by Sara Kimball
“What’s wrong with him?” His voice, usually so clinical, sounded slightly shaken, but he was still covering his emotions well.
“He was drugged with a concoction that Dupree’s mad scientist came up with.”
Mitch shook his head mutely. “I had no idea he was experimenting on humans. That’s abominable.”
Gareth looked exasperated. “That’s a wolf. Do you honestly think a human could beat his head against the wall like that and still live?”
For the first time Mitch’s face showed emotion, and he glanced quickly between Alex and Gareth. “Fuck.” He seemed to crumple in on himself. “I’ve fucked up, haven’t I?”
Alex nodded at him. She had been so hurt by her brother’s willingness to hand her over to Dupree, but what she was seeing now didn’t tally with the man she thought he had become in her mind. “He’s the one who funded a drug to make female wolves go into heat…and for what purpose? Lincoln’s friends found wolves tortured, raped, and beaten. And all of them were dead, in a freezer in that lab. How could you think it was okay to hand me over to him? Why would you ever…” She trailed off and wiped a tear off her cheek, surprised at herself for crying. She shook her head and continued, “Why would you knock me out and then talk about him raping me in my doorway?” Disgust filled her voice. “You turned from my brother into some…monster that I didn’t even know.”
Mitch sighed and closed his eyes. “Jesus, I thought you were unconscious or I wouldn’t have pretended to go along with that. And I didn’t knock you unconscious. One of the new wolves did. He thought he was helping me at the time, but he learned his lesson not to hit women—and learned it the hard way.” He was quiet for a moment.
“You are sure about this? That Dupree had the drug made to make females go into heat? And there were bodies of women in this lab—which he funds—and they were tortured and raped before they were killed?”
Even though his question clearly required no answer, Alex and Gareth nodded. Mitch pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply a couple of times before facing Alex, determination spread through his features. “I owe you an apology. If I had known it was more than the human drugs I never would have agreed to trade you to him to enact Prima Petitio and get you back. I knew it was going to be rough for you, and I knew what he was most likely going to do, but I figured you were strong and would recover in time. Especially with him dead. And it seemed like you were starting to grow up and understand to put the Pack first after father died, you were listening to me and doing what I asked of you. I was doing what I believed to be right. For the Pack. We are struggling to control the fallout of his actions. ”
She thought he was done, but he continued. “I’m sorrier now, because when I found out that you were mated to Lincoln I called Dupree, and I antagonized him. I told him about you and made it seem like he could have you again if he just attacked Lincoln. I thought Harcourt would put him down and that would be that.”
Alex was staring at him in shock. “You’re an idiot.”
He frowned slightly. “I know I made a mistake, but I apologized…”
She shook her head and stared at him in shock. “You have no idea, do you? First, you just sat here and apologized while telling me you still would have handed me over as long as I wasn’t raped and beaten too badly. What the fu—” She took a breath to control herself, and in a more reasonable tone continued, “What’s wrong with you that you ever thought that was acceptable? And still think it would have been acceptable, only Dupree turned out to be more of a monster than you knew of.”
“It was a solid plan, Alex. You have to think of what is best for the Pack—”
She interrupted him. “No Mitch. You should have thought of what was best for me, your sister, who had just lost her father, and was quickly realizing that she would have to leave her home because she would never be able to see eye to eye with you. And this…this is why.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Royce Levine. That sacrificing a seventeen year old girl to a monster makes you a monster.” She saw the confusion on his face and couldn’t help but shake her head in disappointment. “I have no idea how you can justify that to yourself…you should feel ashamed.” She wanted to hit him over the head with a book about human kindness until the concept sank into his skull. Or until something sank into his skull.
Having dealt with the first part of his lackluster apology, she continued on. “Secondly, your plan to take care of Dupree without having to get your hands dirty—” she saw him open his mouth to protest and shushed him “—I know that’s what it was, don’t lie—it’s a rotten, cowardly thing to do. So again, I say: You’re a fucking idiot.”
