Captivation: Shifters Forever Worlds (Shifters Forever After Book 4) (5 page)

C
arina stared
at the scene before them. If she thought the orphanage was forbidding, it had nothing on this place. The deeply forested woods of Oregon, vividly green with promise, were marred with the presence of a razor wire fence that forbade visitors.

She and Bain took the Hummer around the perimeter of the fence, looking for any type of entrance. That was when they saw the vehicles. Several SUVs, all parked outside a gate. In front of the vehicles were an assortment of men and shifters.

Carina gasped.

“What the shit?” Bain studied the individuals before them. “They're friendlies,” he said.

“How do you know?”

“That's Doc.” He pulled the Hummer next to the oversized SUVs. He helped Carina out of the vehicle. “Hey, Doc.”

His friend stepped forward. “Mae and Mikhail sent us. They figured you would need some backup.”

“If the reception we got at the orphanage was any indication, we will. And what the hell is up with all this razor wire?”

“You don't want to know.” Doc glanced at Carina.

“Yes, I do.” Carina's voice was edged with steel.

“Shifter black market.” Another man stepped forward. “I'm Griz.” He indicated three men behind him. “Lance, Cross, Judge, my nephews. Enforcers.”

One of the men, Carina couldn't tell which was which, said, “Former enforcer.”

Doc pointed to two men standing back. “Tanner and Teague Navarro.”

Bain nodded to the brothers. “Looks like we have backup.”

“Serious backup.” What could go wrong now, Carina wondered. Hopefully nothing with this amount of help.

“Plan?” Bain looked at Griz.

“Bolt cutters, unless anyone has a better suggestion.”

The men agreed it sounded good to them.

“Let's move the vehicles away from their entrance. There's a clearing not too far from here. We can park there, head to their fences, cut through, shift, and head to the main house.” He looked at one of the men. “You have a layout?”

The man tapped his pocket. Again, Carina was unsure if it was Cross, Lance, or Judge. Then he said, “It's on my phone. The layout of the land and the building.”

Griz shook his head. “Technology. Back in my day…”

At that, all three of his nephews chuckled. One of them said, “We've heard all about your day.” He smiled as he said it.

Griz laughed with his nephews. “Ciara's with us. It doesn't hurt to have your own Intuitive.” He waved toward one of the vehicles.

Out from the middle SUV stepped a woman dressed in a long white dress that reached her ankles. Her hair was white blond, and her eyes light. She made her way toward the assembled group.

Carina studied the exotic beauty. She'd heard of Intuitives. She'd assumed the shifter population had wiped them out.

“I didn't know there were any still around,” she whispered.

Griz turned to her. “They've been driven underground for the most part. Ciara is my cousin.”

“Somewhat distant cousin,” Ciara said as she stepped into the group.

“It's nice to see you have a lot of backup,” Bain said. “Let's get the show on the road.” He looked from Ciara to Carina then back to Ciara, then said to Carina, “Can you stay here with Ciara?”

Carina practically sputtered her response. “I'm not staying behind while you're saving my daughter.”

“We can take care of this,” Bain said. “And Ciara can't go, that is not the place for her. She's not equipped for battle. She’s here to help in other ways.”

“So I'm babysitting while you fight my battle?”

“Your battle is mine. It is ours. All of ours,” Bain said, but his eyes said so much more.

Carina shook her head vehemently. “I'm not staying behind. Let one of the grizzlies stay.”

“Who do you think can do more damage? You or one of the grizzlies?”

She ground her teeth. Did he have to get all logical on her? “Fine. Go.”

A silver flash in the depths of his light eyes was the only prelude to what happened next. Bain took her by the arms with a swiftness that only a shifter could and pulled her hard against his chest.

His head lowered, then his lips latched to hers, holding her captive while he claimed her mouth. His tongue mastered her tongue, dancing that primeval dance while within her body, Carina’s nerve endings buzzed.

Her panther took advantage of Carina’s surprise and desire by taking control. Carina’s arms rose, as if of their own volition and wrapped around his neck. She nipped at his bottom lip, the sweet blood it released was heady and addictive. She tasted the desire in his blood while scenting how much he needed her in the musk that emanated from his pores.

It was so very mutual.

The adrenalin of the situation heightened her emotions for this polar bear shifter. Her panther seized command of the kiss, making her moan into his mouth.

He pulled back, his polar bear clearly barely at bay and locked eyes with her.

Her head and heart still reeling, she looked up at him. “What was that for?”

“In case.”

He didn’t have to say anything else, she knew what the in case meant—in case he didn’t come back.

“I’ll bring Breanna back.”

“She’s usually called Bree.” Her words were still breathless from their kiss.

He nodded. “Bree.”

Carina noticed the other shifters and Ciara had turned away, giving them the privacy they needed, but still her cheeks flamed at their display.

