Chapter Three

“S o, she’s dead?” Onyx, also known to the MODs as “Master”, asked his Trackers.

“Yes, Master,” MOD-12 replied. He was the best Tracker Onyx had created and he trusted the male with his life. “We left her in a thick forest area in middle Tennessee. She was fast, but we were faster. Her scent was easy to track.”

Onyx nodded with pride and pulled out another file. While they were tracking MOD-122523, another female had fled. She’d been gone only a few days, but that wouldn’t stop them from finding her.

“I have another one,” he announced, looking at the four males who’d shown their worth. He’d bred them himself, using his own seed to create a super race of Trackers in case the fighters he was breeding became aware of the outside world and left the hospital he’d bought and renovated himself thirty years ago outside of Chicago.

“We can leave immediately,” his MOD advised.

“It’s MOD-122101,” Onyx said, handing over her file. That MOD was one of the up-and-coming Planners, and he had never pinned her as one to escape. She was extremely brilliant, and from the look on the Trackers’ faces, they knew it, too. “Cameras have her flying south the moment she exited the cafeteria doors, but this one needs to be returned when she is found. I can’t create more of them before they are needed for their task with the military.”

That little bitch would pay. He’d spent way too much time and funds on both of the females, turning them into very important MODs for his team. They needed them to protect his assets and lands as well as planning for the inevitable.

Eventually, he would have labs in three other major cities. He’d been working with the human military for years. It was almost time to unleash his creations for the war that was expected on their homelands. The American rulers had intel they kept private, but with the money he’d been given to breed a super race of shifters for what was coming to the most protected country in the world, it was almost time to hand over the MODs. With two of his best creations escaping, he couldn’t risk them being found by other shifter groups. If he did, the contract with the government would be null and void.

“We are ready,” MOD-12 replied, nodding to his Trackers. They quietly left the room and were on their way.

The government group he’d been working for was so secret they didn’t even have a name, and he’d been working with the same man since the beginning. He was certain the department wasn’t known to anyone in the world. They’d been the ones to take out leaders of foreign lands, and even some on their own soil. But he wasn’t one to ask. He did what he was asked and reaped the benefits.

One day, he would be recognized and loved by the American people, because when the war came to their lands, he would be the one who had created the super shifter race to save them all.

Rose woke, feeling more comfortable than she had in weeks. It didn’t take her long to realize she was in an actual bed…one like she’d seen in a movie once. The blanket over her was soft and nothing like the blue blankets she’d always known.

Memories from the evening before filled her mind, and she smiled at how Kraven had cared for her after she’d been checked out by the doctors. Well, this place called them healers, and it wasn’t a place…it was a pride. Kraven had told her more about what a pride was and how they all lived with Talon Shaw and his family. The alpha’s job was to nurture and protect anyone within his group of shifters. Most of them were panthers, but that didn’t stop them from taking in Luna, a white wolf.

She had to realize it could all be taken away if the hospital found out she was still alive. Those Trackers had been there to kill her, and they had almost succeeded. If she hadn’t remembered how to lower her heart rate and breathing from her training, she was sure they would’ve continued to beat her.

It was a new day, though, and she wanted to see the pride’s land with a fresh set of eyes and a yearning to belong. However, she didn’t feel like staying in her human form. It was easier for her to fly, and she hoped there was an easy exit from Kraven’s cabin.

Beside the bed, she found a set of clothes folded neatly. Luna had mentioned getting her something to wear today, and Kraven must’ve placed them there while she was asleep. A frown pulled at her lips. She’d been trained to be a fighter and sleeping too soundly would’ve gotten her in trouble at the hospital or killed in a combat scenario.

Forgoing the clothes, she lifted the huge cotton shirt Kraven had given her over her head and closed her eyes, pulling on the hawk inside of her. They never fought each other like her and her panther did. The beast that lived in her was for war and fighting…the hawk was for fleeing, and even though she could feel the bird in her soul, she knew it wanted to stay close to the pride and Kraven. Something about him just called to her, and she knew deep down he would never harm her or send her back to the hospital.

Her hawk was in the middle of shaking out her feathers when Kraven knocked on the door, and she knew it was him because she could scent him better in her shifted form. She chirped once and he heard her, opening the door. He froze for a second and not in a bad way. His eyes were soft as he noticed she was in her shifted form.

“Good morning, Rose,” he began, looking over his shoulder. “Would you like to fly? I can shift and go with you so you don’t get lost.”

