The Altered (31 page)

Daniel hadn’t
spared much thought for the two men Chambers injected before
Ash—they were obviously involved somehow, so he didn’t give a toss.
But Ash….

As the serum
slowly entered Ash’s bloodstream, Daniel concentrated on breathing
in and out. If Ash changed, then no way was Daniel giving him up to
Chambers. He just hoped none of the others would either.

Neither
Charlie, Jordan, nor Sam had reacted to Shaw, but maybe it was too
soon in the change for them to be able to sense it? Daniel had no
way of knowing, since he couldn’t exactly ask.

Oh no….

There it was,
as clear and beautiful as any wolf Daniel had seen.

Ash was going
to be a full shifter—his wolf a pure brilliant white with bright
blue eyes, and for just a second it stared back at Daniel, happy
and open, its tongue lolling out to one side.

It took every
ounce of control Daniel had not to react. He didn’t know how to
feel—relieved that Ash appeared to be okay, or sad that Ash’s
humanity had been stolen from him. All that would have to wait,
though, because the last thing Daniel wanted was to let Chambers
know the serum had worked.

“Well?”
Chambers stalked over and grabbed hold of Daniel’s chin again.

Daniel looked
him straight in the eye and shook his head. “I see nothing.”

“No!” Chambers
ripped the wires off Daniel and shoved the polygraph hard across
the room, sending it crashing into the cages on the other side.
“You’re lying!” He whirled back around, gripping Daniel’s shoulders
and forcing his chair back on two legs. “I don’t know how you’re
doing it, but you must be.”

“Sir?” one of
the guards still holding onto Ash shouted, interrupting. “What do
we do with them?” He nodded at Ash and then at the two on the
floor.

Chambers let
go of Daniel’s chair, sending him toppling over onto his back.
Daniel just about managed to keep his head from smacking against
the hard floor. Chambers smiled down at him, and Daniel’s stomach
dropped. “Kill them.”

“No!”

Daniel yelled
at the same time as the guard said, “But sir—”

“I said kill
them. They’re no use now, and we can’t exactly let them go. Can
we?”

The guard
shook his head but was still clearly reluctant to pull the trigger,
and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. The others around him didn’t
seem too eager to carry out Chambers’ orders either. Daniel
wondered who Shaw and Adams were that they elicited such a
reaction. He didn’t think they had any qualms about killing Ash,
although they did dart increasingly worried glances at where Sam
still paced along the bars, his fangs bared.

“If I have to
do it myself”—Chambers walked over to where the polygraph now stood
and picked up a gun from the trolley—“then you’ll be next.
Understood?”

The guard
nodded and let Ash fall to the floor next to the others. He shared
a brief look with his partner, and they both drew their guns.

Jesus Christ,
where were the others?

Daniel
shuffled a little until he could see the broken doorway, almost
crying in relief as he caught sight of Keira, Matt, and Chris
silently taking out the guards stationed there.

And then
everything happened at once.

The click of a
safety being taken off caught Daniel’s attention, and he watched in
horror as one of the guards aimed his gun at Ash. Keira, Matt, and
Chris raced toward them, but the sight that made Daniel’s breath
catch was Sam.

In the seconds
it took for the guards to aim and pull their triggers, Sam had
shifted into human form, pulled the cage door off its hinges, and
torn the guard’s hands from their arms. He roared, head back and
teeth bared, sounding just like his wolf, and Daniel felt the
vibrations running through the floor.

The guards
screamed, falling to the ground and clutching at their bleeding
stumps while shots echoed around them. Keira and the others took
care of the remaining guards, and Sam turned his attention to
Chambers, who’d dropped his gun in shock and was frantically trying
to get it from where it had skidded into Jordan’s cage.

Sam approached
Chambers. Sam’s thick black hair fell to his shoulders, and his
teeth were bared. Chambers scrambled backwards out of the way.
Daniel stared, unable to comprehend that he was looking at
Sam
. Until a few minutes ago, he’d been a wolf. For the past
eight years, he’d been a wolf, and now he was stalking toward
Chambers as though nothing had happened.

And he was
naked.

“You,” Sam
rasped, his voice hoarse from lack of use. “Are going to die for
touching him.” He growled as he got closer, flexing his hands and
cracking his neck.

Sam glanced
over at Ash, then bared his teeth again.

