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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 
     
ROWAN
There’s a huge ruckus that snaps us out of our breakfast we’d been trying to eat while going over the video images from last night. Quinn had enlisted some help from his more computer-savvy pack members to help him with the footage.
Panic hits me that something is happening, and I quickly follow Quinn out the front door where we find Trenton in a rage. Addie is pulling on his arm, trying to hold him back as Scott comes scrambling toward Quinn, and dread fills me.
Trenton’s eyes lock on to Quinn’s. “You knew that fucking human took my sister and still you invited him into our home? What kind of alpha are you, putting the lives of your pack in danger?”
“Please, no, it’s fine, Trenton,” Addie says as she tries to hold him back. She looks to Quinn with clear pain in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell him… he was just… upset and I messed up. I’m really sorry.”
“You’re sorry you’re done lying to me? That you’re done listening to an alpha who makes you lie?”
“Quinn didn’t ask me to lie!” she says, desperate to get him to listen to her.
“Fuck,” I whisper as I feel Quinn’s body tense.
Quinn descends the short stairs out of the town hall and walks toward Trenton who has his teeth bared. I refuse to let him go alone, even though I’m not sure what I should do. Everyone else in the pack seems to have backed off to allow these two to work it out, but I don’t like the idea of him facing Trenton alone.
Quinn’s calm as he says, “Listen to me, Trenton. Scott’s wife is missing, as we all know at this point. When he asked us to help him find his wife, I’d refused, not wanting to put the pack in danger for him. Because he knew there was only one way to get us to help him, he made it look like they took Addie. When I found out, it enraged me to the point where I tried to kill him myself. I still wouldn’t mind making him pay for this and I will never forgive him for it, but Scott has information we need. He showed that again last night when he told us about the pills, which I already explained to you guys this morning. He told me about a drug that they’ve been trying to manufacture that would force all shifters to stay in their human form.”
A muscle twitches in Quinn’s jaw but his voice remains steady. “He’s not here for me to protect him. He’s here for me to watch him so that if he fucks up, I know it instantly. Or if he talks to anyone, I know it instantly. I don’t blame you for being mad; I would be too. I don’t blame you for wanting to kill him; I did too. But we need his information if we’re going to deal with whatever this fucking thing is. They were back again last night, who knows how long before they take it a step further, and right now, Scott is our only source of information no matter how much I hate that.”
“I’m not mad, I’m enraged. I’m furious that our alpha would put our pack in danger like this.”
Quinn steps forward. “I have not put our pack in danger. I am trying to help. I am doing my absolute best for this pack, and yeah, we’ve had some fuck-ups but I’m doing everything I can. I don’t want Scott here any more than the rest of you do.”
“And how do you know he’s not lying?” Trenton asks. “Just like he lied about keeping my sister. Just like how he turned a blind eye when we came back hurt and one of us ended up dead.”
Quinn stands his ground, never breaking eye contact with Trenton. “I don’t, but with Dennis dead and Ethan missing—”
“Who would both be here if it weren’t for him!” Trenton yells.
“I understand and I know, but it’s too late, Trenton. We fell into his godawful trap. We played his fucked-up game and now we have their eyes on us. Killing Scott solves nothing. He needs to fix the wrong he did and helping the pack is about the only thing that could do that. So no, he’s not part of our pack but he’s here to fix things and keep us safe, and if he doesn’t do that, I’ll hand him over to you myself.”
Trenton seems too enraged to even listen to Quinn.
Quinn’s eyes narrow. “I was going to tell everyone in the pack, but I knew I couldn’t because of your godawful temper, Trenton. You need to be an adult and realize that sometimes life sucks and sometimes shit doesn’t go the right way, but you have to make do and figure it out.”
“I challenge you to a fight for alpha,” Trenton decides before taking that moment to shift, shredding his clothes.
Quinn looks less than pleased as he stares at Trenton who rises up on his hind legs, just towering over us in his bear form. He’s massive with claws that could disembowel a person in seconds.
“Quinn, don’t,” I say, anxiety filling me at the idea of him wanting to fight Trenton.
“It’s fine. Go to Graham.”
“Quinn, don’t, please,” I say.
“Trenton only knows how to speak through violence because he lets his animal side win out,” Quinn explains as he takes his shirt off and tosses it.
Graham grabs my arm and pulls me back, but I shake my head as I try to fight him. “Come on, Rowan. They won’t kill each other, just let Quinn handle it.”
“This is fucking stupid. We aren’t goddamn animals,” I growl.
“But sometimes that’s the only way some members understand how to speak,” Graham says. He tugs me toward him as Quinn takes his clothes off and shifts. Quinn is a fraction of Trenton’s size and seeing it has my entire body aching to shift and stop the man who dares threaten my mate. I’ll make him regret ever even looking at Quinn.
The moment Quinn is on four paws, Trenton attacks. His massive paw swings through the air as he roars. Quinn is quick on his feet, slipping out of his path as Trenton barrels after him, swinging and clawing as the rest of the pack scatters, scared of getting caught in the crossfire.
Where Trenton is all raw power and force, Quinn is calculated movements and precision. Trenton rushes in and Quinn dodges each attack before sliding in and grabbing Trenton’s throat. The attack is quick and Quinn manages to yank Trenton’s head down but not before Trenton catches him with his claws. Quinn rolls off but he’s back on his feet in an instant.
I tug against Graham who holds me down. “Stop, he’s fine. He’s fought Trenton more than once. Trenton never even comes close to winning. Quinn knows what he’s doing, and he does it well,” Graham assures me.
