by Dannika Dark
Steering his focus back on the lion, he crested a hill and caught sight of the beast. Its tongue hung out as it panted and paced. When it caught sight of Christian, it drew in a deep breath and roared. Predators couldn’t identify a Vampire from afar. It was only when they got close and didn’t pick up a scent that they would flee. From this distance the animal didn’t know who the hell he was dealing with, and right now Christian was wrath.
The two predators stared each other down. In a split second, they collided in a savage attack, and Christian wrapped his arms around its head in a crushing grip. Large teeth sank into his shoulder and back, piercing a nerve and causing him to lose his hold when they hit the ground.
Christian sank his fangs into the lion’s throat and tore open a hole. He could taste a mixture of self-preservation and the desire to kill, but fear was the underlying emotion, and that wasn’t common in a beast like this. Not unless he’d figured out what Christian was.
When he tried to get ahold of the animal’s jaw to rip it off, the lion took off.
“You little shite!”
He sprinted after the animal. Birds evacuated a bush when he tore through it like a tornado. Christian jumped for a branch and swung over a large fallen tree before dropping to the ground. The lion might be able to run faster, but Christian could run for a lot longer. It was only a matter of time.
Then he heard Raven and Claude talking. A wolf snarled, but all Christian could see was a never-ending pathway of trees, vines, and weeds.
“Run!” he shouted, hoping the group would hear him. “Raven, run!”
Christian slowed his approach. The lion’s tail swished as he faced Viktor’s grey wolf, who acted as a barrier between the lion and the team. Viktor was half his size and nowhere near the same weight, but he circled the animal and bit him wherever he could. The lion swiped his massive paw and knocked Viktor down.
Christian shouted once more, hoping that Raven wouldn’t take that as her cue to come after him. The scent of fear must have been in the air, because the lion kept turning toward the group and taking deep breaths.
Viktor’s wolf tore at the lion’s legs, haunches, and even his tail. Blood stained the mossy ground below the animal’s feet from the open wounds.
“Come and get me, you little fleabag, so I can give you a good throttling.”
As soon as the animal pivoted, Viktor’s wolf went for his belly and showed no mercy.
When the lion turned, Christian jumped in and struck his back with a closed fist. The creature moved at the last minute, so the blow didn’t break his spine, but it was enough to do some damage. The pain on the lion’s face was visceral, and he scuttled backward to get away.
There was no such thing as an easy kill. Every Breed had unique abilities and, in some cases, rare gifts. Shifters were complicated. A fast animal could escape, and a strong animal could pin him long enough to bite off his head.
And Christian was rather attached to his head, so he chose his moves carefully.
Blood stained the wolf’s face, but his steely eyes locked on that lion like a target.
Christian inched closer, taking a step each time the lion turned away to fight off the wolf.
Fifteen feet.
Ten feet.
Six feet.
Hungry for the kill, he could wait no more. Christian lunged and wrapped his arms around him. The lion thrashed and roared, and while Christian could have crushed his neck, he refrained. No, that would be far too quick. He wanted this Shifter to suffer. He wanted to hurt him just enough to make him shift to human form.
Then maybe they could have some real fun.
Viktor’s wolf rushed headlong toward the lion and went for his neck. It was like a jungle rodeo, with Christian straddling the lion and trying to hold on. Viktor moved in for the kill, and Christian’s arms were in the line of fire. Blood sprayed from his attack, but Viktor suddenly whipped around and darted into the woods toward the rest of their group. Better that he stay with them. Christian had some business to attend to.
This stubborn bastard wouldn’t shift. Christian squeezed tighter, breaking a few bones in the process. The animal bellowed in pain before collapsing in a heap. Christian felt the change before he saw it shape-shifting. When the process completed, his adversary was nothing but a weak, naked man with a bad haircut.
“King of the jungle, my arse.”
Christian straddled the man on all fours, eagerly waiting for him to turn over and get a gander at a pissed-off Vampire. When he did, Christian patted the poor bastard’s cheek. “Welcome to the party. So… you’re the one who blew out my ears with that infernal device, aren’t you?” Christian leaned in and smiled warmly, his fangs fully extended. “Why the glum face? You and I are going to have some fun.”
Chapter 28
“We have to stay together,” I reminded Claude.
He crouched with his knuckles pressed to the earth. When the lion roared in the distance again, Claude’s golden eyes pulsed black.
“If you flip your switch, I’ll knock you over the head with a stick,” I warned him.
“I can’t help it. You wouldn’t understand what it’s like.”
I kind of did. Claude was like the Incredible Hulk in some ways. If he got angry, the beast inside him took control. The only problem being that this wasn’t the right time for the Chitah cavalry.
“Fight the urge. If you take off, that just leaves Shep and me to protect these kids.”
Eve huddled closer to her brother against the wall of dirt.
Shepherd touched Adam’s hand again and chewed on his lip. “He needs medical attention.”
“That’s you,” I pointed out.
Shepherd gave me an icy stare. “He can’t keep the water down. He needs a fucking IV drip, and if I do that out here, he’ll get sepsis.”
“What’s sepsis?” Eve’s brown eyes were wide and fearful.
