Primal Instinct

by Ally Parker

  Stars danced across her vision, and she blinked. Through clouded vision the barrel of a gun stared down at her. He cocked the trigger. Not a Taser. The next thing she knew, the guard’s body flew five feet into the air. Pulling herself up, she saw Lucas dart away to attack another guard. The same creature that attacked her had saved her? Carnage surrounded them. Severed body parts lay scattered around the floor. It was a bloodbath, and it didn’t look like Delmac’s foot soldiers were winning. If they were going to escape, now was the time.

  An explosion from the entrance threw two guards closest to the door sailing across the room. Through wisps of smoke the biggest man she’d ever seen walked into the cell. Unkempt sandy hair sat at odd ends. It looked like someone had roused him from bed. His hand rubbed across his dark stubble as if assessing the situation. He looked her way, his eyes shining like polished gemstones, and her heart kicked up a beat. Their gazes froze. His nostrils flared, and his mouth set into a grim line. The man’s brows pulled tight, and he launched forward. Death seemed to hover around him, its inky fingers spreading to anyone in his path, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake.

  He stalked toward her, and her eyes widened. His jeans wrapped snugly around his thighs, a gray shirt molded around his thick biceps, and the shadow of his pecs flexed with each step. More quickly than seemed possible, he was in front of her, his hands outstretched, sporting the same sharp claws everyone seemed to have. Retribution shone in his eyes. Too bad his attention was fixed on her. He moved forward, lunging past her.

  At her back a male cried out. Spinning, Kenzie saw the man curl his clawed fist around a guard’s throat. A knife clattered to the ground, and the guard’s hands latched over the top of the creature’s palm, pulling at his fingers. Making it look easy, the creature slammed the guard to the ground. A second later there was a snap that vibrated all the way to her bones, and the guard stilled.

  Three of Delmac’s men charged the newcomer, their guns drawn, and shot at him. He danced away, and for some reason she hoped he survived. Chaos filled the room, and if she stayed in here, she was bound to die. Who knew what awaited them around the next bend, but at least it wouldn’t be flying bullets, she hoped. “Ava.”

  Ava glanced up from the man she had just killed. Her muzzle covered in blood, her amber eyes stared back at Kenzie with the same intelligence as a human. “Come on.”

  Kenzie beelined for the door with Ava in tow. They ran down the corridor, breaching the main hall when the lights blinked off, leaving nothing but the orange beacons to guide their way. Every hallway they passed, wolves and humans with glowing eyes fought against guards. Gunfire erupted in short bursts, and Kenzie struggled to tell where it was coming from. As quietly as she could, she inched forward.

  Ava whined, and she moved to go down the opposite corridor.

  “Ava,” she whispered. “We need to go this way.” She jerked her head to the other hall. “They have a kid locked in a cage. We need to get her out before we leave.” Could werewolves understand English? She didn’t know, but it brought her a measure of comfort talking to Ava.

  Kenzie edged out and checked for threats down the corridor. “Clear.”

  Ava brushed up against her. It was good to know somewhere beneath all the fur, sharp claws, and teeth her sister was still in there. A human staggered into an adjacent hallway, his gun firing. A giant naked man with a huge tattoo running up his side laughed and jumped on the guard. One moment he was human, the next, a tan wolf. The guard pulled the trigger and the click of an empty chamber tore a sob from him. Briefly, the wolf gazed their way before he committed to his kill.

  The yellow beacons swirled, and Kenzie used them as breadcrumbs back to Milly. The security card was still in the lab coat she wore, and she snatched it out and swiped it across the security panel. The light flashed, and she shoved the door open. Ava froze and whimpered.

  “I know. It’s bad, Ava. Real bad. That poor little girl is trapped in here all alone. We have to help her.”

  They rushed into the room. Milly saw them and scooted back in the cage. Kenzie looked down at the blood covering the coat and shirked it off. Her tee wasn’t much better. “It’s okay, Milly. It’s me, Kenzie, remember?”

  The girl’s crystal-blue eyes shone with unshed tears. She eyed them and slowly nodded. Kenzie hunkered down to Milly’s level. “I’ve come to get you out of here, okay? We need to hurry so you need to do as I say. All right?”