Quinn slips beneath Trenton as he grabs his forearm and drops Trenton onto his shoulder using the man’s own momentum. And as Trenton rises up, he’s suddenly thrown onto his back as a second bear slams into him. It takes me a moment to realize that Addie is attacking her brother, but it doesn’t last long before Quinn gets between them.
Quinn growls at her. “Addie, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I need you to step back.”
I can’t hear what Addie has to say but she lowers her head and walks back to the sideline. When Trenton gets to his feet, he doesn’t attack Quinn again; instead, he looks after his sister who refuses to turn to him.
He lets out a snarl before shifting and remaining kneeling.
Quinn shifts back and stares down at him for a long moment before speaking loud enough that every pack member can hear. “Our pack has a lot of turmoil at times compared to other packs, but I’ll tell you why. It’s because I care about every one of my pack members. And if Trenton were to do that in any other pack, he would be thrown out on his ass. My brother and I spent a short time in a strict pack. The only one allowed to have a mate was the alpha, the only one allowed to have children was the alpha. If someone went up against the alpha, it was a fight to the death or banishment. My laxness is what creates this turmoil, but during a time like this, I can’t deal with this on top of everything else. Trenton, do you want to be a member of this pack?”
Trenton grits his teeth before nodding. “Yes, alpha.”
“Do this again and you’re out. I apologize to all of you for not explaining the situation with Scott—I should have been more open, and I will be now. At this point, we don’t know much, but we’re going to do what we can to figure it out. I will do anything to keep all of you safe. I promise. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know.”
Quinn turns toward me and Graham finally lets me go. More than anything, I find myself wanting to rush over to Trenton and make him pay for what he did, but Quinn catches my wrist as I breeze by.
“No. Come on.” His voice is so calm and collected, nothing at all like how I feel.
“But he… dare…” I’m seething. I need to make him pay for attacking Quinn, for trying to tell Quinn he made the wrong choice. I know Quinn himself debates his choice about what to do with Scott, but sadly, Scott knows more than us and we need him if we’re going to figure any of this out.
Quinn cups my cheek, pulls me in, and kisses me. “My mate needs to help me find my clothes.”
I can hear an instant chorus of whispers telling me that I definitely wasn’t the only one who heard him call me his mate. It makes me stupidly happy that he’d tell his precious pack.
When I grudgingly go for his clothes instead of Trenton’s throat, I notice Trenton still hasn’t stood up. He’s staring at the ground and completely silent, so I turn back to Quinn who I notice is bleeding.
“Graham, we’re going to head for home and I’m going to get cleaned up while Rowan tries to call his father. Please reiterate that no one goes near the trees,” Quinn says.
“Understood,” he responds.
Caught in this weird mixture of excitement over Quinn claiming me as his and anxiety that he’s hurt, I lead him back to his house at the edge of the town.
“I don’t blame Trenton for fighting me. Hell, if I were in his shoes, I would have too. That’s his precious sister that was taken by a man I let into our territory,” he says.
“I know, but he still… he still shouldn’t have been mad at you.”
Once inside, Quinn leans against the closed door and sighs. “Sometimes I’m not sure I’m meant to be alpha,” he says as he catches my eyes.
I take his wrist and gently pull him after me. “Why?” I ask as I go for the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. “You seem to be pretty damn good at being alpha for not thinking you’re meant to be one.”
“I just feel overwhelmed sometimes and end up wanting to strangle people, and I don’t think you’re supposed to want to strangle your pack members,” he says with a grin.
I laugh as I wrap him up in my arms. “I’ll strangle him if you’d like. I might enjoy it.”
“I might enjoy it as well,” he says as he tucks his head against my neck. “My scratch really doesn’t need attention, it’s fine. I just wanted to get away for a moment. A moment to breathe and just find calmness in this world of shit.”
“I don’t blame you, but we still need to clean it up,” I say as I pull away, even though I want to stay holding him.
He watches me with a soft smile. “Or I could just kiss you and pretend I’m a lovesick teenager with nothing to worry about besides whether or not you’ll go to prom with me.”
“I was prom king,” I say.
He grins at me. “Were you really?”
“I was. Everyone loved me.”
Quinn leans against the sink. “Can’t imagine why… I mean… of course you were,” he teases. “Did you have a crown?”
“I did and the girls just fawned all over me. Are you jealous?” I sort through the stuff before finding what I need and returning to him.
“I am. Seething, really, about some girls over ten years ago,” he says with a grin before pulling me in for a kiss.
“Can I say something?” I ask after he breaks away from my lips.
“Of course.”
“You fighting that man and putting him in his place and being all dominating was extremely sexy.”
He playfully tugs at my hair as he leans into me. “You’re such a goof.”
“Maybe,” I say as I press my lips against his for one more kiss. “Alright, before we do anything else, let me clean you up.”
“Hmm… fine, fine.”
I push against Quinn until he sits on the bathroom counter, and then I step between his legs as I pull his arm toward me to clean. The scratch isn’t too deep and the bleeding has already stopped, so I put antiseptic on and bandage it.
When I’m finished, he drapes his arms over my neck and smiles at me. It’s such a gentle and genuine smile that draws me into him and makes me never want to leave.
“While I would absolutely love to stay here longer, we need to get back. My pack is always a bit… needy after a fight,” Quinn says. “But we’ll continue this later.” He nips my lip, drawing me right back into him. “I promise.”
“You’re so tempting, and I want to keep you close and not share you with anyone,” I say.
As we walk back to the town hall where we meet up with the others, I try to call my father, but he refuses to answer. Quinn calls a meeting with Kaiya, Graham, Trenton, Ari, Scott, and Logan.
