Forever's Fight (16 page)

He skimmed through most of the stuff on the desk when a line on the wall caught his eye. It was almost like a seam. Without scanning the final stack of papers, he tossed them into his bag and stepped toward it. He ran his finger along it, tracing the outline of the seam as he tried to determine if there were any booby-traps waiting for him if he opened the hidden door. If he had Blake down here with him, he would have known for sure, but he just had to take a guess that anything behind this door was too important to risk blowing up.

He placed his finger in the groove near the top and in one quick step backward he pulled it open. If anything was going to explode or fall on him, he wanted to make sure he was back a few paces. It might not save him, but it sure as hell would help protect him somewhat.

When the door swung open and nothing happened, he stepped forward. Inside the narrow doorway was a filing cabinet. This was what the doctor wanted hidden, and it was most likely what Patrick was looking for. If he were going to find the file, it would be here. Now he just had to find it.

He stepped forward and grabbed hold of the handle on the first drawer. It was locked, but instead of wasting time looking for the key, he just pulled harder and the drawer slid from the cabinet with ease. Sometimes it paid to be a shifter and have superhuman strength. He skimmed the tabs to each of the files, but nothing jumped out at him. But what was he expecting it to say,
child shifter experiment one?
No. Doctor Songborn would have been smarter about it. He’d have used a code word that meant something to him.

“I’m set up out here. How’s things going?” Blake’s voice came through Patrick’s earpiece.

“I believe I found his hidden files. Shouldn’t be long now.” He might have sounded a little more optimistic than he felt, but he wanted to be done here and get back to Clarissa. After they toasted the place, they still had to get the captives somewhere safe since they had agreed none of them would be coming back to the castle. There was still a lot of work to do. Austin had set up a safe house for them, but they’d have to transport any survivors there before Patrick and the others could return home.

“Chase?” Blake called for an update when none came.

“Umm…I…” Chase’s words trailed off, leaving a hint of horror echoing in Patrick’s ears.

“Update now, Chase,” he ordered as he dug through the files. He tossed most of them in the bag as he realized they weren’t what he was looking for.

“They’re dead…every one of them. Dead.” Chase paused before adding, “We were too late.”

“This isn’t our fault. You know that.” Blake tried to comfort him.

“We had to wait until we got everything off their system. It’s going to help us save others.” Patrick grabbed the next drawer and found journals. Instead of looking at them, he tossed them directly in the bag and moved on to the last drawer.

“Yeah, but…at the cost of those who were here.” The repulsion in Chase’s tone had been replaced with an unmistakable melancholy.

“How did they know?” Blake asked. “There’s no way they could have known we were coming or we’d have walked directly into a trap.”

“There’s an order form,” Chase said. “Shit, I can’t believe I just said that—for more shifters. They’ve classified the ones held here as no longer of any use and…they were to be disposed of.” Fury heated Chase’s words. “It’s not like taking out the trash. You can’t just dispose of one of us, we’re fucking people. With families who care about us and lives we want to live. Hopes and dreams—”

“Focus, Chase,” Patrick ordered. “We knew what they were doing here, what the government is doing. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. Now, keep it together.”

“Does it say when the new batch is supposed to arrive?” Blake questioned.

There was a shuffling of papers before Chase answered. “No. Hell, what are they going to do with the ones they’ve captured for here? Kill them, too?”

“I doubt it.” Patrick grabbed the last handful of files from the drawer when something caught his attention. “I suspect they’ll send them to another lab or back to one of the shifter camps.”

Blake picked up on what Patrick said first. “Back? You believe they’re taking shifters from the camps and bringing them to the labs?”

“It’s a possibility, one Luke and I have found little to confirm, but we’re trying.” He pulled out the file that caught his attention, and he didn’t like the fact the folder was easily an inch thick. It hinted at too many experiments. Too many deaths. He pulled back the cover and a blonde infant with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen stared up at him from the first page. Bile rose in his throat, and he repressed the urge to void his dinner. “Chase. Finish looking through things down there, and then I want you and Andrew to get up here. I need some help with what I’ve found.”

“There’s not much here. I’ve grabbed the hard drives from two of the computers and a laptop just in case there’s anything on it Luke didn’t find. Other than that, there’s nothing.”

