B*E*A*S*T* of Burden

by Rebecca Goings

  "We're gonna have to go into hiding,” he said.

  "Where?” Wade asked.

  "We'll call Noah and see where he's at. I know he met up with a few other shifters who were hiding in the mountains when we left Lanie's family cabin. I think there'll be safety in numbers. Sean's just one shifter. If we can band together, he won't stand a chance against us."

  Wade cleared his throat. “He's not the only one."

  "What do you mean?"

  "After he shot me with the tranq, I heard Sean talking on his cell phone. He mentioned meeting up with Brett."

  "Brett? Brett Walker?"

  "I assume so."

  Rogan ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Christ."

  "Who's Brett Walker?” Marlie asked.

  "He's another shifter—a cheetah. He was good friends with Tam, a ruthless son of a bitch if there ever was one."

  "And Tam is the—"

  "The black panther that went after Noah. Now, I guess Brett and Sean are in cahoots."

  "I don't know about that,” Wade said. “Sean didn't sound too happy about meeting up with him. But he mentioned an old man who wanted the cougar. Must have been talking about me."

  "Either that or he's a fan of John Cougar Mellencamp.” Marlie's soft voice filled the cabin, and both men glanced at her.

  Rogan began to chuckle, and Wade cracked a grin at her lame joke.

  "Even under the threat of imminent death, your wife still has a sense of humor, Wolfe."

  Rogan gave her a squeeze and nuzzled her neck. Marlie's scent suddenly changed to one of yearning, and he groaned softly in response.

  "That just means I got myself a good woman."

  "That you do,” Wade said, nodding in agreement.

  Marlie blushed and hid her face in Rogan's neck.

  Twenty One

  "Rogan? Is that you?"

  "Noah, you old bastard! How you doing?” Rogan cracked a wide grin at finally connecting to Noah's phone. They'd reached Anchorage not too long before, stopping only long enough to eat some fast food in the cab of the Hummer. It was late, and the city of Anchorage had already rolled up the sidewalks.

  "Hot damn, it is really you,” Noah said. “Haven't heard from you in a few weeks, buddy, and I thought something might have happened to you. Did you ever find that wife of yours?"

  "Yeah, I found her.” Rogan glanced at Marlie and winked. She smiled and looked away, but her scent said it all. He'd embarrassed her again.

  "Well?” Noah asked.

  "Well what?"

  "Well, do I have to kick it out of you? How did it go? How was your reunion?"

  "I got shot."

  "Jesus!"

  "I'm okay now. It only hurt for a little while. But Marlie seems to be taking things well. She's wearing her wedding ring again."

  "That's wonderful! So she wasn't remarried I take it."

  "Nope. Found out she was still pining away for me after all this time."

  "Rogan!” Marlie squealed, hitting his shoulder.

  "That her?” Noah asked, his tone telling Rogan he was smiling.

  "The one and only."

  "How's she taking the news that you're a shifter?"

  "Quite well, actually. She was freaked out there for a little while. She's a vet, and so I shifted in order for her to dig the shotgun pellets out of my flank. I think I scared the bejesus out of her."

  "But she's accepted you?"

  "For the most part,” Rogan said with a grin, stealing a quick kiss. “The good thing is that I remembered exactly how she tastes."

  Marlie's eyes went wide as her scent suddenly turned from embarrassment to anger. She closed her fist and punched him this time.

  "Ow!” Rogan exclaimed.

  Noah chuckled into the phone. “Better watch that mouth of yours, Wolfe. Gets you into trouble every time."

  "True enough. Listen, Noah. I called because I need to know where you are. Marlie and I are in a bit of trouble."

  Silence answered him for a few moments before Noah said, “What's going on?"

  "Sean's found us."

  "Shit."

  "Yeah. I guess he's been tracking Wade and me for some time now. He destroyed Marlie's house, and we have nowhere to go. We've got to get out of Alaska. I know you met up with a few of the escaped shifters before you left the Rockies, and I thought maybe there'd be strength in numbers."

  Noah cleared his throat. “I have no qualms about hooking up with you again, Wolfe, but there's something you should know."

