NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team

by Chelsea Handcock

  Adding her new finds to the fire, Sky warmed her freezing hands. She decided the next thing she needed to do, now they had a little warmth, was to get some water. Driving some sticks she had gathered into the ground close to the fire, Sky made a little teepee type thing. Then she knotted a piece of the parachute material together making a pouch. Sky placed it close to the fire, but not close enough to catch the stuff on fire or melt it, and put some snow inside. She had no idea if the fabric would hold the melted snow, but if worse came to worse, they could squeeze the fibers to get the liquid out.

  Rubbing her arms, Sky knew they needed to address another thing; the wind was brutal. The low hanging branches provided some shelter, but not much. She went to work cutting more branches off other trees and dragging them back to their temporary home. Ryleigh was still sleeping. Sky didn’t know anything about hypothermia, so she kept on jostling her and testing her skin to see if it was too cold. The fire was doing its job, but not good enough. Fuck, where the hell was Sebastian?

  Chapter 24

  Bas ran towards the crash site with three things on his mind: finding Cash, finding shelter, and getting back to the girls. He didn’t want to leave them, but if Cash was hurt, he needed to get to him and get him back, so they could all get to safety. Ryleigh was a trained operative. She would know what to do to keep Sky safe until he got back.

  His bruin could run at speeds that defied regular bears, but the crash site was miles away from where they had landed. When he came to the location, his hopes died. There wasn’t anything left of the plane, it was smashed beyond all recognition. He looked around and didn’t see any signs of Cash. He also didn’t smell him anywhere. Did he get out in time, was he lying somewhere hurt, or making his way to them? Fuck!

  Bas changed into his human form and started scavenging for anything which could help him and the girls. There was a first aid kit that had made it through the crash relatively intact. Other than that, there wasn’t much else. Bas did a perimeter sweep, looking for any signs of Cash. Nothing. He did find a piece of the windshield, but it didn’t offer him much hope because there was blood on it.

  He knew that Cash would have sent out a mayday, so he could only hope the rest of the Team was on the way to their location. Walking out further, Bas was surprised to find he’d made it to the shoreline. He’d been trying so hard to catch Cash’s scent that he missed the smell of water. Bas searched the shoreline and the water. When a flash of red caught his eye, he moved closer to get a better look. Fuck, was that Cash’s parachute? It had to be.

  He couldn’t go into that water in his human form, but his bear might have a chance. Dropping the first aid kit, Bas shifted and made his way into the icy water of Lake Superior. The ice chunks were an unneeded obstacle, but his bruin handled them like a champ. Getting out to the parachute which kept on moving further away was a problem.

  When he finally got to the chute, he was devastated to find Cash was still nowhere to be found. He pulled the material in with his claws and made his way back to shore. Shaking his fur to dispel the water, he waited a little while before changing back. When he did, his clothing was damp, but not drenched. It was one of the benefits of the bear.

  Examining the parachute, Bas noticed there were slices in the material that shouldn’t have been there. They were too clean for damage from the dive, and they were in places that would prevent the chute from fully forming on descent. Fuck, what the hell happened? It was evident someone had tampered with the chute. If Cash landed in this water after falling from so high with no slowing down, his momentum would cause every bone in his body to break upon landing. A Shifter could survive those injuries though they would still need some medical intervention.

  The harness was unstrapped, so that gave him a little hope Cash was at least able enough to remove the device, but the blood on the straps canceled that out. Bas started to scream his name over and over again, hoping for a response. When none came, he had no choice but to leave the area and head back to the girls. When Alpha arrived, they could set up a search party and hopefully, find their fallen man.

  Bas grabbed the first aid kit up again and changed back into this bear. He had been moving at high speeds, but a smell hit him and stopped him in his tracks. There were Shifters, several of them. One of which was definitely of the reptile variety. Son of a bitch! How in the hell had these people found them in the middle of fucking nowhere? Bas didn't even know exactly where they were. He wasn’t one to run away from a confrontation, but he thought it was best to lead these fuckers away from Sky and Ryleigh.