Mitch’s jaw tightened and Alex saw the signs of anger beginning on his face. She realized that if she kept on it would turn into another one of their rows like they had had when they were younger. Suddenly, she was exhausted with it all. Alex felt the vitriol drain out of her, leaning back into the couch for comfort and wishing Lincoln had gotten there already.
Softly, she told him, “I hope that someday, you learn what it means to be a better person. But I can’t spend any more time trying to teach you. I have other things to take care of.” She stood, turning to Gareth, who had stood still while his eyes flicked between the two like he was watching a tennis game. “Shall we go? I’m done here.”
They were heading towards the door when it shuddered, like a large form hit it from the other side. Mitch and Gareth both moved in front of her protectively, and she peered around them impatiently. With the next hit the door broke open, divesting two men into the room, both holding hypodermic needles filled with a clear solution. They converged on Mitch, who was the first to rush to them, a loud growl coming from him and echoing through the space.
They managed to stab Mitch and inject him with whatever solution they held. Gareth was pulling her over to the window for the garden area, sliding the door open and breaking the latch, the window cracking in its frame from hitting the opposite end so hard. He towed her outside, running down a path and around the building. They turned a corner, Gareth still towing her, and came to a small service lot at the side of the hotel.
A wolf was standing near a box truck, and raised a gun and shot Gareth twice in rapid succession in the chest, the reverberation of the shots hitting the walls around them and banging in Alex’s eardrums. Alex watched Gareth fall forward in horror, trying to help him down more gently. He was gasping for air, blood gushing out of the wounds. Finally she was able to understand what he was saying. “Run.”
Pressing her hands to his wounds, she shook her head, and just then she felt a needle at her neck, pressing into her muscle before being pulled away. The world went funny, turning odd colors and blurry, and she tried to fight, lashing out, but the pull was strong.
She heard someone yelling at her to behave, but they were hard to focus on.
“Do you want me to kill him? Do you?” She saw the figure motioning to Gareth’s head—or what she thought was his head—with the gun. Alex tried to say no but it came out as a weird mumble. “Good, then do like I tell you or he’ll be dead.” She followed their instructions as they loaded Gareth into a box truck, her brain unable to keep track of everything, her thoughts scattered like marbles on a stone floor.
1906
Johnny stood stiffly in his suit and studied the wolves around him. They were all chatting and laughing, and here he was alone. He felt that familiar curl of anger that kept him company, that anger that drove him to kill. Well, that and the fact that he liked it.
Johnny was the Alpha now. He should be getting more respect than this. But instead he was left out. Ignored. Stupid Conclave was useless anyway. What could talking do that attacking couldn’t?
All of them were around Elizabeth Harcourt and her son, Quentin. Talking and laughing and schmoozing each other. Fake wolves. Useless. Johnny was the one they should be looking up to. He was the one that was going to have power and control over all of them one day. If only they
knew it.
One thing Johnny knew though, if he wanted to get anywhere he needed money. A lot of it.
Chapter 21
Lincoln growled as the men in the meeting kept droning on, finally standing up, impatient. “I’m sorry gentlemen, I have a prior commitment. We’ll have to continue this later.” He headed out of the hotel room, annoyed that a decision couldn’t have been reached with less talking—though really he was mad at himself for missing Alex’s meeting with her brother—and headed down to the room she was in. He heard his grandmother behind him, talking about being ‘newly mated’ to appease the others. Soon enough she joined him, taking long strides to keep up.
“I’m just as impatient to learn what he’s saying, but there’s no need to run.” Lincoln sighed and slowed a little to allow her to relax her stride.
They were nearly to the room where Alex was meeting with Mitch when two faint bangs could be heard from outside. Lincoln turned to look out a window when the fire alarm was set off, causing his ears to feel like they were bleeding when the high pitched tone sounded. His eyes were hurting as well from the rapidly flashing strobe lights.
