Forever's Fight (6 page)

“Blake shared a tip, sending them in the opposite direction. It should buy us some time, but not a lot before the shifters realize there’s no scent leading that way. Then, our scent will throw them off.”

“Then we better get this done.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“Deep breaths. The last thing we need is for you to pass out.” When she did as he directed, he nodded. “Very good, now just keep doing that. As I mentioned before, this is going to be very intimate. I’m going to press my body against you and run my hands along your body. With every place I touch, and the longer we do it, the stronger my scent will become. If you feel uncomfortable and want to stop, just say so, but if we don’t get it strong enough, we might have to do this again at some point, and I don’t think Dean will be cooperative.”

“He would kill us both.”

“I would never let that happen.”

She rose her eyebrow in suspicion at him, before leaning back on the bed. “Let’s do this before Dean barges in.”

“Remember, you can stop this at any time.” He knelt between her legs.

“I think it’s best to do as much as possible now. You don’t understand what my brother is like.”

“I think I do.” He wrapped his hands around each of her ankles, the warmth burning a little hotter and began to slowly slide upward. He took his time, not only to enjoy the moment, but to also make sure he touched every inch of her. “There are six of us. I’m the oldest, and Jade is the youngest. She’s our only sister. We’re very protective of her, especially after all that’s happened.”

“You say that like it’s more than just the threat to your kind. There’s something lingering in the way you said it.” When he didn’t say anything, she leaned up on her elbows and looked down at him. “Patrick?”

“Let’s just say Jade’s been through a lot. All of us have, but it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.”

“The president has pushed for these changes, for the shifter camps, and even though it’s not been publicly addressed someone in his office is behind the push for the labs. If it’s not him, then it’s someone he’s put in charge of the shifter crisis. There’s a statement on my laptop that orders Hathaway Medical to have at least six more labs operational within three months or they’ll find someone else to take over the contract.”

He stopped moving just as he’d begun to slide along the curve of her thigh.
Six more in the next three months.
Anger had his lion trotting within him, demanding something be done to stop it.

“Patrick.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, pulling his attention back to her. “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have…”

“What? You shouldn’t have said anything?” He shook his head. “I need to know everything you can tell me about this lab, their operation, and about the Hathaway Corporation, in general because my brothers and I are going to take them down.”

“It will get you killed or worse.”

“We’re not going to live in fear any longer. We have to stand up and fight or the government and the rest of the population are going to wipe out my kind. I can’t stand by and let that happen.” He rolled his shoulder, trying to release the tension. “Don’t worry, angel. The government is going to be suffering from their own consequences soon enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“LUNA’s going to be their own downfall. They don’t realize it yet, but there are plenty of shifters working within the government, military, police departments, or as firefighters. When they start the testing, those shifters will have no choice but to leave and go into hiding. There will be more job openings than ever before, making it harder to control crime or fight against us as the shifters begin to unite for their freedom.” He continued his journey and slid his hands along her thighs. “All hell is about to break out.”

“Why is it that the more you tell me about this, the more I think that if there’s an all-out war between humans and shifters, humans will lose?”

“I hope it will never come to anything like that.” He rose up on his knees to hover over her, while he slipped his hands beneath her, grabbed hold of her butt, and lifted her to meet him. Her pelvis and the tops of her thighs pressed along the front of him. “I promise, whatever happens, you’ll be safe.”

“But what happens if something happens to you? Then where will I be?”

“My family will protect you.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “You know what I mean. From what you’ve told me about your family, it doesn’t sound like you’re going to be sitting on the sidelines while the rest of your kind is out there fighting a war. You’re going to be on the frontlines, aren’t you? Then what about me? If you lose, the rest of the human population will classify me as lower than a shifter. I’d be a traitor.”

He cupped the curve of her ass as he fought the urge to pull her into his arms. “Now, listen to me, you have nothing to worry about. Things are going to be just fine. We’re going to find some common ground with the government. Once they realize how much LUNA is going to affect them, they’ll have no choice.”

“Unless that backfires and they realize how strong the shifter population is.” She closed her eyes as if she didn’t want to think about what she said next. “They could seek to eliminate you because of it.”

“My angel, did anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?”

“Dean says that, but that hasn’t changed anything. I’m still a worrier.” She nodded toward her hips. “Is this part of the treatment or are you trying to see how long I can hold myself like this before my muscles protest?”

