Dane hadn’t thought so either. But now he wasn’t so sure. He wanted to follow that van.
“Did you see her get into the van?” Shaw asked.
“No, but—”
“Then let’s go to the cave first. If she’s not there…” He didn’t bother to continue. The alternative was too worrisome to consider.
Jaw clamping with doubt, Dane nodded sharply. After shifting into his jaguar, he followed Shaw and Riley, even as he kept glancing over his shoulder for his mate.
He should’ve trusted his instincts, he realized fifteen minutes later when they reached the mouth of the cave. His sisters hadn’t arrived yet. And neither had Ari. But Knox paced anxiously. Dane flashed human.
“Where is she?” the two men—Dane and Knox—asked in unison.
“Christ!” Knox gripped his head in misery. “Don’t you fucking tell me you lost her, cub. She’s my only child!”
Cold dread rained over Dane’s body as he watched Ari’s father fall to his knees. “If she’s dead, so are you. I swear to God…”
Dane spun away and headed back toward town.
“Dane!” his mother called sharply. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m going to get my mate.” He didn’t stop his stride.
“I’ll go with you,” both Knox and Shaw announced together.
Dane merely held up a hand. “No.” The old men would only slow him down.
Leaping into his jaguar, he pushed out all human emotion, all rational reason. He focused on his animal, on instinct, and on the bond tethering him to Ari.
After a stir of connection, he felt her over the rapid pounding of his own heartbeat. She was as scared as he, her pulse racing with fear. He latched onto her, refusing to let go, and let his animal carry him along. Whenever the bond grew fainter, he turned directions until it strengthened.
Following her emotional trail, he ran through the rest of the night until he could actually get a slight whiff of her scent.
Nearing an area that stank of Hunter, almost overpowering Ari’s aroma, Dane slowed to a creep, cautious with each step he made. Nestled deep in the forest, the compound appeared almost out of nowhere when he slipped between two trees.
Immediately he ducked back out of sight before more carefully peering around the corner.
After a brief perimeter check, Dane learned two armed humans patrolled the front of the building. Two more guarded the back. He went for the front, morphing into his human and sneaking up on one from behind. After clapping a hand over the man’s mouth, he cupped his head and twisted, breaking the Hunter’s neck with a snap of cartilage.
As soon as he dragged the first man out of sight and between a knot of vines and foliage running up the side of a tree, the second guard meandered by. The guard whistled softly under his breath but broke off abruptly.
Halting, shoulders tensed, he swerved his head back and forth before whispering, “Ned? Hey, Ned. Where’d you go?”
Dane jumped the second guard and dispatched him the same why he had the first. After he stowed away the second body, he relieved one of them of his clothes. Without missing a step, he strode purposely up the front walk to the front entrance, where he pounded on the door.
After the eye of a video camera turned to inspect him, a small window in the door opened. A filthy human Hunter peered out. It took everything inside Dane not to reach through the hole, grab the bastard by the throat, and squeeze out his life force.
“What do you want?” the man asked, though he didn’t speak in English. He spoke in code, a code his ex-hunter human father had taught Dane and his sisters when they were young.
“I want inside,” Dane answered in a tight, monotone voice, using the same language. “I’m from faction twelve in Washington State and one of our female wolves we were experimenting on escaped. I believe you caught her, but we need her back to mark the result of our tests.”
The lie fell so easily and smoothly from his lips, the human nodded without hesitation. “Let me see your mark,” he said.
Without missing a beat, Dane grasped the end of his long-sleeved shirt and pulled it up before twisting his arm palm up to reveal the small tattoo inked into his wrist. He’d gotten the strange tribal design in his rebel teen years ago and chosen the pattern and place to match the tattoo his father had.
When Shaw had seen what his son had done, he hadn’t gotten mad but, rather reared his head back and exploded with laughter, explaining how he’d gotten the tattoo to mark his faction when he’d been a member of the Hunters. He loved the irony of his shifter son baring the mark of a secret organization determined to wipe out his race.
