“Oh, listen to the mighty hunter – who’s dressed to make sure every varmint that’s not legally blind can see you coming from fifty miles, in that flashy getup. Typical, you’re vain even when you’re chasing a gang of kidnappers.”
“Why, you-” Blanche swung towards Maybelle with a snarl. Her snout protruded, and fur sprouted on her face. It was gray heavily speckled with white. A warning growl rumbled up from Maybelle’s throat.
“Ladies!” Coral barked at them. “This is why you’re not coming with us. They’ll hear you coming from miles away.” Sudden inspiration struck her. “You two need to be our sentries. We’re going to go a little further in, and then shift and take a run through the woods to see what we can see or scent. Stay here, and if we’re not back in an hour, then go back to town and call for help.”
Blanche’s face rippled and turned human again. She glanced at Maybelle questioningly.
“Well, I guess…” Maybelle said hesitantly.
“I don’t like it. You have no idea what you’re going to run into out there-” Blanche protested.
“Let’s go, Frederick,” Coral said quickly. She didn’t want the two women to have a chance to argue with her – or follow her.
Within minutes, they’d made it through the towering pine trees and stopped at a clearing.
“Thank heavens we managed to shake those two crazies. Seriously, I can’t believe-oh, for the love of God. More company? Is there anyone in Blue Moon Junction who hasn’t followed us out here?”
Then Coral hesitated. She smelled something…a familiar scent. She felt a prickling of warning, and the hairs on the back of her neck raised.
“Melinda’s here,” she said to Frederick. “She was using Scentsbane to disguise her scent, but not enough of it.”
Frederick nodded eagerly. “I know. She asked me not to tell you in advance, because she knows how you feel about her, but she’s meeting us out here. She’s going to come with us.” He beamed with pride, a smile stretching across his homely face. “She said that if anything happened to me, she couldn’t stand it. She just had to be here to protect me.”
“What?” Coral whirled on Frederick, furious. “No fucking way! I do not trust that crazy bitch as far as I can throw her.”
Melinda strode out from behind a clump of trees, dressed in camouflage gear, holding a rifle. The smile contorting her features was ugly.
“Your instincts are dead on,” she said, and the rifle came up and Coral felt a sharp sting in her thigh, and then the world turned into a blurry watercolor. She fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Coral heard a yelp, and then another thud as Frederick fell to the ground.
“You stupid motherfucker,” she heard Melinda snarling. Struggling, she managed to turn her head, with enormous effort, and she saw Melinda kicking Frederick in the ribs as he lay helpless in the grass.
A dozen armed humans in camouflage gear and camouflage paint swarmed out of the woods. They all must have been doused in Scentsbane, which disguised their scent so that shifters couldn’t detect them.
Melinda kicked Frederick again, hard. “That’s for thinking that a puke-faced piece of shit like you would ever have a chance with me,” she snarled. Frederick whimpered, a pathetic mewling sound wrenched from his throat.
Panic choked Coral. When she and Frederick didn’t come back, Blanche and Maybelle would go into town and get help eventually – but would help come in time? And what if Blanche and Maybelle decided to launch a rescue effort themselves, which was highly likely? Two crazy old ladies against a gang of human mercenaries with rifles, which were undoubtedly equipped with illegal silver coated bullets.
Melinda knelt over her, holding up a serrated knife. She slashed at Coral’s leg, and Coral jerked in pain, making a strangled noise. A hot line of fire burned down Coral’s outer thigh where the knife had cut her, and she felt blood dripping onto the ground, but her limbs were so heavy she couldn’t move them an inch. She felt fabric ripping away from her pant leg, as Melinda ripped a bloody patch of cloth away from her pants.
Then Melinda moved up, crouching over Coral and pressing the blade against Coral’s cheek. “That’s for fucking my boyfriend, you whore,” she hissed. A mad light danced in her brown eyes. “He loves me, you understand? He’s going to marry me. He’ll forget you ever existed.” She raised her knife high. “Before I cut your throat, I’m going to make you so fucking ugly-”
Suddenly, she went flying, as one of the camouflaged soldiers kicked at her, knocking her away from Coral. Melinda let out a snarl and began to shift, brown hair sprouting from her face and fangs springing from her lengthening snout, and suddenly all of the men were pointing their rifles at her.
