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  “Rye, you and your team pack up, and be down at the airport in twenty. Leave the moving van there at the airport. I’ll have someone in the pack fly down and drive it up.”

  The line went dead before Ryker could respond. Ryker looked down at his flagging dick. Twenty minutes didn’t leave any time to play. “Bad news, love. Alphy just called.”

  Ryker told Rudo about the phone call as he got dressed. As tempted as he was to try to squeeze in a quickie when he saw his mate walk in, he knew it was at least a twenty minute drive to the airport from the hotel without all the packing, and time to check out. Rudo sent him down to check all of them out, as he and the guys packed, and they made it to the port just barely in their ordered timeframe.

  The plane that was waiting for them was Councilman Black’s. Ryker briefly looked around as he boarded and found a seat. Tyler was there, with his assistant, Van, and Tyler’s two bodyguards, Zander and Zane.

  “What’s going on?” Ryker asked Tyler as he clicked his seatbelt in place. The clicks of Rudo, Gavin, and Neto’s belts sounded before Tyler answered.

  “Matteo thinks he’s identified four other labs from some of the information he’s uncovered from one of the hard drives. Encrypted emails he was able to decipher from one of the higher-ups indicated that he, or she, was trying to assure the other offices that they were safe. They didn’t think the one shifter escaping, who we know was Maysa, would cause much of a problem, especially when she was gone for so long and nothing happened. Other emails read how, after the raid, they didn’t believe any of the other offices could be linked to them, so not to panic. However, Councilman Black and several others believe that with this second raid, they will now start to panic.”

  “That isn’t good for the shifters they are holding against their will, in the labs.” Neto’s face looked grim.

  “That would be correct. The company has to be well aware of the threat by now, and is possibly taking action to cover things up. We don’t have time to waste investigating whether these are indeed labs or not. We need to take action now. Councilman Black wanted more time to establish who was trustworthy on the council, and who was corrupt, but under the circumstances, he’s reaching out to those he believes he can trust, and coordinating a simultaneous raid on all four locations at once.”

  Ryker stared at Tyler with wide open eyes, and his mouth was somewhat agape. The shaking and rumbling of the plane taxiing down the runway shook him out of his shock. “Wow, that’s huge. So, which one are we going to?”

  Tyler handed Ryker a tablet as he answered. “Since our team is pretty much already assembled, we are heading to the one furthest away, in Medford, Oregon. Councilman Black is hoping by the time we get there, and in place, that he’ll have teams in place and ready at the other three locations.”

  Ryker looked over the information showing on the screen. He was so engrossed that he didn’t feel himself being pushed back into his seat as the jet powered down the runway on takeoff. He didn’t notice the pressure in his neck at the sudden elevation, or the tilt as they angled through the sky. He was too intent on the information before him. However, when his beloved intertwined their fingers together, Ryker felt awareness, and blushed at his reaction. They were, after all, in a confined and pressurized space.

  ****

  Rudo watched with amusement as Ryker struggled to concentrate on the information on the tablet. It gave him a smug sort of pride that just the simple act of holding his mate’s hand could derail his concentration so much. He also got aroused watching his mate navigate his way around the complex intricacies of technology. As he continued to watch Ryker, he became more aware of the subtle indications of discomfort and fatigue Ryker was displaying.

  “You are still healing, and you need to rest.” Rudo tried to project his concern through their link. “Just a little break, mate. Please?”

  Ryker looked up at him from the screen. His eyes were drooping, and there were dark rings under them.

  “I know you want to help, but you need to take care of yourself, too.” Rudo continued to urge his mate.

  Ryker closed his eyes and nodded his head. After adjusting himself, Ryker was leaning against him, asleep. Rudo relaxed, breathing out a sigh of relief. If he was to add to the list of other things he loved about his mate, being able to hold him and care for him was on the top of that list.

  The flight was quiet most of the time. About an hour before they were expected to land, Tyler received a call from Alphy, whose plane had already landed. After he hung up, he turned and reported to everyone on the plane.

