by Mikayla Lane
Mikal turned at the sounds of feet behind them and aimed his gun, hitting one human in the head just as Chance fired and hit the other one in the heart. Three more dropped to the ground after breaking through the brush, and Mikal pulled Chance to the ground, placing his body in front of hers as he aimed in the direction of the humans, waiting for a target.
Chance knew Mikal was trying to protect her, but she was trained for such encounters and wasn’t going to let him or his family get harmed trying to help her. Quickly checking her clips, she rolled away from Mikal and disappeared on the other side of a bush behind him.
Just as she began making her way around the three to ambush them from behind, two of them began screaming. The third stood, and both Mikal and Chance fired. They both looked down as Ranger came from the direction of the three humans, his face covered in blood. The cat stopped periodically to spit or wipe his mouth.
“Ugh . . . vegans. It’s like eating grass! Who does that willingly?” the cat asked with his face scrunched up with disgust.
“Damn, Ranger! What the hell?” Chris asked, bursting through the shrubs along with half of Mikal’s siblings.
Mikal raised his eyebrows at Chris while Grant and Luca went right to Chance to look at her injury.
Chris shook his head at the blood-spattered cat before turning to Mikal.
“They left a trail of disemboweled security agents all over the area. There’s no one alive to question,” Chris said in irritation.
Mikal looked at the cat like he’d lost his mind when Ranger started snickering.
“There is more up there, I can smell them. They aren’t grass eaters,” Ranger said with a wicked grin and a swish of his tail.
“Damn, you’re evil. Can a Sibiox be evil?” Dusty asked, surprised at the ruthless cat.
“They peed on a body . . . that’s harsh,” Shane said, more than a little disgusted.
“We pee on them all so animals not eat them and humans can see what we did,” Ranger said proudly, spitting again.
Chris was stunned and studied the temporary Sibiox leader to determine if the animal was even sane. He and the cats had mowed down almost 20 men, clearing the entire distance from where they were to the lab itself.
“Ranger, what’s going on? Gibly never acted like this on a mission,” Chris said, hoping to figure out why Ranger and his cats were so different from the calm and wiser Gibly.
Ranger snickered.
“Your daddy tell me to send a message to the bad people hurting Mikal’s people and Koda. He say, ‘piss on it’. So we send message and pee on it,” Ranger said proudly as he kicked his back feet, sending a puff of dust up behind him.
“He didn’t tell you to rip their balls off!” Calvin said, shuddering as he recalled the sight of a few bodies.
Ranger snickered.
“Of course not! They just yummy! Very tender,” the cat said as he licked his lips.
Heaving sounds were heard among the males as Chris sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.
“Enough! Damn . . . Ranger . . .” Chris said looking at the cat in frustration.
It’s like trying to deal with . . . a wild animal, he thought with a sigh. He kneeled down to look the cat in the eyes.
“I need you guys to tone it down a bit. We need a few of them alive. Don’t put your people in danger, but we need a little less . . .” Chris said, trying to think of a good word.
“Gore,” Liam offered.
“Brutality,” Dree suggested.
“Stay away from the balls, man,” Dusty said with a wince.
“OK, OK . . .” Chris said. “Yes, all of that and a few survivors. Can you guys do that?” he asked the cat.
Ranger narrowed his eyes at Chris.
“Fine,” the cat said petulantly.
Chris shook his head and stood to look at his team.
“We need to know if we can continue,” Chris said, looking to his siblings for updated intelligence on their situation.
“We’re half a mile from the target, infrared is detecting four more near what looks like the entrance to the lab,” Cade said.
“We’ve got their communications blocked. They’ve got no help coming,” Siggy said through the open comms.
“Chance took a graze in her side, but she’ll be fine,” Grant said.
“I can do this,” Chance said, looking at the others.
Unlike everyone else, Chance wasn’t the least bit horrified by what the cats had done. When she visualized their bodies ripped open, she only saw Alpha One’s and felt like the cats were dispensing justice. Her only concern right now was getting her people out if they could do it without Mikal’s family being harmed.
Mikal studied Chance and the smudge of blood on the outside of her black shirt. He sifted her energy and felt the determination and adrenaline running through her. He felt the same way himself, and he turned and nodded at his brother Chris.
“Let’s do it if we can,” he said.
“Whoa! Slow the testosterone roll!” Angel said angrily, getting her sibling’s attention.
Angel pulled away from Drago and stood in the middle of her siblings’, looking around at them angrily.
“Are you all stupid? They can’t shift forms! We have no idea what that barrier did to them or if it’s permanent or even continuing to harm them! They need to get the hell out of here; then the rest of us can go in,” Angel said, looking over at Chance and Mikal.
“Wait a minute . . .” Chance began before everyone started speaking at once.
Chris looked to Lara, hoping for some help, and she grinned as she blew out a golden ring of energy around her, calming the siblings.
The forced calm had the side benefit of making them all realize just how dangerous it was to even consider going in. Their presence had already been discovered. Every moment they spent there was another chance the humans would have to capture or kill them.
