Mate Claimed

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Graham was furious, his eyes Shifter white, voice filled with rage.

Eric kept calm, though everything in him came alert. He was aware of the exact placement of everyone around him, including Iona, standing unafraid by his side. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.

“My wolves. They started coming in last night and today, but about twenty of them are missing. Where are they?”

Graham’s scent of panic overlaid his anger, his fear triggering Eric’s own uneasiness. “It’s a long drive from Elko, McNeil. Maybe some took it slower than others.”

“They all came together, asshole. In trucks and buses provided by the humans. Two hundred Shifters left my Shiftertown. One hundred and eighty arrived. Some of the missing are cubs. What the hell did you do with them?”

Eric’s uneasiness increased. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure! When a couple of my wolves say they put their mates and cubs on the humans’ bus, but when the bus rolled into this Shiftertown, the mates and cubs were gone—that makes me sure. Bus arrived, they didn’t.”

Iona broke in. “How could Eric possibly have had anything to do with that?”

Eric understood why Graham was lashing out at him. Eric was the closest enemy, and Graham’s instinct to protect his people, especially cubs, was strong. He wasn’t bothered by Graham’s rage—what bothered him was the missing Shifters.

“You’d do anything to weaken me,” Graham was snarling. “Did you make some kind of deal with Kellerman?”

Eric made his voice hard to cut through Graham’s fury. “I wouldn’t kick your ass by abducting cubs, no matter how much you irritate me. Who is missing? Give me specifics, names and ages.”

“Why? What do you know?”

Eric thought about the line of buildings in the desert, surrounded by barbed wire—empty buildings—coupled with Jace’s report about the cages. “I’m not sure yet.”

“I’ll kill you, Warden.”

“This has nothing to do with me, idiot. We need to get those Shifters back.”

“I might just kill you for the hell of it.”

Graham could. He was enraged enough to take out Eric with one blow. Then Iona, Cassidy, and Jace would be on him, and Diego might just shoot him. Graham’s seconds would attack them, and so it would begin.

“Don’t kill me until we find your wolves,” Eric said. “Give me a list of who we’re looking for, and I’ll get my trackers. The cubs are more important than our battle.”

Graham stopped, and Eric watched him rearrange his ideas. “You do know something.”

“There’s a place we found, out in the desert. My trackers and I could never get close enough to see what was going on. I’ll take you there.”

“Tell me where it is, and my trackers will rip it open.”

Eric fixed Graham with a steely gaze. “No. We track, we find, we get them out. My trackers and yours. The humans guarding it have high-powered rifles. If we go in fighting, they’ll best us with bullets, and then every Shifter in Shiftertown could be rounded up and killed.”

Eric saw the acknowledgment in Graham’s eyes. Graham didn’t like it—the man was a fighter, and he hated humans. But they needed stealth right now, not claws.

The human Kellerman might have nothing to do with this, but Eric would find out whether he did. Kellerman was always too cool when dealing with Shifters, as though he had some kind of hold over them that kept his fear at bay. Eric needed to discover what that hold was.

“Round up your trackers and meet me back here,” Eric said. “And we’ll get them.”

He deliberately turned his back, catching Iona’s eye as he went into the house. She followed him.

Iona had never seen Eric like this. She’d seen the seductive lover, the vicious fighter, the man suffering, and the protector. She’d never watched him be leader.

Anything laid-back about him was gone. Eric didn’t stand any straighter than usual, but his air of command was unmistakable. Even Graham had stopped arguing and quietly departed to do what Eric told him to.

Iona found that she too was ready to follow his commands, to her surprise. “What do you want me to do?” she asked. “Come with you to the compound?”

“No.” The word was sharp. “I don’t want to risk any humans finding out you’re Shifter.”

“But I might be able to help with the women and kids. If they’ve been captured, they’ll be scared. They won’t know you.”

“I’ll take some Lupine females with me for that. These Shifters aren’t used to Felines, and they might not trust you. What you could do…” Eric’s eyes were intensely green as he looked down at her. “Can you or your mother get Kellerman to your office? Ask him to come to talk about the house plans or something? I’d like to corner him somewhere away from his pristine office suite and his toadies.”

“Kellerman the Shifter liaison?” Iona asked in surprise. “What does he have to do with the buildings in the desert?”

“Maybe nothing. He might just be an asshole. Set the appointment for this afternoon. I want a look at the compound first.”

