Wolf’s Heart

by Ruelle Channing

  He finally stopped rolling, but his head was still spinning, blood was dripping down his face, the wrong way, and he finally realized he was upside down. He popped the seat belt and fell to the roof of the car. When he restored the Mustang and put in the roll cage, he had never actually thought it would be needed. Now he was thanking God that he did. Smoke boiled as he struggled to drag himself from the wreckage. He could smell gas and knew the car could blow at any minute. He had to get out of there.

  He got out, doing a mental check of injuries as he went. Ryden looked around for the assholes that’d been chasing him and shot out his tire. It was then he saw the sedan parked a ways off, and two guys getting out, guns in hand. Ryden’s gun was somewhere in the car behind him, and from the way the gas was moving toward the flames coming from under the hood, it wouldn’t be long before the car was toast. There wasn’t much he could do but hope that they took him alive. Silver or not, a bullet was a bullet, and he could die just the same as the next guy. All it took was either a head shot or one that caused him to bleed out before he could heal.

  “Carlee, I’m sorry.” His voice was weak, and he looked up to see the larger guy raise his gun and fire twice. He felt a sting in his arm and neck and then started to feel even woozier than before. The last thing he remembered was an explosion just before blackness took over.

  Voices came and went, and so did Carlee. She was talking and couldn’t seem to force herself to shut up, even when no one was around. Just the thought of Ryden made sex the theme playing in her head.

  “When I was sixteen years old, at band camp…no wait…that was in a movie I saw. But, this one happened. My fake ID claimed I was twenty-one, but actually I was only eighteen, I lost my virginity. I was drunk, and a geek, he was hot as hell and just as drunk as I was. Of course, he didn’t know the whole virginity part. That seemed to make dudes run the other way. It was so freakin’ awesome. I have to say though, he was nothing at all in the sack like he is now. Ryden definitely learned some moves since then.”

  She looked over and tried to focus as a hand landed on her shoulder. She read the name on the tag, Lou Piacella, MedVision. Reaching out to touch it, it fell easily into Carlee’s hand, unnoticed. She saw the clipboard in the woman’s other hand as she looked over the pages attached.

  Lou spoke quietly, “Chica, you have some fucked up blood in that cut of yours, but don’t worry. They’re pretty good about finding shit out around this place. You would think it was run by the NSA.”

  Lou snorted then reached over and touched the red scar on Carlee’s belly, her fingers tracing over the bandage where they had taken samples. “I bet that hurts like a bitch.” Her hand moved back as she went to put the papers in the chart.

  Carlee was contemplating the phrase practice makes perfect. Ryden had obviously had a lot of practice. She wasn’t going to be doing that again anytime soon. No one would be able to replace what she had left standing at the door of the hotel.

  As heels clicked across the floor and Lou stood quietly putting the pages in the chart, the female voice from earlier walked over and ripped the papers from her hand.

  “You needed to give these to me first to read over. While I would not believe there to be a complete change in her DNA, there can possibly be an enzyme harbored in her tissue that is responsible for the healing,” she said. ”I want to take another biopsy of the scar. I would like to see what happens if we place one sample of human blood, specifically, her blood since it seemed to work on her wound, with some damaged cells. In another we will place some of her healed tissue with some damaged tissue. It might regenerate on its own. Prep her for the procedure.”

  Lou nearly choked on her words. “You’re going to try to clone her scar tissue? Why the fu…why the heck would you want to do that for? Grow a blob of skin?”

  Carlee watched as the doctor grabbed a needle and was making sure Carlee could see it. “Have I told you that I hate needles? I had enough of them as a kid to last twenty lifetimes.” She came closer, and Carlee pulled against the restraints. “Please! Don’t! Get the fuck away from me!” she cried as the needle entered her arm.

  The doc was all business as she filled the two vials with Carlee’s blood. She rocked each one back and forth to mix it.

  “We’ll let that sit, then I will come back, take another section off the scar, and then you can take it back to the lab,” she said. “We can start fertility injections and harvest some eggs. If this works, we will make medical history. Imagine the thousands of lives that could be saved!”

