Galen

by Tianna Xander

  “Carter, here. Are you ready for extraction?”

  “Yes. We’re about two miles from the compound.”

  “Great. Come pick us up. It’s over. Just keep an eye out for Doctor Thornton and his thug.” He sighed. “They escaped again.”

  “On our way, sir.”

  Galen disconnected from the call and stuck the phone back in his pocket. “I apologize in advance, Kendra, but you are awake,” he said, interrupting her as she repeatedly chanted, wake up, Kendra, wake up. “This is really happening and you’re not going home. I’m taking you back to Michigan with me.”

  “To Michigan?” She made a face and tried to pull away. “What the hell is in Michigan besides cold and snow?” Her expression turned pensive. “What’s in Michigan that would make me dream of it?”

  “You’re not dreaming.” He took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “Listen to me, woman. This is not a dream, or as you more likely think, a nightmare. This is real. It’s really happening and you are going to Michigan because that is where we can best help you.”

  She glared up at him. “Even if what you’re saying is true, I can’t go with you. I have a class Monday. I’m relatively new at the school and I’ll lose my job if I miss more than a day or two.”

  “Then you have already lost it.” He sighed inwardly as he pulled her along next to him even as she continued to struggle.

  “What do you mean, I’ve already lost it?” She stopped struggling for a moment.

  Galen stopped to look down into eyes the color of new spring grass. His heart melted a little at her furrowed brow. “You’ve been in the doctor’s custody a little over four days.”

  “Four days?” Her gaze darted around the outer compound before finally resting on him again. She met his gaze, her tear-filled eyes searching his for…something. “I’ve really been here for four days?” She shook her head. “No. This isn’t happening. This is a dream.”

  “How many times must I tell you this isn’t a dream? Dr. Thorton has been experimenting on our kind for years. He’s developed a serum to change humans into were-beings.” He wanted to shake some sense into her, but knew she needed his patience now more than she needed annoyance. He stroked her hair, hoping to give her something real to relate to, something tangible to help her see that what had happened was all-too real.

  “It has to be. People don’t just turn into animals.” She gave a hysterical giggle. “I didn’t—I couldn’t just turn into a dog—like that. I’m human. I was born human and I will always be human. Humans can’t do that.”

  Why couldn’t she understand him when he told her about the scientist and his experiments? Why wouldn’t the woman come to grips with the fact that this was real and she was forever changed?

  “Believe what you want, Kendra,” he said as he dragged her toward the gate at the edge of the compound. “But the truth is, you’re changed. You are no longer human, and, like it or not, you’re going home with me. You’ll need someone like me to help you adjust. I know what you’re going through.”

  He didn’t really know what she felt. Galen had been born a shifter. All he knew was he couldn’t and wouldn’t let this woman out of his sight. If that meant helping her, it was his honor. If it meant protecting her, it was his right. Last, but certainly not least, if it meant caring for her for the rest of his life, that was Galen’s most fervent hope.

  Chapter Nine

  “If you think I’m going to just follow you to Michigan without a fight, you’re out of your mind.” Kendra jerked out of Galen’s grasp, rested her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I have a job, a life, to go back to.”

  Galen turned and pinned her with a stare. “By your own admission, you have nothing. You have most likely lost your job because you have missed the last two days without calling in.” He leaned down, his face growing so close their noses almost touched. “Not to mention the fact that Dr. Thornton knows where you live. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s waiting for you to go home so he can snatch you again.”

  Kendra swallowed thickly. Why did he have to get so close? She fought the urge to lean into him and take a deep breath. She loved the way he smelled. It was a mixture of forest, soap and man.

  He was right, though. She didn’t know how or why that lunatic searched her out, but he had known her name before they injected her. It lent credence to the idea that the doctor knew where she lived, worked and shopped for all she knew.

  “That doesn’t mean he’ll try to kidnap me again.”

  “Of course it does, woman. The man is crazy. He’s lost a good portion of his labs and his test subjects. What makes you think he wouldn’t do almost anything to regain one or two of the people he’s turned?”

  “How—how many people has he turned?” Kendra brought her hand to her throat, her fingers tapping against the side of her neck. She frowned at her question. When had she started to believe this kook?

  She stared up at the man who would have her believe that some madman had injected her with a serum that changed her from human to another species altogether. She could see the sincerity in his eyes, the honesty on his face. If there was one thing Kendra knew how to do, it was spot a liar. This man wasn’t lying. At least he didn’t think he was.

  Great! Just great. Either he’s just as crazy as the asshole who kidnapped me or I really have been injected with something that changed my DNA and I’m really a shape shifting werewolf from hell.

  “So what if I go with you to Michigan? What happens there?”

  “We help you learn to adapt. How to hide what you are. How to shift on command instead of when your hormones demand it and, if you decide to stay, our alpha will see to it that you have a way to support yourself. I would even hazard a bet that he’ll find you a better job than the one you had before.”

  “I doubt that.” Kendra walked over to the gate, threading her fingers through the chain link fence, and looked out at the cloud of dust heading their way. “Is that your friends coming?”