“Eric, if humans have taken the Shifters there, and you steal them back…”

Eric put his hands on her shoulders. “They’ll retaliate? Not this time, love. Humans put a lot of rules on us, but one we make them obey is: Don’t touch the cubs.”

“Good,” Iona said.

Eric leaned to her. “Stay away from Graham’s Shifters while I’m gone. They’ll smell you’re half Shifter, and if they see you’re un-Collared, I don’t know what they’ll do. And you’re still fair game. Best thing you can do is go back to your office, like it’s a normal Monday.”

A normal Monday. Right.

Eric started to release her, then pulled her close again and gave her a swift, hard kiss. “Be careful,” he said. “Come home to me.”

Iona wanted to say the same to him. Instead, she sent him a cocky look. “And if I decide—to heck with Shiftertown?”

Eric’s grip tightened to one she knew she could never break. “I’ll come and fetch you back.”

Iona believed him, and the thought of that chase suddenly excited her.

She saw her excitement reflected in his eyes. “Run as much as you want, Iona. The pleasure will be mine when I catch you.”

Iona didn’t trust herself to answer. Eric gave her one final kiss, and then she had to watch him walk away.

Strange, when Eric had first informed her he wanted her to stay in Shiftertown, Iona had rebelled. Now that Eric thought she’d be temporarily safer in the human world, Iona was reluctant to leave.

Cassidy came to stand next to her. “I know,” she said. “It’s tough to watch them walk into danger. I feel that way every morning that Diego leaves for work. Our need to protect the mate is strong.”

“I’m not Eric’s mate,” Iona said automatically.

“Has Eric told you about the mate bond? Some say—and I believe this—that it’s a magical binding between true mates. Your heart knows it even if you haven’t done the mating ceremonies.” Cassidy looked down at her. “I’m seeing the mate bond now in Eric’s eyes, and I’m seeing it in yours. Especially when you look at him.”

Iona didn’t answer, unsure how to respond. Cassidy studied her with an alpha stare, so like Eric’s.

Iona didn’t quite understand what Cassidy was talking about, but she couldn’t deny the pull she felt to Eric as she watched him walk off now with Jace, or the violent urge to protect him she’d had at the fight. When Eric had showered last night, Iona hadn’t been able to stop herself going to him, knowing he was suffering, and wanting to ease his pain.

“Ooh.” Cassidy flinched and put her hand to her abdomen, then she smiled. “She’s feisty. And wanting to come out and play.” She caressed her full stomach. “Not long now, love,” she crooned.

She looked so delighted, and also a little scared, that Iona couldn’t help squeezing Cassidy’s hand before she went back to Eric’s room to grab her shoes and head off to her red pickup.

Graham met Eric and Shane as they exited Nell’s house. Graham had brought his tracker Chisholm with him but said that his second-in-command, who’d arrived this morning, would remain in Shiftertown, since Eric’s second-in-command would too. Eric didn’t bother arguing with him.

At least Graham had found out who the missing twenty wolves were—mostly females and cubs, but a few grown males as well. All had disappeared from one bus, and the others on the bus had arrived groggy, as though they’d been drugged.

Somewhere on the long roads between here and Elko, the wolves had been spirited away.

“I don’t guarantee they’re at this compound,” Eric said as they made for their motorcycles. “But something not good is going on in that place.”

“If Kellerman has anything to do with this,” Graham said, “I’ll have his balls for breakfast.”

“Get in line.” Eric started his bike, waited for Jace to mount behind him, and they rode out.

Traffic heading north out of town was sparse, this being a workday. No one bothered a cluster of Harleys heading up the highway. It was cold enough to wear jackets that hid their Collars, Eric’s leather one keeping him warm.

Eric led the way to the county roads that cut through the desert, then to the trail that led to the ridge above the compound. He killed his bike and advised they shift or hike as humans for the next few miles.

Stuart Reid waited for them near the foot of the trail. He’d teleported, disliking riding double on a motorcycle as much as Eric hated teleporting.

“I’ve been up to have a look,” Reid said as they shut down the bikes. “Seems quiet.”

Graham dismounted and thunked his helmet onto the back of his bike. “What did you bring the Fae for, Warden? He creeps me out.”

“Dokk alfar,” Reid said, eyeing him steadily. Reid was no submissive. “Not Fae.”

