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G erald led Sarah down the sterile corridor, holding her arm in his grasp. Her cat detested his touch. It pressed against her skin, growling her fury. She knew she wouldn’t be able to control the animal for long. She needed to get away from Gerald soon or her cat was going to kill him.

Every gray door looked exactly like the next until they reached a black one at the end of the hall. He swung it open, leading her inside. She was shocked by the lavish suite inside.

There were red velvet drapes around a four-poster bed in the middle, Victorian-style furnishings and a bookcase that surprised her since she hadn’t seen Gerry with a book since they were in high school. The laptop on the small desk looked out of place, surrounded by the lush decor. “This is yours?”

He released her as the door closed behind them. “Ours now.”

She forcibly calmed her cat. She wanted to concentrate on Devon, but her cat was making it impossible to focus on anything except keeping her contained.

She moved away from Gerald, pretending to inspect the room.

“You must have hated pretending you liked our apartment.” It had been serviceable.

Quaint. Nothing like the suite before her.

Gerald shook his head. “Not true. It had one thing this place doesn’t.”

Sarah looked around the opulent furnishings. “What?”

His smile was warm. “You.”

Him believing she could ever be with him made her sick. As if she could get over the lies and despicable acts, he’d committed in order to obtain her. He actually believed she would forgive him. “What do you want?”

“I think that you have a pretty good idea what I want,” he said.

She shook her head. “You never told me you had these kinds of feelings for me. You had plenty of time to tell me before now.”

“I know. I planned to ask you to marry me on your nineteenth birthday. Kevin had found out about the gene and asked that you be tested first. When you tested positive, I promised to wait till we could expose you. I’m sorry for waiting.”

She held back her disgust. “Gene? What gene?”

“We or I should say Racheal identified a gene marker that signifies a woman to be a potential mate.”

“She would never do that.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.

“At the time she wasn’t aware of the scope of her research.”

“She didn’t work for Kallan she worked for N-Zime labs.”

“N-Zime is owned by one of our shell companies.”

“The company folded a year after Racheal disappeared.”

“That company was created for the sole purpose of getting Racheal on board with our research. When it became obvious, she wouldn’t help us without motivation she was brought here. The company was moved to a more discreet location.”

“You told Racheal you would hurt me.”

“Yes.” He didn’t lie.

She looked around the lavish suite, noticing there were no windows in the room. She was in a five-star cage.

* * *

A second SUV pulled up. Cade, Luca, and Brock exited the vehicle. Cade flowed out of the driver’s seat despite his muscular size.

Devon shook his hand. “I didn’t know you were here.”

He nodded “Hunter called me yesterday. I just got in.”

“I appreciate it.” He did. Cade had served in special forces with Luca and Liam. The three of them together was a huge asset.

“Family first man. Let’s go get your girl.” He turned and grabbed an iPad from the vehicle. “I have satellite imaging on the facility.”

Brock walked around, having exited the other side. “You don’t want to know where he got that.”

Cade shrugged. “This isn’t the time to get hung up on legalities.”

Devon agreed. “Show us what you have.”

Cade’s fingers swiped over the surface of the device, enlarging the image. “This is where Sarah is located.”

Devon glanced at the image showing two figures. “How do you know that’s her?”

Cade enlarged the image further. “A shifters core temperature is a degree warmer than the average humans. You can tell the difference if you look closely.”

Devon looked at the image. “So, we can tell Sarah’s signature but not Kevin or Gerald’s.”

Cade swiped right on the device, showing several men with weapons and one without. “My guess is the man surrounded by all that muscle is Kevin Kallan. The human with Sarah is most likely Gerald Kallan or Brian Marksmen, but no guarantee.”

Devon had forgotten about Sarah’s despicable father. He was prepared to do anything to bring Sarah home, including killing that monster.

Luca scoffed. “Brian is no kind of father. Sarah got royally screwed on that genetic lottery.”

Devon looked hard at his brothers. “I don’t care what it takes to bring Sarah back.” They knew what he was saying.

Talen and Nicholas pulled up in another vehicle, joining them. “Sorry, we’re late. Dad had some issues with lair duty.”

Devon bristled. “What are you doing here?”

“Cade, Luca, Liam and I are going after Kevin Kallan while you Nick, Hunter, and Brock retrieve Sarah.”

Devon’s eyes flashed. “You shouldn’t be here.” Their leader was needed. It was hard enough to accept that they would lose their father. They needed Talen. He had no business risking himself.

