Chapter One

Emmaleigh

“Please don’t,” I beg through the tears that stream across my cheeks.

I know it won’t work. It hasn’t worked in the past three years I’ve been held captive in this prison, but I always try. I always beg for them not to hurt me but they never listen. Pain always follows. I lick at the salty drops that cling to my lips as I watch the man who towers over me.

The man I call Number Four, because he is the fourth man I met in this evil place, stares at me with blank soulless eyes. I don’t remember a time before I ever stared into the darkness of my captor’s souls. This is all I have now, all I’ve had for years. This pain, this darkness, is all I will know and remember until the day I die in this godforsaken place. I can honestly say that I have gone from praying to be saved, to wishing I would die.

“Why do you continue to beg?” he asks, tilting his head to study me, like an insect in a jar. He seems to be genuinely interested in my reply. “You know it won’t change a damn thing but every day we have to listen to you plead,” he says, his words laced with irritation. “Why? I’m legitimately curious.”

“It’s all I have left,” I whisper brokenly. “The hope that one day I might be able to appeal to your better nature. That someday one of you will see how wrong everything you’re doing truly is.”

A dark chuckle escapes him before the needle pierces my flesh. The silver nitrate burns through me, twisting my insides, and making my wolf whimper in the back of my mind where she has long since retreated. I’m surprised I can still hear her, I thought she was gone for good. My back bows off the stainless-steel table I am strapped to and a wail rips from my lungs. The broken sound echoes through my cell, trapped in the cavernous room I am being held in, ricocheting off the stark white walls.

I can feel the poison coursing through my veins, tearing at me from the inside. If I’m lucky, today will be the day they pump too much of their shit into my veins and I will finally submit to my long-awaited death. It will be the only freedom I can claim because I won’t be getting out of here in this lifetime.

But I also know that won’t happen. There will be no reprieve for me.

These monsters, these Hunters, have been doing this for too long to start messing up now. They know exactly how much to give to keep us in a constant state of pain and still alive.

“I hate you.” The words leave me with a harsh breath. I know it won’t make a difference but I want him to know all the same.

“I don’t care,” Number Four says. “You’re an abomination and I can’t wait for the day the old man lets us finally fucking kill you all. We are going to rid the world of your kind and once we are done, the human race will be safe again.

“I’ve never hurt anyone,” I say with a sob.

“Yet. You haven’t hurt anyone yet,” he says as he watches me writhe in agony, a sadistic smile playing on his lips. “But you’re a monster and it’s only a matter of time before you do what all monsters do. We are the only thing standing between your kind and the human race and we will do whatever is necessary to stop your disease from spreading.”

“You’re insane,” I grit through my teeth, fighting off another excruciating wave of pain. They keep saying we are spreading, like shifting is some kind of infection we can pass along but it’s not. You’re either born with the shifter gene or you’re not.

“That, my dear, is a matter of opinion.” The words are thrown over his shoulder as he walks out of my cell, leaving me to suffer alone.

“Are you okay?” the female voice whispers from the other side of the wall.

Her name is Rose. She was brought in about a year ago. She is also the only reason I still have any sanity. I have never seen her, we are always separated by this damn wall, but we have become friends and the conversations we share have kept us both going.

And my poor Thomas. My heart hurts simply thinking about him and I quickly discard the thought. I can’t dwell on that now, it will send me into a mental spiral and my body is in enough pain without adding additional emotional turmoil.

I stare at the bare white walls of the cell I am locked in, the iron bars of the gate keeping me inside this constant hell. A prisoner, never to be free or breathe the fresh air again. I know deep down in my soul that I will never leave this place.

Am I okay? I haven’t been okay in a very, very long time.

“That’s a silly question,” I reply without thinking. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“I know. I just meant…” Her words taper off.

“I’m still alive.”

“I know it sounds stupid, but I really believe someone is coming for us.”

Her voice is hopeful and even though I have always been a pacifist, I swear I would slap her right now if I could. But she hasn’t been here as long as I have, she still has hope. That will change eventually.

“I hope you’re right,” I say back, instead of the snarky comment I want to throw her way.

The sound of approaching footsteps silence us both. I wait with bated breath for one of the men to return but no one comes. Instead, a loud alarm sounds throughout the building right before an explosion rocks the foundation, shaking everything around us.

I’m not sure what is happening but I know that nothing good can come of this. Huddling into the corner furthest from the door, I try and make myself as small as possible in the shadows. Shouting and gunfire reach my ears and my heart hammers inside my chest.

The door to my cell slams open and Man Two stands there, breathing heavily, his face a deep, angry shade of red

“I’ll kill you!” he yells, storming down on me. “I won’t let you escape so you can harm innocent people!”

His blonde hair is in disarray, his shirt torn at the shoulder. But the thing that truly scares me is the craziness in his glare. This man has one thing on his mind.

My death.

****

Nico

Since day one, I have been welcomed into the Katu pack with open arms. Our previous Alpha, Slade, tried to kill Caine and take his mate from him. And he almost succeeded. He left destruction in his wake, but in the end, the Katu pack persevered.

