A Cougar Among Wolves (12 page)

“Good thing you hung on.” Ryker nodded.

“Barely.” He exhaled. “Thanks for pulling me up.”

The enforcer let a faint, uncharacteristic smile slip.

Seth watched the unusual exchange between Ryker and his brother. How odd, that Rogue was able to solicit friendly banter from the stone-cold enforcer, and now, when they should be saving her? Seth had always been the compliant beta. Rogue, marched to the beat of his own drum. At least, it was true until the moment Klaya appeared in their sites. His brother was somehow almost humbled, and Seth had developed a deep-seated 77

need to challenge and take charge. Both their unusual behaviors revolved around her.

Their mate, and they needed to move now and make sure they didn’t lose her.

“And, I’m sorry for earlier, in the cave.” Rogue dipped his chin.

“It’s forgotten.” Ryker waved off the apology then leaned forward with a stern glare and raised one brow. “But don’t let it happen again.”

“Never.”

Z and Allana strode in from the door and joined them. Allana splayed a map with marks written in red ink across the table. “We spotted eleven guys, three trucks, two vans, and a fully loaded Humvee while we were there. The forest had a few traps set, but no scanners we could find. We can get in undetected, if we’re careful.”

Z tapped his finger on the paper as he explained. “They have her in the basement; the cellar door is bolted from the outside. Three armed men are with her, four upstairs, and one stationed at each of these lookouts around the cabin. Every person is armed with assault rifles, tranquilizer guns, bulletproof vests, and shoulder-mounted radios. It’s a secure line we can’t tap into.”

Gee plopped into the chair next to Seth. “We don’t need huge numbers. We have to move fast, catch them with their pants down, and take them out.”

Ryker scraped the stubble of his chin in deliberation. “We need to put those vehicles out of commission.”

“I can do it.” Allana held up her hunting knife. “I’ll slice the tires and disable batteries and weapons.” She winked at Seth.

“Let’s try to keep the noise down when we get there. If the guys inside get wind of our arrival, it won’t be good for Klaya,” Drew asserted.

Seth’s stomach tensed at the thought of her being harmed any further.

“Z, are you good to hit the scouts in the tree stands?”

“Yup.” He nodded.

“Ryker, I want you to crash the main floor, fast assault, and wipe out the four upstairs.”

“Done.”

“Gee, you and I will storm the basement. We smoke the three down there and pull her out.”

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Gee nodded.

Seth glanced around the table. Irritation festered deep inside. “What about us?”

“Yeah?” Rogue echoed.

“You two stay,” Ryker said coolly.

“You can’t expect us to sit here and do nothing?”

Drew held his hand up and the group went silent. “Guys, I understand. You’re pretty banged up. We’ll do the heavy work, if you can make the trek, and you’ll be there to help her once she’s free.”

It was better than being glued to a barstool, although bitterness resonated at their limited roles. Seth crossed his arms. “Deal.”

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A foul stench filled her nose. Klaya’s groggy head pounded. Her eyelids heavy as stone, she forced them open and shook her head to dispel the rancid odor.

“There she is.” Her tormentor waved a broken white tube in front of her face.

“Smelling salts.” He smirked. “Can’t have you sleep through everything. It takes half the fun out of it.”

Her arms ached over her head, and cold wetness trickled down her left forearm. She was strung up in chains and buck naked. The last thing she remembered was shifting…and the trap. She twisted her left wrist. Pain spiked through her arm at the slightest movement. She glanced up to find her torn flesh dangling from her wrist and blood seeping down her arm.

“What the hell do you want from me?”

“Your pain,” he hissed.

“What have I ever done to you?” A deadly chill encased her exposed flesh. Her hands were numb.

“Nothing.” He shook his head and laughed. “You’re simply an abomination and I’m taking you to church, little lady.”

Klaya watched him with disgust. He stepped closer to her face and she recoiled.

“Abomination?”

“Your kind—half human, half animal—it was not what the good lord intended.” He skulked around her with a sadistic smile.

“If that is true, then how the hell do you explain an entire line of shifters who have lasted more than a millennia, you racist piece of shit?”

“Entertainment, of course.” He circled her again and trailed a finger along her shoulder. “Your kind has made for great hunting.”

