by Helen Scott
When it lunges, I duck and smack my hand out, connecting with its side as I step around it. I jump on its back. The thick fur that covers its shoulders tickles my face but I hang on, wrapping my arms around its throat and flattening my palms against its neck on either side. It howls in pain, the noise reverberating around my skull like standing next to a fire alarm that’s going off.
I know the noises erupting from the creature's mouth will only attract more, and that’s fine with me, for the most part, but I'd prefer to fight outside the woods if possible. Not only will it give me more space to move around, but other attackers won’t be able to hide as easily either, and as an added bonus, if some of my brothers want to jump in and fight as well, then they can.
The monster backs up and bashes me against a tree, scoring my back with the bark. It’s only because of my cut that I don't actually get hurt. Eventually though, it succumbs to the pain. They always do. There’s only so much a body can handle, after all, before it shuts itself down.
As the thing drops, I hop off its back and make my way out of the trees only to find a group of them heading in my direction. I pull my 9mm from my back holster and fire. The surprise of my attack is already gone and I want them dropped as quickly as possible given how huge they are and that they each seem to be sporting four-inch claws on each finger. Getting sliced by those things? No thank you.
The pop-pop of my gun rings in my ears but actually sounds quiet in comparison to the howl of the beast a few moments ago. I drop the first one, which takes no less than five shots, then begin to run. When I glance over my shoulder, I’m not surprised to find these things chasing me. They are moving more like gorillas or chimpanzees than wolves or men, using their weirdly long arms or front feet to help propel themselves forward faster than they'd be able to move regularly. It’s the first time that I actually notice how long their arms are.
As I run, I focus on getting somewhere that will give me a modicum of protection, and suddenly, I regret leaving the woods, so I veer to the left and circle back, weaving my way through the trees. The noises of them crashing through the undergrowth follow me and a large part of me wants to just keep running, but I can’t.
I swing around the tree and kick out as a monster approaches. My foot catches it in the gut and knocks it off balance enough for me to get my hands on it. Instead of howling like its buddy, this one roars and makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end all over again. Once I'm able to latch on, though, I shove everything I have at it with one hand while the other grabs for my gun and fires at the second monster that is catching up with us. I take it down and turn the gun on the one under my hand, firing until it stops moving.
There had been a third, though, and now I've lost track of it, but at least it’s just one that I have to track down, not that I thought they'd only send five after their test subjects, because I have no doubt, especially after Dani's reaction, that was why they are here. We'd checked them for trackers on their clothes and bodies, but maybe it’s something else, something implanted that’s allowing them to find us?
Whatever it is, we need to figure it out and fix it.
As I head back out of the woods I hear a high-pitched, feminine scream. My gut churns as I take off toward the house. The door is shattered with a couple of chunks that hang from the hinges seeming to swing this way and that as I pass by. Gunshots echo in the distance and I know there are more on site, but I need to check on Tank and Dani before I get back out there.
As soon as I round the top of the stairs to the hall where Tank should be, I see the monster leaning over him. My heart sinks knowing that if the monster is that close then my potential brother is probably dead. That doesn't mean Dani is safe, though, so I throw myself down the hallway, firing with both guns as I run toward the scene, hoping that not only can I save the woman in question but maybe Tank as well.
12
Dani
One monster is on the man in the hall. Another looms over me as I sit in the corner. Behind my back, I hold a little mirror I’d grabbed out of a drawer. It’s all I could find to defend myself with. The creature was once a man, but now its face is the mask of a monster. Hair sprouts from its bare shoulders, and its long arms and twisted body make it something out of my nightmares.
Quite literally. These things had been people who screamed and fought in cells beside me before the experiments began. Over time the screaming faded away, and the heavy breathing, groans, and fiercesome growls were even worse than the screaming, because it meant that the human parts of them were gone.
It looms closer, and I hear a commotion in the hall. My pounding heart fills my ears, and I find myself hoping it’s one of the men, and not more of the monsters.
The creature in front of me leans down and grabs one of my arms with its hand and hauls me to my feet. I know what will happen now, if I let it. The creature will drag me from this place, and I'll be back in a cell. A cold cell. Barely eating. Needles stabbing into me. Doctors whispering above me.
I can’t let it happen.
I’d rather die.
Not thinking, I slam the mirror into its head, and the glass shatters, slicing into the creature. But it doesn’t react. I silently scream that I have to get away at all costs. And then its eyes roll back in its head, and it begins to twitch, then falls to the ground.
Its reaction to the mirror makes no sense, but I don’t have time to think. I race around the broken glass, but still feel the shards slice into the bottoms of my feet. Ignoring the pain, I dart into the hall. One of the men is fighting a beast, and it looks like he’s losing. Another man lies on the floor, covered in blood, his eyes still open, his chest still rising and falling.
They’ve lost.
The thought sends waves of panic through me, and then I run past the fighting and the dying man and race down the stairs. I’m vaguely ashamed I don’t stop and help, but the voice that’s screaming run, run, run can’t be ignored. As I round the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I slam into a hard chest.
