Sanctuary (A Hunted Novel Book 1) (24 page)

Nate sneered. Did Ray honestly think he would submit to him? That he would give up the one advantage he had.

“Do it,” Ray ordered.

“No,” Nate shot back.

Ray motioned with his hand. “Bring her.”

The door to the cottage opened and a woman with greying hair was shoved out. She fell on her knees, unable to catch herself with her hands bound behind her back. He blinked as the woman looked up.

“Mom?” he whispered. Why and how was she here? Red blurred his vision; he was going to kill Ray for this.

His mother’s eyes met his. Tears pooled in her orbs and she swallowed thickly.

“What is this?” he bellowed, launching himself at Ray.

A shock rocked through him as something pricked his skin. Tasers. He collapsed to his knees as the electricity surged in his body. Pain splintered through his limbs and his body convulsed uncontrollably.
Fight through it. You can’t pass out. You need to be alert.

“That’s better,” Ray grinned, approaching Nate. He walked behind Nate and threaded Nate’s wrists through the thick plastic before pulling them tight. The cord bit into his wrists and he wriggled in a vain attempt to break free.

“Nate,” his mother cried out as he coughed violently.

He looked up at her tear-streaked face. Fighting through the agony, he forced his shaking body to stand

Ray kicked the back of Nate’s kneecap, causing Nate to fall back down. “I said on your knees.”

“What are you doing?” he demanded, glancing up as Ray walked back in front of him.

“Helping my family,” Ray said, motioning to the men that surrounded them.

Nate opened his mouth to respond, but Ray beat him to it. “I know what you’re thinking. They’re hunters—not family. But they are. My father is a hunter and my mother a wolf. The hunters were there for me after my mother abandoned me. They taught me how to infiltrate packs and get people to trust me.”

Was this some sort of new trick their enemy was using? Could they hypnotize shifters? Part shifter and hunter? How did that even happen? “Your pack was murdered by hunters a few years ago,” he reminded his friend.

“No,” Ray shook his head smiling. “That was a set up to get me inside of Sanctuary. I might add that it worked brilliantly. My mother abandoned me. She was going to abort me when she found out she was pregnant. My father ensured that didn’t happen. This is my family.” He motioned to the few dozen men that were now surrounding the cabin.

Nate curled his lip in disdain. Ray was willingly helping their enemies commit genocide. He’d trusted the wolf. Ray knew exactly where Sanctuary was; he’d lived there for a few years now, yet he’d spared it thus far. Why hadn’t Sanctuary been attacked yet? Or had it? Why was his mom here?

“Ahhh, there’s that pesky kitty,” Ray smiled as more men appeared.

Nate gritted his teeth. One Hunter had Tess thrown over his shoulder. Her limp body was lifeless.

His heart squeezed in his chest. Was she okay? If she were dead he would’ve felt it, right?
Please let her be all right.

The group stopped near Ray and the man who had Tess slung over his shoulder, dropped her unceremoniously on the ground. She landed with a thud.

Tess groaned, curling into herself. He let out a relieved breath. She was alive. Her eyes blinked open, and she lifted up her head. Her eyes met his, and he watched as horror crept over her face.

“Now that everybody’s at the party,” Ray began. “Let’s get started shall we.” Ray rubbed his hands together eagerly as he began to pace. “Destroying Sanctuary is a process. At first, we thought we would burn the complex to the ground like we’ve done everywhere else, but then we saw an opportunity. No community has ever grown the way Sanctuary has. We needed to handle its fall carefully. So we let it grow larger. We let shifters congregate there. Once every tiny community is there we will attack,” Ray said proudly.

“Why are you telling us this?” Nate seethed. He didn’t like all this talking. Whatever Ray was planning, he wished he would just get on with it. The sooner the wolf made a mistake the faster they could escape. He glanced between Tess and his mother. Running was going to be tough, all three of them had their hands tied, but he’d figure out a way.

Ray walked over to Tess, fisting his hand in her hair and yanking her up onto her knees. She hissed with pain and struggled against her restraints.

Nate snarled, fighting against his bindings. No one touched Tess like that.

“Defeating you isn’t our only goal. We want to know more. What makes you tick? The more you know your enemy, the better you can fight them.” The sickening smile on his face widened. “We also like to experiment.”

