by Ava Benton
She nodded. “Of course. Off the record.”
He drew a deep breath and seemed to sag a little. “This isn’t just about what those bastards did to us—me, my brother, the rest of the test subjects. It’s not even all about having to live apart from you boys all these years, though that’s a big part of it for me. It’s about what they did to your mother.”
I felt physically ill.
Even Carter seemed rocked by this. “Mom? What about her?” he asked.
Dad shook his head, looking at the floor. “It was in our files. They knew you guys existed, that our mates successfully reproduced. They were keeping tabs. Only…”
“Only what?” I choked out. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer, but I had to know.
“Only… because your mother gave birth to two healthy babies—at once, even—well, that was considered a threat. All the women who gave birth to healthy babies, including the actual female test subjects, were considered threats. It was all in the files we found. I had no idea those bastards could be so cold-hearted.”
“I don’t understand,” Carter muttered. “Didn’t they think, hey, our test subjects might reproduce one day?”
“You’re giving them credit for thinking this through,” Dad reminded him with a rueful smile. “I don’t think they even realized exactly what they would create through their tests. And they sure as hell didn’t care what happened to the people they tested, how they would get on with their lives. So, when they found out we could successfully reproduce, they decided to put a stop to it.”
“Meaning?” Carter’s normally strident voice sounded a little weak.
“Meaning removing our mates from the equation.” He looked at the two of us, silent, like he was waiting for us to understand. Like speaking the entire truth out loud was too much.
“Removing? But… Mom had an accident…” I looked at Carter, whose face wore an expression of horror. Mine probably did, too.
“It wasn’t an accident,” Dad nearly whispered. “There was a report in my file confirming her death. Not just that she died, but that the mission to cause her accident was a successful one.”
“Somebody tampered with her car?” I asked. Each word felt like it weighed a ton. I could barely get it all out of my mouth.
“It’s more likely that one of them ran her off the road—if it had been brake tampering, for instance, the accident would’ve looked very different. No, she ran off the road and down into that ravine. I’d bet anything another car ran her through the guard rail.”
Carter took a step back, then another.
I was afraid he might throw up.
I knew the feeling—just imagining Mom, beautiful Mom, and how terrified she must’ve been in those final minutes was enough to make my stomach churn.
I had to say it out loud. I had to hear it. “They killed her because of us?”
“Not because of you.” Dad jumped to his feet. “Don’t ever blame yourself. They killed her because of them. Because they’re stupid and short-sighted and cowardly. I don’t know what happened—maybe the people who hired them to conduct the tests got spooked, or maybe somebody higher up found out what went on and raised hell. I really couldn’t say. But regardless, the choice was made to eliminate her, along with other mates who had already successfully given birth. Those people out there are the result of that.” He pointed out the closed door. “They’re the children of the subjects, for the most part, along with a few of the original participants in the study. In almost every case, the female mate was killed to prevent further reproduction. It was a side effect nobody considered, I guess.”
Alice let out a choked sob, and Carter went to comfort her. He looked shell shocked, staring at nothing.
I kept picturing Mom, then gasped. “Aunt Suzanne?”
Dad shook his head. “No, your aunt was ill. Slate’s birth wasn’t easy on her, and she never fully recovered. That was natural—as natural as it can be when you know why the birth was hard on her, to begin with. She just wasn’t strong enough.”
“What about Hope?”
Carter’s head snapped up. “Is she safe out? This whole time, Roan’s been worried about her health…”
Dad nodded. “I know. I encouraged him to bring her here, just to be on the safe side.”
“Hope? Here?”
“And the other one, Slate’s mate,” Dad replied. “The two of them flew out this morning to fetch them.”
That was news to me. “Were they going to tell us?” I asked.
“They didn’t want to wait. Neither of them is very patient,” Dad replied. “I guess that’s genetic.”
He wasn’t kidding. I could just imagine the way Roan would’ve lost it on Mary if she even tried to tell him to wait or, even worse, tell him it wasn’t a good idea to bring two more humans into the mix. Including a pregnant one.
“I guess they’ll be back by the end of the day,” I said, checking the time.
It was barely eight o’clock. I could only imagine the hoops Mary had to jump through to get the jet in place with no warning and was glad I wasn’t around to hear her opinion.
Dad focused his attention on Carter, who was still holding Alice. “Son, regardless of how you feel about me now, I need you to do this for me. For your mother.”
“Do what?” he asked, keeping his eyes off Dad.
“Let me decide how to move forward. This is personal. I don’t just want these bastards to be found out—hell, I don’t even know if they would. They haven’t stayed underground as long as they have by letting people trace their activities, these contractors. I wonder if the guys who hired them understand how out of control they are. Or, who knows?” He smiled bitterly. “They might be the ones calling the shots. The guys who are supposed to be looking after us. Maybe the ones your uncle and I served under. I never found out who’s actually in charge, but I will. I want them dead. I’ll stop at nothing less than that.”
“Dad…” I started.
