by Odessa Lynne
He didn’t hear anyone come up the stairs and he couldn’t hear movement below, and after another few minutes, he started to feel foolish, but some fears just didn’t go away that easy and his fear that some wolf would come up on him… he might be fighting that fear for the rest of his life every time heat season came around if this was really going to be his new home.
He waited until his hands started to tingle and his shoulder ached from the pressure he was putting on it before he eased his grip. He still didn’t take his weight off the door, but after a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly what he’d seen.
It could have been a wolf, but it could just as easily have been a human.
The angle had been bad and he had no way to know who it might have been. Maybe someone was just resupplying the kitchen or the bathroom downstairs or… or doing any number of other things. In fact, he was supposed to have that examination soon, but with Wolf gone, he’d thought that meant it would be put off for while.
According to Wolf, there were quite a few humans here. They had rules to follow, but since Salvadore didn’t know most of those rules yet, he couldn’t be sure one of them hadn’t come by for some reason.
He slid down the door and rested his arms on his knees and stared out the windows across the room.
Then someone yelled out, “Anybody home?” and Salvadore jerked and fell over.
He groaned, not exactly sure why his head was suddenly pounding. He leaned forward and rubbed his forehead, then stumbled to his feet. He stared at the spot by the door, something feeling off, but he couldn’t place it. He rubbed the back of his neck. He’d fallen asleep, maybe. Or maybe… he’d hyperventilated and passed out.
He really wasn’t sure.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs.
Salvadore pulled open the bedroom door and looked out to see a man in gray pants and a sleeveless shirt coming up toward him. The man wouldn’t pass for younger than thirty in the face, with nice even lines around his friendly eyes, but the lean muscle in his shoulders and arms made him look younger, and he started smiling the moment he saw Salvadore.
“Hey, they told me I’d find you here.” The guy reached the landing and offered his hand to Salvadore. “I’m the doc they want to look you over.”
Salvadore’s suspicious look must have made the man realize he needed to explain.
“Can’t have one of the wolves too close to you right now, that’s just asking for trouble.” He gestured over his shoulder. “My equipment’s downstairs with my nurse and your mate’s going to be back soon, so we should get this over with. If he comes in while I’ve got my fingers up your ass, well, things might not turn out so well for me.”
Fuck.
Half an hour later, Salvadore was shrugging his shirt back on when his eyes landed on what looked like a phone laying on a low bench in what he figured was supposed to be the living room. The furniture was off though, too many pillows and plants and too few seats.
“Don’t forget that,” he said over his shoulder, pointing so Alan would see what he was talking about. Alan had been okay, for a doctor, but he’d made a lot of odd noises as he’d examined Salvadore, exchanging cryptic looks with his nurse, Lizbeth, and leaving Salvadore feeling like they were looking for something very specific and finding it. He’d used several devices on Salvadore to take readings from the medical device buried inside Salvadore’s body.
The whole thing had made him antsy. Then the exam had gone the traditional hands-on route and Sal had gritted his teeth through the whole thing, especially when they’d started asking him about the sex and if he was handling it okay. He’d told them it was none of their goddamn business. Alan had laughed at him and told him he’d ask until he got an answer so he might as well answer then and save them all some time.
“Not mine,” Alan said, his attention already back on the small device he held in his hand. “Sorry.”
“Oh.” Salvadore looked at the bench again, but the phone sitting on it just looked like a normal phone, similar to the one he’d had before all this started.
Maybe Wolf had left it for him.
After Alan and Lizbeth left with the escort that had been waiting outside for them, Salvadore picked up the phone and looked it over.
It came right on with his touch, unlocked and a video already queued up and ready to play.
The view narrowed in on two people: Chen and El walking up to the front of a county shelter, one of those that got set up every heat season for people who needed a safe place to stay because they lived too close to the edges of the protectorate.
The video was date stamped the same night Salvadore, Chen, and El had been kidnapped.
His throat tightened as his sister and step-brother disappeared behind the closed door, and then the video shifted to the face of the person capturing the video. It was the woman who had threatened his family.
“They were never in any danger, Sal. Just want you to know that. I’m sorry it had to be you, but you’ve got something we needed and there was only one way to get it off you.”
He frowned.
“You should have their scientists take a good hard look at your eyes.”
Then the video shut off and the phone shut down. When he tried to turn it back on, nothing happened. He clenched his fingers around it, just resisting the urge to throw the thing across the room.
And even though the video had made him mad as hell, he was so relieved that Chen and El didn’t appear to be in any danger that his knees almost gave out on him.
He stared at the door and debated what would happen if he went looking for Wolf. Then he went into the kitchen, set the phone on the counter, and poured himself a glass of water.
He could wait.
Chapter 28
Ian was the one who came by and told Salvadore that Alan had denied everything. He hadn’t been the one to put the phone where Salvadore had found it, and neither had Lizbeth.
“They’re good guys,” Ian said from his seat at the table in the cozy kitchen. He had his forearms resting on his knees and he was looking up at Salvadore where Salvadore stood with his back to the counter and his arms crossed. “They’ve both been here a long time. They’re trustworthy.”