  Lou came over and tried to calm Carlee. The look on her face spoke volumes. “Why the hell are you here? I knew they were doing some weird shit to figure out cures for diseases, but this is a little more than I signed up for. What the fuck happened to you anyway?”

  She quieted and stood up straight. Carlee’s calm didn’t last long as G came into the room, needle in hand, and without warning, injected it into her arm. She was kicking and pulling at the restraints, damned tired of being a pin cushion.

  “When the hell did you become a doctor?”

  He leaned down close, his voice a soft whisper as he spoke in Carlee’s ear. “You? Reproducing? God help the human race.” He was laughing as he turned around to leave. The sudden sound of things crashing and shouting stopped him in his tracks. He turned and looked back to Carlee with a smug grin. “By the way, we didn’t need you for bait after all; we found your boyfriend all by ourselves.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ryden woke up to voices, the smell of gasoline, and body odor. He was moving, jostled around like he was in a car. The voices were muffled a bit. There was a barrier between him and his captors, so he assumed he was in the trunk. Struggling, he moved around a bit, but his hands and feet were tied. He could have easily broken his bonds but didn’t. Something was over his head, and all he could see were pinpoints of light through the weave, so instead, he focused on the voices—two males. With his sensitive hearing, he could pick put a third voice from far away. One of the men in the car was talking on the phone.

  “Yeah, we got him. Easy pickings.”

  “Good, the boss will be pleased,” said the voice from the phone.

  “Well, tell the boss man we’re expecting a pay raise.”

  “The hell you say. I’d rather keep my head, thank you. If you two assholes want a raise then you ask him.” The phone clicked off on the other end and Ryden heard the snap as it closed. They both laughed.

  “They’ve been working on the girl. She’s still talking like crazy. Jacob said she won’t shut up.” Ryden suppressed a growl. Carlee…

  The conversation continued, leading into their plans for the evening and how many women they planned to have fun with later. They wouldn’t last that long. They were as good as dead.

  A few minutes later, the car stopped and two doors opened and shut. Ryden lay still, waiting for his moment to strike. He wanted to make sure they had him inside before he made his move.

  The light brightened as the trunk opened. One of the men grabbed Ryden’s arms, the other his legs and dragged him out, banging his head on the way. He tried not to move or make any sounds to tip them off that he was awake, keeping his body limp. Moments later, doors opened then shut again, and more voices joined the two goons.

  “Put him in here. I want to get an IV going before he wakes up. Can’t take a chance before we can take the test samples we need.” The two men grunted as they lifted him up and laid him out on what he assumed was a table.

  “Damn, this one is heavier than he looks.” In Ryden’s mind, he counted the voices and scents of the different people in the room...three, four...five. He felt two of them take his wrists after he was settled on the table.

  No way in hell they’re putting me out again.

  He tensed his arms, jerked them out of their grasp and took the cover off his head. The five of them stood around in shock but he didn’t wait to let them recover. The two in lab coats were closest, with one standing on each side of
the table where Ryden lay. They were the first ones to go. He grabbed both around the back of their necks and pulled them together, butting their heads with such force, they were knocked out and fell to the ground in a heap.

  Number three came at him, pulling his gun, but Ryden twisted to his right, bringing his left foot up in an arc and connected with his jaw. Ryden heard the bones crack and knew he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. Numbers four and five he recognized as the two who wrecked his car and hit him with the tranqs, came next. He had rolled off the table as number three went down. His left foot hit the floor and his right came up, hitting number four in the chest with enough force to send him sprawling across the room, crashing into tables of equipment. Number five grabbed Ryden from behind, his arm going around his neck. Ryden elbowed him in the gut three times before the man loosened his grip, then Ryden grabbed his fist, pulling it away as he twisted. He continued the move until his arm was twisted behind him. He pulled until the shoulder popped out of place and the asshole screamed out in pain.

