Laurann Dohner - Wrath

Mary crossed her arms over her chest, lifted her chin and glowered at him. “Do you? You are sounding a bit too confident.”

“Please,” he hissed and lowered his gaze to the cracked tar.

That seemed to make the bitch happy and she dropped her arms to her sides. “Fine. Take her to a cage and you can go downstairs. I’ll make the call.”

“Thank you.” 140 tugged on Lauren. “Come.”

The back door was rusted metal. Marvin unlocked it with a key on the car ring and it squeaked loudly when it opened. The interior was dark and the smell of mold, dust, and stale air assaulted Lauren’s nose instantly. The floor felt uneven under her shoes as they walked through what used to be a kitchen. Outdated, stained, and broken cooking appliances indicated it hadn’t been used in at least a few years.

Shock gripped her when they stepped out of the kitchen area into what used to be the dance area of the club. The windows were all boarded up and debris from parts of the ceiling littered the floor. Some broken tables had been shoved against the stained walls but it was the five large animal cages that made her stumble. They were about eight feet high, maybe six feet square and three of them were occupied. New Species males stood staring back at her from behind the bars.

They wore sweatpants, no shirts, and all looked as if they could use a bath. One of them growled—a dangerous sound—and his dark eyes fixed on Lauren. A chill ran down her spine at seeing the hatred directed at her as she glanced at each one.

“It is fine,” 140 assured her.

He led her to one of the empty cages, putting her the farthest away from the men, and steered her inside. The floor was solid metal while the walls and ceiling were barred with inch-thick bars. He closed the door and Marvin moved close with the keys. The sound of it being locked was distinctive.

“Go, 140. Mark is expecting you. If you misbehave before you’re locked in your girlfriend’s cage, he’s been told to shoot her in the head.”

“I know.” 140 spun, marched through another hallway that used to lead to the bathrooms, and was out of sight.

Marvin stepped closer to Lauren and lowered his gaze to her chest. “Do you want to eat?”

She said nothing but backed away from the door, not that she could go far.

“You do something for me and I’ll return the favor.”

“You’re really pathetic and repulsive. I can totally understand why a troll like you would have to lock a woman up and threaten to starve her to try to make her touch your ugly ass. No thanks. I’d rather eat my shoe.”

“Fucking bitch,” he spat. “Wait a few days and say that then.”

She turned her back on him to prevent him from ogling her breasts anymore and observed how much the old club had changed. The roof obviously leaked from the appearance of the yellowed and destroyed ceiling panels and the walls were stained. Someone had wallpapered near the boarded-up windows. It was peeling and blackened around the edges, which she figured was the source of the moldy smell that made her breathe through her mouth.

She glanced at the only light sources—the hallways from the kitchen and bathrooms. No lights were on in the open space. She doubted the overhead lights worked anymore due to the water damage.

The only thing inside her cage was a balled-up nasty-looking blanket in one corner.

“I’ll let you use the bathroom if you open your shirt while you go.”

Lauren spun and flipped him off. “I’d rather piss down my legs.”

The guy’s face turned bright red. He huffed and yanked the keys from his pocket. She tensed when he reached to unlock the door, knew he planned to hurt her, but someone walked out of the kitchen.

“Leave her alone, Marvin!” Mary yelled. “Jesus. You are a troll. Get your ass over here and follow me to the office. We have work to do.”

Marvin hesitated but Mary turned around and disappeared. His voice lowered as he shoved the keys back inside his pocket.

“I’m going to hurt you, bitch. Don’t get too smug. Just wait.”

Lauren watched him go and figured he meant the threat. The creep was a total perverted asshole. She faced the three New Species when they were alone and felt fear at their hateful scrutiny. But they were locked up too. They couldn’t get to her.

“I’m Lauren.”

No one spoke.

She gripped the bars and gave them a firm shake but they were as solid as they appeared. She took a deep breath, blew it out and studied each one of the men. Two of them had feline traits while one had eyes shaped very similar to Wrath and Shadow’s.

“Why are you looking at me that way? I’m locked up too and I am not with those assholes. I’m a good guy.”

One of them frowned. “You’re female.”

“Yeah.”

“A guy is a male.”

Her mouth parted, stunned that he took what she’d said so literally. The blond one with catlike eyes sniffed the air. “She smells good. Maybe they want to do breeding tests.”

“Breeding tests?” Her eyes widened. She understood they thought she might have been brought for them to have sex with and wanted to clear that misconception up immediately. “I was kidnapped so they could exchange me for other people. I’m not here to do any testing.”

The dark-haired canine growled. “I want her. It’s been too long since I had a female under me.”

“It’s going to be a lot longer because that’s not happening.” She frowned. “I’m hoping we’re all found and rescued soon.”

The one who’d been silent until then, a golden-haired feline, hissed. “By who?”

“The NSO. They’ll be looking for me, well one of them will be, and if he finds me, he’ll find you too.”

“Who is he? What kind of name is NSO?”

“The NSO is the shortened name for the New Species Organization.” She paused, realized by their blank stares that they didn’t comprehend, and remembered they probably didn’t know anything. Her guess was that they’d never been freed and she figured she was spot on about that since Mary had told her to shut up about the subject.

“New Species are like you, the people Mercile Industries created. My kind found out about what was being done to yours so they broke into the testing facilities and freed your people.” She paused, expecting some kind of reaction, but their facial expressions never changed.

“They started the NSO. Your people have two large plots of land where they all live together and they search for New Species just like you who haven’t been freed. Hopefully they will find us and we’ll all be rescued.”

The blond snorted. “She is here to taunt us.” He turned his back, crouched down and sat on the floor. “Ignore her.”

“That’s rude and I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know why you’re in this place but I’ve heard enough to know the jerks who are holding you here used to work for Mercile Industries.”

“They still do,” the dark-haired canine snarled. “You are with them.”

“I am not. Don’t insult me like that. Mercile Industries no longer exists. They were exposed, put out of business, and everyone who worked in their research divisions and knew about the testing facilities are wanted by the police. They are facing serious criminal charges. I read that a lot of them are already serving extended prison time.”

“Be silent. Lies.” The canine snarled again.

He was staring to piss her off. “Don’t listen to me but once I get out of here I’m going to do everything I can to send help back to you. You’ll see then.” She paced the small space. “Wrath will get me out of here.” She had faith that he’d save her somehow, even if he did have to exchange her life for Mel and her other ex-coworkers.

The canine growled again. “I hope they brought her here to try to gain our trust and make us believe her lies. I will not be kind or gentle when I mount her.”