The air smelled of blood, sweat, dirt, and the acrid scent of
gunpowder. Grunts, growls, screeches, and snarls rent through the night, sending a chill down Cian’s back. The whir of propellers in the distance had him jerking his head skyward, distracting him long enough for one of the Drones to tackle him to the ground.
Fangs glistened in the moonlight as the bastard lunged for his throat, but Cian dodged at the last second, grabbed the vampire by the back of the neck, and slammed his face into the ground over his shoulder. Since becoming an Enforcer, he’d yet to lose a fight, and he wasn’t about to start with this idiot.
Rolling out from under the larger man, he whirled around, swinging his left foot out so that it connected squarely with the back of the Drone’s head, knocking him out cold. “Chopper’s here!” he yelled to his comrades as the metal bird began lowering to the ground.
“We’ve got this bunch,” one of the vampire Enforcers said with a sideways kick to one of the Drone’s ribs. “There’s a transport unit on the way that can hold all of them. Ahh, here they are now.”
The roar of an engine had him glancing over his shoulder as a huge SWAT-like van rumbled into the clearing and Blaise, along with five more Enforcers, filed out of the back—werewolves this time.
“Nice of ya to make it,” Cian welcomed them with a sarcastic look.
“We had to get the transport van from a local coven,” Blaise informed him with an arched eyebrow. “These things take time.”
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They’d won, they were all alive, and Blaise had come through—even if it had taken longer than Cian would have liked. “Be careful,” he warned. “I’ll see ya back in Wyomin’.”
A soft, almost imperceptible sound to his left caught his attention, and he spun around to investigate. A single Drone knelt in the bushes near the tree line by the road, his rifle trained on the helicopter where Cian’s friends and family were boarding. Before he could shout out his warning or even move, the muzzle flashed and the gunshot echoed through the forest.
Two Enforcers were on him immediately, but the damage had already been done. On the floor of the helicopter, a white tiger sprawled half in and half out, his beautiful white coat bathed in crimson as blood pooled beneath him.
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Chapter Ten
“Let me in!” Braxton screamed as he beat his small fists against Logan’s chest. “He needs me! What the fuck are you doing? Let me go!”
They’d all arrived back in Wyoming without further incident, and Xander had been taken immediately to the Cloud Peak Pack lands— the closest place with a medical center specifically for paranormals.
Braxton had met them at the front doors, obviously in pain and beside himself with worry. After the fifteen phone calls the guy had made to Logan on the flight home, Cian had expected it, however. The bond between a mated pair was too strong for Braxton not to have known the second it happened.
They’d also relocated Zavion and his friends to the facility, though no one was having any luck figuring out how to help them. All four were resting comfortably with the aid of sleep medication, but their vitals were steadily declining.
Standing inside the doorway of Zavion’s room, Cian continued to watch the heated argument between Braxton and Logan. He couldn’t say that he blamed the little guy. He’d be spitting mad if someone tried to keep him away from his mate.
The surgery had gone well to remove the bullet from Xander’s back, and they’d taken a pint of blood from Braxton to give to him intravenously. Nearly twelve hours later, though, the alpha still hadn’t opened his eyes. For humans, maybe that was normal. For shifters, it was certainly cause for concern.
“Braxton, there is nothing you can do for him right now,” Logan said quietly. “You’re just going to get yourself worked up, and that’ s
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not going to help. You know he can feel you, and this isn’t good for
him. Just calm down.”
“Go to hell, Logan,” Braxton responded coldly. “Let me in that goddamn door, or I’m going to rip your sac off and feed it to you.”
“Braxton—”
“Let him in,” Cian interrupted. “He’ll be much calmer inside than
out here.”
Logan stared at him for a long time before he sighed and stepped aside to let Braxton into Xander’s room. “I’m not trying to be a dick. I just don’t want him to be upset.”
“I know,” Cian acknowledged. “He wasn’t too happy just now, either. Ya can’t expect him to be okay with this, Logan. At least he’ll feel better if he can hold Xander’s hand and watch over him.” There
was absolutely nothing he could do for Zavion, but just being near his mate made him feel slightly less panicked, so he knew from experience.
“Yeah, you’re right.” A loud commotion sounded from the front of the building, and Logan exchanged a confused look with Cian. “What the ”—
Side by side, they hurried to the reception area, following the sound of all the shouting and clanging. “It’s all here,” an Enforcer stated. His large hand was wrapped around the arm of a stranger Cian had never met, and he shook him violently. “Which one is it?”
“The purple ones. I swear it’s the purple ones.”
“The Doctor,” Logan whispered to him unnecessarily.
“How do we know ya aren’t lyin’ through your teeth?” Cian demanded, stepping forward to grab the man away from the Enforcer. “If ya do anything to hurt my mate, I’ll make sure ya don’t live long enough to regret it. Are we clear, Doc?”
The man gulped audibly and bobbed his head in understanding. “I don’t want to hurt them, but we’re running out of time. They probably only have a couple of hours at most. If you’ll let me, I can save them.”