“I could hold you here all night, I would, but we have other things we must attend to. But don’t think you’ll get out of it that easy next time.”

“Who said there’d be a next time?” She sneered.

“Oh, there
will
be a next time.” He leaned closer to her, his chest pressed against hers, and his hands slid past her hips, toward her midriff. As much as he was enjoying the feeling of her body under his touch, the first time he was able to explore the curves of her body should have been more romantic. Not with the threat of danger lurking just around the corner. He promised his lion the time would come soon enough.
Focus on getting her out of here and back to Forever Creek safely.

“Patrick.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to bring him back to the present.

He looked at her in question, only to see her gaze cast down toward his hands. He silently scolded himself when his attention lingered on the way the sweater was pressed against her breast, curving the material.

“Patrick.” She called to him again.

Damn it, he was getting distracted too easily. This mating was affecting him already and he hadn’t even claimed her as his. It would only get worse as time went on, but before it did, he had to get her somewhere safe.

He realized why she had called his name when he saw his hands below her breasts. His thumb gently brushed against the underside, but he hadn’t moved past them, leaving a tension in the air. His animal urged him to lean forward and close the distance between them. For his mouth to claim her, to lay at least a partial claim on her until they were able to get somewhere safer and he could complete the mating.

“Are you planning to stay there all night? If so, at least you could make it more entertaining for me.” She glanced back up at him and wiggled her eyebrows. “Come on, big boy, show me what you’ve got.” Her voice held a teasing tone, but his lion trotted forward in anticipation.

“There’s no time now. I can hear Dean getting impatient, and I’m not sure how much longer Blake can keep him out of here. But don’t forget you asked for it because I’ll show you just what I’m made of later on, and you’ll never look at another man the same.”

“A girl can hope.”

It might have been innocent flirting, but his lion wanted to prove it to her. Instead, he forced himself to move his hands and to continue what he had started. He was nearly done, and then he could put a little distance between them. At least until they were back at Forever Creek.

Clarissa had allowed her fear to be replaced by desire. It was a relief to feel something other than total dread, but she was worried she was leading him on. Even if she wanted to, she wasn’t sure they were compatible. Didn’t he need to be with someone of his own kind? Could she have a relationship with someone who was so different that he had the ability to shapeshift?

“You look as though you just thought of something.” He slid his hands down her arms, and she could feel the heat of his touch through the sweater.

“How often can shifters change? Is it based on the moon cycle?”

“We can shift at will. Even young shifters have the ability, but sometimes their emotions get in the way and they can shift without meaning to, or it can take longer for them to return to their human form. Why? Are you worried you’ll have a lion pawing at you any second?”

She tried to laugh it off, but the image of a lion above her sped her heartbeat and iced her blood. “I…I didn’t…”

“Angel, I was joking. You have nothing to worry about. I’m in complete control of my animal.” His hands returned to her shoulders. “Now things are about to get a little more intimate.”

“How?”

“You might enjoy it more if you just lie back and relax.” Without hesitation, he leaned into her and nuzzled her neck.

“Wow.” She was torn between pressing herself closer to him, or pulling away.

“Shh, angel, we don’t need Dean coming in.” He kept his voice low as he tangled his hands in her long, whiskey brown hair. “Do you remember the lover bites from high school?”

“You mean hickeys? Don’t you even think about giving me one of those.”

“Not completely.” He lifted his head to look at her. “I need to bite your neck. Not enough to draw blood.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“All I need to do is leave a mark from my teeth. It will fade in a few hours, but it will be the final step to mask your scent completely. All the tracking shifters will be able to smell is me. If we don’t do this, and they have some training, they’ll find us quickly.”

“Training?” She adjusted enough so that she could look at him without getting a cramp in her neck.

“My brother, Austin, was military and still has contacts within the service. We’ve seen the paperwork that suggests they have trained some of the shifters as trackers.” He closed his eyes and let out a low growl. “I can’t believe I just said trained and shifters in the same sentence. We’re not dogs or circus animals that can be used to perform.”

Wanting to give him comfort, she reached up and cupped his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Sweet angel, you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s those bastards who will pay for doing this to my kind.” He pressed a gentle kiss on her palm before finally meeting her gaze. “Now, I need your decision.”

“I hate pain, but do it. I don’t want to be the reason they find us. I still can’t believe you and Blake are risking yourselves to help me. Dean, too, but from what he’s said he’d have been in the same position.” She let her hand fall away from his face and glanced up at the ceiling. “How did the world get so screwed up?”