  "Oh? What's that?"

  Noah's silence for a moment made him seem reluctant to answer.

  "I didn't only meet up with a few shifters when Lanie and I left the mountains. We also came across a scientist from B*E*A*S*T*."

  That shocked the shit out of Rogan. “Did you just say a—"

  "A scientist, yeah. Took him awhile to convince us that he'd changed his tune, but he claims he hates B*E*A*S*T* almost as much as we do."

  "Good Lord, Noah. You've got to be careful around this guy!"

  "Don't worry. He's under twenty-four hour surveillance. Nobody trusts him. But he told us something that we all thought was worth checking out."

  Rogan was almost too afraid to ask. “What?"

  "The B*E*A*S*T* compound in Colorado—the one we destroyed—that's not the only one."

  Rogan's blood ran cold. Holy shit, not the only one?

  "What do you mean, Tiger?” Every nerve-ending in his body prickled, and his hands shook.

  "I mean that, according to this scientist, there's a B*E*A*S*T* compound for every branch of the military."

  "Oh my God."

  "What is it, Rogan?” Marlie's voice broke into his racing thoughts, and he held a hand up to both her and Wade.

  "Think about it, Rogan,” Noah said. “You, me, Justin—we were all from the Marines. I'd be willing to bet Wade was in the Marines as well."

  "Dear God..."

  "You ain't kiddin'."

  "So, where are you guys?"

  "We're in Portland, Oregon. This guy says the Air Force's compound is somewhere here in the Pacific Northwest. Lanie and I were traveling west anyhow, so we decided to check out his claim."

  "Found any proof of it yet?"

  "No, but the guys are looking. He's drawn us a map."

  "How many shifters are with you?"

  "Six others. They've been searching the Oregon countryside."

  Rogan rubbed his eyes and sighed. “It's probably underground like the other one."

  "Yeah. You guys are more than welcome to come help us check things out."

  "You still have that scientist with you?"

  "Oh, yeah. We aren't letting him out of our sight."

  "Good. I'll call you when we get closer to Portland. We've got three drivers, so I don't think it'll take us that long. A few days at most. I thought about flying, but that would just generate too many questions about who we are. Besides, we snagged Sean's Hummer, so we're hooked up with tranquilizers, serum, guns, ammo, all kinds of goodies."

  "Nice!” Noah said in appreciation. “I don't blame you for wanting to drive. Sounds like you scored."

  "In more ways than one.” Rogan once again winked at his wife.

  "All right, Wolfe. I'm looking forward to seeing you again,” Noah said. “Give your wife a kiss for me."

  "Will do. And give Lanie two kisses—one from me and one from Wade."

  Noah chuckled. “Sure thing. See you in a few days."

  "Yup. Bye."

  "Bye."

  Taking a deep breath, Rogan snapped his phone shut and glanced back and forth between Marlie and Wade.

  "We're in deep shit,” he said.

  "How deep?” Wade asked warily.

  Rogan licked his lips. “According to Noah, the B*E*A*S*T* compound in Colorado wasn't the only one. They met up with a scientist in the Rockies who told them there was a compound for each branch of the military."

  "Jesus Christ!"

  "Yeah,” Rogan agre
ed with a nod. “I think He's the only one who can help us now."

  Twenty Two

  Sean awoke to a splitting headache. Twisting his body, he tried to recall where the hell he was and growled when he remembered Rogan. The bastard must have hit him over the head with the shotgun he'd been holding.

  With another growl, Sean realized his hands and feet were bound. It didn't take much effort to rip his bonds and break free. Rogan's stench surrounded him, making him sick to his stomach. Looking down at his body, he could see he was still in his half-shifted state, and he couldn't change his form no matter how hard he tried. Damn! Rogan had injected him with the serum!

  Sean couldn't hold back his rage. He destroyed everything in his path—the couch, the end table, even the kitchen counter. When it became apparent that Rogan and Marlie were no longer in the house, he ran outside through the front door, his hot breath puffing in the cold air.

  Inhaling deeply, he could smell both of them along with another familiar scent. Once he realized what it was, Sean threw back his head and roared with fury.