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Jerking his head toward the boxes of vials and bottles, Cian indicated that someone should bring them along as he dragged the Doctor down the hallway to his lover’s room. When the man stepped forward with an outstretched hand like he was going to touch Zavion, a vicious growl rumbled through Cian’s chest, and he grabbed the Doctor around the wrist in an unyielding grip. “What do ya think you’re doin’?”
“Please,” he whispered. “I just wanted to check his heart rate.”
“No,” Cian snarled. “Get the antidote and get on with it.”
A sad look came into the Doctor’s eyes, but he did as he was ordered, preparing a syringe from the vial of lavender-colored liquid. When he went to inject the drug into the crook of Zavion’s arm, however, a sense of paranoia washed over Cian, and he grabbed the man once more by his elbow.
“Cian,” Logan said slowly, cautiously. “It’s okay. Let him help.”
“I won’t hurt him,” the doctor responded quietly as he gazed down at Zavion’s sleeping form. “I never wanted to hurt anyone.” The needle pierced Zavion’s skin, and the life-saving liquid filled his veins. “It will take a couple of days for him to be back to normal, but he should be okay now.”
“Thank you, Doc,” Cian said sincerely as he finally released the
man’s arm and took his hand instead. “Cian Murphy.”
“Destin. Destin Woods.” He shook Cian’s hand quickly before
using the rolling lab tray to prepare three more syringes. “You must think I’m horrible for not helping them escape. I’m no soldier, Mr. Murphy, and I was watched like a hawk. I would have just ended up getting us all killed.”
“How did ya get mixed up in this mess in the first place?”
Destin sighed and readjusted the glasses on his nose before pushing his long hair out of his face. “About six years ago, my lover was caught and killed by a group of wolf-shifters because of his white pelt. He wasn’t my mate, but I assure you, I loved him deeply. When The Hive approached me, they said they could make sure that nothing
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like that ever happened again. I’d lost my partner, but I coul
d save the
lives of others.”
The guy didn’t need to point out that his shifter lover wasn’t his true mate. Shifters only ever mated shifters, and Cian couldn’t scent even a trace of animal on the man. With his long, dark hair, silvery-gray eyes, and slightly pointed ears, Cian pegged him for an elf. Plus, he was a bit dainty. He wasn’t feminine exactly, but he seemed kind
of fragile, both physically and emotionally.
Welcome to the club. After all, that’s exactly what Haven was—a
home for the broken and lost.
“It wasn’t what you expected, though,” he prodded, choosing to discuss Destin’s paranormal status at a later date.
“No. I tried to resign once I realized what was really going on there, but it’s a lifetime commitment. It’s either The Hive or death. I
guess I should have read the fine print.”
“Aye, that ya should’ve.” Part of Cian wanted to grill the man for more information, but there were more pressing issues at hand. Besides, The Council, along with the leaders of several covens and packs, were probably chomping at the bit to interrogate Destin. He’d find out all he wanted to know—and some things he probably
didn’t—soon enough. “I’ll show ya where the others are.”
Leading Destin down the hall, Cian stopped at Oscar’s room first. The minute they stepped inside, he knew there was going to be trouble. Demitrius rose to his full and intimidating height, growling
savagely at the Doctor. A random thought flitted through Cian’s overtaxed brain, and he wondered if he should still think of Destin as
a Doctor with a capital D since he no longer worked for the lab. Hell, did the guy even have medical training outside of The Hive?
Jerked out of his thoughts by Demitrius’s hostile approach, he decided to worry about it later when he didn’t have a snarling shifter ready to rip someone’s throat out. “He’s here to help.”
“How do you know that? He’s one of them.”
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“Aye, but not anymore.” Technically, them didn’t even exist any longer. Some had fled, of course, but most of the staff from the lab had been detained and taken to various holding facilities run by The Council. “He gave Zavion the antidote.” Cian paused, letting the information sink in. “I trust him.”
That wasn’t to say that his trust was implicit, but right then, he really didn’t have any other choice. Apparently, Demitrius realized it as well, because he finally stepped aside to allow Destin access to Oscar’s bed. The poor guy looked like he was going to wet himself as he slipped past Demitrius and pulled a syringe from his pocket. Still, his hands were steady when he administered the drug.
“A couple of days tops,” he said, repeating the information he’d given Cian. “He’ll be good as new, I promise.”
“You better hope so,” Demitrius responded threateningly as he eased onto the edge of Oscar’s bed and took his small, pale hand. Just before they exited the room, however, Cian was pretty sure he heard a mumbled word of gratitude.
* * * *
While his recovery had been swift thanks to the drug Destin had given him, along with his own magic that governed all paranormals, it apparently wasn’t quick enough for Cian. Zavion had awoken with a headache that first morning after the antidote was administered, and he’d been weak for a few days afterward.
Other than that, and the occasional bouts of nausea that had
plagued him those first couple of days, he’d healed with no complications. Cian, however, was having a hard time letting go of his anxiety, and he practically jumped out of his skin every time Zavion so much as cleared his throat.
It was sweet in the beginning, and he appreciated how Cian doted on him, but he’d been out of the hospital for over a week and really just wanted things to go back to normal.
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“What are you doin’?”
