Chapter Two
SETH MILES knew exactly where to find his father. The same place he was every day, making the most of the fresh air before he was taken to the breeding block or the pair of them were dragged to the science building.
Except he thought of it more in terms of the experimentation block.
Jake Carson stood in the center of the exercise yard beneath the camouflage nets, his face upturned to catch the sun as it filtered through, dappling his skin and the ground under his feet. His eyes were closed. None of the other inmates talked to him.
No one talked much at all in the compound, especially if they knew they were being observed. It was as if an invisible layer weighed them down, depressing every positive emotion, suppressing every urge to communicate.
Extinguishing all hope.
Seth walked toward him, taking his time, trying his best to avoid purpose in his stride. This was their only opportunity to meet; the guards kept them in separate blocks at night, and it wasn’t possible to talk while they were strapped into chairs, electrodes stuck to their temples, monitors recording their heartbeats, breathing, brain activity….
Times when Seth did his damnedest not to cooperate, even though that meant far worse pain. But in the end they always wore him down.
Wore him out.
Jake turned his head as Seth approached. “You seem tired. Bad night?”
“No such thing as a good night in this place.” He studied Jake, noting the dark circles under his eyes. He swore there were more lines in that kind face than there had been when he and Jake had met in the previous camp.
How long ago was that?
Seth had lost all track of time. There were no clocks in the compound, but he’d managed a peek at one of the monitors in the experimentation block. The tiniest peek, but it had been enough to inform him they were now in July.
As to where we are?
That was a mystery. They’d been transported from the last compound in trucks with no windows. All he knew was that there was nothing to see for miles but scrubs and trees.
Pretty much the same view as the previous prison, but with warmer weather.
Hey, look for the positive, right?
There were few positives to be found. The taciturn guards strolled constantly, guns slung over their shoulders, and getting even one of them to show a spark of humanity was a huge task.
Except they’re not human, are they?
That made it worse. That shifters could treat their own kind in so… emotionless a manner.
Jake lowered his voice. “How did you do?”
Seth sighed. “I’m not sure. If Aric is with our mate, that might help amplify the signal, for want of a better word.” He’d waited until the block had emptied before sitting on his bed, closing his eyes, and opening his mind, striving to reach Aric. “I think he’s simply too far away.” The fact Seth had located their mate at all was a miracle.
Aric is with him now.
Seth didn’t know if that was knowledge provided by his gift or more like wishful thinking. Gods, he missed Aric. Seth brought the sleeve of Aric’s tee, which he wore over his shoulders, to his nose, breathing in his scent. Okay, so it had lost Aric’s scent long ago, but Seth could imagine, right? He knew it was wishful thinking that it still smelled of his mate, but he clung to it anyway.
He was never going to wash it. Not till he was able to give it back in person. And right then it had a job to do—to keep Aric alive in Seth’s mind, to help him remember the nights when Aric had crawled into Seth’s bed and they’d held each other until dawn, when they had to be in their own bed before the guards checked on them.
Jake’s face tightened, and he suddenly appeared every one of his sixty-two years. “They’ll be coming for us soon. I know I shouldn’t think about it. I should focus on something else, but….”
Seth grimaced. “Easy to say, damn near impossible to carry out.”
How long do we have? Minutes? Longer?
Time ceased to have all meaning, measured only in terms go here , go there , do this , do that , eat , sleep ….
Suffer.
“Tell me about Dellan,” Seth asked suddenly. Jake hadn’t talked much about his son, but Seth knew he had to be on Jake’s mind.
He thinks Dellan could be in danger.
If he was anything like his father, Dellan would undoubtedly be of interest to the Gerans. Unless….
No. The likelihood of Dellan being on the enemy’s side was remote. Jake was a noble shifter with a strong sense of right and wrong, and Seth believed such traits to be inheritable.
Jake expelled a long breath. “I can’t. My memories are all of a little seven-year-old boy. I was taken from him more than thirty years ago.” He smiled, but it was tinged with sorrow. “I wonder if he looks like me. What he’s doing right now. Does he have a family? For all I know, I could be a grandfather.”
Except Seth knew Jake wasn’t thinking about Dellan’s possible children—he was thinking of his own offspring. After all these years, there was no telling how many shifters Jake had sired.
“Does it bother you? Knowing you have children out there that you’ve never met?”
Jake scowled. “Of course it does. I don’t care how they came to be—they’re still part of me.” He gave Seth a sympathetic glance. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea who your mother was. You know how it goes here. We’re never allowed to make our own decisions or choices. They’ll put us with someone, and we’ll never see them again. I do worry about what happened to some of them.” His face tightened. “They were so scared, so desperate to get out. I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard the bastards dangle their freedom in front of them like a carrot, but once it’s done, they’re gone. I sincerely doubt they simply let them leave.”
Seth knew all right.
He knew that if Jake refused to cooperate—which he did, frequently—then a shift was forced on him, using that fucking drug. That was an infinitely worse situation. The aftereffects left Jake feeling ill for at least a day. His mom had had no idea who Seth’s father was, not that they’d shared cozy chats about Seth’s parentage. He still found it hard to believe his mother fell in line with all this shifter superiority crap.
