Cover your ears. It’s about to get loud.
Randy grinned when he held up the detonator and looked at his brother. “Big steel door go boom!”
The device they’d attached to the door exploded, followed by a smaller explosion and the door burst inward. Debris and dust flew through the air. They all remained with their arms covering their heads until the dust cloud dissipated somewhat, then they made their way into the room.
On the far side of the laboratory was a large, barred cell housing a tall, nearly emaciated man with pitch black hair.
“You aren’t a fantasy?” The caged man watched them, with wide eyes, his expression filled with hope.
Kalen approached the man while the others investigated the computers, pulling hard drives and sifting through files. “No, sir. We aren’t a fantasy.” He paused outside the door. “Can I trust you not to attack us if I release you?”
The man stood in the cell, his hands clenched to his sides. “Yes, but I must warn you that I will not stay here. I must try to find my wife.” He swallowed and looked away. “I know she is probably remarried and lost to me, but I must find her to tell her I didn’t leave her of my own free will.”
Kalen nodded. “I understand your desire to find your wife. I don’t know what I would do if I lost my mate.” Leaving the cell door locked, he sat on the corner of a desk and tilted his head as he looked at the other man. “You know, I met a remarkably interesting woman recently. I think I should tell you about her.”
“I do not know why. I have already told you I need to find my mate.”
“A few minutes either way shouldn’t matter, should it?” Kalen asked with a shrug of his shoulders. “After all, if she’s lost to you, she’s lost to you. Right?” He didn’t wait for the other man to answer. Instead, he began to tell the man what he had to say.
“Two days ago,” he paused and shook his head. “It’s hard to believe it’s only been two days. It seems like I’ve known Ally a lifetime.”
“Mates will do that to you,” Bastien interjected with a grin.
“Anyway,” Kalen continued, swinging his leg, taking his sweet time while the others searched the facility. He had to buy them time, otherwise Gerald Jenkins, if that’s who he was, would bolt the minute they let him out. “I was taking my mate back to her house so we could run away from the same people who put you here. I met the nicest older woman. She spun a fantastic tale about her husband who was over one-thousand years old.
“Milly.” The man breathed her name as though saying it gave life to his hope. Perhaps it did.
“Yes, sir. The woman’s name was Milly.” Kalen continued to tell his story, though the man had become agitated and started pacing in his cell. There were men in her house when we arrived. Bad men. They injected her with a serum.”
“No!” Gerald fell to his knees.
Kalen couldn’t let him keep thinking the worst, so he told him the rest quickly. “She’s fine, Gerald.”
He looked up, renewed hope filling his gaze. “She spoke of me? She doesn’t hate me?”
“How could she hate you? She completed the bond with you. She’s waited for you all these years even though she feared you were dead.”
“What did the serum do?”
“It made her one of us. Your mate is no longer human, Gerald and she no longer looks like a seventy-year-old woman. She looks like a seventy-year-old were.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ally sat in the bolt hole with the other women. The six-inch thick steel door stood open. Neither she nor Charity could bear to close it. The underground rooms were positively claustrophobic.
They would seal themselves in if they heard noises from the ground floor. Until then, they all sat staring at the open door waiting for their men to return.
“I’m sure they’ll find him and bring him home to you, Milly.” Charity shifted her position on the large chair where she sat and looked around the room.
It wasn’t a small room, but a person knew they were underground while in it. The absence of windows alone was almost enough to have Ally running out to face whatever unknown there was on the upper floors.
Along with the sitting room and kitchen, basement apartment had ten bedrooms, some complete with king-sized beds. Apparently, werewolves knew how to hide in style. Either that, or this was just a very well-stocked storm shelter.
Milly didn’t answer Charity. She just sat in her chair and stared at the doorway as though her will alone, would bring her husband back to her.
“Forty years.”
That was about the twentieth time the old woman uttered those words. Did she wonder what he looked like now? Did she fear he would no longer love her?
If what Kalen had told her was true, the older woman had nothing to fear. Wolves mated for life and, so it seemed, did their shapeshifting counterparts.
She smoothed down her glossy hair and turned her haunted eyes toward Ally. “It’s been forty years, Ally. What if he doesn’t love me anymore? What if he blames me for his incarceration?”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and Ally wanted to do nothing more than comfort her old friend. “It’s going to be okay, Milly. He’s going to take one look at you and thank God that you’re still here for him to love and cherish.”
She rested one hand on Milly’s and pointed to the door with the other. “He’s going to walk through that door any minute and pull you into his arms as though he never left.”
“Do...do you really think so?” Milly sniffed and wiped her face with a tissue she pulled from her pocket.
“I’m sure of it.” The sound of something metallic scraping against the concrete floor made her frown. Ally glanced toward the door. “Did you hear something?” she asked the others.
“I never hear anything you guys hear,” Charity groused. “I wish I was a were, too. That way I could run with my husband when he feels the urge to stretch his legs.”
