Mating Kendra Read online

  Dimitri was a former Russian agent who had mated with the MacDonald brothers’ sister, Charity. He’d moved to the United States long ago, though you would never know it by listening to the man’s thick accent.

  Galen sighed at the news. “How many fucking labs does that madman have now?”

  “According to the woman who used to be his assistant, the crazy asshole adds new labs all over the world on an almost monthly basis. One thing’s for sure. He has friends with deep pockets. But luckily, this one is in the Nevada desert.”

  “Luckily?” He glared at the pup. “What’s so damned lucky about sand and heat?”

  The boy flushed self-consciously and swallowed. The young were’s very prominent Adam’s apple bobbed in his too-scrawny throat. “I thought maybe we could hit the casinos while we were there.”

  “Hit the casinos?” Galen shook his head. “Look, Jackson. I know that this is exciting for you, being a new agent and all, but this is serious business. What about this situation gave you the fucking idea we’d have time to visit casinos?”

  God save him from the ignorance of juvenile idiots and former humans who thought themselves superheroes.

  “I—I just thought—”

  “Thinking was your first mistake. Leave that up to those of us who are good at it.”

  “Yes, sir.” The boy pressed his lips together and turned away.

  Galen wasn’t sure, but it looked as though the boy was about to cry. Damn it. Damn it all to Hell! Sighing, he took off his seatbelt, opened the door and followed the boy out into the rain.

  After three long steps, he grasped the kid’s shoulder and turned him to face him. “Look, kid, I’m sorry.” He paused for a minute, searching for the right words. With luck, what he said next wouldn’t make the young werewolf feel like even more of a child than he already did. “I’m an ass. I know this is exciting. Your first assignment always is. It’s just...” Shit. What do I say now?

  “You don’t want two newly turned shifters and a kid weighing you down.” Jackson shrugged. “You think we’re going to get in the way or slow you down. I get it. Just remember that it’s not my fault that Jake and Eden aren’t back from their trip yet, Carly’s pregnant so Bastien won’t leave her side and Kalen won’t let Ally step a foot out of their house now that he thinks she’s pregnant, too. Dimitri won’t leave his mate’s or Bastien’s side for fear of another kidnapping, and everyone else is doing intel or remodeling labs by repurposing the cells where that crazy asshole of a doctor kept his prisoners. You’re stuck with us and you don’t like it.”

  The kid very conveniently left out the other shifters on his team. They weren’t any better. Galen didn’t trust them yet because he didn’t know them. At least he knew Jackson and, as much as he hated to admit it, the MacDonald brothers had personal honor down to an art form. Nothing would sway them from their course of action once they had chosen it. And they had decided to protect their sister, Charity, and the other shifters now that they were all members of the same pack, thanks to the serum the pack’s team had recently confiscated and their scientists had then reverse engineered.

  He gave the kid a half-smile. “Who knows? Maybe if we can tie this up in a hurry, I can give you a day or two to hit the casinos. Just don’t tell your mother that I let you gamble away all of your money. She’ll kick my ass.”

  “Naw. If anything, she’ll thank you. I have card counting down to an art and she’s been eyeing a cute little electric car, but she won’t spend the money on herself. I wanted to buy her one for her birthday.”

  “Card counting is illegal.”

  “Only if you get caught, old man. I don’t intend to let that happen. But that’s why I didn’t want to gamble in my own home state. It wouldn’t do to have my face plastered all over the local news if someone suspected that’s what I’d done.”

  “Old man?” He cocked a brow and stared at the pup. Galen had wondered why the boy hadn’t just parlayed his money in a Michigan casino.

  “Well, you are older than I am.” Reaching up, Jace removed his glasses and stuck them in his pocket.

  “You look different without the glasses.” The young genius almost looked like a young werewolf now, except that he was still too skinny. Didn’t his mother feed him?

  “I don’t look so much like an idiot, you mean.”

