Dawn Released

"Well, well, what do have we here?" He grinned and chuckled at the girl's round-eyed, shocked expression. If he could get his hands on Eloise's other daughter, he'd have a complete set. As it was, he now had a pair. "Kacie, isn't it?" He jerked her head up and dragged her over the back of the settee by the hair. She grappled at the silk upholstery to stop her slide and unceremoniously tumbled into a heap at his feet. Wrenching her neck and tightening his grip on her hair, he forced her to her knees at his feet.

She swung and fought like a demon. Strands of her silky black hair broke in his grip. He fisted the soft, feminine curls tighter and forced her head up, extending her neck at what had to be a very uncomfortable angle holding her tight and subdued until she gave up struggling and dared to lift her eyes to meet his stare. Kacie's eyes glared up at him with sheer, unadulterated hatred. Not that he was phased by her hardened glare. He'd been hated his entire life.

She was tiny and delicate, like a china doll, so young and breakable. Her dainty fingers grappled at his wrist, trying to break his hold on her. Green eyes, so like her mother's, flashed with fury. She was almost a carbon copy of Eloise from the point of her narrow chin, to the fullness in her slips drawn tightly into a hateful sneer, to her soft curves, and of course, to the powerlessness of her situation. She possessed her mother's alpha mistress's power, rippling off her in waves as her wolf emerged to the surface of the body she shared. "You'd do well to control that wolf, little girl."

"Go to hell," Kacie sputtered. Blinking against the tears welling in her eyes, she grappled at his wrist, twisting and bucking to break his hold. Seff held her so tightly and with such a powerful grip that she was ripping her hair out by the roots in her struggle to get free. The man towered over her, glaring down at her with the same indescribable eyes as his son. One thing though was for certain. No matter what she'd heard about her mom, she knew with just a glance at Seff, it wasn't true. Whatever her mother had done or hadn't done, she'd been forced into it. "Where's my mom? What have you done to her?"

"How touching. You came to save her didn't you? Little fool." Seff jerked Kacie to her feet, pinning her with his powerful, muscular arms to his chest. What to do with her? She bucked and struggled in his arms as he dragged her across the room. "I'll show you your mother." She got in a lucky kick, landing her heel in his privates. He should have anticipated she'd go for his balls. He dropped her on the floor, too infuriated and too much a master to show his pain. "Or maybe not, maybe, you'd rather be Torr's companion in the basement?"

Dragging her by the roots of her hair, her body reluctantly skidding across the floor's slick, polished wood. He considered his options. Kacie was young, just coming into her wolf. She was a wellspring of fresh DNA. Killing her would be such a waste of such raw, invaluable genetic material. His pack was in desperate need, too desperate to kill one of the purest sources of genetic engineering he'd ever found.

He could take Kacie out to the platform and make an example of her to the entire complex. Show that even the best DNA wasn't enough to keep you safe. The law was the law and she'd shown a complete disrespect for it by entering his private home. He'd still use her DNA, after all, he wasn't a fool and she could prove useful to him if Eloise failed to produce him an heir. Her presence here might be enough to lure Jan home.

He could do both. Make an example of her and show the pack the full extent of his mercy. The pack would love him for sparing her life. He'd earned the pack's compliance out of fear. Fear was a dangerous tool to use in a war. Far too often fear turned into rebellion. He'd have to rough her up a little. Her blood staining his platform would serve as a reminder of what he was capable of, both his cruelty and his mercy.

No one would have the guts to defy him once he strapped Kacie to the platform and spilled a little of her precious, royal blood. He could crush the spark of resistance that had already started to smolder beneath his heel. He would keep the royal family safe, under his generous, protective wing and use them to demonstrate his desire for peace. Once the interbreeding started and his pack chose mates from Eloise's they'd all be one happy family and he'd have what he'd always wanted, a future for his race.

He dragged Kacie to the front door and across the porch. She howled, kicked, and writhed in his grip, breaking the silence of the night with her screams. He hadn't even begun to hurt her yet and she was already a simpering mess. Perfect. She was soft. A marshmallow. Easily broken. He wouldn't have to hurt her too badly to force her to beg for her life. All. Too. Easy.

Her feet thumped with a hollow sound across the wooden stairs as he hauled her to the platform. He had questions she'd never willingly volunteer the answers to, but no matter, he'd beat the truth out of her. She'd had help to get in. He had no doubts she was not alone. Eloise's omegas had to be in hiding somewhere and a few lashes from his whip across her tender skin might be just enough to draw them out.

