“I’m Eric Maddox,” the man came forward, introducing himself. “I’ve heard a great deal about you, Elijah.”
Elijah only stared at the smaller man. There was something different than the others about him, but Elijah’s guard remained up.
“I’m the one who designed the anti-shift drug,” Eric continued.
“Well, I suppose I should thank you then. You’ll be the one responsible if an innocent girl is harmed.”
The man studied Elijah, ignoring his comment. “Your brothers live, Elijah. Marcus and Collin are being kept on Phillip’s estate.”
Now it was Elijah’s turn to study the small man. Had he heard correctly? Were Marcus and Collin truly still alive and prisoners all these years? “I don’t believe you,” Elijah said, a part of him working through the possibility.
“Then it will be a shame for them,” Eric said. He raised the syringe he held for Elijah to see. He then pressed the tip of it into the leather sofa and emptied the thing. “They’re being held below ground in the main building on the estate.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“The girl will be safe for now; they’ll need her to breed the pack. You on the other hand, they can do without. You’re too powerful, therefore a danger. They will use Marcus’ seed to impregnate her.”
“Why Marcus?” he asked.
“Collin is too weak.”
Elijah only stared, processing the words slowly.
“You’ll be able to shift within another quarter of an hour. They won’t know that. She’s in the lab below this room. There are twelve armed men inside and two at the door. Outside, there are sharpshooters at the tower and the perimeter is circled by an electric fence. You’ll find a small opening in the fence directly behind this building. The soldiers believe their guns are loaded with the anti-shift drug, but it’s only saline. However, if the girl gets hit, the impact will cause injury or worse. There’s a car waiting for you with fresh clothes and some supplies just north of the front gates, about a mile’s walk along the road. I’d suggest keeping to the woods until you get there, though. Keys are in the ignition; it’s a black Range Rover, tinted windows. You’re down to twelve minutes now before the drug will wear off completely.”
“Why are you doing this? Helping us?”
“Because they are misinformed,” he said. “I only ask one thing,” he continued.
“What’s that?”
“Kill Phillip.”
“Slowly and with pleasure.”
“Hang your head when they come in; the drug will usually knock you out when first administered,” Eric said, walking to the door.
Elijah looked after him. “Eric,” he said.
Eric turned.
“I hope for your sake this isn’t some trick.”
“No tricks up my sleeve,” Eric said, lifting his arms as if to prove the point. He walked out the door and the guards returned.
Elijah narrowed his eyes, letting his body hang in the restraints. The men took up their posts at the door. As soon as the doors closed behind Eric, one of them men mumbled something and the other one laughed. Elijah wondered about Eric Maddox, wondered about why he was helping him. He stored the thought that Marcus and Collin might still be alive in the back of his mind. Hope swelled inside him, but Kayla was his first priority. He needed to get to her before Phillip hurt her. Although Eric had said she’d be safe, that they needed her, he didn’t trust that Phillip wouldn’t think of some way to torture her. She would be helpless to defend herself.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated his senses. If he listened hard, he could just make out her breath. Phillip’s voice came over it, a mumble, some laughter. She was frightened. No, scared as hell.
He opened his eyes, but kept his body limp. His muscles tingled, that familiar sensation just before the quick pain of shifting flooded him. He welcomed it today, needed it to come fast. He needed to get to Kayla.
After the sharp pain, his thick paws broke through the restraints. He would have roared, but he needed the element of surprise.
“Crap!” one of the guards called out, but Elijah quieted him quickly and while the other guard fumbled with his gun, Elijah’s jaws closed around his throat, killing him almost instantly.
The door opened and another guard entered, weapon drawn, but apparently hadn’t expected what he found. Elijah pounced on him, this time unable to contain his roar as he tore into the man’s flesh. He felt violent, alive, and attacked the next two who came his way, any bullets that were fired missing him as he moved too quickly for human eyes. Keeping his senses around him, he followed her scent through the corridor and down the stairs. The door behind which he knew she was opened and a rain of bullets flew past him. One hit, throwing him down for a moment, then a second.
“Kill him!” came Phillip’s voice.
What the guards and Phillip didn’t know though was that they were the ones about to die. He attacked the guards with a violence worse than what he’d done upstairs, remembering their hands on Kayla, touching her, hurting her. His roar shook the place and when the guards were dead, he entered the room, shifting to his human form as a terrified Kayla watched.
Phillip held a gun to her head. His hand shook and Elijah smelled his fear.
“Piss yourself, Phillip?” he asked, stalking closer.
“Stay where you are or she dies.”
“You’re right about someone dying, but it’s not going to be her.”
“I mean it, Elijah.” Phillip’s voice trembled and Elijah hesitated to take a chance with Kayla there. But he wanted to kill Phillip with his bare human hands. Still faster than the average human, Elijah lunged over to Kayla and threw the older man into the counter behind him, sending surgical instruments crashing to the ground. He soon had Phillip against the wall by his throat, slamming his gun hand hard into it so the weapon fell to the floor.