That didn’t mean he hadn’t hurt the day they’d appeared on his doorstep to take him to the compound. Seth had cried out for her to keep him.
What had hurt worse than the blows he’d received from his captors was the fact that she’d let them take him without so much as a blink.
“Hey, where are you?” Jake squeezed his shoulder.
Seth shoved the memories from his mind. “Sorry. I am listening.”
“I was saying, it’s crazy the number of shifters they forced me to mate with.” He tilted his head to one side. “Did your mother know about your gift?”
Seth shook his head. “I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell anyone except you and Aric.” Once he’d learned where her allegiance lay, he’d decided to keep his talents a secret.
There was no way Seth would have given the enemy more ammunition.
“Then how did these bastards find out?”
Seth stared morosely at the ground. “Testing. You should’ve seen them when they realized I had psychic abilities. At least here I’m not the only one.”
Jake sighed. “We’re still only two. Which means we’re rare enough for them to want to… study us.” He shuddered.
“What if we’re not the only ones?”
Jake stared at him. “What do you know?”
Seth shrugged. “Just a feeling I get sometimes. It might be nothing.” Except he hoped it was more than that. Maybe there were several of them, all as worn down and depressed as he was. “How long have you known about your gift?”
Jake smiled. “A long time. Like you I kept quiet about it. My mom knew, though. Too much stuff happened that I couldn’t hide. And when I went to college, I told someone there. He was a professor, a really cool guy. Bear shifter. But yes, I’ve always known I could do things few others could. I must say it’s given me a few surprises over the years. A few shocks too.”
“What kind of shocks?” Seth glanced toward the experimentation block. So far no guards were heading their way.
It was too much to hope they’d be left alone for once.
“When I was younger, I had two best friends.” Jake’s face glowed. “I married one of them. Her name was Miranda, one of the swiftest, most beautiful tigers I’d ever seen.”
“And the other?”
“His name was Nicholas Tranter, and he was a couple of years younger than me. A medical student and also a shifter.” Jake chuckled. “I’ll never forget the first time he shifted in front of me. I almost fainted.”
“Why?”
“One minute he was a slim guy, the next he was an African elephant.”
Seth wished he could have seen that. “Was that the shock you mentioned?”
Jake shook his head. “The three of us were close. One time we went on vacation together, to Kansas, and it was there that I saw something I don’t think Nicholas meant for me to see.”
Seth’s breathing hitched. “What?”
Jake fell silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on the horizon. “I think he was in love with me.”
“Oh wow. Did he ever tell you how he felt?”
“Not a word. Then again, I wouldn’t have expected him to. Nicholas was an honorable man, with integrity, and he knew how I felt about Miranda. What he didn’t know—because I never told him—was that I was bisexual. Not something I shared with anyone except Miranda. And I didn’t really tell her.” Jake smiled. “I didn’t have to. Nothing seemed to escape her keen eyes. Oh, she was subtle about it—at first, at any rate. She’d often mention that I should invite Nicholas over. That I should ensure our friendship didn’t lapse.”
“And when she wasn’t being subtle?”
He smiled again. “When I wouldn’t rise to the bait, she told me I should try sleeping with my friend to see if it was something I was missing out on.”
Seth chuckled. “Yeah, not so subtle after all.”
“Maybe I should have, but it wouldn’t have been something I needed to ‘find out.’ Miranda said she would be willing to share if I wanted a third in our relationship, but—” Jake sighed. “—I only wanted her. But in my dreams? The three of us might have been together. Of course, that was before I found out about true mates.”
“Wait a minute. You said Nicholas was in love with you.” Seth stared at him. “But you loved him too, didn’t you?”
The skin around Jake’s eyes crinkled. “Nothing gets past you either, does it?”
“What happened to Miranda? Do you know?”
Jake said nothing for several long seconds, and Seth could feel the waves of sadness and fury rolling off him. “The last time I saw her was at an airport. She was saying goodbye to me before I left to fly to Italy. I hated leaving her and Dellan, but….” He huffed. “There are some requests you can’t refuse, and that was one of them.”
“You didn’t go home?”
“I never got the chance. I was taken before I’d even packed my bags for the return flight.” He glanced at his surroundings. “How was I to know that trip was to be my last taste of freedom?” He sighed. “I’ve spent half my life incarcerated, kept away from the outside world, cut off from any news of what is going on out there. I have no idea where she is, or if she’s still alive. I can’t bear to think of how my disappearance would have changed her life. How long after it did she finally give up all hope of ever seeing me again?” He raised his chin. “Let’s change the subject.”
Seth nuzzled Aric’s tee. You know you’re going to see him again, don’t you?
He believed that with every fiber of his being. It was all he clung to in order to keep himself from going under, from sinking beneath the waves of despair that continually battered him.
“So have you heard anything else that might tell us where we are?” He and Jake listened as the guards talked, hoping for any clues as to their location.