“Drug cabinet?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Empty it into a bag and bring it. We might need something that’s here if we’re going to find something to counteract LUNA. Anything you find that might help, take it, but do so in the next five minutes.” Patrick rose from the floor and leaned against the edge of the desk, clutching his stomach. “Blake, we’ll be there within ten. Stand by.”

“You found it, didn’t you?”

He didn’t answer Blake as he flipped through the pages. The little girl he’d seen when he opened the folder hadn’t been the first, but she had been the only survivor. “I got what we came for and more.”

“Tell me it’s not true.” The sound of glass shattering as he broke the medicine cabinet followed Chase’s heated words.

“I’ll know more once I’ve had time to go over things. Now, get a move on.” Patrick’s stomach churned, and he wanted to kill Doctor Songborn. To make him pay for what he’d done to these children and their families. His lion wanted to tear him limb from limb and bathe in his blood. Instead of letting his anger bring his beast forward, he rose and shoved the file into his personal bag.

Once he had time to go over the information, only then would he tell the others what he’d found. Until then, he’d keep it safely hidden away. He’d protect his family whenever he could. It wasn’t just his role as Alpha, it was the bond and love they had for each other. While his brothers knew about the possibility of a human child being experimented on, he had decided to shield Jade from it until they were certain.

Especially Jade. Because he knew it would break her heart.

The castle was quiet. Everyone had gone to bed hours ago, but Clarissa remained in the lab. With Nolan’s information, she believed she had been able to find a counteragent to LUNA, but the only way to test it was to inject it into someone. She stared down at the vial of pale blue liquid and almost wished she hadn’t found it. The endless possibilities of things that could go wrong rushed through her thoughts, each one worse than the last.

How could she let one of them test it? She couldn’t risk it, especially now that she had come to care for each of them. They had accepted her into their family, and for that she would always be grateful. She knew right away that if she were wrong, this drug could kill. That was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.

“What are you still doing up?”

She shuffled her papers to cover the vial and glanced up. Austin stood in the doorway, slipping his coat on.

“Thinking,” she said, hoping her anxiety wasn’t clear in her voice. “What’s going on?”

“They’re pulling up the driveway now. I was heading down to carry in the stuff they brought with them. Care to accompany me, or would you rather wait here for Patrick?”

She hopped off her chair. “I didn’t expect him until closer to morning.”

He smirked. “It’s just before five. Please don’t tell me you’ve been in here all night…”

“I haven’t.” She tried, but the lie failed. “Okay, maybe I have.”

“Did you actually get something done, or were you just worrying about what will happen when one of us takes that drug of yours?” he asked as they headed for the steps.

“I’m so glad they’re back.” She sped her pace a little, but Austin matched it, keeping in stride with her.

“That would be the worst sidestep around a question on record. You know Patrick isn’t going to be very happy that those circles under your eyes are showing again. He worries about you. You haven’t been together long, and if you’re looking like this on his first trip out, he’ll only worry more next time.”

“This had nothing to do with the mission,” she insisted, even though it wasn’t completely the truth. She had tried to sleep but when she climbed into bed it felt so lonely that she’d gotten up and gone to the lab. “I knew he was safe.”

“Knowing he’s safe isn’t the point. It’s only natural for you to worry about him.” He paused as they neared the front door. “Don’t tell him, but I do, too. He’s our Alpha, but no matter what he thinks he’s not invincible. The rest of us should be the ones leading the missions. His place is here, ruling the pride, not out there risking himself.”

“He’s not a man who would ask someone to do something he isn’t willing to do himself.” She turned to look at him in the faint glow of dawn. “Can you honestly see him ruling from the safety of these walls? As much as it frightens me, I know he needs the action.”

“I’m glad he found a woman like you. You’ll keep him grounded, support him, and yet still knock some sense into him when he needs it.”

The front door swung open, and Patrick entered. “What happened, Austin? I thought you were going to meet us outside.” When he caught sight of her, he dropped the bag he was carrying and took two steps forward before sweeping her off her feet. “My beautiful angel, how I’ve missed you.”

