Authors: Unknown
remained stoic and calm. Marrok was known for his control, but the situation he found himself in had to be tearing him apart. He wasn't sure he could have down as well, should he have been in his shoes.
“Thank you for giving us this information,” Alexander told the other wolves. “I'm sure you're
exhausted. Connor will show you to your housing.”
Cody looked relieved. The two men stood up and followed Connor out of the room wearily.
Rest and good food would be the best healer of all for them. The powerful wolf within their bodies would take care of the rest.
The door shut quietly behind them. “What a hell of a mess,” Ivan ground out, his expression
grim. “You boys need to get some rest. The pack needs both of you at full capacity.” He looked at Marrok, his eyes wise as he continued. “You have a long road to travel with your mate, but I know you can do it. You will have to bring her through this trauma. You can't do that exhausted.”
Marrok nodded in agreement. “My mind agrees, but my body doesn't want to cooperate. It
seems like this nightmare is never-ending.”
A knock sounded on the door. The three men exchanged a wry look before Alexander chuckled
tiredly. “And so it continues,” he said tiredly. “Enter.”
The door swung open, revealing another guardian named Hunter. “Sorry for the interruption,
My Liege. The pack chief, Alonzo, is on the line. I think he has news you will want to hear.”
“Send it through to this phone,” Alexander replied with interest. “Let's see what he has to say.”
Hunter left. Within seconds, the phone rang. Alexander answered, placing the call on
speakerphone. “Alonzo, my brother, how are things faring in New Mexico.”
“We've located more survivors. There was a great deal to escape, but some of them remained
hidden. They keep coming in, though. Your guardians just left with several injured in their helicopters.
We are grateful for your assistance in this.”
“Of course,” Alexander replied. “We wouldn't have it any other way. Ivan and Marrok are with
me now. We've just met with the first two escaped wolves, Neal and Cody. Can you tell us if you've located the main entry point for the facility?”
“Actually, that's why I'm calling. The inside of the facility is just about destroyed, but I've got teams in there removing what files and hard drives that they can. We've managed to get some initial data from this, but it's mostly records on tests performed. They've had hundreds of our people, Alexander. Hundreds, and that is just at this facility. We don't know yet if there are others.” His voice sounded disgusted, thick with repugnance.
“But, back to what you asked me. Our teams have located several tunnels and corridors
underground. It looks like the facility was built in the middle of a natural underground cavern system.
There was countless hours of labor and money put into this. It wasn't a slop job. Crews would have been involved, and they would have had to be the best in their fields. The tunnels were enlarged with a tunnel drill, the walls are smooth and solid. This is big, Marrok. There are people out there that knew about this, but they have kept silent all these years. That just pisses me off.”
“How were they able to get all of this in, Alonzo?” Ivan asked, bemused.
“We know of one way for certain. One of the tunnels lead to a ranch about a half-mile from the base of the mesa. One of our researchers checked, and this land was purchased in the 1950's by a corporation. She's working on it now, trying to find out who is involved. Someone went to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks on this. Anyhow this ranch is isolated, the property size about four hundred and fifty acres total.”
Ivan wrote on his papers. “Have you went in yet?”
“Yes, I was the one to personally oversee this mission. It's all a front. The ranch and
outbuildings were built shortly after the land was purchased. We couldn't see any signs that anyone had lived there, but it was used often. It was more of a guard station, I believe. Inside was set up with security monitors, computers, and office furniture. We did find a tunnel to the facility inside the largest steel building, though. The building is about four thousand square feet, and inside there is an automatic steel door that covers the entrance. The tunnel is big enough for a tractor trailer to fit through, and I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the past there was one in there.”
“Shit,” Alexander said with surprise. Marrok silently agreed. Somewhere out there was an
organization devoted to finding and torturing their kind. They had enough money to keep this silent all of these years. It would have remained so if not for the actions of Neal, Cody, and his mate. Their enemy was formidable. It took a lot to keep anything hidden so close to a pack of werewolves with a supernatural sense of smell, but somehow, they had managed it.