Cursing, he and his grandmother rushed to the hallway that Alex was supposed to be on, only to find the door broken open, Mitch lying insensible on the floor. The sliding door was open and cracked, and Lincoln followed Alex and Gareth’s scent outside, turning left through the garden. His grandmother was right behind him, and they were both running when they turned the corner and found the small service parking lot. There was no one there, but there was a large pool of blood on the ground.
Lincoln couldn’t help the roar of anguish and anger that rose from his wolf and poured out of his mouth, calling to the others in the vicinity to join him for a hunt. His grandmother’s eyes turned primal looking, glowing eerily amber, and she let out an adjoining howl. Humans in the vicinity felt the urge to flee, and the wolves knew to come running.
///
Jax heard the roar from Lincoln, the pained cry, and then the howl from Elizabeth, and knew something bad had happened. His wolf, who was no stranger to death, chose that moment to bring up their worst day, and for a moment all Jax could see was the cold, foggy ground around him. Feel the snow on his skin.
He remembered the feel of the rock digging into his hip, and was glad when the snow covered him enough to finally slide along and leave it behind. It felt like it took forever, but it only took him thirty minutes to get into position.
He felt the weight of the rifle in his hands, and used the scope to check out the camp below, where they tortured spies for information. He knew they would take her there, because he had been seen with her. Only, he didn’t know the Germans had seen until it was too late to keep her safe.
He waited, his toes going numb. He probably was getting frostbite, but he knew it would heal. The human was his mate. He was sure. He loved her like no other woman before, and even though it was odd to be mates to a human, he didn’t care. She was precious to him. The only respite he had during this war. That meant she was his mate.
Finally, he saw movement, and watched as the SS Officer pulled her out of a tent, dragging her through the snow, leaving a bloody trail in her wake. Jax’s heart clenched. He felt her suffering, he was sure…or maybe it was just his own body, now too cold to shiver, fighting him.
No matter, his target was within sight now. He wasn’t known as the best sniper in his company for nothing. Looking down the sight, he took a smooth breath, then squeezed the trigger. The man’s head exploded and he fell to the ground, brain matter leaking from the new holes in his cranium.
His love started screaming, looking around the camp desperately, and Jax stood, using his numb legs to run to her. She wouldn’t last long in the cold. Finally, she saw him running towards her, and her screams died off. But then, she yelled even louder, pointing in his direction. His German was rusty, but he could almost see what she was saying, “Get him! He’s there!”
Jax stopped, but then kept going. Surely she isn’t telling them to get me? She must be hysterical… But too quickly he realized he was wrong. She was screaming for them to capture him, and they managed to, thanks to his hesitation, surrounding him and pointing rifles at his body. He slowly dropped his gun, raising his hands into the air.
The SS Officer, the one who had taken her, emerged from a tent, and Jax looked to the man on the ground, realizing now it was a similar looking man, wearing the SS Officer’s coat. The real Officer was holding a blanket, which he brought to Jax’s love, stroking her arms as he spoke softly to her.
Jax felt his heart crumbling as they shackled him. She’s a spy. She used you. She tricked you.
Bitterness and anger were nothing compared to the sting of betrayal.
///
Jax shoved away the memories. If Lincoln and Elizabeth were uncaring of who heard them, raising the call to arms in that manner, then there was something seriously wrong and he was needed. He raced through the hotel and was the first on the scene; having been in a meeting himself with some other Betas about transfers from Pack to Pack. He was able to get a brief explanation from Elizabeth, but Lincoln was beyond rational thought, pacing around the puddle of blood. He winced and went to the first scene in the meeting room, finding Mitch moving around groggily on the ground. Moira came in then and he left the man in her capable hands. He followed Alex and Gareth’s trail to the parking lot, and then to the blood, and felt fear. Cold, coiling fear, deep in his gut. Lincoln’s mate had been kidnapped from right under his nose. And from the amount of blood steaming on the asphalt, either she or Gareth was in mortal danger. Probably both.