  “Yes. They’ll be here in a minute. The white SUV is mine.”

  “White, huh?” She turned to Galen, a half-smile on her face. “So, what are you then, the proverbial knight in shining armor who rides in on his modern white steed?”

  “Something like that.” He watched the vehicles approach without looking at her. “Will you go with me willingly?”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Don’t ask me questions to which you don’t want the answer.”

  “Don’t kid yourself. I want the answer.” She had to know if he would force her to go. If he did, that wouldn’t make him or his friends any better than the madman who had kidnapped her in the first place.

  Galen sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “My orders are to bring you in, no matter what.” He shook his head and looked off into the distance. “But I can’t. If you won’t go with me, I won’t have any choice but to take you home and stay there until I know you’re safe.”

  “Why would you do that for me?” She bit her lip. “Why would you go against your orders for a woman you just met?” Did he also feel that same attraction she felt? Was there something crawling deep in his insides that told him there was something about her?

  There was something deep inside Kendra telling her Galen was special. There was something about him drawing her closer. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was something about his scent, his good looks, or maybe, just maybe, he was the one her grandmother had always told her about.

  According to Isabella Mortensen, there was one man for every woman and one woman for every man. She always said that Kendra would know when she met her man.

  She rested her hand over her middle. Her heart rate increased and she couldn’t stop looking at him now. “And if I agree to go?” She wouldn’t agree if he wasn’t going with her. She needed to spend some time with him and see if the strange feelings roiling inside her developed into anything more. “Who would take me? You or someone else?”

  “I would take you.
Some of the others will remain behind and search this lab before they destroy it while some would accompany us as protection.”

  “Would we drive or would we fly?”

  “We’ll have to drive. Otherwise, we have to leave the vehicles here.”

  “Ah.” She grinned. “Never get between a man and his truck.”

  “That’s not it, at all.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “It’s just that it would be unfair to send someone else out after them. Besides,” he said as he moved closer and lifted his hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear. “It will give us a chance to get to know each other better.”

  “I—I think I want that.” Kendra tilted her head and Galen cupped her cheek in his palm. Reaching up, she covered his hand with hers. “I don’t know what it is, there’s just something about you.”

  Kendra wasn’t sure what it was, but something changed in his expression. He held her gaze with a look so intense Kendra was certain he would kiss her. He leaned closer, his gaze searching hers as his expression grew serious.

  Just as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back for his kiss, a horn honked and she heard the unmistakable sound of tires sliding across the sand-covered pavement.

  “Damn,” Galen whispered as he dropped his hand and moved away from her.

  I could say the same, mister. Kendra watched as Galen moved to the gate and ripped the padlock and chain off the latch without opening it.

  Eyes widening, Kendra’s mouth dropped open. “You just ripped the latch off that gate!”

  “Didn’t I tell you we have superior strength?”

  “Uh…no. I don’t believe you did.” She fought the urge to lift her hand to her heart. Not only is he handsome and strong, but he has a code of honor to rival that of a knight of old. Maybe she was dreaming after all. Men like Galen didn’t really exist…did they?

  Galen strode out to the large SUV. “Go inside and send out the MacDonald brothers and Jackson. Tell them I said to follow us back to Wolf Lake. They have my number. Tell them to call me when it gets dark if they haven’t already caught up to me and I’ll tell them where we’ve stopped for the night.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to the passenger side of the vehicle. “We’ll stop and get you something new to wear, as well.” He held the door while she climbed in, shutting it when she fastened her seatbelt.

  Kendra watched as he walked around the front of the SUV. What was it about the man that drew her the way he did? She couldn’t help but stare at the way his long-legged stride carried him around the front of the vehicle so smoothly.

  She waited until he opened the door to climb in. “You really live in a place called Wolf Lake and you can shift shape into wolves?” She shook her head. “I don’t believe this. Are you sure this isn’t all a dream?” It would explain a lot if it were.” However, she couldn’t explain why she couldn’t make herself wake up. The only explanation was that this was all too real.

  “Yes. We live in Wolf Lake, Michigan.” He put the still running vehicle in gear and hit the gas. “Don’t you think there is a reason why some places are named after certain types of animals? There is Wolf Lake, Bear Lake, Beaver, Deerhead, Moose.” He shrugged. “There are more, but I think you get my drift.”

  “Are you saying that all of those towns harbor shape shifters?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “I’m saying they were named for the animals who once lived there and did a service for the local humans.”

  “Oh. So you’re saying that Wolf Lake is not inhabited by only wolf shifters.”

  “Of course it isn’t. There are a few Jaguar shifters and a couple of bears, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “What?” Kendra sat forward, aimed the air vent at her face and took several deep breaths. “I don’t know if I can deal with what you’re telling me.” Her hands trembled as she rested them against the dash.

  “You’ll get used to it.” He pulled out on what must have been a main road, if the electric poles stretching on as far as the eye could see were any indication.

  “I’m not sure I want to get used to it.”