  “Alphy sent out two men to scope out the area.”

  Neto leaned forward and kept his voice low. “What about the locals? Are we getting any help from any packs or covens?”

  Tyler shook his head. “No. Alphy didn’t want to tip the local shifters off, in case any of them are linked to the company. We’ve been lucky we haven’t had that problem yet, and he didn’t want to rely on chance with this. He did get a hold of the local coven in Medford, however, and even though they have agreed not to interfere, they also refused to help.”

  “Call the coven in Portland.” Ryker’s sleepy, slurred voice drew everyone’s attention.

  Rudo reluctantly let Ryker go when he moved to sit up. After Ryker rubbed his eyes, he looked around. “The leader of my coven, in Portland, offered an alliance with Alphy. If he calls him for help, he’ll get it.”

  Tyler’s brows rose a little bit, and his lips formed a contemplative frown. “Okay then, I’ll call Alphy.”

  It was just after four in the evening when everyone was in their places, and ready to storm the building. Everyone wore black fatigues, even though the daylight was still bright. Rudo clutched Ryker’s hand and kept him pulled against his body as they waited for the order to go.

  Ryker huffed out an irritated breath. “I know you want to protect me, and usually I would find that barbarian style possessiveness sexier than hell, but right now isn’t the time.”

  Rudo’s lips thinned as he continued to hold fast to his mate. “You’re still healing from being shot! I am very angry Alphy ordered you to raid the building with us.”

  He felt Ryker’s soft hands rub circles on his back. It was soothing, but didn’t calm him.

  “I know you are worried for me, as I am for you, but Alphy has a point. We need to save what we can from their computers, and I’m the best qualified to do that.”

  Rudo kept his mind blank as his eyes scanned the building from their position. He and Ryker had been over this several times. There was very little he liked less than to let his mate run back into bullet flying danger, but he knew he couldn’t stop it … well, not without doing permanent damage to their relationship, and that was even more unacceptable, so he refused to budge on his insistence that he be Ryker’s personal bodyguard.

  The voice of one of the vampires Ryker’s old coven had sent, crackled through his headset.

  “Unit four in position.”

  Rudo growled with repressed anger. Not only was he angry at having to let Ryker join in the raid, he was fighting his hate for that particular member of Ryker’s old coven.

  Ryker’s hands roamed over his shoulders and down the backs of his arms. “Shh, honey, don’t let him get to you. Growing up with him, he has always been a bit of a bigot, but you don’t need to worry about him doing his job. He may be an ass, but he really is on our side. He won’t dishonor that.”

  Rudo puffed out a breath in disbelief. “You say ass as if asses are a bad thing. I love asses, especially yours, so I feel it is more accurate to call him a piece of shit.”

  A flash of jealousy shot through their mental connection. “You better be looking at my ass only!”

  Rudo fought to contain his satisfaction and amusement at his little mate’s jealousy, but the emotion still bled through, and Ryker pinched him.

  “Why are you so amused? I’m serious! Don’t be looking at anyone else’s ass.”

  “I can’t help it. You are
so adorable when you get jealous. You’re like a little Chihuahua yapping and growling, not intimidating, but cute as hell.”

  A firm smack placed across his right shoulder, followed by a whimpered, “ow” caused Rudo to laugh, which he fought to smother.

  “Not funny, asshole,” Ryker grumbled quietly, as he continued to rub his sore hand.

  “Now see, I like assholes too, especially your tight lit—”

  Another smack along his back forced him to hold a hand over his own mouth to silence his laughs.

  He immediately stopped when Alphy’s voice crackled through their headsets. “I just received word, we’re breaching in five … four … three…”

  Rudo tensed and readied himself.

  “… two … one … now!”

  The black forms snaked forward. All of them carried rifles pointed forward, locked tight against their shoulders.