  Milly nodded, and Kenzie blew out a sigh of relief. “Thatta girl. Now, I want you to scoot back as far as you can. I’m going to get something to jimmy the lock open.”

  Kenzie rushed down the narrow isle, running for the iron poker she had used earlier, and hurried back to Milly’s cage. Milly looked on with wide eyes and cast a lingering glance toward Ava. She couldn’t blame the kid; Ava was massive, with glowing eyes. It would have been enough to scare anyone. Drawing in a deep breath, she plunged the poker onto the lock and levered it until the lock snapped open.

  “Finally.” Letting the metal clatter to the ground, she pulled open the door and gestured with her fingers for Milly to come closer. “Let’s get you outta here.”

  Milly crawled forward and wrapped her arms around her neck, scraping on the edge of the bite. Kenzie winced and adjusted Milly’s hold. Damn, that hurt. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain. It was a shame they didn’t have time to go looking for Milly’s parents, but at this stage, they’d be lucky to get the hell out of the place alive.

  Milly shook, and she buried her face against her neck. Kenzie squeezed her tighter. “I’ve got you.”

  Now if they could just get past the army of monsters, they might stand a chance. Cradling Milly close, Kenzie dipped and picked up the metal bar. They walked to the door, and she kept Milly’s face diverted from the dead bodies, sure the kid had enough fodder for nightmares. Her hand hovered over the handle, and she glanced down at Ava. “Whatever happens, we fight for freedom.”

  Jaxx plunged to a crouch and swept his leg out. His opponent dropped like a bag of shit, and before he could cry out for help, Jaxx was on the guard. He heard the chamber of a gun roll over, and his arm snapped out to knock the guard’s aim off. The bullet thudded into his shoulder. He grunted, and his body jerked back. Gritting his teeth, he thanked the small mercy the shot had missed his head. He may have fully recovered from his fight with Xavier, a measure of his kind’s keen healing abilities, but there was no way to come back from a head shot.

  The guard tried to buck him off. Jaxx’s superior strength prevented the move. Eager to end it, he reached down and clasped his hands around the male’s head. He pulled up and twisted hard until he heard the telltale crunch of death. Dropping the lifeless guard to the floor, he got up, intending to track down the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on. A woman who he was sure he’d seen near the compound earlier that day.

  He knew he should have been more concerned with the problem at hand. As if besotted with a spell, he couldn’t shake the need to track the woman down. A vision of her danced across his mind, fueling his need. Even covered in blood, she stole his breath. Her silvery-brown hair looked just as wild as her topaz-blue eyes. A small female looked out of place in such a violent scene. He thought back to her standing among the chaos in a bloodied lab coat. His chest tightened. She must have been part of this sick setup.

  Damn it! She had smelled of salvation. Above all the blood and death in the air, he could smell the sweet vanilla coming off her skin. It had drawn him like a guiding light, and in that moment nothing had mattered but getting to her. Something deep and dark within him settled in her presence, and for the first time in his life, he could finally breathe.

  He’d never had such a reaction. Ever. For it to happen in the midst of battle cemented the knowledge floating in his mind. She was his one, his only hope for the future.

  His mate.

  Fate had been dishing out shitty hands to his kind for eternity. It was no wonder the only female able to save him w
as somehow tangled up in this mess. He shook his head; it didn’t matter. The fact was, he still needed her. There was nothing she could have done that would stop his racing thoughts on how to win her over. She literally held his future in her tiny, blood-covered hands. Before he could get her to help him, he’d have to track her down and take her to safety, then learn the truth of her involvement with Delmac Enterprises.

  His wolf, close to the surface, snarled just knowing the one thing that could save them was out of reach and, worse, in danger. When he had caught sight of the guard sneaking up behind his female, all humanity left him. Death for the guard was the only action able to quench his hunger. As if sensing his need, her skin whispered across his arm and pulled him from the brink of madness.

  He needed to find her.