  Kendra glanced at Galen from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t seem to stop looking at his dark good looks, his broad shoulders and slim waist beneath the t-shirt that revealed his washboard abs and thick biceps.

  Her stomach did that strange little flip that it did in the compound and she covered it with her hand again. She felt strange. Goosebumps covered her skin and the hair on the back of her neck stood up on end.

  Things happened just like her grandmother had said they would. She felt a strange little bubble inside her that told her Galen was the one. Her heart pounded and her thoughts raced. Nothing would ever be the same again and Kendra was certain it was a good thing.

  Chapter Ten

  If he knew women, and he did, Galen knew Kendra wouldn’t want to wear those clothes another day.

  “Kendra.” He rested his hand on her leg. He couldn’t help himself. He had to touch her. “We need to stop for gas, food and clothes. It’s time to wake up, baby.” He lifted his hand to her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. “We’ve made a pit stop. Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

  “Huh?” She opened her eyes and looked around. “What’d you say?”

  It figured his asking if she needed to use the toilet would awaken her. He was certain she didn’t go much in the lab. He couldn’t say he blamed her as no one liked an audience while taking care of their most private business.

  “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

  “Uh…” She sat up and looked around, her expression clearing when she saw the department store with the restaurant attached. “Yes. Yes I do.” She cleared her throat and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before smoothing her hair back. “Do you think I could get something else to wear?” It looked as though she was about to smile at the thought, then her face fell. “Never mind. I forgot I don’t have my purse with me.”

  “I’ll purchase whatever you need.” He couldn’t let her go on thinking he would make her wear the same clothing she wore when Thornton kidnapped her nearly a week ago. He didn’t know when she’d washed it last, but it looked a little worse for wear.

  “I can’t let you do that.” She sighed and stuck her hands in her back pockets. “It’s bad enough you’ll have to feed me. I don’t want you to feel as though you have to buy my clothes, too.”

  “It’s not an issue. Believe me.” Galen sighed as he watched her turn away and swipe her face with her arm. Now she was crying, damn it. He had to get her to understand that he wanted to do this for her. “Look. I’m taking you to Michigan. It’s going to take several days to get there. You’re going to need a change of clothes and, if it’s any consolation at all. I’m not a poor man.”

  “That doesn’t mean you should go around buying stuff for every woman you rescue from lunatics.”

  “You make it sound as though that’s something I do every day.” He laughed out loud at the thought.

  “Isn’t it?”

  “Hardly.” He grasped her arm just above her elbow. “In fact, you’re the first.” That wasn’t entirely the truth. He had rescued other women, but she was the first he’d taken upon himself to care for afterward.

  “Right. Something tells me that nut keeps you busy rescuing damsels in distress.”

  “I have stormed other labs, yes,” Galen said as he led her toward the store. “However, you’re the first woman I have ever had the pleasure of escorting back to Michigan.”

  That much was true. The other labs had men who had been turned, but generally didn’t have women. Only one other lab had a woman and he’d gotten there too late to help her. She’d been dying of a self-inflicted wound when they arrived. If only she would have waited one more day to harm herself, she might be alive today.

  “Okay. I’ll let you buy me some clothes, but I want to pay you back. I don’t know how long it will take, especially since I’ll be jobless. If I’m not unemployed already, I soon wi
ll be.” She sighed and pushed her fingers through her hair. “I can’t wait to take a shower and put on some clean clothes.” She tilted her head when she looked at him.

  The doors opened for them as they approached and Galen led her through to the women’s department. “Don’t choose crap because it’s cheap. I don’t mind paying for your things and I don’t expect you to repay me. If I want repayment, I’ll have the foundation repay me.”

  “What foundation?” Kendra asked almost absently as she rifled through a rack full of colorful blouses. She pulled a few off the rack and held them up to herself while still on the hanger before placing the hook back over the metal rail.

  “Our people have just funded a foundation to further the studies of Dr. Thornton with volunteers.”

  “Why would anyone volunteer for that?” She made a face. “From what I can see it’s not worth it. Why would anyone want to go through the pain?” Her brows drew tighter and she thinned her lips. “No one has the right to do this to people.” She waved her hand in front of herself.

  “Listen to me, Kendra. We don’t kidnap people and experiment on them. We aren’t trying to build an army. And unlike the lunatic who managed to come up with the serum, we aren’t doing this to make names for ourselves.” Galen kept his voice low. The last thing they needed was for someone to overhear their conversation.

  “Then why are you doing it?” Kendra scowled at him. “Because, as far as I’m concerned, there is no good excuse for changing people into monsters.”

  “So now I’m a monster?” He shook his head. “Thanks, Kendra. Thanks a lot. Here I thought I was a good man, trying to help a good woman out of a tight spot.” Tears streamed down her face and Galen felt like an ass all over again.

  “We’re both monsters now.” She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. “I can’t go back to being a school teacher. Who wants a monster teaching their children?” Kendra shook her head. “Why did I think you were any different? I should have known that anyone who could kill so indiscriminately couldn’t be a good person.”