“I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Oh, angel, I’m back and ready to roar.” He held her tight, only tipping his head slightly toward Austin. “Go help the others with the bags, then tell them to get some rest. I want all the bags in my office upstairs. I’ll begin working through them in the morning.”

“Did you find…”

He nodded. “I’ve got it in my bag. I’ll look over what I found once I have a proper reunion with my mate. I’ll touch base with you on it later, and have Luke standing by in case I need him to begin a search.”

“I can wait if you need to…” Before she could finish, he pressed a finger to her lips.

“No, it’s time I get reacquainted with my mate and her divine body.” He loosened his grip on her and stepped back to grab his bag before taking her hand and leading her up the stairs. “Before I get carried away, you can tell me what has you so stressed that you’ve stayed up all night. Was it this mission?”

“No, but I’m glad you’re home.” They climbed the steps and she smiled as she considered her comment on
home
. She had been on her own for years. A small loft was all she could afford as she worked her way up the corporate ladder. But now, for the first time in a long time, she felt like she was home, especially in his arms, and damn did she love it.

“LUNA?” His voice held a twinge of doubt. “You couldn’t have found anything. I wasn’t even gone twenty-four hours.”

“Nolan handed me the answer, but we can’t use it. What if it’s wrong? What if I screwed up? It could kill someone. We need to test it, but I can’t test it. How can I use something I can’t test?” She wanted to scream and fight. After all the hard work they’d done to find something to use against the government, she had the answer but refused to use it.

“Let’s go upstairs and discuss it later. But I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”

“How?” she demanded. “To know if something works, it has to be tested, but we don’t have a test subject.”

He remained silent until he climbed the last staircase and punched in the code into the keypad to open the door to the family’s personal floor. “I’ll test it.”

“You’ll what?” With her hand still in his, she balked as he tried to lead her forward. “Tell me you didn’t…”

Since she gave him no choice but to pause or drag her down the hallway, he stopped. “As you said, we need someone we can test this on. That will be me.”

“No way. Absolutely not. I won’t allow it.” She kept shaking her head as if her words were not enough to get her point across.

“There’s no other option. If we don’t have something we can use, then we’re defenseless against LUNA every time we go out. There would come a time that we wouldn’t be able to go out at all. Think of all the people we could save but wouldn’t be able to.”

“No…not you.” She didn’t want him to risk himself. Not when she wasn’t sure what could happen. “What would Austin say? The rest of your brothers? Jade?”

“I’m Alpha here, not them. It doesn’t matter what they say. It’s my job to protect them. I won’t have one of them testing this. If we’re going to use it, then I’ll test it to make sure it’s safe first.”

She pulled her hand from his. “Then lead them. Don’t go getting yourself killed.”

“What’s this about you getting yourself killed?” Luke stepped out of his room, a pair of loose pajama pants slung low on his hips, his chest bare.

“Nothing, go back to bed,” Patrick snapped without even looking back at him.

“No, Luke, stay,” Clarissa said. “Maybe you can knock some sense into your brother since I can’t.”

Luke’s gaze slid over both of them before shaking his head. “A quarrel already? He just got home, shouldn’t you two newly mated lovers be in bed making up for lost time?”

“Patrick is planning on testing the LUNA counteragent on himself.” She could tell from the way he glared at her that he hadn’t wanted her to tell Luke.

“You should let one of us do that.” When Patrick turned to glare at his brother, he paused before adding, “You might not be happy with what I’m about to say, but here it is anyway. You’re our Alpha, you don’t take risks like that.”

“Actually, it’s just the opposite. I won’t risk one of you until I know it’s safe. Now that’s the end of this discussion.” He turned on his heels and headed down the hall toward his room.

“Patrick, wait,” she called after him, but he barely slowed his pace.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

“We need to talk about this.” She glanced at Luke when Patrick didn’t stop.

“Go after him.” He nodded down the hall. “Just like for you, this is all new to him. He’s our Alpha which means no one questions his orders. But you’re his mate, so make him understand. If anyone can get through to him, it’s you.”

“I doubt I’ll change his mind.” As she strolled the rest of the way down the hall toward Patrick’s bedroom, she debated hiding what she’d found, but the consequences of that were almost as disastrous. Without the counteragent, if one of them were caught out in the open by someone who had gotten their hands on LUNA, they’d stand no chance. They’d be captured or killed and that would be her fault. She couldn’t live with that any more than she could live with putting the man she loved in danger by letting him test the drug on himself.