“Cooking,” Zavion responded with a bright smile, ignoring the warning edge to his lover’s tone . “I don’t know how to make much, but I can make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. Do you want one?”
“You need to be restin’. I’ll do that.” Cian crossed the kitchen of
the dorm and tried to take the spatula from his hand, but Zavion
danced out of his reach.
“Stop it. I’m a hundred percent better, and I don’t need you to do everything for me. I appreciate that you want to take care of me, but I’m not a child, and I don’t need it. Now, sit down and let me make
you lunch.”
“I just worry about ya, a ghrá.” His arms encircled Zavion’s waist
from behind, and Cian nuzzled against his nape. “I almost lost you.”
Zavion had been unconscious for most of it, but he understood
that it must have been hell for his lover. When Logan told him that he’d stopped breathing and had technically died, it had been scary as fuck. Watching the pain play through Cian’s eyes as though he was reliving it all over again had nearly broken his heart, though.
“But you saved me,” he said in a soft, calm tone. It was true. He wouldn’t be alive if not for his mate’s determination to keep his heart beating. “You didn’t give up on me.”
“How could I?” Cian asked, his voice thick with emotions while
his arms tightened around Zavion’s midsection. “My heart doesn’t beat unless yours does.”
Gods, the man was going to make him melt into a big pile of goo right there in the kitchen. Turning to face his lover, Zavion curled his arms around Cian’s neck and pulled the big shifter into a tender kiss. “I couldn’t live without you, either.”
“Good, because I love you, and I’m never lettin’ ya go.”
Zavion opened his mouth to respond but snapped it closed just as quickly. Surely he hadn’t heard that correctly. “I’m sorry. Can you say that again?”
“I’m not lettin’ ya go,” Cian repeated with a knowing smirk.
From This Moment 93
“No, not that. The first part.”
Cian pressed their lips together again, dipping his tongue into Zavion’s mouth in a kiss that curled his toes. “I love you, Zavion Dobbs. Ya might as well get used to it.”
“Yeah,” Zavion said dazedly as he tried to make his head stop spinning and his swelling cock behave. “I think I can live with that.” Some of the fog cleared, and a bright smile stretched his lips from ear to ear. “I love you, too, Cian. I loved you before you even decided you wanted me.”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, darlin’. I’ve always wanted ya. From the moment I met ya, I wanted nothin’ else. I was just too much of a fool to do anything about it, but no more. From this moment, I’ll spend every day showin’ ya just how much you mean to me.”
“Stop that.” Zavion sniffled and wiped roughly at his misty eyes. “You’re going to make me burn the sandwiches.” He pulled away from his mate’s searching hands and turned back to the stove. “So, what’s been going on with Dr. Woods?” It was hard to carry on a casual conversation when he was so deliriously happy, but he was kind of curious about what the Enforcers had found.
“Destin has been cooperative. Unfortunately, he wasn’t entrusted with much information. The Enforcers boxed up all kinds of equipment, computers, and paperwork, though. Cole and Jackson are goin’ through it, but there’s a lot.”
“What about Bridgemont?”
“Technically, it’s a human facility,” Cian answered with a disgruntled sigh. “We have no jurisdiction there.”
Zavion placed the sandwiches on two plates and cut them in half. “They just get away with it? That’s not fair!”
“No, it’s not,” Cian agreed. “We’re lookin’ for a way around the law, but right now, we’ve got nothin’.” He picked at the toasted bread on his plate without much interest. “Thanks, Zavion.”
Settling into the chair across from his mate, Zavion wished there was something he could do to bring that smile back to Cian’s
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handsome face. Unfortunately, bad shit just kept piling up no matter how hard they tried to combat it. “What about Xander?”
Cian scrubbed at his face wearily as he slumped back in his seat. “Still no feelin’ or mobility in his right arm. He’s a right mean bastard these days, too.”
“Mean? Shouldn’t he just be happy to be alive?”
“You’d think so, but you’d be wrong. Braxton says he barely leaves his room, and he won’t talk to anyone except to shout at ’em. I’m guessin’ he’ll work through it, but it’ll take some time before he’s back to himself.”
Okay, well, that line of questioning hadn’t produced very good results. “Where are the other patients from The Hive?” He wasn’t really close friends with any of them, but he wouldn’t mind saying hello to a couple of the guys.
“Other patients?” Cian cocked his head to the side as he set up straighter in his chair. “What patients? Zavion, were there others there? We thought they were all transferred to Bridgemont.”
“Well, yeah,” he answered in confusion. “I mean, I guess they could have moved them after we escaped, but there were six others still there when I left.” He held his hand up and started ticking them off on his fingers as he recited names.
“Shit,” Cian spat as he jumped up from the table and retrieved his cell phone from his pocket. “We didn’t find any patients.” He paced the tiles while he mumbled under his breath. “Yeah, Flynn, we’ve got a problem.”
It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the upper sixties. Zavion had been hoping to talk his mate into a picnic down by the pond later. That obviously wasn’t going to happen now. Sometimes, being in love with an Enforcer just sucked.
Evans, Gabrielle - From This Moment [The Moonlight Breed 7] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 8