  Rudo stepped aside as they reached one of the entrances. Gavin rushed forward and placed small amounts of explosive on key points, and everyone backed away. The explosion blew the hinges and knobs off of the door, causing it to fall out in a swirl of smoke. The group crunched over the metal and rubble as they continued forward, into the building.

  They could hear explosions rock the building and guns begin to fire, but his team had one focus only, and Rudo was determined to get it done as quickly as possible because the sooner it was done, the faster he could get his mate out of the building.

  Two guards hurried around a corner, and stopped suddenly when they saw them. Rudo aimed and shot them as both men reached for their weapons. The second man was able to get his weapon out of its holster before Rudo shot him down.

  Rudo kept one arm against his mate, pinning him to the wall as they reached the corner and looked around. Alarms blared through the halls, and people dressed in suits and lab coats rushed through the halls. Once they would spot his team, they would quickly turn and flee down another way.

  Their destination wasn’t far from their entrance, which was why they entered there. It was a control room that had two guards in it. As much as he wanted to kill the men, they raised their hands and gave up, and Rudo couldn’t kill someone who wasn’t going to fight back. He still had morals, even if he believed they didn’t. Neto rushed forward and zip-tied the men.

  As Ryker quickly plugged in to the system and started running algorithms and other programs Rudo had no hope to ever comprehend, the rest of the team guarded the door. Whenever they would spot guards, they would shoot at them. Some were killed, while others rolled in agony, yelling in pain. He didn’t feel the least bit sorry for them.

  A popping sound and a thunk sounded in the wall right beside his ear. Rudo ducked back into the room, but had glimpsed a tranquilizer dart stuck into the wall.

  “Fuck! They have tranquilizers and are trying to use them on us,” he called through his communication device.

  Alphy responded. “Copy that. I just saw a dart gun on one of the white coats. Everyone watch out for them.”

  Another voice Rudo recognized as a member from the alpha’s old sleuth, who had ridden down with the vamps, came through the line. “We need assistance on level three! We’re pinned down, and two of my guys are down.”

  Rudo grimaced as he listened to the com while his team fought to protect their position. From the sounds of things, it was a difficult battle. They were outnumbered, but they were up against humans, not other shifters, so Rudo was confident they would be successful.

  Chapter Twelve

  Enzo ran his hands through his hair as he listened to the battle his pack was in. Ryker had made it possible, somehow, so he and everyone else in the office were able to hear, and even see video from a cam on Alphy’s vest. Thank you, Gale, for insisting he wear a vest, he thought as he saw the bullets explode around them and tranquilizer darts flying by. Fucking hell, why can’t he just stay behind the desk like any other alpha?

  He would have paced, but the office was crowded with pack members, as well as Raymond and some of his coven. They were all anxious about the raid. Arms snaked around his waist from behind, and his mate’s scent filled his expanding lungs.

  “I’m here for you, Enzo. You need to relax a little bit.”

  Enzo breathed out a big sigh as he continued to watch the action play out on the monitor. Relax? My best friend is in the middle of a gun fight, and all I can think about is the boner for my mate.

  Enzo stared across the room at the flower arrangement Heath had placed in the middle of the island. He could smell the colorful display from everywhere in the room, and even from clear back into his office. At first he had been doubtful about displaying one of the arrangements in the office since he didn’t expect the survivors to come up to it, but it had a positive effect on everyone here, and should, by chance, any of the survivors come up, it would help them. Never underestimate the power of scent.

  Enzo flinched when he heard another whizzing sound and watched the wall next to Alphy’s neck explode. He heard Alphy’s pained shout. Enzo leaned forward, his heart racing faster. Alphy’s hand reached up, then was brought back covered in blood.

  “Shit!” Enzo swore loudly.

  He watched helplessly as others pulled Alphy back. The camera whipped around making the video feed unrecognizable. They couldn’t see anything other than blurs. The sounds coming through were loud thumping and scratching against the microphone, with spotty yells in between. Suddenly the video fell to the ground and was still, giving them a clear picture of Alphy’s giant bear form shaking himself out. He let out a roar that Enzo knew full well was a battle cry that made the camera vibrate. It made the hair on the back of his neck prickle, and he suppressed a shiver. Alphy turned and ran from the room. Soon after, they heard more roaring, and shots, and screams.

