* * *

Sophia woke to the smell of food. Her stomach grumbled and cramped until hunger pangs dragged her out of bed. While she was dressing, she could hear voices coming from the kitchen.

There was Julia’s soft pacifying tone, River’s clear questions, and Chase’s sexy deep growl. There were also two others she didn’t recognize.

“Good, you’re up. We were wondering if you were planning on showing up. Chase wouldn’t let us eat until you came down. He said it was rude. I’m Riel, by the way.” He winked at her when she walked into the kitchen, and she smiled at his easy charm.

They all sat around the dining room table talking over coffee and tea.

Chase stood to give her a kiss that was cut short after a few fake coughs and groans intruded. She felt her face flame and pulled up a chair to join them.

The two men whom she’d never met stood and bowed their heads.

Riel smiled. “It’s an honor to meet our leader’s chosen mate.” He bowed and took a seat.

She smiled and blushed again. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

The other man, who seemed to be older and much more intense, had been watching her with a closed expression. He dipped his head. “It’s my pleasure to welcome you into our pack, Dr. Reese. My name is Seff, and I am at your service.” He kept his voice formal.

“Please, call me Sophia. It’s nice to meet you, too, Seff.” She smiled. She sat, and everyone started talking at once.

“So, tell me what you have learned.” Chase spoke over the conversations and brought the discussion back to the main business of the lab.

The tension instantly filled the room. Whatever the men had to share wasn’t good.

“The employees inside the lab have all been verified. We had to look deeper into their lives to see if there were any strange links. You know Dr. Warren?” Sophia nodded. “It seems he’s got very little love for shifters and humans alike. He likes to believe he’s going to discover the next big drug, so he takes exception to a young woman telling him what to do,” Seff said, looking around the table. “Anyway, he’s got witches and other shifters in the family, but no hyenas.”

Riel took over and added what he knew. “We looked into Sophia’s direct employees. All employees have shifters, witches, or humans in their families, but none have any hyena relations. Not sure where that link is coming in, but I’ll look into everyone working in the lab and on the research.” Riel lifted his coffee and took a sip.

“I’ve been trying to get access to the security footage from the night you both got attacked,” River joined in. “It seems my guys can’t find any evidence of a recording for that evening. Apparently, the system malfunctioned and stopped recording, making it impossible for us to see what happened.”

“Did anyone find out why there was no one around when we got attacked?” Sophia asked. “That lab is extremely busy on a regular day, and even on evenings you’ll find people working well into the night, waiting on some result or jotting down notes on their work. It was strange to see that nobody was there. It was as if everyone had been told to leave.”

Seff said he’d find out more from employees and where they had gone off to while his leader and the doctor were attacked.

“So, all in all, we have nothing,” Julia stated. “What happens to your storage when someone attempts to open it?” Riel asked.

“It’s set up in a way that it locks down after a finger and voice recognition failure. What that means is that it resets and you have to wait twelve hours before you can attempt again. It’s my backup.”

“When someone tries to access your storage, does it have any alarms or does it send any notice to the building security? I’m trying to gather more information so I can interrogate the guards,” Seff said.

Chewing on her lower lip, she considered the question. She’d been asked if she wanted alarms but always felt they could be disabled, so she had dismissed the idea in favor of the finger and voice recognition with a shutdown backup.

“Not that I’m aware of. I specifically declined the alarms. They wouldn’t know if someone was trying to get to my research unless I notified them.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I guess that brings us to another dead end.”

Sophia turned to Chase and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Since no one can access it, I think the cold storage is the best place for my work right now. Don’t you think?” She looked up at him. His eyes reflected sorrow and he looked away from her.

“Yes, I do now. Until we can figure out who wants your work, it’s safest inside the locked space,” Chase answered.

“Chase,” she said, “what’s wrong? What are you not telling me?” The others looked at her then back to him.

He ran a hand over his face, back through his hair. “Sophia, after the attack, someone took what you pulled out of the storage room before my guys got there to get it.”

