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Chapter Thirteen

" J aryn!" Shaun exclaimed as he ran into the room and slid to a stop beside him.

"Hey, Shaun," Jaryn grimaced. "Can you do me a favor and get whatever is sticking out of my back the fuck out?"

"Where's Broyles?"

"Gone. Now if you don't mind?"

Shaun ran his hands down Jaryn's back. Jaryn felt when his best friend's hands touched what he assumed was a knife stuck in his back and couldn't stop the shout from bursting out of his chest.

"Jesus, what kind of goat fuck did you get yourself into this time?"

Jaryn hissed as another bolt of lightning speared through his body. "You know me. I'm always out looking for a good time. You're going to have to pull it out. I can't shift with it in."

"That's going to hurt."

Jaryn growled. "No shit, Sherlock. Just… fuck… just get it over with. Something is coating the goddamn thing. I'm on fucking fire, man," he panted.

Shaun gently wrapped his hand around the hilt of the knife. "On the count of three."

Jaryn nodded and prepared to shift the moment he removed the knife. The rapid healing he could achieve by shifting was the only way to prevent excess blood loss and stop the poison from advancing through his body.

"One… two…"

Shaun smoothly pulled the knife from Jaryn and he let out a howl that shook the rafters. He ordered his wolf to take over, but nothing happened. He tried again, nothing. Since the time of his first shift, Jaryn could call his wolf whenever he wanted to. He panicked. Where was his wolf? He needed his wolf, now!

"Jaryn?"

He vaguely heard Shaun's voice in the dark room. Every muscle in his body tensed, and streaks of lava coursed through his system. He closed his eyes and sank deep within himself.

"Help me, please ."

There was no response, and as if someone had ripped part of his soul from his body, Jaryn screamed in anguish. His wolf was gone.

"Alpha!"

Jaryn's body went lax against the floor. He didn't even have the energy to lift his head. Whatever concoction Broyles coated the knife with killed Jaryn's wolf. For as long as he could remember, Jaryn's life revolved around developing skills as shifter and his destiny as an Alpha. As he matured, these qualities molded him into a man and a soldier other depended on. Now, with his wolf gone, he was empty inside, alone.

Something pressed hard on his back and forcibly ripped Jaryn from the litany of self-pity controlling his brain.

"What the fuck is with you, man? Shift, for fuck's sake!"

"Can't," he whispered.

"What the fuck you mean, you can't? You have to."

"I… mean… I… can't!"

Even though the moonlight filtering through the wall of windows was the only source of illumination in the room, Jaryn saw Shaun blanch. His best friend stared at him with a cross between confusion, shock, and pity. The last was the worst. With his wolf gone, not only had Jaryn lost a major part of his identity, but Shaun had lost his Alpha. He'd let his friend and brother in arms down.

"Don't fucking go there, man. We'll figure this out. Maybe there's an answer downstairs in that goddamn horror show of a basement."

"What are you talking about?"

"We need to get out of here. There's something I have to show you. God damn… you're bleeding like a stuck pig."

Jaryn felt trails of liquid seep down his side beneath the leather of his body suit and suddenly realized that he was cold. He never got cold. That was probably not a good sign.

Shaun grabbed Jaryn's hand and placed it on his lower back. "Press down and don't move."

The angle made it impossible for him to follow Shaun's orders to put pressure on his wound. His hand fell to the floor. He turned his head enough to see Shaun looking around the room. Shaun crossed to the dresser. He jerked open several drawers, rustled the contents, then slammed the heavy wood shut time after time.

"Check the closet," Jaryn suggested weakly.

Shaun yanked open the closet door with such force that it banged against the wall and caused Jaryn to wince, not only at the echo of sound that pulsed through his poison-ravaged body, but in sympathy for the several hundred-year-old walls. Shaun came back out with a shirt in hand. In a matter of seconds, his best friend fashioned a field dressing from the garment and had it secured around Jaryn's waist.

He tried to push up to his feet from his knees, but almost fell back to the marble floor. Shaun's arm came around Jaryn and helped stabilize him. He lifted one of Jaryn's arms around his shoulders, and the two of them shuffled out of the master suite. Weakness, unlike any he knew, enveloped him. He hated it. Jaryn was not at all looking forward to walking down that grand staircase. When they got to the landing, he moaned and closed his eyes for a second.

Suck it up, you pussy.