I strike out, punching the person in the face, but their hands curl around my arms and yank me against them. My gaze snaps up, and I find myself staring into Dragon’s irritated face.
“I have to go! They’re here for me!” I say.
To my surprise, he gives a curt nod and releases one arm, dragging me with the other. A monster comes around a corner, and he’s got his gun in an instant. He fires off four shots before the bastard hits the ground, then he keeps dragging me. Another creature roars and charges at us, more bullets go flying, and the beast collapses on the ground at our feet.
He takes us to a door and types in a code, then opens it and hauls me down dark steps. The light from upstairs gets closed and then we’re in complete darkness. A second later, there’s beating at the door, and the sound of claws dragging against the metal. Dragon stops, presses me between his body and the wall, and seems to hold his breath, waiting.
Seconds tick by and the beast continues to smack itself against the door.
“I can go and take care of it…” he begins.
My arms go around him. “No, please, don’t.”
I don’t know why I say it. I don’t know why I wrap myself tighter around him. Maybe it’s because for so long I’ve been alone and scared, and the feeling of his warm body against mine seems to bring more comfort than anything I imagined, but I know that I might just completely lose it if he pulls away from me now.
Bullets go off in the hall, and I flinch. A strange wail comes, and then there’s silence.
“I guess one of them got it,” he says, his voice both harsh and soft at the same time.
I bury my face into his shirt and breathe in his spicy cinnamon scent. For one moment, the world outside of us drifts away, and I imagine that I’m safe…maybe even loved. Another sound out in the hall makes me jump, bringing me back to reality, and I press myself harder against him, wiggling to get closer.
He groans. “You have to…stop that.”
I squ
eeze him tighter. Not because he told me not to, but because I’m afraid if I let go, he’ll pull away. If he goes up those stairs and leaves me alone in the dark, I think I might lose my mind.
“Dani?”
“Y-yes,” I stutter out.
“I’m not that guy.”
I don’t say anything, because I don’t know what the hell he’s saying.
But then, he continues. “I’m not that guy who is going to keep you safe or treat you gently. Okay? I’m the guy who kills things. I’m the guy who fucks a woman hard and then forgets her name. You got me?”
It’s strange. Even while he says that, one of his hands runs along my arm lightly, back and forth, as if to offer me warmth…or reassurance. I’m not sure which. All my life I’ve had men who said honeyed words to me, then were cruel. But what should I think of a man who’s telling me he’s an asshole even while he tries to comfort me?
“Can you make it down the rest of the stairs?”
I nod, but grip him harder.
He sighs. A second later I’m tossed up into his arms. A little squeak escapes my lips, and I have a moment of fear as I’m carried into the darkness, but then his warmth seems to wrap me again, and I relax. My head falls onto his chest, and I snuggle against him, surprised by just how much comfort his touch brings me.
We reach the bottom of the stairs, and one lone red bulb flares to life, lighting the space in an eerie scarlet color. He shifts me in his arms and I hear him typing in another code, then the door makes a strange sound and opens. He pulls it wide enough for us to go in, then carries me into the room and plops me down on a bed. When he returns to the door, he closes it, and the sound comes again, like the decompressing of air.
This room has another lone bulb, but it’s not red, and most of the walls are covered in shelves of food storage. There’s a little bathroom to one side, but it mostly just looks like a bomb shelter of sorts.
Dragon moves to the edge of the bed and crosses his arms over his chest. In the near-darkness, he looks threatening. His light brown hair is cut military style, and it emphasizes the strong lines of his cheeks. There’s something about him that seems almost inhumanely beautiful, and yet, he radiates the same lethalness as a snake.
His hazel eyes meet mine, and then he says, “Tell me the truth. All of it.”
I sit up slowly, cautiously. “I’ve told you and your men everything.”
“No, you haven’t, but you’re going to.”
It’s strange. One minute ago he was my protector, but now a quiver of fear crawls along my spine. His face is expressionless. His eyes are cold. And I’m not sure if the man he was a minute ago is the real Dragon, or if this man is, or if he’s someone else altogether.
“I don’t have anything more to say.”
He sighs and uncrosses his arms, then circles to the side of the bed. I draw back a little, but faster than I can follow, he leaps on top of me and pins my wrists above my head with one hand.
I cry out in surprise, then say, voice trembling against my will, “A-are you going to hurt me?”
He studies me for a minute. “I could easily do that…but I think I have something better in store for you. Now, tell me why those monsters are here and why you knew they were coming after you.”
“I don’t know,” I lie.
His gaze narrows. “This might just be another fucking place to you, but this is my home. If you’re going to bring trouble down on us, we deserve the truth.”
He might be right, but the truth is too precious a thing to give to a man I don’t know well enough. A man I don’t trust yet. And a man who’s currently got me pinned to a bed.
When I don’t respond, his jaw works. “You know after the shit outside is handled, Prez is going to come straight for you, and he isn’t like me. He doesn’t give a fuck that you have a pretty face. He’ll break your jaw, he’ll knock your teeth out, he’ll make you scream in pain, and then he’ll keep going. And even when you’ve told him everything, he’ll keep going, just to be sure.”