When we sit down, Trenton’s head is bowed. I can see marks on his throat from when Quinn had grabbed him.
“I apologize,” Trenton says quietly. “Thank you for still including me.”
I glance at him, positive that if he even looks at Quinn wrong I’m going to do something I’ll regret, but Quinn doesn’t seem to hold grudges the way I do, because he gives him a nod.
“Of course. Just don’t do it again or I’m keeping Addie and tossing you. She’s the sweet one and I don’t want to get rid of her,” Quinn says.
“I don’t blame you,” Trenton says.
“Trenton, I honestly don’t blame you for what you did. I’d do the exact same thing for Graham, but I need you to trust me this time, okay?” Quinn asks.
Trenton nods. “I will… I just lost my mind over thinking I could lose Addie. She’s all I have left.”
Quinn nods and squeezes his shoulder. “I would go to hell and back for anyone in my pack. And that includes you.”
“Thank you,” he says.
Quinn turns to the others and explains everything in detail and Scott talks some about the drugs. I try to call my father again during the meeting, but he still doesn’t answer. I’m not sure we get much accomplished in the meeting, but when we don’t know what we’re up against, it doesn’t make it easy to figure anything out.
OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 
     
QUINN
I can’t sleep, even with Rowan lying against me, providing me warmth and comfort. He’d fallen asleep about an hour prior, but I can’t shut my brain off. I can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen and what I could possibly do about it.
Slowly, I push out from under Rowan’s arm and get up before heading to the security room. Graham is there watching the cameras, so I sit down next to him.
“Graham, you promise me if something happens to me, you will take care of this pack?” I ask as I look over at him. We’ve had this talk before, but it never came with such urgency. Who knows what’ll happen with all of this.
“Of course, but nothing’s going to happen to you,” Graham says as he spares a moment to glance over at me.
“And you take care of Rowan. Please? Make him feel like part of the pack if he wants to stay. I’m not sure he’d actually want to stay… but if he wants to—”
Graham leans into me and taps his head against mine. It’s a motion similar to the way he’d rub into me as a wolf. “Quinn, please, stop fretting. We’ll be fine, but I promise if anything ever did happen, I’d take perfect care of the pack.”
“Alright.”
“We’ve done a lot of shit, Quinn,” he says with a grin. “If we can make it through pretending to be a dog for some crazy old woman, we can do anything.”
I smile at the memory. “God, she was constantly wanting to feed you. I think she was plumping you up to eat you.”
“I think she just forgot she’d already fed me,” Graham says. “I wonder if she’s still around… What do you think our parents are up to?”
I shrug since I hadn’t really thought about them in a while. “I don’t know. If you’d asked me ten years ago I would have said burning in hell, but I guess after a while I just stopped caring and hating. There’s only so much hate someone can feel before you get tired of it.”
“You remember them more than I do.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t much to remember,” I say as I see a flicker of something on the screen.
Graham leans forward to get a better look. “What the hell was that?” he whispers.
“Fuck, are they back?” I ask as I lean in and watch a moment before one of the cameras goes out.
“What the hell are they doing?” Graham says as he looks at someone carrying something. The image is too far to see what it is until I notice them tossing it toward a house.
“They’re going to burn us out,” I realize as I jump up. “I’m going to get them to stop. I need you to get everyone back.”
“You can’t take them on alone,” Graham says as he jumps up and rushes after me.
“I’ll hold them back, so I need you to get the pack to shift and run. Please, get them out of here,” I urge.
Graham grabs my arm and yanks me back. “You’re going to hold off a mutant pack to keep us safe? You alone?”
“I don’t know, Graham. I don’t know what to do. We need to keep our pack safe. The man from the woods said it’s because the lead female died when she was attacking me, so this is my fault.”
“Your fault she attacked you and fell?” he asks in disbelief.
“I don’t know, Graham,” I say as I pull free from him. “Get them away and safe.”
I rush for the door and slip through it, not sure what I’m going to be facing as I hear Graham shouting at everyone to get up. The moment I step into the cool night, I can see a house near the entrance is burning, but I can’t tell whose it is. All I know is that I need to keep it from spreading, keep them from burning my entire village.
This was supposed to be a safe haven for the shifters who came to it. This was supposed to keep them from dealing with the darkness this world offers shifters. And instead, they’re at our doorstep.
I run to stop them before they can do more and as I stand to face them alone, I know that there’s no way I’m going to get out of this alive. Especially when the human we’d met when we were behind bars walks up with a smile on his face, his pack of shifters surrounding him, protecting him.
“Good evening… or is it morning?” he asks as he glances at his watch then laughs, like this is a joke.
I stand my ground, which seems to annoy the shifters. “Leave my village and my pack alone. You know we can’t do anything with the information we have. We will back off, we won’t say a word, but you need to turn around and just walk away.”
He’s grinning at me now, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiles. “While I could do that, you killed one of my precious children.”
One of them steps forward, like he wants to fight me, but a single look from the human sends him reeling back, body hovering. I had assumed the big shifter that’d chased us was alpha, but I’m wrong. Very wrong. Instead, they treat this human as an alpha, but how the hell is he controlling them?
I shake my head at the man. “I didn’t kill her. She attacked me and she fell. There was nothing I could have done when she was trying to kill me and my pack.”
I hear someone behind me as Scott comes running with Rowan and too many of the others behind him. They’re supposed to be fleeing, getting the others out to safety, not here.
“I did it!” Scott shouts as he comes forward with his hands up. “I lied to them and told them you took one of their pack members since I needed them to get inside the facility because you have my wife.”