She shrugged. “That’s fine. Not a big deal.”

Chase nearly jumped from his chair. “What do you mean that’s fine? You know what someone can do with your data? Wipe out the entire shifter race.”

Sophia smiled. “Not with what I pulled out. They were old tests. I was going to destroy them because they were taking up space.”

The four males deflated on the spot. The tension squeezing the space disappeared.

“So, you’re telling me your work is still in the vault?” Chase verified.

“And safe,” Sophia said and kissed him on the cheek. “We’re all good.”

“Unless they can get their hands on you,” Riel stated, ratcheting up the tension once again around the table with his words.

Seff, Chase, and River turned to glare at him. “Sorry to say it, but it’s true. The samples are safe unless they can get their hands on Sophia to get the vault opened. This means she can’t be left alone without protection.”

River sighed and turned to Chase. “He’s right. I’m sure by now they’ve realized they can’t get the storage opened without her. They’re going to want her soon, which means she’s not to be left alone.”

“What do you mean I can’t be left alone? What am I, four?” Outraged, she looked at River and gave him an angry glare.

“We’ll all take turns until we get rid of the threat—” River broke off as Riel’s cell phone rang.

The enforcer looked at the number and stood to answer the call away from the table. Meanwhile, Chase continued to pile more food onto Sophia’s plate. She wondered if he was trying to turn her into a cow.

Here she was trying not to eat them out of everything they had, and he just kept adding stuff to her plate thinking she wasn’t paying attention. She rolled her eyes but continued eating.

Riel returned, concern written on his face. “That was Tryx’s phone. The caller wasn’t Tryx. Not sure who it was, but it’s clear they have her. They stated she was fine for the moment, but they want Sophia if we want her back.”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the other three men stood, ready to take action.

“We can’t let anything happen to her. Do you have her phone’s GPS turned on?” Seff asked.

“Everyone in the pack has an active GPS on their cell phone. If hers is working, they want us to find her. It might be a trap,” Riel said.

“I hope so. I need to get my hands on whoever is behind all this and finish it once and for all.” Chase’s voice had deepened to an almost unintelligible growl.

“Who stays with Sophia?” Riel asked.

River stood and walked toward Chase’s open home office. Everyone quickly followed as the men gathered weapons, and Riel sat to access the mapping of Tryx’s phone location from Chase’s laptop.

None of the men said anything about who would babysit her. Anger built.

“Oh, for God’s sake. Give me a frigging break and just go. I’m safe. They’d think I’m with you looking for my friend.” Sophia’s rage had been simmering since they started talking of watching over her like she was some newborn, and now that someone actually needed all of them, they were still debating who would stay with her.

“Absolutely not.” Chase turned and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly to him. “I’m not taking any chances with your life.”

His concern soothed her, and she leaned into his body. The fear she saw in his eyes was enough to stop her ranting.

“Riel, you stay and track the signal while we find Tryx.”

* * *

Seff drove Chase’s SUV while the alpha called two other enforcers, Kane and Troy. The men were working the streets as cleaners to ensure resolution of any problems the pack members got into with humans. They were usually left to work on their own.

“Riel, this is River. We’ve called Kane and Troy. Their phones will track with ours. Keep an eye on their signals.”

“Got it. Bringing them up now. Signal is strong. We’re good,” Riel said.

“Any movement from Tryx’s original location?” River asked.

“Nothing. It keeps flashing, there, in the middle of nowhere.”

Chase spoke up, hearing Riel’s side of the conversation as well as River could. “How’re the girls?”

“They’ve calmed down. They’re in the other room. I must say, Alpha, you’ve got yourself a handful.”

A growl erupted from Chase. No one made fun of his mate. Unfortunately, the growl didn’t transfer down the phone line.

Riel continued. “She’ll be the perfect female alpha for us. Brave and willing to risk her own safety for her pack. Even though lab made, you got a winner.”