After long moments of silence, Reign finally spoke.
“Thing is, they’re expecting us to turn and run. They’re not expecting us to keep coming . . . we’d have an advantage,” he said, looking around to see several of his siblings nodding their heads in agreement.
“I agree. But they need to go . . . where’s Chance?” Angel said, looking around for Chance.
“Hell! Where’s Ranger,” Cole asked.
“Damn it! Gear up!” Chris said.
Mikal started to take off after Chance when Chris grabbed his arm tightly.
“You’re not going off alone!” Chris said harshly.
He and Mikal glared at one another for a moment, until Angel stepped up and put her hand on Mikal’s arm.
“Gods forbid if something happens to her . . . her sisters need you,” Angel said gently before heading off after her mate and siblings who started making their way towards the lab.
Mikal shook off Chris’s hand and followed his sister as he spoke to Chance privately.
“You better damn well get back here!” he told her.
Chance swiftly replied.
“I’m not being hauled out of here by anyone. Those are my people, and I’m going to get them out,” she said, determined not to be kept out of the way.
“We don’t just up and walk off! No one would have taken you out of here against your will! Now get back here,” Mikal said, not liking her defiance of his request.
“Ranger and I will leave a few alive,” Chance said before she severed the energy connection.
Mikal cursed aloud and looked over at Chris.
“We better hurry,” he said before he started to jog towards the lab with Chris on his heels.
“Siggy, Dante, get me access into that damn lab,” Chris called through the comm as he hurdled small bushes to catch up to Chance and the bloodthirsty cat.
“We’re working on it,” Dante replied.
“We may need someone alive,” Siggy warned.
Chris cursed in his mind. They were making a lot of damn assumptions, and the more they made, the less confiden
t he was that they were doing the right thing. For all they knew, there were hundreds of armed security guards waiting for them in that lab.
This is too disorganized, he thought to himself, trying to figure out what he had overlooked.
Although Chance had severed communication with Mikal, he was still able to follow her unique energy signature right to where she stood over two security personnel, Ranger hissing by her side.
They were just outside the opening to an underground garage. The interior was completely dark and the entry to the lab was nowhere to be seen. Mikal watched as Chris silently directed his siblings and the Tezarians to fan out and secure the area.
They paid little attention to the two men silenced by Chance with a finger over her mouth until everyone reported the garage was secure.
When Chris got the word, he turned to Chance and Ranger’s prisoners.
“Who were you expecting and why?” Chris asked as he kneeled down in front of the two frightened men.
They both looked to Chance with frightened eyes before the older of the two looked at Chris.
“Who are you?” he asked, his voice trembling.
Chris chuckled quietly.
“Guess you weren’t expecting us then. How many are inside?” he asked.
“Don’t say shit!” the younger man said as he spit at Chris.
Within seconds, Chance had pulled a blade and drew a thin line of blood across the mouthy man’s neck. She leaned closer to him.
“We only need one of you alive,” she threatened before she sat back and wiped the blade on his pant leg.
The older man cleared his throat and trembled slightly.
“There are five medical staff and eight more Halliston private security,” he said, looking fearfully at Chris.
“Who were you expecting?” Chris asked.
The older man looked at Chance with terror in his eyes before he turned back to Chris.
“Her,” he said.
“No one else?” Chris asked.
“No. Who are you?” the man asked again.
“How do we get in?” Chris asked, ignoring the question.
The man shook his head.
“They know everyone was killed in the field. We heard it through the radios. They’ve initiated a lock down. Our codes won’t work to get inside. They would have called for backup by now,” he said, hoping the thought of backup would scare the strangers off.
“Siggy get us inside,” Chris said as he stood then looked back down at the Halliston mercenary.
“What was the energy field you used to take her down?” he asked.
The man shook his head.
“I don’t know. They told us to look for where it sparks; we’d find her near it. What are you people?” the older mercenary asked.
He knew he was going to die. But before he went, he wanted to know what it was that was going to kill him.
“Siggy . . .” Chris said into his comm, ignoring the mercenary again.
“We’re working on it!” Dante retorted.
“This is taking too long,” Lara said, looking at the skies, expecting to see choppers appear at any second.
“Deacon, get in the air, we may need support,” Chris ordered through the comm, also feeling nervous about how long it was taking.
Mikal could feel the frustration building in Chance, and he moved to her side and put his arm around her shoulder, gently squeezing her.
Chance forced herself to smile up at Mikal, appreciating his calm energy even though she wanted to pound on the inner door with her fists until it opened. They stood like that for several minutes until they heard Siggy whoop through the comm.
“Get to the door people! Dante and I got it!”
Chris silently signaled his team, and he led them inside the dark garage to where the inner door to the lab was on the right.
They formed lines on both sides of the door as they heard the strangled screams of the two security personnel they’d left outside. Moments later, a too-happy Ranger and his crew jogged inside, dispersing themselves equally among the teams on each side of the door.
