“Damn it, Shadeau! Just answer me!”
What in the hell was going on? Jason’s face showed all the hysteria Shadeau felt on the inside. Realization dawned on him. “They have your mate.”
Jason roared as he pulled on Shadeau’s shirt and slammed him back into the tree trunk. “Don’t you fucking tell a soul,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “If you were ever my true friend at all, you won’t tell anyone.”
The fight started to leave Jason’s arms and Shadeau sat up slowly as the other man released his hold on his shirt. He knew he could kick Jason’s ass without trying, so he hadn’t been worried for his own life. But the pain his friend was going through matched his own. He’d found an ally with a common goal. A goal that wouldn’t be shaken.
“We’re in this together.”
Jason’s gaze met Shadeau’s. “Then I didn’t misread you. She’s your mate. How in the hell could you bring her back here and let them take her?”
“It’s complicated. We came on a rescue mission.”
Jason sat up straighter. “Thank God. What they are doing to these women isn’t right. This isn’t our way. There are others who feel this way too—wolves who hate being under a new changeling’s rule. We could recruit them. They’d follow you, Shadeau.”
His pulse leapt. He didn’t want to lead. Never had, that’s why he always deferred. He knew he could. He knew his dominance was great—knew he was a flip. But the numbers would be better for them. And if these other wolves wanted out of here, then he could possibly talk Tyson into taking them on. And if not? Well, he might have to step up to the plate and become the alpha he didn’t want to be. Otherwise these guys would become lone wolves.
Hell. This had started out as a way to prove he could contribute and that his heart really had changed. It was to gain him acceptance and it was a long shot to do that. Could he really convince them to accept others who were in the same boat?
“Come on, Shadeau, you know the more we have with us the better our chances. I’m not going to sit back and let them violate her!”
“Damn it.” Shadeau ran a hand over his skull trim and rose to his feet. “It’s more complicated than you think. Her pack hates me. Well, her new pack hates me. Her former pack wants my head.” He began to pace. Shit, this whole situation sucked. He’d give anything to hit rewind right about now and just kill Arik’s sorry ass instead of accepting all the cool toys he presented. But he knew what he had to do. Jasmine might not want to leave her family, but she had insisted on coming here with him. So if what he had to do to get them out of it meant he had to become an alpha, then she would damn sure go with him, even if he had to drag her caveman style to his den.
Fuck! He didn’t even have a den. He groaned, closing his eyes and tilting his head heavenward. “All right.”
“Thank you.”
Shadeau snapped his head back down and pinned Jason with his glare. “Only those you trust with your mate’s life.”
Jason stood and gave a crisp nod. “I understand.”
* * * * *
Jasmine sank to the ground and leaned against the wall. Her shoulders were sore from being bound. And she couldn’t shift to get out because it would dislocate them. It was the sole reason they bound wolf captives this way. The pain would prevent them from being able to shift fully and would leave them more hurt than they were to begin with. Why the hell hadn’t she thought to stick a key in her bra?
“We usually sleep in shifts. Since they’re through with us for the time being, they won’t return unless it is to deposit another prisoner. Except for the one time they did come in here after Selena, so we like to be vigilant,” Piper said.
Jasmine nodded. It made sense. “I’ll take this first shift.”
Chandra sat down next to Jasmine. “Me too.”
The rest moved to the far side of the cell and lay down to rest. Jasmine really hoped Shadeau was having more luck than she was. Damn, she missed him. They hadn’t known each other long, yet she wished she could snuggle into the warmth of his body. The mate bond was a strange thing indeed.
But it was starting to feel like more than just the mate bond. She didn’t want to only be near him, she wanted to consume him as well. Their personalities matched. They were both fluent in sarcasm. Even fighting with him was pleasurable, especially when she riled him enough to get all dominant. It had been hard to fight her instinct to mark him the last time they were together. Her jaws ached even now to claim him as her own. Lust started to rise in her.
She shifted her position as she pushed away thoughts of Shadeau. Thinking about him right now probably wasn’t the best idea.
“I bet those chains aren’t very comfortable.”
Jasmine turned to look at Chandra. “Nope.”
“I guess they didn’t take them off because you’re stronger than the rest of us. Piper isn’t a beta, but she wasn’t a soldier either. We all had more nurturing jobs in our packs.”
“Whose pack are you from?”
“My alpha’s name was Henric. We were in southern Indiana. Arik raided our small pack about three weeks ago. He killed most all of the men and some women. The rest of us were taken. But I haven’t seen any of my friends since I came here. I’m not sure if they are even here.”
This bit of info piqued Jasmine’s interest. “Why would you think they aren’t here?”
“A few days ago we heard the guards talking about another facility. We only heard bits and pieces, but one of the guys said he was getting transferred there.”
Holy shit. Apparently Arik had been a busy man.
A loud roar sounded from down the hallway and everyone in the room came alert. Male shouts and growls mixed with a woman’s screams.
“Another female must have gone into heat,” Cindy whispered.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you!”