“Whatever,” Graham growled.

“Learn the difference,” Reid said. “Someday your life might depend on it.”

Graham leaned belligerently to Reid as Graham passed him. “Whatever.”

“Let’s move,” Eric said sternly.

Jace, Shane, Chisholm, two other Felines, and wolves who’d ridden up chose to shift, but Eric walked. He’d shift closer to the compound if he needed to. Graham did the same, walking right behind Eric.

From the top of the ridge, the small compound crouching in the desert looked quiet, as Reid had said it would be. Eric didn’t see the guards this time—no movement at all in the shadows of the buildings.

Though the November air was cool, the sun was high and strong, the blue sky unbroken. Eric could see for miles from up here, but nothing showed beyond the compound but pale sands, creosote, grasses, and blank rock.

“That’s it?” Graham muttered as he hunkered behind a large slab of boulder and stared down at the buildings. “That’s nothing.”

Eric tested the air. He couldn’t scent as well in human form, but he’d honed the sense over years. This time, when a gust of wind turned their direction, he caught the whiff of fear. Pure, stark fear, the stink of it unmistakable.

Graham caught it too. The scent was faint but enough to have Graham halfway to his feet, snarling in rage.

“Wait,” Eric said. “Let the trackers and Reid get closer.”

Graham nodded reluctantly, and motioned for his wolves to go ahead with Eric’s trackers. The animals slunk down the hill, bodies fluid, hardly visible against the shadows. The wildlife went quiet, sensing the predators.

Reid was the only one easily seen darting down the hill. He had the lithe body of a runner, and he was fast. He made it to the fence before the others and then popped out of existence.

“What the fuck?” Graham asked, staring at the spot from which Reid had vanished.

“He can teleport,” Eric said. “He’s useful.”

“Shit.”

The Shifters circled the compound, keeping well out of sight. Shane was the most visible, but he wisely kept to the large boulders clumped to the west of the compound, his grizzled fur blending with the sun-dappled rocks.

Then Reid walked out from between two buildings and to the fence. He looked up the ridge toward Eric and shook his head. A second later, Reid disappeared, then reappeared next to Eric in a rush of air.

“No one there,” Reid said.

Graham bellowed and leapt aside, then he came back, teeth bared, claws out. “Never do that again, Fae. I’ll take your head off.”

Reid gave him a look of contempt. “Whatever.”

“Fucking Fae.”

Reid turned back to Eric. “I teleported in between the buildings, but they’re all locked up. No guards, and I heard nothing from inside anywhere. It looks deserted.”

Eric stared down at the compound for a moment, contemplating. The place was a mystery, but he’d not mistaken that scent of fear.

He quietly unfolded to his feet. “Let’s check it out.”

Graham emitted a wolf growl and started down the hill after Eric. They picked their way along, stones rolling out from under their feet, dust rising in the still air. They met Chisholm and Jace near the gate, both of them waiting, looking grim. They’d scented the fear too.

Graham reached for the large padlock, ready to break it, but Eric stepped in front of him. “Reid.”

“What’s he going to do?” Graham asked. “Fae magic it open?”

Reid pulled a flat pouch from his back pocket, unzipped it in silence, and removed lock picks. With the rest of them watching, Reid calmly worked the picks into the lock. In a few seconds, the padlock clicked open.

“All right, so he’s useful,” Graham said grudgingly.

“I don’t want anyone to know we got in,” Eric said. “Stealth first, fighting later.”

“Wuss,” Graham said.

Shane’s grizzly growl sounded right behind Graham—a long rumble that went on and on and on. Graham gave him a scowl and strode past Eric through the gate.

“Shane,” Eric said, and the growl stopped. “Search,” he said to all the Shifters and Reid. “Let’s be quick.”

The compound was as simple as it looked from above, three long buildings with doors and no windows. The air-conditioning units were silent, and none of the lights above the doors were on.

Eric chose a door in the middle of the quiet compound, one that wouldn’t be seen from the surrounding desert. Reid obligingly picked the lock.

Eric wondered where Reid had obtained the skill, but he didn’t want to pry too much. Inside Faerie, Reid was able to make iron do whatever he wanted—making the metal change shape or form, or obey his will—which scared the hell out of the high Fae, who were weakened by iron. Reid couldn’t use his talent in the human world for some reason, but maybe it helped him manipulate locks and other things made of metal.