“Your wife?” the man says, looking noticeably confused. “Your wife…”
Scott nods as he walks closer to him. “Gina Scott is my wife and she was forced into going with you, and I wanted to see her, needed to see her, so I abducted one of their pack members and led them to believe you were behind it so they would look for her.”
The man laughs. “My, my, my, you are nefarious, and I love it! Isn’t that funny, Raylon?” he asks the large shifter that stands by his side as a human.
“Hilarious,” Raylon says, completely dry.
“So you’re the one who’s been looking into it? Being all nosy, nosy?” the man asks, voice toying.
“Yes, so please leave them alone,” Scott says as I glance back at my pack members. There are about eight of us left to guard the village. Hopefully, the rest are getting the others out safely. If they get to a human village or maybe to a bigger pack, they’ll be more likely to stay safe.
“So you’re willing to take the blame for all of this just to get us to leave?” the man says.
“Yes, I am,” Scott replies.
“Brilliant,” the man says as he lifts a gun and shoots Scott.
Scott cries out as he falls onto his back and I jump, quickly turning to face the laughing man.
The man is grinning at Scott as he waves his gun around. “What a sweet notion, but I don’t give a flying fuck about you, Mr. Scott. My interest lies elsewhere.”
“Then what do you want?” I ask, absolutely despising the idea of giving him anything he wants. “What will it take to get you to turn around and walk away?”
“Oh, how kind of you to offer,” he says as he shifts the aim of the gun off Scott and points it at me. “I will take you with me—Raylon here wants to tear your head off, but I have a better plan for you—and then I want that pretty little snow leopard.”
“You can take me, but you can’t take him,” I say defiantly.
That makes the man’s eyes narrow. “Well now, that’s not a very good deal, is it?” he asks. “I said I want two and you say I can only have one. Pack, show them what I think about our current negotiation.” He waves them forward and I know I need to act fast.
I step toward them, angering them. “No, you will not hurt my pack. I have told you what you can do. If you don’t want more of your pack to die, you will take my offer.”
“There is no offer. You’re not taking him,” Rowan growls as he steps up next to me, and the man smiles.
“Ah yes, I’ll take those two or we’re going to start killing.”
That’s when a radio beeps. “Alpha, we have the rest of the pack trying to escape out back. What do you want me to do with them?”
My stomach drops as the man’s face brightens. “Oh, how delightful! Hold tight, I might need you to start killing one or two… you know, to seem a bit scarier since our delightful little alpha and leopard don’t seem to think we are yet.”
Panic spikes inside me. I can’t let any of my precious pack die. “Please don’t hurt them.”
He grins at me. “Then put your hands up and get on your knees.”
“How will I know you’ll let them go?” I ask.
“I’m a man of my word,” he says, looking pleased. I glance over at Scott who is bleeding on the ground; he’s staring up at the sky and I can’t even tell if he’s still alive. Then I look at Rowan, my mate, and regret ever pulling him into this life. “Time is ticking.” He reaches for his radio as I struggle against everything inside me that tells me to fight—fight for my territory, fight for my pack. But my human side is telling me that sometimes, the best thing isn’t to fight.
I drop down to my knees and he lowers his radio and grins as I demand, “You will let them go.”
“What do I want with a bunch of useless shifters?” he asks as he waves my pack members off.
Graham steps forward. “No! Quinn, don’t! Please, take me instead, I’m a wolf too. I’ll go in exchange.”
The human looks irritated that Graham would even speak. “No, I don’t want you. Now fuck off.”
“Graham, please, you’re alpha when I’m not here, please take them and go,” I beg.
“No!” Graham says desperately as he takes a step toward me.
The man lifts his gun and Graham stills. My stomach tightens at the thought of Graham getting shot over me.
“Graham, please,” I growl. “You are the alpha of this pack while I’m gone. As alpha, you can’t be selfish to save one, you have to protect and save them all. Now do as I say.”
He gives me the slowest of nods. “I understand. I love you, brother.”
“I love you too,” I say, and watch as he takes a step back. I turn to Rowan. “Run,” I mouth, but he shakes his head and drops to his knees beside me. Suddenly, there are people on us, pinning us down as they bind our hands in front of us. “You’d better let them go.”
“They’re going, they’re going,” the man says as he shoos them off. Then he picks up his radio. “Let them go, Arden.”
I look over at Rowan. “Please run.”
“I’m not leaving you and putting your pack in danger. If you’re going, I’m going to be by your side.”
“How cute. Grab them and load them up. Let’s go,” the man says as he heads back for his vehicle. He stops when he nears the burning house just to take a moment and smile at it. The fire reflects in the man’s glasses as he turns and walks away, looking smug.
Rowan and I are shoved into the back of a vehicle where I’m pinned down as the human comes over to me with a needle and slides it into my arm. “This will keep you from shifting,” he explains before doing the same to Rowan.
The drive to the facility is one of the longest in my life. I have no way to guarantee my pack was let go or if anyone is even safe. I should have stood up to them, protected them, but I couldn’t. My fear of losing even a single one of them kept me from doing anything.
Rowan leans into me, trying to comfort me, but it just reiterates that I’ve put my mate in danger.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“There’s nothing you could have done,” he says.
When they reach the facility which was near the prison as Scott suspected, they drive the vehicle straight into a building before pulling us out. They drag us down a long hallway and into a room with a cell in it, much like the one we’d been in before. They toss us inside and turn on the electricity to the cell. The man holding on to me is the one the human calls Raylon and he shoves me against the bars that instantly shock me. The electricity races through my body as I jerk back to get away from him while Rowan growls and cusses at the man.