Marrok froze at the thought. “Alonzo, why would anyone build a facility this size next to a pack of werewolves? It doesn't make sense. Do you think they knew what we were? If not, that means that they don't have the ability to detect us easily, at least yet. What if they did know, though? What would that have meant?”
Alonzo was silent for a moment. “I'm not sure,” he finally replied. “It's just another piece to this shitty puzzle.”
“How many of the prisoners came from your pack, Alonzo?” Ivan asked immediately.
“Only three. The sad thing is we didn't know they were missing, at least, not until recently.
These happened so sporadically we thought they'd just left. We all know it's not uncommon for wolves to come and go as they please. It wasn't until the news of the first two escaping that we were able to figure it out. By the way, we do know the facility developed drugs and devices that will work on supernaturals.”
The three men wore identical expressions of disbelief. Alexander asked grimly, “What do we
need to watch for?”
“They have sedatives that work with wolves through injections, or through their food or water.
It's tasteless, undetectable to even our senses. They have also developed a gas that can be released through the air ducts and vents in any home. This gas will knock a wolf out for at least an hour, sometimes longer. They know that silver will hurt us if it's concentrated enough, so they use cages and handcuffs made of this. Be warned.”
Alexander shoved his hand through his hair in frustration. “It just gets better and better doesn't it? Thanks for the information, Alonzo. Call us whenever you find out anything else, day or night.”
“Will do,” he replied briskly. “You do the same.”
Alexander disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair. “I'm officially calling it a night,”
he told the other two. “It's going to be dawn soon, and I'm missing the hell out of Carole Anne. These are bad days to be a werewolf, and all of us know it. I just feel like this is going to end badly. It's not something we can just ignore. The wolf inside of me is giving me a strong warning to act fast.”
Marrok nodded. “I feel it, too.”
Ivan looked at both of them, his expression fierce as he summed it up. “We will not let our
people be decimated. We've always left the humans alone, never causing them any fear or hardships.
Werewolves are a peaceful race and well-deserving of the right to live free. They went too far when they held our people, torturing and murdering them as they pleased. They have to be stopped, before more innocent lives are lost. We will find the group responsible for these horrendous acts, and when we do, we go to war.”
Taylor woke to the late afternoon sun streaming through the white curtains. She sat up,
disoriented and confused, until the events of the last few days hit her. She was safe, despite the dread and anxiety that seemed to be her constant companion.
The small house was quiet, the room empty. Marrok was nowhere to be seen. She blushed. Had
he slept with her in this very bed the prior night? Taylor quickly stopped that train of thought. Of course he hadn't, but she remembered him waking her a few times during the worst parts of her
nightmares. There was no denying it. The man soothed her in a way nobody else could.
Her body briefly tingled at the thought of Marrok, but ended abruptly, leaving her numb and
empty as always. It was a result of the drugs they'd given her at the facility, but how long would they last? She feared she would always be locked into this void, never quite feeling anything again. As strong as the drugs were though, they weren't quite strong enough to eradicate the fear.
She gently stepped out of the bed, surprised to realize that physically her body felt good. The large meal and extended sleep had helped her, giving her more energy than she'd felt in a long time.
Stretching, she moved to the doorway. Nature was calling, in more ways than one.
Walking down the hallway, she marveled at the plush carpeting underneath her feet. It was
luxurious to walk on something other than concrete or tile. Believing herself to be alone, Taylor twisted the doorknob of the bathroom door and pushed it open wide.
Gaping at the male in front of her, Taylor stopped in her tracks. Pure, unadulterated lust
slammed into her, temporarily obliterating the numbness inside. Marrok faced her, his powerful body covered with nothing but a towel wrapped around his lean hips. Taylor lost the will to even breath as she surveyed the smooth perfection of his body.