Her hawk chirped in response. She wanted to talk to him, but the need to stretch her wings was more important.

“Before you leave, just know that our lands are protected by panthers,” he began. “You will see them making their rounds. There are fences on our borders. Feel free to bypass them, but please don’t stay gone long. Until we know more about where you came from, you should stay close to me…us.”

The hawk shook her feathers out again and dropped down just enough to get some lift from the center of the bed. Kraven stepped out of the doorway as she passed, landing on the back of a chair by the door close to his kitchen. She knew the door there would lead her to the forest.

Her hawk glanced over its shoulder as Kraven removed his shirt, and the human part of her stopped breathing at the sight. The male was fit…even more fit than some of the Trackers at the hospital, but Rose didn’t look at them like she was staring at the male panther.

She watched him carefully, calculating his every move as he slowly made his way to the door. He turned the handle to open it wide. He stepped out onto the small covered back porch and stood to the side so she could exit his home. There were two chairs and a small table there. A grill sat alone in a nondescript yard that wasn’t very large. There were no flowers or plants. At the hospital, she had used her free time to grow vegetables and pretty flowers to spruce up their outdoor space. The cleaning lady had gotten permission to bring in the items for them to learn from.

The hawk let out a piercing call at the human thoughts, bringing her back to the task at hand. She hated not being able to stay in her own head. Rose had been bred to be a warrior, and she was only allowed an hour a day to work in the gardens. Thankfully, she was fast and thorough. Her plants had been a big help in the cafeteria when the cook needed herbs for their meals.

“I’m going to shift now,” Kraven stated, hooking his thumbs into some loose, black pants that reminded her of the ones she’d had back at the hospital.

The hawk turned to look out into the woods behind the home, and she let out another call, hearing the natural hawks in the area respond. Before she could look back at the panther, she spread her wings and flew…

She soared once she was above the trees, feeling true freedom for the first time in her life.

Kraven’s panther snarled when Rose took off into the woods. He pushed off his porch and ran in the direction she had gone, but he quickly lost her when she rose high into the sky, circling the pride’s lands. He’d barely found out that there was such a thing as hawk shifters, and now he was chasing one through the forest, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to be able to catch her.

He kept to the trails, and his panther was hell-bent on making sure he kept his eyes on the hawk… his hawk .

The panther reminded him that the female was his, and that brought up a whole bag of “What the fuck was he going to do with a shifter who didn’t know about mates and all of the shifting things he’d known from birth?”

The natural hawks called out to Rose as she soared over the pride. The only thing keeping Kraven from having a panic attack was how she kept to the pride’s lands. Could he talk Talon into making the security fencing a thousand feet high?

He and his panther were happy to see the female letting loose. No telling if she could do that where she came from, but his human side knew she was kept in check. After years of fighting scientists, it was common knowledge that they were not kind to the shifters in their labs.

He knew that personally. He’d been taken and drugged in hopes he would procreate with the females they’d thrown into his cell. Thankfully, the first one was saved, and he was taken in by the pride she belonged to. If not, he was sure someone would’ve put him down.

If he hadn’t fought the drugs, he would’ve harmed Mary Grace. She’d been with her first young. He still had nightmares about those days, but he was thankful for her kindness. She’d saved him all those years ago. The last thing he ever wanted to do was mention what had happened. He’d take his guilt to his grave. The only thing that kept him living and not taking his own life was that his baby sister, Hope, had found a home with the Shaw pride. Thankfully, they were brought in and treated like family.

He couldn’t think of that now. The female fated for him was soaring above him and he couldn’t do anything to protect her if something should happen. How was he ever going to let her leave his home?

If the gods were good to him, she would eventually understand that she was made for him…even if it had been in a lab. Those assholes should be burned at the stake like the enemies from their history. In the old world, his kind was more brutal than anything in the humans’ past.

Rose cawed again, her screeching sound echoed through the forest, and she finally…FINALLY…came down to a branch close to him. She was in her form, and he was in his, and it was evident she was happy with the time she had being free. If a hawk could smile, his potential mate was grinning from ear to ear.

Kraven shifted and put his hands on his bare hips. He didn’t care about his nudity. It was a normal thing for all shifters, and he was sure it was fine for her, as well.

“Rose, come back to the cabin,” he called out. “It’s time to eat.”

