Friends and Foes Ch. 10

"It's not going to happen every day love, but while the men are missing it will be long hours because we have to get them back."

"What would have happened to me and Chris if you hadn't found us?"

Peter sighed, not sure if he wanted to go into much detail."They have been taking Weres for research, studying us to find out about our society and our abilities. Can we leave it at the fact that being a lab rat wasn't pleasant? I don't want to think about what might have happened to you. Or what could be happening to our friends."

Jamie shuddered."I hope you find them. I'll do what I can to help. You need to know though, especially as we are mated, I am not a morning person."

Peter smiled and kissed the top of his head where it was lying on his chest."I'll bear that in mind. Perhaps I'll just have to think of some good ways to wake you up!"

* * * * * *

Downstairs it was very quiet. Sam, Tilly and Adam sat in Sam's office, each searching for some glimmer of Finn or Jake coming back into consciousness. Tilly would have preferred to go to bed, but she didn't trust the other two left alone together. She thought it unlikely they would hear anything for the next few hours and it would be morning at the earliest before any contact was made. They killed the time by going back over maps and locations, trying to see something they hadn't before, but it was pointless, especially as tired as they were.

She might have been able to relax and doze off for a bit if the tension in the room hadn't been quite so high. They each blamed the other for Jake being missing, and plenty of accusations had flown back and forth in their argument earlier, when they were both angry. She knew they were really just upset, but accusing each other of being responsible somehow by letting Jake's secret out or not keeping him safe wasn't helping. There was still the slight possibility that this was all a fluke, but Tilly hoped desperately that was not the case as all their plans hinged on this being a targeted attack, designed to get to Sam, or Adam, or possibly both.

She yawned yet again, trying to keep her mind off her soft warm bed upstairs that had her sleeping mate in it. She knew he was sleeping because she couldn't contact him, and she really wanted him wrapped around her right then. It had been a very late night and an early morning and she wasn't sure how she was going to manage to stay awake. Sam noticed her and smiled.

"Go to bed Tilly. It doesn't make sense for all three of us to be up now, especially as if Jake can get in contact at distance it will probably only be with one of us. We need you alert tomorrow."

She looked between the two men, really not wanting to leave them alone. Sam noticed the look and knew what it meant.

"We promise not to fight. I know we are both on edge right now, but we will keep control of ourselves."

Adam nodded in agreement and Tilly was relieved. "You'd better both be good. Jake will not be impressed to come back and find you two have beat the crap out of each other."

The fact that they smiled at that, probably more at the way she had said with certainty that Jake would be back, reassured her enough to leave them alone and head upstairs. She wished she felt as certain as she had been able to sound. As she slipped into bed beside Dill's warm and naked body the rest of her worries left her for the moment. Even in his sleep he was aware of her enough to wrap his body around hers and she was able to drift off with a smile on her face.

* * * * * *

Next morning everyone was up early, most looking like they needed a lot more sleep, but still alert and ready for whatever they needed to do. They were also grimly aware that there was very little they could do right now. Tilly had checked in with Sam when she got up. Adam was asleep in one of the chairs in the office and Sam left him there, closing the door quietly behind him.

"He fell asleep about an hour ago. He's exhausted and very afraid, and I think it's best to leave him to it for the moment. Jake will be able to contact you, or if he can't Finn will. The best thing Adam can do right now is rest."

"Same goes for you brother. You look like death warmed up."

"Thanks!" he replied, smiling. "Tom will be down in a few minutes, I'll head up once I've updated him."

Tilly could tell he'd missed Tom last night, and she knew it was hard to be separated ever, but they were still fairly new mates and that meant the bond needed to be reaffirmed often, at least by contact if not with sex.

"Go up to him now," she told him. "You can update him in about ten seconds. I'll get everyone sorting out breakfast and we can do without him for half an hour."

Sam grinned. "I'm too exhausted for half an hour of anything sister. But I appreciate the thought."

