With a jerk of his head, the younger man nodded. I slung two bodies over one shoulder, the other I dragged up the incline, shaking at the knowledge they’d come so close to where I’d been sleeping with Lyric. At the top, I looked back and forth, waiting for the kid to indicate which way they’d left their vehicle.
“I can’t remember which way we came.”
My heightened senses smelled no untruth. The two men shifted in my arms, and I made a snap decision. I’d picked up their Tasers and shoved them into the waistband of my pants. Dropping them, I tasered the first one and then the others, making sure none would wake up.
Signs of the men’s trek were visible to me as I looked closer. I wasn’t sure if they were amateurs or if it was all a setup. The menfrom the bar were much more organized and a lot tougher than the four I’d faced here. I looked at the kid again, a growl rising in my chest. “Boy, you’d better start being straight with me, or I’ll rip your fucking throat out and shit down your neck.” My beast pushed to the front, needing to protect what was mine.
“We were told where to find this hidden place. Our job was just to come and see if it was really here. You shocked us all when you came out of there.”
No change in his scent. Either the guy was a good liar, or he was telling the truth. A sudden rush of power washed over me, making me smile. Kellen wasn’t one for subtlety, although I didn’t hear the other man until he was almost on top of us. Something not many people could do.
“What’s doin boys?” Kellen’s deep rumble filled the night air.
The young kid dropped to his knees. Even non-shifters couldn’t fight an alpha’s power. Kellen’s right brow lifted as I stood my ground.
“I felt something was off and went to investigate. What I found was these yahoos.” I explained what had happened after I’d opened the door. Had the men I’d tasered still been conscious, Kellen would have probably beaten them down with his fist and claws. His fingernails lengthened to deadly black claws, igniting fear in the only man who could give the answers they needed.
“What’s your name, and if you lie or do anything I don’t like, I will cut you.” Kellen brought his claws up for him to see.
Audibly swallowing, sweat dripping down his brow, he opened his mouth then shut it.
“You think I won’t?” Kellen lifted his arm that had shifted into more wolf than man. “They weren’t lying. You’re really a wolfman?”
“Oh, yeah. Wanna see how big my teeth are?” Kellen smiled, flashing fangs much larger than a human’s.
“Mike. My name is Mike. I thought this was a recon, not a capture or whatever, man. I swear. I didn’t sign up for this, and they promised us backup.”
“Who promised you these things, Mike?” Kellen asked, his wolf back under the skin.
I was impressed by how easily the alpha shifted. “My fraternity.”
I looked at the downed men and then at Mike. “That doesn’t make sense, Kellen. This kid looks young enough, but these guys…” I said, thinking about waking one of them. “They’re too old to be in college.”
“Listen, you little fuck, I’m done playing games. Do you know you can live without a dick? They’ll call you a eunuch, or a chick, but I don’t give two fucks what you’re called. Last chance.” Kellen grabbed the kid by the throat, easily lifting him off the ground.
My ears picked up the sound of approaching men. My body stilled as I half shifted. “Kellen, we got company coming at us from the east.”
“That would be Xan and the boys.”
I wondered how Kellen knew but assumed it had to do with their sense of smell. Yeah, I was still getting used to the whole wolf thing.
“Please tell me you aren’t swinging for our team now, Alpha.” Xan came up like a silent wraith. I was sure he was with the men I’d heard coming from the east, only he spoke right next to the downed men, coming out of the woods from the west.
“When I drop this kid, I’ll shove something up your ass if you want, Xan.” There was no heat to either of their words, letting me know they joked with each other all the time.
“Guys, I really don’t want anything up my ass. I’m sorry I came here. I swear it. I don’t know what’s real or fake. I feel like pieces are missing.”
Truth. I could hear it and wasn’t sure what to make of it. “The guys who tried to take Lyric were very organized. I’d say they had the ability to wash these guys. That’s what this seems like to me.” I stopped at the questioning looks on the men’s faces. “That means they are disposable.”
“Ah, shit. You’re military. Have you seen this before?” Xan asked and pulled the larger man, who had started to wake.
“I thought you killed this one.”
“Coti, did you go to medical school?” Kellen asked.
“Does fucking a chick while she was in nursing school count?” Xan punched the man named Coti.
“If it worked that way, I’d be every fucking profession known to man, and some that haven’t even been created yet.” The bald man had a few inches on both the alpha and Xan, yet he tilted his head as if thinking. “So you’re saying you’re a manwhore?”
