Page 28 of Mitchell's Untamed Mate

She rounded the bend of the road just as an agent climbed into the back of the van.Through the opened door, her sharp vision took in the other three shifters in the back and an unconscious form on a gurney.The agent slammed the door shut with a shout of warning when he saw her.

Her bear was enraged at the sight of her unconscious mate.The driver of the van was in the middle of a three-point turn when she slammed into the side of the vehicle.The force of her impact lifted the vehicle off three wheels, almost turning it over.

Tracy was knocked backwards and rolled.She shook her head to clear it and surged back to her feet.The driver cursed when she focused on him.Her lips curled back, revealing long, deadly teeth.

She attacked the van again as the driver finished making his turn.Her front claws sank into the handle of the door and mirror.She rammed her head against the bullet-proof window, trying to shatter it so she could pull the driver out.

The driver accelerated with her hanging onto the door.She jumped, bracing her back legs on the running board.With another surge of strength, she jerked on the door.The metal creaked and twisted under the power of her enraged grizzly.She fell backwards when the door ripped off its hinges.

Rolling in the dirt and gravel, she lay stunned for a second before she tossed the door aside and struggled to her feet.The driver gunned the van, pushing the heavy vehicle on the gravel.Tracy roared with rage and leaped forward.

A hundred yards down the road, there was a line of USNASBSI vehicles on each side of the road.The second the van passed, they blocked the road.Agent Southpaw stepped in front of the vehicles and lifted a rifle to her shoulder.

Tracy’s bear veered to the right.She was almost to the edge of the road when the first tranquilizer dart hit her.Turning back toward the agent, Tracy fought to control her bear.

She stumbled when a second dart hit her in her left shoulder.Her bear slid the last few feet when the third dart struck her, coming to a stop less than a foot from Agent Southpaw.Her breathing was heavy and rapid as she fought against the lethargy overtaking her.She tried to rise, but collapsed almost immediately.

Must… get… mate.

Tracy desperately attempted to calm her bear, but it remained trapped in a cloud of anger and terror.As the meds in the darts kicked in, black spots started dancing before her eyes.She shook her massive head once more, hoping to dispel the fog inside.Rolling onto her side, she found herself staring up at Agent Southpaw, who took a step closer and pointed the rifle at her again.

“Load her into the other van,” Southpaw ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” the antelope-shifter said.“You heard her.Get Ms.Bearclaw loaded up.”

When Agent Southpaw crouched in front of her, Tracy curled her lip, wanting to rip the woman’s head off.She tried to pull her head away from the lion-shifter when the shifter reached out to touch her brow.It was impossible because of the sedatives they had pumped into her.

“Interesting.Very interesting,” Southpaw murmured.

“What is, ma’am?”the antelope-shifter asked.

Southpaw rose and looked down at Tracy.“Nothing to concern yourself with, agent.”

Tracy’s head tilted to the side.Her thoughts were muddled, and her limbs felt heavy and unresponsive.Despite her efforts to resist, her body remained unresponsive as the six agents placed her on a flat cart.In her last moments of awareness, she couldn’t help but question what had intrigued the agent so much.

Chapter7

United States of North America Species Bureau of Special Investigation (USNASBSI) Containment Facility: Seattle, Washington

The world around her seemed to move in slow motion, as if time itself had come to a standstill.Tracy paced the small room where she was being held.She glared up at the camera on every turn, lifting her hand and showing her middle finger to whoever was watching her.

She tugged at the oversized sleeves of the light gray sweatshirt she was wearing.The only thing they had given her was the sweatshirt, a pair of jogging pants, and a pair of thick socks.She twisted, plopped down on the metal cot bolted to the wall, and pulled her legs up.

She had been locked in this room for the past three days.Her only contact with anyone was a guard who brought her food three times a day.Even then, they opened a sliding door at the bottom of the door and slid it in.

Her room was ten-by-ten and consisted of the cot with a sheet and blanket and a bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet that was behind a clear wall that turned opaque when she pressed the button on the wall.She twisted and fell back on the cot, stretched out, and stared up at the ceiling.She had been here for three frigging days with no phone call!

Well, two of the days I was knocked out.That doesn’t matter, though!I wouldn’t have been knocked out if my government hadn’t darted me into unconsciousness!

She groaned and laid her arm over her eyes.Her head was still pounding from the after effects of the drugs and worry over what they had done with Mitchell.She dropped her arm and looked at the door when she heard voices on the other side.

Twisting around, she sat up when the electronic lock buzzed, and the door opened.Two uniformed shifters with rifles stood in the doorway.They looked at her before they stepped back.She pursed her lips when she saw Agent Southpaw standing in the doorway.

“I want my phone call,” she snapped.

Agent Southpaw lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head.“I see you are feeling better.”

Tracy stood up and folded her arms across her chest.“I would feel a lot better if you hadn’t darted me.”

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