  Glancing around the room he found Lucas killing the last guard. The poor male had shifted all alone. What an introduction to their world. His female was long gone. The second she’d fled with the she-wolf in tow, he’d known. Too many guards had been on him to be able to stop her leaving. Now, his wolf clawed to hunt her down. Lucas swung around to meet him. Jaxx nodded and stepped over a body. “I’m glad to find you alive. We need to get out of here.”

  Lucas whined, and Jaxx guessed his thoughts were on Leila and Milly. “Most of the pack is here. I heard them arrive not long after I did. We will all look for your Leila and Milly. C’mon, let’s hunt.”

  The room reeked of death, and he glanced around at the many lives lost and shook his head. What a waste. Unfortunately, in this instance, leaving them was unavoidable. They walked out the doorway and headed toward the main hall. At the mouth of the corridor he saw Cade slouched against the wall dressed in nothing but what his momma gave him.

  Jaxx stepped heavier out of respect for the male. He didn’t know what scars Cade carried. But if the Cajun was caught off guard he would attack first and scrap asking question entirely. Cade didn’t move from his position at the entrance, though his words were loud and clear. “This is bedlam. I ain’t seen nothin’ like it.”

  That made two of them. “Yeah, it looks like a real fun factory.”

  Jaxx scented the air, searching for a vanilla trail. With each step the female’s divine aroma grew. Lucas nudged his leg, bringing him back to the matter at hand. “Do we have any news? Has anyone spotted Leila or Milly?”

  Cade’s gaze shot to Lucas. “Dey got your woman and baby, dem?” The Cajun shook his head, pity shining in his eyes. “No one said nothin’, but we just started searching.” He glanced down both stretches of the corridor. “Saint, Hunter, and Seb have some fresh weres rallied up down the hall. The moon still rules ‘em, and since they ain’t Shadow Moon, Saint ain’t gonna reach them.”

  Cade shrugged and looked down at Lucas. “Alpha wants to see Lucas ASAP.”

  Jaxx nodded. It made sense. He tapped his nose. “We’ll track him down.”

  “I’ll send word to search for ta famile—your family.” he corrected. “Lucian and Mason are on perimeter duty. No one will get outta here. We’ll find dem, Lucas.” Within a blink of an eye, Cade shifted and ran down the hall.

  Lucas whined, and Jaxx could imagine his pain. He knew Lucas would want to be searching for his family. “Let’s get this over and done with. Then we’ll search for your family.” And Jaxx’s female.

  They turned to the right and passed several dead bodies. The corridor made a sharp right, and no matter the direction they went, bullet holes littered the walls and mingled with the blood coating the hallways. Approaching a fork in the tunnels, Jaxx scented vanilla heavy in the air, and his steps faltered. His female had veered to the right. Jaxx sniffed the hall leading to the left, and the familiar, earthy scent of pack filled his nose.

  He paused. Unfamiliar, selfish desires took up residence, urging him to, for once in his life, take what belonged to him, to push all matters aside and secure his humanity. Could he really do it? Think of himself over the good of the pack? Of course he’d never force his mate, but the idea of holding her captive didn’t disturb him like it should have. In fact, he rather liked the idea.

  Lucas whined beside him. Jaxx ground his molars. Lucas already had a mate and a pup. Both prisoners somewhere in this godforsaken place. Despair filled the air, bringing him back to his senses. He had a duty and responsibility to his pack to uphold—and to Lucas. Logically, he knew his female wouldn’t be able to step a foot off the compound. His pack wouldn’t allow it. He told himself he would perform his duty and then seek her out.

  Forcing his footsteps to follow the pack’s trail, Jaxx turned through several different passages, each as clinical as the next. Bodies littered the ground; it confirmed he was heading the right way. A cluster of armed guards piled at the entrance. Through the doorway, growls and snarls bit into the air. Both of them rushed forward and watched as Saint dropped a red wolf to the floor, Saint’s jaws latched around the were’s throat.

  Jaxx knew it was nothing more than a warning. One the were better listen to, or Saint wouldn’t be so lenient the next time. The red wolf yielded, and a small whine escaped him. Saint’s wolf, clearly satisfied, slowly unclamped his jaw and stepped back. His stare still held the less-dominant wolf in place. Saint’s voice rang through their pack’s mental bond. “Lucas, tell me what the fuck is going on.”