“Raylon, Raylon, Raylon, you’re such an angry boy. Now run along,” the human says.
Raylon growls at me before heading out the door.
The human smiles at us as I stare at him. “What were your names, then? It doesn’t feel very personal calling you wolf and you leopard. You can call me Mercer.”
While the man rambles on, I realize that I’m starting to feel really strange, almost ill. “What do you want with us?” I’m not planning on telling him anything personal about us, although I’m sure he already knows our names and is just toying with us.
“You’ll see, little pup,” he says before heading out with his pack, leaving us locked inside.
“They could have at least taken the fucking handcuffs off,” Rowan says as he shakes his hands that are bound in front of him. “Quinn… Quinn, are you okay?” he asks as he looks at me anxiously, making me realize that maybe I’m not hiding the nausea rolling through me as well as I thought.
“I’m fine…”
“Quinn, please tell me the truth,” Rowan says as he grabs my wrist.
“I feel ill. Dizzy and nauseous. It’s like my wolf is being choked out and it feels awful. It must be the injection. Do you feel okay?” I ask in concern.
He nods as he pulls me into him. “I feel fine. But it’s probably the same drug I’ve been taking for over twenty years; I might just be used to it.”
“This… this is how you felt? Your father made you feel this way?” I ask, horrified by the thought.
His eyes drop a little. “Not all the time but when I was young, I felt sick a lot… I never realized it was from the drugs that were supposed to cure me. Sometimes, you tend to believe your father just because they’re your parent. Like you feel this strange duty to believe them just because of who they are. But maybe that’s how most kids are raised… that you should trust your parents.”
“I’m sorry you dealt with that. Mine were less than ideal as well. But it wasn’t strange for you to believe your father who you thought was helping you. I’m sure he made it seem like he was helping you.”
He squeezes my hand as he leans against the brick wall. “Well…” He doesn’t comment more on it and I realize that maybe I should change the subject.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” I say.
“I had plenty of choices along the way and I can bet neither of us had any idea this is how it would go.”
“Since you shifted before while on the drug, can you now?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No, I tried. It’s probably more powerful, but maybe after a bit I can?”
The dizziness is growing, so I slide down the brick wall and sit as my world spins. “Okay. We just have to stick around long enough for Graham to get the pack safely away and then we get out of here. I promise to get you out.”
“Okay,” Rowan says as he sits next to me. I lean against him and close my eyes, hoping to lessen the spinning. He kisses the side of my forehead before looping his bound arms around me and pulling me in tight.
OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 
     
ROWAN
Quinn is asleep in my arms, a side effect of the drug they’d injected him with. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be bothering me much. I wonder at what point my body just started accepting it.
From where I sit, I can see that there’s a security camera pointed at us. The bars are electrified, but not enough to kill. Even so, I’m not sure I could hold on to them long enough to do anything.
There are no mine exits in this room, just a toilet, a sink, and a cold hard floor. And we’re being watched… but how closely? Can they also hear us?
I run my thumb over Quinn’s arm and he stirs before quickly sitting up. Since he’s wrapped up in my bound arms he struggles for a bit before realizing what’s happening and settling back into me.
“I’m so sorry I fell asleep. I can’t believe I did,” he says.
“It’s fine, it’s the drugs,” I assure him.
“Yeah, but… we need to get out. How long have I been asleep?”
“Maybe an hour or two, but I haven’t come up with a plan yet. Right now, the only thing that could maybe be used as a weapon is something off the sink. Like a pipe or something, even out of the toilet, but I’d be shocked if they hadn’t already thought of that.”
“That’s a good point. I’m sure they have this all down to a science to keep anyone from touching anything that could aid their escape,” Quinn says before slowly standing up. He’s unsteady but seems a little better than earlier.
“Please don’t fall into the bars,” I say as I get up and hold on to his arm to steady him.
“So, the easiest way out would be through the mine, unless it’s completely closed off, but finding the room that leads down might be a bitch to even accomplish,” Quinn says as he scrutinizes every part of the room. “Our biggest issue is even once we get free, we can’t shift. We’re practically useless.”
“I’m not sure I’d call us useless. I did join the military as a human. I probably know a bit more about fighting as a human than as an oversized cat.”
Quinn grins at me. “You’re more than an oversized cat. You’re a catnip-snorting oversized cat.”
“Ha ha,” I say. “So we have a camera here but there’s no telling if it’s being watched at all times or if it has audio on it.”
After wandering around the small cell, it’s apparent the only way out is the way we came in, through the firmly closed door. But Quinn doesn’t give up and keeps scrutinizing every inch for well over an hour after I’d begun to feel defeat weighing me down. I get that sinking feeling in my stomach, the feeling I’d get when my father would lock me in my room or closet and scream at me through the door.
When I sink to the floor, Quinn looks over at me in concern. “I’m going to get you out.”
“I know… but I don’t think we’re getting out like this.”
Quinn nods, but he looks so determined. Then again, in the short time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen Quinn face a challenge he doesn’t take head on. He walks over to me and sits down before laying his head against my shoulder, and I lay my head against his.
He takes my hand and runs his finger over each of mine before flipping my hand over and looking at my palm. “They used to say you could tell your true mate if the lines on your palm matched. But I kind of think it was like the red string of fate thing… you know, where the string on your finger is attached on the other end to the person you’re meant to be with?”
“I’ve never heard of that. I can’t say I’ve paid too much attention to romantic stuff, though. It was never really my jam,” I admit.
“Snow leopards are notorious for being solitary. It’s your human side that makes you want to be with others.”