Dane decided not to get the ink removed because the joke amused him too, plus it matched his dad’s, which held a sentimental place in his heart. He never knew keeping it would come in handy someday. But as he was about to break into the building full of men hungry at the chance to euthanize his entire breed of existence, he gratefully displayed the mark.
With a nod, the human slammed the tiny door closed in Dane’s face, but the sound of latches unlocking made his pulse race with anticipation. Only a few more seconds and he’d be inside. With Ari.
As soon as he was admitted and the door shut at his back, the guard drew a knife from the sheath on his belt. Before Dane realized what he was about, he swung out and slashed the blade across Dane’s forearm. Hissing in pain, Dane reared back, glaring at the man, ready to break out into his jaguar.
How the hell had the little bastard known he was a shifter?
Instead of attacking him again, the guard relaxed and actually apologized, lifting his hand for peace. “Sorry about that, man. We’ve heard shifters are trying to walk right in the front doors of our compounds, pretending to be human.”
Clutching his bloody arm, Dane arched a brow. “No shit? So what’s the cut for?”
The guard shrugged. “I guess they turn into their animal when they’re hurt.”
Dane snorted. Idiots. “Well, thanks for the warning,” he muttered. “Now where’s my fucking wolf I came to retrieve?”
After speaking into a radio, the guard directed him in which hallway to follow. After he returned to his post at the front door, he ignored Dane, keeping his back to him as if fully believing Dane was human.
Dane refrained from killing him. He followed the hall until he reached another door, which electronically unlocked at his approached. A nerdy-looking man in a white lab coat peeked out and sneered at him with beady eyes.
“So…faction twelve is experimenting on shifters too? Interesting. Have you learned anything new?”
Dane shrugged, keeping cool. Aloof. “Nothing too surprising.”
The man nodded, his eyes narrowing. “Not sharing results, huh? I’m not surprised.” He thrust out his hand. “I’m Mack.”
“Bob,” Dane lied, shaking briefly with him, and using all his willpower not to wipe the grime off on his pant leg after letting go of Mack’s hand.
Find Ari first, he reminded himself.
Mack led him into a room that was blindingly white. Walls, floors, cages, all white. The cages lined and embedded into the wall had been constructed of some kind of white material that wasn’t metal, but held a strong plastic odor that almost made Dane’s eyes water from the stench.
Another two guards stood in the center of the white room. “The only wolf we got is that one.” One motioned his gun toward a barred door on their right. When Dane turned and looked, disappointment roared through him.
Not Ari. Ari had snow-white fur with tufts of grey lining her muzzle and underbody. The barred beast before him was almost full black, and male besides.
Lifting his nose and obviously sniffing Dane’s jaguar, the male padded forward and stared out at him with interest.
“That’s not her,” Dane choked out, trying not to panic. Where the hell was his mate? “Maybe…maybe she’s in her human form.”
The guard shook his head. “They stay animal when we catch ‘em. Don’t like us t
o see ‘em naked or something. Dumb fucking animals.” He kicked at the bar and the wolf growled, snapping at him.
Beginning to panic, Dane shifted his gaze wildly around the room. He knew she’d been caught. He felt it in his bones, smelled it in his nostrils. He knew she had to be here. Somewhere.
Maybe she’d escaped. He hoped to God she had.
Pausing at one cage, Dane froze as a sleek brown doe slowly neared the bars and stared mournfully out at him. Ari’s scent wafted out to embrace him.
Holy shit. Her second animal was a freaking stag. He never would’ve guessed that one in a million years. Turning doe had been genius. Deer were much more indigenous to the area than wolves. Too bad the bastards had caught her anyway.
“There.” He pointed. “That’s her.”
The guard frowned. “Thought you said it was a wolf.”
“She’s duo-animagous,” Dane murmured, unable to take his eyes off her. She was so beautiful.
Mack drifted forward, obviously curious about the term. “She’s what?”
