Fox on the Run (Wolves of Crescent Valley #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Wren

Ashiver spread through my body, jolting me awake. I'd been having such a nice dream with Kingston and Zayn sandwiching me between them, my head thrown back in ecstasy as they both penetrated me.

And then there was Sullivan. Watching and stroking himself.

But then a bone-chilling coldness had spread across my body, and they disappeared as fast as they had made me scream their names.

My eyes opened, and I was not between two sexy wolf shifters.

My training kicked in and my senses went into overdrive, but I didn't move as I took in the room I was in.

There weren't any people in it, so my current risk assessment was that I was safe for now.

Still, in my slightly curled position on a mat on the floor, I processed what I knew.

I'd healed Sullivan.

Kingston had seen me.

I was inside a jail cell.

The coalition had jail cells, but it looked more like an actual prison, with multiple cells running down large hallways.

This was a basement, judging from the lack of windows, that had one cell in each corner.

The room was rectangular, and in the farthest corner from me was a dark figure on the floor of another cell.

It looked like a wolf, but they were facing the corner and obscured by shadows. My vision was good in the dark, but with the lack of light and the coloring, I couldn't be sure what it was exactly.

Had Kingston locked me and Sullivan up somewhere?

I didn't really know what Kingston was capable of. Part of me wanted to believe he was just mixed up with the wrong people because of his sister, but even then, it had to wear down your morals after a while.

Moving my head only slightly in case cameras were on me, I got a closer look at the bars of the cell. They were far enough apart that I'd be able to squeeze through if I shifted; the perfect size for a fox.

Inhaling through my nose, I smelled the wolf, but it wasn't any wolf I knew. Judging by the scent, she'd been locked away for a while.

The overhead light turned on as a door opened. I glanced around quickly to get more of a picture of where I was and then shut my eyes. They didn't need to know I was awake.

Two pairs of feet came down the stairs and stopped in front of my cell. "What are we supposed to do with her?"

"I don't know exactly. He said to bring her here, but with him being in surgery and recovery for who knows how long..."

Had I not healed Sullivan all the way? Damn it, I could have sworn his wound had closed. Was Sullivan behind all of this? I didn't know much about him, so it was possible.

"Regardless of how long, we keep her here. One of those damn wolves attacked him, and if they don't turn him over, we'll rip her arm off. An eye for an eye."

I had no clue what they were talking about, but I needed to get the hell out of wherever I was.

Their feet moved away, and I peeked to see what they were doing. They had moved outside the other cell and held what looked like a broomstick. One of the guys jabbed it through the bars and the wolf whimpered. They shoved the stick in again, and a pained yelp nearly broke my heart.

"Shift, you fucking bitch!"

I got to my feet, leaning against the cement wall to appear like I needed the support to stand. I'd let them think I was weak and injured and they wouldn't see me as a threat. "Hey!"

They both wheeled around and grins spread across their faces. I recognized them as two of the men who came to the business meetings with Marcos. The one with the stick shoved it at the wolf one last time before they both slinked my way like they were ready to pounce.

Stay calm, Wren. They are doing it for show.

"What am I doing here?" I put my hands on my knees and looked up at them.

"Lexi... or is it Wren? You've been a very naughty girl." The one with the stick moved like he was going to shove it in at me, but he decided at the last moment to bang it across the bars.

The other guy grabbed it out of his hand. "Don't be an idiot, Chad. Marcos isn't going to be happy if we hurt his prize."

"By the time Marcos gets here to appreciate it, the bruises on her will be gone. How long does a bruise take to heal? A week or two?"

"Where is he?" I straightened up and winced like it hurt. "Let me talk to him."

Chad and the other man looked at each other and had a silent conversation with their eyes. "He's unavailable right now. We'll get you a bucket to piss in and bring you something to eat." The broomstick was set back against the wall and they both headed up the stairs, luckily leaving the lights on.

The wolf had rolled over and was staring at me inquisitively. She wasn't looking the greatest, with tearstains running along her face, blood covering her side, and her ribs showing.

I looked back around the room again, making sure there weren't any cameras. "Hey. I'm going to get us out of here. Are you a shifter?"

She gave me a slight nod, and my stomach churned.

There were so many implications of what that meant after the conversation Marcos had with Kingston about wanting female shifters.

He had tried to convince Kingston that female shifters would be willing to do anything if he paid them well.

The female wolf was definitely not being paid.

The door opened, and the man I didn't know the name of came back down with an actual bucket from a hardware store and a giant muffin.

"What's your name?" I watched him closely as he pulled keys out of his pocket and used one that had a red key cover on it to unlock my cell door.

The door opened inward, and he held onto one of the bars as he dropped the bucket and muffin inside and shut the door again.

"Mateo." He didn't look at me and went right back up the stairs, shutting the door behind him. I didn't hear a lock click, which was a win for me.

But I needed those keys to get the wolf out.

"Do you know their routine or schedule? I can get out of here, but I won't be able to get you free unless I can unlock your door." I grabbed onto the bars and raised a hopeful eyebrow.

The wolf stared at me with sad eyes. Could she not shift? If she had been down here a while and wasn't doing so well, she either didn't have the energy or didn't want to. It was much easier to deal with trauma by pushing away the part of you that hurt the most.

"Do they usually go a long time without coming down here?" She nodded. "Are there just the two of them?" Nod. "Are we in a house?" Nod. "Is the house in a secluded area?" Nod.

She shut her eyes and didn't open them, her breath hitching.

Without thinking twice, I stripped out of my dress and shifted.

The squeeze through the bars was a little tight, but I made it through with no problem.

I ran across the room, hoping she was right and the two men didn't come back downstairs.

I entered her cell and shifted back, kneeling next to her and running my hands down her matted hair. There was no way I'd be able to heal her completely if I wanted to ensure our escape, but I could do enough so I could get us both out safely.