  Wade had escaped! SHIT!

  Sean knew he'd be in for a severe tongue-lashing from Covington. In the last few days, the old man had been more interested in capturing Wade than killing Rogan. Sean had no friggin’ clue as to why, seeing as how Covington had wanted Wade dead a couple of weeks ago. And those traitorous bastards had stolen his truck! Just what the hell was he going to do now?

  One thing was for sure: he wouldn't be able to go out in public until the serum wore off, and that wouldn't happen for at least another four hours, allowing enough time for Rogan's trail to turn cold. Bounding through the snow, Sean disappeared into the tree line, determined to find his clothing.

  He was going to kill Rogan Wolfe, even if he killed himself doing it.

  * * * *

  "Sir, you are not going to believe this."

  Brett Walker sat in his black Jaguar on the shoulder of Glenn Highway with his cell phone to his ear. The Jag was a car that fit him, seeing as how he could shift into a cheetah. He prided himself on the fact that he had such tremendous speed. From a complete stand-still, Brett could easily beat any sports car on the market from zero to sixty in his shifted state. Granted, he couldn't sustain that speed for very long, but he'd been highly prized at B*E*A*S*T* because of it.

  It was also one of the reasons Covington had sent him to Alaska. Sean had promised the old man he'd kill Rogan and capture Wade, and Brett was the lucky one Clive had chosen to bring the cougar back to Texas. If anything went wrong, he'd be able to catch Wade in his shifted state, no problem. Nothing on the planet could outrun a cheetah.

  But, as Brett sat in his car with the engine running and the heater on full blast, he could only stare as he saw what he assumed to be Sean emerging from the woods. It looked like Sean, but he ... wasn't quite himself.

  "What?” came the voice on the other end of the cell. “What won't I believe?"

  "I followed Sean's beacon up Glenn Highway, but his truck is gone. And ... I've found Sean."

  There was a short pause. “Is he dead?"

  "Not ... exactly."

  "Then what the hell is going on?"

  "I have no idea, sir. But it looks as if Sean is stuck between his human state and his bear state."

  "What the hell?"

  "Beats me, sir."

  "Is there any sign of Wade or Rogan?"

  "No, and their scent is faint. If they were here, it was a while ago. I can see the yellow Hummer they were using, but it's parked on the side of the road. I guess they abandoned it."

  "Sean told me he'd drained their radiator. Probably overheated."

  "It's possible."

  "Look, go talk to Sean. I want to know what the hell is going on."

  "You're the boss. I'll call you back."

  Brett snapped the phone shut and turned off his car. He got out and crossed the road, pulling his trench coat tighter around his neck.

  "Hey, Sean!"

  Even Brett, despite all the horrors he'd seen at the B*E*A*S*T* compound, wasn't prepared for what Sean looked like up close. He stopped a few yards away.

  "Jesus, Sean. What happened to you?"

  Sean gulped a few huge breaths of air before answering him. “Rogan! That's what happened to me."

  "Are you all right?"

  "Do I look all right to you, Walker? Well, DO I?"

  Brett held up his hands. “I'm not here to fight you. I just want to know what happened."

  "They escaped. The bastards stole my truck and escaped! And Rogan injected me with the serum before I could fully shift back into human form."

  "Christ. I didn't know that could be done!"

  Sean held his clothing in his hands, but there was no way he could put them on when his body was still covered with thick muscle and hair. His eyes flashed at Brett, and it was obvious his sanity was hanging on by a thread.

  "Covington wants a report,” Brett said.

  Sean laughed, and the sound of it raised every hair on Brett's body. It was somewhere between a deep guttural growl and a human chuckle, and it just wasn't natural. He took a step back in spite of himself.

  "You can tell that son of a bitch that I need more time,” Sean said. “I can't go after Rogan like this, but I'll find him. I'll chase him to the ends of the Earth if I have to. He will never be able to hide from me."

  "You want to tell Covington yourself?” Brett held out his cell phone.

  "Don't mock me, Walker,” Sean said, taking a few steps toward him. “I can still snap your neck like a twig."

