by Jools Louise
The posse was discussing the operation, with Joe looking tough and every inch the ex-Special Forces soldier that he’d been. Even Zack, who was now a lawyer, was kitted out in black combat fatigues and looked tough and capable of kicking ass, as opposed to the perfectly coiffed professional he usually presented to the world.
“We’re going,” Slug said harshly, his tone brooking no argument.
“You’ll need to,” Cody retorted just as harshly. “Your family has a big encampment northwest of here, and they have a veritable army there.”
“We’re evacuating the residents to the tunnels and ranch,” Joe said grimly. “I think taking Douglas was probably a ruse. They’d be complete morons if they killed him.”
“I don’t believe anybody said they were actually sane, did they?” Aiden drawled, shaking his head. He looked big and tough and mean as hell, his hybrid side close to the surface.
“What are they planning?” Rage asked his brother, his tone hard as nails. “Why did they take Douglas?”
“They want leverage,” Rash replied quietly, looking small and almost shrunken in on himself, as though all the fight had left him. He looked broken. “Mother’s been planning this for a long time, since the cult first started taking a beating from Joe and his crew. She saw an opportunity to get some power, and has been creating allies for months.”
Ethan realized just how serious this whole saga had become. He’d thought that the wolverine clans were simply taking pot shots at those they didn’t like, but this was far more ambitious. Wiping out Sage would be a coup indeed, since it would get rid of a lot of their enemies in one fell swoop. He still couldn’t quite get his head around it, but then he had experience with crazy people who would stoop to anything to get what they wanted. His own mother was a classic example.
“You think they’ll actually attack us here?” Ethan asked tremulously.
“John just called,” Joe interjected, his eyes feral. “He and Jay just fought off a bunch of canines, and both are injured, but they’ve just seen Douglas being taken into the compound at the enemy camp, and he’s been strung up onto meat hooks. John said he’s going in to get him since it looks like they’re going to beat him…or worse. We need to get going.”
“I called for some extra backup,” Aiden said. “Our good friend Ryder Black is on his way with an enforcement team.”
“Are the wolverines planning on attacking the town?” Rage asked his brother, who nodded wearily.
“They have spies in place and are aiming to trap people here and then take everyone out, one by one.”
Rage grabbed his brother and shook him vigorously. “Why the fuck did you turn on your own family?” he asked, fangs gleaming. “What the fuck did we ever do to you?”
Rash’s eyes welled up with tears and then overflowed. Shocked, Rage stopped attacking the man and stepped back.
“They told me they’d lock me in the tunnels like they did to you if I told anyone.” Rash quavered and Rage felt the trembling in the younger man’s body. “I didn’t mean to kill Ellis. I thought I was being attacked. I heard him yell out, but I thought he was about to hurt me. That’s what they told me would happen. That you people would turn on me and hurt me once they knew who I was. Ellis was my mate. I’ve wanted to find a mate for a long time. I never meant to hurt him.” Rash collapsed to the ground, sobbing. “They beat me because I’m the same as you. I’m gay. They buried me alive in a coffin, for weeks, with one air-hole so I didn’t die too soon because I told them I wouldn’t hurt my brother. That was years ago, when you were sent to the cult.” Rash looked up with tormented eyes. “I would go through ten times that pain and suffering if it meant getting my mate back.” He shuddered, then buried his face in his hands and cried.
Rage stared at his brother, unsure what to do next. Ethan stepped forward, then knelt beside Rash, taking the man into his arms and hugging him. The power of the cult and the viciousness of bigoted clans who were prepared to stop at nothing to get what they wanted had turned this young shifter into a killer.
“We need to go,” Joe said gruffly.
“If they are planning to hit the town, some of us need to stay here,” Slug said, frowning. “You said that you were sending people to the basement level, for safety?” Joe nodded. Slug looked at Rash. “Who’s the spy?” he asked the younger man.