“So?” I ask.
“What?”
“Do our lines match?”
“Not one bit, but there’s no doubt in my mind that you’re the man I’m supposed to be with,” Quinn says as he clasps his palm over mine. “There. They mesh perfectly now.”
I smile as I lean in and kiss his lips. “I’ve never seen anything mesh better.”
“I’m going to get you out alive and no matter what happens to me, know there’s always a spot for you in my pack.”
“By your side. So don’t talk as if something might happen to you. I won’t allow it,” I say.
“Alright, we’ll worry about that later. Like tomorrow or something,” Quinn teases. “For now, we’ll just angrily glare at the security camera and question why we couldn’t have superpowers instead of all this animal shifting stuff. I’d use my laser vision to just annihilate the enemy.”
“I think you’re feverish and delirious from the shot.”
“I feel like maybe you’re right,” Quinn says as he sinks into me.
      
When the door opens, Quinn and I are sitting on the floor. It’s been hours since we’ve seen anyone, and Quinn thinks it’s morning using some… wolf sense or something. Neither of us got any more sleep. Quinn just felt ill from the drug, but he seems slightly better this morning.
The moment Mercer walks in with three members from his “pack,” anger fills me. Quinn stands up and steps directly in front of me as Mercer smiles at us.
“Good morning! I hope you had a fantastic night’s sleep,” he says, expression condescending as he watches us. It’s like we’re animals in a cage, and he’s merely toying with us.
“Please let Rowan go. He’s a soldier. They will be looking for him.”
Mercer doesn’t seem to care in the slightest. “Veteran, and trust me, once they find out they had a shifter in their midst, I don’t think they’re going to give much of a fuck what happens to him. He’ll be stripped of all his accomplishments. So sad. Anyway, I want Rowan. Wolf, you can stay in here. So back on up to the wall and take a seat.”
“You will not touch him,” Quinn growls. Of course I don’t want to go with them, but I’m afraid Quinn’s going to get hurt if we don’t do what they say. And, for some reason, it’s easier for me to go than the idea of letting him go.
“What do you want with me?” I ask.
Mercer’s eyes shift off Quinn and onto mine. “Just some tests. A few little pokes. It’ll all be fine, so come along now.”
I look at Quinn, unsure of what to do. Of course we don’t know if this maniac is telling the truth or not, but more than anything, I don’t want Quinn to get hurt.
“Quinn, I’ll just go,” I say, but Quinn cuts in front of me as Mercer shuts the electricity off and opens the door.
“Go on and get him,” Mercer says as he waves the shifters in.
The three large men rush in and I try to pull Quinn back, but he’s determined to keep them from touching me. The first one reaches for Quinn who jerks away before shoving into him. The second grabs him and I’m filled with rage he’d even think about touching my mate. I lunge for him, determined to tear him off Quinn who seems to be holding his own. Two more shifters come running into the room and one plows into me, throwing me back as Quinn elbows one of them in the face hard enough I hear something break.
“You will not take what is mine,” Quinn growls, anger coating his words as he lunges at the next man. I loop my handcuffs over one of their necks and yank it back, choking him until someone comes up and punches me in the side of the head. It makes my world go black for a moment as I reel back and stagger, trying to figure out which way is up. When I do, I see they have Quinn pinned on the ground and someone is kicking him in the stomach.
“Stop! Please, I’ll go!” I beg, but it’s not like it’s my idea anymore as I’m dragged through the doorway and into the hallway. I need to get back to Quinn, to make them stop hurting him, but I’m dizzy and can’t even figure out which way my feet should go.
Suddenly, I’m being thrown into a chair where my arms are unhandcuffed and strapped down. Before I can even process what’s happening, my feet are also strapped down, and I know that I’m not getting out of this.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask Mercer.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head! I’ve got everything under control,” he assures me as he picks up a chart and stares at it for a moment before coming toward me with a needle.
He slides the needle into my arm and draws multiple vials of blood before writing something down on them, and I realize that Quinn and I might be in over our heads.
      
QUINN
The moment they’re gone, I dig my fingers into the cold ground as blood bubbles out of my nose. It hurts to breathe, but I don’t think they broke any ribs.
I can’t even protect my mate. I can’t protect my pack. How did I become so useless?
“Fuck,” I groan as I push myself up onto my hands and knees and watch the blood drip from my nose into the puddle below me. “Fuck.”
He’s gone. They’ve taken him and there’s no guarantee they’ll bring him back. There’s no proof they won’t hurt him. They could kill him, and I’d just be sitting here, useless. I need out. I need something. I rush over to the toilet and kick it hard, hoping to break it to at least have something to use as a weapon.
Something beeps and then someone says, “If you don’t sit quietly, we’ll find a new cell for you.”
I assume that means I’ll be kept separate from Rowan so I still, and instead, turn the water in the sink on with my bound hands and wash the blood away. My hands are shaking, they haven’t been steady since the drug I was given, but the adrenaline coursing through my body seems to have made them worse. When they’d come in, I’d tried to shift instinctively, but the way it made my body feel when I couldn’t do anything was horrifying. It made me feel like my entire body was being split into two different things, neither of which I felt like I had full control over.
Since there’s nothing to dry my face off with, I use my sleeve and walk over to the far wall, but I can’t sit. I find myself anxiously pacing as the seconds turn to minutes and the minutes drag on.
They’ll bring him back, right? They have to bring him back…
The door to the room opens and I jump and turn toward it, but when I see a woman enter with shifters and no Rowan, I still.
“Where is he?” I ask.