Salvadore shifted his weight. “Why isn’t Wolf back yet? I want to talk to him about this.”
Wolf had known the moment he came in that night that something was wrong. Salvadore had shown him the video and Wolf had taken the phone and disappeared again. Salvadore hadn’t seen him since.
Ian pushed up with a soft exhale and sat back in the chair. He looked tired, but then again, his mate was one of the alphas.
“He was needed elsewhere,” Ian said. “Craig’s got a lot going on right now with Rick missing and what happened with—” Ian raked his hand through his hair. “He’ll be back soon. I think.”
Salvadore noticed the abrupt change of subject but right then he was more worried about his family than whatever it was Ian hadn’t wanted to say.
“Rick—you mean Wolf’s alpha.” Salvadore rubbed his chin with his thumb and then pointed to the phone on the table. Ian had brought it back with him, although Salvadore wasn’t sure why. “That was genuine, though, right? Chen and El are safe?”
Ian glanced at the phone. “We contacted the shelter. They’re there. They talked with one of our guys, wanting to know where you were. We told them you’d been picked up outside the protectorate and were being held by the government for questioning in a murder. ”
“They’re going to think—”
“You don’t need them doing something stupid right now and trying to come looking for you inside the protectorate. We told them you were safe enough, that it was just a few questions, and that you’d contact them shortly.”
“How soon can I?”
Ian pointed at the phone. “That’s not the one you gave me. It’s one of ours though, untraceable. You can call them now. Just don’t say anything I’ll have to hurt you for saying.” The look h
e gave Sal was clear. Keep your mouth shut about the den.
Salvadore was fine with that. He pushed away from the counter and picked up the phone.
“Oh,” Ian leaned forward and tapped the side. “Turn off the background so they don’t see you standing in front of those kitchen cabinets.”
Salvadore nodded. The phone really did look just like the one that he’d found, but this one responded to his touch. He flicked his finger across the screen and then quickly called Chen.
“You dumb son of a bitch,” Chen answered. “El’s been worried sick about you.”
“I’m okay.”
“Is this about—”
“Don’t worry about it.” Salvadore grinned. He was so fucking glad to hear from Chen. “Is El okay? Did those guys give you any trouble?”
“They dumped us here. We kept expecting you to show up—they told us you’d be right behind us, those assholes, but you weren’t. You can’t trust anybody these days.”
Chen looked over his shoulder. “There she is.” He moved the phone and Salvadore got a good look at El standing on the edges of a small group of people. He saw a flash of Chen’s arm, waving her over. Then Chen came back into view. He studied Salvadore momentarily, then said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m safe enough,” Salvadore said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
Chen’s eyes narrowed and he seemed to be studying his phone. “Why’d you shave?” Then, after a fierce exhale, Chen said, “Why’s the background off? Where are you, in prison?”
Ian was giving Salvadore a pointed look and Salvadore was afraid it meant this phone call was about to be cut short if he didn’t get Chen to stop asking so many questions.
Salvadore let Chen see his middle finger. “I’m not in prison, you prick, so stop worrying. Tell El I’ll call back later.”
Chen’s mouth pursed but he nodded, and just before the video shut off, Salvadore heard El saying, “Hey wait, I wanted to talk to—”
Salvadore set the phone on the table and sighed.
“When heat season’s over, you’ll be able to visit,” Ian said. “Seriously. You’re not going to be a prisoner here.”
“Yeah. Not worried about that,” Salvadore said. “I didn’t have time to mention this to Wolf, because he left in such a hurry earlier, but there’s something I need someone to look at for me.”
* * *
Salvadore had trouble believing what Alan, Ian, and someone named Devon told him after Alan had had a second look at Salvadore’s eyes in a small lab in another of the deceptively sized buildings scattered around the complex. A wolf had escorted Salvadore and Ian there, after Ian had contacted Craig. Apparently even the mate of the alpha had to get permission to travel outside the zone already cleared for him and his escort.
The guy named Devon had arrived after the exam, called in by Alan and Ian when it became apparent Alan had found something he didn’t expect.
Someone—and the only reasonable candidate seemed to be Salvadore’s father—had embedded alien technology in Salvadore’s eyes, so deep as to be almost unnoticeable.
Half way through the exam, Wolf had returned, but he was waiting outside the building at Craig’s order along with the escorts. When Salvadore had balked, Ian had said no wolf would be allowed inside unless the need for it became dire.
“Too many of us here right now,” he’d said. “We can’t even imagine how badly we’re scenting up the place. It wouldn’t be safe for any of us, mated or not.”
Salvadore had seen the sense in that and given in without another argument. He missed Wolf, but he was glad to have a few minutes where he didn’t have to be on his guard.
“I knew something wasn’t right when you told me about your condition,” Alan was saying. “The device you have, it has an energy signature that doesn’t match up to the kinds of devices used to treat that condition.”
“If it’s meant to treat anything medical, I’ll eat my goddamn boots,” Devon said. Metal clanged when he dropped the alien device he’d been staring at to the long metal counter between himself and Alan. He was sitting on a stool with gliders and he shoved away from the counter, sliding backward with careless speed toward Ian.