His voice cut through the air like a blade. “No. This is personal for me. I want them eliminated the way they eliminated your mother, and that won’t happen by publishing a few articles. I’m sorry,” he added, looking at Alice.
She only nodded and wiped a tear from her eye.
I wondered if she was crying for us or herself and what might happen to her one day. Maybe she would have a tragic accident, too. The thought made my chest go tight for her sake, and for Carter’s.
Dad crossed the room, standing beside Carter. “I need your support on this,” he murmured.
“How? What do you want me to do?” he asked, still holding Alice, not looking up.
“Let me do what I think is best. That’s all. Let me settle this the only way that will be even remotely just. Exposure won’t do it. Only an eye for an eye. Your mother deserves that. So do all the others who these bastards sacrificed.”
Carter’s jaw worked as he processed Dad’s request. “I want this to be over,” he finally murmured.
“Me, too, son. I want to see you live a normal life, one in which you won’t have to hide. I know the story of why you live the way you do, why you do what you do. Roan and Slate filled me in on everything. I would bet my life that the same contractors who performed the experiments on us were involved with your Special Ops missions. They would have to be, since the results of the program were top secret. The only people who could use you the way they did—knowing who you are—would be the ones involved in your creation. Believe me; I’ve spent the last few nights trying to piece everything together. It’s the only story that fits.”
“Even if you’re right, who’s to say we’ll ever be free?” Carter finally met Dad’s gaze.
“I can’t promise anything, but you’ll be a lot closer than you are now.”
Alice whispered, “Oh, please, let him do what he thinks is best. He just wants to protect you.”
Carter looked annoyed at being put on the spot, but nodded. “All right. I’m with you on this.”
3
>
Nia
They were still in the cabin fifteen minutes after Jordan and Drew stormed over there. The way Jordan looked, I was surprised no bodies had gone flying through the window yet.
“What are you doing?” I jumped at the sound of Layla’s voice. I didn’t even notice her walking over to where I stood under a tree, watching the cabin.
“Hmm? Oh. Nothing. Just hanging out.”
She looked at the cabin. “Is something wrong with Alice?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why are you staring at the cabin, then?” She brushed her long braids over one shoulder. Beads jingled against each other.
“I wasn’t staring at the cabin.”
She rolled her hazel eyes. “Yeah. Okay.”
“You weren’t here. You didn’t see what just happened.” I looked around to be sure we were alone before saying, “Jordan looked like he was ready to kill somebody.”
“He’s in there?”
I nodded. “I’ve seriously never seen him look so pissed. I thought he was gonna shift out of nowhere.”
“Oh, dang. I wonder what it is.”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said a thing yet about where we’re going after this. I’m starting to worry.”
“You know Jordan. He’s always got things under control.”
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “Yeah, well, things have changed.”
“Come on. You are so anti-Jordan’s family, it’s ridiculous.”
I bristled. “Take that back, please.”
“No.”
I sighed. “Grow up.”
“You grow up.” She giggled. “Sorry.”
“Seriously. Sometimes I can’t believe you.”
What I really couldn’t believe was how nobody but me saw the danger of Jordan splitting his attention, the way he had ever since his sons and nephews showed up.
What were the odds? Of all the people in the whole world, the four men sent to help us were his freaking family.
Layla knew all about how I felt but didn’t care. “We’re okay where we are right now,” she said as she put an arm around my shoulders. “Come on. Lighten up. You haven’t been yourself lately.”
“I know,” I murmured, still staring at the cabin.
How could I be myself when so many things had changed overnight?
The cabin door opened, and I held my breath as I waited for somebody to come out. When it was Drew, I growled softly.
“Uh, what’s up with that?” Layla asked.
“With what?”
“You just growled, idiot. What do you think?”
I shrugged, then turned my back on the cabin and leaned against the tree trunk. “I didn’t mean to growl.”
“You didn’t mean to, or you didn’t mean for me to hear it?” she asked.
“Who are you? Barbara Walters? Oprah?”
“Just admit you’re pissed off and get it over with. I know you. I know you’re upset.” She gave me a knowing smile.
I wanted to claw her eyes out and tear her head off her shoulders, the know-it-all.
I looked at the ground instead. “I’m not pissed. I’m really not.”
“What are you, then?”
“I don’t know. Annoyed, maybe? That works.”
“Annoyed with who? And why?” When I didn’t know what to say, she took my arm. “Come on. Let’s walk and talk.”
“Do we have to?” But I let her lead me away.
I needed to get my head screwed on straight, and I wouldn’t if I had to watch Jordan stick his head any further up his own ass.
Layla and I walked down a little dirt path which led to the lake. There were trees on both sides whose branches crisscrossed over our heads, so thick they hardly let in any sunlight. It might as well have been the middle of the night.
“So? What’s really happening? You’re not usually like this.” Layla walked a few steps in front of me.
The flowy cotton dress she wore brushed against the bushes by our legs.