“I should strap you to the table and slice off your dick,” he spat in the man’s ear. “But you’re not worth my time.”
“Elijah!” Kayla called out, warning him of the footsteps in the corridor.
“Did he hurt you?” Elijah asked without turning.
“I’m ok,” she said. “Hurry, I hear more men coming.”
“Don’t look, Kayla,” he said, his voice menacing.
Wrapping his hand over Phillip’s throat, Elijah squeezed, watching the man’s eyes grow huge and red before he crushed his skull into the wall behind him.
Before Phillip’s body had even fallen to the floor, Elijah shifted once again to take care of the final half-dozen or so guards. His only fear was that Kayla would get hurt, but he managed to keep the battle in the corridor beyond the lab. When he returned to her, he was once again in his human form.
“Are you all right?” he asked, tearing her free of her bonds.
She nodded.
“What did he do to you?” Elijah asked, looking her over.
“Nothing another doctor hasn’t. I’m not pregnant. He seemed disappointed by that.”
Elijah looked at her, not sure if he was disappointed or not.
“He didn’t hurt you?”
“I’m ok.”
He lifted her into his arms and carried her out the door. Kayla shifted her position, trying to see over his shoulder at Phillip’s body.
“Don’t look,” Elijah said.
“I want to see.”
He looked down at her, her small body trembling in his arms, her eyes wide. “I think you’ve seen enough for a lifetime,” he said, hugging her closer. “I’m sorry for that.”
“How did you shift? I thought you couldn’t.”
“I’ll tell you when we get to the car.”
“Car?”
He nodded. “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” she said. “I need clothes.”
“So do I, but we’ll have to wait.”
He kept her in his arms, her face pressed against his chest while he navigated around the bloodied bodies. He set her down before picking
up a discarded gun from one of the dead soldiers. They climbed several flights of stairs until they were high enough that sunlight poured through the windows.
“Are there more of them?” Kayla asked.
“Outside from what I understand, but we’ll try to avoid them. We were deep enough underground that I don’t believe they were alerted. Stay close to me and do exactly as I say.”
She nodded.
He climbed out of the window and lifted her out. They were in the woods somewhere, but he wasn’t sure where. The sun was high in the sky and he could see the fence that circled the perimeter. Some trees could offer protection and according to Eric’s numbers, there should only be two men left in the tower. He looked at it over top of the building. He listened. The men were talking, eating lunch from the sounds of things. He scanned for the opening in the fence, staying close to the building until he found it. It wasn’t far to make a run for it, but there would be no chance for cover until they got through.
“We need to make it to that opening there, can you see that?”
Kayla squinted her eyes. “I think so. What if the guards see us first?”
“We’ll have to be quicker than them. Ready?” he asked, squeezing her hand.
She nodded. “Ready.”
He lifted her off the ground and ran at a pace he knew was far faster than she’d be able to manage. They made it to the fence and Elijah sent her through the opening before crawling out himself. Once on the other side, they sprinted into the woods. Eric had helped them this far and Elijah’s instinct was to trust him through to the end—or at least until they got to the car. He wondered about Eric’s motivation. He didn’t trust for a moment that he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. No, he’d want something. Elijah looked over at Kayla. She kept her eyes on the ground as he led the way north, following him. He reached out to hold her hand, but she withdrew hers when he touched her.
They were at square one again.
Chapter Eleven
Kayla’s feet hurt. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt. She glanced at Elijah when she was sure he wasn’t looking at her. She was confused about everything. He’d lied to her. Or at least he hadn’t told her the whole truth, which was just as good as lying in her book. The fact that her father was a werewolf, that she carried the gene, well, that one was beyond her comprehension at this moment. The word breeding kept circling her mind though. Breeding her. Like she were an animal.
“I want you to take me home,” she said without looking at him.
“You know I can’t do that,” he answered.
“Then take me to a bus stop or something. I’ll find my own way.”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” he said, holding out his arm. “Stay here; I see the car. I think that’s it over there, but I don’t want to take a chance that it’s a trap.” He stood square in front of her and forced her to look up. “Stay here, Kayla.”
“I’m barefoot and naked. I’m probably not running too far.”
He kept his gaze on her a moment longer than necessary, warning her, before he walked to the parked vehicle. She watched as he opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat. A few moments later, he returned, carrying a stack of clothes.
“Looks like they knew your size so they’ve done their homework. Or at least Eric had.”
She took the jeans, t-shirt, bra, and panties he handed her. She’d been wearing his oversized clothes or her yoga pants and tank top for too long now.
“There are shoes in the car,” he said. “And some cash. The navigation is set to what I am assuming is Phillip’s house. We’ll cover some ground today, put some space between us and them, but we won’t be following the route he’s laid out. I don’t trust there isn’t something else.”
“Elijah,” she began, zipping her pants. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“I know it’s hard, Kayla, but we don’t have a choice.”
“No, we do. I do.”