Shepherd crawled next to me and created a private huddle. “I still don’t know what the hell they used for poison. He looks okay, but he might still have system failure. Heart attack, breathing problems… I don’t know. But I sure as hell don’t have the supplies he’ll need in my bag. Look, I’m not a doctor. I know basic shit that I picked up by watching doctors in the ER. What if he needs a blood transfusion or antibiotics?” Shepherd glanced over his shoulder. “He’s still not moving his legs very well. He won’t make it if he goes into shock. We need to get this kid medical care and fast.”
This was disastrous. I didn’t know a damn thing about medicine, but Shepherd’s concern gave me enough reason to worry. Paralysis was bad enough, but what if he died?
“Run!” we heard someone shout.
It was distant and spread all around us. Viktor was in wolf form, so that left only one person: Christian.
I didn’t wait for a second warning. Neither did Shepherd.
He hooked his arm around Adam and launched him to his feet. “Let’s roll.”
Claude squatted in front of Eve. She climbed onto his back, and he stood up, her legs wrapped around his waist as she clutched his neck.
Shepherd was struggling between his gear and the boy. “Help me.”
I got on the other side of Adam and put my arm around him. We took off as fast as we could, Adam’s feet dragging behind. He tried to run, but he mostly held on and let us do all the work.
“Run!” Christian yelled again. This time it was closer.
I looked back and saw the lion coming for us. Viktor’s wolf got between us, and all I heard were snarls and roars as I ran my ass off. For a brief moment, I entertained the idea of going back and helping, but then Adam whimpered in pain.
That was all I needed to hear.
“We got you,” I said as we powered up a hill.
Claude was ahead of us by maybe twenty feet, the girl riding on his back. If this were flat pavement, he would have been long gone already.
Shepherd stumbled and almost dropped Adam in the process. When he got his footing again, we ran so
fast that I thought my heart would explode in my chest. Once we crested the hill, the terrain leveled off.
My light pulsed against my palms, and I fought to control it before I accidentally blasted Adam.
On the flat terrain, Claude and Eve suddenly swooped upward in a blur. Leaves showered all around, and Eve screamed. Something clicked below our feet, and the next thing I knew, we launched into the air. As I felt myself twisting at an odd angle, a loud thud made me shudder.
Upside down, I stared at the forest floor beneath me through gaps in the thick rope netting. Our bodies were like one giant pretzel, my left arm and leg hanging from the open gaps, making it impossible for me to change position. This was like one of those traps I’d seen in the movies, only on a larger scale.
Now I knew what a fish felt like in a fisherman’s net.
“What the fuck!” Shepherd growled.
I noticed a mechanism painted brown against a tree, and a steel cord going up to the top of our netting. A large log sat at the foot of the tree and must have been part of this contraption.
“Someone’s sitting on my fingers,” Adam complained, but all I could see was his leg.
With my free arm, I struggled to reach my push dagger. Sweat beaded on my brow, and once I removed my knife from the sheath, I made a sawing motion against the strong rope. The blade was too damn short. When I tried to put it back, fearing it might cut Adam by accident, it slipped through the net and landed on Shepherd’s bag.
Something approached. I tucked my free arm and leg against the net so my limbs wouldn’t become a snack for a hungry lion.
“Where’s your gun?” I asked Shepherd.
“I can’t reach it.”
Is this how it all ends? Slowly eaten by a lion while dangling over his head? Bleeding to death as he laps at my bloody stumps? This wasn’t in the brochure.
When I turned my head and looked through the gap, I was greeted by a man with a sparkling smile and big brown eyes.
He walked all the way up to the trap, just an inch from my face. “You made it. We’ve been waiting for you.”
The man who’d captured us in his net went by the name Reuben. After cutting us down, he led us to the gates of their compound. Nestled in the middle of steep mountains was an open pasture. They’d fenced off the entire area to protect acres of farmland, and they grew herbs and vegetables inside a long greenhouse. Built against the greenhouse was a covered patio with long tables, providing an incredible view. There were a few barns, but the entire facility was underground. A hatch inside the greenhouse led below, which was where they rushed Adam.
Visitors were prohibited from going below, so Keystone remained topside. We finally got a minute to sit down and catch our breath. Mostly we marveled at the compound. We enjoyed miles of blue sky and listened to cows mooing in the distance where they grazed near a pond. This place had everything. Crops, sheep, pigs, horses. Hell, it even had turkeys. Someone brought us buckets of water, and when the sun began to set, Viktor arranged for us to sleep in the greenhouse overnight. He had returned to escort us into the camp, leaving Christian behind to take care of the lion.
I finished the last of my minestrone soup. “Eve, you need to eat.”
She stared at her half-eaten bowl from across the wooden table. “Is Adam okay? I want to see him.”
Viktor scooted beside her and patted her hand. “They are looking after him. But what help can you be if you are weak from hunger? Willpower alone does not make us strong. Even if you are not hungry, eat what you can.”
Eve reluctantly lifted her spoon.
A man in a straw hat emerged from the oversized barn and closed the door. A woman in overalls helped him before they headed toward the greenhouse, their gait weary but smiles wide.