“Duo,” Dane growled. “She can take on two different animal forms.”
“Damn it,” Mack muttered. “I knew you Washington boys had learned something cool. Just how many shapes can a shifter take on?”
“Haven’t a clue.” Dane shrugged even as he approached Ari’s cage with reverent care. Lifting a padlock, he glanced toward one of the guards. “Unlock it.”
He armed man gaped as if he were crazy. “Fuck, no. The beast needs to be tranquilized first, bagged and gagged and—”
Dane’s snort cut him off. “Are you serious?” He cast Mack an incredulous look. “I would’ve thought you Wyoming boys would be able to control your shifters better than that. Unlock the fucking door.”
Mack narrowed his eyes but looked too intrigued to back down from the challenge. Nodding his head toward the guard, he instructed, “Unlock it. I want to see what’ll happen.”
The guards tensed, steadied their guns on Ari, but obeyed. The man who unlocked her scurried back as soon at the padlock fell free. Dane yanked the door open and his mate peacefully trotted out to greet him.
It took everything inside him not to hug her and kiss her brown coat. He set a hand on her back and arched a brow at Mack, who gawked with large eyes. “Incredible. Simply incredible. How do you manage it?”
Dane smirked out a mysterious grin. “Trade secret.” Snapping his finger, he started for the door, and Ari clopped along beside him, quite submissive.
The caged wolf snarled and butted his head against the bars of his prison. The other trapped shifters did the same, begging in their own way for Dane to take them too. Ari looked up at him from her big blue eyes, begging as well.
“I’m sorry,” he said, but he couldn’t break all of them free. They were in the center of a Hunter compound here. If anyone suspected anything off, none of them would make it out alive. Sorrow filled her gaze, but she nodded in understanding.
Without another word, Dane walked Ari to freedom. As soon as they were outside, he tightened his grip on her pelt and kept marching. For nearly a mile, he strode along without stopping or speaking to her. Then he finally paused and looked down.
“Okay, I think we’re far enough away now.”
Instantly, the deer became a woman. Ari. With a happy squeal, she leapt into his arm. He caught her and held her close. Kissing her hair, her face, her lips.
“That was amazing. Oh my God, Dane, how did you just walk in there like that?”
He showed her his tattoo and explained his strategy. Her mouth fell open as she listened. “I…I can’t believe you did all that…for me.”
He frowned. “You’re my mate.”
Tears filled her lashes. “I love you,” she blubbered and kissed him again.
They made love, right there in the woods. Dane backed her against a tree and unzipped his pants as she wrapped her legs around him and opened her body to receive his first desperate thrust. He entered her and groaned. It was like coming home.
She clung to him, riding his body, clinging, accepting him into her.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” he chanted with every pump of his hips. She repeated the endearment and together, they crested the peak of release.
Resting his forehead against her shoulder, Dane breathed out his relief. “I thought I would lose you again,” he admitted, noticing the delayed tremor in his hands.
Ari cupped his face. “Never,” she swore. Setting her fingers over the center of his chest, she added, “As long as both of these hearts beat, they’ll always find one another.”
Dane grinned and kissed her hard, realizing he’d finally found the part of himself he’d lost twenty years ago.
* * * *
It was midday by the time they neared the cave. Ari was hungry and in desperate need of a long, luxurious bath. She had no idea how her home or her entire town had fared the night. At the moment, it didn’t matter. What mattered was being with Dane and making sure both their families were okay. But with Dane at her side, she knew she could handle anything.
Her father appeared from the opening of the cave almost as soon as it came into view.
He cried out her name and sprinted forward, scooping her up into his encompassing arms. “You’re alive.”
“Daddy.” She closed her eyes and sank into his comforting smell. “How’s everything else?”
Knox pulled back to smile at her. “Your mother was waiting inside the entire time. Stubborn female wouldn’t leave the area entirely.”
As he spoke, Jaycee popped her head from the boulders marking the beginning of the cave. As mother and daughter embraced, Ari noticed her father turning toward Dane.