He gripped the banister with one hand and used Shaun's body as a counter-support. If he didn't think he would fall right off the edge and plummet to the floor below, Jaryn would climb up and slide down the gently curved railing, just as he'd always dreamed of doing as a child.

Step by step, they slowly made their way down. The fucking poison was pumping its way deeper into his bloodstream, making Jaryn's muscles convulse and become weaker by the second. He wouldn't tell Shaun, but his vision was also getting a little spotty, and his ears rang with a chorus of bells that wouldn't stop.

They made it to the base of the stairs and Jaryn clenched Shaun's shoulder. "Wait up a second," he gasped.

"Fuck this!" Shaun exclaimed and swung Jaryn up over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"What the hell? Put me down, or I swear to God I'll slip wolfsbane into your coffee for a month!"

"Shut the fuck up, Jaryn, and let me get you help before you fucking die on us. I would rather be shitting and puking my guts up than have to go home and tell your mate that you croaked because you were too fucking stubborn to admit you can't do everything on your own."

At the thought of Nicole being told the news of his death, he immediately stopped struggling. He refused to leave his mate alone in this world. He hadn't told Shaun everything Broyles had divulged, and with his wolf not responding, Jaryn had no way of opening his link to his mate to find out what was happening back home.

"I hate you right now. You know that?" he grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Shaun crossed through the foyer and continued towards the back of the house. "It's a good thing I'm supernaturally strong because you weigh a goddamn ton," Shaun grunted.

"You remember that time in Libya? You weren't exactly a lightweight, smartass."

Shaun started chuckling. "I'd forgotten about that."

"Dragged your busted-up ass for two clicks till we got to the ex-fil site. You conveniently came to right as the chopper arrived."

Jaryn had no idea where Shaun was taking him, but at that moment talking to his best friend was pretty much the only thing keeping him conscious. Despite his portrayed annoyance, Jaryn tried to keep his adrenaline down because he knew it would make the poison spread faster through his system. Fuck, he hoped someone, somewhere really fucking soon, could tell him what they were dealing with.

Shaun started down another set of stairs. Jaryn would never admit it out loud, but he was grateful for the ride, even if Shaun's shoulder dug into his gut with each stomp down the treads.

Jaryn lifted his head, and the world spun on its axis. Shaun had said something about a basement, so he figured that's where they were. However, this didn't look like any basement in his experience. As Shaun carried him through the room, he saw glass holding cells that housed everything from a few little kids to teenagers. They all stood with their noses pushed against the glass and followed his and Shaun's progress down the aisle. A multitude of computers and test tubes and equipment that Jaryn was frankly afraid to know the purpose of filled the room. They went through a set of double doors, and Jaryn's world tipped end over end as Shaun set him down on what appeared to be some type of gurney.

What the hell is this place?

Jaryn moaned as a spasm of pain racked his body.

Shaun swallowed hard. "Hold on, buddy. I've got you some help."

Jaryn followed Shaun's gaze and his eyes widened at the sight of four men in lab coats bound.

Shaun went over to the corner and yanked one man to his feet. He dragged him over to where Jaryn lay on the gurney.

"Your boss stabbed him in the back, and now he can't find his wolf. He's going to die if he can't shift and cure himself. Fix it!"

Jaryn's vision was little more than muted halos at this point. His breathing was shallow, and he knew he was in trouble. Jaryn pictured Nicole as he'd seen her last—the early colors of dawn making her bare skin glow as she slept peacefully in their bed. Vivid recollections of the soft feel of her skin and the warmth of her body pressed up against him floated through his consciousness. He loved her. He needed her. There was nothing better in his world than when he made Nicole smile.

A sharp pain in his ass pierced his foggy consciousness, and a few seconds later Jaryn's vision cleared and his mind was once again sharp. He tried to shift and howled in joy as the familiar change overtook him. Colors turned gray, and the world seemed to shift as his body changed shape in an instant. He was a large wolf, and naturally his perspective of the environment changed as he ended up standing on all fours atop the gurney. He let out a little huff and bumped Shaun with his snout.

Thank you!

Jaryn jumped off the table and stalked over to the corner, growling. He saw the scientists cower. Jaryn imagined it was probably pretty intimidating to the humans to have a black and white furred paranormal predator heading your way with murder in his eyes.

"Jaryn, don't. We need them."

