The inside is full of activity as guards rush to secure their prisoners and fight for their freedom. Something they won’t be receiving; my men will ensure and see to that. I set my eyes on the wolf that’s sneaking around all of the men fighting. Running full speed, I jump on his back and place my fangs at his jugular. He tries to buck me off, but my claws bury themselves into his skin. He has become my captive, he tries to flip us to where I’m on my back, putting me at a disadvantage. My back legs wrap around his hips, he struggles against my tight hold. I hear him growl in frustration as his lack of movement is pissing him off. I can feel it in the air and internally smile at his forlorn predicament. His life will be mine; I think as my fangs further penetrate his skin. The taste of fur and blood enrapture my senses and I feel victory on the horizon. Mine.
His body shudders beneath me as his life force drains from his body. He goes limp underneath me and my cat yowls his victory. I leave my conquest dead on the floor and follow my nose to where it scents my cousin. I can feel his anxiety which pushes me faster. Is he hurt? In trouble? Has something happened to put him in distress? I’ll kill whoever has made him feel this way. Fear is engulfing my system, I can feel it swarming me, wrapping me in an uncomfortable embrace. My body picks up speed as I come to an opened door leading underground. We don’t have cellars here in Texas. This one doesn’t carry the odor of an old musky smell; which means it’s not old, it’s freshly built. I’m presuming it was dug as an addition; the motherfuckers needing somewhere to store people before they started bringing in their kidnapped individuals. This underground bunker of sorts was a brilliant idea on their part; it has concealed everyone’s screams along with their scents of fear and hurt. Any shifter within a five-mile radius of this place would’ve been able to notice it. Leaping down the last few stairs, I stop dead in my tracks when I take in the lined cages taking up every square inch of this basement. There’s barely a path to walk through, cages are on top of cages, the air is thick and hard to breathe through.
As my eyes scan the room at large, they land on that of my cousin who makes eye contact with me and lets out a ragged breath. “Thank God you found me,” he weakly blurts out. “Get me out of here, Blaze.” I shift back into my human skin and run toward him. There are locks on the cages, but they are nothing compared to my superhuman strength. Hearing footsteps coming down the steps, I lift up my nose and smell. It’s my team, my body relaxes as I hear them too begin to break loose the locks. Kane walks over to me with a fresh set of clothes. He must’ve gone back to our bikes and retrieved my spare clothes I keep stored in my saddle bags for instances such as this. Quickly putting them on, I keep my eyes on my cousin, scared that like a mirage he’ll disappear in front of my eyes.
“Echo, are you alright?” I ask him as soon as I have dressed and released him from his locked enclosure.
“I’m good, but damn I’m glad to see you.” He leans into my body where we embrace each other. “I smell her, Blaze. My mate, she’s trapped down here somewhere.”
“You don’t know who she is?” I ask, leaning him back and watching his eyes as they meticulously look around.
“No, but she’s somewhere close,” he answers, once again taking in all of the happenings surrounding us.
“Blaze!” I hear a familiar feminine sound call out my name. “Blaze! Help me,” the voice cries out.
“Maritsa?” I turn and take in the young woman as she runs and leaps into my arms.
I feel my body jerk as my cousin hisses out, “Mine.”
Oh fuck! This cannot be happening! Glory will skin him alive if he touches one hair on her head. Maritsa’s almost seventeen years old… which means Echo can’t claim her until she’s turned eighteen. “Echo, she’s too young. You can’t claim her for another year or so.”
His eyes darken as he narrowly looks over at me. “Don’t have to claim her to protect her. Still don’t want any other man’s hands on her. Understand?”
“Undoubtedly,” I inform him as I begin sitting Maritsa down. She’s already had her life turned upside down, she doesn’t need to see a shifter lose his marbles over his future mate, we are known to be uncontrollable and lethal when another person touches what’s destined to be ours. “Let’s get everyone out of here so that the Chief can make sure everyone gets the medical treatment they need and are returned to their families.”
Glory
Happy tears stream down my face as I watch the monitors and see the kidnapped victims being escorted out of the factory. They did