His anger dropped, replaced by worry. “That’s what concerns me. She’s too willing to jump right into things without knowing what’s going on. I have to protect her from herself sometimes.”

River laughed. “Finally, someone’s giving you shit now. I told you to wait until your mate came along. Now you know exactly what I’ve been talking about since I met Julia.”

Yeah, he did. And damn, if he didn’t love it.

“Gotta go, Riel. Meeting the other two in a minute. Call if anything happens.” River pushed the end call icon and dropped the phone on the seat between them.

“I don’t like this, bro. What do you think?” River asked.

“I don’t know what to think,” he answered. Unease rolled through him. Their pack had never had this kind of trouble before. Hyenas weren’t welcome anywhere. Trouble always followed. If this was because of them, he’d hunt down every one and destroy them.

He saw his men’s truck sitting at a crossroad. He flashed his headlights and they pulled out behind him. Then a thought occurred.

“Goddammit. River, call Tryx’s shop to make sure she isn’t there. This had better not be a fake kidnapping.”

That had been happening a lot lately. The news had been reporting that supposed abductors called up the victim’s family and demanded money for their return. While all along, the family member was safe and clueless somewhere else.

River hung up. “Her assistant said she’s not at the shop. Didn’t know where she was. Of course, she couldn’t reach her by phone.”

“Fuck,” he mumbled. It was looking to be the real deal.

A mile from the target signal, they hid their vehicles off the road behind a group of thick trees.

Chase laid his mini iPad on the truck’s hood while the others gathered around.

“Here’s how it’s going down,” he said. He pointed out the route each would take to encircle the phone and hopefully Tryx.

Splitting into groups, they shifted out of their skin and set out in a large circle around the area, slowly closing in on the coordinates Riel had passed along.

In the center of the clearing lay a woman bound and gagged with a cell phone next to her. Her clothes had been torn, and cut marks dripping blood were visible on her arms and legs. The woman’s blonde hair was covered with dirt and leaves. There was no one else around, and she resembled Tryx, but as they neared her, they realized she wasn’t Chase’s cousin.

Once they reached the unmoving body, Chase scented her and knew she was human. Kane picked up the female and carried her toward the trucks. Growls sounded around the group. Their display of aggravation made Chase wonder why they were called out here.

They returned to their vehicles and called Riel, but he didn’t answer. Concern made Chase’s heart beat faster in his chest, and he tried Julia and Sophia’s phones with no success.

* * *

Riel left Sophia and Julia sitting in the living room and went into Chase’s office.

“This is all my fault,” Sophia said.

Julia laid a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t think that. What these people do, you have no say over.”

“Yeah,” she said, “but if they had the vials, they never would’ve taken Tryx. They are still after me, still after my tests.”

Julia asked, “What exactly did you create, Sophia? Why do they want it so badly?”

She paced in front of the window, keeping an eye out for the men even though they just left.

“That night you were bitten and in the hospital, I was so scared I’d lose you. With Mom and Dad gone, I couldn’t stand the thought I’d be completely alone.” A sob caught in her throat. “But you woke up and kept breathing. I almost cried in relief. But then you shifted and it was horrible.”

Sophia wiped at her eyes. “My God, Julia, I thought you were going to die all over again. The sound of your bones breaking, your screams, and me not able to do anything to help you. I felt so useless.”

Julia wrapped her in a hug. “It’s all right, Soph. I’m okay now.”

“But you weren’t then. I made a promise to myself that you’d never have to go through that again. As my little sister, I’d protect you like I was supposed to.”

Julia pushed her to arm’s length. “It is not your job to babysit me, Soph. I’m an adult.”

She waved the words away. “Whatever. I will always do what I have to, to keep you safe.”

“Keep me safe? Are you kidding?” Julia popped her fists onto her waist. “Do you remember as kids you told me the jalapenos in the garden were pickles and I took a huge bite?”

Sophia burst out laughing.

“I could’ve died from an asthma attack,” she continued.

“No, you wouldn’t have,” Sophia said. “You didn’t have asthma until years later.”