  Jaxx itched to know the details. The one thing stopping him from shifting was that his clothes would be nothing more than rags, and he needed them. He needed to look normal and set his female at ease when they first met. Saint growled a demonic sound and snapped at the air, as if attacking an invisible enemy. Black hackles rose along his back, and Saint started to pace.

  “We have a clusterfuck of a problem!” Saint’s telepathic voice rang down the pack link. “Some crazy bitch has been forcing weres to bite humans.” Saint snarled again. “I don’t understand how humans could have captured our kind, but it happened. And, fuck—they’ve killed Ethan.”

  Jaxx blinked. He let Saint’s words sink in, absorbing the true meaning, and a growl rattled in his chest. Not only had they killed Ethan, they’d kidnapped weres and inadvertently signed their death warrants. For the safety of shifters and weres, they were shrouded in secrecy. Each of them was required to undergo a strict process to create another. Under no circumstances were they to reveal themselves to humans without approval. If it wasn’t for Saint, both he and Lucas wouldn’t be breathing. “I think I could have some answers. Or at least a place to start. I found a syringe at Lucas’s home with remnants of a drug.”

  Saint prowled forward. “Send it for processing. In the meantime, Ethan’s body will be sent back to Shadow Moon. I will make sure Lucas and the other weres are looked after. None will feel the council’s wrath.” He gnashed his teeth. “We need to round up all weres and infected human captives. Be on the lookout for a Doctor Marie LeRoy—brown hair and wears a lab coat. She’s to be brought directly to me. Alive.”

  6

  Kenzie held Milly tightly to her chest as they darted through yet another corridor. This place is a maze. The sound of gunfire and growls echoed behind them. They had been weaving through hallways, dodging guards and wolves, long enough that Kenzie’s lungs burned. Another load of bullets sprayed in the distance. Milly jumped in time with each crack in the air. Kenzie swallowed down her fear and eased toward an intersection of corridors.

  “Be as quiet as you can,” she whispered into Milly’s ear. “You’re going to have to hop down for a sec.” Milly nodded and moved to the wall. Kenzie held her breath, counted to three, and peeked around the corner. “It’s clear.”

  Massive wolves, and humans with glowing eyes and claws, had taken over the facility and were littering every corridor with Delmac staff. What would happen once all the guards had been killed? Would they set their sights on them? Their tiny trio had often been forced to change course to avoid both enemies. So far, luck had been on their side. How long could that last? Kenzie hissed out a breath. Her wrists burned, and her bite wound throbbed in perfect harmon
y with her thumping pulse.

  Metal tinkering in the hallway stilled her thoughts. Ava growled low, her hackles rose, and Kenzie pulled a shaking Milly closer. Without warning, Ava launched into the hall.

  “Damn it, Ava!” What was she thinking? They were trying to avoid danger, not run head on to it.

  Kenzie pushed Milly farther behind the wall. “Stay put.”

  Milly nodded, her eyes shone with tears, and she wrapped her arms around her waist. Kenzie slinked around the corridor. A turned-over trolley lay near the wall. Ava sniffed around the framework. Kenzie glanced down both directions of the tunnel and eased out toward the bed. A cuff rattled on the metal rail. “What the hell?”

  Kenzie approached the overturned medical trolley one step at a time. She peered over the bed to see a pale, cuffed hand twitching. Her steps faltered. Gnarled fingers wrapped around the rail. Red fur coated the skin, and black, thick nails extended out of the nail beds. The person released a small whimper, and Kenzie leaned forward.

  “Help me,” a raspy voice pleaded. “Please.”

  Anguish coated each word, and it burned knowing she had no idea what to do. Cautiously, she walked around the trolley bed and came to a standstill. “Oh, my Lord!”

  Bound in cuffs, a woman was locked to the bed. Her body was trapped in a half animal, half human state. Fur ran over a short muzzle protruding from her face, and her lungs had distended, making an alarming hollow over her stomach. Just like the two deformed people she’d seen William kill.