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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

HUNTER

Fury bristled against his skin and it brought his panther to the forefront. He wanted to shift, but he needed to analyze the layout of the top floor, the players including the number of shifters who would fight, and the possible dangers before he shifted.

Neri gave him a quick kiss before she stood back-to-back with him, the others organizing themselves around her. They all hand their hands on her shoulder or arm.

Ready?

Yes.Everyone replied.

She landed them right in front of Zahava, who gasped in surprise. “Holy shit, how—”

“Who gives a shit how?”

Neri’s hand shot out and clutched Zahava’s throat, pulling the smaller woman closer. She growled at the bane of her existence, showing off her fangs. Although they were impressive, along with Neri’s furious face, Zahava scowled at her.

Without warning, Neri head butted Zahava and broke her nose. The evil bitch screeched like a wounded animal as she ignored the blood gushing from her face. She raised her hands to claw Neri, but his mate held her arm out, keeping the other woman’s hands away from her face.

Damian teleported in behind Zahava and blinked her away from Neri. His mate disappeared in the next moment and appeared across the room where Damian stood in front of Zahava trying to staunch the flow of blood. The shifter mix flashed out of the way as Neri landed and she followed them. After several times, Damian and Zahava disappeared again, but Neri didn’t move to follow.

What’s wrong, angel?

I… I can’t sense her anymore. I’m trying to teleport to where she is, but something is blocking me.

Neri turned to see a flood of shifters run into the room. Ghost was the first to make contact, and he decapitated the first one he’d come across with a swipe of his combat knife. Another leapt on his back, but he stabbed him in the heart and flung him to his feet, where Ghost cut off his head. He turned to take on two more when a loud cry drew Hunter’s gaze from his boss.

Axel shifted into his lion form and the shouts of dismay came from those shifters around him. Being as big as he was in animal form, he bit the head off several shifters and spit them out after they dropped to the ground, dead. He jumped and landed on another one’s chest and tilted his huge head to the side as the man begged for his life.

Why do these fuckers always think pleading for their lives will work after they attack first?

Jade laughed as Noah held a shifter in front of him, his arms braced underneath the shifter’s armpits and his hands laced behind the whimpering man’s head.

I have no clue, but this is getting old. I miss the days where we killed despicable humans who think human trafficking or drug running is a valid career path.Jade back flipped and with ease, detached the shifter’s head from the body.

Noah dropped the body onto the floor and turned to rip another shifter’s throat out before detaching his head from his body.

In the next few minutes, they dispatched many of the shifters who fought.

Neri had ignored the fight going on around her as Hunter guarded her from a possible attack. Hunter justified he should let the others have their fun, but it was because he didn’t want to let his mate out of his sight. Being away from her, even for however long he had been, had given him a healthy sense of fear he’d never felt in all his years as an assassin. He had no clue if it would dissipate, but for now, he couldn’t leave her side.

Drugged and taken away from her, he thought it would be the end of his existence. Luck was on his side, the overabundance of tranquilizer in his system had made every moment since he left Kai’s porch, a complete blank. But from the horror portrayed on her face, they had hurt him, maybe experimented on him from the phantom pain he sensed on his chest and stomach.

Hunter, his gaze returned to Neri, watched her concentrate on Zahava and Damian’s location. He reached for her hand and linked their fingers together, so if she disappeared, he’d be with her.

Holy shit, look at this.Gunnar sounded freaked.

He turned and glanced at Gunnar and then at the floor, following the grey wolf’s gaze. His eyes widened and heard the assassins and the other shifters alike let out gasps of horror when they spotted a man, mid-shift, stuck in a deformed pose, somewhere between human and animal. At first, Hunter couldn’t identify what type of animal he was trying to shift into, but his eyes roamed toward the elongated neck and found the spots of a cheetah. The way his head and neck were bent horrified him. The flesh was bleeding where the fur sprouted.

When the failed shifter let out a miserable whimper, Gunnar pulled out his Glock 17 and shot him several times in the head, putting the poor soul out of his misery.

Reaper stepped forward and cut the dead cheetah shifter’s head off and looked around, trying to find the person responsible.It’s a fucking abomination. We need to find the scientist working on this and stop them.

Axel, with his gun in his hand, opened the door closest to him, finding it dark. He flicked on the light and searched the room, but finding nothing, closed the door and moved onto the next one. Kane, Xander, and Noah followed Ax’s lead and when Kane opened his door, a squeal of fear echoed throughout the cavernous room.

Kane reached for the man, decked out in a lab coat, wearing a button-down shirt, tie, and slacks, flailed as the blond vampire lifted him off his feet.

“Who are you?”