Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

A mouse nibbled the corner of Racheal’s granola bar before scurrying across the table.

She looked up from her microscope, rubbing her fingers to warm them before bringing the blood sample back into focus. “Where’s a cat when you need one.”

“How long did you think you could avoid me?” Hunter growled.

She shivered as his growl resonated through her. She refused to look up from her microscope. Time was a commodity she no longer possessed. “If you're smart,” she said, “you'll walk back out that door and pretend you never saw me.

The irritation in his voice was evident. “Not gonna happen sweetheart.”

Racheal turned, taking in the sexy male standing with his hands on his hips. His dark hair and eyes, similar to his brother Devon’s. She had sworn that she would protect his species and do as much as she could to reverse some of the damage she had inadvertently helped orchestrate which meant keeping his species as far away from her as possible. “Who are you?”

“Hunter Cascade.”

“What do you want?” she asked.

His eyes flashed amber. “You.”

She rolled her shoulders, inhaling his masculine scent. “Why?”

“Don’t play stupid Racheal. We both know you’re too smart for that.”

Racheal zipped her jacket to the top. Her breath fogged the air as she exhaled loudly. “I can’t go with you.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’ve spent the last month tracking you down and I’ve had a permanent hardon the entire time.”

Racheal frowned. “Don’t you find that a little suspicious? Even for your species?”

“Absolutely. Since you’ve been working for the Kallans’ perhaps you could explain it to me.”

Racheal hissed. “I was abducted. Forced to work for them. I didn’t do anything by choice.”

His eyebrows went up. “You just lied to me.”

“It’s none of your business,” she said.

He folded his arms. “I assure you. Everything to do with you IS my business. Besides, I promised Sarah I would bring you back safely.” 

Racheal rubbed her arms at the mention of her best friend. “Sarah doesn’t have all the facts. She’s safe with Devon.”

“Is she?” Hunter leaned into her before glancing at the various pieces of equipment of her makeshift lab. “What're you doing? Haven't you had enough experimentation for one lifetime?” The disgust in his voice was evident.

She wanted to tell him he had no idea of the hell she’d gone through but his scent reached her nostrils. Her nipples peaked, chafing against the material of her bra. Her core tightened, causing a streak of pain to radiate through her abdomen. She hissed. He wasn't just a Cascade shifter. He was the one. Her mate.

He squinted. “What's wrong?”

She let out a stuttered breath. “You have to get away from me before it's too late.”

He sniffed the air, backing up a step. “I won’t hurt you.”

“You will,” she snapped, placing her hand on her stomach.

“We know you were forced to help the Kallans’ experiment on my species. Sarah wants you to come home. Our home.” His eyes held a glint of amber before returning to their natural blue.

Racheal closed her eyes. Sarah. The only person she knew who truly loved her. The woman she loved like a sister. The one she’d betrayed. “I have to finish my work. I'm doing this for Sarah. For your species. You have to LEAVE.” The desperation in her voice was evident.

“I promised Sarah I would bring you home safely and that's exactly what I intend to do.” He persisted.

Racheal took a calming breath. “Look. I knew she would send you but she didn't have all the facts. I can't be around you or your species. I'm toxic to you.”

“How so?” Hunter asked.

“Jordan injected me with a compound similar to the serum that enhances your mating drive. It will make the males around me... aggressive.” She didn't want to give him the sordid details. Going through it once was enough.

“Can you fix it?”

“I'm trying to make a serum to counteract the one he made.” She motioned the vials of blood on the rusty steel counter. “These samples are mine.”

“Will it work on the shifters that Kallan already experimented on?” he asked.

“It’s possible but Kallan's subjects all died,” she said.

“Not Cyril.”

“That’s impossible. He should be dead by now.” Her mind raced at what she could have missed. The things they did to Cyril were worse than any other subject she knew about. It made her wonder if Jordan had hidden information from her or if the cougar species had other gene markers she had missed.

“He’s damaged but alive. He isn't the only one.” Hunter's tone serious.

She blew on her fingers, knowing she should have suspected this. Kallan had samples from most of the shifter species he was aware of. If Hunter knew the scope of her research, he would never willingly bring her back to his family. His home. She injected authority into her tone. “I'm sorry. I'll try to help but you need to leave so I can finish my work.”