Julia lifted her chin and sniffed. “Well, it could’ve started with that.”

“You got me back, though,” Sophia said, remembering the incident.

“I did?” Julia replied. “What did I do?”

Sophia snorted. “Seriously? You don’t recall picking out all the chocolate marshmallows in the cereal box of Count Chocula?”

Her sister let out a cackle. “Why in the world would I do that?”

“Because that’s the only part I ate. I didn’t like the crunchy bits, so you left those.” Both girls laughed. “Mom wouldn’t buy another box until I finished that one without marshmallows. I never ate another bite of them.”

“You deserved that after convincing me I was adopted,” Julia answered.

She rolled her eyes. “That was so easy. You never even looked like me. I died laughing when I heard you’d asked the mailman if he was your father.”

“Oh, shit,” Julia heaved between laughs, “I thought Mom was going to kill me.”

“And the demon teddy bears. Oh my god. Do you remember those?”

Julia gasped then threw a sofa pillow at her. “That was you!”

Sophia fell back laughing, slapping her thigh. “I never told you. But after you fell asleep, I snuck into your room, took the stuffed animals, and staged them to look like they were doing their own things.”

“Damn, for the longest time I swore they were possessed and could move on their own.” Julia shook her head.

“I told you not to watch The Exorcist, but nooo. You didn’t listen.”

“Yeah, but now, I have my own possessed animal hottie.” A smile plastered on her sister’s face.

“I realize that now,” Sophia said. “After shifting and experiencing nature through my animals, I see it’s a gift, not a curse like I thought.”

Julia smiled at her the same way their mother used to. That brought tears to her eyes.

“Hey,” Julia leaned toward the curtained window, “who’s that outside?”

“The guards are walking around.”

“I know what they look like and they aren’t skinny,” Julia replied.

Sophia turned and pulled back the sheer covering the pane. Off to the side, bodies were moving, but the thing she noted was a device on the door that had a bunch of wires running through it.

* * *

When an explosion rocked the front of the house, Riel lifted his gaze from the computer screen in Chase’s office to see the women running into the office. Not wasting any time, he clicked a button that unlatched a column in the wall.

Sophia and Julia both gasped when a piece of the wall slid, giving way to a small hallway. He immediately jostled both in, and with a finger over his lips, indicated for them to be quiet. Then he locked them inside.

Riel shoved a filing cabinet in front of the column and ripped his clothes off. He shifted seconds before the door was torn open and two hyenas crowded the entrance. He snarled and lowered his head, showing them his fangs.

Their whiny laughter grated on his nerves. He watched a female and a male stroll into the large office. The female, known for being aggressive and hostile, came in ready to fight. She shoved the male out of the way in her attempt to get at Riel.

The female opened her jaws and showed him her fangs in the silly smile hyenas were known to have. She went for his face and used her paws to scratch at his neck. Riel dodged and tried to get space between the two of them. Undeterred by her smaller body or his massive claws, she attempted to sink her claws into his face once again.

Riel’s powerful claw slashed across the female’s face, and he shoved her away. She hit a chair, the wood splintering, and landed on her side.

Her whiny growl became louder, and she turned her head toward the inactive male. Riel guessed she was trying to get the male’s attention.

Both animals zigzagged around Riel. The male jumped over a table and landed on Riel’s back, biting repeatedly into his shoulder and clawing at him while the female tried to cut into his face once again.

What was it with the woman and his face? He growled and shook the male off. The hyena hit the wall in a loud whine.

Riel’s focus turned to the female, and he bit into one of her paws as hard as possible. Then he jerked her roughly and threw her across the room, breaking a glass coffee table in the process.

She picked her bleeding body up off the floor, whining loudly.

The male came at Riel once again but only got as far as biting into Riel’s hind leg before Riel shoved him against the oak desk, bit him on the back of the neck, and tossed him through a window.