“Get your filthy paws off me. I’m warning you,” she growled.

He grabbed a fist full of her hair by the base of her skull and yanked her head back hard. The rancid odor of his breath so close to her mouth, she tasted garlic and dental decay against her sensitive palate. Her stomach turned.

“Your friend, the feisty one, he cost me some good men before you escaped.”

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“He was my brother, and you cost us our entire race.” She seethed.

“Almost. There are still a handful we’ve been tracking for a few years. Don’t worry, they’ll join you on the great hunting plain soon enough.”

Her pulse raced. “Cytaana? There are more of us?”

“Not for long. But I’m pretty sure you’re the last around here, so I’m gonna make this count.” He released her hair and waltzed over to a long wooden table where he grabbed a rolled-up leather satchel.

“What is that?” The hairs on her neck barbed.

“Your salvation and my reward.” He sprawled it across the table and revealed an arsenal of metal tools.

A painful recollection seared through her brain at the sight of the exact tools he’d forced her to watch him use on Griffith. It was probably the same thing he did to her wolves’ father, Thomas. Her belly churned with fire. The urge to shift took hold, but she fought the primal instinct. Griffith wouldn’t shift; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction either, not unless she had a shot at tearing this monster apart. No matter what, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She prayed for the chance to gouge out his eyeballs and tear open his neck first.

Klaya scouted the width of the room. There was dry blood splatter over the concrete walls, a dirt floor, and across the way, the steps which led to freedom. She eyed the doors as her mind raced.

“Don’t even think about it. We bolted the door from the outside after your last visit.

You won’t leave here again…ever.” He cackled. Bone-chilling shivers snaked down her spine.

She pondered the details of the room in silence. In a desperate search for any item she could utilize, she scanned the rest of the dungeon. Two armed men stood by the door.

The foul stench of tobacco and gun oil filled her palate again.

Klaya smacked her lips with distaste. “Let me guess,” she scoffed at them. “You, the hideous one on the left with a scar, I’ll bet you’re Tin Man.” She remembered him lurking below the tree she hid in with Rogue.

“I’m flattered.” He smirked.

“You’re an asshole,” she murmured.

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Rogue?
The brutal image of him shot over the ridge and of Seth’s bloodied shoulder sent daggers of sorrow through her chest. “I’m gonna kill every last one of you pricks.”

She gritted her teeth.

“That would be quite a feat, given your not-so-distant fate, my feline foe.”

The self-righteous murderer selected a tool and returned to her with a long, spiraled tip that eerily resembled a corkscrew. He brushed it across her cheek and down her chest.

“Such a pretty little vixen. Wanna screw?” He chortled.

“Go fuck yourself.” She spat in his face.

“I’ve always wondered….” Inquisition filled his shit-brown eyes. “Do you bleed like human women?”

“Have you seen my wrist, you sick son of a bitch?”

“I know you bleed, I take pride in that.” He sniggered. “What I mean is, an abomination like you, do you bleed….” He trailed the ice-cold tip of the tool down the length of her belly below her navel.

Klaya fought back her tears of hatred and panic threatening to spill from her eyes.

“Steve,” Tin Man called from by the door.

“Can’t you see I’m busy here?” He sneered over at him.

“If she’s the last one around this place, can’t we have a little fun first, before you finish with her?” The thug gripped the crotch of his pants and licked his lips. He elbowed the guy beside him who nodded in agreement.

“You said my name, in front of her.” The slime bag spun around as he fumed.

“She’s dead soon anyway, what does it matter. Come on, she’s naked, and sexy as hell. I want me some real pussy.” He chortled.

Steve turned to face her with a leer. He caressed her cheek and she flinched away from his touch. “I suppose this is one area I’ve neglected to study before.” He rubbed the front of his pants, his eyes dilated with grotesque lust.

Bile rose to the top of her throat at the very thought of them near her body. “I’d rather be tortured, kill me now.”

“It’s a given, my dear, but since you failed to answer my question, about”—he ran his dirty hands down her belly—“whether or not you bleed. I shall have to examine it for myself.”