The door opened. Graham grabbed it and shoved himself inside without waiting for Eric. Eric followed him in closely, his senses straining, the beast in him ready to fight.

They found themselves in a room about twenty feet long and ten wide, with no windows but with doors on either end. The room was dark, but Eric’s Shifter sight took it in—two beds shoved lengthwise against the back wall, sinks next to each door, an island in the middle of the room holding another sink and cabinets.

Everything was white except the island, which was black with wooden cabinet doors. The pervasive odor was of antiseptic.

Eric flashed back to another white room, where he’d lain flat on his back on a hard bed, cuffs around his wrists, chains wrapping his lower limbs. Machines on the wall beeped with his vital signs, and six different tubes snaked into his arm.

People with nothing on their faces but mild curiosity stared down at him, not even bothering to take notes. All the while, Eric screamed.

Sudden pain cramped his body. He hugged his arm over his abdomen, letting out a grunt that sounded loud in the silence.

Graham swung around. “What is it?”

“Bad memories,” Eric said through clenched teeth.

Graham’s eyes narrowed. “Malfunctioning Collar, my ass. You’re weakening. How about if I take you out right now and put you out of your misery?”

Eric couldn’t answer, being caught in a spasm of pain.

Reid stepped to Graham and wound one long-fingered hand around Graham’s bicep. “How about if I teleport us to the top of the tallest building in town and then drop you?”

Graham stared at Reid for a time, reassessing him. “Dokk alfar? Okay, Warden, so now I know why you let him hang out with you. You all right? Or are you going to pass out on me?”

The pain receded a bit, and Eric straightened. “I’m fine.”

“You’ve been in a place like this before,” Graham said, giving him a shrewd look.

“Worse than this.” There weren’t nearly as many machines here, or the smell of as many chemicals.

Graham looked around the room, then back at Eric. “Fucking humans.” He walked to the door on the left wall and waited for Reid to unlock it for him.

Eric knew they should check every building and figure out what was going on here, even after they found the wolves, but he didn’t relish the thought. The ghost of pain past was still haunting him, and he wanted out of here as soon as he could.

When Eric caught up to Graham and Reid, they’d entered the next room, which was identical to the one they’d left except that a large cage stood against the wall. The fear smell from the cage overpowered the antiseptic smell that tried to cover it—sweat, blood, a hint of urine. Eric remembered Jace’s report of the empty cages being brought into the compound by jeeps—they must have used these to transport the Shifters here once they’d taken them off the buses.

Graham’s scent betrayed raw anger. “They were here,” he said. “My wolves.”

Reid looked around. “They couldn’t have put twenty of them in here. Probably used rooms up and down this row. But there’s no one here now.”

Graham swept his strong arm across the center counter. The curved faucet of the sink broke and clattered to the floor. No water came out of the broken tap—the water must have been shut off as well.

“Where are they?” Graham roared. “Where the hell are they?”

“Alive,” Eric said.

Graham rounded on him. “How do you know that?”

“No smell of death. They were here, they were scared, but they were taken away again. Not killed.”

“Taken away where? And why are the cages still here?”

“Fuck if I know. But we’ll find them.”

Eric tried to keep his voice calm, but he wanted to rage as much as Graham did. Experiments on Shifters were forbidden now, and no one, no one touched the cubs. Didn’t matter that they were Graham’s Shifters, or Lupine Shifters. Eric tasted the need to find and slaughter whoever had frightened those cubs.

Graham’s Collar started to spark. He was about to go on a rampage. Eric shared the urge, but if they tore up the place, humans would figure out that they’d been there, and the Goddess knew what they’d do—to the Shifters they’d already taken, to Shifters in general.

Before he could tell Graham to take his ass back outside, Eric’s cell phone vibrated. He yanked it out of its holder.

“Brody. What?”

Eric listened to Brody’s excited and garbled words, then said, “Fine. We’re coming,” and hung up.

He looked up to find Graham an inch away, the man fully in his space, Graham’s breath fanning Eric’s face.

“Got them,” Eric said. “Brody’s found them—on a highway not far from here. We need to get there. Reid?”

Eric hated what would come with the teleport back to the motorcycles—the dizziness, the nausea—but as Reid grabbed Graham first, Eric had the satisfaction of watching Graham’s eyes widen in sudden, pure terror.