He folded his arms. “Hmm. Since we have less than ten minutes before Kallan's men get here, I'm thinking your time would be better spent grabbing the items you need before we leave.”

“No. They don't know I'm here. I was very careful. I used every tactic Sarah taught me,” she stuttered.

“Sarah is good but Kevin Kallan has unlimited resources. I couldn't track you but his soldier's movements are easy. When they started setting up a couple blocks from here, I knew you were close.”

“How did you find me?”

“I’ve had your scent burned into my body since the day you ran into Devon.”

She believed him. He was already affected by her. She could see it in his possessive gaze. She wanted to tell him that she would literally be the death of him if he stayed but the thud of boots on the pavement outside indicated her time was up. “I need my work.”

“Grab it quickly. They’re in the building next to us.” He said looking through the blinds that covered the window.

Racheal was always prepared to run. She took the blood sample off the microscope and put it over the bunsen burner flame, discarding the slide in the trash after it turned black. She shoved her papers and the vials into the knapsack that held all her research, slipping the straps onto her back after zipping it. “I'm ready.”

Hunter held his hand out to her. “Follow my lead. Don't talk.”

She contemplated running from him. Saving him. Fear her research would end up in Kallan hands made her decision. She slipped her fingers around Hunter's. The man she had just condemned.

 

 

 

Hunter's whole body tensed as her small hand gently grasped his. Her bones were more delicate then he had first thought. He had taken in every detail of her body. The long black hair that had him longing to bury his face into. Her sad brown eyes that made him want to take away the darkness that surrounded them. Her pink lips that he needed to nibble and her far too skinny frame that told him she had missed too many meals since she had been on the run. He had seen pictures of her on Sarah's phone. She was a skeleton compared to the woman on that phone.

His cat had gone berserk when he smelled her from across the street. He’d been thankful he’d gotten to her before Kallan’s men but he didn't have a lot of time to get her to safety. Sarah wanted her back at the lair. Hunter wanted her for himself. He acknowledged his cats need for her. He would be doing everything he could to get her to mate with him. First, he needed her safe. “We can cross to the adjacent building from the roof. They’re sweeping the bottom floor right now.”

“I know I set up the eisel to the next building when I moved in here two weeks ago.” She said.

“Smart.” He watched as she scanned the exits. His cat was sending him images of her abandoning him as soon as they got away from Kallan’s men. It was infuriated that she didn't recognize the connection between them.

They raced up the stairs to the roof, slamming open the door as shouts from below reached them. “They found my lab.”

Hunter heard the men enter the stairway. “We have to hurry. Are you afraid of heights?”

“Not anymore,” she said.

He didn't have time to question her unusual answer as they sprinted to the eisel connecting the buildings. “You go across first. I'll be right behind you.”

She was halfway over the beam when the doorway on top of the building they were headed toward, slammed open with multiple soldiers in black exiting it. She turned to Hunter. “You need to go. You can jump to the trellis two floors down. You'll make it.”

Hunter stepped up on the beam. She had every intention of sacrificing herself so he could get away. “You may have studied our species but you obviously don't understand us.” He knew he sounded angry.

“Don't be...” She sucked in a quick breath as the dart hit her in the back.

Hunter grabbed her, flipping her onto his back as he jumped to the trellis below. It made a loud creaking sound as he landed. He didn't wait to see if the rusty frame would hold. He jumped to the next one down before ducking into the building. He ran down the steps and onto the street. He was thankful his SUV wasn't far away. He was quick but not quick enough to outrun bullets. He slipped Racheal into the front seat before doing a screeching U-turn, heading back to the cabin Cade had arranged for him when he crossed the border into Canada. He heard Racheal struggle to sit up properly in her seat. “You should be out cold.” He had taken the dart out of her back during the jump. It had been a clean hit.

“I’ll metabolize it quickly I just need some time,” she whispered.

“You’re human. And if that’s the same shit he uses on us it's potent...”

“I’m mostly human but it isn't the modified version. He won't use that on me. He wants me back.” She fought to keep her eyes open.

Hunter’s synapses fired in multiple directions. “We expected Kevin to want you back. What do you mean mostly human?”