He left her laughing and headed to see his mate, glad to at least have a moment for a hug and kiss before he caught up on some sleep. As much as his dick started to twitch at the thought of who they were heading towards, he knew he really was too tired to do anything about it. Even when he walked through the door to their bedroom and saw Tom bent over putting on some socks his admiration of his mates tight ass wasn't enough to wake him up properly. It still caused him to let out a low growl, which caused Tom to turn round quickly, grinning.

"You look dreadful baby. Let me get you tucked in and then I'll head downstairs to take over."

Sam didn't let himself be taken to the bed when Tom tried, he just drew him closer and captured his lips in a soft kiss. Tom let him carry on for a couple of minutes before pulling away, smiling at him.

"That's not fair Sam. You're far too tired to do anything about it, and now I'm horny!" he said, teasing. "Get into bed love. If I can, I'll come wake you up in a very nice way later."

Sam moved to the bed, finally, slipping between the sheets with a sigh of contentment, even though his mate wouldn't be in there with him.

"Wake me if there's any news. Don't worry about how, you can hold that thought for when the guys are back with us."

Tom nodded, but Sam was already falling asleep, and he left him to it. He had to adjust himself on the way down the corridor, thankful that they wore loose trousers most of the time. He'd only been half kidding about being turned on by that kiss, but focussing on finding Finn and Jake was far more important than anything else.

He followed the soft buzz of voices and the smell of food to where the team had gathered. Normally they were a lot more noisy in the mornings, but today everyone was understandably subdued. Eyes raised to him and various of the men acknowledged his presence, but they were busy eating right then and knew he would have spoken immediately if there was any need for them to pay attention. He took in the two new men, noticing how they were sat close to the lions, but not how he'd have expected, and he made contact with Tilly.

"Have you spoken to the guys we found yesterday? What are their names?"

"Wolf is Jamie, the lion is Chris. I have spoken to them, but not about them getting caught. I guess Peter and Michael may have done, but I doubt it to be honest,"she said with a grin.

"We managed to find their mates in the back of a van?"he asked in disbelief."This place keeps on getting crazier! They up to talking though?"

"I think so. The drugs wore off yesterday, and they don't seem nervous around us. Mind you that may only be because the hormones are running!"

Tom shrugged. Not what he was expecting to happen, but these things rarely made sense, they just took control of your life when you found the one you wanted. By the looks of things, those guys had had a much better start to their relationships than he and Sam, since Sam had refused his advances for quite some time before finally giving in to their mutual desires. He walked over to the group of young men and introduced himself.

"My name is Tom, I'm one of the Alphas here. This isn't the best time to get to know us, but I guarantee you two are safe, and you are welcome here as long as you want. I gather that might be quite a while," he finished with a grin, that seemed to embarrass even Peter and Michael. It was fun teasing new mates, now that he wasn't quite as badly obsessed with Sam as they had been in the early days.

"I could really do with knowing as much as you can tell us about your capture. For starters, where were you found?"

Jamie found his voice first. "I don't know where we are now, but if you've got a map I can point out roughly where we were caught."

Tom didn't even have to ask, one was passed to him immediately, the rest of the team clearly listening in on the conversation.

Jamie scrolled through a few pages of the atlas before pointing out a spot near to a national park.

"We were heading to the park, maybe a few minutes away on foot. We had the idea of going for a run, because we'd been spending too long human on our travels. We figured at night and out in the open it wouldn't be too obvious. I can just about get away with wolf form in the dark and people assume I'm a dog, but a lion wandering around a residential area would probably cause panic."

There was a ripple of laughter around the room. Tom was busy looking at the map.

"That's about three hours drive from here. Either they were taking you somewhere and just happened to be passing, or more likely they brought you here specifically to divert us from finding the others."

He saw sad looks pass across the faces of the men.

"Don't worry, you were convenient and unconscious, it's not as though you had any say in the matter. They probably thought that giving us actual Weres would stop us for longer than an empty van. It was obviously long enough for them to get away. What happened exactly?"