Seconds later, all the men had shifted into their bears, except Griz, who would shift after using the bolt cutters, and all were grizzlies except Bain, with his white polar bear fur. As large as the grizzlies were, Bain still towered over them. Carina had no idea if polar bears were supposed to be larger than grizzlies, but his massive size was daunting, to say the least.

She looked at Ciara. “I’m not… I can’t stay behind.”

“I didn’t think you could. Not for a second.”

“But I shouldn’t leave you alone, if one of their shifters should come along while you’re unguarded…”

Carina shuddered to think what could happen to the woman with eyes so light blue, they were almost as slivers of a clear blue day. If a shifter were to attack her…

Damn. I can’t leave her alone.

Ciara made the decision for her. “Let’s go.” She took off in the same direction the men had gone.

Carina smiled at her boldness and followed. “They’ll kill us for not listening,” she murmured.

“As if they thought we’d sit idle for a single second.” Ciara laughed. “They don’t know shifter mothers if they think that.”

True, Carina had never intended to keep to her agreement to stay behind.

Carina and Ciara followed the men, using Carina's shifter senses to scent their path. They stayed far behind the men so they would not be heard or sensed. After a few moments, Ciara yelped and stumbled, crashing headlong into a tree root, striking her head on the bark of a large pine, her long white dress flowing about her as she tumbled.

Carina heard a noise that sounded ominous, like a bone cracking. She hurried to her friend and knelt next to her. “Are you okay? Does your head hurt?”

“My ankle hurts more than my head.” She leaned down for a closer look.

Carina joined her, and bit back a sound of dismay when she noticed how quickly the ankle was swelling and changing colors. “This is not good.” She shook her head. “I think it will be better if we stay here.”

“We keep moving,” she said through a pain-clenched jaw.

Carina pondered her options. She couldn’t leave her behind, especially now that they were closer to the building, which was sure to be a danger zone. She looked at the ankle worsening by the second. “Are you sure?”

“I can block the pain, for now.” Ciara closed her eyes. A light blue aura shone about her.

Carina felt energy coursing throughout the air, surrounding them.

Ciara’s eyes flew open. “Let’s go.”

Mystified, Carina let her take the lead so she could keep an eye on her.

They walked on, and though Ciara’s ankle continued to swell, she walked as though she hadn’t injured it.

Carina was beginning to understand the power of an Intuitive.

Shortly, they heard the thuds of battle. Roars, clashes, the earth even shook.

C
arina ran toward the melee
.

She exited the wooded area to find herself in the midst of a clearing, a large house, made of concrete and very forbidding-looking with its gray paint and tiny high-set windows.

That’s no place for children.

Her panther growled in agreement, then released a roar.

Knowing her panther had sensed something, Carina studied the bloodbath before her.

Bodies of shifted men were strewn about, some limping toward the building, some limping away.

Her heart stopped its furious, adrenalin-shot beating.

No Bain.

No children.

Panic set in.

Ciara placed her hand on her shoulder. “You can’t think that.”

“They—he—I—she…” Carina couldn’t put together a sentence. She studied the fallen shifters, looking for a white polar bear. A gasp escaped her. A mountain of white fur covered in blood lay a hundred yards away.

Bain didn’t make it. If Bain didn’t make it, did that mean Bree was…

She didn’t want to think that. Shrugging Ciara’s hand off, she ran toward the mountain of fur.

Gasping for every breath after the long sprint, she stopped in front of the fallen polar bear and tried to focus through tears.

She leaned in to the body. “Bain.” The word came out with a sob.

“Carina.”

Her head snapped up. The being on the ground wasn’t Bain. There was another shifter here with white fur.

Before her, a scuffed up Bain, more scuffed than she’d ever seen him, was limping toward her.

She gasped.

In his arms, a little girl was holding onto his fingers with a white knuckled grip.

“Bree.” Bain looked into the little girl’s eyes. Eyes that so very much resembled Cade’s twinkling gaze.

Tears began to stream down Carina’s cheeks, and she didn’t realize she was crying until she felt their warmth as they cascaded.

“Yes, Bain?” Bree’s voice was high-pitched, little girl cute.

Her daughter’s voice. Her knees felt weak and her pulse pounded through her head so loudly, she thought she almost couldn’t hear anything else.

Her panther’s chuffing with joy didn’t help. She quieted her panther swiftly.

Bain stepped even closer. “This is your mother. She’s been looking for you for a long time.” His gaze locked with Carina’s. He held the little girl out toward her.

Bree cuddled deeper into Bain’s arms, nuzzling her head into the crook beneath his jaw, against his neck. “And you’re my dad, aren’t you? I know it. I know it.” She released his fingers and threw tiny arms around his neck.

The ache in Carina’s heart for her daughter’s first years was matched with an ache in Bain’s eyes.

It was clear that Bain understood Bree’s sentiments.

He rubbed her back in slow, soothing motions, and pried her from beneath his neck. “I want you to look at your mom. Look at Carina.”