Jasmine’s heart rate increased as she recognized Javin’s voice. She got to her feet and ran to the door, pressing her ear against it. What in the hell were they doing to him? A tight knot formed in the pit of her stomach and she forced back the bile that rose in her throat. Tears tracked down her face as the horrible cacophony continued. She wanted to howl—beat against the door. Her friend was in trouble and she couldn’t help him.
Javin’s cries of retribution faded. Jasmine bit into her lower lip. Had they killed him? Another familiar male voice sounded as heavy footfalls approached their direction. A door near them opened.
“Put her in there. Arik will decide her fate when he returns. As for you two, you will be punished.”
It was the blond guy who had put her in here.
“It was Mike’s fault! He was the one who opened the door back up and beat her in front of the prisoner.”
“Shut the fuck up, Greg.”
“Silence!”
Their footfalls retreated and the room took in a collective breath of relief. Those assholes wouldn’t be entering this room.
“Who is he to you?” Chandra asked. “The man who was yelling.”
Jasmine turned to her as new tears tracked down her cheeks. “His name is Javin.” She turned and faced the door again. “I hope he’s okay.”
Chapter Twelve
They had to make their move sooner than Shadeau wanted. He darted behind a building, sinking low to hide in the patchy fog that covered the ground. Jason was right on his heels. Darkness still blanketed them, but it would only be another hour before the sun rose.
Shadeau had hoped for more time to better plan this attack, but he discovered in a briefing meeting they planned to transport two males and all the females who had been bred this morning. Arik had left for the secondary location in the middle of the night. No one had told him about this other place before, so he had no clue where it even was. And he’d be damned if he risked them carting Jasmine off to some unknown place.
A foot patrol headed toward them. He flattened his back against the building and Jason followed suit. Luckily the two guards turned and headed east. Shadeau
peered around the corner of the building. The coast was clear. He darted to the next building that would offer him cover, trusting his friend to follow stealthily.
Four other wolves had joined their ranks. Each of them had been tasked to take care of the guards in the towers. Eyes in the sky were too hard to hide from.
The door to the cell was in the open, but with the fog they would be able to belly crawl and stay somewhat hidden. Lucky for them Jason was scheduled for the next shift in the cell block and had a key to get in. Shadeau let him lead the way.
Yesterday in the woods Jason had told the whole tale of finding his mate. He’d been assigned to guard duty as soon as the females started coming in. At first he hadn’t thought it would be a big deal, but then she came in. He didn’t even know her name. Just knew that she was locked in room number four. The one time Jason tried to talk to her she’d attacked him. Shadeau couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t as if the situation exuded romance or anything. But they’d free her today, along with his precious Jasmine and the others.
Shadeau spied Jason’s position near the entrance and used it as his cue to start belly crawling. Cold, wet grass permeated his shirt, damping his chest. His jeans didn’t do much better as a barrier. He wasn’t bothered by the cold. His body ran hot as he prepared for the battle to come.
The fog swayed and moonlight glinted off the metal door as it swung open. Shadeau did a quick look around to see if the movement had caught anyone’s attention. Everything remained still. No cries of alarm came from the towers so the others must have done their jobs.
He moved faster, ready to be with his mate again. One thing was for sure, he didn’t want her out of his sight again for a very long time.
As he approached the entrance he could hear Jason talking to the guards down stairs.
“I couldn’t sleep, and Kevin told me that y’all got called in last night because one of the males went crazy, so I figured one of you might want to cut out early.”
“Yeah. It was crazy, dude. Greg was on duty and he let that female in to tend to the guy in room six. Apparently she was servicing him. Mike walked in on it and went off.”
Shadeau winced as he maneuvered to a squatting position on the first step. Mike was a crazy motherfucker. Been hit too many times in the head, that one.
“The newbie didn’t have a clue what to do. He went for the tranq gun. Dude is gonna be out for a while. But Misha came down here when it was going on and he got pissed. Both of those guys are confined to their quarters until Arik gets back.”
“Damn,” Jason said. “That’s crazy.”
There was a pause in the conversation then Jason spoke again. “So, do one of y’all want to cut out early?”
Another pause.
“Sure. I could use some sleep.”
“Cool.”
Shadeau was ready. He pressed close to the wall trying to stay in the cover of darkness. The male climbing the stairs was looking at his feet. Once he was in range, Shadeau reached out, gripped the man’s head in his hands and gave a hard twist. Not even a small noise escaped the male’s lips as his body sagged and Shadeau caught his weight. With slow, silent movements he lowered the body to the ground and made his way down the stairs.
Jason continued to converse with the guard who was left. From the sound of it, they were moving down the corridor away from him. Jason had told Shadeau he could slip into the room straight ahead of the stairs and he would find a tranq gun inside. There wasn’t any point killing more people than they had to. Shadeau hoped there were plenty of tranq darts left after the scuffle they had last night.
He peeked around the corner and saw their backs so he sprinted across into the room. Lucky for him there were a plethora of darts and two guns. He loaded one and stepped out into the hallway. A look of shock covered the dark-headed male’s face.
Shadeau took aim and shot before the other guy could raise his gun. Bad thing about tranq darts is they take a minute to work.