  “I never said—”

  “You didn’t have to.” Jackson grinned and patted his pocket. “My mom hates that I wear these glasses, but I’ve found that it quickly distinguishes the assholes from the nice guys with little effort.”

  “Now that you know that I’m an asshole you don’t need them anymore.” That was harsh, but the kid was right.

  “No.” Jackson grinned. “You’re not as much of a jerk as you might think. A real asshole would have let me keep walking a minute ago.”

  Jackson touched two fingers to his forehead in a lazy salute and spun around to return to his vehicle. “Call me when you’re ready to go. I’ll just be waiting to hear from the twins when they’re on their way back with the food.”

  Galen watched as the kid slid behind the wheel of his beat-up pickup and shook his head. The kid needed a new truck for himself, not to buy an expensive electric car for his mother.

  “Whatever.” Galen returned to his SUV and slid behind the wheel. Even he didn’t know why he always felt the need to be an ass lately. Perhaps it had something to do with finding out that his younger brother, Kalen, had already found his mate and hadn’t really even wanted one.

  Damn, he was so tired of being alone. Galen wanted nothing more than to find a woman, his mate, with whom he could spend the rest of his life. He wanted a woman he could love and cherish. Someone to while away the time with instead of usually being alone and wishing he had his own soul mate to complete his life. Hell, he didn’t think that was too much to ask.

  “Dammit!” Galen slapped his steering wheel. He’d forgotten to ask the boy about confirmation. Opening his door, he got out and walked over to Jackson’s POS pickup. He knocked on the window when the boy didn’t look up from his smartphone.

  Jackson cranked down his window. “Yeah?”

  “Wow, this really is a piece of shit, Jackson.” He checked out the lack of radio and three on the tree. “What year is this, anyway? Crank windows, a three speed on the column standard.”

  “Isn’t it awesome? It’s totally restored under the hood.”

  Awesome wouldn’t have been his first descriptor. Broken-down, ratty piece of shit rust bucket, a tetanus shot waiting to happen, maybe. But awesome? No.

  “I mean, look at it.” Jackson tapped the gearshift on the steering column. “What could be more amazing than an old school three on the tree manual transmission?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. An automatic with GPS and a satellite radio?”

  “I love this. I love all old cars. When I get a mate, I’m going to find old cars and fix them up for a hobby.” Jackson stuck his hand out. Hey, it’s still raining. Why aren’t you in your truck?”

  “I forgot to ask, did you confirm the orders to head out to Nevada and eradicate the lab?”

  The last time one of them had forgotten to confirm orders, two assault teams had showed up. There had been a shootout between them and each team had almost lost a few members before they realized that their real enemy had already fled and they were all under friendly fire. “We don’t need another damned cluster fuck like that one in Tennessee.”

  “Yes, sir.” The boy nodded eagerly. “Dimitri confirmed us as the insertion team. They want us to go in, since we’re the closest.”

  “I figured we would be.” They’d been hot on the criminally insane doctor’s trail and driving West through Utah when they’d pulled off to get something to eat.

  Turning, Galen headed back to his truck. “Here come the twins. Eat fast. The faster we get there, the more likely it is that we’ll find that lunatic doctor in residence.” And the more likely they would be to obtain that damned doctor’s newest victi
m unharmed.

  The image of the beautiful and feisty red-haired woman flashed though this mind. The video he’d seen of her abduction showed her fighting back as five men surrounded her. One of them had been Doctor Richard Thornton, asshole extraordinaire.

  The woman on the video was a female he could see himself claiming as a mate. She had valiantly defended herself against three men while two more looked on. Her strength and resolve turned him on almost as much as her knowledge of martial arts. And it had been a long, long time since any female had stirred his interest for anything more than a one night session between the sheets.

  Chapter Three

  Silence was the first thing Kendra noticed when she regained consciousness. The second was that the vehicle wasn’t moving. She still wore the seatbelt they’d force around her. It stretched over her right shoulder and snaked between her breasts. At least it had kept her from slumping over too much as she had slept.

