Who?”
I scoffed. “Are you so bored inside the prison that you’re writing a book now?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question. It’s rude,” he
retorted.
“You know what else is rude? Showing up in the prison and being overly nice, all while acting like you know important secrets, and then not sharing any of them as if you’re better than us or maybe even fighting against us.”
He nodded. “Touché. Well, I guess that’s it then.”
Ugh. The stupid lion shifter was pissing me off, and I was too tired for his shit.
“Seriously? You just stopped by to be a pain in the ass?”
He grinned. “I guess so. See you around, Cara.”
The way my name rolled off his tongue had my suspicions once again on the rise. I couldn’t stand Owen but was incredibly intrigued by him. I wanted to know his story and what role he played in whatever shitshow I’d found myself in.
Though, something told me I wasn’t going to find any of those answers if I left well enough alone.
Sitting back down, Nixie was having a good laugh, likely at my expense, but I didn’t care. Closing my eyes, I decided it was time for bed, and the couch was the perfect spot to make that happen.
That was until Mason slammed the door open. “What the hell did furball want?”
“Easy, killer. You’re starting to show your Jaxon. He was just being nosy. I sent him on his way. Now leave me alone. I’m tired.”
Mason stood over me holding a blanket. “I’m tired, too, but I need to wait for the others. Spencer went to make sure Jaxon and Blake didn’t need more help, and I wanted to make sure you had no issues here.” If I hadn’t been so exhausted, I’d have called him out for being so concerned, but I was, so I didn’t, and he added, “Why don’t you take my room tonight?”
I considered it and almost said no, but I also knew the guys would be awake for a while when they came back because they always liked their “wind down” time after a capture, so I reached up a lazy hand and let him help me up.
“Thank you,” I said, giving his arm a squeeze.
“Sleep good, Siren. I’ll be kicking your ass again tomorrow,” he called after me.
Sticking my hand back out the door, I flipped him off and then realized I forgot Nixie. Damn, it was going to be really great when she could fly again. That reminded me, we needed to find a way to sneak out and see Greggor soon.
Capture (Elite Supernatural Trackers Book 2) Page 3