“Not Kevin. Jordan. Kevin doesn't need me anymore but Jordan doesn’t want me to...” her eyes closed.

Hunter put his hand on her neck, feeling her pulse as he drove. “Racheal.”

He pulled over, hiding his SUV in the trees. He put his hand over her heart. His cat needed to feel its steady beat as much as he did.

Her hand covered his. His incisors lengthened at her touch. He leaned in, inhaling her sweet scent, as his teeth grazed her neck.

“Don’t force me.”

 

 

 

 

Her words stunned him and terrified his cat. It backed down not wanting to traumatize its mate. It wouldn't wait forever. Its need to mark what was his - a primal instinct. A need to warn away competitors. It would give Hunter some time to find out what had happened, however. He prayed no one had touched her without permission because there would be no stopping his animals need for retribution.

He needed to find out what happened to her before marking her. There would be no way to hold his cat back at that point.

He got back on the road. He was less than an hour from the cabin and she would be out for hours due to her diminutive size.

He had just turned up the dirt road leading to his temporary home when she stirred, opening her eyes.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“A friend’s place. You shouldn't be awake yet?” Her quick recovery concerned him. It had him thinking back to her previous comments.

“I told you I would burn through the tranq quickly,” she said quietly.

“Your metabolism shouldn't work that fast.”

“I know.”

“Racheal,” he said in a low tone.

“I’ve been... altered,” she whispered.

“Motherfuck! Did Kallan have Cyril bite you?” Racheal shifted uncomfortably in her seat. He could feel the tension between them. “Look, Racheal, I don't blame you...”

“Don’t excuse my behavior. You have no idea what happened or what I did while in the Kallans’ custody so you have no right to finish that sentence.”

Hunter’s teeth snapped together. “How about you tell me what happened. Did Cyril bite you?”

“No. I was injected with shifter DNA. Cougar mostly.” She replied.

“Mostly?” His heart slammed against his chest.

“Kallan has specimens from multiple species. He experiments with combining the DNA strands looking for the desired effect.”

“What is the desired effect?” he asked.

“I originally thought it was the cure for MS but now I believe it's more than that.”

“What species does he know about?”

“He has confirmed the existence of nine species but doesn't have samples from all of them.”

“He knows about most of the species then.” Hunter growled.

“Are there more than nine shifter species?” she asked, her interest peaked before turning away. “Never mind.”

“Yes, there are a few more," he said.

“Don't tell me. I don't want to know anything that can be used against you,” she said sadly.

He sucked in a breath. “Racheal. You’re never going back into enemy hands. I won't let them use you again.”

“Don't make promises you’re incapable of keeping... besides, I’ve made sure I won't be used again,” she said coldly, turning to look out the window.

Hunter’s cat raged at him. It didn't like the implication of her statement any more than he did. He could tell she didn't want to talk to him. “Which species does he know about other than cougar and coyote?”

Racheal hesitated. “Wolf. Bear. Tiger. Panther. Lion. Hyena and Cheetah.”

Hunter was surprised. “Cheetah's are extinct,” he blurted.

“He believes they still exist but are rare. He doesn't have a sample of their DNA.”

Hunter’s cat roared to the surface. He fought for control. “He has DNA samples from all of them?” he asked in disgust.

“He’s missing the cheetah and the panther.”

“He managed to track down all these species in a few years?” Hunter couldn't believe it.

Racheal looked surprised. “A few years? He’s been hunting shifters for over two decades.”

“What? We thought that Razel sold us out. That wasn't twenty years ago.”

“Who is Razel?”

“He’s a coyote who helped Kallan. He orchestrated the destruction of his entire lair.”

“Oh, that coyote. I didn't know his name. Jordan laughed. How stupid he was. He said the coyote ability to sense emotions was a low priority. So, they gave him whatever he wanted in exchange for information on your species. Prior to Razel, they didn't have info on the Cougars.”

“I used to hate coyotes but I've recently met a few good ones.” He was hesitant to share the recent events at the coyote camp.

He saw Racheal's eyebrows knit together. “That's how he got the information on each species.”

“How so?”

“He would capture a species and torture them but they wouldn't give up their own before they... died.” She waited, watching Hunter’s face.

