Page 76 of Savage Mates
“If my benefactor’s team is involved, they mercenaries will come with the dart guns like the one used on me. They’ll have cages to round you up and take you to the laboratory. If they get ahold of the cub, you will never see him again.”
“How do you know this?’ Alexander snarled.
“Yeah, tell us, human,” another lion snipped from the background.
“I just do. I can’t explain it. You’re not safe here. You should find someone else to go on this island. Do you have any weapons?” I asked. When Zeus looked away, I realized they did. “Do you know how to use them?”
Eyes shifted toward Alexander. Maybe I was out of my mind, but I took long strides toward him. “Whose knowledge and memories did you receive?”
Hissing, he looked away.
“Tell her,” Titus demanded.
Alexander took a deep breath.
“Fucking tell her,” Zeus snapped.
“A security guard from the Blackwell laboratory. An ex-Marine. So I know weapons.” Alexander’s admittance wasn’t shocking. In fact, his knowledge of the military could prove useful. However, why did I have the distinct feeling there was something more damning?
“What aren’t you telling me?” I pressed.
The lions looked among themselves.
“Tell her.” This time Thor’s voice was strained.
Alexander turned to face me directly. “The Marine’s father was a good friend of Marcus Blackwell.”
“Interesting. Someone of importance.” That’s how the lions were airlifted from a military base without being questioned. How far up the food chain did this go?
He snickered at my suggestion. “Yes, William Patterson, the head of the Justice Department, which decided not to press charges against the men and women involved in making us what we are today.”
The answer was provided. Blackwell had been allowed to go into hiding, but he’d never stopped with the research. In fact, my instinct was telling me it was just about to begin again.
CHAPTER 16
Thor
Danger.
I sensed it all the way to my bones.
There was no denying the strange stench in the air, the odor permeating the jungle surrounding the encampment. Our little mate’s suggestion that we’d be captured had merit. The moment the plane had dropped from the sky, I’d sensed the hunt from the men she called mercenaries had taken a different turn.
Our summation of our stranded situation had been correct from the beginning. We were nothing but lab rats, still locked in a cage, only one with water as the iron bars.
When the other lions disbursed, I let out a deep breath before turning toward her. “While I don’t like it, we’ll take you back to the laboratory. What do you plan on doing, little mate?”
Lauren eyed me cautiously. Alexander’s news hadn’t surprised her. As soon as he’d mentioned his memories, I’d read herthoughts. None of the scientists involved had been implicated in a crime. As if what had occurred with the animals had been accepted.
She also believed she was being used as a pawn. But her tenacity refused to allow her to accept what she had little control over. She was as much a prisoner here as we were.
I didn’t need to read her thoughts to sense her agitation. I could smell her anger easily. She wore her emotions in everything she did, including in her smile. She was unique, human yet with distinct predatory abilities that could be mistaken for being a lioness.
The thought was appealing and strangely provocative.
She grabbed the duffle bag she’d come with, shoving the samples into them from where she’d taken blood and fur from us. When she noticed the weapon we’d taken from her, I sensed another wave of fear and with shaking hands, she stuffed it into her bag.
My instinct told the three of us she wouldn’t be safe for long. We’d need to stay close, which meant we’d need to move the pride closer to a set of caves we’d found. They weren’t intended for decent living conditions, but they provided a sense of protection since the terrain surrounding them was rough and highly dangerous for humans.