“Are you trying to tell me—” I can stop worrying about bleeding to death someday, Salvadore would have said, but Devon interrupted before he could finish.
“Oh, yeah. He fucking lied to you. If there was anything wrong with you—”
Alan leaned forward on the counter and said, “You don’t know—” at the same time that Ian kicked the bottom of Devon’s stool with his booted foot, hard. “Shut up, Devon.”
“I’m just telling the guy the truth.”
“I’m not stupid,” Salvadore said from the end of the counter where he stood, slapping his hand down on the cool surface and speaking loud enough to get their attention. “My dad wasn’t a bad guy, but he was complicated.” Salvadore rubbed his hand across his mouth. “And he could get a little obsessed sometimes. If he didn’t think it’d hurt me, he might have done it.”
“Well, your dad was an asshole to do that to you,” Devon said, “but he was fucking brilliant, I’ll give him that.” He rubbed his hand on his thigh and reached behind him for something small that was attached to the wall. “I tapped into the device inside you and it’s fucking loaded with data, all of it stuff I guarantee you the wolves don’t want shared with some human scientist, whoever the hell he was.”
Salvadore scowled, but he couldn’t deny that his dad had stolen from the wolves. “When I went to the lab with dad, he used to ask me to watch these lights flicker.”
Devon’s mouth pursed. He was fiddling with whatever he’d taken from the wall, something that fit in the palm of his hand, and he didn’t look up as he said, “That device you have, it recorded and translated every last flash of light your retinas processed, storing only the shit that fit certain parameters so somebody could retrieve it later. Of course, it’s all old data, but it’s amazing how much is there, intact.”
Ian stood up. “We have to assume that whoever left that phone for you used some of the wolves’ technology to copy the data. The message makes sense if you think about it like that. They got you here because they needed access to the alien technology here to extract it and send it on, but they didn’t want you to know what was really going on until they’d gotten what they wanted from you.”
Devon finally looked up. “I bet I can figure out how it was sent and who sent it. Nobody gets through the den’s signal block without leaving a trail.”
Devon glanced at Ian and Ian shrugged, and then Devon turned back to whatever it was he’d been doing. It wasn’t the first look like that they’d shared, and Salvadore had the feeling those two were used to communicating the important stuff without a lot of words.
Alan had been watching quietly, but as Ian and Devon went silent, he said, “Someone here has to be involved and I don’t like that one bit.”
“Craig sure isn’t going to be happy when I give him my report.”
“Kem’ll be pissed. Brendan’ll probably make every one of us take the goddamn drugs and swear fealty to Trey again.”
Salvadore hadn’t heard those names before, or he didn’t think he had until a second later when the name “Brendan” clicked.
“Brendan Greer,” he said. “I heard Gage mention that name a few times.”
“When you meet him, just call him asshole,” Devon said, flashing Salvadore a wide grin.
“Don’t listen to Devon,” Ian said. “He’s a troublemaker. You’ll be smart to ignore half of what he says and only listen to the other half if you’re already in serious trouble and doing something stupid isn’t any worse than your other options.”
“Hey!” Devon said. “What’s with the goddamn insults?”
“Oh, you know why,” Ian said, “I’m still pissed at you—”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Alan said, slapping the metal counter a few times. “We’ve got something else to talk about guy
s. I’m sure Salvadore here has better things to do than listen to you two go at each other. It’s almost midnight and it’s been a long day for everybody.”
Ian rolled his shoulders and sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Doesn’t look like tonight’s gonna be any better.”
Devon reached out and jabbed his fist at Ian’s hip from his position on his stool. Ian turned. Devon offered him the device he’d been holding, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Nobody’s getting much sleep right now. I like it. You know how long I’ve been waiting for heat season to come back around?”
Ian’s face twitched.
“Too damn long,” Devon finished, his grin getting wider.
Ian just shook his head and turned away, tucking the device he’d been handed into the front pocket of his worn jeans.
Devon got up and moved to the other end of the room, where several computers were spread out on another counter, along with a bunch of alien technology that Sal didn’t recognize. Some of it looked liked it’d been tied together with a fine cable, but all of it looked like it’d been haphazardly placed, and yet when Devon reached the counter, he started moving things around as if he knew exactly what he was doing with all of it.
While Salvadore’s attention was on Devon, Ian had leaned down on the counter on his elbows, and he and Alan had started a quiet conversation that Salvadore couldn’t hear, and when Ian looked up, his face was a mask of tight lines and his eyes unreadable.
Alright then. Maybe it had something to do with him.
Salvadore let his hand rest on the metal counter.
“You tell him,” Ian said, pushing away from the counter. He straightened, crossing his arms, and watched Salvadore so intently that Salvadore’s scalp tingled.
He wasn’t going to like this, whatever it was.
Alan didn’t waste time. He sat back on his stool, his hands flat on the metal counter and said, “You’ve been infected with a human adapted version of the biotechnology that gives the wolves their ability to heal, among other things. We weren’t going to tell you yet, but—” Alan shook his head and Salvadore had the sudden sensation of knowing exactly what Alan was about to say.