Reuben set a basket of fresh bread in front of us before sitting next to me. It wasn’t quite dim enough for lights, but he lit a candle anyhow and set it in the middle.
Reuben gestured to my arms. “A little sunshine will remedy that. Nothing like fresh air and hard work.”
I held out my pale arm. “You don’t like my moon tan?”
He chuckled and shook his head. Reuben was an affable guy, and it made me feel easier about leaving the kids here.
Steam rose from the breadbasket, and Reuben pushed it toward Eve. “This came fresh out of the oven. Everything on the table came from our land. We’re self-sustaining. Did you know that, Eve? We grow our own food, and you’ll help with that.”
“Oh boy. Chores,” she muttered.
“Sometimes,” he said, pushing away his smile and giving her a serious answer. “But first we need to find out what you’re good at. That way we can give you a job doing what you love. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
She shrugged. “I guess. Where’s Adam?”
“He’s fine. Just fine. I checked on him myself. You can’t see him just yet, but I think by tomorrow evening they should be ready to release him.”
“Release him from where?”
“Medical.”
“You have a hospital?”
“We built a whole world down there,” he said, tapping his finger on the table. “Up here, it looks like farmland. We grow crops and livestock. But down below? We have artificial light that looks like the sun. We have to keep the chickens underground though. They get their own room.”
“Why?”
“Something was gobbling them up at night. They outgrew their chicken coop, so we’re building more. Not enough hands on deck, especially with all the work we had to do over the winter. Are you good with building?”
“I don’t know. What about the turkeys?”
“The turkeys can stay up here and take their chances. They’re too loud.” He rocked with laughter and winked at me.
Viktor helped himself to a slice of warm bread. “It is a good thing that you do here. I am very impressed. The conditions they came from…” Viktor shook his head in disgust.
Reuben nodded, his eyes trained on Eve. “You know, when they first assigned me this job, I didn’t want to come. Who wants to live in the middle of nowhere? Seems boring, right? But I fell in love with it. Did you know we have a movie room with a big screen? Leather seats, surround sound…”
Eve grabbed the heel of the bread and ate it without butter. “Candy?”
“We make homemade candy, but everyone likes the popcorn best. There’s lots of stuff to do. Rock climbing, game rooms, swimming, a library. Over the years, kids like you made suggestions on how to make this place more like a home. Some of them never left. They turned eighteen and applied to work as a farmer or teacher. We have a lot of shepherds to keep you kids safe.”
She jerked her head back. “Don’t you mean guards?”
He pinched his chin and gave her a long look. “I don’t know what it was like where you came from, but this isn’t a prison. It’s a home. We don’t have guards; we have shepherds. We give you the best life we can until you’re old enough to choose your own path. You’ll receive an education in both human and Breed history. We don’t shelter Potentials from Breed knowledge. Even if you don’t choose to be a part of this world, you’ll always be a trusted human. You and your brother will have a whole week to settle in and get to know everyone before school starts.”
“How many kids are there?”
Reuben gave us a cursory glance. “I can’t say exactly. Not in front of guests. But we have a diverse group of boys and girls. Some are black like me, some are brown like you, and some are as white as the ghost sitting next to me.”
I chortled.
Reuben winked at me and crossed his arms. “A few children were sent here from other countries. We have a boy from Nigeria who’s teaching his language, and we encourage everyone to celebrate and learn about their heritage. This isn’t a place of conformity. No one is transferred out and separated from their friends. You get a chance to say goodbye to those who turn eighteen, and because it’s not easy to bring them back for visits, we have it set up so you can video chat with them. You
’ll like it. Just you wait and see.”
Reuben had successfully abated any fears the girl had about their situation. She tried to straighten her appearance. Her hair was tangled, her cheek smudged with dirt, and her hand marred by a small cut. “Do you have any clothes? I ripped my only jacket.”
Reuben beamed and sat up straight. “Clothes? We have a large inventory we bought years ago, but we also make our clothes. There’s a sewing and knitting class. Nothing here goes to waste. The rabbits we eat give us fur, the chickens give us feathers, and the sheep give us wool.”
I frowned. “What about the cows?”
“Milk. Though we have fish and some livestock, we encourage a plant-based diet. Feeding our large group hamburgers every day would require more cows, and we have a lot of work on our plate right now. Venison is in abundance. We also trade with a few locals, but they don’t know who we are.” He glanced at Viktor. “We never bring anyone here to do trading. We’re careful. Real careful. The less we have to trade, the better.”
Viktor nodded. “I am impressed. This is nothing like what we have in the city. They do what they can, but I have not heard good things about those places.” Viktor admired the pasture. Because his clothes were still in the woods, Reuben had lent him a pair of blue trousers with suspenders and a long-sleeved white shirt.
Reuben reached across the table. “I know shaking hands isn’t customary, but someone told me that you’re a big contributor to our charity, and I want to personally thank you for all your support. Not everyone gets to see where their money goes, but your generosity makes a difference.”
Viktor looked at our host’s hand for a moment before shaking it. “You were a Potential, weren’t you?”
Reuben gave an impassive smile. “Once. Long ago. I wasn’t lucky enough to find a place like this as a boy.”