She watched his muscles work as he pulled his t-shirt over his head, her attraction to him somehow even more powerful now. “So what choice exactly do you think you have?” he began. “Shall I spell things out for you? You’re a smart girl and I realize this is a lot to take in, but I think you know you don’t really have any options aside from the one I’ve laid out, right?”
She studied him, knowing he was right, but his own omission of facts still gnawed at her.
“Get in the car and we’ll talk.”
“No, we’ll talk now.”
He looked away, annoyed, and when he turned back to her, she could see he was trying hard to control himself. He made a gesture that she interpreted as her sign to proceed. He probably wasn’t used to being told what to do.
“What they said about my dad…about this gene…is it true?”
“Yes.”
“Did they kill him?”
“I believe so, but remember, Phillip could have been fucking with you. He’s a sick man, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Was,” she clarified. “Was a sick man.”
“Should I not have killed him? After what he did to you? To us?” He was losing patience now; she could see it. “Can we continue this in the car, Kayla?”
“And then there’s the breeding thing,” she went on, ignoring him. She looked out at the road, into the woods, at anything but him. “Were you really going to do….that? Breed me? I mean, is that why you…fucked me? Were you trying to get me pregnant?” She wiped the back of her hand across her face, wiping away tears.
* * *
Elijah shook his head and determined he needed to take hold of the situation now. She was becoming hysterical. He reached for her, but she pulled away.
“Kayla,” he said, “it’s not like that. Look at me.”
She didn’t. He wasn’t sure she could. “I mean, what? Am I…what you are? Am I going to turn into an animal…hurt people?”
He grabbed her arms and shook her once. “Look at me, Kayla.”
“Let me go!” She tried to free herself and when she couldn’t, she kicked his shin.
“All right,” he said, lifting her and carrying her to the car. “That’s enough for now. You need to calm down and we need to get out of here.”
“You need to answer my questions before I go anywhere with you. Let me go! Put me down!”
He opened the door with one hand and planted her in the passenger seat. As soon as he let her go, she scrambled to climb out of the car.
“Sit!” he said, putting her back in the seat.
“I trusted you!” she cried, slamming her fists into his chest while he tried to secure her seatbelt.
He clicked the belt in place before putting his hands on her shoulders and pinning her to the back of the seat. “You can still trust me, Kayla. I meant what I said the other night. If I let you go now, they will find you and hurt you, or worse. I won’t take that chance. I won’t lose you.” He studied her expression, her wide, frightened eyes. The thought she might be afraid of him cut deep. “I promise I won’t let them hurt you. Ever.”
“So you can use me,” she said, her voice small.
He could see he wasn’t the only one who was hurt. “No, Kayla,” he said. He touched her face and wiped away a tear. “It’s not like that. I promise.” He stood looking at her a moment longer before closing the door and moving to the driver’s seat.
Although Elijah had checked the car out, he still didn’t trust there wasn’t some sort of tracking device on it. He was glad to have the supplies Eric had left; bottles of water and food, clean clothes, some money. His plan now was to get some distance from where they’d been and find a place to camp for the night. Phillip’s estate was somewhere in the Boulder mountain range, he knew that much from the GPS, but he’d have to figure out a different route than that programmed. He knew a little bit about Utah’s mountains but wasn’t as familiar with them as the Colorado Rockies.
“Who was the man who helped us? And why couldn’t you shift?” Kayla asked.
“When they shot me at the house, it was with an anti-shift drug. They must have perfected it sometime in the last years,” he said, keeping the thought that they’d likely used his brothers as the test animals to himself. “Eric Maddox, the man who helped us, was oddly enough the one who created the drug.”
“Why did he help us?”
“I don’t know. That troubles me.”
“So why are we going to Phillip’s house then? Why don’t we just go the other way, ditch the car, and hide out for a few days before going our separate ways?”
“For a number of reasons.”
“And those would be?” she asked when he was quiet for too long.
“For one, I don’t trust Eric’s motivation and I’m finished hiding, especially now that I’ve put you in so much danger.”
“You said for a number of reasons.”
He paused for a moment before speaking. “Eric told me that two of my brothers are alive,” he said, glancing at her.
“And you don’t think it’s a trap?”
“Doesn’t make sense. He had us here, he could easily have kept me contained with that drug, but didn’t. I know from the few moments I spoke with Eric that he hated Phillip and wanted him dead. He knew I’d shift if he didn’t give me the drug. They’d never be able to contain me with such a small group without it. Marcus and Collin are the bait they’re dangling to get us to the estate. Eric knows I’d never be able to turn my back if I had even the slightest hope my brothers were alive.”
“What if he lied? What if it’s just a trap?”
“I don’t know, Kayla. But I have to take the chance.”
“And I’m just along for the ride?”
He didn’t hesitate. “No, you’re more than that,” he said. He looked at her for several moments. “When those men touched you,” he paused. “When Phillip took you away and all I could do was watch, it made me crazy, Kayla.”
“Because you thought I might be pregnant?”
“No. Not only that. I’ve only ever felt this way about one other woman in my life,” he added.
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