Mating Kendra

by Tianna Xander

  “That’s just gross, man.” Randy grimaced before turning his attention back to the compound. “Don’t even joke around about shit like that.”

  “Who’s joking?” Galen asked as he peered across the expanse of empty desert. “What makes you think there’s a guard out there?”

  “Not a guard. Four guards,” Randy said as he sat with his back against the huge propane tank they hid behind and checked his rifle and sidearm. “If both my brother and I say there are four guards out there, you can better damned well be sure they’re out there.” He grinned. “Our vision is kind of like your sense of smell. That’s why we both became the best sharpshooters in our units. We can see farther than anyone we know.”

  That was an interesting tidbit. Galen filed that away in his memory. That knowledge might come in handy one day on future missions.

  “Okay,” Galen said. “I’ll bite. Where are they?”

  Randy glanced around the tank for another two seconds or so. “One is on the roof of the two-story building about six-hundred feet to the north. There are two hunkered down in the grass, half-buried and covered with tumbleweeds just to the west of us.” Randy shook his head and sighed. “I’m surprised that none of you brainiacs noticed that those weeds aren’t a-tumbling in the night breeze like the rest of them. And number four is over there, to the east about fifty feet from the door. You should be able to smell him that close, but you probably can’t because he’s more than half-buried in the sand with a fake prickly pear cactus attached to his helmet.”

  Carefully, Galen checked the positions Randy had pointed out. Now that he knew where to look, he could see three of them with the exception of the one with the cactus.

  “Damn it all! How in the hell are we supposed to fight against people who can do that sort of thing?” He glanced at Randy. “Well, I’ll be damned. They would have picked us off if you and your brother hadn’t spotted them.”

  Maybe working with the twins wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “That’s why you brought us, my friend. It’s what we do.” Randy readied his rifle. “Cam and I will take out three of them. Cam will take the one at six-hundred yards. He insists he’s better than I am at distances. I’ll concede him that.” He grinned. “He might think he’s better at distances, but I know I’m better at taking out multiples. You only need to concentrate on making our prickly pear guy fertilizer for that cactus on his head. It was mighty nice of him to have buried himself and everything already, wasn’t it?”

  “Saves us the trouble.” Galen grinned and brushed the sand out of his short beard. He might shave it off after this assignment. It seemed as though every time he went on an assignment it took days to wash the crap out of his hair. The less hair he had, the better in his opinion for this terrain. Besides, the damned thing had itched all day in the desert heat.

  “My thoughts exactly.” Randy picked up a pinch of sand and let the grains fall from his fingers before he adjusted the sights of his rifle. “We’re all going to shoot on the count of three.”

  “How in the hell are we going to do that? We need to maintain radio silence, or they’ll know we’re here and if you use the common shifter link, any shifters in their group could hear you, as well, if they’ve realized we can communicate that way.”

  Randy gave him another grin. “Didn’t you know that twins have a mental bond?”

  “That’s an old wives’ tale. Humans aren’t telepathic.” At least Galen had never heard of them being so.

  “First off, we aren’t human anymore. You need to remember that. It might help you get over that prejudice you feel toward us and those like us. Second, our mental connection isn’t shifter related. The others won’t pick up on it.” He gave Galen an enigmatic look. “None of you shifter-born have picked up on it yet.” He chuckled softly. “Cameron thinks that’s funny.” Getting serious, he positioned himself on his stomach and maneuvered into his firing position. “Keep low and our cactus lover won’t be able to see you.”

  Galen set himself up to take his shot. “I’m aiming at the base of the cactus, right?” he asked, the base of the plant already in his sights.

  “Affirmative. Hit him at the base of it and you’ll have a clean head shot.”

  “I hope to God you’re right.”

  “I’m right. You can count on that.” Randy lowered his head and peered through his sight. “One.” He pulled back the hammer on his rifle, which oddly enough, didn’t make a sound. “Two.” Randy took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Three.”

  Galen, having kept his sights on his target, didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

  Randy fired off his two shots in such quick succession, it made Galen wonder if he’d really hit the two targets that were easily fifty yards apart.

  “You got them both?” he asked Randy as the other man stood up and brushed the sand from his clothing.

  “Of course I did,” Randy said with a snort. “If I use two shots, I take out two targets.” He grinned. “I never was one for wasting bullets.” Bending, he picked up their brass and shoved it in his pocket. “And we always police our brass. There’s no sense in accidentally leaving a fingerprint behind.”

  Wasting bullets or leaving behind brass was the least of Galen’s worries. “If you and your brother don’t see anyone else, we can finally hit this place. I’m sick to death of that doctor playing at being a god.”

  Galen couldn’t wait to get this over with so he could go back home and get back to feeling envious of his brother and, maybe, just a bit sorry for himself.

  Chapter Seven

  A strange noise woke Kendra. It sounded like a grunt of pain coming from the computer banks in the center of the large room outside the cells. Looking up, she stared out through the glass partition and gagged as she saw a man sneak up behind the guard near the elevator and slit his throat.

  Blood sprayed everywhere as it spewed from the man’s artery in sickening spurts before his knees buckled. His assailant silently lowered him slowly to the floor. Using some form of hand signals, he silently directed the assault team throughout the lab.