Bree turned a shy face toward Carina. “Is it true? You are my mommy? I haven’t had a mommy in a long time.”

Carina knew she was thinking of the woman who had raised her that had died. Of course, she’d consider her as her mother. Carina hoped one day she’d see her as her mother, too.

Bree leaned toward Carina, her arms outstretched.

Streams of tears flowing, Carina took the sweet-smelling little black panther shifter into an embrace and buried her face in ebony black hair.

B
ain approached
Griz and the others. “Thank you.” He surveyed the scene. Shifters from the compound were either dead or running into the woods. Now he was happy that Carina and Ciara had followed. He’d have hated for Carina to have to deal with the escapees’ wrath.

“It’s what we do,” one of Griz’s nephews said.

“What about the children inside?” He hadn’t told Carina about the cages no larger than six by six foot. He hadn’t told her Bree had been in one, nor had he told her there were many more children in there. She needed one thing right now: her daughter.

Griz frowned. “There’s someone who can help. Mac can. That’s her thing now. I’ll have Lance reach out to her.” He pointed. “There’s Lance now.”

Lance was exiting the building, a concerned look on his face, though it was clear he was trying not to let it show. “We have another situation.”

“What’s that?” Bain had seen enough of situations.

“There’s a woman being held prisoner in there, as in a human.”

“Who is it?” Griz said.

“Beats the hell out of me. Said her name was Dakotah, then clammed up.”

“Let’s go talk to her. Maybe she knows something about this operation.”

“She looked pretty beat up. I don’t think they treated her too nicely. I cut her ties loose.”

“Let’s check this out.” Griz started toward the entrance.

Bain gave Carina a backward glance. She was nuzzling and talking to Bree, her face was lit up and she was completely immersed in her daughter. He followed Lance and Griz inside.

Down the hall and two doors to the left, they entered a room that had a cage two foot larger than the other cages. Bain sneered, as if that made it better.

The room was empty.

“Where is she?” Griz asked Lance.

“No clue.”

“Let’s find her, make sure she doesn’t need medical atten—”

A scream cut through the air with a razor-edged intensity, jarring Bain and his bear.

“That’s Carina.” He spun and sprinted toward the exit.

C
arina couldn't just sit back
and watch. She was holding Bree's hand. They were in Mikhail's jet. Bain was next to her, and Doc was treating Bree. They'd come out of the building running when she screamed. Bree had collapsed. She'd gone unconscious, pale as a ghost.

Carina knew they couldn't call just any doctor. What if she shifted while she was unconscious?

Thank goodness Doc was there. They were headed to his clinic in Bear Canyon Valley. Carina couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face. She had finally found her daughter and now this.

Doc put the stethoscope down and turned to Carina. Bain took her hand, squeezing it.

“Seems it’s probably malnourishment and dehydration. I'll run some tests when we get to the clinic, but I'm pretty sure that's what's going on. That and stress. It probably has been an ordeal for her.”

“Who are those people?”

Doc shrugged, shook his head. “Not sure. We’ll talk to Mikhail and Mae when we get back.” Then he noticed Carina’s frown. “After we take care of this little one.” He placed his hand on Bree’s forehead, smoothed dark curly hair away from her face. “The things shifters do to their own kind. Shameful.”

* * *

B
ain
, Carina, and the still unconscious Bree, were at Doc's clinic not far from Mae's house, in one of the private rooms. Bain's sensitive shifter hearing picked up the sound of a phone vibrating.

Doc reached into his pocket, pulled it out, and swiped across the screen. He turned away from Bain and Carina and stepped back from the bed so as not to disturb Bree. “We're here.” He listened quietly, not saying anything for a few seconds, then said, “Mac will check into it.” Another pause. “The Italian? Who the—” He looked at Bain, then looked away. “Yeah. No. Uh huh. Got it. Bye.”

He turned to face them. “Mac is going to check on the kids at the compound. Griz wants her there. She's in shifter relocations, has records, could be of assistance. Griz also said that some shit's going down. I need to get a hold of Grant and Mikhail.”

Bain stepped toward Doc. “What’s that about?”

“Nothing. Just making the arrangements and getting directions.”

“And what does the Italian have to do with the directions?”

“Look, Bain. I’m not supposed to discuss this with you.”

Bain didn’t need a degree in rocket science to figure out the Italian was involved with this somehow. And whatever nefarious plans they had…

Fury encompassed him with the thought that something could have happened to Carina’s daughter.

He looked at little Bree and thought of how she called him daddy and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep her safe.

He thought of how now Carina had her daughter, and she needed to raise her and there was no way he would disrupt Carina and Bree’s relationship by being a third wheel.

He thought of the idea that now he’d never have his mate. And he’d never have children of his own with her. It was the honorable thing to do.

He knew he couldn’t think straight, he was so angry. He knew his bear was reacting to the emotions and the adrenaline of their earlier battle.

The fury grew stronger. And with it came a plan.