Chambers
scuttled farther back. Daniel couldn’t see what happened next from
where he lay on the floor, but he heard Chambers’ choked, gurgling
cries along with wet, popping sounds that made Daniel’s stomach
turn. The bastard deserved it, though.

“Daniel?”
Jordan shouted until Daniel managed to shuffle a little farther
around so that he could see into Jordan and Charlie’s cage. “You
okay?”

Jordan
inspected Daniel’s body, obviously looking for injuries.

Daniel’s right
arm had gone to sleep where he was lying on it, and his wrists
rubbed raw from the rope, but nothing seemed broken. “Yeah, I’m
good.” He did the same once-over to Jordan, his gaze catching on
the blood running down from Jordan’s shoulder. “You’ve been shot!”
He glanced over at Charlie and saw a matching wound on the top of
Charlie’s thigh and the side of his neck. “God. You too,
Charlie.”

“We’ll heal.
It’s fine,” Jordan said, as though being shot was nothing to be
worried about.

Daniel would
be having words about that later. For now he asked, “What’s
happening?” He was unable to see the others since he was facing
Jordan’s cage. He could probably see Sam from this new position,
but he didn’t want to look at Chambers’ mutilated body. “Where’s
Matt and Keira, and is Ash awake yet?”

It was only
when he finished talking that Daniel realised the gunshots had
stopped.

“God, I can’t
leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble.”
Matt unceremoniously righted Daniel in his chair, and Daniel had
never been so happy to see him. “And no, Ash isn’t awake yet.”

“Matt. Thank
fuck.” Daniel leaned his head onto Matt’s shoulder as Matt bent
down in front of him and untied him. Pins and needles shot up his
arms as the ropes came off, and Daniel gritted his teeth until it
passed. “Is it over?” He braced himself for the answer, praying
that they were done with this crap. He was bruised and battered,
and he just wanted to go home.

“Yeah. It’s
over, I think.” Matt tilted Daniel’s face up, growling softly. “I’d
kill that fucker if Sam hadn’t already taken care of him.”

“Did you see
him? Sam shifted!”

Matt had his
head buried in the crook of Daniel’s neck, and Daniel felt him
smile against his skin. “Yeah, we saw him. Keira nearly had a fit.
Especially when he shifted back before she had a chance to talk to
him.”

Before Daniel
could ask where Keira was, a throat cleared next to them, followed
by a low, rumbling growl, almost too quiet for Daniel to hear. It
made Matt laugh.

“Your
boyfriend’s a little agitated. I’ll be back in a bit.” He stood up
and moved back a step, his place immediately taken by Jordan.

“Hey.” Jordan
pulled Daniel to his feet, his hands sliding up to cup Daniel’s
face. Both men were stiff and sore, beaten and bloodied, and so
very relieved.

“Hey.”

*****

Daniel smiled
up at him, and Jordan revelled in the warmth filling him as they
touched.
Fuck
, it hadn’t been a day since his capture, but
Jordan felt the need to pull Daniel close and keep him there until
all he smelled like was Jordan.

“How’d you get
free?” Daniel asked, running his hands up and down Jordan’s
arms.

The skin
around Jordan’s wrists had already begun to heal from where the
shackles had cut into him. He watched Daniel glance at his own
chafed skin, and he sighed. Jordan had wanted to kill Chambers for
everything he’d done, but mostly for hurting Daniel.

Sam had taken
care of Chambers, though, and Jordan had watched every gruesome
second of it, his wolf growling with satisfaction as the last
traces of life ebbed from Chambers’ body.

Daniel nudged
him, and Jordan smiled back. “Keira,” he replied, and he followed
Daniel’s gaze as he peered over his shoulder to see Keira inside
the cage, wrapped tightly around Charlie with her face buried in
the crook of his neck.

The cage next
to them was empty, and Jordan couldn’t see either of the Carter
brothers anywhere. Just as well they’d gone. Jordan had been taken
because of them. They might not be responsible for Chambers, but
Jordan wasn’t feeling particularly charitable now.

“Hey—” Daniel
pulled Jordan out of his dark thoughts. “How’s your shoulder?”

Daniel reached
out to inspect it, but Jordan caught Daniel’s fingers with his
own.

