by Eva Gordon
An alarm pierced the silence.
What was going on?
A roar he recognized as Saskia’s rattled the walls.
Emma must have escaped. With her memories of the recent events gone, how did Emma know to flee? Then again, Emma was a highly trained operative. No matter how little she remembered, waking up on some random island wouldn’t make sense. The vacation story would not hold true with no other tourists, no restaurants and no boat rentals. Had his mind control failed? That’s it. She must have known a way around his mind control. Had Rylee trained her for that?
Loud growls reverberated throughout the compound, followed by howls. Saskia must have commanded the men to shift to werewolf form.
He struggled to move his other hand and managed a fist while the rest of his body remained paralyzed.
Shadowed by four armed guards, Saskia slammed open the door. “Your bitch is being hunted.”
Nik opened his mouth, but it felt like he had swallowed dry kasha.
Saskia smirked. “Don’t try to talk, darling. I have bad news. It seems someone shot Bolton with the same tranquilizer. I gave him the antidote. He’ll join me shortly.”
Had Emma shot Bolton? Even if she remembered their mission, how could she get in the building without being noticed?
Saskia seemed to have read his thoughts. “Why would Emma do this if she doesn’t remember anything?” She shook her head. “No. Someone who knew how to control the cameras did this. Someone turned them off when Bolton was tranquilized.” She narrowed her eyes. “That little mongrel Nexus.”
Nik agreed. Not a good idea to piss off a brilliant hacker. Could the new she-wolf be helping Emma?
Saskia turned to one of her men. “Ed, alert my pack to search and kill Nexus.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled at Nik. “Don’t worry. Emma will be captured alive. I want her flesh all to myself. Maybe I’ll let you watch.”
“L…l..let…guuu.”
“Let her go, you say?” She laughed. “Once she’s dead, you’ll be able to take another mate.”
A growl escaped his frozen throat.
“Good, you will soon be able to talk.” Saskia walked up to a lab station and picked up a syringe. “I’m tired of hearing you mumble.” She turned to one of her men. “Unlock the cage.”
The man unlocked the door. Saskia entered and injected Nik in the bicep. She stepped out and re-locked the door.
Sensation slowly returned. Nik rasped, “Kill her and you are dead.”
“Tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to your future mate?”
His nostrils flared. “You are…” He felt the beginning of the shift, his muscles enlarging and clothes getting tighter, the itch as hair sprouted from him. “Let her go, and I’ll be yours as promised.”
Saskia tapped her full lips. “Darling, her death is the only way to break the bond.” She leaned in, a breath from kissing distance. “Lycan law dictates the death of a mate frees you for another.”
He cursed in Russian and glowered at her. “When I promised to erase her memory, you lied. You had no intention of letting her leave the island.”
She raised a brow. “Ah, but darling, you know I did it for your own sake. Imagine your heartache if you knew the truth? There would have been no consoling you.”
Nik had to convince Saskia he was devoted to her. “Very well, but if I am to be your mate, there can be no lies. You must always tell me the truth.”
“Of course, darling.”
He smiled. “Let me out and we’ll talk over breakfast.”
“Not until we take care of those two bitches.”
Bolton came in. He didn’t look well. His face appeared bloated and red as if drunk. “Nexus paralyzed me.”
“So it was the little mongrel. I’m happy to see you are almost fully recovered,” said Saskia.
Bolton nodded. “The problem is you had all the men shift.”
“How else will we find Emma and Nexus?”
“I understand, but we should leave only two werewolves out searching.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s been twenty minutes. We can’t have all eleven werewolves out longer than an hour.”
She laughed. “Why should I care?”
“They’ll kill all my human scientists and staff.”
“Oops. Should I have reminded them to set their alarms?”
Bolton recoiled. “You mean they aren’t with a man watching the time?”
She grinned as if her forgetfulness pleased her. “I’m sure they will obey my commands, as much as any natural born werewolves do.”
“You don’t know that.”
“We’ll learn soon enough.” Her voice held a teasing note, carefree.
“If my lab is destroyed, we won’t have the resources to create a pack.” He sighed. “Killing Svetlana was a mistake.”
Nik wasn’t too surprised. Saskia could turn on anyone who displeased her, although it was foolish to kill Svetlana who was well schooled in running a mob. Worse, Saskia casually turned lose all eleven werewolves. If need be, he and Bolton might be able to kill four or five, but not all eleven. The odds of them surviving were as low as the temperature during a Siberian winter.
“I grew tired of Svetlana’s whining and anyway, it’s not my fault the chimera drug didn’t work on her.”
“Call them back and I’ll search for her,” demanded Bolton.
Saskia lunged at him with her clawed hand, seized him by the throat and lifted him as if he weighed nothing. “I run the pack. Understood?”
Bolton rasped, “Yes.”
Saskia dropped him onto the floor. “Stay here. I’ll take care of the pack.” She left.
Bolton sat on the ground, nursing the gash on his throat.
Nik smiled. “Now do you realize how dangerous she is?”
He glowered at Nik. “She’ll come around to my way of thinking. If not, she won’t last long.”