“For what it’s worth, I apologize for trying to take you out. I never meant to bring such a mess to us.”
Dane studied him a moment before he shrugged. “So you went a little insane out of love for your daughter. Big deal. I’ve seen my father do some crazy shit for my sisters and me, sacrificing himself and putting his own life in danger to keep us safe. As far as I’m concerned, we’re cool.”
Knox nodded. “Shaw Griffin is indeed a noble man. It was wrong of me to assume his son would be anything less than he.”
“After I saw Jaycee give birth, I didn’t know if she was going to live or die.” Dane low’s voice quivered through Ari. “I thought linking my life force with Ari’s would give her a better chance of survival. I just wanted to protect her. I didn’t understand—”
Setting a fatherly hand on Dane’s shoulder, Knox nodded. “Don’t worry about it. I know all about doing something insane in the name of protecting those you love, remember?”
As the two men shook hands, Ari sighed out a breath of relief. “Thank God,” her mother muttered next to her. “Who knows what would’ve happened next if the enmity between you two had persisted.”
Dane grinned at Ari as he swept toward her. Once she was in his arms, he glanced toward Jaycee. “Where’s my family?”
Jaycee bit her lip. “Well…there’s been a slight problem. After you left to find Ari, your parents waited and waited for your sisters to arrive but…only Rhea made it back.”
Ari’s face drained of color as Dane tensed against her. “Where’s Brynn?” she demanded in a low, barely controlled voice.
Wiping the tears that began to fall off her slick cheeks, Jaycee shook her head. “We don’t know.”
Epilogue
Brynn Griffin gained consciousness with a pained gasp. The strong odor of wolf assaulted her senses. It lingered everywhere, coating the room, her body, the swaying and cold metal floor under her cheek.
Tensing, she kept her eyes closed as she tried to orient herself. Either her equilibrium was so off whack it couldn’t steady itself or she was lying on something hanging suspended from the ground. Something that rocked slowly like the pendulum of a clock.
“There’s no need to fake it, human. I know you’re awake.”
The deep voice jarred through her, making ev
ery muscle in her sore body spasm with fear. Tentatively, she lifted her face. Okay, so she was most definitely hanging above the ground…in a huge birdcage, something a stripper would sit in and pose on a swing to entice the men watching her.
Staring past the gilded metal rungs capturing her inside her domed confines, she studied the dark room around her. Chilly and cave-like with a humid, underground quality, she was surprised the walls and floors weren’t made of stone. A tacky bright red shag carpet covered the floors. The walls were painted a warm, golden brown. Shelves and desks lined the walls, crammed into the room and filling every available bit of space.
The owner obviously liked to collect things, hoard them. She had a bad feeling she’d just becoming his newest possession.
When her gaze found his, she froze…as in she stopped moving and dropped about twenty degrees in temperature.
A pair of almond-shaped, nearly glowing eyes studied her from the dark. He stepped out of the shadows, a massive form, shaggy midnight hair hanging down his face and over his shoulders, which were as thick as boulders.
His skin gleamed a bronzed chestnut, no doubt seeing plenty exposure to the sun. He didn’t wear clothes but draped some kind of loincloth thingy between his legs.
Savage and earthy, he was no kind of shape-shifter she’d ever encountered before.
He was an absolute pureblood.
Brynn shuddered and licked her parched lips. His yellow-brown eyes tracked the movement. “Please,” she whispered, her voice cracked dry and hoarse. “Let me go.”
He smiled, showing off a mouth full of wolfy teeth. “And why should I do that, precious? I’ve always wanted a human for a pet.”
She sniffed, straightening her back rigidly. “I’m far from pure human.” She’d tried too hard to be nothing but human. She’d fallen in love with a human and thought she could live the rest of her life without ever changing into her hairy form again. But she’d made the tactical error of trusting her human lover with all her secrets. When she confessed her jaguar side to him, he’d scorned her, repulsed and horrified.
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