Tess cursed out loud as Ray jerked her hair harder. Tess’ head snapped to the side, exposing the merged paw print on her neck.

“Interesting mark she has here. I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Ray prattled on.

“Leave her alone,” Nate ground out as he tried to push to his feet. Two sets of heavy hands landed on his shoulders, holding him in place. He continued to struggle, but he was at a disadvantage.

“Is the bond complete?” Ray asked, running his disgusting fingers over the tattoo.

“Ray that’s quite enough,” his mother demanded, speaking up for the first time since Tess had arrived.

“Is it Patrice? Aren’t you curious to know if your son is mated to a
cat?”
Ray taunted.

“Get your dirty paws off of me!” Tess stormed. She struggled in Ray’s grasp but he wouldn’t budge.

“We’ve been wanting to study a truly mated couple. They are so rare. I had hoped Eden and Xander would be the ones, but Xander is too hard headed. Thankfully, this little thing came along.” Ray said, sliding his hand down Tess’ back.

Red clouded Nate’s vision. If Ray didn’t get his hand off of her he was going to break it.

“Where is Eden and Xander?” his mom asked quietly. “Where is the rest of your team?”

Ray shoved Tess; she wobbled on her knees but maintained her balance.

“Jax is dead,” Tess spoke up. “I found his body in the woods.”

Nate closed his eyes. Jax wasn’t one of his best friends, but he was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die. What had happened to the rest of the team? Were they here? Were they in this with Ray? Or were they dead too?

Patrice gasped and turned her narrowed eyes on Ray. “You killed your own team?”

“Most of them,” he said happily. “Callum is being safely transported to a facility. Werebears are quite rare too. Eden and Xander are safe for the moment. However if Nate and Tess are bonded we won’t be in need of them anymore.”

“And what do you want with my mother?” Nate asked. Why was she here? Why had Ray put her in danger?

“She’s one of the leading members at Sanctuary. Her kidnapping shakes up their false sense of security. It also gives us an edge over you. Another reason to cooperate with us, just in case I’m wrong about you and the kitty cat,” Ray commented simply.

“How did you even know it was possible that we were bonded?” Tess asked quietly.

Ray shrugged. “I would’ve thought that was obvious,” he laughed as if he were telling a joke. “I’ve been following you.”

“That’s how we were surrounded so quickly in Ohio,” Nate muttered. He knew he’d been careful. Another thought occurred to him. Eden’s front door. The lock hadn’t been broken. “You. You’re the one who went to Eden’s. That’s how you got her to open the door.”

Ray slowly clapped his hands. “A little late on the detective work, but good catch. I had a little help too.” He crouched down in front of Tess and pointed at one of the hunters. “I believe you may recognize my half-brother.”

Tess followed Ray’s finger and her eyes widened. “The asshole from the bar. But how?”

The man in question stepped forward, sneering. “I’m half human, exactly like Eden.”

Nate grumbled under his breath. The man Eden had called them about. Ray had been setting this up for sometime.
I should’ve seen it.

Ray turned his attention back on Tess. “Now tell me, is the bond completed? We want a fully mated couple to study.”

Tess pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. Nate followed suit. He wasn’t about to let Ray know they’d completed the bond. God only knew what he wanted a mated couple for. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn’t good.

“Tick tock?” Ray said when neither of them answered.

The two men behind him squeezed his shoulders tighter, shoving him closer to the ground, but Nate refused to answer. He wasn’t going to give them what they wanted.

“I was hoping we’d play hardball,” Ray said curling his hands into a fist.

He stomped toward Patrice and delivered a deafening blow to her face. Nate’s mom pitched to the side, landing in the mud with a splat. She sputtered, barely having enough time to catch her breath before Ray kicked her in the gut.

“Stop it,” Nate bellowed. He struggled against his restraints, but his enemies held him firmly in place. He flexed his hands, willing them to shift. The bones snapped as they transformed. He attempted to pry his hands apart, but the restraints held tight. Damn it, what kind of ties were they using?

“Answer the question,” Ray ordered.

“Yes,” Nate admitted.