He turned his head to look behind him and saw Shaun standing next to another scientist. The man had saved him, had saved Jaryn's wolf. He figured he could allow one to live. He looked back at the remaining three in the corner and let out another growl. The scent of their fear permeated the air, and Jaryn was perversely proud.

He turned around and walked back towards Shaun. By the time he reached his best friend, he was human again. Shaun handed him some scrubs that were lying on a shelf nearby and Jaryn quickly dressed.

"Thank you."

Shaun smiled. "It's all good."

Jaryn nodded to his Beta, then turned to the thin man beside him. "Now, who are you? Tell me what the fuck just happened, and what's going on here."

"My name is Dr. Craig Johns. The knife used on you was coated in compound CRS-264. When used in small doses, it prevents a shifter from being able to make the change. Broyles uses it to control his hostages. What you experienced was basically an overdose. Without the antidote, you were minutes away from death. We keep a supply on hand just in case."

"Why would you help me if you work for him?"

"What makes you think I do any of this willingly? Broyles has my family here in the compound. If I didn't do my job, he threatened to kill them." He pointed towards Shaun. "He told us you freed all the hostages in the barracks, and that Broyles was gone. That your men have control of the compound?"

Jaryn put his hand on Craig's shoulder. "It's true. He's not dead, but he's definitely not here." He saw the man's complexion go white. "Don't worry. We're going to put you someplace safe until I find the son-of-a-bitch. And when I do, you'll never have to fear for your family's safety from him again." He looked at the double doors and remembered what lay beyond them. "Now, tell me what was happening down here."

Craig looked over at his colleagues still huddled in the corner. "Let them go, first."

Jaryn glanced over at Shaun and gave him a slight nod. Shaun walked over and released the others' bindings. They all slowly got to their feet, rubbing their wrists.

"Done. Now talk."

"I know you will not believe me, but those are not your normal children out there." He walked over to the doors and peeked out the window. "They are genetic engineering at its most terrifying and finest. Each one is a shifter, but with the added twist of some type of extrasensory talent or power. Born of human surrogates, sacrificed for the cause."

"What cause?" Shaun growled.

"Those children are supposed to be a new generation of super-shifters bred specifically to act as soldiers in a revolution that will change the world."

For the first time in his life, Jaryn was truly speechless. What could a person possibly say in the face of such a revelation? How did one process such atrocities committed against the innocent?

"How long has this been going on?" he croaked.

"Twenty-five years. For the first few years, there were numerous failures." He shivered and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I've seen recordings… the things that happened during the first trials were inhumane, degrading. We currently have fifteen in residence. The oldest is nineteen, the youngest is two months."

"How in the fuck does something like this happen?" Shaun exclaimed.

"Do you mean literally or ethically?"

"Both!"

"From the literal aspect, we achieved all conceptions through in vitro fertilization. We used various combinations of sperm and eggs from shifters, humans and mutants, depending on Broyles' goals for that test subject. We could bypass the enzyme that prevents conception between non-mated pairs by introducing a synthetic hormone that tricks the egg into accepting the sperm of the selected donor. Then, with the help of advanced gene therapy, we either triggered a mutation in the shifter embryos during the initial stages of brain development that allows latent extrasensory talents to emerge, or we spliced in the shifter gene to a subject with inherited extrasensory talents."

"That's sick."

"I know. As a human, I am disgusted by the callous disregard for life, even though the scientist in me is in awe of what we accomplished."

One of the other scientists walked up to Jaryn. "I'm Dr. Tran Guppa. We only know a little bit about what those kids' lives were like before we arrived five years ago. Our predecessors left detailed notes, both in what they did during the developmental stages and the kinds of experiments they performed on the children, starting as early as two months of age. They treated them as expendable commodities. No sense of identity, kept in isolation… and you really don't want to know what else. We've done what we can to take care of them. To nurture their development as best we can under the limitations placed on us."

"What about the experiments? Did they suddenly stop when you came on board? Why do the children trust you?" Shaun asked.

Dr. Guppa faced Shaun. "When Broyles brought us here, he shifted the program's focus. He had us training the children in physical and mental exercises. He was building an army, not trying to destroy his product. Unfortunately, the experiments didn't cease completely. He reserved those for the others. And believe me—I'm sickened by some things I've done."

