Page 62 of Sergi
A second wave flowed over me, and I heard a powerful command. “Shift.”
I had no choice.
For a brief second, I glanced at Carlos, who’d been prepared for the moment. He kicked the guard at his feet, pushing him into another guard. He lifted his arms up, and with the power of his Beta blood, he yanked the silver handcuffs apart.
My shift came quickly as bones cracked and elongated, my form morphing as my wolf pushed my human shape aside. If I’d been alone, it would have taken ten long minutes to change, but with the command of an Alpha, it occurred instantaneously. It was a genetic defense mechanism for times of war. Otherwise, the enemy could easily vanquish us during a shift.
By the time I was on all fours and adjusting to my furry body, Carlos, a sleek, tan-colored wolf with rust-colored ears, attacked the guards who’d brought him in. I turned my head to see S-272, a massive gray wolf who’d obviously lost muscle but was still scary as hell, chasing down the lab assistants.
While most of the lab staff were vampires, they appeared to have no battle training as they scurried for a place to hide. They would be easy prey for S-272, so I turned my attention to the four guards Carlos was holding off.
One was down, but I didn’t know for how long. The other three had cornered Carlos, or so they thought. I’d foughtalongside Carlos once before. He was a slippery wolf. Three was no match for him, but then I noticed Tallon. I’d been so focused on the shifter I hadn’t paid attention to the guards.
I didn’t think. I took two long strides and leaped on Tallon’s back, knocking him down. I wasted little time going for the shifter’s neck. I didn’t understand why he hadn’t changed with the Alpha’s command. Maybe he’d been an earlier experiment, and they found a way to block his ability to shift. The fact he might have been a test subject didn’t sway my rage as I ripped into him. It didn’t excuse his actions afterward—the after-hours beatings and rapes.
My wolf howled before stripping another piece of flesh and tossing it aside. Tallon kicked and strained and almost made it to his knees before I bit the underside of his bicep. He howled, and I waited for him to shift. He didn’t. My only disappointment when he finally stopped fighting was that he didn’t know it had been me who killed him.
I turned to assist with the other two guards, but S-272 beat me to it. I glanced over to the four remaining lab assistants, who cowered in a corner, their bodies visibly shaking. The lead scientist and the other assistant lay in bloody puddles.
S-272 had dealt with a great deal of loss during his time as a prisoner. His rage had grown day by day, and his wolf showed no mercy. It seemed odd that he allowed four to live, but the mess he’d left on the floor seemed enough punishment for those experiencing mental breakdowns in the corner.
When I turned to look at the Alpha, he was transitioning back to human. Carlos, a Beta with no desire to lead but fought like a demon possessed, had finished his shift. My wolf was stubborn and wanted to hunt for more prey. It required S-272 touching my shoulder and whispering “shift” before she relinquished herself to me.
I stared down at the pile of clothes. There hadn’t been time to remove them before the shift, and now they were ripped and bloody.
“There are clean lab coats in one of the cabinets,” I said, unsure what else to do as the three of us stood naked and bloody. “If the guards behind the cameras are paying attention, they’ll see what happened and send more guards.”
“We go as is.” S-272 ripped the keycards off the shaking lab staff. “We’ll need to shift again. Grab the keycards and clubs from the guards. We need to get to the second floor.”
When Carlos opened the doors, the alarms went off.
Chapter Twenty-Three
TeamsThree and Four left the village just after midnight. Bella received a message from Team Two, who’d left on motorcycles earlier that day, that the C4 was in place, and they were watching the road from makeshift blinds with the motorcycles well hidden.
Devon wanted to take the hike up the mountain slowly. Based on their plans for a mid-day strike, they had plenty of time, and their ability to remain unobserved until they reached the parking lot was imperative.
Remus walked with him at the back of the teams, his mood pensive. “Do you believe Sergi and Carlos to still be alive?"
“I always do until proven otherwise.” He gave Remus a side glance. “What of the shifters you’ve sent over the last year?”
Remus’s brows knit together. He must have been thinking of them when he’d asked his original question. As leaders, their job was to always show strength and remain positive, especially with the Family or packs. Even if internally, they struggled with their own doubts.
In times like these, Devon had his cadre to share his concerns, and Remus had his Beta. It wasn’t lost on Devon that,for this mission, and with Bella too focused on logistics, the two leaders only had each other to confide their concerns.
Remus’s tone was contemplative. “Every day I think of each shifter I sent in search of this lab. I don’t know if any of them made it as far as Carlos, though I suspect for some, the wild shifters proved to be too formidable. I don’t know if what we uncover today will provide those answers, but if some were indeed captured, I have to believe some survived.”
Devon stopped to face Remus. “Then let’s hope we find the evidence we need. If we’ve lost shifters, we need to ensure their deaths will have been a noble sacrifice.”
Remus laid a hand on Devon’s shoulder. “Each step we take is for a noble cause. And I fear we’ll lose more before this is all finished.”
Devon, who had similar concerns, simply nodded and returned to the hike. There would be more losses to come, and possibly many more if he didn’t find something solid that could be blamed on Venizi. The Council didn’t take kindly to any form of slander, especially from a censured Council member.
An hour before dawn, Bella, who led the team up the mountain, made her way back to Devon. “Team One reported two cargo vans heading for the lab.”
Remus was the first to respond. “Perhaps send four from our team to help Team Two, just in case. They can return once the situation is secured.”
“Agreed.” Devon hated to split the teams, but Remus was right. There was no telling what was in the vans. The last thing they needed was more guards being brought in. “Send two vampires and two shifters.”