“That, my angel, I don’t know. A few bad decisions by idiots and the world turned upside down.” He brushed her hair away from her neck. “I need you to relax. This isn’t going to hurt much.”

“Much.” With a cringe, she let out a deep breath. “I’ll do my best.”

“You’ll feel tension, but I promise the actual pain will be minimal. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

She looked up at him and found sadness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. Had she done something to cause it? Or was there something else she was missing? She wanted to reach up, to tuck his shoulder length golden blond hair behind his ear. “I’m sorry.”

“For what, angel?”

“My fear of pain. But if you think this is bad, you should see me when I have to get a shot. I hate needles.”

A fist slammed against the bedroom door, causing a loud bang. “What’s going on in there?”

Dean’s voice echoed throughout the room and she jumped, her nails digging into his arm. He didn’t even flinch. “Holy shit, Dean, keep your voice down,” she called out.

“I want you out here, right now. You’ve been in there so long, I was worried he’d killed you.”

She closed her eyes and tried to regain her patience. At the moment, she’d had enough of his protective attitude. Days ago, all she wanted was her brother, and now she wondered what the hell she had been thinking. It was so unlike her, but she wanted to return to the intimate moment she was sharing with Patrick. As much as she loved her brother, he was giving her a headache. Maybe Dean was right not to trust Patrick and Blake, but she couldn’t get the thought out of her mind that if they didn’t trust them, they wouldn’t make it out of there alive.

“We’re almost finished,” Patrick called to Dean when she remained silent.

“Clarissa?”

“I’m fine, Dean. Just give us a few more minutes, and keep your voice down.” She waited a moment until she heard him moving away from the door. “I’m sorry about him.”

“He’s seen things that have made me cautious of my kind. I can’t blame him for wanting to protect you. It’s what anyone would want to do.”

“Don’t let that fool you. He’s always been like this. I guess that’s why I called him home. I wanted someone to watch my back. We’ve always been close, but lately we’ve gotten closer. He’s been calling me nearly every day for the last few weeks as if he knew something was going to happen.” She stared up at the ceiling. “Did he know what Hathaway Medical was doing all this time?”

“That’s something you’ll have to ask him.” He gently massaged her shoulder. “Just wait until we get out of here. I don’t want you two fighting, at least not until we’re somewhere safe.”

“What if he says he knew? That he’s participated in the experiments on…on your kind? Will you leave him behind?”

“As long as he doesn’t betray my family, he’s welcome to come with us. He said before he knew what was being done, but didn’t mention taking part in the experiments. If you really think it was otherwise, then it needs to be confronted before we get back to my family. I won’t risk them or our location. If he’s going to deceive us, I need to know because I won’t give him any more of a chance than he already has.”

She wanted to say that her brother would never do anything like that, but a few days ago she couldn’t have pictured anyone doing what she had seen done in the labs at Hathaway Medical. Humanity was something she wasn’t sure she understood any longer, and it made her doubt everyone’s actions. It wasn’t just the world that was going to Hell, it was humankind. They were scared and letting their fears control them. With everything she’d seen, she couldn’t help but wonder what would be next. Had her brother’s anger stemmed from his own guilt?

He pulled back a little farther from her, his eyebrow raised as he stared down at her. “You’re really doubting him.”

“Not so much him as humanity. When did we change so much that it was okay to experiment on people? To torture someone because they were different? If that’s what it means to be human, I’d rather be dead. I didn’t become a scientist to participate in this. I did it to help…” She let out a deep sign. “I wanted to find cures for the illnesses that plague civilization. Instead, look what I got wrapped into.”

“Did they tell you why they wanted to hire you? If your specialty was diseases and not animals, there had to be a reason.” Before she could answer, she saw the realization dawn in his eyes. “Fuck!”

“That’s one sentiment. They’re using some as test subjects. Injecting them with diseases and looking for a cure. They wanted me to come up with the perfect match of chemicals to keep them drugged, but so they could still feel it. They’re using shifters to try to eliminate diseases.”

“But we’re immune to diseases, the flu, even the common cold. We don’t get sick. If they injected a disease into a shifter, the shifter’s body would reject it without showing any symptoms.”

“That’s the reason Hathaway Medical has started to test on shifters. They’re the first, but won’t be the last. They’re sure the cure for every disease can be found within your blood.”