“I’ll trank you right now, you crazy bitch,” one of the men barked at her. “The doctor said to bring them both to him unharmed. Back the fuck off.”
Snarling, Melinda lumbered away, and Coral felt consciousness slowly fading until mercifully, the world went black.
She woke up gradually, groggy, with no idea how much time had gone by. Had she been knocked out for minutes, or hours?
She lay on a cold hard table, in a brightly lit room, and even in her human form she could smell the presence of other shifters. Her leg throbbed where Melinda had slashed it, and an I.V. was in her arm. Her arms and legs were restrained with straps, and her wrists itched and stung. The straps must be woven through with copper wire, preventing her from shifting to wolf form.
She twisted her head to the side, and looked around the room.
It was a huge room, with walls of industrial white. She couldn’t even see how big it was. She also couldn’t see any windows. There were other people strapped down on the tables as well. They were all naked.
They all had I.V. tubes inserted in their arms, and wires running from patches on their chest to monitors that were placed on stands next to their beds. So did she, she realized.
Frederick was lying on a table, she realized. He was sobbing quietly, tears running down his cheeks. She could see bruises on his ribs where Melinda had kicked him.
He caught her eye. “I’m sorry, Coral,” he moaned. “I’m so stupid. I’m such an idiot.”
Yes, you are, Coral thought. “It’s not your fault,” she said, her words thick and slurred.
Yes, it is, you idiot, she thought.
Coral realized that she recognized the shifter on the table to her right, from the picture on Mrs. Kirby’s mantelpiece.
“Marie?” she called out.
Marie twisted her head to look at her. There were dark circles under her eyes.
“Do I know you?” she asked, bewildered.
“No, I’m a reporter. I was investigating your disappearance. Well, I was trying to,” she added. Inwardly, she seethed. She just wanted sixty seconds alone with Melinda. That was all she’d need.
“You’re here because of me? I’m sorry.” Marie’s voice was weak and sad. “They’re going to kill us all after the comet goes by. Dissect us.”
Coral felt a spasm of terror, and nausea twisted her stomach. Was she really going to die? Would anyone find them?
She got her answer, in the form of a weak voice calling from across the room. “Coral,” Maybelle called. “Are you all right?”
Coral had to twist her head painfully to see; Blanche and Maybelle were there, strapped to tables.
Coral’s heart plunged to the bottom of her stomach. Blanche and Maybelle had been her only hope of rescue, and they’d been captured.
Sure, Bettina had eavesdropped and so she knew that Coral and Frederick had headed into Metamorph territory…but by the time she realized they were missing and alerted the authorities, it would be far too late.
“Well, hello, look who’s awake,” a familiar voice said. She twisted her head around to see Dr. De Rossi walking towards her, wearing a white physician’s jacket. He’d accessorized with a gun holster which he wore outside the jacket. He paused by her table.
“You. You sonofabitch. You work for
Metamorph,” she said, her voice slurry.
He made a polite half-bow. “I’m head of the research department, in fact. And you’re the nosy wolf who has been giving us so much grief. No matter, you’ll end up helping us accomplish our goals today.”
“What the hell is going on down here?” she said. “If you’re going to kill me anyway, you might as well satisfy my journalistic curiosity.”
“Why not?” he said. “It’s nothing personal, you understand. We’re happy you came here today. We can use you as one of our control subjects.”
“Subjects for what?”
“There’s a comet passing overhead that will cause a flare-up of power in the ley lines which are directly beneath us. Hundreds of years ago, it caused countless humans to develop the power to shift into animal form at will.”
“I know that. But why kidnap the original shifters? What does that benefit you?” Coral’s head felt thick as cotton and she had to struggle to speak without slurring.
