by Jay, Setta
Her muscles were so tense she was barely able to stand. Taking more deep breaths she listened for sounds from the corridor. That had been the point when they’d caught her the last time…. more sweat dotted her skin. Nothing. Her heart beat so loud it pulsed inside her ears as she hurried to the cell door as quickly as her wobbly legs allowed.
As a child she found she had a flicker of ability with metal, one her parents had encouraged her to keep hidden for fear of her being taken and used as a lab rat. Ironic that she’d hidden it and still ended up someone’s fucking experiment. If only she was able to focus it enough to do some good.
Kneeling just behind where the lock was, she closed her eyes and focused, not on the cold or the deadening silence, not the sickening scent of disinfectant… just the lock. Snick. At nearly the same moment, she felt an odd snap inside her mind followed by a pained animal roar. Had she finally lost her sanity just as freedom was so close?
*****
The low level pulsing of the alarm was grating his nerves. Cyril’s muscles shook, he was so livid. Once he’d gone to the main surveillance room and caught sight of fucking Drake, in all his dragon glory, making deep swoops around the compounds perimeters, he had been forced to work fast.
How had they found him? There had to be a traitor, it was the only plausible conclusion. He seethed at that thought. Once he found out who had betrayed him, they would suffer... Someone had to have spent time and thought, for the Guardians were accessing the compound in the worst possible location. The mountain was fortified in metal and the spells. It should have held longer than it had.
Elizabeth and Kane, get our Kairos in to teleport the test subjects out. I want them guarded while they move the test Subjects to the Northern Facility, they can get the others out when that’s done. Take the back exits from above. The Guardians have accessed the lower level and blocked off the bottom cells. The corridors in C have been compromised.
On our way. Kane’s response was quick.
He hated teleporting anyone to one of the alternate locations until he knew who had betrayed him, but there wasn’t a choice unless he wanted to sacrifice everyone. Kane, I want anyone transported to the Northern location put on lock down. Everyone will need to be interrogated once you are done here. He would need to find the mole quickly.
He listened to the low pulsing of the alarm that went with the oscillating red lights in the corridors, willing the data to back up quickly, he was only able to teleport so much. A good deal of his earlier data results were already safely ensconced in his Eastern facility. He always made sure that back-ups were sent to the safe location. He fumed as he looked around. He had always thought that if the Guardians found him, he’d have more time after the breach. They picked the best possible spot. Only a very intelligent person on the inside could have provided such a location. Cyril had never even thought the spot vulnerable. He ground his teeth.
Fortunately he would be able to teleport himself and some data, thanks to his bloodlines. But he was highly limited in that particular ability. Something that particularly grated as he moved to destroy anything he wouldn’t have time to take. They would not get any of his data.
He moved quickly to the exit location not currently blocked off by Guardians. He would be forced to transport everything from cold storage himself. He only had a few Kairos, as the race was rare. Those he did have, would need to first get his test subjects out, then what warriors were left. All knew the exit plans.
Angus, send down as many troops as possible to the breach in Section C. Send in waves of Mageias first, maybe we’ll luck out and they’ll injure one. If nothing else it will slow them down, we need to back them away from the corridor leading to the holding cells.
He barked orders to the fidgety lab techs working frantically around him. “Get the vials into transport cases, now. I want them in the exit room within five minutes.” He’d need to make several trips. He cursed his limited teleporting capabilities. He wasn’t sure there was time to get everything. The data and vials were most important, but he’d like to get a couple of the techs if there was time, if not, he’d kill them before letting the Guardians get them.
*****
Sam listened to the thrum of an alarm. What was happening? Was that why the guards had yet to come?
She wished the drugged haze would leave her soon and her sanity would start returning. The animal roar had moved to growling and snarling in her mind and it was making escape more difficult. She wasn’t able to concentrate.
She made it out of her cell and over to the next. Her body was still moving in slow motion. She leaned her head against the cool metal of the cell door that held another inmate, one that was currently unconscious. She tried willing the chill of the metal to bring her into alertness. It wasn’t working. Sam wasn’t able to focus her powers enough, she was too weak. Slowly banging her head against the door was having no affect. Should she just try to leave without rescuing any of the others? They were still out cold, would be no help. She’d have to leave and find help for them.