Frowning, Ally stared at the door, wondering if she’d really heard something, or if her mind was playing tricks on her. She moved to the edge of her seat, ready to jump up and move if she needed to.
There was nothing at the end of the hall but the dark shadows that had been there when they first came to the room. She rubbed her arms as the hairs stood on end and she jumped up and ran to the door too late.
Even though the room had blurred around her when she ran, she wasn’t in time to slam the thick door on the large wolf that lunged from the shadows. It had dark fur and glowing red and black eyes that glared into hers as she stood trembling before it.
Thinking of Charity, the only human in the room, Ally stood her ground and growled at the intruder. “Go away.”
She snarled when she didn’t even know she was capable of such a thing. What was it about the wolf that looked familiar?
Tilting her head to the side, she narrowed her eyes and scowled when she finally recognized the eyes and the color of the pelt. “What are you doing here? Did you come to urinate on this furniture, too?”
How could they not have known this...beast had followed them to the safe house? How many more of his friends were on the way here now?
Ally looked around, searching for something she could use as a weapon. Nothing was there but a floor lamp in the corner and the fireplace tools that were too far away to reach.
Closing her eyes, she thought about her wolf. She wanted to change. She needed to change to protect Milly and Charity from this salivating beast.
Almost immediately, her bones cracked and popped as she changed into her wolf. Wasting no time, she jumped, her clothes falling off as she attacked the larger male, hoping the other women would escape while she fought for their lives.
It seemed like forever before Milly charged in, nipping and biting at the male’s paws and legs. Ally wasn’t so merciful. She’d watched Kalen when he attacked the twins in the woods and knew to go for the neck, one of the most vulnerable spots.
Two more wolves joined the first. One attacking Charity who brandis
hed the fire poker while the others concentrated on Milly and Ally.
It seemed as though they’d been fighting forever when three more huge wolves burst on the scene, two black, and one the color of dark chocolate. All three of the newcomers had their teeth bared and looked lethal. Each of the new wolves attacked one of the assailants, drawing blood almost immediately. And each one put himself between the attackers and a female, snarling as they advanced on their prey.
Get out of the way, baby, Kalen said as he kept his body between the attackers and his mate, protecting her with his large bulk. I’m going to kill the bastard this time.
Ally moved to the side, panting as the brown, gray-eyed wolf in front of her lunged toward her attacker. The man yelped and tried to run, but Kalen wouldn’t let him go. He circled the other wolf, his larger body driving him toward the others who stood panting, their heads down.
In one last concerted effort, the three unknown males attacked, meeting the three larger males head on, even though they must have known they couldn’t win. Blood sprayed as Kalen and his friends each lunged for their enemies’ necks, ripping and shredding flesh as they fought for their own mate’s lives.
Ally and Kalen watched as Charity knelt next to the wolf who had protected her and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
Milly stared at the third wolf with unblinking eyes for a moment before she moved closer to sniff the stranger. Snorting, she shook her head and backed off.
What’s the matter, Milly, someone asked through the common communication link. The strange dark wolf stared at the black female wolf, stepped forward and took a deep breath. I would know your enticing scent anywhere. I have dreamed of your sweetness every night we have been apart.
Ally stared at the two who looked more like strangers to each other than reunited lovers.
I don’t know. I can’t tell if it’s him when he looks like that. I only saw him shift twice and one of those times was when he was taken. I was too busy running like a coward to look at him.
As I couldn’t tell by looking at you, but your delicious scent gave you away. The larger wolf moved closer to Milly and took another deep breath. Did I not say that I could find you anywhere by your smell alone, kichi?
Kichi? Milly took a step back and rapidly blinked her eyes. Gerald? Milly stepped forward, her legs shaky as the male moved closer and nuzzled her face and neck. Is it really you?
Yes, my love, he said as he herded her toward the door. Let us go talk and get away from all this blood and madness.
I thought you were dead. All these years, I thought you were dead. It wasn’t until just a few hours ago that the others told me I couldn’t have survived if you had died. I didn’t feel as though I survived. I’ve felt dead inside since they took you from me.
And I have never stopped dreaming of you being so very much alive, my love. I could never let the dream of you go.
The two older wolves left the room. Kalen turned to glare at Ally. I told you to seal yourselves in.
We couldn’t. This room seemed too much like a tomb.
And it almost became one. What were you thinking? When more weres arrived to help guard and clean up the bloody mess, Kalen guided her out of the room and up a flight of stairs.
I guess I was thinking you’d rather not come home to a raving lunatic. Silly me.
Kalen herded her up two more flights of stairs until they were standing just outside their room. With a sigh, he pushed open the door. After they entered, he leaned against it to push it closed.
In a blink, he stood before her in all his naked glory. Blood oozed from his shoulder and she frowned. Thinking of her human self, she swiftly changed forms and stood looking at him, her brows drawn together. “You’re bleeding.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing and it will heal.” He moved closer. “You have that idiot’s saliva all over you.”
Ally shrugged and grinned. “It’ll wash off.”