She glances up at me and I realize she looks vaguely familiar, although I can’t place her immediately. “I need to take a blood sample. Please come over to the bars and slip your hand through,” she says as she stares at a chart in her hand.
I watch her as I realize who she is.
Scott’s wife.
What was her name? Jenna? No… Gina. Yes, it’s Gina, and she could be our key to getting out of here.
“Please,” she says, sounding almost desperate as her brown eyes flick up and catch mine. “Please come over here and let me draw your blood. It’ll be best if you just listen.”
I walk toward her, wondering how I’m going to get her attention without alerting the others.
“The electricity is off if that’s what you’re concerned about,” she says as she touches the bars to prove it. I walk up to the bars but she’s not close enough to whisper anything to, so I slide my arms through, since they’re still handcuffed together.
She seems surprised I did so and steps forward before wiping my arm with an alcohol pad. As fast as I can, I grab the front of her lab coat and yank her forward, pulling her hard against the bars as I whisper, “I know your husband, and he’s looking for you. If you get the two of us out, we’ll take you to him.”
She stills as I let go of her just as the shifters come running to help. She waves them off. “Stop, it’s fine. I can handle it.”
Her eyes catch mine as she holds her hand out again and I slip my arms through the bars. She watches me closely, her brows knit as I question if she understood me or if she even cares. Hell, maybe Scott’s wrong and she wants to be here.
She cleans my arm again then slides the needle into it before drawing blood out of me. She pulls the needle free and steps back, looking like she’s trying to read my face for answers.
Then she turns around and hurries out the door. When the door opens the next time, I see that they’re leading Rowan back and he looks to be all right besides the black eye, probably from the fight before he left.
“Back against the wall,” one of the shifters says, so I back up until I’m pressed against the wall. Only then do they open the door and shove Rowan inside.
He rushes over to me, but I don’t move until they leave. Only then do I grab onto him and yank him in close.
Even though we’re not out of this yet, relief washes through me over seeing him. “I was terrified something was going to happen to you and I’d never see you again,” I admit.
“Me too,” Rowan says as he kisses my cheek. “I love you, and I don’t want to be without you for even a moment.”
I look at him in surprise. “I love you too.”
His smile calms me, even if just a little. He leans into me and kisses me again, and I take the moment to just feel him and love him and know that I won’t stop fighting until I get him free or I wind up dead. It’s just such a shame that this is what has to happen to us when we’ve finally found each other.
I press into him before running my lips back to his ear. “I saw Scott’s wife. I was able to tell her that if she got us out, we’d get her back to Scott.”
“We don’t even know if Scott is alive,” Rowan whispers.
I think back to the way Mercer had shot him, leaving Scott lying in a puddle of his own blood. “I know, but her daughter is out there. Anything has to be better than here.”
He nods. “I agree. Do you think she’ll help?”
“We’ll find out. But we’re not going to wait for her to fix everything in case she doesn’t. We’ll keep going and just pray and beg we come up with something ourselves,” I say. “What did they do to you?”
“Took blood and ran other tests, but I couldn’t tell why. Did they do anything to you?”
“She took my blood but no other tests. When I kicked the toilet, I was immediately told that if I didn’t stop, they’d put me in a different room. They know they have leverage over us by letting us stay together. There’s no saying what they’ll do to get us to listen. Can you tell me the layout beyond the room?”
“Of course,” Rowan says as he recounts everything he can from the hallway to the size of room he was in and the people in there. “There’s equipment in there that could be used as a weapon if we could get something. They had me strapped down so I couldn’t move, though.”
I nod, relieved they didn’t do anything more to him. “So I was thinking about how you were still on the drugs when you shifted and ran to my house.”
“Five thousand miles, I remember,” he says.
I smile at him. “Yes, that. I know we mentioned that this might be the same drug and you said you still couldn’t shift, but you’re not ill at all so maybe you’re metabolizing it and you can shift once some time has passed. Did you try when we were just attacked?”
He shakes his head. “No, I just… because of the drug I assumed I couldn’t. It’s not always second nature to me like it is to you. But if I could… they wouldn’t expect it or be ready for it.”
I glance at the security camera. “Don’t try now with them watching; we’ll just know it’s a possibility. Hopefully, they’ll turn the lights out at some point, and you can try.”
He nods. “It was a fucking mess when I did, but I did it because I had to get to you.”
“If you can do it to get laid, you can do it to save our lives,” I tease.
He starts laughing as he shakes his head. “That’s not why I did it!”
“I know,” I say with a smile as I lean into him. “We’ll be out of here before you know it and back with the pack. I’m just hoping Graham listened and has moved them far away and isn’t doing something stupid.”
“I’m just hoping he didn’t forget my horse and dog and your new cat.”
I sigh as the disaster this has become sinks in. “God, what a fucking mess.”
“You can say that again.”
“I bet you regret ever meeting me,” I say.
“Why? Because you turned me into a leopard, gave me a catnip addiction, dragged me around a mine, let your brother chastise and berate me, and made fun of the flowers I painstakingly brought to your home?” Rowan shakes his head. “Nope, not yet. I still happen to like you even after all of that.”
I snort as I squeeze his hand. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“I… don’t know that I do. Ohhh, you mean the cell we’re currently locked in. You do remember this is all my fault, right? Like… you were dragged into this, not the other way around. I showed up for a job, and instead, I started this whole snowball effect of hell that disrupted everything.”
“It’s not your fault!” I say, finding it ridiculous he could even think it was.
“Okay, then how about it’s neither of our faults that we’re in this stupid situation. Instead, let’s think about how we’re going to make this work,” Rowan says.