“We theorize that these shifters, with their superior bloodlines, will be even more powerful than regular shifters when exposed to the combination of Archibald’s comet and the ley-line intersection. Did you know it’s going to pass even closer to Earth this time than it did in the 1800s? It should cause an even more powerful flare-up in the ley lines. It should increase these descendants’ power and strength exponentially. It will also be fascinating to see how the comet affects our human test subjects, and our other shifter subjects such as yourself. We’ll extract most of your blood over the next few days, and then dissect you.”
He spoke eagerly, eyes shining with excitement, as if he were pitching a new product to investors. “We’ll be able to synthesize the properties of your blood and use it on human mercenaries, to turn them into hyper-powerful killing machines. And it’s quite possible that I, and all of these human soldiers here, will be able to shift after the comet passes.”
“You’re completely frickin’ crazy,” Coral hissed, furious.
“Tell that to the governments who are competing to be the first to purchase our Supershifter solution.”
Several uniformed men walked up to them, and Coral recognized them as the men who’d accompanied Melinda in the woods where she’d been captured.
One of them stepped forward, saluting smartly.
“Garcia. Are your men ready? Any sign of intruders?” Dr. De Rossi asked.
“No, sir, but I still feel you should abort the operation.” Garcia scowled at Dr. De Rossi. “The risk of exposure is too great. You’re putting all of my men in danger by-”
There was a shockingly loud explosion, and a look of surprise flashed across Garcia’s face as a huge hole opened in his chest. The bang of the gunshot echoed in the room, and Garcia crumpled and fell silently to the floor, his chest a mangled ruin.
De Rossi turned to one of the other men, pointing his pistol at him. “Nelson. You’re promoted. Do you have any objection to this operation continuing?”
“No, sir,” the man said, a greenish tinge coloring his features as he deliberately avoided looking down at his fallen comrade.
“Then let us commence,” De Rossi said.
Nelson and the other men turned and walked out of the room. Marie sobbed quietly, and Coral tried to think of words of comfort, but failed to come up with any. The best she could think of was “It’ll all be over soon,” which wasn’t particularly comforting.
She struggled against her bonds, but she was pinned down and helpless.
Suddenly, she heard a scraping noise over her head, and the ceiling above her moved. As she stared, the ceiling slid back, further and further.
Sunlight flooded in, and she blinked hard, temporarily blinded. Dr. De Rossi must have wanted to ensure that they’d be exposed to the full effect of the meteor shower.
Coral blinked back hot, despairing tears. Would this be the last time she’d ever feel the sun warming her skin?
She lay there with the sun beating down on her, and the minutes ticked by, and Dr. De Rossi paced anxiously around the room, checking the readouts on their monitors.
He stopped by Marie’s monitor and peered at it closely, and a smile spread across his face. “Well, well,” he said. “It’s beginning.”
Chapter Fifteen
Melinda’s heart leaped with joy as she saw Flint and his men swarming through the wooded area. The sun shone down on him, only on him, lighting him as if he were a figure in a classical painting. Her unbearably handsome bear, the man who was meant to be with her. Today would be the day he’d finally realize it.
She rushed from behind the trees, calling his name. He turned to look at her, a startled expression on his face. Rory was by his side, and there were close to a hundred Enforcers with them. About half were in their animal forms, and the other half had remained in their human form so they could carry weapons.
They were a mile from the site where Dr. De Rossi held the shifters and humans prisoner.
Rory and Flint were leading the charge. They all halted, as did the rest of the Enforcers, as Melinda rushed towards her beloved.
“Melinda, what the hell are you doing here? You’re suspended from the force,” Rory snarled. She ignored him, hate flaring up inside her. Bastard. He’d tried to keep her and Flint apart. Before the day was over, she’d make sure he was dead.
She turned to Flint, and gave him her sweetest smile. “Flint, I couldn’t let you go in there without my help. I’ve been scouting out the area and…I’m sorry.” She fished out the bloodstained cloth she’d snatched from Coral’s pants leg, and held it up. “I found the body of that wolf reporter. She’s dead, Flint, there was nothing I could do for her. I’m sorry.”
