Forever's Fight (19 page)

Clarissa sat on the small sofa in the lab with Patrick’s arm snug around her shoulder. After barely picking at her dinner, Jade had sent Austin up with a mug of warm tea for her, but even that was sitting to the side, untouched. She should have been relieved that Patrick came out of the counteragent testing without any issues, but now she was questioning their future. There was still a lot to do for the counteragent, but what if the government came up with something new in the future? They had a whole lab of captives to test on, and no conscious. She had the O’Reillys…her mate and her family. More important, she had a conscious. She wouldn’t torture someone in the name of science.

“Mate, you’re stressed.” He placed a gentle kiss on her temple. “Let’s go to the bedroom and let me relax you.”

“I’ve got to work. See if I can figure out what else they’re using in LUNA. I was too preoccupied trying to find a counteragent, and I wasn’t looking closely enough at the compounds. Maybe I can find something now. Maybe it will give a lesser shifter a better chance against it. We can’t risk Chase until we know he can withstand it. We can’t lose him to his beast, not if we can help it.”

“Angel, you’re more stressed than you let on. Chase is going to be fine. His connection to me is strong, and I can pull him through it. But you’re right, for now we’re not using him. It’s a draining test, both physically and mentally.” He stood, pulled the blanket from her lap and tugged her up until she was standing. “Neither of us will be any good to anyone if we’re exhausted. Let’s take a few hours to ourselves, and then we can get back to work with fresh eyes.”

She nodded and let him lead her out of the lab and toward what she had started to think of as their bedroom. He preferred to be in the room that was his before she arrived because it gave a better view of the grounds and was in between his siblings. She didn’t care what room they were in as long as they were together, so she had started to stay there. All she had to do was move her things in, and everything would be official. Somewhere along the way, she had accepted this mating.

“Glad I caught you.” Luke stepped out of his office and strolled toward them. “Andrew’s gone.”

“What?” Her stomach flipped. After everything that happened at Hathaway Medical, Andrew shouldn’t have been out. They were probably after him, or the very least they’d want to know why he hadn’t protected the building since he had been on duty that night.

“When he didn’t show up for dinner, Jade and I went to check on him. She wanted to talk to him about searching the Shifters Underground for his niece, but he was gone. There was a disk on his bed.”

“What’s on it?” Patrick questioned.

“Information on the camp outside of Bangor, Maine.” Luke dragged a hand through his hair, out of nervous habit. “His sister’s name is on the list of the dead brought there. He believes his niece might be there.”

“Shit. He’s going to get himself killed.”

“Should I get Austin and go after him?”

Patrick shook his head. “No, we need you here. There are a lot of files to go through from Hathaway Medical, and I need you looking for that little girl.”

“What about Austin or Chase? Someone should go after him,” Clarissa said, holding her breath as her entire body tensed up. Andrew had warned her to record what happened there, otherwise she might have never considered infecting the computer system, and bringing all the information to them. She might not be there without him, and she felt she owed him somehow.

“No.”

“What?” She couldn’t believe she’d heard him correctly. He had been willing to help people he hadn’t even met, but he was willing to let Andrew walk into a concentration camp, where he might be captured and killed.

“I promised you I would send someone to check out the camp, but not like this. I won’t send my brothers to their death.”

“How do you know it would mean death? Why is this different?”

“Andrew won’t be thinking clearly. He’ll be out for blood for his sister’s death, and for the kidnapping of his niece. Anyone who’s with him could end up dead as well. I won’t send them to be slaughtered.” When she stepped out of his embrace and turned to him, he added, “If Andrew had come to me, given us time to put together a mission, we’d have gone…but not like this.”

“He’s right, Clarissa,” Luke said. “It will be a blood bath if Andrew storms the gate to rescue his niece. An attack on the camp will send everyone in a fifty mile radius on alert, and any shifters in the vicinity will be killed on the spot. They won’t risk the chance they could get the upper hand. If they’re not killed, they won’t just be imprisoned in a camp. They’d be sent to a lab.”

“I’ve seen what they did to one of my siblings because I didn’t protect them,” Patrick said. “I won’t have it happen again.”

“What happened to Jade wasn’t your fault.” She tried to reason with him, but even as she said it she knew he’d never believe her.