Jax dialed Trent’s phone number. When the other man answered he wasted no time. “Find me Dupree. I don’t care who you have to kill, maim, or throw out a window. I need him here now.” He hung up and turned to Lincoln, whose face was feral looking and wild.
Elizabeth was the one that Jax was worried about, however. Give Lincoln a target to destroy—which was why Jax needed Dupree—and he would. But Jax had heard stories about Elizabeth, and the destruction she had wrought on a settlement in days past. For now, however, when he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, she appeared to be holding her own.
Hearing sirens, he ushered everyone towards the room Mitch was in, impatient to keep this out of human hands. They gathered Mitch and entered a now-vacant conference room nearby, Moira and Jax setting him in a chair and upright as he babbled and giggled, acting drunk.
Jax snapped his fingers in front of Mitch’s face until his eyes focused. “Cannon. Cannon, tell me what happened.”
Mitch was slurring slightly, but “Drugged,” was easy enough to get.
“Who? Who attacked you?” Mitch giggled, his head falling to the side, and Moira pushed Jax back, kneeling in front of the other man so she could get right in his face.
“Mitch Cannon. I know that brain of yours is fighting this. So listen closely.” She gripped his chin to keep his head still and focused on her. “Who. Attacked. You?”
Mitch tried to nod. “I hired them, but they didn’t do a good job listening. Shot Alex. I didn’t know. Didn’t want them to do that. I fired them, and gonna discipline them.” He was almost pleading with Moira now, and she shook her head. His words were still slurred, but Jax managed to catch the gist.
“What are their names, the men you hired?”
Cannon slurred heavily in response, and Moira kept asking him. Jax stepped away as his phone rang. Davin was on the line. “Trent and I are in Dupree’s rooms. His men say he left by himself about ten minutes ago, and he isn’t answering his phone calls.”
Jax swore softly, and his mind whirled with options for how he was going to track down Dupree, not to mention Alex and Gareth. Moira showed up at his shoulder then, with three names written on a small piece of hotel stationary.
“Isn’t the Colonial Pack here? Elizabeth said that Miles Henderson belongs to them.” Jax looked at her blankly. “He works in intelligence. It’s what Tyler said. So
…maybe he can help us.”
He could have kissed her, but he didn’t have time. He was too busy running down the hall toward other meeting rooms, throwing open doors and disturbing the occupants. Finally, he found the Colonial Pack Alpha, both Elizabeth and Lincoln hot on his heels, their wolfy eyes glowing amber dangerously.
He didn’t waste a breath as he said, “I need Miles Henderson on the phone, now.”
///
Alex felt herself moving, the continuous rocking and bumping motion of a vehicle, and went with the flow, her head resting on the hard and lumpy surface underneath her. The light from the small hole in the wall of the box truck filtered through, eventually fading until only darkness remained. She could see the shape and shadow of Gareth next to her, and his breathing re-assured her that he was at least still alive. It was raspy and sometimes he would gasp, so she knew he still wasn’t healed, but he was alive, which was something.
She was sitting in a cage that looked medieval, the metal bars creating the six sides of a cube. She had tried to bend them as lucidity had come back to her, but to no avail. It was just like the cages the Packs used for out of control wolves, and whatever it was made out of, the cage was werewolf proof. Gareth had been thrown into the back of the van, but they had shot him full of a triple dose of whatever they had shot her with, so even though he wasn’t locked up, she knew he wasn’t in any condition to fight. And her phone was missing from her pockets, so she couldn’t call for help.
They drove endlessly, until Alex felt the cool chill of deep night, and smelled the woodsy, green of a forest. They had stopped at one point and one of the men had given Gareth another triple dose of the drug, and Alex had fought, trying to reach her arms through the little bars of the cage to hit the men.
The lowest point was when she had had to urinate. She had stripped and changed to her wolf form, lifting her leg to try and aim it through the bars of the cage, but it still smelled, and now, back in human form in her clothing, she kept to the far corner, her face drifting down against her chest as she dozed.