Tanner found Spencer and Peter three-quarters of a mile outside the camp, just as two men in tactical gear were loading them in the back of one of the same SUVs he’d seen earlier. He could make out their heartbeats, so he knew the hybrids were alive, but they’d clearly been tranquilized. He had no idea how these men had been able to dart the hybrids with enough of the drug to knock them out before Spencer or Peter could sound the alarm. Ultimately, he didn’t care. He wasn’t letting them kidnap his friends.
Tanner could have stopped and taken a shot at the men, but he didn’t want to risk hitting Spencer or Peter. So instead, he growled and let his body shift further, putting all his effort into closing the distance between him and them as fast as he could.
The men must have heard him, because they both turned at the same time. The NVGs they wore hid their expressions, but they both brought their weapons up quickly, as if they weren’t shocked at all to see a man running at them through the dimly lit forests at thirty miles an hour.
Tanner dodged to the right to avoid the incoming submachine gunfire, sure they’d missed him. But then something smacked into the center of his chest, and for a second, he’d thought he’d been hit. Then he realized the sting didn’t feel like a 9mm. He glanced down to see a metal dart tube sticking out of his chest mere inches from his heart.
Shit.
He slapped it away but knew it wouldn’t help. The damage was done.
His mind raced. He might only have seconds before he ended up in the same condition as Spencer and Peter. He growled, letting the beast inside out all the way, praying it would help him fight off the drug for a time. It might not have helped the other hybrids, but maybe being partially shifted before getting hit would make a difference.
He avoided more darts, letting his claws and fangs extend completely as he lunged at the men. They tried to line up for another shot with their tranquilizer guns, but Tanner was on them too fast to let that happen.
Both men scrambled backward, suddenly desperate to get away, but the SUVs blocked their way, and they had no choice but to deal with him. Tanner didn’t even consider pulling the trigger on the weapon he was carrying. That wasn’t the way his inner beast chose to fight. It was the one disadvantage of letting his hybrid half take the lead.
He roared loud enough to shake the trees around him, hitting the first guy between the eyes with the butt of his AR-15, delighting in the crunch of cracking bones as the man dropped like a sack of potatoes. Then he spun and threw himself at the second one.
That’s when he found out just how much the drugs dumped into his system had already affected him. The leap that normally would have taken him ten feet barely covered five. He came up far short of his prey, giving the man time to get his dart gun up again.
Tanner moved a little to the side, hoping to make the man miss. It worked. A little. Instead of getting Tanner in the chest again, the dart clipped his right arm. But Tanner still felt some of the drugs pour into his bloodstream before he plucked the dart out.
He snarled, and the man with the dart gun stumbled back a little in fear. But while the guy might be scared, he wasn’t giving up. Grabbing the automatic pistol holstered at his hip, he pulled it out with the practice of a man who handled weapons for a living. Tanner didn’t think. He took two strides and slashed out with his claws, raking them across the man’s throat.
Tanner stopped and looked around, wondering what he should do next. His thoughts were getting fuzzy as hell, and it was all he could do to keep from dropping to the ground right on the spot.
A sound filtered through his muddled head, and after a few seconds, he realized he was hearing gunshots from the camp. He forced his mind to clear, remembering the four scents he’d smelled from the west. Shit. Those men had reached the camp.
He glanced at Spencer and Peter. He couldn’t leave them out here like this. He’d grab them and hide them in the woods. That plan proved much more difficult than he’d imagined. The tranquilizer had made him so weak, he could barely drag Peter out of the back of the SUV, much less carry him. By the time he finally got the big hybrid shoved under the low-hanging branches of a fir tree, he was gasping for breath. Cursing, he walked over to get Spencer.
He’d only gone a few feet when a woman’s scream echoed in the air. That was Zarina. He knew it in his soul. She was in trouble.
Leaving Spencer where he was and hoping the brush would hide him, Tanner started toward the camp. His head spun as he ran. He was so dizzy now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to help once he got there. He brutally shoved the doubts from his mind. Zarina was in trouble. He’d do anything he had to do to save her.
He stumbled into the camp, his arms and legs feeling like they weighed a ton. But he was still moving, honing in on Zarina’s scent, and that was all that mattered. She was somewhere near the main building.
But as he rounded the corner of one of the cabins and headed that way, another scent smacked him in the face hard enough to stun him. Not