“It’s healing
fine. Just….” He pulled Daniel close and kissed him, slow and
gentle, before resting their foreheads together. “Just don’t move
for a second.” He traced his thumb over the cut on Daniel’s lip,
the memory of what happened making his wolf stir. His teeth
lengthened, and their sharp tips pushed against the inside of his
mouth.

Jordan pulled
back and tried to calm himself. Chambers was dead—he glanced around
the rest of the room—they were all dead. “Come on,” he said,
tugging on Daniel’s hand. “We need to get out of here.”

He led Daniel
to where Sam lay next to Ash and the others. Sam had his nose
pushed under Ash’s hand, his body flush against Ash’s legs. Jordan
wondered if Sam would ever shift back. Surely now he’d done it
once, he could do it again? Keira would be desperate to talk to him
after seeing him in human form for the first time in eight years.
And what of Ash? Jordan couldn’t imagine Sam not wanting to be
human around Ash. Especially now.

Daniel dropped
to the floor, kneeling next to Ash. Sam watched him carefully but
didn’t move as Daniel took Ash’s hand.

“The serum
changed him,” Daniel said, glancing back up at Jordan.

Jordan sighed
and laid his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Yeah, I know.” He hadn’t
sensed it at first, he’d assumed the serum hadn’t worked. But now
he sensed the changes sweeping through Ash’s body, and one of the
others lying next to him too.

Daniel turned
to Ash again before standing up. “He’s going to be a full shifter.
I saw his wolf—it was beautiful. But
God
, Jordan… I have no
idea how he’s going to take this.”

Jordan
remembered when he’d first changed. It was new and exciting back
then. He’d thought having claws and fangs and being able to change
into an actual wolf was the coolest thing ever. He’d wanted to show
everybody. But that was before the kidnappings and the torture
started.

He knew better
after that.

For someone to
become an altered now, when they were shunned by some, feared by
others, and fucking
hunted
… well, Jordan could understand
why Daniel was concerned.

“We’ll help
him,” He took Daniel’s hand and twined their fingers together. “All
of us.”

“Yeah?” Daniel
turned and slipped his arms around Jordan’s waist, a smile tugging
at the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah.”

They needed to
clean up this mess first—set it all on fire was Jordan’s preferred
method— and then decide what to do with Shaw and Adams. But the
seven of them were together now—a family.
Pack
, his mind
supplied, and for once Jordan didn’t flinch when he thought it.

Six weeks
later

Daniel pulled
the collar of his coat high up around his neck. The weather had
been mild for this time of year, but today the wind had a chill to
it that worked its way through Daniel’s layers. He smiled as he
felt Jordan approaching.

Since
accepting the idea that mates were real, the pull between them had
become stronger. Daniel could pick out Jordan’s whereabouts easily
now, and he could even sense his emotions if they were strong
enough.

“What’re you
looking at?” Jordan came up behind him, slipping his arms around
Daniel’s waist and resting his chin on Daniel’s shoulder.

Daniel smiled,
and leaned back against Jordan’s chest. “The sea.”

The Cornish
coastline stretched out below them, the cold-looking water of
Whitesand Bay rolling effortlessly onto the beach. “I still can’t
believe we get this every day now.” He sighed. “It’s so beautiful
here.”

“Yeah, it
is.”

They stood
together on the top of the hill, looking down on the beach below.
Daniel could just about make out a man and a dog running about on
the sand. Well, not a dog, because he was almost certain that was
Sam and Ash down there.

Daniel pointed
them out. “Is that…?”

Jordan laughed
softly, his warm breath tickling the side of Daniel’s neck. “You
know it is. They’ve been down there every morning since we moved
here.”

After shifting
to save Ash, and then shifting back to his wolf, Sam had
reluctantly shifted again when Keira tearfully begged him to. He’d
only remained human for a few hours—long enough to talk to his
sister and promise her that it wouldn’t be the last time he
shifted. Ash had been unconscious the whole time.

Sam still
preferred his wolf form most days, but now everyone was helping him
adjust to being human too.

Especially
Ash.

Whatever Sam
and Ash were to each other—and Daniel still wasn’t sure even if
Jordan insisted they were as good as mates—it seemed to be helping
them. Ash hadn’t tried to fully shift yet, but Daniel had caught
him flexing out his claws and baring his new teeth, always with Sam
by his side.