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If this was how it would end, Klaya wouldn’t allow it, not for a second. It was time to let her cougar out. She waited until the two men put their weapons down. The malignant parasite placed his tool on the table and they surrounded her. This was it. Through the jarring pain of her wrist, she forced the change. Her claws exploded from her finger tips and her teeth protruded into fangs. She shifted and dropped from the confines of her chains.

The men hollered and scrambled away from her. She pounced on her barbaric captor and slammed him to the ground. In one swift movement, she sank her teeth into his neck and ripped it wide open. The savory taste of copper splattered into her mouth and his blood sprayed over his face. Gurgled gasps slipped through his bloodied lips, he convulsed and gripped his gapping flesh. Clicks of guns cocking snagged her attention from the sheer thrill of revenge. She was prepared to die, but not without a fight. She prowled forward and launched from her hind legs toward the two men by the stairs. Tin Man fired a round and the bullet speared into her chest. She yelped in agony and dropped to the ground. Panting for air, she tried to move, but the stun spread out to her limbs.

As they raised their barrels and aimed at her head, an ear-splitting blast crashed through the doors above them. Splintered wood and chunks of debris collapsed down over the tops of their heads.

“She’s here.” Drew hopped over the strewn bodies. He crouched down and surveyed the room. “Shit, she’s been shot. Gee, gimme a hand.”

Gee barreled into the cellar and helped Drew pick her up. Gee then shoved the bodies off the stairs and cleared the debris. Drew carried her up the steps. The sunlight blinded her momentarily. Klaya sniffed the air, thankful to be free from the stench of death.

“Klaya?” Seth’s voice rang out.

Drew set her down on the ground. “She’s badly hurt.”

“What about…?” Seth stood over her and glanced over to the cellar.

“They’re dead.” Gee patted his shoulder. “I’m gonna check on Z and the others.”

“Klaya, darlin’, can you shift for me? Please?” Seth dropped to his knees at her side.

Despite the weakness enveloping her muscles, she triggered the change and shifted back to human form.

Seth inspected her wound. “It’s deep. She’s bleeding out.”

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He yanked his T-shirt over his head and tore it into strips. He pressed down on her chest, and Drew lifted her shoulders and fastened the material around her. Her chest throbbed with agony.

Drew whipped off his coat and draped it over her trembling body. “We have to get you to Doc.”

“Are they all dead?” She twisted her head and scanned around them.

Drew called out, “Gee?”

“It’s all good here; Ryker got the last of them,” he hollered out.

“All dead.” Drew nodded.

Ryker rounded the corner with Gee and a woman she didn’t recognize.

“I took care of most of the vehicles, but saved the van.” The woman approached Drew and glanced down at Klaya. “By the looks of her, we’ll need the wheels.”

“Yeah, good thinking. Let’s get her to the van.” Seth lifted her.

Every movement shot jolts of pain through her upper body. “Hold on.” She winced.

“Let me stand up.”

“No,” Seth growled.

“Help. Me. Up.” She gnashed her teeth.

Seth helped her to her feet then held the coat so she could slip into it and zipped it up.

“Can you walk?” He spoke in a softer tone.

“There’s something I have to do.” She hobbled along the side of the cabin and rounded the corner.

“Where the hell are you going?” Seth followed.

Fueled by adrenaline, she pushed on. “Anyone got a lighter?” She stopped at the long white tank and rested her palm on the cold metal.

The woman approached. “I suppose you want this place lit up?”

With a smile of satisfaction, she nodded. “Obliterated.” Klaya’s knees buckled and she slumped. Seth caught her and scooped her up into his arms.

Drew barked orders. “Seth, get her into the van. Ryker, round everyone up. Allana, we need a head start.”

“You got it.”

“Only if I get to watch it blow,” Klaya wheezed, her strength drained with every 84

labored breath.

“Go.”

Through the rush of chaos, they loaded her in the van. Numbness crept over her body.

Drew climbed inside the van and slammed the door behind him. “Do we have everyone?” he called to the front.

“One more. He’s a little slowed down. I’m gonna pick him up,” Gee called out with a chuckle.

“Go, she’s lost a lot of blood. We don’t have much time.”

“Darlin’.” Seth knelt on the floor beside her. He took her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Tires spun and the van jolted forward.

“I wanna see it,” she pleaded, hardly able to force the words past her parched lips.