  Opening her eyes just a crack, she glanced around the interior of the SUV. She was alone! Maybe she could get away.

  Numbness crept up her legs, and she moved them, trying to get the feeling back. She moved her arms, hands and fingers just to make sure they worked, too. At least they hadn’t restrained her, other than the seatbelt. Maybe, if she was careful, she could release the safety belt, open the door, and make a run for it before her captors realized she was awake.

  Fingers poised over the seatbelt latch, she rested her hand on the door handle. Kendra was just about to push the door open when she heard voices growing closer.

  “We’ll lock her in as soon as we get there.” It was that barmy Englishman she heard talking. “By my calculations, she should shift roughly fifteen minutes after we reach the lab.”

  Ha! She’s ready to shift herself out of this vehicle right now, you crazy bastard!

  Kendra pressed the button. The restraint loosened and slid out of the way. In one quick motion, she opened the door, threw herself out of the SUV and ran.

  Kendra ran down the side of the road for several hundred feet before she paused, using a few critical seconds to get her bearings. Where was she? She bit her lip when she saw nothing but miles and miles of desert in front of her. She turned around and saw the same behind her. Spinning in a circle, she realized there was nothing but sand and open desert surrounding them.

  Where could she go? The desert stretched out for miles in all directions. There was no forest, no houses and, more importantly, no place to hide. Sighing, she let her shoulders slump, and turned around. If she ran, they would certainly climb back in the SUV and run her down. Maybe the smartest course of action was to get back in the stupid vehicle and hope they took her somewhere where she’d have a better chance at escape.

  “You aren’t going to run?” the big guy with the scar asked as he walked toward her, his hands in his pockets. He stared at her with that blank expression, then pulled his hands from his pockets, popped a mint into his mouth and crossed his arms over his wide chest. His bored look gave her no indication of what he was thinking, though she had the distinct impression it had shocked him that she didn’t try to run away again.

  “Why?” She shrugged. “I figured there was no use in wasting my energy attempting to escape. I wouldn’t get far. You’d just climb back into your vehicle, chase me down and capture me again. Besides,” she added, waving her arm in a wide encompassing arc. “Where would I go?”

  “Right. Where would you go?” He raised a dark brow. “Keep that in mind. There are no police officers out here to save you. There isn’t some all-powerful superhero who’s going to show up and rescue you. It’s just you, me, the doc and his scientists. If you can remember that, you might live long enough to see another birthday.”

  Somehow, Kendra doubted she would get that chance. Men like these didn’t release people who could identify them. She could identify both of them and they all knew it.

  “Grab the girl and let’s go, Martin. I want her at the compound in time to monitor and record her first shift.”

  “Shift?” she asked as she walked past Martin. The fight in her had gone. They had taken her out into the middle of the desert. Even if she had escaped, where would she go? There was nothing but sand and tumbleweeds as far as the eye could see.

  It wasn’t until Martin had strapped her back into the backseat of the vehicle that Kendra realized it was nearly one in the morning. It was dark, and she had been able to see for miles down the lonely stretch of desert road as though it were daylight.

  Leaning her head back, Kendra closed her eyes with a smile. A dream. This was all a dream. She let out a relieved sigh. She needed to stop reading those horror novels before bed. They always gave her nightmares. She decided to go back to sleep and when she woke up for real, she’d be home again.

  Frowning, she covered her stomach with her hand trying to ease the queasiness. It was a good thing it was Saturday now, and she didn’t have to work in the morning. She definitely wasn’t feeling well.

  SOMETIME LATER, KENDRA woke to the high-pitched squealing sound of brakes as the SUV came to an abrupt stop in front of a white brick shed. It was a small building surrounded by several marginally larger white brick buildings within a fenced area. It looked like a military compound.

  Her throat ached, and she swallowed. It was only then that she realized the bothersome droning sound she was hearing while she’d tried to rest had been coming from her. Had she really been moaning in her sleep? Of course, she didn’t feel well, and her body was on fire, but to her knowledge, she had never made that kind of noise before. It had sounded almost animalistic.