“What?” Flint’s eyes flew wide open with shock and horror. Too much shock and horror. Why should he care so much about that fat wolf bitch? She forced down her anger, and hoped that her expression of pity was convincing.
“She can’t be dead…she can’t be!” He let out a low, anguished groan and snatched the bloodstained cloth from her. He swayed where he stood. The expression on his face was blank and disbelieving.
Perfect! Now was the time to comfort him. He’d fall into her arms gratefully, she just knew it.
She threw her arms around him, hugging him with all of her strength. He felt so good in her arms, so right…but he angrily shoved her away from him, pushing so hard she stumbled back several steps. He clutched the cloth, letting out a low, keening moan. Melinda might as well have been invisible.
Hurt bubbled up inside her, burning like hot lava. She felt her throat closing with grief, and she let out a low, heartbroken whimper. Why must he be like this? Maybe it would just take a little while for him to get over the surprise of Coral’s death. Then he’d let her comfort him. He’d turn to her in his pain and grief. Only her.
One of the Enforcers, who was a wolf shifter, sniffed at the bloody patch of cloth. “She’s not dead,” he said. “A dead body gives off a certain scent. This person isn’t dead.”
Melinda gave a strangled cry of rage, as Flint’s eyes lit up with hope. “Take me to where you found her,” he demanded. “I know she’s not dead. I’d feel it if she were dead.”
“What?” Melinda cried out, stumbling back. This couldn’t be happening. No. She’d planned so carefully.
“Take me there, now! There’s still time to save her! I know there is!”
“Absolutely not!” Flint and Rory and the other shifters crowding around them turned to stare at her, and she frantically struggled to think up a reason why not.
“You need to concentrate on your mission!” she said stoutly, folding her arms. “You’ve let that wolf distract you for far too long. We all need to go to the ley line intersection, right now. The wolf was miles away from there; you’d have to abort the entire mission to get to her.”
“I’m going,” Flint snapped. “She’s my fated mate. I can’t leave her. Rory, you and the men go on ahead. I’ll meet you there.” Rory nodded in agreement.
His fa
ted mate? No! He couldn’t think that! Melinda whimpered low in her throat.
It’s okay, she tried to comfort herself. Dr. De Rossi had evacuation plans in place. Military helicopters were ready and all of the test subjects, including Coral, would be loaded on them and headed out within minutes, now that they knew the Enforcers were on their way. Coral would be taken to a secret lab and dissected; Flint would never find her.
Flint couldn’t mourn for her forever, could he? He’d come around.
“I’ll go with you,” the wolf Enforcer said.
“Thanks, Clay,” Flint nodded at him.
Rory and the Enforcers resumed their forward charge, heading north.
Melinda took a deep breath, and began jogging west, with Flint following at her heels. “Faster,” he snapped, and she shoved down the urge to lash out, to strike at him hard for hurting her like this. She was so tired of hurting, of wanting what should be hers. Everything about them fit. Why couldn’t he see how perfect she was for him?
It could still work out, she thought. She knew the areas where De Rossi had his guards stationed. What De Rossi didn’t know was that she had planned a double double cross. She pretended to betray the Enforcers to him, but because she knew exactly where all of De Rossi’s men were, she could save Flint’s life – again.
Sure, lots of Enforcers were going to die today because of her actions – because she’d just radioed ahead and let De Rossi know they were coming. That wasn’t her problem. All that mattered was getting Coral out of the way for good, and showing Flint how much he needed her by saving his life again.
This was actually good, she thought, as they loped through the woods. It would be easier for her to personally protect Flint when they were separated from the rest of the Enforcers. She’d lead him towards a group of guards, and then kill the guards before they could kill him.
“Hold it!” Clay stopped suddenly, and Flint stopped too. He tipped his head up in the air. “We’re going the wrong direction.” He grabbed the patch of cloth from Flint and sniffed it, and then sniffed the air again. “Her scent is very strong. She’s this way.” He pointed north.
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