“I say a well-aimed shot with a wolfsbane rifle will do the trick.”
Bolton snorted. “You think I won’t kill you with one?”
Nik changed the subject. “Once the men go over an hour won’t they eventually want to return to human form?”
“They can’t. Once they are werewolf, they only return to human form after they fall asleep. If they bother to sleep. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to tire easily. They are mindless to commands, and eager to savage anyone in their path, men, women, or children.”
“Release me. Together we can stop them before they kill your entire staff.” That was the only way he could save Emma, unless she’d already left the island. Knowing her, she might already be reaching the mainland. Yet, would she simply return home, and as he intended, forget about their mission and him? Rylee and her team would search the globe for her, then realize he mind-controlled her, making him a rogue wolf. If captured, he’d be thrown in prison with the enforcer and perhaps given a werewolf lobotomy with no memory of ever being human. Of ever loving Emma.
Bolton shook his head. “Not a chance. Saskia is not stupid. She knows our scientists will make her dream of superior packs come to pass.”
“Except for the fact she is insane.” At the very least, she’d save them as an evening snack.
Emma, under the cover of vaporo, used the authorization code and easily entered the main lab facility. Nexus said it granted access to any room.
Alarms blasted throughout the building. “We are on full lock down. Remain in your quarters. Repeat, this is not a drill. We are on full lock down.”
Emma found a lab coat to help disguise herself. The werewolves were outside searching for her and Nexus. That wouldn’t last long. By now, Nexus had moved the boat, maybe circled without much notice. Regret bit at her. I should have told her to sail off without waiting. She is much too vulnerable.
At least humans heeded the lockdown, not a soul in sight. Better for her to move around and safer for them to stay alive.
A door opened followed by a low growl.
Shit. H
ow did they enter the code? Maybe all the doors were electronically opened while they searched. Emma went inside a closet and waited.
Lab monkeys screamed. The sound of falling cages startled her.
The thump and then scuff against the cement floor of big-clawed paws hitting the floor made her skin crawl. She held her breath. They might not be able to smell her, but they’d certainly hear her. There were at least two. They sniffed loudly.
Glassware crashed to the floor and they pattered away, growling. Cabinet doors banged. Objects fell. The beasts wreaked havoc in the lab. Maybe that was a good thing. It saved her the trouble of destroying the place.
“Shift!” Emma recognized Bolton’s voice.
They growled.
He shouted, “Fuck!”
The growling continued for a few minutes. She pressed her ear against the door and listened to the muffled voices of the men.
“Get dressed and meet me in the rec room,” commanded Bolton.
Another man entered. “Sir, Mason went over an hour.”
“Contain him! If you can’t, put him down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nexus told her she had entry clearance into the wolfsbane lab. Did Bolton plan on using wolfsbane rifles to kill the turned werewolves or wait until they returned to their human forms after hours of savagery? However, she compared being a werewolf to being a human on speed, with no need for rest or sleep.
Finally, they left.
The door clicked shut. The sudden silence from the monsters brought out the grumbling and whining of the animals. Emma was alone, or at least the only human. She peeked out the door. The lab looked like a cyclone had hit. A few monkeys ran around, while some lay dead in their cages. About time Bolton realized the mess the werewolves could make while not under an alpha leader.
With the stealth of a panther on ninja steroids, Emma left the closet and scurried to the so-called wolfsbane lab. She punched in the numbers. Presto! The code worked. Inside were an array of wolfsbane rifles and pistols. Emma took a pistol and stuffed it in her pocket.
As she headed out, another alarm blasted through the halls. Now what? Then the lights went out. The alarm cut off. Good, until small explosions went off in the lab areas. Not good. Was that Nexus’s work? Her surprise? What was going on? She stole away in the darkness. Men raced toward the lab, probably to save what they could. She slipped inside a smaller lab. The entire area remained dark. Computers sat dark, they were off the power grid. Why hadn’t the emergency generators kicked on? Surely a compound of this nature had them. Nexus must have thought of everything. Time to look for Nik.
Closeby, soldiers shrieked as a werewolf savaged them. Shots fired. The place had gone from off the grid to off the grid monster mayhem.
Soon the sun would rise and erase the cover of darkness. Emma left the lab. A fire in a distant lab provided her with enough light to see and she headed where, according to Nexus, they kept Nik.
Nik raised a brow. What? The entire compound lost power. He cocked his head. Odd. No emergency generator turned on. Only Nexus was capable of such a feat. He’d find out the how later. Regardless, it proved to be a brilliant distraction.
Nik pushed the cage door and the electronic lock disengaged. Clever. If Emma and Nexus worked together, they were a force to contend with. Yet, how was it possible? His mind control to make anyone forget was fail proof. Nexus must be working solo and Emma dead. His heart broke and he sighed. Would he know if she weren’t alive? Wouldn’t he feel something?
Rapid gunfire and blood-curdling screams echoed from the hall. His hackles rose. The men must have gone beyond an hour in werewolf form.