  ****

  Alphy let his bear loose on the men who had them all pinned down. He felt their blood fill his mouth and their bones crunch between his crushing jaws. His claws splashed blood and gore around him as he swung them in large, powerful, death-filled arches that sliced easily through the bodies of those who were now attempting to flee in panic.

  That’s right, run, you two-legged monsters. Cowards! he spat angrily in his mind.

  The others who were with him followed behind him with a mercy equal to his bear’s current mood. It all ended too quickly for his liking, but he had soon found himself surrounded by only his team, and the squishy, tattered remains of the enemy under his giant paws.

  Alphy made his way back into the room where his clothes still lay on the floor. After shifting, he barked out orders for the teams to report as he redressed.

  “Our position is secure, no casualties,” he heard Ryker through his earbud.

  He was only slightly relieved as the other teams reported the same. He made a quick call to Enzo.

  “Some have gotten grazed by the darts and others sustained minor injuries, but there are no casualties, and we are ready to finish securing the building,” he told Enzo.

  “Good. We’ll continue to watch through your vest cam.”

  Alphy disconnected and gathered his team, which included members from both his old sleuth and the neighboring coven.

  ****

  Enzo, along with everyone in the room, watched as Alphy moved past the blood painted walls and over the shredded bodies, down the halls. Heath looked away at times, but remained beside him. Enzo rubbed his back and held him closer to his side during those times, in silent support.

  Other reports from the other raids trickled in. Havana took the calls and wrote down all their information.

  “There were labs at all of the other raids,” she told him. “The council is sending the survivors to various alphas that Councilman Black believes he can trust.”

  “What is Alphy going to do with the survivors from this raid?” Raymond asked Enzo.

  “Alphy told me he is going to give them the options to either come back here, go back home, or another place of their choosing, or Alphy’s old sleuth, who offered
to take some in.”

  Stelios’s wings fluttered a little bit as he pointed to a screen. “Holy shit! There are so many. They are already up to fifty survivors.”

  Kace swore and rubbed the back of his neck. “The numbers coming in from the other raids don’t even come close to the one Alphy’s at. What the heck did they have going on that required that many shifters?”

  Raymond sent him a thoughtful look. “I’ve only known Alphy a short time, but he can’t seem to do anything small. It’s one reason why I like him so much. He is never afraid of the severity, or numbers. Let him know that if any of the survivors wish to consider our coven as a home, we will welcome them in.”

  Enzo’s brows raised high on his forehead, and his eyes opened wider. “Your coven going mixed now?”

  “How is that surprising?” Stelios asked, giving Enzo an offended look. “Since the beginning of his rule in the coven, Raymond sheltered me and my brothers.”

  Enzo bit back his initial response to make Stelios submit to him, and apologize for his tone. It was just a bit too derisive, which didn’t sit right with him or his wolf. He outranked the gargoyle, and his wolf wanted him to remind him of that. But in spite of all that, Stelios had a point, and Enzo was now concerned he may have unintentionally insulted Raymond. That took precedence over his wounded pride.

  “My apologies, Raymond. I did not mean any insult.”

  Now it was Raymond’s brows that rose, and a playful smirk tugged at his lips. “You’ve learned humility now? My diversity and your humility, what a pair we make.”

  Enzo smiled and was about respond in kind when Alphy’s incessant swearing interrupted them. Enzo looked up and saw Alphy pressing the back of his hand against his nose. Others around him were doing the same. It looked like they were nearing the basement of the building.

  ****

  The building was finally secured for the most part. The only place left to clear was the basement. However, as the team moved cautiously closer, the smell of rotting bodies became apparent.

  “I smell dead bodies down there,” Alphy said.