His mother’s pained eyes met his for a moment before darting away. He’d like to think the tears swirling in her eyes were all from the assault, but he knew that some of it was disappointment in him.
I love Tess. She is my mate, and I’m not ashamed of it.

***

T
ess blinked as Nate confirmed their bond. Now what was going to happen? Were they going to be whisked away and experimented on? What was it that the hunter’s wanted to learn? She shuddered; she didn’t want to know the answer to that question. They had to find a way out of here.

“Kill the old woman. Let’s take these two with us,” an elderly male hunter declared stepping out from the confines of the house.

“No,” Nate hollered, desperately trying to free himself.

Tess cried out as strong hands grabbed her upper arms and hauled her to her feet.
I’m not going down without a fight.
Restraints or no restraints, she was going to brawl, or die trying.

She jammed her elbow backwards, pulling the shoulder joint out of socket. A yelp of agony escaped her lips, but she ignored the ache and used her momentum to grasp the hunter’s arm in hers. She flexed her hand, letting her nails elongate.

The man howled in pain as her nails sunk into his flesh. She kicked her foot out at the other man, grimacing as he caught her leg and yanked on it hard.
Oh crap
.
I could really use my hands right about now.
Her other foot flew out from under her and she landed on the unforgiving ground. Tess screamed as her dislocated shoulder collided with the hard earth. A burning sensation raced through her shoulder all the way down to her tingling fingers.

The hunter still held her foot, and tugged on her roughly, dragging her across the ground.
Get out of this Tess.
The longer she remained subdued the less likely she could escape. She kicked out with her free leg as she thrashed in the dirt, trying to find something to grab onto. She twisted to her side. Nate was battling five hunters. Patrice sat on her bottom in the mud, her lip trembling as she begged for her life. The man before Patrice lifted their gun, pointing it at the elder wolf’s head.
Oh my God. I have to help her.
But how? They weren’t going to make it. Patrice was going to die, and her and Nate were going to be subjected to something far worse than death.

No. Don’t you dare give up.

She pulled her free foot back and fought through the pain-induced fog to focus on her captor. She turned on her side, grunting as she jostled her injured arm again. Coiling her leg in, she kicked out with all her might, aiming directly for her attackers groin.

The hunter dropped her leg as he cupped himself and let out a howl of pain. She jabbed her foot out again, striking his knee. The man pitched forward towards her, falling over her legs. Tess twisted, maneuvering her thighs until they were wrapped tightly around her assailant’s neck. She locked her ankles together and lifted her hips, squeezing with every ounce of strength she could muster.

Angry fingers wrapped around her arms, trying to pry her away from her victim. She hissed, refusing to let her prey go.
Go down fighting and take out as many as you can in the process.

“Let him go, bitch,” a male hunter growled venomously at her. He drew a gun from his belt and aimed it at her head.

She curled her lip up at him.
I’m not giving up. They want me alive anyway.
The man ensnared in her chokehold sputtered, his arms falling limply to the ground as he finally stopped fighting. She didn’t release her death grip though.
Make sure he’s really dead.

“Let him go,” the gun wielding man hollered, releasing the safety.

Tess braced herself. Maybe his orders were to let her live, but people would do crazy things to save the life of someone they loved.
I’m not letting go until he’s dead.
She closed her eyes, bracing for the shot.

Her heart raced in her chest, and she fought down a bout of nausea. Getting shot again was not something she wanted, but she would rather die than become a prisoner.
If I die, I’ll leave Nate alone. I’m not ready to leave him yet. We’ve only begun our relationship. You have to keep fighting. It’s the only way you and Nate have a chance to be happy.

Tess’ eyes flew open as a guttural growl echoed throughout the forest. Hope surged through her. She recognized that sound. Werecats.

T
he hunter’s aim faltered as his eyes darted to the woods. Tess used the distraction to roll out of the way of the gun barrel. Her shoulder throbbed, but she forced her mind to focus on freeing herself. She wiggled her hands.

A ferocious hiss erupted behind her, and Tess turned in time to see a large, black leopard tackle the hunter. The gun in her attacker’s hand went off. Mud splattered in the air as the bullet penetrated the ground inches from her head.
That was too close.
The cat made quick work of the hunter; quickly sinking its long canines into his throat.