Page 70 of The Forsaken Heir

AURELIUS

T he truck rumbled along the road. At one point, it hit a pothole, and thick liquid oozed from a bag onto my feet.

“Ugh,” I muttered, revulsion filling me as the mystery liquid seeped into the rear of my underwear

Other than that, things did appear to be going well. Freddy had yet to bang on the window, and I had to assume we were making good time to wherever we were heading. Freddy hadn’t told me anything, which meant I was literally flying blind.

My heart lurched as the truck slowed, and three quick bangs rapped on the window.

“We’re here,” Freddy called.

“Here? Where?”

“Shhh.”

Freddy slid the small window open. “Hide.”

Through the windshield, I saw lights and a large building surrounded by barbed wire.

“Where the fuck are we?” I hissed as I burrowed into the trash bags.

“Laurent Waste Facility,” he said. “It’s one of the family businesses. Basically, a for-profit facility to process sewage and waste water, It also has a recycling center and a rubbish dump. Now hush.”

Freddy put a hat on and pulled it low over his face, then shut the window again. Not surprising. I doubted one of the members of the noble Laurent family would be doing a trash run in the middle of the night.

My enhanced senses had come almost all the way back, and I strained to hear the conversation happening up front.

“How are we doing this evening?”

“All good. Just making a late run,” the truck driver said.

“Little late, isn’t it?”

“Well, when Bastien Laurent tells you to do something, you do it. Am I right?” the driver said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, he’s a ball buster, that’s for sure,” the guard said.

“So, uh, where’s Dan? He was supposed to be on duty tonight,” the driver said. “I actually told him we’d be by.”

“Called out sick at the last minute. I’m covering. Damn, who all you got in here? A three-man crew to dump some trash. That’s a little much, isn’t it?”

I held my breath, waiting to see how they’d explain that.

“Nah, making a detour after this. Hitting the bar in town. Hoping to find us a few pretty ladies. Figured it made more sense to do it all in one trip.”

The guard snorted. “Sure thing. Good luck with that when you’re stinking like shit, but whatever floats your boat. Head on in. Where are you heading to? Recycling or the dump?”

“Little of both,” the driver said.

“Sounds good. I’ll open the gate. Hang on a sec.”

I let out a relieved sigh as I heard the electric rattle and hum of a gate being drawn back echoed from outside the truck. A few seconds later, the truck moved forward. Freddy waited a couple seconds before opening the window again.

“Did that guy recognize you, Freddy?” the driver asked.

Freddy glanced over and shrugged. “I fucking hope not.”

“He was eyeballing you pretty hard,” the third man said. “Almost like he wanted to ask you something. I really think he might have realized who you were.”

“Fuck it,” Freddy hissed. “If he did, it’s too late to change it.

All it means is that we have to hurry.” He turned back to address me.

“We’re all good for now. We gotta get to the far end of the facility.

We came out late last night and hid a couple of the trucks at the farthest edge of the property. ”

“Trucks? Can’t I shift and fly? I am a dragon.”

Freddy shook his head. “I’m sure you’re feeling better, but I doubt you’ll be able to fully shift for a while. Especially not after that stuff Bastien pumped into your veins. We’ll get into the trucks, drive out the back gate, and split up from there.”

I closed my eyes and reached out to my dragon, checking to see if what Freddy said was true.

My beast latched onto my consciousness. We had a mutual desire to shift, but I struggled to access that magical part of my soul.

It was muted somehow, like when you’d sat on your hand until it was numb, then tried to pick up a cup.

The mind was willing, but the body was stumbling along, unable to oblige.

Freddy hadn’t lied about the farthest edge of the facility. The truck rumbled along for what felt like an eternity before it finally rolled to a stop. I heard the truck doors slam, and a few seconds later, the back hatch and tailgate opened.

“Come on,” Freddy said, waving to me. “Get out of there.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I leaped down from the rear of the truck.

I took a deep breath, relishing the crisp, clean air that filled my lungs. After the rancid trash, it was the sweetest scent I’d ever breathed. That lasted all of three seconds before one of the healers stepped forward and spritzed me with something from a spray bottle.

“Oh God ,” I cried, forcing myself not to gag. “What the fuck is that?”

“Concentrated wolf shifter pheromones,” the healer said.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Is this necessary?”

“It’s concentrated. That’s why it smells so strong to you,” Freddy said.

“It’ll hide your dragon smell even better than the trash.

Usually, it’s only a slight smell that you can zone in on or ignore at your leisure.

