He watched the human with a scowl that should have given the man pause, but the asshole kept coming.
“You should have held your position,” he said to the man who looked exactly like his brother.
“We can’t go yet.” Randy glanced at the building for no longer than two seconds. “There are four guards.”
Galen glanced back at the building himself. “I see nothing but desert now. The guards have all gone inside.”
“You goddamn shifters and your feeling of superiority.” Randy shook his head. “I’m telling you they’re out there. Cameron says they’re out there as well.”
“I would scent them, just as we scent you.”
He watched as the other man grimaced. Apparently, when the twins first started working for the pack, they found it a bit unnerving that the shifters could tell them apart. It wasn’t until Bastien explained that they could only do so when they could smell them. Their scent gave them away.
“You make it seem as though all humans stink, or something.”
Galen grinned. “You don’t stink. Believe me. In fact, you usually smell good enough to eat.”
“That’s just gross, man. Don’t even joke around about stuff like that.”
“Who’s joking?” Galen asked as he peered across the expanse of empty desert. “What makes you think there’s a guard out there?”
“Not a guard. Four guards,” Randy said as he sat with his back against the huge propane tank they hid behind and checked his rifle and side arm. “If both my brother and I say there are four guards out there, you can better damned believe they’re there.” He grinned. “Our vision is kind of like your sense of smell. That’s why we both became the best sharpshooters in our units. We can see farther than anyone we know.”
That was an interesting tidbit.
“Okay,” Galen said. “I’ll bite. Where are they?”
Randy glanced around the tank for another two seconds or so. “One is on the roof of the building about six-hundred feet to the north. There are two hunkered down in the grass, half-buried and covered with tumbleweeds just west of us.” Randy shook his head. “I’m surprised that none of you brainiacs noticed that the weeds aren’t a-tumbling like the rest of them. And number four is over there, to the east about fifty feet from the door. You should be able to smell him that close, but you probably can’t because he’s half-buried in the sand with a fake prickly pear cactus attached to his helmet.”
Carefully, Galen checked the positions. He could see every one of them with the exception of the one with the cactus. “Damn it all! How in the hell are we supposed to fight against people who can do this sort of thing?” He glanced at Randy. “Well, I’ll be damned. They would have picked us off if you hadn’t seen them.”
“That’s why you brought us, friend.” Randy readied his rifle. “Cam and I will take out three of them. Cam will take the one at six-hundred yards. He insists he’s better than I am at distances. I let him take him.” He grinned. “He might be better at distances, but I’m better at taking out multiples. You only need to concentrate on making our prickly pear guy fertilizer for that cactus on his head. It was mighty nice of him to bury himself and everything, wasn’t it?”
“Saves us the trouble.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Randy picked up a pinch of sand and let the grains fall from his fingers before he adjusted the sights of his rifle. “We’re all going to shoot on the count of three.”
“How in the hell are we going to do that? We need to maintain radio silence or they’ll know we’re here.”
Randy gave him another grin. “Didn’t you know that twins have a mental bond?”
“That’s an old wives tale. Humans aren’t telepathic.” At least Galen had never heard of them being so.
“We aren’t?” He chuckled softly. “Cameron thinks that’s funny as well.” Sobering, he positioned himself on his stomach and rolled into position. “Keep low and our cactus lover won’t be able to see you.”
Galen set himself up to take his shot. “I’m aiming at the base of the cactus, right?” he asked, the base of the plant already in his sights.
“Affirmative. Hit him at the base of it and you’ll have a clean head shot.”
“I hope to God you’re right.”
“I’m right. You can count on that.” Randy lowered his head and peered through his sight. “One.” He pulled back the hammer, which oddly didn’t make a sound. “Two.” Randy took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Three.”
Galen, having kept his sights on his target, didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Randy fired off his shots in such quick succession, it made Galen wonder if he’d really hit two targets.
“You got them both?” he asked Randy as the other man stood up and brushed the sand from his clothing.
“Of course I did,” Randy said with a snort. “If I use two shots I take out two targets.” He grinned. “I never was one for wasting bullets.”
Wasting bullets was the least of Galen’s worries. “If you and your brother don’t see anything else, we can finally hit this place. I’m sick to death of that doctor playing at being a god.”
Galen couldn’t wait to get this over with so he could go back home and get back to feeling envious of his brother and, maybe, just a little sorry for himself.
Chapter Seven
A strange noise woke Kendra. She wasn’t sure what it was. It sounded like a grunt of pain. Looking up, she stared out through the glass partition and gagged as she saw a man sneak up behind one of the guards and slit his throat.
She screamed, but it came out funny, sounding like a dog in pain. It was then that she remembered she was a dog now.
Why can’t I wake up from this dream?
Whatever reason she could think up, didn’t make her feel better. This was starting to feel all too real. Don’t be ridiculous, Kendra. People can’t turn into dogs. It’s not possible.
She watched as a man moved from behind one of the computer terminals. Unless it was an optical illusion, the man was tall. Very tall.