“Okay… right. So, if they take you back again, I’m going to try to make a distraction. Then you’ll shift and get something—”
The door swings open and Gina walks in with a tray. She shuts the electricity off and draws up a syringe as we both anxiously watch her. She could be the only way out of here, but who is to say she really does want out? Scott could be wrong, and she might want to be here.
She glances up at us and catches my eyes. “The floor has the ability to have electric currents through it. If you don’t want to be shocked, you’ll walk over here and listen,” she says.
Rowan hesitates, but I slowly stand up and walk over to her.
“Arm,” she says as I look over to the shut door, surprised she doesn’t have an army of guards.
She positions her stance in a way that leaves her back facing the camera as she whispers, “It’s just saline. You won’t be able to shift until the drug he gave you is out of your system which could still be a day or more, but I don’t want to give you any more of it. Please, I need to get out of here. I’ll do anything, but I’m afraid it’s a lost cause.”
I’m not sure how much I can trust her, but I decide to take a chance because right now, that’s all I have. “Rowan is used to the drug, and there’s a possibility he could shift sooner, even now.”
She looks up in surprise. “Perfect. That’s fantastic to hear. So for the moment, we need to worry more about the man behind the security camera, since he could hit the alarm as soon as he sees us making a break for it. We can do nothing until he’s out of commission. But even if we take him down, there’s no way out of here. I’ve tried countless times to get out.”
“What about the mine shaft? Have they permanently closed that off?” Rowan asks.
“Mine shaft?” she asks uncertainly.
I glance down as she slides the needle into my arm. “It’s how the two that escaped made it out. It’s a room like this one but with a trapdoor leading down into the shaft.”
“I don’t know it,” she says.
“It’d have to be on the lowest floor. Are we on the lowest floor?”
“No, you’re on floor one. There are two basement levels below us. Leaving us to assume it’d be on the lowest level,” she says as she extracts the needle from my arm. “I have a keycard for most rooms, but not all.”
“Do you know who does?” I ask.
“Probably just Mercer, but maybe Raylon,” she says as she drops my wrist and motions for Rowan’s. “But that’s not a guarantee. I’ll see if I can snatch one of their keycards. If I get you into the examination room, would you be able to shift and deal with the men in the security room? Once you do, I can guide you down to the lowest floor,” she says. “We can move easier if they don’t have eyes on us, but I’m not sure for how long. And if we’re caught, we’ll probably die. Are you prepared to take that risk?”
“I feel like we’re going to die either way,” Rowan says.
She shakes her head. “No, he won’t kill you. He’ll twist you into something unnatural and force you to listen to him.”
“Won’t he either way?” I ask.
She sighs a moment before I hear people coming and I back away from her. “They’re coming.”
The door opens and Raylon and another man come rushing in. “What the hell are you doing?” Raylon growls at her.
“Giving them their injections like Mercer told me to. Is that okay?” she asks, voice sharp.
Raylon snarls at her. “You know you’re not allowed in any of the rooms without a guard, and yet you go waltzing wherever you think you deserve to be without repercussion. This won’t keep happening.”
She narrows her eyes at him. “And what exactly were they going to do? They listened just fine when I lied and told them the floor could be electrified. You guys worry too much,” she says as she heads over to her tray.
Raylon looks over at me and I stare him right in the eyes. I can tell he’s not used to dealing with shifters who don’t back down the moment he looks at them and his irritation just eggs me on.
“Come here,” he growls at me.
“You going to attack me through the bars?” I ask as I walk toward him with a smirk on my face. I don’t let any part of my body show that I’d submit to him even if he’d likely tear me apart.
“Just a little closer,” he says with a smirk. He’s even animal-like as a human. No, he doesn’t have cat eyes or anything like that, but in mannerisms. The way he moves, the cues he gives are very animalistic.
“You better listen,” the one with him says as he presses himself up against the bars, snarling at me as I refuse to back down. “Why don’t you go inside and make him listen?” he says to Raylon.
“Shut up, Diego,” Raylon says.
“Fuck off,” Rowan growls.
Diego’s arm shoots through the bars like he’s planning on grabbing Rowan, who is closest to him, and without thought, I slam my body into it. The audible sound of it breaking fills the room as the leverage of his arm being pressed against the immoveable bar snaps it.
He howls as he draws his arm out. Raylon growls but grabs Diego and shoves him toward the door. “Don’t be a fucking idiot.” He slowly turns to look at me and I’m surprised he isn’t planning on tearing my head off after that. Hell, he actually looks amused. “It’s just so cute how far you’re willing to go to protect your mate. It’s really good information to know.”
The way he says it makes my body run cold, like he knows exactly how to use this against me, and maybe he does. I haven’t exactly been subtle whenever someone came after Rowan. But the thought of anyone laying a hand on him turns me blind with rage.
Rowan pulls me back and the rest of them leave, locking the door behind them.
“I’m sorry. That was stupid. I shouldn’t have done that,” I say.
Rowan wraps his arms around me. “Don’t worry about it. They already wanted to murder us. Now they want to murder us with a broken arm. It’s just one less arm to deal with.”
I smile at him before leaning into him. “This might be our only chance to get out… with Gina.”
“I know,” Rowan says.
“And it might mean us dying faster.”
“I also know that,” he says as he kisses the side of my head. “This is what we have and this is going to work. And if it doesn’t, just know that these past few weeks with you have been the most freeing weeks of my life. It took some time for me to understand that, but now that I do, I feel like I’m finally free to live my life the way I wanted with nothing in the way.”
I press into him and set my forehead against his. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Deal.”