She’d been forced to just sit there and breathe for too long. Working to calm her heart beat. It was odd that her heart beat so fast while her limbs would barely move. The hallway looked so long, spanning what seemed like miles ahead. The growling seemed louder as the drugs slowly left her body. Shit, she was hoping they would go away, not get worse.
Sam held her hands to her ears. Fuck, it was loud and getting louder by the minute. It seemed her mind was heading toward its breaking point. That or the noise was a side effect of the drugs. Her entire focus was on that desperate noise, the end of her sanity? She looked down the hall. She needed to go in that direction. Her legs shook as she moved. She lost herself to the snarls inside her mind instead of fighting them. She moved in the direction they seemed to lead her.
Chapter 21
Alex moved in a blur of motion. Uri was at once aroused, filled with pride, then fucking horrified at her recklessness. She launched, teleported, and snapped necks at a rate that should not have made him want to fuck her up against the nearest wall.
He had never before been forced to fight with an erection, and he hoped the thing would calm the hell down, because his semi hard cock was not making the fight easier. Sirena wasn’t kidding about the distractions of the crazy arousal involved with the Mating Frenzy. Before they’d gotten there, his mate had been sending him visuals of her sucking his dick dry. He groaned. He had been so caught off guard by the sights in his mind of her swallowing him down, that he’d barely registered that Erik had completed his link with Sam. He’d been one step behind her as they teleported to Cyril’s stronghold.
Taken out of his reverie, he watched as she took down another guard that dared go near Erik. He tuned out the sounds of a low alarm, shouts of Mageias, blades cutting flesh, and the odor of burnt flesh, courtesy of a Fire Elemental Mageia.
The minute the hole was made in the compound, Erik had bounded through, followed quickly by Vane, with Alex right next to him. He followed that beautiful ass, trying to suppress a growl that he was at her back.
Their bond was distracting as fuck. He felt the mating connection like a living thing. Each time she tapped into his powers they swelled for her, just like his unruly cock. He felt her use his own bond with his fellow Guardians to link with them. Felt when she knew the spot to blow a hole in the mountain. That particular power was impressive. When they completed the mating ceremony he wasn’t sure what it would become. She had given him a glimpse of her head hopping ability before they left for Tetartos. It had taken significant effort, but he had been able to find a sliver of a link to Sam after viewing Alex’s memories of the hop. It had been almost completely hidden, a thread of midnight blue. They had attempted to use it to connect with Sam, but had been unable to get through. Alex’s powers were incredible.
Shit, it was the sensation of her abilities swirling, stretching and caressing over and around his that had his entire body and soul on the edge of a ravine. It was as if thei
r powers were alive and thrilling at the touch of the other. It was not the time or place to think about the bond, he had to get his head back in the game. Guards were flooding the tunnels in all directions. Whatever guards Erik didn’t lay waste to in his lion form, Alex or Vane, who flanked their brother, took out with blades. Uri covered the rear, irritated that Cyril’s first line appeared to be predominately Elemental Mageias. He envied his mate and her brothers’ ability to take them out completely. It was frustrating that he wasn’t able to hurt the assholes unless he wanted to suffer the consequences.
The area they were in appeared to be a cafeteria, mess hall of some sort. Tables that were once laid out in lines were overturned. The damage wrought by the first Air Elemental that came through. Erik had taken that Elemental out quickly, only being pummeled by a table or two.
He, Jax and Gregoire had gotten others down and cuffed, but it took finesse. They didn’t have time to be gentle in subduing the damn Mageias. And these fucking bastards seemed to have had their powers enhanced in these labs. He growled as a blast of fire licked over his shoulder, before he took another bastard down with silver cuffs that would inhibit their powers.
He wished someone would cut the damn alarm. It was annoying as shit.