Chris took over the story, reassured by Michael taking his hand. Several others noticed the movement, but no-one commented.

"We were just deciding if we were safe enough to change. We were nearly there and well out of town, there were only a few houses around. Then we heard rustling in the bushes, I think we were on the outskirts of some country estate. We started running, but there must have been more people ahead of us. I heard the guns but they sounded so soft I figured they were far away, up until I noticed I had a dart in me. It took effect quickly, I know I saw at least two men, but I was already feeling the effects and I passed out almost straight away. The next thing I knew I was waking up here."

Jamie added to that. "There were at least four. They didn't get me with the first shot, but I was panicking by then because I knew Chris had gone down. It can't have been more than a few moments later I got darted. Again, that was it until I got here."

"Did you hear anything?" Tom asked.

They both shook their heads. "They were well organised, it was almost military precision. How on earth they knew we were there I have no idea," Jamie finished.

Tom thanked them and turned to the team.

"We know they were taking people from all over the place, and in particular near large open spaces they could expect us to be using. Check to see if there are any other reports of Weres being taken near that spot, it might help. Also if there were any centres near there, although if so they have probably already been decommissioned by us. We are still working on the basis that Finn and Jake were targeted for capture, possibly the intention was to take whoever they could from this house.

Now they have them it is unlikely we are in danger here, but I want at least four people out in the grounds at all times. Don't go too near to the boundary walls in case, but keep your ears and noses open for the unfamiliar. Everyone else, we will be going back through every scrap of information we can find, including what we just heard. If and when we hear from Finn and Jake, or their kidnappers, we revise the plan accordingly. Understood?"

There were quick nods in response and Tom sent Alex out with Cal, Rob and Den. Even before they had changed and disappeared outside Tilly was handing over papers and maps to those remaining, including Jamie and Chris who bent to the task immediately. Even as she did it she realised how few of them there actually were, but then this was more to keep them all occupied. She and Peter and Michael had spent much of yesterday going back over all this and there was nothing she could see that would give them a clue. She just kept hoping that they would receive a call, and kept reaching out in her mind trying to find Finn or Jake.

* * * * * *

A couple of hours later, and with an involuntary groan, Finn started to wake up, struggling to remember what had happened. He soon started struggling physically as well, discovering he was strapped down to something. His eyes opened a crack, cautiously checking out his surroundings, but there seemed to be no-one there. Looking around the room he was surprised to see wallpaper and carpet. Perhaps with the lack of research facilities they'd had to resort to using private homes. He was indeed strapped to a table and he tested the bonds but couldn't shift them.

He was still groggy from whatever drugs they had given him and didn't seem to have full control of his body, although he had a horrible feeling the straps wouldn't come off anyway. More worryingly he couldn't reach out to anyone just then. He tried for Sky, sure she would be terrified and needing to reassure her, but he couldn't hear her. The same went for Tilly and Sam when he tried them, and then Tom and other wolves from the team that he thought he might know well enough to contact at distance. Of course, he had no idea how much of a distance he was at, he might have been unconscious for days.

Another groan to the side of him let him know that Jake was starting to come to as well, and he turned his head to check on him. He was pretty much in the same state, strapped down heavily so whoever caught them was obviously taking no chances. Finn saw there was a door and a couple of windows in the room, and from what he could see of the tops of trees it was clear they weren't on the ground floor. He reckoned a leap from that height might not cause serious damage if they were changed, but unless they solved the immediate issue of being tied down that wasn't going to be a consideration.

He tried not to think of what he knew about the research, not wanting to focus on what might happen to the two of them. He was concerned when he thought about how they had been caught, because not only should he have been paying more attention, but also they weren't far from the main gates which suggested the cover of the whole team was blown. He had to hope it was just convenience that he and Jake had been outside and no-one else had been found, but he couldn't reassure himself of that at least until his head was clear. He was pretty sure he had got something through to the others even as he slipped into unconsciousness, so they would have been on alert for further attack.