  She screamed, but it came out funny, sounding more like a dog in pain. It was then that she remembered she was a dog now.

  Why hadn’t she stopped hallucinating? The drugs should have worn off by now, shouldn’t they have? Whatever reason she came up with, it didn’t make her feel better. The entire situation was starting to feel all too real, instead of being part of her overactive imagination.

  Don’t be ridiculous, Kendra. People can’t turn into dogs. It’s not possible.

  She watched as a man moved from behind one of the computer terminals. Unless it was an optical illusion, the man was tall. Very tall.

  The stranger’s dark hair had been cut short in a military style. He wore a uniform of sorts. They all did, but something told Kendra that none of them were in the military. Besides, the man had a beard. Guys in the military didn’t have beards, did they?

  Besides the facial hair on the leader, their uniforms were black, not green, and somehow, she just didn’t see military personnel running about the American desert killing people as though they had no rights. The soldiers were the ones who protected a citizen’s rights, weren’t they? But then again, they were killing the people who had helped the crazy doctor bring her here and hold her against her will. Maybe she should thank them.

  She gagged again when her attention strayed back to the dead man lying in a puddle of his own blood. No matter what she thought, she couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry that the man was dead. She’d hated the way he’d passed by her cell and leered at her as though he had known something about her captivity that she hadn’t.

  It appeared as though the bearded one was in charge of the men moving stealthily through the outer room. Though the others were occupied with killing or knocking people out, indiscriminately to her mind, it appeared as though he directed them all.

  She wasn’t certain why he drew her attention, other than that he was one of th
e most attractive men she had ever seen. Now that figures. After everything you’ve been through, you’re attracted to a man who came in here leading a of a bunch of killers.

  Kendra followed his progress as he slowly but surely made his way toward her cell. He was coming for her. With her intestines in knots, she crouched low on the bed, trying to remain unseen.

  Just as she was certain the man was about to leave, thinking the cell was empty, a shaft of pain tore through her. She squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered.

  “There you are,” the gorgeous man said with a triumphant smile. He turned around, grabbed one of the lab workers who, amazingly enough, was still alive and pushed him toward the door. “Open it.”

  The lab tech swallowed visibly and nodded. “Just don’t kill me.”

  “Then just don’t give me a reason to kill you,” the other man retorted with a low growl.

  The lab tech reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a key I don’t want you to feel as though you have to buy d. Swiping it in the electronic lock, he punched in a six-digit code and the door whooshed open.

  Another wave of pain hit as the stranger shot and disabled the locking mechanism on the door. The tall and handsome man walked into the room and quickly made his way to the bed. “Don’t fight it. Reach for it,” he said as he sat next to her despite her mixture of pain-filled whimpers and growls.

  She snapped at him and he grabbed her snout, holding it closed with one hand. “I can see why you would be on the defensive. If I saw people running around killing the people who kidnapped me, I might wonder if they were here to harm me, as well.” He smiled down into her eyes. “I might also wonder if they were here to help me.”

  He stared down at her with eyes so gray and incandescent they almost looked silver. “Now listen to me. I know it sounds impossible, but the crazy man who kidnapped you has given you an injection that has turned you into a shape shifter.”

  Yeah, right. Tell me something I haven’t finally come to terms with. She glowered up at him for a moment, then whimpered when another shaft of pain coursed through her, burning her from the inside out.

  “Stop fighting it. Embrace the pain. Reach for your human half.”

  What was it with these strange mercenary types telling her to embrace the pain, for crying out loud? He’d just told her to do the same thing that creep Martin had told her to do earlier. Was it yesterday, the day before?

  “I know what I’m talking about. I grew up with it. The more you fight it, the more it hurts.” He stroked her head, rubbing her behind the ears.

  Kendra didn’t want to think about how good that felt. She wanted to growl at the man. She hated having her ears played with and she would have proved it, if only he wasn’t still holding her snout closed with one hand.

  Good grief, you dork. You have a mouth, not a snout. What was she thinking? She couldn’t really be buying into the girl-turns-into-a-dog nightmare she was living at the moment, could she?

  “Humor me. Just this once. The next time the pain hits, reach for it. Imagine your human self and let the pain roll through you. You’ll see that I’m right.” He shrugged when she shook her head. “Suit yourself. But if I were you, I would at least try it. What could it hurt?”

  Kendra stared up at him for a minute. He was right. What could it hurt? It wasn’t as though he was telling her to strip or anything. He wouldn’t get anything out of it. If anyone benefited from it, it would be her hurting body.

  The burning started low in her stomach. Instead of steeling herself to fight off the pain and struggle through it, Kendra reached for it, embraced it, and held onto a mental vision of what it would feel like to be human again so she could scream her bloody head off at what was happening to her.

  It no longer mattered to her that this supposedly was a drug-induced hallucination. It had to be. The only thing that mattered was ending the pain. A wave of intense heat washed over her, bringing the pain, but it wasn’t as severe as the first time. Her bones snapped and popped. Her forelegs became arms with hands and fingers, and her back legs, grew longer into her human legs minus the hair. Before she knew it, she was human again. The man’s hand no longer held her snout, though he kept it pressed tightly against her mouth, blocking her moans.