“I’m not just her brother, I’m her Alpha. That gives me double the responsibility. Instead, I let her go out on that mission and she was captured because of me. She suffered endless torture because I didn’t protect her. I cannot stand by and let that happen again, nor can I suffer along with them through it again.”

“Suffer with them?”

“He could feel everything that happened to Jade because they started to break her spirit,” Luke explained. “She didn’t have the fight or the will to keep the barrier between them, and because of that Patrick had to deal with it. It wasn’t just the physical pain, but the emotional and mental aspects of what she went through.” Luke glanced at Patrick. “It broke something within you that I wasn’t sure you’d ever get it back, but Clarissa has given you that spark again.” With that, Luke turned on his heels and went back to his office.

“I’m still going to our room, but if you don’t wish to join me, you don’t have to.” He stepped around her and had nearly made it to the door before she gathered herself enough to realize what had happened.

“Maybe you’re right, and maybe you’re wrong about Andrew. I don’t know him enough to tell you what type of mind frame he’s in, but what I do know is that you’ll have to live with your decision. If it’s anything like the guilt you carry around about with what happened to Jade, I’m not sure how you’ll get through the days.”

“I’ll get through them knowing I kept my family safe.” He spun back to her. “It would be a different story if my pride were just members, but they’re my siblings. I won’t risk them. Would you rather I go after him instead of working with you on LUNA? Because I can do that.”

“Damn it, Patrick, that’s not fair. Don’t ask me choose between Andrew and you.”

“Why? Isn’t that what you’re asking me to do? Choose between him and my siblings. Do you think I’m not worried every time I send them out? The same thing that happened with Jade could happen again, but I have no choice. Sometimes the greater good outweighs the risk, and each of them realize the risk when they leave the castle. We do this for our kind, and to protect the ones we love.”

“I’m sorry.” She closed the distance between them and placed her hand on his chest. “Andrew was there for me on my last day at Hathaway Medical, and to stand by doing nothing when he might have finally found his niece is hard for me. I do understand your reasoning. You know I never thought of my life as simple before, but now part of me misses those days. Each day I realize what kind of world we live in…a war zone. The best part is you and your siblings. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, either. I love you, Patrick O’Reilly, nothing will change that, and that’s
not
the mating talking, it’s me.”

“I’ll protect you and get you through this war zone I dropped you into, I promise.”

“This wasn’t your fault. I chose this path the moment I ran for my life, away from Hathaway Medical. I chose this life and this mating. I’m in this with everything I have because I want to be.”

He pushed the bedroom door open the rest of the way and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I love you, my beautiful mate, for now and for always.”

Days had passed without a word from Andrew, but they had bigger issues to worry about. LUNA testing had begun. News reports flashed on the screen announcing what Patrick had already read online. Now that LUNA was taking its full effect, thousands of jobs were vacant. On-the-job testing for any government, military, and first responding employees was the first stage, and the impact of shifters walking off the job was becoming clear. Other companies who weren’t in the first string of testing were just beginning to feel the impact. Humans had to leave their employment to follow their shifter mates into hiding.

There were no figures to check, but he suspected that over a third of the United States population were shifters or had mated to one. There were some who had left their jobs to support their mates, or simply because they disagreed with what was happening, allying themselves with the shifters.

He only hoped that those who hadn’t shown up for work had somewhere safe to go because the military had already begun to rally and track them down at their homes. If found, they’d be tested, then killed—or worse. What it meant for the human mates, no one was sure of yet.

His thoughts returned to Andrew. Had he made it to Bangor yet, and what happened to him? Even as he searched the news, he knew there’d be nothing about the camp. They might never know what had happened there, or if he’d found his niece, but now more than ever he was glad he hadn’t sent anyone after him. Things were too dangerous to risk anything. With the military and police out patrolling and subjecting everyone they saw to LUNA, there was no chance of getting anywhere safely.

The intercom on his desk crackled to life, and a split second later Blake’s voice came through. “Patrick, pick up line two.”

“Who is it?” He sank into the chair behind the desk. It wasn’t his usual work station since that had been moved up to the family floor, and he was using the office on the main floor while Clarissa worked in his personal office upstairs.

“It’s important, just do it,” Blake retorted.

The intercom faded out and Patrick glanced at the phone before finally picking it up. “Hello.”