I look him dead in the eye and say, “I’ve had worse.”
For a second, I swear he looks surprised, maybe even feels bad for me, but his mask drops back into place. “Don’t you fucking say I didn’t give you a chance. Don’t you fucking look at me after this like I did you wrong.”
Every hair on my body stands on end. “What are you going to do to me?” A beating I could take, but I didn’t want to… I’d had men force themselves on me before. I prefer the beatings.
He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he draws his fingertips slowly from my wrists down my arms. His touch is lazy and soft, making my nerves stand up in recognition. But as slowly as the feeling of relaxation comes, another stronger emotion rears its ugly head: arousal.
I’m shocked. My eyes are locked onto those hazel eyes of his. I can’t seem to stop swimming in the flecks of gold. And up this close, it’s undeniable that he’s a beautiful man. Maybe even one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met in my life, but I can’t ever imagine being turned on in this strange situation. Yet, there’s no denying it.
He traces those fingertips of his up and down my arms a few more times, and I feel my nipples harden. A gasp slips from my lips, and goosebumps rise on my arms and legs. My knees lift ever so slightly around him, drawing him closer beneath my thighs. His erection is hard to miss. It’s hard, like fucking steel, and I swear I can almost feel it pulsing between my thighs.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’m going to make you come. Over and over again.”
Hell, this is a new type of torture. “You seem to have a lot of confidence in your abilities.”
“You could say that,” he says, his words low and husky.
He continues to run those fingers of his slowly up and down my arms. At first I just glare at him, but my breathing comes in and out faster and faster until I’m panting. I swear I’ve never been the kind of woman who ached deep inside. I’ve never been the kind of woman who got so wet with arousal that she could feel her underwear becoming damp, but I do now, and it’s the strangest feeling in the world. Like if I had taken a drug to feel this way, I’d want it over and over again.
This I could become addicted to.
“Why did you think the monsters were sent for you?”
I swallow and struggle to pull in a clear thought. My nipples are so damned hard that I’m a minute from begging him to start sucking on them. I’m not a horny woman by nature, but I’m more than horny now. This thing between us is starting to become less a want and more a need.
“Dani, tell me.”
My head spins. “Fucking hell. They wouldn’t let go of an experiment like me so easily.”
“Humm?” He sounds fucking turned on as he blatantly stares down at my nipples, but he continues to run his hands along my arms. “Why not?”
I arch my breasts so they’re closer to his face, and his eyes darken. “Touch me,” I beg him.
He lifts a brow. “I am.”
“No.” I can feel my cheeks heating as I wiggle beneath him, grinding myself against his cock. “Touch me.”
He rubs himself ever so softly between my thighs, and I moan, throwing my head back. “Why don’t they let go of their experiments?”
I’m panting when I say, “Most…most of them turn out like monsters… They stop being…human.”
“But not you?” His words are practically a purr.
“I’m not answering anything else until you touch me.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. He takes the hand that was running along my arms and tugs my shirt down until my breasts spill out. “Fuck,” he says again, but this time the word is almost a groan. He reaches forward and pinches one of my nipples, and I cry out his name, bucking under him.
“You’re not a mon-monster,” he says, and it sounds like he’s starting to struggle too.
“No,” I toss my head as his fingers move to my other nipple and roll it between his
thumb and finger. “As far as I know, I’m the only one who’s still somewhat human. Other than the big guy in the cage, but he hasn’t woken yet.”
“Oh?” he says.
“Suck on them,” I moan, trying to escape the hand that binds my wrists.
“You don’t really want that,” he says, an edge to his words. “Why did you think the monsters were here for you?”
“Let go of me and I’ll tell you.”
He hesitates, then releases my wrists. The second he does so, I dig a hand into the back of his hair and pull him to my chest. His lips seem to press against my sensitive nipple for a second before he opens his mouth and starts to suck.
“Oh, fuck yes!” I shout. My legs wrap around his back and I start to ride him.
He hungrily moves to my other breast and begins to suck and suck.
Then he pulls back and shouts, “Shit!”
I try to tug him back down, but he holds himself still.
So, I look him in the eye and reach between us. I push one hand into my pants, past my underwear, and start to touch myself.
“What are you doing?”
“What you won’t,” I challenge him.
“Baby, I could do anything you want to you, but not like this.” He yanks down my underwear and pants and watches me touching myself, his hands curling into fists at his side. “Why were they coming for you?”
I feel so damned wet, so damned swollen. “Because, they think I’m special. They think…I don’t know, they didn’t tell me, but I heard things. They think I can do something, but I don’t know if I can.”
“Do what?”
I whimper as my fingers close over my clit. “I don’t know.”
“And why did you end up in that lab in the first place?”
I cry out and buck my hips, working myself faster. “I needed to escape. I’d tried so many times before, but he always brought me back. He always made me pay.”
“Who?” There’s a strange note to his voice.