SelkiesSeduction (11 page)

Gruener listened impatiently while the informant explained
his connection to the selkie. He really didn’t care how clever the idiot
thought he was, but he had to pander to the fellow’s ego if he wanted a new
specimen.

The previous one hadn’t recovered her full strength even
after the pregnancy was terminated. There was a thirty-percent probability that
she would succumb to the aftereffects.

He’d have to do some research into the possible causes
before he attempted to breed the new one to any of his other specimens. A study
of the gestational habits of the selkie would make a wonderful addition to his
paper, but not if it resulted in the loss of the second specimen. Perhaps the
cross-species mating was the problem, but he had yet to discover any male selkies.
His brow furrowed. Very odd.

Time to coax the informant to get to the point. “Where did
you say this tree house thing is located?”

“Somewhere in the hills above Kally’s Landing. I don’t have
the exact coordinates, but it shouldn’t be hard to find with a heat-sensing
device. How many houses are located in the middle of nowhere?”

How many indeed. He could send in one of his acquisition
teams, drop them by helicopter to snatch the specimen and then extract them as
soon as they made the grab. “How many other people did you say are there?”

“Only one. His name’s Wolfe and he’s some sort of forestry
guy. Pretty big and muscular, so you might want to take him out first. He’s a
friend of the family or something. As near as I could tell, he’s strictly human
with some paranormal abilities. I met him in the Dream World, and he doesn’t
suspect me of anything. He thinks I’m some sort of pathetic geek. He does seem
to be overly protective of the selkie though. They definitely have a romantic
connection.”

Shouldn’t be a problem. His men were good, very good. If the
forestry fellow proved to be a problem, they could always resort to
tranquilizers. Killing was messy and led to too many questions.

He dismissed the informant with a wave of his hand. “You’ve
done well. The agreed-upon sum will be deposited to your account as soon as we
confirm the information.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.” A greedy smile crossed
the man’s face. Then again, what would you expect from a man who sold his own sister
for money?

He forced himself not to show his distaste. “Give us a call
if you learn of any other creatures that might interest us.”

“Will do. And good luck with the selkie.”

Dr. Kvordic waited until the door closed behind the man
before he punched the intercom. “Tell Mr. Black to get the extraction team
ready. We have a target location.”

Nikki reached over to pick a handful of the wild raspberries
growing on a bush at the edge of the clearing. They were so large and sweet,
she couldn’t resist popping a few in her mouth. Heavenly! She pulled off her
hat to use as a bowl. The berries would make a wonderful dessert for the lunch
she had planned.

She never saw who grabbed her. One minute she was savoring
the sweet taste of the ripe berries in her mouth, the next someone clamped a
noxious-smelling cloth over her nose and everything went black.

* * * * *

Wolfe’s head jerked up, an uncomfortable tingle running down
his spine. Something was wrong. He reached for Nikki, reassured to feel her
presence tucked comfortingly in the corner of his mind.

The woods around the tree house were eerily quiet. No birds
chirped, and the squirrels had ceased their restless chattering. The animals
felt it too.

Nikki? Where are you?
He waited for her snappy
comeback. Waited a few seconds longer than normal.
Nikki? Everything okay?

But it wasn’t.

He knocked the chair over in his haste to get up, to go find
her. She’d been out by the edge of the clearing, admiring the flowers that grew
rampant in the tumble of rocks there.

The staircase was endless and he hurled himself down, taking
the steps three at a time. His stomach roiled in anguish. When he finally
reached the ground, he raced across the clearing to where he’d last felt Nikki’s
presence.

“Nikki! Where are you?” He shouted the question aloud,
frantic now. Deep down in the aching pit of his stomach he knew. She was gone.

A flash of bright red caught the corner of his eye and he
swerved to the left at a full run. Her hat lay in crumpled heap on the ground,
fresh raspberries spilling out. He could see the scuffle marks on the ground.
Three men, maybe four, had been here. They’d taken her with them, one of them
carrying her, his footprints deeper as he carried the extra weight.

Wolfe threw back his head and screamed his anguish, even as
he felt an unseen hand squeeze his heart, breaking it into a million tiny
pieces.

He’d failed. He was her Protector. He’d bound her to him
thinking, in his arrogance, that the binding would keep her safe. And now she
was gone.

He stooped to pick up the hat, taking one of the bright
berries and putting it slowly into his mouth. She’d been picking raspberries.
The sweet fruit grew just outside the protective boundaries, coaxing her into
the hands of her enemies. The fruit melted on his tongue. He swore he could
taste her sweet presence on it. The last thing she’d touched.

Rage flowed through him at the thought of anyone touching
his bond mate with the intention of hurting her. He’d hunt them down and make
them rue the day they’d been born.