Tristen snapped awake from the light doze he'd drifted in and out of most of the night. Shane paced through the rows of tents, making sure he stayed put. Probably best considering it was his first night here. He could only play the lost recruit card so long before he raised suspicion. The kid who had befriended him earlier had chosen the top bunk and snored like a buzz saw. The bunks to his left and right were occupied, as were all the others in the long row of beds.

He was good, but the place was too jammed packed for him to sneak out. He wasn't the only one with a case of insomnia tonight. Covers whispered and bedsprings groaned as his bunkmates tossed and turned desperately trying to catch a few hours of shuteye before the fun began in the morning. He sat up straight as a bolt, whacking his head on the rail of the top bunk. "Kacie?" The pain embedded cry of a woman's sob echoed through the quiet night. He heard shouts. Loud, booming, voices chattering excitedly and the sound of heavy boot falls stomping up wooden stairs.

Dread formed icicles around his heart. Kacie had been found. Footfalls boomed across fresh wood planks and he heard the scuffling of her tiny feet and her anguished cries as she was dragged onto the platform. He threw back the covers and ran for the platform. Only to be tackled and knocked face first into the dirt and mud.

"I thought I told you to stay put!" Shane shoved Tristen's face in the dirt, holding him down with his weight. Keeping this kid alive was proving to be quite the challenge. Shane silently wondered if the kid had a death wish or something.

Tristen wriggled and kicked to rid his back of Shane's weight. The man rode him as if he were a bronco at the rodeo. "Kacie!"

"I know. I know. I'm trying to figure out something." He pressed his palm against the back of Tristen's head, jamming the kid's face into the dirt. "Listen to me. Don't be a hero. It will get you killed."

"I can't let him hurt her."

"Right now, we don't have any other choice. Now go. Get your ass back in the barracks and stay there. You're no good to anybody if you're dead. Stay put. I'll come get you as soon as I figure out something." Shane released Tristen and shoved him hard. Keeping that boy alive was taking more energy than he had time for. He watched the wooden framed door slam shut behind Tristen.

"What the fuck is going on out there?" A boy asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he looked at Tristen.

A group of boys clad in their tighty-whities was gathered around a net covered window, staring out as they chattered amongst themselves. "Damn, Seff's got someone on the platform!"

"Son of a bitch. It's a girl."

Tristen shoved his way through the boys. Ignoring the jabs to the ribs and curses, he shouldered a path to the window and stood watching as Kacie was tied to a post in the center of the wide platform. Seff bound her good and tight, with her hands behind her back. "Fuck!"

"Who is she?"

"She sure is pretty."

"Yeah sucker, too bad she's about to be executed." Any other words the boy might have said died in his throat as Tristen wrapped his fingers around the dumb mother-fucker's windpipe and squeezed.

"Don't say that!" Tristen growled. He shook the f'idiot by the neck like a maraca. "Don't even look at her!"

"Damn man, take it easy," his bunkmate said. Carefully, the kid peeled Tristen's fingers from around the boy's throat. "He meant no offence. Is she someone you know?"

"My girlfriend," Tristen confessed. His fingers loosened from the boy's windpipe. The kid sucked in deep breaths of air and his lips changed from sickly gray to pink. He'd almost killed someone. Tristen shook in shame at what he'd almost done. He would have killed the guy, probably, if his bunkmate hadn't peeled him off of the poor SOB.

The boy heaved and sucked in mouthfuls of air. "Mother fuck. Sorry brother, I didn't know." He rasped between shaky breaths, "I mean goddamn, your girlfriend."

"Maybe you shouldn't watch," somebody else said.

Tristen winced at the sharp, tight, sound of the crack of a whip rent the air. "I don't intend to. I have to do something to save her." He bit back his raw fury. His skin bristled with the power of his shift. He was barely in control of the outraged wolf howling inside his mind. Shane was right though. Rushing in mindlessly wouldn't help Kacie. If anything, it would probably make things worse and ensure that he found himself tied to the empty post next to her.

"Like what?"

Tristen's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the loose gathering of boys around him. They were hand picked by the bastard Seff himself. How fitting if they should be the ones to take him down. But, they totaled less than twenty. Seff had dozens of highly trained and armed soldiers at his command. What good were unarmed boys against dozens of armed, seasoned, ruthless killers? Not much, but they were the only help he was going to get. "You guys in?"