“Yes,” Kalen agreed as he picked her up and strode for the bathroom. “It will.” Bending toward her, he covered her lips with his. And what fun it will be to help you.
THE END?
Not on your life. There are many shifters living near Wolf Lake who need to find their mates.
Keep reading for a sneak peek of Mating Kendra. Kalen’s brother has met his match.
About the Author
TIANNA XANDER IS THE author of several paranormal, time-travel and science fiction romance novels. She loves reading everything from romance novels, murder mysteries and encyclopedias to handbooks on solar energy. Tianna is the first to admit she spends far too much time surfing the internet and chatting with her online friends and critique groups.
Having written several novels and working on at least more than one at any given time—Tianna still finds time for her family, friends, and her many pets. She currently lives in Michigan with her husband, two children, two cats, one big dog and two pineapple-loving angora bunnies named Jax and Jazz. Her life is anything but boring.
Mating Kendra
(Galen)
By
Tianna Xander
Chapter One
Kendra sat on the uncomfortable bench overlooking the football field and watched as the band played their halftime show. At this precise moment, she wanted nothing more than to sit here and watch her neighbor’s daughter march across the field, slamming her cymbals together. Goodness knew she’d heard it enough over the last few weeks to last a lifetime. However, she hadn’t heard it the way she should have—with the rest of the musicians.
The sound of the two brass platters crashing together didn’t seem so annoying when accompanied by the other musicians. The band brought its final half-time number to a close, and Kendra stood ready to leave. She hadn’t minded the first half of the game. After all, it had been a means to an end. However, she hated football enough that she definitely wasn’t hanging around for the second half.
“Excuse me,” she said as she bumped against someone’s legs. “I’m so sorry.”
“Certainly, miss. Please excuse my large feet. They are always getting in someone’s way.”
Turning, she glanced at the owner of the sexy, but cultured, English voice. She’d half-expected to see a hot European type sitting there, not a middle-aged balding man with a potbelly, comb-over hairdo, and a leering grin.
Yech! It’s so not happening, gramps. The stranger’s oily grin gave her the creeps, but Kendra managed to give him an insincere smile while putting distance between them as quickly as she could. Whatever disgusting fantasy the man had on his mind was something she’d rather not think about.
With a slight shudder, and a prickling at the back of her neck, Kendra quickly made her way through the milling crowd. It was a home game, so the bleachers were packed and vendors sold their food and drinks from boxes strung around their necks.
She glanced over the cheering crowd, amazed at the number of people who had come out for the game. It was probably a good thing she was leaving now. Otherwise, it might have taken her forever to get out of the packed parking lot after the game ended.
When she finally managed to navigate through the crowd to the exit, she sighed when she reached her little car. Four large SUVs had blocked it in from every side. They hadn’t even given her enough room to open the driver’s door and sit down.
Biting her lip, she peered back to the stadium. A loud cheer went up from the home side and she smiled. At least it appeared as though they might win. Good. She’d hate to see the neighbor’s kids’ disappointment at losing a home a game.
“Is there a problem, miss?”
Goosebumps rose on her arms when she heard that misplaced sexy voice. She suppressed another shudder when her skin crawled as she remembered the leer the older man had given her. Had he followed her, or was it merely a coincidence that they were both in the same place at the same time with half of the game left to be played? “I’m blocked in.” Just state the obvious, Kendra. She stared at her car helplessly.
> “What a shame.” The man didn’t sound at all regretful. The way she saw it, he wasn’t even attempting to sound anything but smug.
That was when she realized the man wasn’t alone. He had friends, four of them, and they all surrounded her. All of them also wore black suits like government men. Three of them were of a normal size. She figured she could take them, given her martial arts training. She’d gone up against men their size in class. However, the big one gave her pause.
The hair on the back of her neck prickled again. The man was enormous. He was bodybuilder huge and he looked mean with that scar running from the corner of his right eye down his jaw to just below his ear. His suit jacket bulged on the left side where she could only assume he wore a shoulder holster under his arm. He appeared to be ex-military, or maybe he was just a mercenary. Whatever he was, his eyes were empty as though he felt nothing for anyone, not even himself.
Looking around, Kendra noticed there was no one in the parking lot but herself and the five men who surrounded her.
Well, hell. Here we go.
Slowly, she looked them each up and down, taking stock of them, wondering if she had a chance against them all. After five years of martial arts classes, she should at least be able to do some damage and buy herself some time—she hoped.
“Kendra Mortensen,” the Englishman said. “We have come to give you a gift.”
“A gift?” She turned her head slowly, trying to get a feel for everyone’s position. “If you wanted to give me something, you could have just given it to me in the stadium. I’m not in the habit of accepting gifts from strangers in a deserted parking lot.”
How does this guy know my name?
“It’s not that kind of gift, dear girl.” He chuckled, softly.
The sound of his laugh gave her the creeps. Somehow it would have made her feel better had the man thrown his head back and tried to sound maniacal. Instead, the low chuckle made him sound just that much more sinister.
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