  Pain sliced through her gut as she unbuckled her safety belt and got out of the SUV. Glancing around, she noticed they were still in the middle of the desert. A tall fence surrounded a compound that looked more like some sort of government complex than anything private. The monotony was broken by the only smaller, shed-sized building in the area where they had parked. Did they plan to keep her prisoner in a shed? The damned thing wasn’t even air-conditioned. She’d die of heat exhaustion in no time.

  Several black vehicles with dark-tinted windows sat outside of each of the larger buildings as though everyone who worked there had gotten one assigned to them or they all had the same tastes when it came to their transportation.

  She sighed and shifted her attention to her feet. What now? There would be no chance of escape from this place. She most likely would die of thirst or heat stroke before she could ever reach civilization.

  Her stomach cramped, doubling her over. Maybe she had the flu. If she did, Kendra hoped she gave it to her captors. It would serve the assholes right.

  “Grab the woman and get her into a cell, Martin. I don’t want the cameras to miss one tiny detail of her transformation.”

  Transformation? What transformation? Kendra didn’t have long to think about the lunatic’s choice of words. Another wave of pain hit her and drove her to her knees.

  Martin, as big and mean as he appeared, hefted her up against his broad chest and carried her into the building with what appeared to be an odd mixture of irritation and gentleness. “Don’t fight it. It won’t do you any good and it only makes it hurt more.”

  Fight what? Being sick? How does one fight being sick?

  He must have seen her confusion because he elaborated. “Try not to fight the pain. Reach for it. Breathe through it. It won’t hurt as much if you try to relax and reach for it instead.”

  “Why should you give a damn?” She sucked in a breath on a sob. “You and that lunatic who bosses you around did this to me.” Kendra panted as she reached up to swipe the perspiration from her face. “You’re nothing more than a hired thug.”

  He glanced around as though making sure no one could hear him. “Maybe,” he said with a smile that didn’t seem sincere. It was difficult to tell because his sunglasses hid his eyes. “But I’ve seen others go through what you are right now several times already. I’m only trying to keep you from making the same painful mistakes the
y did.”

  “Like I’d trust you,” she scoffed. “I think I’d rather follow my own instincts.”

  “Don’t listen to me, then.”

  “Listen to you?” She crossed her arms with a scowl. “I’d rather eat razor blades.”

  A crease appeared between his brows and he sighed. “You just keep on fighting it, girlie, and it’s going to feel as though you have.”

  Chapter Four

  It was three-thirty in the morning and Galen had no idea where in the hell they were. The GPS had lost its connection with the satellite—the piece of shit—and none of them had a maps program on their phones.

  The empty road stretched on and on like a dark dust-covered ribbon through the desert. Other than the men on his team, there wasn’t another soul in sight.

  If they didn’t haul ass, they’d have to wait almost twenty-four hours before they could storm the compound. No one liked a daylight incursion. They would have an extra advantage at night. Even if that lunatic had staffed his entire guard with shifters. Their assault team of weres would still have the advantage.

  Except for the McDonald twins, all of them had been born shifters. They had had years to perfect their night vision. The doctor’s newly changed and untutored shifters wouldn’t have that advantage. Those shifters turned by Thornton, also used radios because they didn’t know they could communicate without them.

  As long as their enemies didn’t know that, they would continue to have a distinct advantage over them. They could move about silently without uttering so much as a whisper to communicate during an operation.

  Sighing, Galen picked up his phone and called the healer.

  “Sinclair here,” Bastien answered the phone with a near feral growl. “Make it snappy. My wife wants ice cream.”

  Galen shook his head. “Wow. Did you really just say that to me when you know I’m practically sitting on Richard Thornton’s doorstep?”

  “Don’t give me any shit, Tolbert. If you were sitting on that lunatic’s doorstep, you’d be directing the operation. Since you aren’t, I can only assume that you have some sort of SNAFU.”