Series: Shifter Ops Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
My guide doesn’t take me to one of the lovely sitting rooms or Mr. van den Berg’s office off the massive library.
“This way.” He herds me to a side door and opens it. Cold, stinking air hits my face. I shiver, staring down the stone staircase.
“I want to see my son,” I say in a calm voice. No use panicking, even if I could. I’m in a place beyond panic, beyond fear. Nothing matters but getting to Geo.
He nods to the shadowy stairs. “Down.” He’ll hurt me if I don’t go. The ache in my arm attests to that.
Geo, please be okay.
I take a breath of fresh air and descend. Lights blink to life as I pass. The stench isn’t mold or like an underground drain. It’s thick and reeking of blood and offal, like a meat processing plant. I breathe through my mouth as I tread deeper, my guard dogging my heels.
At the bottom of the stone stairs, the chill in the air bites through my thin sweater. My guard reaches past me to press a code onto the hi-tech looking keypad beside the heavy stone door.
The hallway beyond is something out of a nightmare. My feet freeze on slick stone floor. On either side of me are thick doors with bars on top of them. Prison cells.
Goosebumps race across my already chilled skin. Why does my boss have a dungeon in his basement? What kind of sick, twisted… Panic surges, and I shove it back down again. I need to stay calm for Geo.
My guard throws open one of the doors and pushes me inside.
Twin lights blink on in thick shadows. In front of me—a pair of eyes.
“Mom?” Geo surges to his feet and hugs me.
“Mijo.” I clutch him to me. There’s no overhead light in here, but he feels unharmed. Whole.
Behind us, the prison door slams shut. The guard peers through the bars.
“Mr. van den Berg will be with you soon.”
“Wait,” I shout, but he’s gone. “What’s happening?” I ask Geo, running a hand over his head to reassure me he’s there.
“I don’t know. Mr. van den Berg pulled up and told me you were at his house, and he was supposed to pick me up. My wolf knew something was wrong, but a big guy snuck up behind me and stabbed my neck with a needle. I woke up here. But I’m fine.”
The betrayal burns like acid in my throat. Mr. van den Berg insinuated himself into our lives. But why?
Once we escape, I will wring my boss’ neck.
“We’re going to get out of here,” I tell Geo confidently. I don’t mention Channing because there are cameras here, and I don’t want them to know he’s coming. “Can you pull out the bars?”
“I tried. They burn me.”
Silver.
Oh my God. Mr. van den Berg knows Geo’s a shifter. Is van den Berg a shifter, too? What does he want with us?
A distant bang, and the air shifts. Measured footsteps echo down the hall.
Lights blink on, beaming through the bars. I wince, squinting at the bright square of the door until a shadow falls over it.
“Julia. I'm so glad you're here.” Mr. van den Berg’s voice is smooth as scotch, like he's greeting me at an afternoon meeting instead of in a dungeon.
I push Geo behind me, placing myself in van den Berg’s line of sight.. “Why are we here? Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
“I’m so glad you asked.” He steps back, revealing the giant guard behind him. He’s in lecture mode. All he's missing is his damn drink. “For generations my family has been able to afford any pleasure money can buy. My grandfather used to take me on long hunting trips. He told me of his great-grandfather, who hunted all sorts of game in these forests. The biggest stags, bears and mountain lions you’d ever seen. These days, humans have driven out or killed all the natural predators. Do you know that huge wolves once roamed these hills? Now there’s less than one hundred in the state.”
“What does that have to do with us?”
“There's only one species that is still a threat to humans. Worthy of the hunt. One of my peers discovered them and founded an order to study them. I have recently been initiated into the order’s ranks. And what did I find? A shifter living in my backyard.” He leers at Geo.
“You targeted us.” It makes sense. The cushy job, the flexible hours, the remote work. His unusual level of interest in our personal lives.
“I’ve been watching you both for some time. To my dismay, I couldn't get eyes inside your house. There was another security system in place and disturbing it would call attention to us.”
Channing's security system. I never thought I'd be so grateful for it.
“But that was all right. Evidence said it would take years for Geo to be large enough to hunt. For his animal to emerge. To “get his wolf” as they say.”