“He’s called Burton,” Rash replied, wiping his eyes. “He was rescued from the Idaho bunker, but he was never really a prisoner,” he said. “He’s a jackal shifter, and was working for the wolverine clans, getting information about what was happening in town. That’s how the families knew what was happening here. He’s been feeding them information for a while now.”
“Then let’s feed him some more,” Lash drawled, an edge of violence in his voice. “I vote we give them a little extra, something for them to get their teeth into. We need them away from their camp and moving up their attack plans.”
“I agree,” Joe said. “Taking them in their territory would be suicide. We don’t know how many there are.” His cell phone chirruped and he took the call. Listening intently, he suddenly smiled wickedly, looking badass as hell. Ethan realized the big ex-Ranger, who had a reputation for causing mayhem, may just have earned his reputation honestly.
“Ryder Black just did a fly-past over the camp,” Joe said as he flipped the phone off. “Apparently there is a pair of snow leopard shifters kicking ass and taking no prisoners right in the middle of it. Ryder tells me there was a big explosion right before they flew over.”
“Shit,” Mick cursed, before grinning widely. “John and explosives mean only one thing.”
“Yeah…that we need to haul ass over there and help him,” Joe retorted, high-fiving the big tiger shifter.
“I’ll help to set things up here,” Slug said, nodding to his mates. “You go get Douglas.”
Lash, Charm, and Rage agreed, then followed the large group as they headed out to the enemy camp.
Ethan elected to stay with Slug, as did Alfie and Mason. They were worried about Jay, but most important was protecting the town’s residents. If the attack came soon, innocents would be hurt. Ethan felt heartsick that Jay might be injured because of this stupid fight. He didn’t understand what the clans hoped to gain, but he supposed that sometimes there were just no answers.
The bed and breakfast was almost too quiet once the crowd was gone, but immediately Slug discussed his plan, and they were making phone calls. The wolverine clans were about to get their comeuppance.
Chapter Nine
Ethan lay still, holding his breath as he heard the stealthy slick of tires on asphalt. In his jaguar form with his mottled coloring, he was barely visible in the black of the night.
The plan was working. They’d gotten word to Burton, their traitorous informant, via a convoluted grape vine. Ryder Black, who had some serious skills in various fields, had hacked the communication that went from Burton to the camp and recorded the jackal shifter telling someone, apparently Rage’s mother, that the town was without security now since the sheriff and Joe’s crew were hightailing it to rescue Douglas.
Ethan smiled to himself since Ryder, on his second fly over, had dropped several members of his elite unit on the road about two miles from the town’s limits. The unit had set up some kind of a sting to allow some of the attackers through but trap the rest. Joe and his crew were going to infiltrate the camp, as expected, but the town was by no means defenseless.
A call to arms had brought in allies from all over, and those in town were certainly not pussies. Or, at least, not all of them, anyway. Ethan sniggered silently at the thought. This whole fight seemed to stem from the fact that wolverines hated felines or something like that. Quite honestly, Ethan figured they just hated anyone who didn’t fit their criteria of excellence or didn’t immediately fall in line when they clicked their fingers. Wolverines were part of the weasel family, and Ethan thought that was a fair statement about the clans’ behavior to date. Weasels in name and natur
e. They scuttled about, doing their dirty deeds, under the cover of a veneer of self-importance and snobbery. They were the same kind of bigots as the cult, in their own way. Ethan curled his lip. If anything bad happened to Douglas, they’d be just as dead as the cult, too.
Glancing to the side, Ethan picked out the shape of Ryder Black, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. He was glad he’d gotten over his fear of heights…and jumping off narrow platforms, since both he and Ryder were currently situated about twenty feet above the ground on the training posts that were being used prior to the Shifter Games, which would take place in a few months’ time.
In their shifter forms, the pair were taking note of the activity below them and the convoy of vehicles that was making its way onto Main Street. A stream of large SUVs and transit vans were rolling slowly through town, their windows all blacked out. Ethan curled his lip. The fucking morons were so arrogant they thought that they could just waltz in here and take over, did they?