He stared at her boldly with his dark eyes, allowing her to look her fill. His facial features were chiseled, with well-defined lips and a strong jaw. Marrok went far beyond handsome. He was savage with features that were bold and striking.
His long, silky, black hair hung free. It was freshly washed and dried, ending halfway down his back. Taylor clenched her hands into fists, fighting the temptation to twine her fingers within the strands. The dark, coal-black sheen of his hair framed his deeply tanned, golden-hued skin to
perfection.
Her eyes swung down his body slowly. He was tall, standing at least six and a half feet on his bare feet, with large shoulders and strong thighs. His muscles were exceptionally large, his abdomen toned and tight. Her body reacted instinctively, the area between her legs moistening in need.
She wasn't alone in her desire. Her gaze settled on the front of his towel, her eyelids lowering in an unconscious show of sensuality. The towel tented away from his body... Far, far away. Taylor swallowed hard, struggling to find something to say. Words failed her. She didn't want to talk. Instead, she wanted to rip the towel off of his masculine body, and experience what he had to offer on top of that decadent piece of male flesh.
“Find something you like?” Marrok asked softly, his eyes locked to her face as if he wanted to devour her. He reminded her of a picture she'd once seen of a very hungry animal...
And Heaven help
her, she was the meal he was eyeballing.
Taylor knew Marrok could see and smell her reaction to his body, in fact, the knowledge
secretly tantalized her. Her eyes met his, lust sizzling within their ocean-blue depths. In one simple word, she replied, “Yes.”
Her pale cheeks were tinged with pink, but she refused to look away. He moved up to her
slowly, his masculine scent enveloping her. “I'll be damned if I can resist the temptation of touching your soft skin a moment longer,” he muttered, pulling her against him.
Her hardened nipples prodded gently as his chest, separated only by the thin material of her
shirt. Tilting her head back, she stared into his face. His lips were only inches away, his hardness pressed in between them. Nothing else mattered but this moment. “Kiss me, Marrok.”
He inhaled deeply, his eyes flickering red. Before she could question it he kissed her, and her entire world came to a crashing halt. For the first time in years, she simply felt.
His mouth was minty, his tongue bold as it delved at the tight seam of her lips. He didn't have to wait for an invitation for long. Her hands moved up to the back of his head, pulling him down closer, as her lips submitted to his bold movements. Taylor was wild with need, her body on fire. She moaned, the sound loud in the silence of the bathroom.
“My little wildcat,” he muttered against her lips as his hands slid down to cup her ass. “It's so hot between us we're both going to go up in flames.” He picked her up. “Wrap your legs around my hips. I need to feel that hot puss up against me.”
She quickly obeyed him, wanting and needing to feel his hot frame against her sensitive flesh.
He growled at the contact, his expression tight as his eyes flashed down at her. “My control is limited when it comes to you. It's not held by anything more than a frayed thread. A very frayed thread. I'm fighting to keep from ripping those cute little shorts off and plugging this hard cock in you, right here, right now. I want to make this last, though. I've waited a long time for this moment, Taylor.”
Taylor buried her face into the side of his neck before inhaling deeply. His delicious scent
washed over her, and she couldn't resist a taste. She nipped at him gently before tasting his smooth, salty skin. He groaned, his chest rumbling against her body.
He carried her down the hallway and into the bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, he pulled
off his towel and groaned again at the hungry look in her eyes. Taylor stared boldly at the large perfection of his naked cock. “I want you, Marrok,” she told him, her voice throaty. “No stopping this time. If you can't give it all to me, walk out of that door now. If you get in this bed, though, I expect to feel every hot, hard inch inside of me as soon as humanely possible.”
Marrok leaned over and pulled at her shorts. Her clothing disappeared in a matter of seconds.
He stared down at her body, his eyes an interesting shade of red and black. “Then we might have a problem,” he bit out, his voice controlled, but thick with desire. “There's nothing about me that could ever be considered anything as sedate as human. You've done toyed with the wolf now, and I hope you're prepared for what he's fixing to bring to the table.”