Jason reached out and grabbed the barrel of the gun and shoved it in another direction. A loud crack filled the air and the bullet lodged in the cement on the opposing wall. Jason took the wolf down and held him until his struggles ceased.
“We need to hurry. The noise is going to draw people.”
Jason jumped to his feet. “Your girl will be locked in here.” He ran for the room at the end of the hall.
Shadeau followed, ready to hold Jasmine in his arms again. They’d agreed to free her first so that the other females who’d been kept alone wouldn’t freak out.
Jasmine heard the commotion and jumped to her feet. Was it finally Shadeau coming to free them? Gunfire erupted. Please let him be okay.
The sound of the key sliding into their door put them all on alert. The door swung open and a tall muscular form of perfection filled the doorway.
“Thank God!” Jasmine ran to him, relief washing through her.
Shadeau wrapped his arms around her and his hands went to working on the chains as his lips locked with hers. Damn, he tasted good.
“Little less kissing and more moving of your asses please.”
Jasmine broke away from Shadeau’s mouth and looked over his shoulder. A man with short rumpled brown hair stood there with a gun.
The chains fell free of her arms and she groaned as she moved her shoulders, trying to work out the soreness. She turned to the women in the cell. “This is our ticket out of here, girls. Those of you who can fight, I need you at the rear or the front.”
Jasmine darted out of the cell and ran to the door where she smelled Javin’s scent. It was still locked. “You need to open this door.”
Jason unlocked the door next to the cell Jasmine had been in and a woman lay on the floor, unmoving. “We’re gonna need some of you women to carry this one.”
Piper and Chandra stepped into the room to retrieve the woman.
Jason turned his attention to Jasmine. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to free that one.”
“Bullshit! He goes with us, he’s my friend,” Jasmine stated.
Shadeau took the keys from Jason and headed to the cell where Jasmine stood and inserted the key.
Jasmine placed her hand over his as he started to open the door. “Let me go in. He was really bad last night, but he knows me. I don’t want him to lash out at you.”
Shadeau rolled his eyes, but stepped back so she could enter the room first.
Jasmine strode inside and her heart constricted. Javin had been beaten badly. He hung limp from chains that bound his arms behind him and manacles that surrounded his bloody ankles and kept his feet tied to the wall. She could see the slow rise and fall of his chest. Three darts protruded from his body.
“Jason, we need the keys for his restraints,” Shadeau stated.
Jasmine turned to look at her lover over her shoulder then refocused on Javin. Jason came in with the keys and went to work freeing him. Jasmine and Shadeau caught his weight as Jason loosened his binds.
Each of them took one loose arm and draped it across their shoulders and started for the door. The sight that greeted them had Jasmine cursing. Big blond asshole was standing in the hall with a gun trained on them.
Shadeau moved, letting Jasmine take on all of Javin’s weight as he faced off with their roadblock. “Misha, you might be able to take one or two of us out but you will lose your life in the process.”
“No! Please don’t!”
Everyone turned to look at Chandra as she pushed through the small crowd of women. She strode right up to Misha. “Please. You’re not like them. You spared me. Please, let us go.”
Misha pulled his gaze from Chandra and focused on Shadeau. “What do you plan on doing with them?”
“Get them to safety.”
Misha lowered his gun.
Chandra closed the gap between them. “Come with us.”
Misha’s gaze went from Chandra to Shadeau and back to Chandra again.
“If you stay he’ll most likely kill you,” Shadeau offered.<
br />
Misha gave a tight nod.
Chandra ran over to help Jasmine with Javin.
Jason ran to the next door and opened it and continued down the line.
Females walked hesitantly out into the hall. Some cried with relief as they realized they were being saved from their nightmare.
“Jasmine,” Jason called as he stood in front of the final door.
Jasmine looked at Shadeau, confused.
“It’s his mate, and she’s a little wild.”
Jasmine approached and stood ready to talk to the woman as the door swung open. Light-brown curls stood out in an unruly mass from her head. Her brown eyes were wild as she plastered her back to the brick wall at the back of the cell.
“It’s okay. I’m Jasmine and we are here to rescue you.”
The female’s eyes glinted in the low light. Her wolf was really close to the surface. Jasmine walked slowly toward her. She growled, baring her teeth. Jasmine held her hands out to the side and averted her eyes, hoping to calm her. The growling stopped. Jasmine lifted her gaze and could tell the girl was confused. But the wolf had receded. “I’m here to take you home. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”
Shaking her head as if to clear it, the girl stepped forward slowly.
“That’s it. Come with me.”
Tears started flowing from her eyes as her steps quickened and she followed Jasmine out of the cell.
“We need to go,” Misha said.
“Wait!” Selena called out. “What about Kendall. We have to find Kendall.”
Jasmine turned to look at Misha and Jason. “The guy who tore up the cell?”
“He’s not here,” Misha answered.
“No. No! What did you do to him?” Selena pushed forward and shoved at Misha.
The girl was a little spitfire. Cindy restrained her and pulled the now sobbing girl back.
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