Chris looked at Ranger, his eyes chastising the cat for the kills while the cat grinned and shrugged a shoulder. Chris was getting ready to say something when he heard a loud mechanical click and rush of air, denoting the pneumatic release on the door.
Mikal looked down at Chance beside him.
“Stay with us this time!” he warned as Chris got ready to open the door.
Chance nodded her head. She knew she’d screwed up by rushing ahead earlier, and she wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. She’d felt Mikal’s fear and didn’t want to make him worry like that again—especially not when that concern could make him reckless. She knew more than anyone how recklessness could get you killed in the labs.
Gun pulled the door open slowly, his siblings ready to rush through when Ranger and his cats went flying through the small opening. Screams and shots rang out while Chris and the others rushed inside to try and cover the crazy cats and their insane leader.
Chapter Eleven
Mikal sprinted ahead of his brothers as he took off down a long concrete hallway that they assumed led to the interior lab. Screams, growls, and gunfire echoed down the hallway, and Mikal stepped over the bodies of several security guards before he turned the corner and stopped.
He barely noticed the others come up behind him as he stared at the scene in front of them. Ranger stood atop the prone figure of a man in a lab coat, his dangerous and sharp teeth locked around the man’s neck as he growled.
Several other cats had a security guard pressed up against a glass wall, his hands above his head as his eyes pleaded with the Dranovians and Tezarians to help him. There were three other people in various states of similar distress around the room. Two more were obviously dead.
Mikal and the others relaxed their weapons and immediately spread out to secure the rest of the lab. Chance walked up to the wall of glass and looked into the examination room on the other side.
“There’s the door to the cells,” she said as she pointed to a door inside the examination room.
Mikal looked inside the empty room to the door on the other side and turned to the closest person held captive by one of the cats. He kneeled down to look into the terrified eyes of the man with Ranger’s teeth locked around his throat.
“How many are being held in there?” he asked.
When the man just stared in terror, Mikal became irritated.
“You can either tell me what I want to know or the cat can end this now,” Mikal warned.
Chris chuckled.
“Obviously, none of these idiots want to live and come work for us the way Dr. Mussberger did,” he said, hoping an incentive would loosen some tongues.
One of the guards, disarmed and cornered by the cats, cleared his throat nervously.
“I just started here this week man. I didn’t sign up for this shit! Just tell me what you want to know, and I’ll help you,” he said.
Chris stared hard at the guard before he nodded his head and the cats backed away from him.
“Can you open the doors in there?” Chris asked, pointing to the door in the examination room.
“Yeah, man. They don’t let me in there though. I’m usually outside. They say they have two . . . creatures in there that are dangerous,” the guard said.
“We know; just open the door,” Mikal said angrily.
The guard nodded and held up his hand to point to the computer on the desk near Chance.
“I need to enter a code in that computer. Then when we get inside the examination room, I need to enter another one to get into the cells,” the guard said nervously.
Chris nodded as Mikal and the others pointed their weapons at him, leaving no doubt he’d be dead long before he hit the ground if he did something stupid.
They made a path to the computer, and the guard quickly walked over and entered a code. Seconds later, there was a click and a hiss as the glass
door popped open. Chris and Mikal were the first in the room, followed by Chance, while the others left another path for the guard to enter.
Chris and Mikal moved to the door and looked in through the glass.
“Get it open now!” Mikal roared in rage.
“What is it?” Chance asked as she tried to move Mikal away from the window in the door.
“Get her away! Lara, Grant, Luca, get over here now!” Chris ordered.
Mikal grabbed hold of Chance’s arms and pushed her back into the examination room as she fought against him.
“Stop!” Mikal said, shaking her a little to get her attention.
When her eyes locked on his own and she stopped struggling, he leaned his forehead to hers and sent her calming energy.
“One of them is badly injured . . . she needs help right now, not your rage. Or my own,” Mikal whispered brokenly, trying to get the image of the captive out of his mind.
“Mikal! Chance! We really need you to come and calm down the other female!” Chris called out.
Mikal pulled back from Chance and looked deep into her sad eyes.
“Let’s try and get our people through this and out of here,” he said before taking her hand and leading her to the door.
Mikal knew his brother had intentionally had the first female, the one on the gurney, surrounded by his siblings so he and Chance couldn’t see her. He didn’t need to look again; it was imprinted in his mind and would live in his nightmares.
Mikal shook himself and moved to the open cell door and looked in at the small child huddled in a corner underneath a raised, metal bed. He stopped the curse that almost escaped when she whimpered and shook at his presence.
Chance gasped and dropped to her knees on the floor.
“Hi. My name is Chance,” she said softly, trying to get the little girl to look at her.
When the child only tried to draw herself more tightly into a ball, Chance sighed.
“I didn’t have a real name until yesterday. Before that, I was called Alpha Two and I lived in a place just like this one with four other girls just like you. And me,” she said sadly, opening her energy to the little girl.
Mikal held his breath as the little girl shifted ever so slightly, and one small white eye peeked out from a long curtain of white hair. He heard the little one draw in a shuddering breath before she reached up a small hand and pushed her hair out of her face.