mywolfprotector (30 page)

severely burnt.

“These trailers are lined with silver. Bring me a crowbar,” he roared out, dismissing the pain.

The guardians scrambled to find anything that would free the prisoners.

The air was thick with terror and hopelessness on this side of the building. Walking around the metal container, he carefully surveyed it. Tiny holes had been drilled in strips along the sides, allowing a minimal amount of air to circulate within the closed up spaces. For a supernatural creature it would be enough, although, it wouldn't be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.

A guardian came running up with a crowbar. Alexander grabbed it, his eyes flaring brightly. “I'll be taking that,” he told him firmly, moving to stand in front of the door. The other guardians inched in closer, their expressions a mixture of horror and anger as they waited to see what was hidden within the trailers.

Marrok stood to the side, not interfering as Alexander opened the door. The crowbar, combined

with the supernatural strength behind it, was enough to pop the locks free. Using the handle, he opened each door wide.

As the light hit the interior, a collective gasp went up from the guardians behind them. Inside the cramped space were five bunk beds, with bodies lying still upon the thin mattresses. “Oh, shit,”

Marrok said angrily, moving to step in.

Alonzo pulled his cellphone out, dialing his headquarters. “Get the tribal doctors out to the

location I left,” he said angrily, before looking at Alexander. “Do you want your medical team in Missouri mobilized?”

“As soon as physically possible.” Alexander ordered, looking up at the rows of trailers that led to the ceiling. “If all of these are filled with bodies, we're going to need them,” he continued grimly.

Alonzo nodded, speaking rapidly into the phone. “Bring as much transport as you can. We've

got countless shifters stored in trailers out here, and we've got to get them out before Sanchez returns.

From what I can scent of them, they are alive but severely sedated. It's not just wolves, either. There are all kinds stored here.”

Marrok was grateful for the thick boots he was wearing as he moved to the back of the trailer. It protected his feet from the effects of the silver, but his skin was crawling from being surrounded by it.

How had these shifters survived endless hours in here?

He squatted down next to a woman lying on the bed, her body as still as death. She was alive,

but completely knocked out. Reaching out a hand, he gently shook her shoulder. “Wake up,” he

ordered, watching for any signs of awareness. There were none.

He moved from shifter to shifter, but none of them responded. “They've been heavily drugged,”

he called back over his shoulder. “I've never seen anything like it. Everything inside of here is marked with silver, except for the beds, themselves. None of them have shoes. If they ever woke up again, the humans made it damn near impossible for them to even stand up.”

“The cruel, inhumane bastards,” Alexander spat out. “They intended for them to be out until

they got back... Or maybe even longer.” A supernatural creature could last a long time without food, and even water, if they had to. It wasn't pleasant, though, in fact it was downright unbearable with their high metabolisms.

Marrok leaped out, landing firmly on the concrete floor with a thump. “Do any of you know

how to operate heavy equipment?”

A few guardians nodded in response. “Good,” he continued, counting how many trailers there

were. “We need to get these opened up as soon as possible. Conference among yourselves and figure out the best way. We want to start loading them as soon as transport arrives.”

Someone had opened up the large industrial door. The late afternoon sunlight streamed in,

revealing the day would soon be over with. Time was running out.

Alexander and Alonzo stared at each other, both wearing similar expressions. “Now that we

know where we stand, we need to start a battle plan,” Alexander said, his voice grim. “There is no telling how many Carlos has with him. We need to catch them off-guard, but it's going to be difficult here. The land is too flat and open, without very many places to hide.”

Marrok rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. “I might just have a workaround for that. Let's step

outside. I have a plan.”

* * * * *

The headlights cut across the dark night, revealing a darkened home sitting out in the middle of nowhere. She swallowed hard, fighting the residual effects of the sedative. Just hitting the New Mexico state line had been horrendous. Knowing she was within miles of the research facility was too much to bear. Fear and hopelessness washed over her, just as powerful as it had been during her years of captivity.

“Home, sweet home,” Carlos purred to her as the limo pulled to a stop in front of the house.

“You should feel honored, Taylor. You're the first woman I've ever brought to my home, and you'll be the first woman in my bed here.” He laughed cruelly before adding, “I can't say you'll be the only woman I fuck, though.”

“You make me sick, you repulsive freak,” she replied, her voice thick and scratchy. “A real man wouldn't have to force women in their beds.”

He gripped her hair painfully in his hand, forcing her head back. His face looked sinister in the light from the vehicles behind them. “Why not? Breaking them is half the fun. When I'm done with you, you'll beg. Oh, how you'll beg.”

“Go to hell,” she replied, yanking her head away from his hand. He released her, watching as

the driver moved to open their door. When he did Carlos shoved her, indicating she should get out.

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cool night air. The semi was moving to a warehouse type of metal building in the distance. How was she going to save the others before Carlos hid them? In this area, he could have another research facility anywhere.

“Where are you taking them?” she demanded as he turned to face her. The limo driver tipped

his hat to Carlos, moving back to the driver's door. Taylor ignored him. “I want you to let them go, Carlos. They have nothing to do with this.”

He wrapped his hand around her upper arm, pulling her resisting body to the sidewalk that led

to his front door. “You silly twit. Do you really think you have anything to do with me keeping them? I don't care what you want. I'll have you and them, regardless. You're in no position to make any demands. If it weren't for your reproductive organs, you'd quickly find yourself in there with them.”

The limo driver backed up and drove off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. All of the guards were with the rest of the vehicles, busy at the buildings around them. It was now or never.

She trembled inside, grabbing at her fleeing courage with everything she had in her. It was very likely she'd find herself dead tonight, but there was no other option. Enough innocent lives had been affected from the horrors of the man in front of her. It had to stop.