“Is my sister still with you?” Dean asked.

“She is, and she’d like to speak with you. Are you safe?”

“Safe enough for now. Does that offer still stand?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good.” A siren cut Dean off for a moment. “I’m in trouble, so consider me on my way.”

“You need help? I can get back-up to you quickly if you let me know where you are.”

“It’ll be faster if I just make my way there. I’ll stick to the shadows and stay out of sight. Seems like all hell has broken out, but I’ll get there because you’ll want what I’ve found.” Dean cleared his throat. “If I’m not there in two days, consider me dead. She’ll know where I put the information I had. Otherwise, wait for me. It will be easier to explain if I’m there. If I’m dead, do your best to make sure she doesn’t only remember my screw-ups.”

He hurriedly gave him the details on how to get to Forever Creek, then added, “Please, tell me where you are, and let me send you some back-up.”

“Two days, I’ll be there. If I stick around here, I’ll be dead anyway.”

The line went dead before Patrick could say anything else. He wished he had traced the call, but knowing Dean it would have been blocked. Whatever mess he’d gotten into, at least no one would be able to trace this number. With no choice left, he hung up the phone. He’d have to find his mate and tell her that her brother would be arriving soon. To keep her from worrying about his journey would be next to impossible. The next two days, he’d have to balance the needs of his mate with that of the pride. Each day presented a new challenge.

What could he have found that changed his mind from the hatred he had before?

He scooted the chair back from his desk and stood. There was no point in putting it off. He knew she’d be upstairs working, and now that he’d gotten caught up with what was happening in the world, he had no excuse not to be helping her. Heading toward the family room, he passed Chase in his lion form and Jade camped out in front of the television. She was talking about whatever show was on and every once in a while, Chase would purr in agreement. As he caught a glimpse of them, he was reminded of what their lives had once been like. None of the missions, death, danger, labs, or LUNA. He wanted that life back.

He was tired of all the shit they had to go through each day, every threat that surrounded them any time they went out, and the danger his family was constantly in. He wanted his siblings to be able to live in a safe world, and most of all he wanted Jade to be safe. She deserved it after everything she had gone through. All the future generations deserved a safe world to live in as well. They needed to have a bigger game plan, not just eliminating one lab after another, because there was always another willing to take its place. They needed a battle plan on regaining their freedom.

By the time he’d climbed the steps, he had mentally started a list of things they needed to do in order to get back the life they once had. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but no longer would he be willing to just do the minimal. In the coming days, he’d sit down with Austin and go over some of the strategies.

He punched in his code and opened the door to their floor. He stepped through and made sure the door closed tightly behind him before continuing toward the lab. Even as he neared the room, he heard Clarissa mumbling to herself, and he couldn’t decide if she was on to something or the rambles were of mere frustration.

“Angel, you got a minute?” When she looked up at him, he knew she was lost in anxious thought. There must have been a piece to LUNA she didn’t like or couldn’t figure out.

“What’s up?” She scooted the laptop to the side and leaned forward on her elbows. “If you’re coming here to see if I’ve found what we need, I told you earlier I would let you know. Don’t bother me.”

“No, I came with other news.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently massaged the tight muscles. “You’re stressing too much. We’ll figure it out.”

“We need the answers now.”

“No. We can test it again without knowing. I’ll take the anti-LUNA first, give it a few minutes, then have LUNA injected. We’ll see how my beast can handle it. That might be all we need. If we can take it beforehand, there might not be any issues on how LUNA affects our beasts.”

“But we don’t know it will work. If it doesn’t, we can’t risk injecting you with the counteragent a second time. You’d have to suffer the consequences of LUNA completely. There’d be nothing to stop the way it tried to bring your beast into full control. I don’t want you to risk yourself until I figure out this second compound.”

“I’ll control my beast, don’t youworry about that.
”
He wasn’t excited to inject LUNA again, especially if there wasn’t something he could do to stop the effect, but he’d do it if he had to, and he’d get through it. Though, the next time, he’d make sure she was safely in another room. There was no reason she should watch if LUNA had him fighting with his beast for control.

“If you didn’t come up here for an update, what did you want? I know it wasn’t to give me a shoulder rub. So, what’s up?”

“Dean called and he’s coming.”