"For a pretty girl like that? You bet?"

"Eh, I'm a sucker for love."

"For a chance to kick Seff's ass, you'd bet your balls I'm in."

Tristen grinned and held out is fisted fingers. "Well, lets go rescue the girl, kill the bad guys, and kick Seff's ass." He and the boys hunched together shoulder to shoulder, whispering and scheming up a plan.

Chapter 39

Carter and Nash were the first ones through the hole, followed by Tracker and Catcher. Hanning brought up the rear with Emil. Carter had tried to convince someone to stay behind with Shayla. She was still pale and shaken by her ordeal. She tried to hide it behind a mask of bravery and tough words, but he knew.

The guard was all comfy cozy, bound and gagged, tied to a tree. Carter had blasted him with his power of suggestion, knocking him out cold with one word. Sleep. He wouldn't risk the bastard coming to and terrorizing Shayla with his filthy mouth or wanton, hateful, lust filled stares. As much as he knew Shayla and Nash were right to stop him. The feral part of his brain that he kept under careful and watchful control, still wanted to punch a hole in the son of a bitch's jugular and finish what it had started.

Tracker and Catcher stripped and gave their bodies over to their wolves. Carter turned his eyes away from the writhing, naked bodies. It took a lot to nauseate a vampire, but the gloppy sound of reforming flesh and crunching bone did the trick. The twins were much more formidable in their wolf bodies than in their human shapes. In their wolf forms they were instinct and raw power, killing machines. The twin wolves stared at him with yellow eyes that glowed in the moonlight. Almost as if they were grinning at him, their tongues lolled out from between rows of pointed, sharp, lethal teeth and powerful jaws capable of snapping a man's head from his shoulders with one bite. Their fur was deceptively soft, hues of brown and shades of gray blended with charcoal black and pale cream underbellies and socks. Anyone who mistook the pair for anything other than the lethal predators that they were, made a huge and deadly mistake.

The twins trotted ahead of the rest of the team. Sniffing at the ground as they padded through the woods on silent paws, they did what they'd been bred and trained to do. Protect and defend their mistress, at any and all costs, even their very lives. In a way, Carter envied the simplicity and absolute certainty of their existence. They knew exactly who and what they were and without any doubts in their minds, they understood and lived to fulfill their purpose.

Sometimes, even though he'd lived a dozen lifetimes or more, he still wasn't sure exactly why he kept on living. His companions had the gift of long life, but it would pale in comparison to the length of his. Barely a drop in the bucket to the centuries of life he'd already lived. Eventually, he'd die. Whether at someone else's hand or his own, he wasn't sure. But, he hoped before he met death, he'd get a clue as to why he had been created in the first place. His creator lied when he'd tried to explain to Carter the whys of it. Eric was a master of deceit and Carter didn't have it in his heart to accept the truth in his maker's words. That he'd been chosen because of his beauty and for no other reason. There was more to his existence than just his pretty face. There had to be some other purpose to him.

The scent of blood wafted in from the south, carried to Carter's nostrils on the night breeze. He inhaled the coppery aroma, instantly recognizing that the blood wasn't human. "Wolf blood." The faint sound of a female's wail of sheer agony pierced his sensitive hearing. He'd heard the voice before. Laughing, teasing, playful, but never rent from her throat in pain and terror. "Kacie." His eyes narrowed into slits and his fangs extended as he darted into the darkness at the heels of the twin wolves.

Nash was weighted down by weaponry. He longed to be free of the bulky cargo and give his wolf the freedom to run in his place. His wolf was stronger than the twins and twice as deadly. But, the strangeness of his scent would draw unwanted attention and he needed his human gift of opposable thumbs to get to Eloise and free her.

Despite evolution, he was still higher on the food chain than his wolf thanks to his damned thumbs and the fact that he couldn't open doors and pick locks without them. He gritted his teeth and ran through the night, slowed by his limited, although sharper than an average human's, senses. What he wouldn't give to have his wolf's speed, heightened senses, and agility as well as opposable thumbs at the same damned time. Evolution was a bitch.