He grabbed an Aletheia by the throat. The male thought to get near Alex and Uri had teleported behind him before he touched her smooth skin. One snap, then a sharp slice, and the male fell in a heap on the ground. He felt marginally better after having been able to do some damage. There army may outnumber them, and they’d gotten in a few good shots from that alone, but they were still no match. Even being forced to subdue rather than harm.
Alex took down another Elemental Mageia, teleporting behind it to cut off its head, but another waited behind it. Vane took the head from that one.
The worst were the air Elementals that tried to suck the air from their lungs. He was exceedingly happy Alex and her brothers had taken out more than a few of those assholes as they moved further into another tunnel.
The corridors were crowded with fighters. Erik had just gone through a tunnel to the side. Uri smelled blood mixed with burned flesh and fur. Erik had been hit by a fire Elemental before Vane took down the male with a fierce cut to the throat.
Vane and Alex were a sight, hand to hand was not a problem for them. And Vane seemed to relish the fight, the male was impressive. Conn had always bitched, “that bastard’s always hacking my system just to fuck with me,” so Uri had not expected such honed fighting ability.
Once Erik accessed the tunnel to the right, he was a blur. Vane, Alex and Uri were forced to cover the influx of fighters at the corner. They didn’t want the battle get passed the L and he communicated that to Vane and Alex. If they moved, the Mageias would be able shut the emergency doors. There were key pads on the walls. Metal doors had the potential of slowing their exit later.
Alex had given Drake and Conn a location she believed might hold Cyril. She’d said she’d had a feeling about a tunnel they’d passed moments earlier, and sent the information to Drake.
Uri felt Alex’s worry that her brother was off on his own. He called for Gregoire, Sacha and Jax who’d been dealing with soldiers at another tunnel.
When the other Guardians teleported to them, Uri directed Jax and Gregoire to follow Erik. They had explosives for the doors if needed. Uri linked with Vane and Alex to clue them in. He felt Alex’s relief that Erik was getting backup. Vane had given a sharp nod while still fighting. They were right in the middle of a cluster-fuck.
Sacha stayed to help fight back the horde coming at them.
Alex and Vane were picking off Elementals, leaving full Immortals to Uri and Sacha, which seemed to save time. They had sustained minor cuts and singed hair from Elementals tossing fire over the tops of the masses.
The hall wasn’t more than six or eight feet wide. Making it a bitch to fight with blades, or anything else for that matter. His beautiful mate was not fazed. She danced with sleek fighting skills, opting for her long daggers. She slid low to hamstring a fighter only to come up and slice his throat, before bashing the idiot behind him with the dying male’s head. She hadn’t been kidding about her abilities. He was enthralled by her graceful movements.
They were making progress in pushing the army back, thinning it. Just as he had that thought, a fire Elemental in the back managed a shot, hitting Vane in the shoulder. Vane roared his anger, but was busy taking out another Mageia. He felt Alex’s fury through the link. Right before his eyes, he saw her teleport into the crowd of their enemies and slice the Fire Elemental across the throat. She was back a moment later, bleeding from a cut to her stomach.
Uri saw red. How serious is your wound? He was barely able to get the words out through the telepathic link. He was enraged at the scent of her blood.
Lucky shot, just a flesh wound. He was furious with her. Pissed that she’d pulled such a reckless move. He would turn her over his knee for that shit, later.
Since he’d been paying attention to her and not his fight with a damn Ailouros, he ended up with a bloody claw mark down his chest. The bastard had been fighting him in a partial feline form. It stung like a bitch, but getting caught off guard stung his pride more. The Kitty had proven to be a decent fighter. He was bulkier than Uri, with a pretty decent reach, and the bastard was fast. Had to be a cheetah, or some shit. They moved in unison, over and over, until Uri anticipated the next move. He finally saw his opportunity to finish it quickly. He teleported behind the cat, smoothly avoided a head butt, and snapped the male’s neck. He had a bit of time before he’d have to take the asshole’s head.
He looked around at the mass of fighters, who were already starting to lose their nerve. When they saw the cat go down, they finally began retreating. About fucking time too, they’d sustained a lot of losses. Guards littered the floor, forcing them to fight over bodies in order to hold the line.