“What?” She nearly shot off the chair. “Is he in trouble? He wouldn’t succumb to defeat unless he’s in serious trouble.”

“I don’t know any of the details, only that he’ll be here within the next forty-eight hours. He mentioned that he found something we’d be interested in. That’s all I know.”

With closed eyes, she rubbed her temples. “What kind of trouble did he get himself into now?”

“You don’t know he’s in any trouble.” He tried to reason with her before her fears took over.

“He wouldn’t be coming here if he weren’t in trouble. Not yet, not after the anger he had toward you and Blake last time we saw him. He’d need time to cool off.”

“Maybe he realized he’s a wanted man. Even if he hadn’t left his job, they’d want him for his connection to you. You knew he’d be in danger if he didn’t come with us, it’s why you begged him to come. He needed time, but now he’s coming, so you should be happy.”

“I can’t trust it. Something is up. He found something that got him into more trouble. I don’t know what, but something isn’t right.”

“We’ll know soon enough. Until then, there’s no reason to upset yourself. He wouldn’t tell me where he was, so I can’t send anyone to get him out of whatever mess he might be in.” He ran a hand down her arm. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You’d send someone after him?”

“Yes, my angel. Didn’t you think I would?”

“I guess I’m surprised, after the way he treated you and Blake.” She bit the corner of her lip as she thought about something. “Plus, what happened with Andrew…”

“The situation with Andrew is different. Whatever the outcome will be, it’s already in the works. If Andrew hasn’t made it there by now, he should be close. Even if I wanted to, there’s no chance I could get a team there before he did whatever half-brained scheme he’s devised.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Dean is different. He’s your brother, and you have to know I’d do whatever I could to make you happy. Family and mates are everything.”

“But he was so rude to you before.”

“He came a long way to protect his sister, and then suddenly someone else was there to do it. That had to hurt his ego. I’m willing to put everything aside and start over. Hopefully, he’s willing to do the same.”

She leaned toward him and wrapped her arms around his chest. “Did I ever tell you how much I love you?”

“My angel, I think it would be better for you to show me later. Right now, what can I do to help you?”

“Magic ball? You don’t happen to have one, do you?”

“No, but you have me and I’m almost as good. Let me see what you’ve come up with. Maybe a new set of eyes will help you see something you’ve missed.” He hooked another chair with his foot and scooted it toward them. “We can figure it out together.”

A gentle shake of Patrick’s arm pulled him from a deep slumber. At first he thought it was Clarissa, and started to snuggle against her warm body, but then he caught sight of the figure standing by the side of the bed. His senses kicked in, preparing him for attack, but his lion smelled Luke’s scent before it sprang into action.

“What the hell?” He growled.

“You need to see this.”

Patrick sat up, agitated. “You need to answer the phone, you need to see this, that’s all I’ve heard in the last twenty-four hours.” He tossed back the covers, careful to not uncover his very naked mate, and slipped out from her embrace. “This better be important.”

“It’s about Andrew.”

Patrick grabbed the shirt he’d tossed on the nightstand and slipped it on. “Shit, tell me they didn’t capture him. He knows where we’re located.”

“They didn’t give him enough time to squeal our location.”

He didn’t like the sound of it, but instead of asking questions, he just followed Luke from the bedroom to his office. He’d find out soon enough what happened to Andrew, though he suspected he was dead by now.
Wonder how many others will suffer for Andrew’s lack of planning?

Luke waited until Patrick entered, and then shut the door behind them. The action itself piqued his curiosity because it was a definite sign something disastrous had happened. None of them ever shut their doors. “They executed him on live television.”

“Fuck!” He sidestepped the sofa, turning his attention to the television mounted near the fireplace, and watched as the news reporter’s camera zoomed in on a figured as it moved through the tree line. Even with the low quality of the video, he knew it was Andrew.

“They’re replaying it over and over with a message.”

“What message?” He leaned against the sofa’s arm and watched the television, knowing he wasn’t going to like what he saw over the next few minutes.

“That this will be the first of many shifters exterminated until the world is free of the scum.” Luke handed him a computer printout. “This was officially conducted by Shifter Free World, SFW. They’ve vowed to exterminate any person who they believe is a shifter and anyone known to associate with our kind.”

“As if the government wasn’t bad enough, now we have our own hate group determined to eliminate us.”