The last thing he wanted to do was go all caveman on her, and it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He turned his back and started walking up the trail toward his cabin. She would follow him, and he let her have her independence in that action. Even if it tugged at something deep in his chest.

He heard her wings fluttering as she followed him, landing on trees and branches as they left the woods. Eventually, he returned to his back porch, leaving the door wide open. When she didn’t return, Kraven went to the spare bedroom to scoop up the clothes Luna had sent over to him late the night before.

When he returned to the porch, Rose was still in hawk form, but she was sitting on the grill he used almost every night. She tilted her head and watched him place the clothes where she could shift and change.

“I’ll start breakfast while you shift and get dressed,” he offered, returning to his kitchen. As much as he wanted to scold her for not staying at his side, he’d been friends with many female Protectors so he knew she would come when she was good and ready.

Once inside, he placed his hands on the countertop and gripped the edges, bowing his head while he took a calming breath. The female didn’t know she was his mate, and he didn’t want to act like an asshole while they were in the beginning of getting to know each other. If he showed any agitation, Talon would step in, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Rose was his, and he would take a lifetime to get her to fall in love with him if that was what it took for her to know how the bond of mates happened in the shifter world. He shouldn’t make assumptions about what she knew or didn’t know, because for all he knew, she might know about natural shifters.

Her entrance didn’t surprise him because he scented her unique aroma before she ever arrived. By that time, he was already composed. However, her mating scent was evident. It was as if it’d been made for him from his favorite scents in the world; honeysuckle and the forest. How was that since she’d only ever known a hospital? Or was she allowed to run or fly in her chosen forms?He wouldn’t know until they had a long, hard talk.

“Everything okay?” she asked, her eyes dropping in submission.

“Don’t ever shy away from me,” he ordered, causing her head to snap up at attention. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes, and he swore there was fear in there, too.

“I’m not shying away from you,” she stated, straightening her stance. There was the female he thought her to be since she was built strong like the Protectors of his pride.

“Then why did you lower your eyes?” he asked, roaming his gaze over her clothed body. Gods, all he wanted to do was to feed her and get her strength to return where he knew it must have been before she fled.

“Habit,” she shrugged. “I don’t know a lot about your pride, but I realized after talking to Luna and the alpha that you were raised differently.”

“We were,” he agreed, knowing this deep conversation needed to be had, but that moment wasn’t the time. “Sit, let me make you some food. We can talk over breakfast.”

She paused and lifted her tiny nose to the air around them. “Why do you…” she paused, scenting the air again. “Why do you smell so good?”

“That’s another thing we should discuss,” he hedged. “Sit…I’ll cook.”

“May I shower, please?” Her question was posed as if she needed permission, and he wanted to kill her creator more than ever.

“You have your freedom here, Rose,” he sighed. “Please don’t think you ever need to ask permission to do anything for yourself.”

“Okay,” she nodded, turning for the room she’d used the night before. There was a private bath there, and he reluctantly let her go. He needed to provide for them both.

While she was gone, he started the bacon and biscuits. Even though they needed mostly protein, he wanted to give her a choice. So far, she hadn’t said much about her life before her escape, and he wasn’t going to assume anything. There was a part of him that wondered if they’d hurt her more than she’d told them, and while he and his panther tensed at the thought of the worst, he wouldn’t lose his shit until he knew for certain what she’d been through.

As he cooked, he kept his mind blank. Worrying over what had happened to her or what had not would drive him insane. An incoming text from his sister broke him from the monotonous task he’d placed on himself while he cooked.

She wanted to meet Rose, and he wanted his sister to meet her, too. He’d plan for Hope to stop by in an hour and his reply asked that she do that so he could feed the female. She’d scarfed down a hearty meal late the night before, but it wasn’t enough. Kraven wanted her strong for the day ahead. He was sure they’d be meeting with Talon before lunch so they could get more information about what she knew of her upbringing.

“That smells so good,” Rose said as she entered the kitchen, taking a spot at the table. “I never learned to cook and I always wanted to, but the hospital had employees to do that for us.”

“I can teach you to cook,” Kraven said, trying his hardest not to grit his teeth or growl from her statement. Fuck! It was so hard not to react to the things she said.

“Really?” she asked, happiness coating her words.

“Of course,” he replied, plating the bacon and eggs. He hoped she was hungry, because he’d scrambled up a full dozen for the two of them. “I hope this is enough.”

