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Theo
Deep breath. We don’t know that James is gone. Tristan is probably right that he ran for his own safety. With Adam, the Beta of the pack, at the Lodge, this falls on me. Time to take a page out of Indy Smith’s life and be the badass leader. Okay, Theo! Enough with the pep talk. Get to finding that cellphone and then figuring out the next step.
Getting down on hands and knees, I peer under the steps. There! Reaching in I grab it, then walk around the house just in time to hear the Elite arrive.
A black Dodge Ram Promaster pulls in, followed by a series of motorcyclists. Each and every one of the bikers is dressed in fatigues and looks like they never have missed a day in the gym. Their bikes are all-terrain, military green with fat tires that will let them navigate the woods and roads around here.
I’m still staring when the passenger door of the van opens and out steps a man with a military crew cut, sunglasses that hide his eyes and more knives and guns than I can count.
“Where is James?” He asks in a clipped tone. His words are punctuated by a howl and then a yip.
“He is coming. He was...detained,” I reply, thanking God that Tristan found him. Jennika skids to a stop next to me, shifting as she comes to a stop.
“What happen? I heard the howl,” she pants.
“Clothes, Jennika!” I snap, noticing how a few of the men are checking her out. She, of course, just laughs and stand there, posing for the men. A low growl escapes me, and she rolls her eyes.
“Fine! You are such a prude!” She sashays back to where her clothes lay near the firepit. I refuse to look, and glare at anyone I catch sneaking a peak.
“Men,” the man in charge says, “Eyes off the girl. Set up for the night. Charles, you start dinner.” The men all jump to do as he said, pulling gear from their bikes.
I nod at the man and walk over. “Hi! I’m James’ twin brother, Theo. He should be back soon. Something...came up.”
“Bane.” The man looks around the forest “So this is the Reserve. While we wait, what can you tell me? James was fairly cryptic over the phone, as he should be. Never know who is listening in.”
“And you’re not worried about anyone hearing out here?” I ask him jokingly, considering the fact that we are in the middle of the woods. I have to laugh when he actually takes a minute to think about his answer.
“Nope. There are two heartbeats coming this way from over there.” He points towards the cave where I am guessing James went to hide. “And then there are my men, your sister, you and me. No one else is here. So, we may speak freely.”
I’m kind of unnerved at how serious he is taking this, and have the feeling that no matter his skill, he is one of those conspiracy theorists.
“Did James tell you what we are up against?” I lead him to the fire area, not wanting to take him into Arlin’s trashed house.
“No, just to come fully armed. So, what is the mission and who are we saving?” Bane asks, sitting down on one of the logs. All of the logs are cut from the largest trees we could find, but Bane makes it look like he is sitting on a child’s chair.
“James has most of the details, mainly the location of where we are headed. I can tell you that there is an insane scientist who has..., Well it is hard to imagine what he has done without seeing it for yourself, which is why we have to attack within the next twenty-four hours.”
“You’re talking in riddles. Just spit out what we are doing.” Bane clearly is not the patient type, and I have a feeling he has little imagination, so this should be interesting.
“Yesterday while running the Reserve, I found a creature hiding here. I could sense that she was a shifter but was unable to force her to shift. I took her back to the Lodge, hoping James could help her shift. He couldn’t and thought that she was just some creature we had found. I was certain that she was a shifter.
Last night Tristan and I brought her here and camped out. This morning, Tristan and I went to breakfast leaving the animal asleep in my sleeping bag. When we returned to where we had camped, Arlin was holding a woman. He was yelling at her for being on shifter lands. Turns out she is moonbound, but the opposite of the normal shifter. She is forced to stay in her animal form except for the day before, day of and day after the full moon.”
“That’s odd, but maybe she is an anomaly. They happen now and then, or so I have heard.” Bane says, “That is no reason for James to call the Elite in.”
“It’s more complicated than that. You see, Rebby- the shifter- well, her animal form was created in a lab. She, along with many others, were kidnapped or recruited, their DNA changed to become shifters. We will be going to their lab to free them and stop the experimenting.”
“That is not the whole story,” James says, limping towards us with Tristan’s help.