“Go on,” he said encouragingly.

“He started asking about other species. He found that all shifters had at least one other species they weren't fond of. With enough torture, they would give up their enemy.”

“So, our own animosity is our downfall,” he said in disgust.

“I'm sorry.”

Hunter didn't have time to waste on petty differences between the shifter species. He couldn't change the past. “What does he know about shifter abilities?”

He knows each species has a unique ability. Bears have super strength. Lions heal faster. Hyenae have superior hearing. Wolves have psychic abilities. Panthers have superior night vision. Coyotes sense emotions. Cougars have the longest lifespan and leopard's have a more intense and faster mating cycle."

“You’ve missed a couple.”

“He doesn't know what the other abilities are,” she said.

Hunter went over her words. “I didn’t know about the leopard mating cycle. Is that somehow related to the serum he injected Cyril with?”

“Yes. Leopard DNA was used in the serum. It didn’t work on the canine species. You know what it does to other feline species.”

“Jesus.”

“I need to talk to Talen.” The thought of his brother brought Lucy to mind.

“Cyril bit Lucy. Talen's mate. She's pregnant. Will that compound effect her babies in any way?” he asked.

He saw the concern in her eyes. “I honestly don't know. They’ve only had one female shifter. She had already mated and she was the first shifter they had come across so they hadn't perfected their interrogation techniques at that time. She was a Tiger. They got her DNA but nothing else before she died.”

“They killed her mate or he would have come for her.”

“Yes. She was caged in her animal form. After a week of captivity, she shifted back to her human form. When Kevin told her he would force her to give him everything on her species she lengthened her own claws and ripped her own throat out.”

“She protected her lair the only way she could.” Sadness squeeze Hunter’s heart. He had never personally met a tiger shifter but his brother Luca had. He would do everything he could to find the woman's lair and let them know what she’d done to protect them. “Is there a test you can do to see if leopard DNA is present in Lucy?”

“I’ll give you the information you need to run the tests but I won't be the one doing it.”

Hunted sucked in a sharp breath. “You would turn your back on us? On Sarah?” He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

She closed her eyes. “Yes. I can't help you.”

Hunter growled low in his throat before he got himself under control. He didn't care what her reason was. She should be doing everything possible to help his species. Christ. To help Sarah. “What kind of person turns their back on a friend who was willing to die for them?”

 

 

 

 

 

Racheal's gut tightened. “I would do anything for Sarah. I want to help. I wish I could do more to make up for the damage I’ve done but I don’t have time to explain. I have to get away from you before it’s too late.” He would never know it was for his own protection.

Hunter growled. “I won't let you turn your back on Sarah. Or me.”

Racheal replayed his words in her mind. “You’re already being affected. You have to let me go.”

Hunter slammed on the brakes, causing the SUV to skid to a stop in front of the cabin. He got out and walked quickly to her door, yanking it open. “Get out.”

She gave him a hard look. “No.”

Hunter undid her seatbelt and scooped her into his arms. He dropped his lips to her ear as she struggled in his arms. “Don’t push me, Racheal, I’m barely holding on.”

She was blaming him when she was the problem. She took a long deep breath to calm her anger, realizing her mistake as soon as his masculine scent hit her nostrils. Her nipples peaked. Her skin tingled. Sweat beaded at her brow. Her pussy clenched. No. No. Not now.

There had been a time when she wanted to feel aroused. Lust. Nothing. She had wished she could be normal. She was a genius. She didn't act like other girls. Now she would do anything to take it away. Her treacherous body would get Hunter killed.

He stopped at the door of the cabin, placing her on her feet. “Racheal, you’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

She couldn't speak. She crushed her arms to her chest, attempting to alleviate the pressure as memories of a time she wanted these feeling filtered through her brain. The late nights. The breakthroughs. She had been so infatuated with his brain she never questioned why she wasn't attracted. She had betrayed her best friend. Herself. Her mate. He didn't deserve that pain.

She pushed him hard, forcing him to take a surprised step back. “I can’t go with you.”

His eyes glowed. “Tell me how a woman who weighs a buck ten can push a shifter in his prime.”

Her tinted yellow eyes met his. “I’m infected.”