Madison Layle - Falke’s Captive

Reidar smirked. One of the few times he didn’t get the belt when his brother did. He’d been smart enough to have an alibi that night, far away from McClintock Liquor.

They quickly stripped out of their clothes and changed into catamount form. Kelan picked up the lock pick set in his mouth, and then they hopped the fence.

Just be careful , Reidar told Kelan through their telepathic connection. Remember they’re out here hunting cougars. Don’t get shot again.

I’m going to kick your ass one of these days , Kelan threatened as he took off through the forest toward a clearing about a hundred yards away.

You can try , Reidar said with a laugh.

They stopped at the edge of the woods and peered through the underbrush. Beth’s old, battered ragtop Jeep was pulling away as a slim, young man climbed the stairs to the trailer.

Who’s that? Reidar asked.

Tim, the sidekick. As the trailer’s door closed, Kelan lay down and rested his head on his paws.

Get comfortable, brother. It might be a long wait.

Kelan took a swipe at Reidar’s muzzle with his paw. Wake up.

Reidar snarled and bared his teeth at his brother, but he rolled into a seated position and shook the dried leaves from his fur.

When did another guy show up? Kelan had been keeping vigil on the semi trailer that housed Beth’s lab while his brother snoozed away the afternoon in the cool breeze drifting through the pine boughs. The side door had finally opened, and out stepped not only Tim, but a shorter, stout, bald man.

Dunno , Reidar said then yawned.

He wasn’t here when I was captured.

Reidar looked up at the sky, then at Kelan. How long have I been out?

All day. It’s damn near dinnertime. I’m starved.

I am too. We sure those two are the only ones in there?

Yeah, check it out. They’re locking up. Kelan stood, ready to get this expedition over with. Reidar kept saying it wasn’t right, that he didn’t like doing this because it hurt Beth, but his brother hadn’t had any problems sleeping. Kelan had tried to nap, but he couldn’t, despite the lethargy affecting his muscles. Any time he closed his eyes, he pictured Beth with her big innocent eyes and sweet smile. It tore up his insides that they were doing this, stealing from her.

Which disturbed him even more. Taking his own collar back was one thing, but this was different, even if it was his blood he wanted to retrieve.

Since when did a woman get inside his head like this? Never before had he felt guilt because of a woman. He’d always believed in the love ’em and leave ’em philosophy to which most lone catamount shifters aspired. So long as he left the women satisfied and smiling, what was the harm?

No, he didn’t believe in guilt. The only people in his world who could make him experience that particular emotion were his fathers. Now that the Falke boys were all adults, their dads had resorted to guilt trips when displeased. They must have figured the boys had all outgrown the belt.

No guilt. Regardless of his budding emotions toward Beth, Kelan had to do this for the family.

The conflict, however, nearly tore him up inside. Why did doing what was right for his family feel so wrong in his heart?

Tim and the other man got into the semi, which had been disconnected from its trailer. The presence of a third person meant someone else knew of the blood test anomaly. Damn, damn, damn!

After the truck pulled away, they waited a few minutes to make sure the scientists didn’t return, then carefully made their way out of the woods and into the clearing where the trailer sat by itself, hooked up via a thick cord to the electrical pole in the center of the fifty-yard diameter space.

All clear , Reidar said as they reached the trailer.

Kelan transformed into his human body and dropped the lock pick set into his hand from his mouth. “This isn’t the same door that was on here the other night,” he said as he examined the deadbolt. “Might take a little longer.”

Reidar stayed puma and glanced around. I feel like we’re sitting ducks. We should’ve waited until after dark.

“Too hungry.” Kelan’s stomach growled as if proving the point. He withdrew the tools to disengage the locks—not the easy push-button type that’d been on there before—but still not difficult.

When he was thirteen, a drifter had stopped in Leavenworth for a month or so, and Kelan had befriended the old guy. In that month, Pecos taught Kelan all sorts of interesting things—picking locks and jimmying car doors among them—and even gave him the lock pick set. He had to admit it came in handy now and then, even since he grew up and quit breaking the law…most of the time.

“Got it,” he said when the deadbolt snicked open. A brief flash from behind him signaled Reidar’s shift. Kelan turned the knob and pushed the door. Reidar followed him inside and headed straight to the bank of computers on the table while Kelan opened the little fridge.

Empty.

“Shit,” he muttered and started a thorough search for the blood sample.

“There’s no password protection on this computer,” Reidar said as he clicked keys. “Nothing’s encrypted. They weren’t too worried about security.”

“Uh-huh.” Kelan couldn’t care less about passwords, security software, or whatever other computer jargon Reidar spouted off about. What he needed to do was find the damn blood sample. He opened every drawer, cupboard, and container, but found no blood.

“Damn, that was easy,” Reidar said. “I’ll just shut this baby down and—What’s wrong?”

Kelan stopped his search and turned to Reidar, his heart thudding in his throat, nearly choking him. Every drawer and door in the small lab stood open. “There’s no blood sample here.”

“Calm down, Kel. We’ll figure it out.” Reidar glanced around the lab and planted his hands on his hips. “Maybe they used it up.”

Kelan growled at him.

Reidar sighed. “That could explain why she asked Heidi for the chance to gather more, but if it’s not here, there’s not much we can do about it.”

“If it’s not here, what the fuck did they do with it? We can’t assume it all got used up. What if we’re wrong?” He didn’t want to think about that, didn’t want to contemplate where it might have been sent, in whose hands it could wind up. He turned and slammed his fist into the wall, needing to release some of the fury and terror warring through him.

“Kelan, stop. Let’s get out of here.” Reidar grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the door. He pulled away, though, and shut everything the way they’d found it, then picked up his lock pick set from the desk. Only then, after one final glance around the trailer, did he follow Reidar out into the late evening sunshine. He made sure the doorknob was locked, but couldn’t relock the deadbolt.

Come on.

He transformed as his brother already had, and ran into and through the woods, leaped the fence by the car, and then changed yet again so they could get dressed.

Once seated in the car, Kelan stared into the thickly wooded forest and thought about running away. It was something he’d contemplated many times as a teenager when he’d fucked up and was worried about getting into trouble.

Only it wasn’t the dads’ belts he feared now.

Instead, he feared for their entire way of life. His, Reidar’s, his siblings’, his alpha’s children.

His parents’ lives.

“Talk,” Reidar said after a long silence.

“Fuck you.”