Emil and Hanning separated and fanned out. Emil took the trail leading east out of the brush and pine. Hanning took the trail leading west. The two could move about the complex freely and without much suspicion. They could slip into places that the others could not. Their objective was to knock out the power generator feeding the electricity to the fence and take the damn thing down. Save as many of the pack as they could and get them to someplace safe.

"Nash, are you reading me?" Hanning asked. Testing the headset and microphone strapped to his chin and stuffed into his ear, he waited for Nash to answer.

"Copy."

He hedged the property's back fence. He knew exactly where the sound of the screams was coming from. Seff was trying out his new platform on his latest victim. "I've got a fix on the platform. I'm going in for a closer look. I'll be off com." He stuffed the headpiece into his pocket and shrugged his way through the shoulder to shoulder crowd to the front of the platform. A roar of outrage rumbled in his throat as he saw Seff's latest victim, bleeding and bound to the post he'd been forced to construct. The mistress's youngest daughter bled the wooden boards beneath her feet red with blood.

Kacie bit back a howl of pure agony as the whip's sharp tongue lashed across her chest, searing her flesh with burning fire. Air gushed out of her lungs as Seff glowered over her and tauntingly flicked the barbed tip of the whip. Grinning in morose satisfaction, he followed the trail of her blood with hungry eyes as it trickled in a small rivulet down her stomach and soaked her jeans.

"Tell me. What are you doing here?" Seff coaxed. Twisting the whip in his fists, he licked his lips in eager anticipation. He was just getting warmed up. The tears running down her cheeks and the quivering of her bottom lip did nothing to soften him. Kacie was stronger than he thought. He had no appetite for pain, but that'd never stopped his wolf before and it wouldn't stop it now. She was a stubborn one and she needed taught a good, hard, lesson. Luckily, at his hand, she'd have one of the best teachers to further her education. He loosed the whip and let it crack against the wood, sending splinters flying into the air.

Kacie cried out as the razor sharp tip of the whip tore into the flesh of her thighs, ripping through the jeans. If not for the eyebolt securing the chains trapping her arms behind her back and over her head, her knees would have buckled beneath the surging force of pain. The whip cracked again, lashing out to bite into the tender skin of her back. She didn't figure she had much longer to live, but she'd be damned if she was going to tell Seff a thing and condemn the rest of her team to her fate. The world teetered on its axis and the spots of black forming in her vision grew wider and wider until they almost swallowed her up. She welcomed the darkness. She couldn't wait for an escape to the agony she endured.

Seff cupped her jaw hard in his hand and jerked her face up for the crowd to see. "Even one of royal blood is not exempt from the discipline of my whip." He said, clutching her cheeks in a merciless grip. Kacie didn't try to twist her head free from his grasp. She was close, so close, the fight bleeding out of her onto the wooden boards beneath their feet. He had to be careful. Nothing stirred a crowd like a martyr and he didn't intend to give this little spark of a rebellion a cause. He nodded to his guards and the loose tangle of gasping, horrified spectators parted as his son was dragged onto the platform and secured into place on the post next to Kacie.

"NO one is above the law. No one! Not even Elosie's traitorous daughter." He abandoned Kacie and gripped his son's hair, dragging Torr's head up from where it rested on his shoulders. "Even my own son. My one and only son, not even he is exempt from the law. He stands before you. Guilty of treason!"

The floodlights surrounding the platform were blinding. Torr was weak and dizzy from dehydration. That, and the beating the guards had unleashed on him to subdue him into compliance before they dragged him out of his cell. His head lolled to the side as he fought the waves of darkness that threatened to settle in around him. His father hoisted his head up by the roots of his hair and twisted his neck so that the crowd gathered in this arena of death could get a better look at him.

Torr wasn't alone on the platform. It seemed he was going to share the spotlight with someone else. Shame really, but his father had always been a brilliant multitasker. Why kill just one when you could use the horror of the crowd to your fullest advantage? Squinting, Torr forced his eyes to open to see exactly who was robbing him of his final fifteen minutes of fame...damn he hoped it didn't take his father fifteen minutes to finish him off. "Oh god... Kacie...not you. What are you doing here?"

Kacie flinched at the sight of Torr. His clothes were ripped and torn. His skin marred by bruises and bloody with fresh cuts. His face was gaunt and his eyes dim as the will to survive slowly leached out of him. Torr was resolved to meet his fate. "Dying, same as you." Kacie gritted and sucked back a scream as the sharp tip of the whip made another pass across her back.