Jake nodded toward the north of the compound. “Apparently, Canada is thataway.”
Seth smothered a snort. “Wow. Now there’s breaking news.”
“No, I mean it seems we’re real close to the Canadian border.”
“Which means we could be in any one of numerous states.” Seth glanced toward the gate of the exercise yard. “Don’t look now but we’re gonna have company.”
Three soldiers approached the gate, followed by five individuals who blinked in the sunlight, their faces haggard.
“They’ve been kept in the reeducation center for two months,” Jake murmured. “I remember when they arrived.” Another scowl distorted his handsome face. “Reeducation, my ass. I wonder what they did to end up in there.” All five shifters were painfully thin. He glanced at Seth. “Did you hide some bread this morning like you usually do?”
Seth caught on fast. “It’s in my pocket, wrapped in a piece of tissue.” Hunger had become a part of their daily lives, but the sorry state of the newly released shifters touched him.
Their need is greater.
He watched as they stood in a clump, clearly assessing their surroundings.
Not a lot to see here, guys. And no way to escape.
The guards around the perimeter and in the towers saw to that. True, helicopters and military planes made regular landings at the airfield Seth had spied to the northeast of the compound, but as for getting through the wire and stealing one?
Yeah. Seth wouldn’t get more than five feet before he’d be shot.
He could see that knowledge sinking in as the new inmates took stock of the compound. Then he froze. “Jake, one of the newbies is heading straight for us.”
Jake didn’t turn his head. “What can you tell me about him?”
They were careful not to overshare with others; who knew if one of their fellow inmates could be a plant?
“You need to see this guy,” Seth whispered. The newbie was young, in his midtwenties, maybe a little older than Seth.
Jake frowned. “Why?”
“Because he’s staring at you .”
“Describe him.”
Seth spoke quickly. “Tall, dark brown hair, nothing that really makes him stand out.” Then the guy got closer and Seth scrutinized his face.
Oh my God.
“Jake? I think we have another one.”
“Another what?”
Seth gripped his arm. “Jake, he looks like you.”
Jake turned slowly. They stood rigid, waiting for the young man to reach them, and Seth knew by the catch in Jake’s breath that he’d seen it too.
He had to be another of Jake’s children.
The guy stopped in front of Jake, locking gazes with him, and Seth knew what was coming. He’d heard it on numerous occasions since he and Jake had been brought to the compound.
I think we’re related.
Are you my dad?
The guy stared at Jake. “You… you’re Jake Carson.” His voice cracked.
Seth blinked. Okay, that wasn’t part of the usual script.
“How do you know my name?” Jake demanded.
“I saw a photo of you, about two months ago.”
“Where?”
“In Illinois. Where I met your son, Dellan.”
Jake gasped, and as Seth watched, he crumpled. Seth caught him. “Hold on,” Seth whispered. “Don’t let them see. Please, Jake.”
Jake wiped his eyes and straightened. “You saw Dellan. You’re sure it was Dellan?”
The young man nodded. “He was with his mates.”
Seth gaped. “Mates?”
Another nod. “He was with a bear and a lion.”
“But they said they were mates?” Seth pressed.
He nodded. “Meeting them changed everything.”
Jake finally found his voice. “Who are you?”
“My name is Jamie Matheson, and two months ago I learned you were my father and Dellan my half brother.” He swallowed. “I also learned my whole life was a lie.”
Jake pulled Jamie into his arms and hugged him, and tears pricked Seth’s eyes.
When Jake released him, he pushed the hair back from Jamie’s forehead. “I have so many questions. How old are you?”
“Twenty-seven. And until a few months ago, I believed shifters were at the top of the evolutionary ladder. We were the dominant species.”
Seth stilled. “You’re a Geran?”
Jamie smiled. “Correction—I was . Meeting Dellan and the others changed all that.” He cocked his head. “You… you’re a tiger too.” His eyes widened. “How the fuck do I know that about you?” Before Seth could get a word out, Jamie stared at him. “Stupid question. I already know the answer to that. Something else I learned when I met Dellan and the others.”
Jake leaned in close. “This is another half brother, Seth Miles.” Jake gave Jamie a watery smile. “I can see we have a lot of catching up to do.”
Seth tugged on his arm. “Not now. We’re attracting attention. This family reunion will have to wait.” Then he glanced over Jake’s shoulder. “Besides, we’ve run out of time. Those are the guards from the breeding block, and they’re heading this way.”
Jake squared his thin shoulders. “Here we go again.” He glanced at Jamie. “We’ll talk more later, okay?” He scowled. “Once I’ve recovered.”
“Don’t make them use the drug, okay?” Seth pleaded. “You’re always so ill afterward. I know you want to resist, but—” He gestured to Jamie. “—we need you to be alert.”
Jamie nodded. “I have so much to tell you, and something to give to you.”
Jake managed a tired smile. “And what’s that? The key to the compound? You’ve got a helicopter hidden away somewhere?”
Jamie took his hand and squeezed it. “I bring you hope.”