“More than ever, we need to make sure these labs are shut down. I won’t stand by while my kind is being testing on. Especially not when the tests are pointless.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. Any information I have on my laptop is yours. Anything I can do, any questions you have I’ll try to answer.”

“Let’s get you somewhere safe, and we’ll go over what you have. We need to find a way into Hathaway Medical to try to rescue anyone they’re holding there. Then we’ll destroy the place.”

“What good will that do? They’ll only find another place to do it.”

“True, but it will destroy what they’ve done so far and they’ll have to take time to set up again. It’s all we can do right now, but it won’t be for long. We’ll fight the government if we have to because we deserve to be able to live in peace just like everyone else.” He ran his hands down her arms. “Enough about this for now. Are you ready?”

She tipped her head to the side. “Let’s do this.”

“This will take a few days for my animal musk to wear off. Until it does, it will mark you as mine. If we run into any shifters before we get back to Forever Creek, you’ll need to go with the flow. If I put my arm around you, don’t shy away from it. Any hints that this mark isn’t true could bring trouble.”

“If we run into anyone, we’re already in trouble. My face has been all over the television and newspapers. They’ll report me.”

“No, most shifters will stand united. They won’t turn you in, and not for fear of the government, but because of a bond we all have. It doesn’t matter what animal we shift into, there’s a connection between us. However, if they suspect we’re trying to deceive them, things could get tricky.”

“How long will it take us to get back to your place?”

“Depends on what we run into and how long you and Dean can keep up the pace. You’ve been on the run for days and you’re exhausted. Dean’s not as bad off because he must have slept on the plane and he’s worried about you, but it will catch up with him. Ideally, I’d like to make it back to Forever Creek tonight. If not, then tomorrow.”

She stifled a yawn. “I’d love a nice warm bed, steaming hot shower, and a hot meal. I’m not sure in what order.”

“Then we should get on our way.” He leaned back down until he hovered over her and tipped his head into the curve of her neck, his warm breath sending goose bumps down her shoulder. “Just relax.”

His voice was low as it caressed over her, and in a strange way it relaxed her. She took a deep breath and let her eyelids fall shut. Whatever was about to happen, she didn’t want to see the build-up to it. She wouldn’t let her nerves get the better of her before the pain came from his bite.

“Shh, angel.” He placed soft kisses over the curve of her neck. “Deep breath.”

“Just do it already. The build-up is—” Before she could finish the sentence, his mouth closed around the skin just behind her ear, so the mark would be hidden from view. His teeth sank into her flesh, and a dual pain shot through her, but it was nothing like what she’d expected. He held the bite for a moment before pulling back and running his tongue over the fresh mark.

“I told you it wouldn’t be painful.” He kissed along her neck, soothing away the pain that had been there moments before.

“That’s all?”

“Yes, angel. That’s enough to mask your scent and keep the trackers off our trail.” He pulled back to look down at her. “If you give me a chance next time I’ll make sure it’s full of pleasure.”

“You seem so confident there will be a next time.” She stared up at him as questions ran through her mind. A sparkle in his eyes made her wonder if he was serious.

“Oh yes, angel, there will be a next time.” He popped off her, stood up, and offered her a hand.

“Yo, Patrick, time,” Blake called through the door.

“Time?” she questioned, as he pulled her to her feet.

“Two minutes,” he told Blake before turning back to her. “We figured how long we had to get you out of here, and Blake is just reminding me that time is ticking away. We need to move. Once they realize they’ve been led in the wrong direction, they’ll find the scent you left in town. It’ll lead them straight here.”

“Just great.” She felt the fear creeping back into her shoulders and her stomach churned. The time they’d been alone in the bedroom had made her forget about everything that was happening. She had focused on Patrick, and getting through each minute. Now she was about to be on the run again, but this time she wasn’t sure where she’d end up.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“What?” She forced herself to look up at him and stifle the panic rushing through her.

“The terror gushing off you is piquing my lion’s interest.” He ran his hands up her arms. “You’re going to be fine. I’m going to get you through this.”

She gave into her desire and leaned forward. She pressed her head against his hard chest as he wrapped his arms around her. There was a comfort in his embrace she couldn’t deny. She’d just met him, but it was as if her body was telling her they’d known each other for years. There was a connection between them she wanted to both embrace and run from. She wasn’t sure which side of her was winning, but she had to be insane to think she could get involved with a shifter. At least more involved than she already was.