This is like overkill, but we want to be safe.

I used a more subtle version to mask my own scent to get out of the mansion without anyone recognizing me. ”

“I don’t recall Elle smelling this bad,” I said. “And I’ve been around her a lot. Really close too.”

Freddy shrugged and toed the ground with his shoe, looking slightly uncomfortable. “It might be that you’re attracted to her scent, or it may be that it’s not nearly as strong since she’s not a full shifter. Also, can we not talk about my sister’s love life? Kinda gross, honestly.”

“Put this on,” the other healer said and tossed me a pair of coveralls. A sewn badge on the chest read: Laurent Waste Management.

“This plus the spray should be enough to get us out of here,” Freddy said.

“Fine,” I grunted and pulled the uniform on while Freddy turned to the others.

“You two hop in the other car. You’ll follow me and Aurelius until we exit the rear gate. Once we do, you head east. We’ll go north.”

“Got it,” the larger of the two said.

I eyed him curiously, then sniffed the air. “You’re a human ?”

The guy blinked in surprise. “Yeah.”

I shook my head in wonder. “How the hell does a human get caught up in this?”

“My family has served the Laurents for centuries,” he explained.

“I had an ancestor who found out what the Laurents were, and rather than killing him, they brought him into their household and trained him as a healer. We’ve been in their service ever since.

They’ve always been good to us, but I can’t abide what I’ve seen lately.

Bastien Laurent and his parents aren’t like the old generations.

At least not from what I’ve heard. It’s time to fix this. ” He extended his hand. “Julian.”

“Aurelius. Nice to meet you.”

“Nicolas,” the other healer said as he also shook my hand.

“Nice to meet you as well, Nicolas. I guess we should get out of here?” I said, zipping up the uniform.

“Let’s do this.” Freddy led us to a shed that housed two SUVs with the Laurent Waste Management logo on the side.

I climbed into the passenger seat as Nicholas and Julian hopped in the other car.

As we drove out of the shed, I had a strange sense of foreboding.

All this had gone seamlessly. Not a single bump in the road.

It was honestly hard to believe we were really this close to getting away with it.

Could Freddy really have planned for every eventuality?

My answer came three minutes later, as we exited the gate, and our headlights swept toward the road.

“Oh shit,” Freddy cursed.

Two unmarked vans raced up the road toward us, headlights on high, shimmering brightly against the night.

“Is this part of the plan?” I asked, glancing at Freddy. He’d gone pale, and his eyes narrowed as he slowed the car.

“No.” It was a single uttered syllable, but it carried enough weight to fill me with dread.

The first van swung around, blocking the road, and the second pulled up alongside our own car, essentially pinning us in with the forest to the right.

The passenger door of the first van opened, and a large man wearing the black uniform of the Laurent security forces got out.

The first thing I spotted was the small submachine gun hung from his shoulder.

Most shifters didn’t carry guns because they relied on their shifted forms for most battles. This guy wasn’t taking any chances.

The second thing I noticed were the guy’s sunglasses. Dark black aviators with chrome arms. Seriously? This fucker was actually wearing sunglasses at night? I already hated him.

Freddy snatched the hat off his head and shoved it into my hands.

“Put that on. Fast,” He hissed, and then rolled the window down.

“Good evening, fellas,” the sunglass-wearing oaf said. “Name’s Carlisle Bouchard. Can I ask why you all are out here on a service road this late at night?”

“I didn’t know I needed permission,” Freddy said, and leaned his head out the window to show the man who he was.

A pit opened in my stomach when the guy tilted his sunglasses up, clocked Freddy, then smirked and put the glasses back down.

“Mr. Laurent. Good to see you. Though, I still have to ask why you’re out here past midnight.” His head bobbed up and down as he scanned the coveralls Freddy wore. “And dressed like a garbage man no less.”

The doors of the other vans opened slowly. Over a dozen men climbed out, almost lazily, like spiders emerging from their silken hovels to feast on an unsuspecting fly that was caught in their web. I swallowed hard, and my inner dragon gave a worried snarl.

“Well…uh…I wanted to see what it was like,” Freddy said lamely. “To know what the people who work for my family do each day.”

Carlisle smirked. “Slummin’ it, are we?”

“Umm…sure, yeah. That’s it,” Freddy said.

From the corner of my eye, I could see a rivulet of sweat inching down Freddy’s cheek.

“Uh, huh,” the guy said, sounding less than convinced.