Reaching out with all of his senses, he searched for her.
Nikki?
They would have drugged her so she couldn’t call out to him. They had to, or
she would answer. He could still sense her, but he couldn’t tell how close she
was.

Concentrating on the forest floor, he followed the tracks
left by the intruders. They hadn’t bothered to hide their trail. Crushed
foliage and scuffed footprints in the soft forest floor made it easy to find
the spot where the helicopter had waited for them to return with their human
cargo. They’d landed on the far side of the ridge, the large rock outcropping
blocking the sound made by the machine.

Then there was nothing.

Damn!

He stared at the sky for a long time, as if he could somehow
will them to return. Will them to bring back the other half of his heart.

He shook his head. Time to get moving. He would get her
back, and anyone foolish enough to get in his way would regret it. He needed to
get in touch with Trina. Maybe there had been something in her vision that
would help him locate her.

Returning to the tree house, he grabbed his cell phone and
car keys. Flipping the phone open, he checked the signal strength. Damn. Only
one bar. The peaks were too close here for decent reception. He put the phone
away, headed down the steps to the ground.

Turning his back on the clearing, he started the long hike
back to his Jeep. Hopefully the men who had been staking out her cabin hadn’t
bothered to disable the vehicles.

He settled into a smooth rhythm, jogging through the dense
forest with the ease of long practice. His long stride ate up the ground while
he took consolation from the solid presence of the bond. She was alive.

Reaching the ridge just below Hunter’s Range, he stopped at
a fast-running stream for a drink. Having slaked his thirst, he pulled out the
phone. Five bars! Great. He pulled up Trina’s number and hit send.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. He gritted his teeth. Answer
the damn phone! Four rings.

“Hello?” Trina’s cheerful voice sent relief flooding through
him. “Wolfe?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” He didn’t bother with the niceties. “They’ve
got Nikki.”

* * * * *

When she came to, she couldn’t move her arms or legs, and a
bone-chilling cold sent shivers throughout her entire body. She tried to move,
but her limbs refused to move. She panicked, struggling to get her body to
respond. Pain flashed through her wrists. What the hell?

She was strapped to a cold metal table. A man came into her
field of view, his lab coat a startling white. Ignoring her struggles, he
walked around her, muttering and making notes on a clipboard. Nothing he said
made sense. She had no idea what language that was but it definitely wasn’t
English.

“Where am I?” Her voice came out a raspy croak that even she
had trouble understanding.

The man looked up from his notes, as if he just realized she
was there. He frowned, his heavily accented English jarred her memory. German.
He’d been talking German.

“Ja, you are awake now. Don’t try to talk. The sedative
takes a bit of time to wear off, and your throat will be dry. You’re inside Dr.
Kvordic’s research facility, of course. Once we complete our inspection, you’ll
be taken to your enclosure.”

Dr. Kvordic? Who in the hell was Dr. Kvordic? Was that the
guy Todd said might have taken his sister? Fear raced through her as she
remembered her sister’s vision. When did the torture part start?

The man ignored her and walked to edge of the room, pushing
a button on the wall. “The subject is conscious and seems to have suffered no
ill effects from the sedatives. She can be moved now.”

“Excellent. I’ll send one of the guards down to escort her
to her new quarters.” The disembodied voice came from a speaker mounted on the
wall.

The man walked back over to her, his expression one of cool
detachment. “You’re not human, so don’t expect we should treat you as one. We
know what you are. This is a research facility. We collect specimens of
nonhumans and study them.”

He produced a metallic collar from one pocket and fastened
it around her neck. “That’s for identification, and tracking in case you get
lost. It doesn’t come off so don’t bother trying. You’ll only injure yourself,
and that won’t please the doctor. You’ll soon learn that pleasing the doctor is
very important. He intends to study your habits both as human and selkie in
order to combine it with his research on other nonhuman genomes. If you behave,
you’ll be treated humanely. If you make trouble or try to escape, you will be
punished. Do I make myself clear?”

Nikki nodded slowly, feeling dazed. How had this happened?
Wolfe had been so sure no one knew about the tree house. There weren’t any
roads into it, and he’d told her that there was a protective barrier around it.

Damn! She remembered wandering into the woods when she’d
spotted the bush full of plump ripe raspberries. Had she stepped outside the
protective circle?

The door opened and a chunky woman dressed in a guard’s
uniform entered. “This the new selkie?”

“Yes.” The man consulted his clipboard. “Her name is Nikki.
I’ve already collared her.”

“Here’s hoping she’s a little sturdier than the last one.”

Nikki stayed silent as the guard released the restraints on
her wrists and ankles. Unless they asked her a direct question, it didn’t seem
like a good idea to volunteer any information.

The woman addressed her. “I’m the day guard in the ecosystem
compound. You can call me Mrs. Simmons. Dr. Kvordic went to a great deal of
trouble to make sure each of you creatures has the proper environment, so I’m
sure you’ll be comfortable. You should be thankful that he is so considerate.
Most researchers would just stick you creatures in cages.”