His dark hair was cut short in a military style. He wore a uniform of sorts. They all did, but something told Kendra that none of them were in the military. The uniforms were black, not green, and somehow, she just didn’t see military personnel running about the American desert killing people as though they had no rights. They were the ones who were supposed to protect a citizen’s rights, weren’t they?
It appeared as though the man she watched was the one in charge of the men running through the outer room. Though the others ran about killing or knocking people out indiscriminately, it appeared as though he directed them.
She wasn’t certain why he drew her attention, other than he was one of the hottest men she had ever seen. Now that figures. After everything you’ve been through in this crazy dream, you would be attracted to the man who came in here in charge of a bunch of killers.
Kendra followed his progress as he slowly but surely made his way toward her cell. He was coming for her. With her intestines in knots, she crouched low in an effort to remain unseen.
Just as she was certain the man was about to leave, thinking the cell was empty, a shaft of pain tore through her. She squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered.
“There you are,” the gorgeous man said with a triumphant smile. He turned around, grabbed one of the lab workers who, amazingly enough, was still alive and pushed him toward the door. “Open it.”
The lab tech swallowed visibly and nodded. “Just don’t kill me.”
“Then don’t give me a reason to,” the other man said with a low growl.
The man reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a key card. Swiping it in the electronic lock, he punched in a six digit code and the door whooshed open.
Another wave of pain hit as he walked into the room and quickly made his way to the bed. “Don’t fight it. Reach for it,” he said as he sat next to her despite her mixture of pain-filled whimpers and growls.
&
nbsp; She snapped at him and he grabbed her snout. “I can see why you would be on the defensive. If I saw people running around killing the people who kidnapped me, I might wonder if they were there to harm me.” He smiled down into her eyes. “I might also wonder if they were there to help me.”
He stared down at her with eyes so gray they almost looked sliver. “Now listen to me. I know it sounds impossible, but the crazy man who kidnapped you has given you an injection that has turned you into a shape shifter.”
Yeah, right. She whimpered when another shaft of pain shot through her, burning her from the inside out. What was it with these strange mercenary types telling her to embrace the pain, for crying out loud?
“I know what I’m talking about. I grew up with it. The more you fight it, the more it hurts.” He stroked her head, rubbing her behind the ears.
Kendra didn’t want to think about how good that felt. She wanted to growl at the man. She hated her ears played with and she would have proved it, if only he wasn’t still holding her snout closed with one hand.
Good grief, you dork. You have a mouth, not a snout. What was she thinking? She couldn’t really be buying into the girl-turns-into-dog nightmare she was living at the moment, could she?
“Humor me. Just this once. The next time the pain hits, reach for it. Imagine your human self and let the pain roll through you. You’ll see that I’m right.” He shrugged when she shook her head. “Suit yourself. But if I were you, I would at least try it. What could it hurt?”
Kendra stared up at him for a minute. He was right. What could it hurt? It wasn’t as though he was telling her to strip or anything. He wouldn’t get anything out of it. If anyone benefited from it, it would be her.
The burning started low in her stomach. Instead of steeling herself to fight off the pain and struggle through it, Kendra reached for it, embraced it and held onto a mental vision of what it would feel like to be human so she could scream her bloody head off at what was happening to her.
It no longer mattered that this was a dream—had to be a dream. The only thing that mattered was ending the pain. The wave of heat washed over her, bringing the pain, but not as intense as the first time. Her bones snapped and popped. Her forelegs became arms with hands and fingers, and her back legs, grew longer into her human legs minus the hair. Before she knew it, she was human again. The man’s hand no longer held her snout. He kept it pressed tight against her mouth, blocking her moans.
Kendra stared up into his too-handsome face with those liquid silver eyes and started to cry. She didn’t know what was going on, but one thing was certain. She had to be in some sort of coma, because she couldn’t wake up from this crazy, crazy dream!
“Sh…don’t cry.” He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “Let’s get you up and dressed.” He grasped her upper arm and helped her stand.
“Oh, my God. I’m naked!” Kendra‘s entrie body flared with heat as she undoubtedly turned red with mortification. Reaching down to the bed, she grabbed a sheet and held it up to cover her. “Where are my clothes?” She gave the room a quick once over in an effort to find them.
“Stay right there. I’ll get them.” The man moved away to search the room.
He found her underwear and jeans about four feet from the bathroom where she remembered shaking them off earlier.
“Put these on while I find the rest.” He handed her the garments, his gaze lingering on her purple thong a bit longer than necessary.
Thinning her lips, Kendra snatched her clothes from him with a muttered, “Thank you,” and started to dress. It wasn’t an easy thing to do while attempting to hold the sheet in place. Underwear down, jeans to go.
“I’ve already seen it, if that’s your problem.” He half-smiled. “Nice wax.”
What a jerk! “Just look the other way. I don’t give a damn if you’ve already seen it. I’m not providing you with a free show. If you want to see someone naked, go to a strip bar.”
He turned away with a chuckle. “There’s no need to be on the defensive. I was just trying to help, Kendra.”