Riel heard the other hyenas whining outside as well as the distant roar of an engine. The female limped toward the broken window, growled at him one last time, and jumped out. The urge to chase made Riel take a step in the direction of the window, but he stayed firmly in front of the filing cabinet he’d placed before the hidden door.

Maneuvering the SUV up the driveway to Chase’s home, Seff waited until they were closer to the house before he slowed enough to allow Chase and River to get out of the vehicle. Chase saw the torn front door and rushed toward his home.

Multiple windows from his office were broken, and blood covered the lower panes. Two animals moved away from the house, limped into a large van, and took off.

Chase and River headed into the house while Seff stayed in the SUV and followed the van. Rushing inside the house with River, Chase was ready to tear the place apart. When they entered the office, they came face to face with a snarling Riel.

“Stand down!” Chase growled.

Riel’s wolf lowered his head and whimpered. Blood covered his brown fur. He panted, trying to regain his human form. Once he was back in his skin, he groaned and landed on a chair, struggling to get his bearings.

“Sophia and Julia?” Chase asked, knowing his enforcer wouldn’t dare let anyone take their women and then stay behind.

“In the safe room. I locked them in before they got to them.” Riel groaned and shifted to his wolf to allow for faster healing of his wounds. Chase watched as Riel shifted, making sure the injured wolf was able to complete the process.

Chase moved the filing cabinet out of the way and unlocked the hidden passage with the secret code. He stepped back when he heard the hiss of the sliding wall. Inside, Sophia was holding Julia in her arms as the other woman sobbed on her shoulder.

River stepped in front of Chase and pulled Julia toward him. He picked her up in his arms, soothing her with soft words while he carried her to a sofa.

Sophia ran out of the tight space and launched herself into Chase’s arms. While he held her, she buried her face in his neck and used his shirt to muffle her cries.

It broke his heart to see her that way, and he wasn’t sure what to do to help. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, hoping she’d tell him how to make her distress go away.

“Where…where’s Riel?” she inquired into his shoulder.

“On the floor.” He ran a hand through her hair, trying to find her face under the messy tangle.

“Oh God.” She hiccupped, and her sobs grew louder. “He was out here all alone, and we couldn’t help him. We tried, but the door was locked, and then we…we heard all the fighting and the growling. I…I feel so bad. He was so young.” She spoke in a low murmur, describing how the poor man had gotten killed trying to defend them, and they’d done nothing to help.

“Sweetheart, he’s on the floor recuperating, he’s not dead,” Chase said softly into her hair.

She lifted tear-stained eyes to his face and then turned to see the bloody, brown wolf lying on the floor panting, his tongue lolling out of his open mouth.

She pulled out of Chase’s arms, crouched down next to Riel’s animal form, and petted the big furry head. She looked him in the eye, her tears falling on his brown fur, and kissed the top of his head.

“Thank you,” she whispered in his fuzzy ear and then stood.

Chase helped her back up and into his arms. “How long does he have to stay like that?”

Chase noticed how scared she was when she stared at the still animal. Riel’s only sign of life was the movement of his chest when he took slow, even breaths.

“Not long. His wounds will heal and close within a few hours, and then he’ll be able to shift and speak to us.” He was proud of Riel. He’d proven himself once again to be able to be a commendable defender.

“We can’t just leave him here. Come on, you and River can carry him into one of the bedrooms. If he has to be lying down, it should be on a bed,” she ordered them.

Julia had also calmed once she realized the brown wolf was alive and soon to be well.

They carried him to one of the lower level bedrooms and then left him alone to rest. The men were in the process of calling the cleanup crew when Seff showed up in Chase’s vehicle.

Shortly thereafter, the cleanup crew arrived and installed heavy-duty metal doors in the front and back entrances of the house.

The windows were replaced. A group of four would stay the night to secure the premises. River had insisted they alternate with another set of enforcers to ensure maximum protection.

In the kitchen, Julia cooked a meal to keep some semblance of order while Sophia quietly dissected the personnel in her lab, over and over again.