  “This is for my car, you fucker.” Ryden’s arms crossed in front of number five, placing one on his head and the other on his chin and pulled in opposite directions. Number five's neck snapped and he fell to the floor.

  The fourth man was still alive, and had started to get up. Ryden let him get to his feet, wanting at least to see his face before he killed him. He swung at Ryden and he ducked, punching the guy in the gut. While number four was doubled over, Ryden grabbed his head and twisted around. As he did, he kept his arms in place so that his back was against the other man with his hands still around his head. All it took was a quick pull to snap his neck and then Ryden dropped him.

  The two in lab coats were still out. They weren’t any threat, but the third had recovered from the blow Ryden had landed to his jaw and was armed. Ryden saw him pull himself up, and before he could stop him, he hit an alarm near the door. Lights blared and a siren wailed as he turned towards him, bringing his gun up to shoot. Ryden ducked as the bullet whizzed by and grabbed a pistol from a downed man’s holster. One bullet to the head and number three was dead.

  Grabbing the extra clip from the man’s belt, Ryden stuck it in his pocket and moved to get the other gun. He was out the door and into the hallway just as a growl echoed down the hallway, and the smell fresh blood hit his nose. With his gun raised, he looked down the hall as JT came around the corner.

  “Easy, it’s me!” JT said, raising his hands in the air in a protective stance.

  Ryden was riding high on adrenalin, his wolf pushing to take control when he picked up Carlee’s scent. It took him a moment to recognize JT as not-enemy. His expression was smug, "Tracer on your car. It led me to you just as they were loading you up. Figured I would follow along and see what you got your ass into."

  “Took you long enough, damn you. Come on, I’ve got to find Carlee and get out of here.” Ryden looked down the hall in the opposite direction JT had come.

  “Yeah, well, you had to go and get yourself captured. Lucky for you, I followed and got inside.”

  “Well, fuck you very much!”

  JT chuckled and patted Ryden on the shoulder. “You’re fuckin’ welcome.”

  “We can discuss old times later. Come on. This way.” Ryden could smell Carlee’s scent faintly. There was another scent, a scent that he longed to smell again. His lip curled as he inhaled again. G was here, the one responsible for hurting Carlee. Ryden was going to enjoy this. He moved towards the scent knowing that JT followed behind, watching his back.

  Lights were flashing, red, blue, bright white and the sirens were nearly deafening. The shouts of people and the muted sounds of gunshots made it sound like the Fourth of July. Carlee tried to focus on each and every sight and sound as she clumsily pulled at the restraints.

  “Let me up! I have to get out of here now!” Lou had been rushing around the room, her final stopping place at the head of the bed. She slapped her hand over Carlee’s mouth as she crouched down behind her.

  “Let’s evaluate this, shall we? Out there, fighting and gunshots. In here, no fighting, no guns. Just zip the lips and maybe they will stay out there. Shit, I knew there was something fucked up about this place. This is way more than I signed up for. They can tattoo my ass gone, no two-week notice, and no severance pay, just gone.”

  G and two men appeared at the entrance of the room. He chuckled as he looked back to Lou. “Sweetheart, no one leaves here. You knew what you signed up for.” His attention then turned to his two friends. “Two darts is all the fucker gets, after that, switch to live ammo. Wound, kill, I don’t give a fuck, just take him down. Doc wants something from him, but she can get it before his body gets cold or hook him up like she does the others she finds so fascinating.”

  Lou stood up at first but crouched back down when she saw the look in G’s eyes and the gun in his hand. Carlee was trying her best to focus. Ryden had to be out there. It was almost like she could feel him. She couldn’t decide if she was going to kiss him or kick his ass when she saw him again.

  Carlee managed to focus on G. He was in the mode she had only seen when he came home pumped up on adrenaline after an assignment went bad. His chest pumped out proudly and the gun in his hand was at the ready. His finger was on the trigger, and she saw the slight movement as his thumb slid the safety off. He showed no fear. That part amazed Carlee. Of course she had enough fear for everyone. G showed only cold calculation as he placed himself near the door.