  Bas ran for a while, leading them in the opposite direction of the girls, but the bastards hemmed him in quickly. He knew two cat Shifters were in front of him with the reptile and a wolf behind and two bear Shifters on either side. They were herding him, and Bas was letting them. The further away from the girls he got, the better.

  When he had nowhere else to go, he Shifted back. A small man approached. He smelled of reptile, and Bas knew instantly this was the man who had been after Sky back in Defiance. His eyes reflected the elongated pupil of his kind.

  Bas tried to play it off like he was happy to see them and he hadn't noticed they were following him all this time. Shifters were taught to help each other out. He hoped these men learned those same lessons.

  “Hey, I am so glad to see you guys. My plane went down and my buddy is missing. I need to get to a phone to call in my Team, so we can find him. Do you live around here? Or maybe have a SAT phone I can use?”

  “Oh, Mr. Frost, I expected a lot of things, but you playing dumb wasn’t one of them. Your buddy is sleeping on the floor of Lake Superior, and you’re going to be joining him soon. I smelled you on her, on our prize, and that can’t happen. You’re not worthy of holding such a treasure.”

  “Dude, what are you talking about?” Bas was still attempting to deceive the stranger. This guy was nuts to his very core. He smelled wrong; like emotions held a scent, so did insanity, and this guy needed to be in a straitjacket. The others were closing in. Bas would fight, but the odds were against him. He looked to the bears who had also changed back into human their form. He didn’t know them, but the cat looked familiar. It took him a couple of seconds, but he called out.

  “Yo, Noah, what are you doing hanging out with these guys? What would your brother think?”

  “You dare to speak of my brother after what your people did to him?” Noah shouted.

  Bas had no idea what he was talking about. The last time he knew anything about Jonas Rosen, he was a part of Zulu. He had never hung out with the man, but they ran in the same circles, and he knew him, in a way. Noah looked just like Jonas, so making the connection was easy.

  “What do you mean what we did to him? I saw him a couple of months ago, had some beers and talked for a bit. He was just fine then, one hundred percent committed to his team and NAC. What are you committed to Noah?”

  “Damn, you NAC boys are all so fucking stupid. Jonas wasn’t one of you. He was one of us,” Noah said. “That fucker, Matthias, picked him up, and no one has seen him since. How about we make a deal? I’ll ask Dean here to spare you if you find out where they’re holding my brother.”

  “Oh, no need for that, Noah, we’ll find Jonas. NAC has become too compliant. One of our members will soon find our brother's location. No need to fret,” the reptile Shifter interrupted. “As for you, Mr. Frost, I believe your time has come. We looked into you at one time hoping to save you from your filthy background, but it became apparent you would never leave the human trash your father kept producing. It’s a shame, but no matter.”

  Bas felt the sting of a dart piercing his shoulder. Damn, the fuckers didn’t play fair or honorably. He could feel the fire of the drug burning his veins. He could also feel his body becoming heavy. He tried to reach his bear, but the fucker wasn’t there. For the first time in his life, he was truly alone, but he wasn’t. He still felt his bond to Sky. It was like a live wire in the middle of nothing. He tried to push his fe
elings and thoughts through that bond and hoped she would know that his last thoughts were of her.

  He wanted more than anything to go back and change all the awful things he had said and done to her. To accept her with open arms and keep her safe, but he hadn’t done any of that. He tried calling to his bear again and still there was nothing, just blank dark space. The beast he cursed on most days was dead to him, and he didn’t like the feeling one bit. He fell to his knees, then to the ground. His limbs weren’t working as the drug took over his body. Right before the darkness swept in, Bas heard Dean Summerfield say, “Take him to the lakeshore and dispose of him like we did Mr. Windsor.”

  Fuck, they had gotten to Cash. Bas concentrated on his bond with Sky. This time he pushed thoughts of running to her, hoping against hope to give her some kind of warning of what was to come. Digging deeper, he tried to find his bond with Jacks or even Senior, pushing thoughts of danger and urgency their way.