His musings were interrupted by Jake trying to speak, but he stopped him.

"In our heads Jake, you don't know who might be listening."

"Sorry, I'm still a bit drugged up. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"No. I'm guessing not in a research centre. Hopefully we really did destroy all of them."

"I've been trying to speak to Adam, but I can't get through. Do you think they have some way of stopping us communicating?"

"I doubt it. I think we just need to wait for the drugs to wear off a bit more. I hope so, anyway. My mate is going to be absolutely frantic and I need to let her know I'm okay."

"For now,"Jake replied, the tone heavy as he knew just what had happened to previous captives as well.

"We need to try and stay positive. We are more likely to be ransom than guinea pigs."

"You sound pretty sure of that. I wish I could share your optimism, but to be honest, ransom doesn't sound that good either."

"We were just outside the gates Jake. That means they knew who we were. Well, probably not specifically, but they knew we were connected to Sam. Which suggests they will contact him about us and try and do some sort of trade. When that happens they will have the might of the Council down on them. They've been trying to find out who was behind everything, and this could be just what they need."

Jake's tone didn't come across as happy."That's just great. Have you considered that we might not last that long, or we'll just get skinned and returned as a couple of rugs."

Finn gave him a glare."Not helping, Jake. I know Sam and the others will be doing everything they can to find us, and I'm staying focussed on that. There's no point thinking the worst."

"You'll have to give me a little less credit. It's not like I have my life in danger on a daily basis. I lead a very normal life with all the creature comforts I could wish for. This might be what you trained for, but I got myself kicked out of training long before we got to how to stay calm in a crisis."

Finn laughed out loud, then shut up when he remembered he didn't want to attract attention.

"I don't have my life on the line daily either, but maybe I am more prepared for this than you. You need to have faith in Sam. He's very good at what he does, and he will find us. Meanwhile, we should just keep chatting, try the others regularly, and stop worrying."

Jake felt a little better after the pep talk, but he realised something."So, seeing as we're stuck here for the foreseeable, can I know your name? I figure Sam's orders about me not knowing any of you don't apply to this situation."

"I guess not. I'm Finn. Pleased to meet you Jake."

"You'll forgive me if I don't shake your hand?"Jake replied with a twinkle in his eye that had the two of them quietly laughing despite their fears.

* * * * * *

Back at the house, Tilly threw the last sheaf of papers down on the desk, resigned and sick of going back over information she felt like she had read a hundred times. The only new detail was where Jamie and Chris had been captured, and although others had been taken from that general area, it was only marginally more than around any of the other national parks. Whoever was capturing them knew it was a good place to find those who were moving around the country and separated from family and friends. It felt pointless, but it was the only thing they could think of to do right then.

Sam and Adam were still asleep, and Tom and Dill had gone out to help check the lands. The young men still there looked just as annoyed as she was, probably just as desperate to find a clue, and frustrated that it wasn't there. She straightened up a little and stretched out, sighing loudly.

"I'm not sure this is doing any good. I'm going to go and sort out some food for lunch. I think you lot should go for a run. Peter, Michael, keep away from the training areas, and close to the house unless there is any problem. If we get an alert you'll need to help sort it and send your mates back inside."

As she walked out of the room Jamie was the first to grin. "Thank god for that, I was going crazy here. You have no idea how long it's been since we've been able to change and have a long run either. I think my wolf is starting to claw at the walls!"

They all laughed a little at that, moving quickly through the house so they could go outside. Jamie was the last to change despite what he had said. He stood there for a moment surrounded by three lions, suddenly fearing showing his wolf, which seemed so small and ordinary by comparison to the magnificent beasts. He worried that Peter might not be so sure about this cross-species idea when he saw his other side. Michael and Chris bounded outside, already starting to play and their lions rumbling to each other. Peter didn't move but his eyes were fixed on Jamie.