Drake, Bastian, and Conn probably cut a swath through their end since, no enemies were coming from the area of the mess hall.
He felt Alex’s need to get to her brother.
“You and Vane go. Sacha and I can hold the route open.” She gave him a big grin, and ran in the direction Erik had gone.
Fuck, he didn’t like her going off without him.
Sander, can you get down here and keep the exit clear? His need to protect his mate was growing fiercer by the minute.
On my way.
Once the other fighters realized that their buddies had retreated, the stragglers fell back as well, but Uri wouldn’t leave Sacha alone to cover their exit.
“I’ve got it. Go to your mate.” He appreciated Sacha’s assurance, but he wouldn’t take a chance leaving her on her own. If the enemy returned with reinforcements, she would be by herself. The minute he saw Sander’s dark skin come into focus, he felt for Alex’s bond. She was panicked. Shit, what kind of trouble had she gotten into? She was going to be the end of him.
Chapter 22
Sam watched as the door slide open at the end of the hall, just where she was heading. She froze before quickly flattening her body against a cell as four of her usual guards poured through. Her heart nearly leapt from her body as she looked frantically for another exit. None. She couldn’t understand their shouts through the snarling and growling in her mind.
She was caught and nauseated at the thought of what they would do to punish her. They hadn’t noticed her, yet. Were instead facing the opening they’d just come through, as the one with long blonde hair typed at the keypad by its side.
She recognized all four of the guards as the ones that took shifts knocking her out, or rolling her on a gurney to the lab for more testing. They were all cold and never spoke. One was black, two were darker skinned with dark hair, and then there was the blonde guy with long hair.
Just as the door started sliding shut, a couple of big hands on the other side held it, and the biggest lion she’d ever seen in her life launched through in a kind of blur. Her mind roared in stereo for
a moment, then she realized that the sounds she heard were coming from the beautiful beast that was currently ripping the throat from one of the guards, while the other guards threw balls of fire… what the hell? Fire balls?
She yelled for them to stop as she moved forward as quickly as her weakened state would allow. Her stomach plummeted. She wasn’t sure what was happening to her, but she knew she had to get to him, protect him. He had come to rescue her. She knew her mind was gone, none of what she felt made sense, and she just didn’t care. She had to get to him. She smelled singed hair and saw bloody gouges in his dark golden fur. The bastard guard even managed a hit to his beautiful black mane.
She heard yelling, but couldn’t make out the words. The gorgeous beast turned and bound at the other guard coming behind him with a blade. She heard screams as the animal made fast work of the guard who had tried to sneak up on him. The blonde seemed to be biding his time, moving in for an opening. A huge guy with spiked, warm brown hair and a long goatee was on another guard. Everything was too much. He had the guard down and was cuffing him before disappearing, and reappearing, behind the blonde and cuffing him as well.
There was an explosion, or maybe two, that shook the walls. Puffs of dust rained down from the spot where ceiling met wall. The stone under her bare feet shook, throwing her off balance. She steadied her quaking body against a wall. Relief that the guards were no longer hurting the beautiful beast made her dizzy, or was it that she’d been holding her breath? She saw smoke coming from the door that then stood fully open, with yet another gigantic man inside. The new guy had short darker hair. It was like a wrestling convention in there.
Sure she was on solid ground again, and wouldn’t fall. She started moving toward the injured animal. He needed her, she felt it. He turned from the guard he’d downed, and faced her. Brilliant, ice blue eyes caught her gaze as he moved toward her with pure animal grace. The snarling had stopped at some point. All she heard was her own deep breathing as she moved forward. Just before they met in the middle, she saw a shimmering, and the most godlike man she’d ever seen replaced her lion. They shared the same ice blue gaze. Those eyes held pain and something else. The world fell away. He was solid perfection, as if carved from marble. His skin was coated with blood and gouges, marring every delectable inch of his naked body. He had to be a dream. She had to have lost consciousness again, for she’d never felt such a strong pull toward a man, nor had she ever seen anyone that compared to him. Her mind had to have conjured him up from her darkest fantasies. There was no way that man had been a lion moments before.