Jaryn watched a young woman walk up and put her arm around Craig. She gave him a little squeeze, then turned to face Jaryn. Dr Craig's face was decidedly more ashen than it had been a moment ago. Jaryn suspected that the doctor was struggling with his own guilt.

"I'm Dr. Charlotte Kelly. It was Craig's idea to give the children names. Up till that point, they were simply referred to by their subject number."

Craig eked out a smile for Charlotte. "And it was you who taught them basic social skills. Before that, they did little more than exist. Now I've seen how they band together."

The last scientist brought over a data chip and handed it to Shaun. "This is everything we have. All our data and the data of those who came before us."

"And you are?" Shaun prompted.

"Dr. Irvin Rakaza. I'm in charge of intellectual development. You should know that every one of those kids has an IQ off the charts. Given the proper development, they'll probably have more knowledge in their little toes than you or I ever will have in our entire bodies."

"What will happen to them now?" Charlotte asked.

Jaryn rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I don't know. I need to contact the council." He looked over at Shaun. "Has the rest of the team checked in?"

Shaun nodded. "All secured. Oh, and your buddy Mac found his brother among the hostages. The council already has a team on the way to debrief them. Once we clear them, they can return to their families.

"Good. Let's take this one step at a time, shall we? Let's get them out of those fucking cells." He looked at Craig. "You can introduce me, then we'll get everyone ready to leave. Tell them they'll never be coming back, so bring whatever they want to keep. I have a private jet on standby, and if I can get the council's agreement, I have the perfect place to hide them for a while."

"Sir, they don't have any personal possessions. They don't even have their own clothing. Broyles had us distribute items each day from a stockpile."

Jaryn cursed and clenched his fists. He heard Shaun grumbling next to him similarly. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly. He wanted to present a calm front to the children, who were probably scared out of their wits right now.

They pushed their way through the doors, then Charlotte took Jaryn's hand, pulling him towards the closest cell on the left. Inside the glass was a crib.

Oh, Jesus. They're just babies .

Charlotte pushed in a numbered sequence, and the glass slid away. Jaryn slowly and quietly walked inside. He reached the edge of the crib and looked down. His heart slammed against his chest and his hands tightened on the wooden railing. Staring back at him were two sets of forest green eyes and two tiny heads covered in a slightly brighter shade of extremely familiar red hair. There was something about them that called to Jaryn. Although the features could have been a coincidence, Jaryn couldn't ignore this primal recognition.

"I'd like you to meet Kaden and Gavin."

"Who's the biological mother of these babies?"

"Their egg donor was a human prisoner named Nicole Holland. It happened about four months after they brought her to the compound," she frowned. "For some reason, Broyles used another human as surrogate instead of having Ms. Holland carry the twins." She turned away from the crib and stared out the glass into the lab. "Once we tracked her cycle, we began giving her hormones in her diet without her knowledge to nurture the egg development. We drugged her and brought her down for regular ultrasounds so that we could monitor the progress and determine when it was time to harvest. I was here when Broyles brought her down for the last procedure. She was already unconscious." Charlotte wiped her eyes. "She never knew it happened. Has no idea Kaden and Gavin even exist. I'm a mother, Mr. Chaunterel. I can't even imagine…"

Jaryn came over and squeezed Charlotte's shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"After Ms. Holland's procedure, Broyles ordered us to keep her locked up in a suite of rooms on the second floor. Broyles ordered us to keep Ms. Holland locked up in a suite of rooms on the second floor after her procedure."

"What happened to the surrogate?"

"She didn't handle the pregnancy well, so we had to deliver Kaden and Gavin by Caesarian a month early. She hemorrhaged out. We weren't able to determine what went wrong. We shouldn't have even been… we're all researchers. I haven't treated patients since my residency, for God's sake." Charlotte wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. "About two months ago, Broyles forced Craig to perform germ line gene therapy on Ms. Holland, convinced that the therapy would alter her DNA to that of a wolf shifter." She looked back at him. "I don't even know what happened to her. I heard she disappeared a couple of months ago. Most likely she's dead, along with the others."

Jaryn walked back over to the crib. Both of the babies watched him quietly. Jaryn stared into the two innocent faces. These little boys shared DNA with his mate. He reached down into the crib and lifted the infants into his arms.

"She's not dead. She's my mate. Right now she's at our home in Montana." Jaryn cradled the small bodies against his chest. "Hello… my sons."

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