  "If you can catch me,” Brett countered, raising an eyebrow. His skin twitched with the sudden need to shift, and he held on to that feeling while Sean stared him down. Who knew what the crazed bear would be capable of doing? If he decided to charge him, Brett needed to be prepared to shift in order to get the hell out of there.

  But instead of attacking him, Sean once again chuckled. “Go back to Texas,” he said. “Let a real shifter handle this, not some sissy pussy cat."

  Brett squinted, feeling his anger rising inside of him. But he didn't lash out at Sean. Instead he smiled and bowed. “Be my guest, Sean. Seeing as how you've taken such great pains to take care of the problem thus far."

  "Get the hell out of here, Walker!"

  Brett pivoted on his heel and walked back to his Jag. Once the engine roared to life, he turned the car around and raced back down the highway, calling Covington on his cell.

  "So what's the story? Where are Rogan and Wade?"

  "They've escaped."

  "WHAT! How is that even possible? Sean told me he had Wade. He'd captured him, for Christ's sake!"

  "Sir, they stole his truck as well."

  Covington was silent as Brett heard a sigh on the other end. “Is Sean that incompetent?"

  "Well, Rogan was able to hit him with the serum in mid-shift, sir. I think Sean's cracking. He's not all there. He still thinks things are under control."

  "Now we have no idea where the traitors are."

  "That's correct. Do you want me to take care of Sean, sir?"

  "No. He might be unstable, but I have no doubt in my mind that he'll eventually kill Rogan. That's all that's driving him. And personally, I can't think of a better way for that asshole Rogan to go than being on the receiving end of Sean's insanity. The real problem here is capturing Wade again. He must not be harmed."

  "What should I do?"

  "Catch the next flight out to Texas. We've got to regroup and see where the hell we stand. I haven't heard from Dr. Carver since I sent him back to the compound in the Rockies to see what we could salvage. He's gone MIA."

  "But, if I leave Alaska, the trail will be cold. We won't know where the hell they're going."

  "Do we know right now?"

  "Well, no..."

  "Then let Sean deal with finding them in Anchorage. I'll put in a call to the local authorities about a stolen black Hummer. In the meantime, I want you back here in Texas."

  "Yo
u're the boss,” Brett said, snapping his phone shut and tossing it on the passenger seat.

  Twenty Three

  Marlie's eyes burned as she sat in the driver's seat of the Hummer. They'd been stuck in border traffic for half an hour. For the last couple of days, they'd been driving nonstop through Canada, each of them resting in the back while taking turns driving. It was getting on toward evening, and she'd been driving all afternoon. But she wouldn't get any rest until they finally crossed the border into Washington.

  They'd switched the truck's plates back in Alaska, changing their Colorado plate to an Alaskan one. Marlie had felt a momentary twinge of guilt at stealing someone's plates, but she hadn't thought long on it. They needed to be as inconspicuous as they could be in a giant black Hummer.

  They'd also circled the airport in Anchorage before they left, looking for people who resembled them. Once they found a few candidates, they stole their bags, which fortunately had what they were looking for tucked inside: passports.

  Just as when they'd crossed the border into Canada, Wade had once again hid in the back under a pile of blankets and pillows. Marlie and Rogan sat up front, smiling at the guard.

  "Good evening,” the guard said with a smile, accepting the passports Marlie had given him.

  "Good evening,” she replied.

  "What's your business in the United States?"

  "Visiting some family in Seattle,” she said, hoping to God she sounded convincing.

  "You bringing anything into the country? Fruit or nuts or anything like that?"

  With his words, he stamped the passports and handed them back to her. He took out his flashlight and shined it into the darkened windows of the truck.

  "No, sir,” she said, glancing at Rogan. He winked at her, probably to bolster her courage, but her stomach roiled regardless. They'd gotten lucky at the Canadian border. She had no idea if they'd be lucky again.

  "Traveling light, eh?” he said, presumably at their lack of luggage.

  "Yeah,” Marlie replied. “We sleep back there. It's cozy."

  "I bet. All right, Mrs. Green. Welcome to the U.S."

  "Thank you,” she said, rolling up the window. Her skin crawled as she drove over the border.