Chapter Twelve

G arrett gasped as he came back to reality. The things he’d seen were catastrophic, but with the gods behind him, he was going to make sure his vision didn’t come true.

He didn’t know where Talon was, and he had to be careful not to just pop out of the sheriff’s office while everyone was waiting for him to conduct the weekly briefing. Officers were piling in and he needed to focus on the current tasks even if his non-human senses were tingling all over his body.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” he began once everyone was seated. “I’d like to get through this meeting as soon as possible because we have a winter storm brewing and preparations need to be made now. Plus, we have a wanted felon in the area that we need to focus on too.”

The officers rumbled their frustrations, and Garrett knew how they felt. Not only did he have to keep up his identity in the human world, he had to care for the pride…and a female known to fuck with the elements, but he had a feeling Gaia wasn’t the reason behind the early winter weather.

They stayed in the meeting for almost two hours. He organized a team to start looking for the man wanted for murder in Kansas. He had several ties to the area, and with the team he had appointed, that should be covered for the time being.

“Does the county have the resources covered?” an officer asked.

“They do,” he replied. “Thankfully, after last year’s fiasco, the state allocated more funds to us. The road crews are ready to work alongside you all once the snow starts to fall in two days. I’ve emailed all of you protocols for the weather, and if you don’t have any more questions, I’ll dismiss you for the day. Be careful out there.”

Garrett waited as the officers filed out of the meeting room. Once they were gone, he didn’t even bother with flashing out in his angel form. He swiped his keys off the desk and headed for his patrol car. The pride was the next order of business, and he had a feeling things were just going to get worse.

One of these days, the gods would put a stop to the bullshit coming for the pride, but he seriously doubted it would happen anytime soon.

And if it did, would his job there be done? Would he be sent to another time in history or the future? What about Gaia and the bears? What about Liberty and the pride’s future even if all of the threats were erased?

“Snow’s coming,” Rose stated as they left the cabin.

“I know,” Kraven replied. “I can scent it in the air.”

“It’s different here,” she pointed out, remembering where she came from and how the snow came in fast and destructive. “I like the way it feels.”

“You’ll love it when it snows,” he chuckled. “The pride tends to neglect their responsibilities and play in the woods until it melts.”

“That sounds amazing.” She sobered. “We didn’t get to play in it much. We were too busy training and learning about past conflicts.”

“I promise you that things will be different here,” he said, taking her hand. His warmth made her smile, and she snuggled closer to him.

As they walked, she thought about how much she’d learned since leaving the hospital. Natural shifters were different than the MODs, but there were still similarities. Did the ones who’d disappeared over the years find their mates and the doctors took them out? She’d laid in bed the night before thinking of the ones who’d snuck around to have sex when the lights went out on their floors at night.

“What’s got you lost in thought?” Kraven opened the door to the facility but paused at the threshold. Rose didn’t even remember half of the walk from their cabin.

“Ah, just thinking about other MODs and how they’d disappeared…not from escaping,” she explained with a little shrug. “Being with you reminds me of the way some of them behaved before getting caught slipping out of their rooms to meet up with the opposite sex.”

“Do you think some of them found their mates in the hospital?”

“I do. Especially since I now understand it better,” she agreed with a nod. “The ones they’d laid out in the main room of the hospital were simply deserters. The Trackers would make a big show of it, standing there like they’d done something good for the community, but the ones that just went away…no one ever mentioned anything. It was weird.”

“It could’ve very well been what you’re thinking. If the head of the hospital was breeding you and the others for war, he would want to only have specific DNA shifters. It’s no secret that you were bred with strength. If other MODs found their mates, he most likely didn’t want the blood to be diluted.”

“How do you know all of this?” she asked, dropping her towel to the bench by the door.

After Kraven closed things up and took a bottle of cleaner and a dry towel to the mats, he finally spoke up. “We’ve dealt with scientists before who were trying to study us. Their way of thinking has always been the same. They wanted to use us for wars or conflicts that would give them an advantage. We’ve even worked with the human’s FBI. I didn’t like it, but they needed our help to stop an illegal drug trade in the country.”

“Are you still helping them?” she balked.

“Fuck no,” he snarled, wiping his hand over his face. “Talon put a stop to all of that when we realized it was more important to take care of our own. The pride only wants to live a peaceful existence. Getting involved with the human government is not in our best interests.”

“That’s good,” she sighed and flopped down on the bench. “I used to think the doctors and nurses at the hospital were there to care for us, but since I’ve come here, I realize that’s not the case. It angers me that I was bred to be a tool against other living beings…human or otherwise. I don’t ever want to harm anyone unless it’s to protect those I love and care for. The Shaw pride has made me understand that, and you know what?”

“What?”

“It feels real ! This life I’ve only just started makes me understand what my calling is all about. It wasn’t the constant fight training or the classes on histories and wars. This is where I belong.”

She made a motion between her, Kraven, and the outside area indicating her love for the pride she’d been accepted into. It did bother her that she didn’t need Talon’s blood like the others. Every one of the pride members were connected to him in an ancient, magical way. Rose, on the other hand, was not bred to need an alpha. It was too weird, but she didn’t care. The Shaw pride was her home, and so was Kraven.

“Come on,” she said after clearing her mind. The idea of sparring with Kraven did things to her that she realized was a desire for him in a whole new way. “Let’s fight.”

“Fight, huh?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. When she gave him a smirk, her new mate bellowed out a laugh and kicked off his shoes.

But their sparring would never happen.

Kraven grabbed the side of his head and gasped. She started to say something, but the only thing that came from her mouth was an “ oof!” when Kraven wrapped his arms around her waist, pinning her to the far wall in a protective gesture.

“What’s going on?” she panted.

“Talon…and the sheriff,” he barked, squeezing his eyes closed. “We need to get to the main house. They’ve found the hospital you came from.”