“I wish I knew,” I admitted.
“Do you feel sick or something?”
“No—do I look sick?” I asked, surprised.
“You know you don’t. You always look great.” She shook her head with a laugh, like she didn’t also look great from the second she rolled out of bed until the second she rolled back in.
The only sounds around us were our footsteps through the undergrowth and the rustling of leaves as the forest animals scurried around.
They didn’t like being too close to us—even when we were in our human forms, they could sense who we were inside. Knowing we were so alone gave me the courage to say what I was feeling.
I touched Layla’s shoulder to stop her, and she turned around. “I feel like Jordan’s forgetting about us. We need him, and he’s busy worrying about them now.”
She nodded slowly. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that he’s not asking your opinion on things anymore?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I spat.
“Don’t pretend with me. I know you liked when he would ask what you and Lance thought before we would move on to a new location. He’s not spending as much time with Lance right now, either.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and you would know that how?”
Even with no light, my shifter vision told me she was blushing. “He told me so when I was talking to him yesterday.”
“Mm-hmm…” I teased.
“Stop changing the subject!”
I looked up. “Layla and Lance, sittin’ in a tree… Oh, look, I see them right up there!” I pointed over my head.
“Grow up.”
I gasped and folded my hands over my chest. “My goodness! What are they doing up there in that tree?”
“Seriously, Nia.”
I laughed. “Hey, I never had any brothers or sisters, so I have to get all this stuff out of my system.”
“Come on.” She waved me on and kept walking toward the lake. “Anyway, I understand why you’d feel the way you do.”
I frowned at the back of her head. “You do?”
“Yeah. I mean, Jordan was all about us for such a long time. He always ran things by Lance and you, and now he’s not. I’d be pissed as hell if I were you.”
“I’m honestly not pissed. I’m really not. It’s just… you know, everybody here means a lot to me. I don’t care about being a big shot or the alpha or anything like that. I just want everybody to be safe and happy. It’s not that he’s spending time with them. It’s that he’s not spending time with the group. And that sucks.”
“I hear you.”
We entered a clearing at the edge of the lake.
The water looked so blue. It was so still, too. There wasn’t even a breeze blowing over the surface. I felt like I should whisper to keep from ruining the moment.
Layla must’ve felt it, too, since she was quiet for a long time. We just stood there, side by side, breathing the fresh air.
“He won’t forget about us,” she whispered.
I wanted to ask whether she was trying to convince me or herself, but bit my tongue.
“Come on. I wanna go swimming.” I needed to change the subject.
I couldn’t touch on what was really bothering me because I didn’t totally understand it myself. There was still something tugging at the back of my mind that wouldn’t let go. What was it? Maybe it wasn’t important. I told myself it wasn’t as I stripped off my t-shirt and shorts.
“Are you crazy?” Layla laughed. “You have a suit! You have a couple of suits!”
“Yeah, well, I don’t feel like going back to the cabin to get them.” I looked around again, and once I was sure there were no eyes on me, I unhooked my bra and slid out of my panties.
Not like it would be the first time Layla saw me without clothes on—we had been hunting together more times than I could remember. She and Daniela were the closest thing to sisters I’d ever had.
I waded out until I was waist-de
ep. The water was cold, refreshing. It was almost impossible to think of anything else but the way it woke up my skin, sending little shivers all through me. I felt alive, almost as alive as I did when I hunted.
Layla was still on the shore.
I waved her in. “Come on! You coming or what?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t think I’m as brave as you.”
“Like you’ve never been skinny dipping before!” I moved further out, until the water brushed against the tips of my breasts.
My nipples were already in fine, hard points from the cold, and the sensation of water against them sent even stronger shockwaves through me. It wasn’t unpleasant.
“Yeah, but that’s always been at night. Not in broad daylight,” she laughed.
“Chicken!”
Before she could tell me again how crazy I was, I dove in and shut the rest of the world out. Nothing else mattered underwater, nothing but moving my body through the clear stillness.
I held my arms at my sides and kicked my legs slowly, fluidly, each strong kick sending me further out toward the center of the lake.
I was sure there were fish in there—I could smell them even outside the water—but they were keeping their distance, just like the animals of the forest. I was never a big fish eater, but I couldn’t exactly tell them that. At least I had some peace while I swam.
I reached the surface and took a big gulp of air, then looked around. I was way further out than I was before. I looked back to where I had left Layla and let out a little groan when I saw that she had left me.
What happened? What made her run away?
A noise on the bank got my attention, and I turned my eyes in its direction. My jaw fell open when I saw Drew standing there, hands on his hips.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered, glad there was distance between us.
My cheeks burned pink. There I was, naked as the day I was born, with him watching me. I kicked my legs and waved my arms, treading water, while he stood as motionless as a statue.
Who cares? He’s nobody. Once this is all over, he’ll move on. Probably back with his family. He’ll forget we ever existed.
“Hi!” I called out, forcing myself to sound way more enthusiastic than I was.