Nikki didn’t like the way these people kept referring to her
as some type of animal. Throughout human history, once a culture convinced
themselves that their captives weren’t human, they had no trouble treating them
as animals, and slaughtering them when they were no longer useful. She stood,
letting the guard take her arm and hustle her out the door. Her legs were a bit
wobbly, probably from the anesthetic they’d used.

The woman led her down a long hallway, unlocking the door at
the end of it by inputting a code into the electronic lock. So much for
knocking her out and stealing the keys.

When the door swung open, the unexpectedly brilliant
sunshine almost blinded her, and Nikki drew in a startled breath, squinting to
be able to see. The compound looked like a high-end zoo. Glass-sided enclosures
surrounded various ecosystems. On the left, there was a jungle with palm trees
and a thick canopy. On the right, she could see a hardwood forest with a couple
of large dogs sitting under the trees watching their approach.

“Werewolves.” The guard gestured at the dogs. “Don’t trust
them. The one on the left attacked me just last week. They upset the water
system and I had to go in to adjust it. Sneaky buggers. I’ll insist they be
tranquilized before I go in again.”

The larger of the two werewolves stood and stalked toward
the wall, his tongue lolling out as if he were laughing. Nikki noted the way
the guard took an involuntary step back from the glass.

Fear. Nikki filed the information away for future use. If
she could figure out how to make contact, the werewolves might make good
allies.

“What’s in the jungle?” She tried to sound casual.

“A were-panther. We’re still studying it. So far, the doctor
hasn’t been able to convince him to shift to his human form. He will though.”
The guard gave a knowing nod of her head. “Dr. Kvordic can be very persuasive
when he wants to be.”

They came to a lovely enclosure with a large waterfall
feeding a deep pond. Under different circumstances, Nikki would have found it
charming. The guard keyed in a code, opening the door with a flourish. “And
this will be your new home. You’re our second selkie, you know. The first is
still in the infirmary. Managed to escape and get into the werewolf enclosure,
stupid thing. They’re all males over there, and the alpha mounted Sasha, got
her pregnant. The doctor was going to let her go to term to see the results,
but it didn’t go well. He thinks their genetic codes are incompatible. The
pregnancy was terminated and when she regains some of her strength, we’ll be
putting her back in with you. One more reason for you to steer well clear of
the werewolves. Absolutely ruthless, those beasts.”

Nikki felt her heart sink. Sasha. That had to be Todd’s
missing sister. If she didn’t recover, he was going to be devastated. She
wondered if the girl had been trying to form an alliance with the strongest
predators in the compound. Hard to believe she’d just stumbled into a werewolf
compound. She’d have to wait and talk to her when she recovered.

The guard continued the tour. “Food is supplied three times
a day. There’s a bathroom over there, a supply shelf with towels and such along
the back wall. The bedroom is in the far corner. We do follow humane procedures
and supply you with the basic necessities. You’re expected to shift when asked
so that the doctor can study you in both forms. You will be informed if they need
you in your alternate form. The entire compound is monitored by a ’round-the-clock
security staff, so you will be watched at all times.”

“Why?”

The guard blinked as if that were the stupidest question she’d
ever heard. “That’s why you’re here. So that Dr. Kvordic can study you. He’s
working on a comprehensive thesis of the paranormal creatures hiding amongst
real humans. When he’s ready, he intends to unveil you creatures to the world.
He tried to tell them years ago that he’d seen a pack of werewolves in the northern
Rocky Mountains but they laughed at him. The stupid idiots. They won’t be able
to laugh this time. He’ll have documented proof, as well as all you lovely
specimens to show them. He’ll be famous, maybe even get nominated for a Nobel
Prize.” Her eyes shone with zealous fervor, and Nikki shrank back a step. This
place was a madhouse, and the insane were holding the keys!

The guard didn’t seem to notice. “I’m off to do my rounds
now. If you need anything, just holler and security will pick it up on one of
the monitors.” She stepped back out of the enclosure and pulled the door shut,
engaging the electronic lock. Without a backward glance she sauntered off
toward the jungle enclosure. Watching her go, Nikki wondered what other poor
creatures were caged here.

When the guard rounded the corner, Nikki took a good look
around her compound. She refused to think of it as anything else. The walls
were at least twenty feet high, and neither of the two trees growing inside
them were close enough for her to use in an escape attempt. A heavy wire ran
along the top of the glass, and signs warned that it was electrically charged.
Lovely. She wondered if the voltage was high enough to kill, or just send her
screaming for mercy.

She could see two cameras on swivel mounts high up on the
glass, where they could follow her every move. She took a few steps to the
right and watched the one camera follow her. She’d have to find a way to
neutralize them if she made an escape attempt.