“It’s perfect,” she breathed as she set the napkin in her lap. She expertly handled the silverware he’d set out and buttered the biscuits he’d made. Even though she didn’t know how to cook, someone had taught her table manners fit for the wealthy.

“I wanted to let you know that my sister is coming by in about an hour to meet you,” he announced, sitting back until she took her first bite of food. He wanted to make sure she was cared for before he ate his meal.

“Your sister?” she asked, her brows pushing forward as whatever thought she had filled her mind. “You actually know your siblings? Like your real sister?”

“There’s so much you have to learn about natural shifters,” he sighed, setting his fork aside. “I know it was mentioned to you about us, and how we were born this way and not created in a lab. But yes, the easy answer is that we have families and histories. My sister is my blood sibling, and I love her so much. We’ve been living at the Shaw pride for a long time. This is our home…just like it is your home now.”

“Tell me more, please,” she pushed. “I’ve only known of war and history.”

“War and history?”

“They had a library for us to use after we were old enough. They also had movies, but they were nothing but true stories about the human wars over the last century or two. I didn’t have the relationships with the other MODs like you do with the shifters here at the pride. Unless you count my friendship with a female MOD my age.” He noticed her reaction to mentioning a friend back at the hospital, but he wasn’t going to ask too many details. He’d wait for her to tell him about the MOD.

“Tell me what your natural instincts are telling you,” he pressed.

“While I feel an instinct deep in my soul, I don’t quite understand everything.”

“Why do you say that?” Kraven was listening now. She was giving him information she hadn’t explained to Talon, and he was hanging on her every word.

“They taught some of us to fight and they wanted us to be informed on the past wars. I swear they were training us for something, but I was never told what it was. If I asked…I was told to stay quiet. If I persisted, I was put into solitary for a week with minimal food and I wasn’t allowed to shift. I didn’t like that, because it made my animals upset.”

He knew not shifting was painful to their human form, and she didn’t come right out and say it…but he knew. Trying to hold his temper was getting harder and harder.

If they were only showing them war and history, it told Kraven a lot of information. She was indeed a Protector per the Shaw pride’s explanation. If his hunch was right, these scientists were breeding them for something big.

He was about to call out to Talon when his sister knocked on the door. Rose spun around and glared at the door, but Kraven stood quickly and held his hand out to calm her. “It’s my sister, Hope.”

When his female calmed, he walked over and let Hope in. She was alone, and for that Kraven was thankful to his sister’s mate, Ranger. Seeing his blood relative took on a whole new meaning. Gods, he couldn’t imagine not knowing a family bond like he had with Hope and the other pride members. His only desire was for Rose to know the same.

“Hey,” Hope said warmly.

“Come in,” he said, holding the door open for her. When she stopped to wrap her arms around his waist, Kraven noticed Rose tilt her head to the side in wonder. Gods, he prayed she would realize she’d be cared for at the pride…and soon.

“Hope, meet Rose,” Kraven said, holding his hand out in a silent gesture for his sister to head toward the kitchen table. “Rose, this is my blood sister, Hope. She is a Protector of the pride just as I am a Guardian.”

“A Protector?” Rose asked as she stood from her seat. She held out her hand and Hope took hers in a hard handshake. It was odd, but he had expected it with the way Rose had spoken of her life at the hospital.

“Yes, we work alongside Guardians like my brother to protect the pride,” Hope replied, moving to a seat at his table. Once they were all settled in place, Kraven offered Hope some food but she waved him off.

“I’m sorry,” Rose sighed. “This is all new to me. Kraven and the alpha have told me that you all were born and not created like I was.”

Hope started to say something but a hard look from Kraven had her schooling her features. She realized the female was still new to all of the information and he gave his sibling a soft nod of thanks. He wanted to be the one to ease her into the truth. Talon would have his time in a few hours to talk to Rose, and that was fine. He just wanted to educate her on everything before the meeting. She didn’t need to be going into the alpha’s office blindly.

Rose had several questions for his sister, and he busied himself with cleaning up their dishes. He had to do something to keep his hands busy. When Rose spoke of her time at the hospital, he’d gritted his teeth at the thought that it was no better than a maximum-security prison.

As hard as he tried, he couldn’t ignore their conversation about growing up. They’d been raised so differently. What were the scientists thinking implanting a female with embryos designed to be fighters? And how did it all connect? He hoped like hell the pride figured it out before the scientists realized Rose was still alive.