  Damn, if these legends were actually true, then all of this should work. Bas' last thoughts were of Sky and everything they could have had together. She was his mate, the one destined for only him. He had treated her so poorly, even cruelly, but maybe, if the fates allowed, he could still help her in some way. Bas fought the darkness, but lost the battle. Before his world could go completely black, he felt a spark running through his veins straight to his heart. His Sky.

  Chapter 25

  Sky was doing the best she could. She had made them a shelter, and Ryleigh was still sleeping. Sky had woken her a couple of times and had Ryleigh drink some of the melted snow. She was just about to put another branch on the fire when a pain hit her heart so hard it bowled her over. Bas.

  Sky jumped up and looked around, she felt him. Had felt him firmly attached to her, and then, nothing. He wanted her to run, but run where? Sky looked around and decided she couldn’t run. Ryleigh wasn’t doing all that well, and to top it off, she was uber pregnant. They were similar in size, so there was physically no way she could carry her out of here. Hell, she didn't even know what direction they should head in the first place.

  Sky started looking around. They needed to hide. She kicked some snow over the fire and started running around, frantically looking for something, anything. All the while, she was trying to reach Bas with their bond. The line was blank, and that scared her even more. Ryleigh woke up in all the commotion and asked, “What’s going on, are the guys back?”

  Sky went to her knees in front of her. “No, I don’t know what’s going on, but something has happened to Bas. I can feel it, or rather, I can’t feel him anymore. Right before, I felt him yelling at me through the bond. He was telling me to run. We can’t do that, but we need to find someplace to hide. These parachutes and the fire are a beacon for anything out there trying to find us.”

  “Shit. Okay, calm down,” Ryleigh said, getting up slowly.

  Sky noticed her pain at the movement, but she couldn’t help her right now.

  Ryleigh continued her directions, “Okay, let’s move further into the forest. Maybe we can find a cave or a hollowed-out log or something. I can’t move all that fast, but I can move. If Bas wanted us to run, I think we need to do just that. Keep your eyes open for the first place we find that’s secluded enough to provide me some cover. You’re going to have to leave me behind to find help.

  “Cash would have sent out a mayday, and I know Jacks and the rest of the Team will be tracking us. We just need to hold out long enough for them to get here. They’ll be coming from the South, so once you drop me off, head that way. Stay within the trees as much as you can, but move fast. We have no idea what Bas was trying to warn us about. It could be any number of things.”

  Yeah, Sky thought, they would definitely be finding a place to hide, but it would be for two. There wasn’t any way that she would leave Ryleigh behind.

  Ryleigh was walking slowly, and cautiously. Sky wanted to make her go faster, but knew it wasn’t possible. Her feet were black, and from her constant stretched out motions, she gathered Ryleigh’s back was bothering her as well.

  “Rye, are you and the baby are okay? That landing was enough to scramble my brains, and I’m not even pregnant.”

  “You could be,” Ryleigh said in an attempt to lighten the situation.

  “No, I really couldn’t. I told you Bas and I haven’t gotten that far. You know the whole mating thing not being complete and all that jazz.” Sky stopped and looked at her asking. “Rye, is the baby okay?”

  “He’s fine, moving around and warm and cozy in his waterbed,” Ryleigh said rubbing her extended stomach. “Don’t worry, Sky, Jacks and the rest of the guys will get here. Cash couldn’t have gone that much off course, and our flight should have only been about a half hour. Alpha is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so they have to be close enough to track and get us out. You just need to have a little faith.”

  Faith, damn, that was the wrong thing to ask her to have right now because she was losing all of hers quickly. She couldn’t feel Bas. Sky was scared out of her mind. With the people after her and other people after the members of Alpha Team, how could Ryleigh be so sure everything would come out roses? Sky thought this was the biggest shit sandwich she had ever seen.

  “Okay, Rye, I’ll keep the faith, but tell me if anything changes. If you feel any more pain or you know the baby acts differently, we’ll stop. I don’t know what I’ll do when we stop, but we’ll have to come up with something.”

  They walked around for a while longer and finally, found a log that would hide them enough from sight as well as keep the wind off of them. They wouldn't have the warmth of a fire like before, but at least they would be out of the elements. After all, they could keep each other warm. If Ryleigh was right, Alpha Team should be coming in to save the day any minute now.