She whimpered as my hands glowed and warm energy spread down my arms and into her. "Keep your eyes closed for me. I know it feels weird."

The best thing was for her not to see me glowing like a lightbulb. She'd have questions, and I also had absolutely no clue who she was.

Moving my hands, I stood and let out a long breath. "You can open your eyes now. You should feel like you have more energy."

She rolled so she was on her stomach and looked up at me with wonder. I avoided her stare and fiddled with the door in case it was unlocked. It wasn't, but it was always worth checking first.

"I'm going to bring that muffin for you to eat, and then I'll figure out how to deal with those two assholes. I might be gone for a bit, but I will be back to get you."

When I didn't get a response, I took that as an acknowledgment and shifted to my fox.

After taking her the muffin, I sniffed around the room, looking for another way out or, at the very least, a weapon. From what I could tell, there hadn't been any other wolves recently, but there had been human males and females.

Marcos was a sick fuck, and he and his men deserved to die long and painful deaths. I hadn't killed anyone before, but I'd watched some of my colleagues kill out of necessity, so I wasn't opposed to it.

You don't lock women and men up in basements and do who knows what with them.

With a newfound determination coursing through my veins, I scaled the stairs and listened at the door, sniffing the crack underneath. I picked up on Chad and Mateo, as well as the faint scent of Marcos and a few other men. They were at least a few days old.

The television was on somewhere in the house and what sounded like water from a shower.

I jumped, clinging to the doorframe with my claws, and partially shifted my hand so I could open the door.

It was a skill that had taken me years to master and still freaked out the other agents I worked with when I did it.

Securing the door so they would be none the wiser if they passed by, I moved down the hall, keeping close to the wall.

In the other direction was a garage, the smell of fuel coming in under the door.

That would be how we escaped. There might even be a vehicle that could be hot-wired or, hopefully, a key fob was with the key to the cell.

At the end of the hall, there was a large entryway with a chandelier and two large iron doors. On the other side of the space was a formal sitting room and double doors with the scent of papers and tobacco coming from under them.

A grand staircase with two sets of stairs took up the perimeter of the entry, and there was a wide hall leading in the direction the television noise was coming from. I sniffed, but their scents were mixed, not giving me any clue as to which man was where.

Deciding my best option was to check the guy that was showering, I headed up the staircase. I still didn't see any cameras, but the odds they were watching any inside feed was slim.

Upstairs was huge, and I made a beeline straight for the room with the shower going. It appeared to be the master bedroom, and Chad's stench was strong when I nosed open the door.

So the house wasn't Marcos's. That made the whole situation worse; if his men had wolves and other captives, how many were there being held against their will?

A pair of pants was on the bed, and I scurried across the room, jumping on the messy bedspread and cringing at the smell. Chad needed to wash his bedding.

The air in the room was thick and moist from the partially opened bathroom door, spilling steam into the bedroom. I quickly went through the pockets and found nothing other than a condom and a stick of gum. A quick look around at the top of the nightstands and the dresser turned up no keys.

Damn it. I had been hoping it would be easy.

Going back downstairs, I listened carefully once I was in the entryway. The soft sound of snoring was music to my ears, and I carefully padded down the hallway to the great room where Mateo was napping in a recliner.

The giant window in the room looked out on a deck that was surrounded by trees. Wherever we were, it was in the forested area, which could work to our benefit when escaping. They were humans, so sniffing us out wasn't a possibility.

I moved toward the recliner, ready to hide if he woke.

His hands rested on his stomach, and I wondered how the hell I was going to slip keys out of his pocket without him noticing.

I'd done some sneaky things, but I’d never taken keys from a sleeping man's pocket.

If I were planning on still working with the coalition, I'd train in case the situation arose again.

He coughed, and I stopped moving, hoping his snore returned. It took a minute before he was sawing logs again. I was about to jump up on the arm of the chair when his keys and phone caught my eye on the side table. He must have taken them out when he sat down.

It was another small win, but I didn't have much time before he either woke up or Chad was out of the shower.

Placing my front paws on the table, I grabbed the keys as gently as possible in my mouth. They made a small clinking sound as they slid against one another, but the television drowned out most of the noise.

Mateo didn't move a muscle, and his snores and breathing stayed even. It was morning, judging by the light coming through the windows. If I had to guess, they'd been up most of the night. It would have only taken me six or so hours to recover fully after healing Sullivan.

Where the hell were Sullivan and Kingston? If Marcos's men had me, what did that mean? Kingston wouldn't have given me to them, that was for sure.

I'd have to worry about them later because time was ticking. I could maybe fight off both of them, but it would require me to utilize my speed, and then they'd know I wasn't only a shifter.

Once I was far enough down the hall, I set the keys down on the carpet running the length of the hallway and shifted. The shower upstairs was off, which hopefully meant he was getting dressed and possibly going to sleep too.

Grabbing the keys, I ran as quickly as possible without making noise to the basement and went straight for the wolf, who was looking much more awake than before with the plastic wrap of the muffin sitting empty next to her.

"One of them is asleep and the other just got out of the shower.

We need to be quick and quiet. There aren't any cameras inside as far as I can tell, but there might be some outside.

" I unlocked the cell and she darted out, heading for the stairs with her long claws tapping loudly on the cement.

"Woah! Slow down! You need to be quiet!"

She stopped at the top, nearly vibrating with energy and anticipation. She was going to make too much noise, and the last thing we needed was for them to chase us.

"I know you want to get out of here as quickly as possible, but if you aren't quiet, they'll catch both of us and will figure out I can get through the bars. When we're out in the hall, make a left and go straight to the end where there's a garage."

She nodded, and I opened the door. I'd make sure we got out safe if it was the last thing I did.