She pushed open his bedroom door only to find a trail of clothes leading to the bathroom. Making her way across the room, she couldn’t stop herself from picking up the garments. Her thoughts remained on how she could convince him that it was too dangerous to turn himself into a test subject. She loved him, so she just couldn’t stand by and let him put himself in danger.

As she neared the bathroom’s open door, she could hear the rainfall shower head, and the faint scent of his woodsy body wash drifted toward her. There was something about the scent that fit him perfectly. The rough, manly aroma suited him on more than one level.

Through the glass enclosure, she could see him. His back faced her as he dipped his head into the water and soaked his shoulder length hair. He dragged his fingers through the wet strands and grabbed a bottle from the tiled wall along the back of the shower. Before she realized what she was doing, she was out of her clothes. Her fingers closed over the cool metal door handle as her desire rushed forward, rising within her, urging her to touch him.

She slipped into the shower without waiting for an invitation, and still he stood with his back to her under the shower head, soap running down his body. Even though he didn’t turn around, his back muscles tightened. For a moment, she stood there wondering if she shouldn’t have waited until he had emerged from the shower. It would have allowed for both of their tempers to cool. Her gaze trailed down his body, watching the way the soap bubbles slid along his skin before racing down the drain. Finally, she threw caution to the wind and stepped closer, giving into her temptation, running her hands up his slippery back.

“I knew you’d see reason and join me.” He leaned back, letting the water run through his hair. Then he turned to face her. “Damn, I believe you’ve gotten more beautiful since I left.”

“I didn’t join you because I’ve seen your reasoning and changed my mind. I joined you because I missed you.”

He advanced on her and pushed her against the cool glass wall, grasping her wrists with one hand and holding them above her head. “I’m Alpha here, and my word is law.”

“You turn me on when you go all dominant on me.” She wished her hands were free so she could run them over his body, feel the tight muscles as he barely held on to his temper.

“It’s who I am.”

“No, Patrick, that’s where you’re wrong.” Unwilling to back down, she stared into his heat-filled eyes. “You’re so much more than that. You’re a lover, a brother, a fighter, and you care.”

“You have no idea…”

“You’re right. I might not have any idea how the shifter world works, or the hierarchy, but I know you. I know your family.” Since his grip loosened, she pulled her wrists free and slipped away from him. The scalding water hit her full blast, but she didn’t step out of the spray; instead, she took it as her heart cracked. “While you might be a natural leader and an Alpha, you’re more than that. If you don’t realize that, maybe I made a mistake.” She placed a hand on the shower door to push it open, and he stopped her.

“I told you before that mating isn’t something you can go back on. You can’t file for a divorce or dissolve it once it has taken place.”

“I never said you could. But if you can’t see that you’re more than just an Alpha and that your family needs you as more than just their leader, then I don’t really know you.”

His hand dropped away from her wrist. “What do you want from me?”

“Maybe this happened too fast for both of us because it doesn’t seem like you know me either.” She started for the door again, but he was on her within the blink of an eye. He wrapped his arm around her waist, stopping her from moving away from him.

“Oh, angel, I know you.” He slid his free hand down her body, then between her legs. “I know if I touch you…” He paused as his finger glided between her folds and the tip of his index finger brushed over her clit. “Just here, that you melt into my embrace.”

“This is more than us being sexually compatible.” Even as she said it and fought against it, her body responded. He knew just where to touch her to make her feel like her world was exploding.

“It’s important.” He nibbled along the curve of her collarbone. “I’ve missed you.”

“This fight isn’t over.”

“I have no doubt, angel. No doubt at all.” His teeth grazed along the base of her neck, applying just a little pressure before easing back. “Right now, I want you. I don’t want to fight with you about anything. Remember, you’re supposed to be welcoming me home.”

She pushed her thoughts away and just let herself feel. She gave in to the temptation of his touch. They’d make the most of the time they had, and deal with everything else as it came. “Oh, Patrick. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too, my angel.” He crushed his mouth to hers.