And even after all that, they welcomed us, the remaining members of the Hatcher pack, into their ranks. All that Caine asked of us, the members of the Hatcher pack he allowed in, was that we do our part. Honestly, I couldn’t see a problem with that. The Katu pack is worlds apart from what I was used to, and instead of being used and abused we are supported and trusted.

Slade was eager to break people down and show his dominance where Caine prefers to build his pack up. He always has time to show support or give advice and it shows in how the pack lives. No one is treated with less respect than another. And Hadley, his Luna, is the same. Always opening their pack and their home to anyone who needs it.

With the Katu pack, I was able to make a home for myself, make friends, and look forward to what the future could hold. Hell, I’ve even allowed myself to dream about finding my fated mate someday.

This is why, when Caine asked for volunteers for a possibly deadly mission, I was one of the first to jump in. He has done more for me in the three years I have been here than Slade did in all the years I was with his pack. He has given me a home and a purpose, and I would follow the man into Hell if he asked me.

Now, we stand in the woods beyond a compound the twins’ mate, Iris, brought to our attention. This is one of the safe houses she knows her father, the leader of the Hunters, has built. Inside, he keeps shifters prisoner, to experiment on. He uses our own kind against us, learning our strengths and weaknesses by experimenting on our kind. Weapons are made that cause more harm than regular bullets and packs are destroyed before they even know what has hit them. It sickens me and I can’t wait until we eradicate the entire Hunter organization.

“Do we know how many people are inside?” Godrick asks, staring at the nondescript farmhouse. The gears in his brain were working on formulating a plan that would save as many lives as possible.

“Iris said this was a smaller location, usually no more than five people at a time,” Sayer replies, never taking his gaze off the red brick building in front of us.

It always amazes me how normal these compounds look. I could easily image an old couple sitting on the porch swing, drinking some iced tea on a hot summer day. But that couldn’t be father from the truth. The horrors this picturesque little building hides would make most people’s skin crawl.

“There are at least three shifters I can scent,” Max adds, breaking into my thoughts. “There are some older scents and a tinge of death clings to the entire area so it might be more.”

Anger spikes through my veins and I have to hold my wolf back. He is ready to go to war, but we have a plan, and he needs to stick to it. The feel of cold hard steel against my back has a shudder working its way through me. I hate guns but I see the logic behind using them in this situation. The Hunters will have weapons of their own after all.

Iris has spent two weeks training us on how to use weapons, and even though none of us were happy about it, we are all sufficiently capable of using them now. Having a known Hunter in the compound wasn’t easy for anyone in the beginning, but she really has been an asset to us.

Iris has more knowledge about the Hunters than we could ever hope to gather in a hundred years. She knows their habits and their numbers. Iris has been giving us what she calls “Intro to Hunters” training for the past week. Teaching us to fight and think the way they do.

“What are we waiting for?” I ask, impatience lacing my words.

Raleigh’s phone vibrates and we all face him as he presses the device against his face.

“Thank you,” he says before ending the call. “Iris says her father is on his way to one of the other locations. Remember to keep someone alive. We need to know where the rest of the compounds are. This is the last one on Iris’s list.”

All of us nod before stalking closer to the building, creeping through the trees. Iris has been lying to her father, feeding him fake intel to keep him busy chasing his own tail and helping us gather what we need to take him down. I know it has been hard for her, but she keeps pushing through, doing the right thing.

We need him to believe she is still on his side, that all the attacks on his men are uncoordinated. We want to keep him in the dark for as long as possible while we dismantle his entire operation, brick by brick, until only dust and memories remain. Then, and only then, will we go after the head of the snake.

Standing just inside the tree line, I track a man as he walks around the edge of the building, putting his gun back in its holster as he lights a cigarette. The tip shines red in the darkness of the night with every inhale he takes.

Slowly, I creep up behind him, not making a single sound. It only takes a heartbeat for me to wrap my hands around him and snap his neck before silently lowering his body to the ground. Slipping into the shadows, I edge further around the building looking for my next victim.

An explosion rocks the ground beneath my feet. None of us would have used explosives and I know the Hunters are trying to destroy the evidence of what has happened here to cover their tracks. I also know we can’t allow them to do that. I need to find a way inside this place to try and save as many shifters as possible.

My wolf pushes hard at the inside of my mind, forcing me to fight him once again. I’ve never struggled to keep him in check before and I can’t understand why he is being so obstinate.

Then it hits me—the smell of passion fruit tainted with the acrid scent of fear—and my knees nearly give out. Somewhere in this godforsaken hellhole is my mate.

My wolf bursts forward the moment my guard is down and goes charging inside. The shift is so seamless, and effortless. I’ve been doing this all my life and I no longer feel pain or discomfort at the change. My wolf directs us with his senses, his nose taking the lead. We storm down a set of stairs and deeper into the building, not heeding the shouts of our friends as we barrel forward with only one thought on our minds.

Finding our mate.