  Just as Sky was getting Ryleigh situated to enter the log, she heard a voice that chilled her bones and had hoped never to hear again.

  “Well, if it isn’t my wayward wife.”

  Oh, hell no! Sky couldn't believe what she had just heard. She turned around, trying to block Ryleigh from the snake man's view.

  “Ah, I see you have brought me a prize. Hello, Miss Thorp, I see you have been up to naughty things.” The snake man sneered at Ryleigh’s pregnant stomach like it disgusted or repulsed him. This guy was totally whacked.

  Ryleigh stepped beyond Sky even as Sky held her hand out to stop her. Didn’t the woman have a tiny bit of self-preservation?

  “Hello, Mr. Summerfield, I have no idea what you’re referring to. My life was perfectly charming until you came along,” Ryleigh replied.

  “So, the abomination says. You know, you have single handily ruined a good man. Jackson had such potential before he came into contact with your faulty genes. And now that you’ve bred, his line will be forever tainted. How do you live with yourself?” Snakeman derided.

  Sky managed to once again get in front of Ryleigh. When Ryleigh made a move to get in front of her again, Sky squeezed Ryleigh’s arm hard and whispered, “Think of your baby, Ryleigh.”

  “Oh, no need to worry about the mongrel she carries, my darling. It will soon be taken care of, just like that nasty bit of flesh, Shelby. After all, we can’t have half-breeds running around, now can we? Those mongrels would taint everything we have worked so hard for and that can’t happen.”

  Sky didn’t know what this loon was talking about and she didn’t care. No way was she going to let him hurt Ryleigh or her baby.

  “Come here, Skylar. It is time for you to take your proper place by my side. You’re the future of our species, and I’ll lead them as you produce many children in my honor.”

  “Yeah, so not happening,” Sky said.

  “Now, Skylar,” the asshole snapped his bony fingers like it would get Sky to move faster. Who was this man? “Come or my friend Noah there is going to put a bullet right in Ms. Thorp's head.”

  Sky looked back, and there was a man right behind them holding a gun out. Shit. She needed to s
tall.

  “No, first you need to tell me some things. Who are you and why did you mention my dad back there? I want to know everything!” Sky demanded.

  “Fine, if you must know, your father was a part of our clan.” He waved his hands like that statement meant nothing, and he was brushing the thoughts away. “He believed in the same things we did until that wretched woman got her claws into him. He was just supposed to fuck her, not fall in love with the tramp. It was such a tragedy. But no matter, we have learned from our mistakes. She made him leave everyone and everything behind to be at her beck and call. I can't respect a man who gets led around by his dick. He was once a better man who believed in our cause and worked to better our mission.

  “I mean,” Dean Continued, “the clan must come first in all things. Women have their purpose, but ultimately, we are the kings. I’ve learned my lesson. Since then, the men have no prior contact with the women we hold. When they come into season, they are chained and blindfolded. Then, one by one, our disciples take their turn until a seed takes root, and the new generation begins. That’s how it should have been from the beginning. Lesson learned and all that crap. I assure you those same mistakes will not happen again.”

  Holy crap! This man was talking about rape like it was commonplace and didn’t matter.

  “Okay, so what you’re saying is I can let you take me and rape me repeatedly, or I can stand right here and wait to see what fate has in store for me?”

  Sky noticed other men approaching, two to be exact. Thankfully, they were staying back. The situation wasn’t good. She shouldn’t be goading the man, but really, who would ever say those things to get someone to comply? Sky would rather die than endure what he had described.

  “Oh, you stupid child,” Dean laughed. “The fates decided what was going to happen to you long ago. You were conceived for me,” he said practically yelling, “and I have waited long enough for my prize. You’re the only natural birth our species has seen for over a hundred years, and the gods have determined I am to be given the honor of deflowering and then fertilizing you. Me, not your Mr. Frost, or Alpha Team and NAC, me, Dean Summerfield, High Elder of The Association.”