Slug was situated at the tattoo studio, waiting with some people who were members of Ryder’s elite squad, put in place to protect the town from the invasion. Each of the new businesses had members of the same unit guarding them, and the residents were safely secured elsewhere. Once Burton had been told the misinformation, he had been followed to where he’d met his contact. Then those in town who needed it were taken to a safe house discreetly and quickly.
Things were about to kick off now, though, big time. Word had been received from Rafe that as soon as Burton gave his false message, the camp to the north of Sage began to react.
“Game on,” Ryder murmured, barely audible, and Ethan’s thoughts were interrupted as he focused on the battle ahead.
The vehicles below lined up along one side of the street, and when the last one parked, doors began to open, releasing their occupants onto the sidewalk. Ethan watched as the large group headed determinedly for Café Anglais and Spirit Ink, which were housed within. Slinking along the narrow beams high above the street, Ethan then leaped onto the roof of the closest building and negotiated his way along until he got to the café. It was still about an hour until dawn, and no lights were on except a security light or two.
Ethan, with his superior vision, especially in jaguar mode, saw exactly what he needed to—a large group of hybrids, wolf shifters, and the inevitable block of wolverines. Ethan recognized a couple of them. One was Charm’s sister, a delightful female who sucked all the happiness from a room within seconds. He remembered her well. Nasty bitch.
As the invaders smashed through the door to the café, sending glass and splinters everywhere, the town was suddenly lit up from above. Huge floodlights clunked on, illuminating Main Street, the café, and everything in between.
Screams erupted from inside the café, and the sounds of intense battle filtered up to where Ethan was waiting. Sure enough, some of the combatants tried to flee…and he pounced, leaping from his perch one story above the street right onto the shoulders of a large wolf shifter who tried to shake him off. Snarling, Ethan held onto his quarry, claws digging into the shifter’s muscular back as it tried to shake him off.
From the side streets, a large group of humans emerged, racing toward the fight, carrying dart guns. Ethan’s foe was soon unconscious, with a hefty dose of Ketamine flowing through his system, courtesy of the red-tipped dart shot into his haunches. One by one, as the shifters tried to escape the trap they’d walked into, they were darted and then dragged off to a makeshift jail that had been constructed right in the middle of town at the park. Pace had decided to make them all the main attraction for a while—to show the world that Sage was not to be taken lightly.
Gradually, the battle ebbed. The café, the interior of which was pretty much destroyed during the fierce combat, emptied out finally, with the wolverine contingent being the last to leave, helped along by several of Ryder’s elite squad who had remained in human form while dealing with the shifters. The invading force all looked decidedly worse for wear, sporting cuts and bruises and glum expressions. Nobody had been killed on either side, which was miraculous in itself, but the fighting had been intense. Without the elite troops from Ryder Black’s side, the outcome probably would have been disturbingly different.
* * * *
Douglas screamed out in agony as acid was thrown into his eyes. He was suspended in the center of a large camp in the middle of a forested area. He’d been beaten up a little and then dragged to where he was now. He had been injected with something, which had stopped his ability to shift in its tracks, and was now at the mercy of a crazy-ass man in a black leather coat with a battle raging around them.
Joe and his two shifter crew had raced into the camp, right after a large contingent of the bad guys had left. They’d taken on the remaining guards and had helped John and his brother Jay finish off the idiots who had taken up arms against them all. The fight was dwindling, with unconscious combatants lying around everywhere, but Douglas had his own struggle, convulsing in pain as the acid did its work.
“Abomination!” the man who had thrown the nasty fluid screamed loudly. “You fucking homos are a disgrace. Ruining our family name. Disgracing our heritage. You mated our family, you depraved piece of shit. See how they like you now that you’re disfigured.”
Douglas heard the words from a distance, then the gurgling scream as the man was taken down.
“Fucking hell, Douglas, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner,” John suddenly groaned, sounding distraught, and Douglas felt strong hands ripping away his shackles as he was gently lowered from his bonds. “Medic!” John shouted desperately.