  Kendra stared up into his too-handsome face with those liquid silver eyes and cried. She didn’t know what was going on, but one thing was certain. She had to be going crazy because this weird crap just wasn’t possible.

  “Sh... don’t cry.” His touch was gentle for such a big man as he wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “Let’s get you up and dressed.” He grasped her upper arm and helped her stand.

  “Oh, my God. I’m naked!” Kendra‘s entire body flushed with heat as she undoubtedly turned red with mortification. Reaching down to the bed, she grabbed a sheet and held it up to shield her nakedness. “Where are my clothes?” She gave the room a quick once over trying to find them.

  “Stay right there. I’ll get them.” The man moved away to search the room.

  He found her panties and jeans about four feet from the bathroom where she remembered shaking them off earlier.

  “Put these on while I find the rest.” He handed her the garments, his attention lingering on her purple thong a bit longer than necessary. He probably thought she was too big to wear a thong. If that was the case, rescuer or not, he could kiss her ever-widening ass.

  Thinning her lips, Kendra snatched her clothes from him with a muttered, “Thank you,” and got dressed. It wasn’t an easy thing to do while attempting to hold the sheet in place. Underwear down, jeans to go.

  “I’ve already seen it, if that’s your problem.” He half-smiled. “Nice wax.”

  What a jerk!

  “Just look the other way. I don’t give a damn if you’ve already seen it. I’m not providing you with another free show. If you want to see someone naked, go to a strip bar.”

  He turned away with a chuckle. “There’s no need to be on the defensive. I was just trying to help, Kendra.”

  Now there was another person who knew her name, but she still knew next to nothing about any of these crazies.

  “No, you were rubbing it in.” She yanked her jeans up and fastened them. “If you could find my shirt and bra, I’d be grateful.”

  “Really?” He turned around and gave her a wink. “Just how grateful would you be?”

  “Obviously not as grateful as you would hope.” She tilted her head and looked at him. “How do you know my name? Everyone around here seems to know my name, yet I don’t know who the hell any of you are.”

  “My apologies, Miss. My name is Galen Tolbert. Our leader sent us here to save you from the man who you’ve most likely already concluded is a mad scientist.”

  “Right.” She draped the sheet around her shoulders and rested her hands on her hips. “Like I’m going to believe this is anything more than a crazy hallucination brought on by the drugs they shot me up with when they first abducted me.”

  “Oh, you’re not suffering from a bad trip, lady.” He bent to pick up the purple lace bra that matched her panties and handed it to her with a grin. “This is all too real and I, for one, am glad to say it.” His eyes trailed a path down her body to her feet and back up again.

  “Stop being such a lecher and find the rest of my clothes, will you?” Kendra snatched her bra away from him and put it on under the cover of the sheet.

  She’d just rearranged her covering when she found her socks and shoes. The only thing left was her blouse. Where in the world was it?

  “Aha,” Galen said as he headed her way with a look of determination. “I found your shirt. It’s under the bed.” Kneeling, he reached under the bed and brought it out. “It’s a good thing that Doctor Thornton is a clean freak. At least it’s not covered with dust bunnies.” He handed it to her with a grin. “There you go, sweetheart.”

  “My name is Kendra, or Ms. Mortensen. I am not your sweetheart. Please remember that.”

  Taking a
deep breath, Kendra turned away, dropped the sheet and yanked her blouse over her head. “Just give me a minute to put on my shoes and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Her primary concern was where this man planned to take her. She needed to get home. She had papers to grade and a lesson plan to prepare for Monday.

  Whatever the crazy doctor had given her should have worn off by now. Why in the hell couldn’t she seem to get back to reality?

  Chapter Eight

  Galen watched as Kendra sat on the bed and pulled on her socks and shoes. Gods, she was beautiful. Hell, she even made dressing look sexy.

  Long red hair fell about her shoulders in a mass of shining waves that rivaled a sunset. Her creamy complexion was perfect, a combination of colors that he was as at a loss to describe, other than to say she was just plain gorgeous. Her full breasts encased in that lacy purple bra had made his mouth water, and her lush hips and ass were enough to make him drool.

  She even smelled good enough to eat, like honey and cream. He could scent her arousal, though he was certain she’d deny it.

  He hadn’t missed the way she kept glancing his way. It didn’t escape his notice that she kept checking out the length of his legs, his midsection, his eyes, and if he wasn’t mistaken, the size of his package.

  Galen wanted to shout with joy. He had finally found the one woman he could take as a mate. Sure, their kind could have sex with anyone. They could have children with anyone if they tried hard enough, but standing right before him was the one woman he would give his life to protect above all others, the one woman he would tie his life force to, to make sure neither of them would ever have to live one more day without the other.

  He’d known of a few shifters who had mated with humans but hadn’t fostered the bond with them. They had loved them and been faithful, sometimes even after their mates’ deaths, but one could only have a true bond with their soul mate. Their body chemistry must match, and their souls must also be a match for the bond to fuse and tie the two together in life and death.