Saskia charged in with two armed guards carrying wolfsbane-rifles. Nik recognized Ed. A flashlight shone in his eyes, almost blinding him. “What the hell did that bitch do?”
What bitch was she talking about? Nik blinked rapidly and around the edges of the flashing colors, he noticed the rifle stocks being raised and the click of bullets entering the chamber. He covered his eyes with one hand. He had a strong urge to laugh. Outsmarted by a fledgling werewolf. Instead, he acted like he didn’t understand. “What are you talking about?”
“Emma and that little betraying Nexus hacked our grid and somehow the emergency generators.”
“You should have befriended the hacker.”
“Bolton should have had her killed. And Emma, too!”
His heart lightened. Saskia implied Emma was alive.
Shrieking howls sounded from outside the compound.
“Now you have to deal with out of control werewolves.”
Saskia scoffed. “Bolton failed to contain them. It will be up to me to round up the beasts.” She turned to the men. “Escort Nik back into the cage and use a bolt to lock him in.”
Nik backed in. A bolt wouldn’t hold him for long.
Saskia smiled. “Good dog.” She ordered the men. “Tranquilize him if he tries to escape.”
Nik shrugged. “Is that any way to treat your mate?”
“Darling, I will give you the meat off my plate, but not until you are free of that human’s influence.”
“About that. You know as well as I do that it’s impossible for a human to have the mate bond with a werewolf.”
She growled. “Then how do you explain why your bite did not work?”
“We hardly know one another. Perhaps after a few dates things will change,” he said in his most charming voice.
“That is bullshit and you know it.”
Before he responded, another person hollered outside the facility. How many maddened werewolves were loose? A volley of rapid gunfire erupted. They heard more shrieks from dying men.
Bolton rushed in. “Mason killed our top scientist.”
Saskia glowered at him. “Are the men hunting him armed with wolfsbane rifles?”
Bolton shook his head. “No.”
Nik smirked. “You won’t have any more chimera werewolves left if you don’t.”
“Good point. They need to submit to me or die. Come, Bolton.” She blew Nik a kiss and left.
Nik sat on the floor of the cage. Maybe the werewolves would put up a good fight against Saskia and Bolton. Although, she took a wolfsbane rifle, so not likely. Truth be told, she was a powerful alpha with the savagery of a trueborn lycan. Part of Nik felt sorry for the fools who remained in werewolf form for too long.
The two men standing guard watched his every move, but avoided direct eye contact. The flashlight lay on the table, illuminating them. Compelling them was impossible. The minute he jiggled the bolt, they’d shoot him with the tranquilizer. He never wanted to experience that helpless frozen state again.
He cocked his ears. Someone approached from down the hall with quiet footsteps. He couldn’t catch the scent. There was none. It must be Emma after she used vaporo. He had to warn her he was not alone. He barked two growls.
The men aimed their rifles at him.
Ed stared at him. “Shut the fuck up.”
Whether it was Emma or not, the signal worked. The person behind the door stood still.
A knock followed.
Ed shouted, “Who is it?”
“Dr. Mendeleev,” said the female voice with the Russian accent. His heart stirred. Emma’s Russian accent. “Saskia sent me to examine Nik.”
“Enter.”
Nik quirked an eyebrow at the woman with thick glasses and a gray bun. No mask. The nametag hung on her lab coat. Costume or not, she was Emma. Obviously, the mind control had not worked. Part of him was elated she’d hadn’t forgotten him, but also worried that she’d placed herself in danger.
“I need to enter his cage.”
Ed furrowed his brow in suspicion. “Saskia never mentioned a doctor coming. Besides, he is unharmed and we are on lock down.”
“No matter.” She huffed. “I need to collect a sperm sample.”
Nik gaped. Couldn’t you have come up with a better explanation? Blood, urine, or even DNA?
Emma took out a large
test tube. “Won’t be more than five minutes.” She lifted an eyebrow at Nik. “Maybe more, if you don’t give us space.”
Ed laughed. “Saskia told us to watch his every move.”
“Then turn around,” she said.
Ed furrowed his brow. “And why can’t this wait until the grid comes back up?”
“I’ll call Saskia,” said Emma. She reached in her lab coat and whipped out a gun, a tranquilizer gun. “Put down your weapons.”
Ed growled and so did the other two guards. Shit. They were shifting.
Emma didn’t hesitate. She shot each in the throat, one after another. They dropped and lay on the ground, twitching for a few seconds before becoming completely immobile.
“Not bad,” said Nik.
“Not to brag, but I was a top marksman.”
Nik sniffed. “Looks like you shot them with an overdose.”
“That should keep them from yapping to the bitch boss.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Did I not mind control you to forget me and everything about this mission?”
“I figured you or some other male might force me to follow orders so I used the drug against lycan charms.” She grabbed the flashlight and put the glasses in the lab coat pocket.
He grabbed the bars. “I’m ready to join you, unless you really do want a sperm sample.”
Emma laughed. “I’ll reschedule.” She unlocked the cage.
He left the cage and drew her into his arms. “I don’t date older women, but I might make an exception.”