She threw her head back and laughed bitterly, digging her heels in with the power of her wolf.

He couldn't pull her any further. “You silly bastard,” she said mockingly, leveling her eyes at him.

“What makes you think your weak sperm would ever be enough to do anything with my reproductive organs?”

He stared down at her silently, his face blanching at the preternatural glow within her eyes.

“What are you talking about? Why do you look so different?” His hand fell away from her arm, coming to rest limply against his side.

“Do I?” she replied, answering his question with a question. “I can't say the same for you.

You're still the same bastard you've been your entire life, aren't you? You took thirty-one years of my life, but that wasn't enough to satisfy you. Oh no, a man like you never stops. How many lives have you ruined, Carlos? Hundreds? Thousands? You walk around with a God-complex, destroying innocent people as if you have the right to.”

She leaned her face closer to his, rage pushing her fear aside. “Guess what? Your sick, sadistic reign of terror ends, now.” Calling to the wolf inside of her, she brought about the change.

His dark eyes went wide with shock as he gaped at her. Taylor didn't give herself time to think.

Fueled by the rage beating within her heart, she leaped, knocking him flat on his back on the sidewalk with her powerful frame.

Preparing to rip his throat out, Taylor was stunned to realize Carlos was knocked out cold. She hesitated, pulling her teeth back from his throat. Freeing the others was of the utmost importance.

Finishing him off could wait.

Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, enveloping her body with a warmth that could

only come from one person. “Shh, Taylor,” a rich, masculine voice whispered in her ear. “It's me, Marrok. You're safe now. If you back away, the guardians will take care of the rest. They are already moving in, rescuing the others in the truck. You were amazing, but it's time to let someone else handle it. Come back to me, baby.”

She shifted and threw herself into his arms, raining kisses all over his face. “Oh God, Marrok,”

she cried out, burying her face into his muscled chest. “I didn't think I'd ever see you again.”

“That would have never happened again,” he replied, carrying her away from the unconscious

male. “I will never let you go again, Taylor. Never, not so long as this body still breathes.” Two guardians ran up and secured Carlos before dragging his prone body into the house.

“Did he hurt you?” Marrok asked, staring down into her face.

“Not really,” she replied, shaking her head. “There wasn't enough time. He did inject me again with the mind-numbing drugs. I didn't let on that they weren't working.”

The events of the night unleashed the dam she'd placed on her emotions. She pushed her face

back against his chest. “You have been so mad at me since the night I told you about him,” she said softly, her tears soaking the front of his shirt. “I wasn't sure you'd even want to find me after that.”

He stood her up and pulled his shirt off before sliding it over her head. “Foolish thoughts,

woman,” he growled out, smoothing the shirt down her body. Despite her voluptuous build it swamped her, ending well below her thighs. “And I should know all about those. I'm a fool for letting my pride interfere with our relationship. After the night of the conference, I knew he was obsessed with you.

Believing you didn't trust me enough to protect you is what broke me.”

She looked up at him, missing the sight of his face. Marrok was everything to her, the love she felt for him beyond compare. “Never in my life have I ever felt safer than I do when I'm with you. I knew you'd protect me, even if you lost your own life in the process. That's what I didn't want to risk, Marrok. I couldn't risk you, or the pack, dying for me.”

He grasped her shoulders and leaned his face down to hers, his expression firm. “You can't

control something like that, Taylor. Nobody ever knows what the future holds, but I can guarantee that neither one of us would fare very well apart. I love you, Taylor, but I have to know you're not going to try to run off out of some misguided fears.”

“Never,” she replied, her voice catching on a sob. “Even then, I didn't have the strength to walk away from what we have. I love you, Marrok. I can't bear ever living without you again.”

He smiled, his expression pleased. “I'm glad we've got that settled. Now, there's something else I want to get locked up tight, right here and now. As much as you keep coming and going, I figure I better get a ring on your finger to anchor you down.”

Taylor gasped, watching as he dug in his pocket. He pulled out a jewelry box before dropping

down on one knee. Opening it up, he presented it to her, grinning wryly as he said, “Taylor Moore, will you make a honest mate out of me by marrying me? I know it's really not the time or place, but I can't wait a moment longer. Although we're already mated, I want to make sure I have you bound to me in every way possible.”

She pursed her lips, teasing him as she pretended to think about it. Finally, she schooled her features into an uncertain mask before saying, teasingly, “I'm not sure if I want to. I kind of like the decadence of having just a lover. What if I marry you, and you end up staid and boring?”

He half-growled in response, pulling her hand to him before sliding it on her finger. “Just wait until all of this is over. When I get you alone again, I'll remind you of how exciting and adventurous I really am. That's one thing you will never have to worry about with me.”

His sensuous eyes slid slowly over her body, lingering on her breasts and the area between her legs. “The day will never come that I'm not looking for an excuse to get in your fine body, every chance I can get. I vow that to you, a hundred times over.”

She leaned over, wrapping her arms around his neck. “In that case, yes, yes, and yes.” They

kissed deeply, finding their own little piece of paradise amidst the horror of the night.

“Ahem,” a deep voice interrupted behind her. Breaking way from Marrok she spun around,

blushing when she saw Alexander, Carole Anne, Ivan, and Elena watching them. Marrok stood up,

slinging an arm casually around her shoulders as they waited to hear what he had to say.

Taylor was relieved to see they were unharmed. Ivan's neck was severely burnt but healing. All of them looked weary and unkempt, exhausted by the ordeal they'd been through. Taylor was sure she looked the same.

Alexander smiled at her kindly, but his voice was grim when he said, “It's time to question the commander. I thought you'd want to be there when we did.”

She felt Marrok's body stiffen next to her at his words, but his voice was calm when he replied,

“Thank you. We wouldn't miss it for the world.”