“My eyes,” Douglas moaned, whimpering as he tried to rub at his face. He felt his hands gripped gently but firmly.
“Don’t, love,” John murmured, his voice hoarse. “You’ll make it worse.”
Then Murphy was there, and Rafe, dousing his eyes with more fluid, water this time, trying to flush out the acid. Douglas felt the pain searing him even more intensely, heard the concerned voices, and then faded out, overcome.
* * * *
“Get him to the clinic,” Murphy said grimly to John. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to save his sight, but Lex will give a bloody good go. We’ll need an ophthalmic surgeon.”
John nodded and picked up the smaller shifter, carrying him to one of the large vehicles. He was injured himself, but right now his sole focus was on getting Douglas back to town. He felt tears prick his eyes as he saw the damage already done by the acid. He was glad he’d ripped the assailant’s face off…he just wished he taken longer. The guy had deserved to suffer far more.
Cody and Jay leaped into the truck beside him, with Cody cradling Douglas against him, bandages wrapped around Douglas’s head as they left the scene, speeding along the narrow trail and out onto the main highway, heading for the well-equipped clinic in Sage.
“Call Lex,” John said as he concentrated on driving.
“Already done,” Jay replied grimly, his face battered and bruised. Neither one noticed that they were still stark naked, their skin showing the evidence of the brutal fight, since their only concern was on the young shifter needing urgent medical care.
“Five minutes,” John said, speeding along the wide road until they reached the town’s limits. Screeching along Main Street, they headed to the clinic and saw Lex and Freddy were already there.
“I’ll go find Ethan,” Jay said, leaping from the truck after Cody had exited. Cody headed into the clinic, Lex on his heels as Jay went to find Ethan to let him know what was going on.
* * * *
Ethan saw Jay running up to him, naked as could be, the expression on the big shifter’s face showing that something was desperately wrong.
“Douglas?” Ethan asked in a hoarse whisper, hand over his mouth in horror.
“He’s hurt,” Jay said. “Badly hurt. Someone threw acid into his eyes.”
Ethan let out a gasp of horror, feeling sick. Alfie, standing beside him, gave a low cry of distress.
“Let’s go,” Slug said, looking deadly.
Alfie went to hug his mate, Jay, looking devastated at the turn of events. Douglas was a well-loved member of their community.
Ethan ran for the clinic, his mates close behind. He’d had time to get dressed, once the invaders had been taken care of thanks to Ryder and his elite troops. Ryder was taking names and getting the attackers ready for transporting to a Federal Shifter penitentiary a few miles away.
As Ethan ran through town, he saw Ryder coordinating things and saw the concern in the man’s eyes. “Douglas is hurt,” he told the man and kept on going.
The double doors of the clinic swished open, parting before he reached them, and Ethan ran inside. He saw John standing there, clad in navy blue medical garb, looking worried as hell.
“John!” Ethan said, hurrying toward the big shifter. John opened his arms wide and Ethan ran into them, feeling the strong embrace enfold him tightly.
“I couldn’t get to him in time,” John said hoarsely, and Ethan felt the big man actually tremble. “I was across the camp, fighting three bloody wolverines. I tried to get to Douglas, but then a man came from one of the tents, a bottle in his hand. I thought he had some water. I thought he was going to help Douglas. So I kept on fighting. Then, when I realized the guy was going to hurt Douglas, it was too late. I was twenty feet away and tried to get to him, but I couldn’t. I’m so sorry.” John sounded as though he was actually crying, and Ethan held on tightly. The big shifter was devastated that he hadn’t been able to save Douglas from harm.
“He was in human form the whole time we were there,” John said after a while, clearing his throat. “I think they must have given him something to stop him shifting. The guy who hurt him said something about him being mated to wolverines. I think maybe they got the wrong person. I think they meant to kidnap you because you mated your wolverines…Douglas was taken by mistake.”