  If it is Ryden out there, G has no clue what he is up against. Hell, I have no clue what he’s up against.

  There was a sudden movement, forcing Carlee’s mind back to the current situation. The damn medication coursing through her brain made her thoughts jumbled. G jumped back away from the opening of the door. She watched everything happen in slow motion. One man turned as the sounds of the gunshots got closer. There were two holes in the middle of his forehead and blood covered his face as he slid to the floor.

  Carlee began to panic. She had seen hundreds of bullet holes over the years working for the Bureau, just never any this fresh up close and personal. She’d never watched it happen, never seen the life drain from someone.

  And then there were two. G merely used his foot to kick the dead man out of his way. With their weapons ready the two men backed into the room to stand at the foot of the bed.

  Lou stood and whispered in Carlee’s ear, “Who the fuck are you? If you get me killed, I will come back and haunt your ass.” She held her breath, letting it out slowly. “You so fucking owe me for this.”

  Lou moved fast. She was behind Carlee’s head one minute, the next she was beside the bed, IV pole in her hand swinging it like a Louisville Slugger. She managed to hit both G and his cohort before they turned around, their attention obviously too focused on the door to see her movements.

  Carlee tugged and pulled at the restraints. “Hey, Babe Ruth, untie me, get me loose, dammit!”

  Lou moved quickly to the side of the bed and began to release the restraints. A soft, “Fuck me,” slipped from her lips as two large ass men came busting through the door. Grabbing the only thing she could find, Carlee watched her take the bedpan in both hands and spin in a circle cracking one of them in the head. His growl was what drew her attention as he pushed Lou back, her ass and hands slapping against the floor as she fell. Then he went after G’s friend.

  Carlee looked away; she didn’t want to see what was happening next but what her eyes landed on nearly stopped her heart as G was lifted into the air with one hand. She looked past him to see the angry glowing eyes. All she could do was mouth his name. There was no air in her lungs. He had saved Carlee before, and she had left him, pissed him off, yet here he was, saving her ass again.

  “Ryden…”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  With JT as Ryden’s back-up, they took them out one at a time. Clean head shots and very little hands-on fighting until they reached the room where he knew Carlee was. Ryden decided to put his gun
away for this. No way the fucker would get an easy death. He could smell Carlee, sense her fear, and it was eating him alive. Anger rolled off him in waves, and JT knew to stay out of his way and watch his back. But when he got inside and saw Carlee strapped to that table, a thin sheet across her lower body, naked from the waist up with a fresh bandage over her incision, all hell broke loose inside him. The need to rip something open took over all human thinking.

  The wolf saw his mate, in pain and crying, and took over. The need to consume the ones who hurt her was all that mattered. The taste of their blood would be a balm to the anger he felt. All he could see was a haze of red as he looked around at his enemy. This was the one, the one who’d hurt his mate. He knew this without a doubt. His scent was the same.

  Guns were a hindrance now and he tossed them aside with his human hands. The beast broke out, clothes shredding until they lay in tatters. The man-enemy-prey stood there, his mouth agape as the wolf stalked closer. He wanted him, wanted to rip his throat out.

  Pouncing, the beast struck the man right in the chest, knocking him flat onto the ground. Screams of terror rose from his mouth. He growled as he bit down hard on the arm that attempted to knock him aside. The screams rose, and he relished the sound, reveled in the pain he was inflicting.

  He loved the taste of the fear-tinged blood and licked his mouth to better savor the blood of his intended prey. As he looked up, eyes riveted on the pulse points at the man’s neck, his throat ached for more. The man’s feet kicked and his hands clawed desperately to get away, but the wolf was stronger and wouldn’t be shoved aside so easily.

  With a loud snarl, he attacked, gripping the man’s throat in his jaws, and bit down until he felt the warm blood spurt and coat his throat. He swallowed, gulping down and taking his fill before he pulled and ripped the side of his prey’s neck open completely. The man was limp and lifeless on the floor as he stepped away, looking around for any danger that was still there.