Now there’s another person who knew who she was, but she still knew nothing about these people. “No, you were rubbing it in.” She yanked her jeans up and fastened them. “If you could find my shirt and bra, I would be grateful.”
“Really?” He turned around and gave her a wink. “Just how grateful would you be?”
“Obviously not as grateful as you have hoped.” She tilted her head and looked at him. “How do you know my name? It seems as though everyone knows me, yet I don’t know who the hell any of you are.”
“My apologies, Miss. My name is Galen Tolbert. I have been sent here to save you from the man whom you’ve most likely already deduced is a mad scientist.”
“Right.” She draped the sheet around her shoulders and rested her hands on her hips. “Like I’m going to believe this is anything more than a crazy dream from the likes of which, I can’t wake up.”
“Oh, you’re not dreaming, baby.” He bent to pick up the purple lace bra that matched her panties and handed it to her with a grin. “This is all too real and I, for one, am glad to say it.”
“Stop being such a lecher and find the rest of my clothes, will you?” Kendra snatched her bra away from him and put it on under the cover of the sheet.
She’d just rearranged her covering when she found her socks and shoes. The only thing left was her blouse. Where in the world was it?
“Aha,” Galen said as he headed her way with a look of determination. “I found your shirt. It’s under the bed.” Kneeling, he reached under the bed and brought it out. “It’s a good thing that Doctor Thornton is a clean freak. At least it’s not covered with dust bunnies.” He handed it to her with a grin. “There you go, sweetheart.”
“My name is Kendra, or Ms. Mortensen. I am neither your sweetheart, nor your baby. Please remember that.”
Taking a deep breath, Kendra dropped the sheet and yanked her blouse over her head. “Just give me a minute to put on my shoes and I’ll be ready to go.”
Her main concern was where this man planned to take her. She needed to wake up. She had papers to grade and a lesson plan to prepare for Monday. Her main concern was that this dream was so long, it made her wonder if she’d tripped and fell at the stadium and now she was in a coma. Whatever the reason, Kendra had to wake up.
Chapter Eight
Kendra sat on the bed and pulled on her socks and shoes. Gods, she was beautiful. Hell, she even made dressing look sexy.
Her long red hair fell about her shoulders in a mass of shining waves that rivaled the sun. Her light complexion was perfect, a combination of colors that he was as at loss to describe, other than to say she was just plain gorgeous.
She even smelled good enough to eat, like honey and cream. He could scent her arousal, though he was certain she’d deny it. He didn’t miss the way she kept glancing his way. She kept checking out the length of his legs, his midsection, his eyes, and if he wasn’t mistaken, the size of his package.
He wanted to laugh with joy. He had finally found the one woman he could mate. Sure he could have sex with anyone. He could have children with anyone, if they tried hard enough, but this is the one woman he would give his life to protect above all others.
“Are you ready?” He moved closer. His wolf wanted to rub against her, mark her as his mate. However, his human half knew that the practice would most likely scare her off. She was skittish, and for good reason. She’d been kidnapped and she’d been injected with a serum that changed her life forever. One step at a time, Tolbert.
“Are you ready?” Cameron asked as he stuck his head into the cell and looked around. “Jesus. Another compound, more cells.” He shook his head. “Where is this lunatic getting his funding?”
“The government—at least he used to get his funding from there. Who knows now? Maybe he spent years skimming off the top just in case he lost the funding and wanted to keep going. I’m not certain he gives a damn about the gover
nment anymore. I’m beginning to think he wants his own shifter army to take over himself.”
“Talk about delusions of grandeur,” Cameron said as he backed up and held the door open for them. “Are we blowing this place or keeping it?”
Galen wasn’t sure what Bastien’s plans were for the place, but he knew he never wanted to visit this godforsaken desert ever again. “Blow it. I’m sure the asshole doctor has another lab in a more hospitable place that we can appropriate after we chase him out.” He turned to Randy and Jackson as they hurried up. “Speaking of Thornton, did you catch him?”
“No.” Randy shook his head. “He and his hired thug made it out clean again. By the looks of it, they took the hard drives from the office and left through a secret passage, as is his MO.”
“Shit, that figures.” Galen stared at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. “Did we get any useful Intel? I’d like to come away from this with something other than the pretty lady as a prize.”
“I’m no one’s prize.” Kendra visibly bristled next to him.
“We think we have a lead to another lab. It was something they left behind, but we’ll have to let Bastien’s people look at it. We don’t want to send anyone into a trap,” Randy replied as he tried to hide his grin.
“You are today.” Galen grasped her by the upper arm and started to drag her toward the exit. “You’re my prize and I intend to keep you.”
“Excuse me?”
She squeaked when he yanked her behind him. His wolf was raging at him to get her away from all of the unattached males that surrounded them. It demanded that he either get her out of their presence, or rip off her clothes and mate her right here in front of the others. The former was a much better choice. Galen had no doubts as to what would happen if he gave in to the latter, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Come along, Kendra. It’s time I got you out of here.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the men they left behind with the vehicles.
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