Talen stilled. “Kevin Kallan has declared war on my species. My family. He has put my unborn children at risk. There is nothing or no one that will prevent the man’s death. Once my children are born, I will be tied to the lair. I want him dead now.”

Devon’ could see his point, but the leader of a lair wasn’t supposed to risk himself unnecessarily. “You should be with your mate.”

Talen noticeably shrugged off his anger. “I’ll have Cade, Luca, and Liam with me.”

Devon’s cat surged “No. the lair needs YOU.”

He expected Talen to return his anger, expecting the rush of emotion.

Talen’s eyes softened. “The lair needs you too... and Sarah.”

This was why Talen was meant to be the leader. Not because he was first born and first to mate. He put his family, his species, first even when he shouldn’t. Devon knew there was no changing a Cascade’s mind once it was made up.

They better get Kevin because they were going to have a hell of a time keeping their new leader home if they didn’t. “Sarah will kill me if anything happens to you,” he said.

Talen put three fingers up like a devout boy scout. “I promise not to upset your mate,” he said with mock sincerity.

Devon huffed as his brothers laughed.

Cade remained serious. “You’re a dick, Talen.”

“Agreed. We going now?” Talen asked.

Devon turned toward the compound. There was no need to discuss what would happen. They had run drills together since they were boys.

Brock and Nick went to the left.

As soon as they heard the shouts and the first shot, Talen, Cade, Liam, and Luca went to the right, disappearing down a side alley on their way to Kevin’s location.

Hunter and Devon went through the red door, waiting as the guards on the wall ran left toward Brock and Nick.

They sprinted across the open yard, shots firing behind them as they ran. They entered the facility through a steel door, weaving their way through the corridors to the room they knew held Sarah.

They killed two guards who attempted to stop them, snapping their necks. They used their cat’s strength, but nothing else that would expose their race on camera.

Devon reached Sarah’s door first, surprised when it opened easily, allowing him to enter. She ran over to him immediately, hugging him to her tightly as the door closed behind him.

Sarah grabbed his face with both hands. “We have to get out of here before Gerald comes back.”

“Hunter is just outside the door, watching the corridor.”

Sarah shook her head. “No. Gerald went through a secret door behind the bookcase.”

“How original,” Devon said.

Sarah grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the door. “Let’s go before he gets back.”

The bookcase popped open. “Too late.” Gerald held a silver dart gun, aimed at Sarah’s heart.

* * *

Devon’s cougar attempted to surge forward and protect its mate. It thrashed at the reality of a weapon aimed at Sarah.

“You would threaten a woman to protect yourself,” Devon growled.

“A woman, yes. Sarah, no,” Gerald sneered. “I would never hurt Sarah. This won’t kill her it will only break the chemical bond your species produces to trap a human female. You will no longer be mated to her.”

“No dart can remove my feelings for my woman.”

Gerald’s eyes hardened. “Your feelings will remain. I would not waste my time and money on the likes of you.”

Sarah put a reassuring hand on Devon’s back. “Why Gerry?”

Devon hated the familiar nickname. It revealed she still cared for the despicable creature in front of them. His betrayal, too soon to eradicate the history they shared.

Gerald’s face softened as he looked at her. “You wouldn’t have been able to help it. You would have been in pain. We spent millions getting this developed specifically for you so you wouldn’t be uncomfortable when I made love to you.”

Devon felt Sarah’s revulsion. He saw fur ripple over her neck before she brought her cat back under control.

She was barely hanging on. This was the reason new mates stayed close to the lair during the transition.

A cat breaking out at home was expected, anywhere else was disastrous.

He should never have let her off the property.

She didn’t know how to control her cat’s instincts yet.

He’d failed her again. “You will never touch her.”

“You will be dead so you won’t have any say in what I do,” Gerald snapped.

“That dart won’t stop me,” Devon threatened.

“If you move, I shoot her. Since you know I am not lying we both know you won’t risk losing your bond with your mate.”

Devon’s cat surged to attack. He hesitated at the agonizing decision. He couldn’t survive without her now. You couldn’t provide a man a banquet, then tell him to starve. His father had always told him. When in doubt. Trust your cat. He let his animal loose.

He felt his body dissolving, Springing forward mid-shift.

The moment Gerald pulled the trigger would be etched in his mind forever.

* * *