The lights overhead blinked on and off and some of them exploded, just like in the lab.
Ash ducked, covering her head to avoid the sparks.
Only a few more yards and she could swing back through the door and deadbolt it again. Except that hadn’t stopped the sexy alien bear dudes from finding her the first time.
Suddenly, one of the bears, the lighter brown one, the kisser, loped up beside her, running along as if they were going for a morning jog. He didn’t attack, didn’t try to stop her. He was however blocking her way if she wanted to get back into her lab.
In another instant, another bear, reddish-brown joined them on the other side of her. He didn’t do anything but run alongside of her either.
Ash angled to dart into the doorway, but the bear on that side didn’t. He bumped her with his side and pushed her back on course going straight down the hall.
Crap.
Another door, on the other side, that led into the women’s restroom was up ahead. She tried again, and the same thing happened. The other bear made sure she didn’t get even close.
She wasn’t getting away. They were herding her.
In about ten more seconds they would reach the other stairwell and she had some fast thinking to do.
They seemed to want to go up. If she ran down instead, they would probably catch her in an instant.
What if she stopped and ran back the other way. She wasn’t fast, but the bathroom wasn’t far. If she took them by surprise, it might give her a tiny advantage.
Or they might decide their mind control wasn’t working on her anymore, finally get fed up, tackle her and rip her throat out.
Ash liked her throat exactly the way it was. But time was running out.
Up, down, or reverse?
Whichever she decided, she needed a little something extra if she was going to make it work. She hated to rely on her magic, since she couldn’t explain how it worked, or why she could do it. Today did not seem to be a day for logical science-based thinking.
Ash called upon the secret part of her inside that she kept hidden from the world, not knowing what it would do. She asked the universe to give her a little good luck and stopped dead in her tracks, pivoted and ran back in the opposite direction, flying past the brown bear and into the bathroom. She crashed into a janitorial cart inside the door that the crew must have left when they evacuated.
Yeah, baby. She was like the Flash. Except short, blonde, a bit chubby, and really slow. But whatever her magic had done, it had helped her get away.
It wouldn’t take long for them to come in here after her. The only way to go was up. She climbed up on the back of one of the toilets, figuring it was safer than expecting the sinks to hold her weight and reached for the ceiling tiles.
Not even close.
She jumped and barely scraped the cardboardy feeling inset with one finger.
“Meow.”
“Good thinking, Jacquie.” Ash jumped back down and grabbed the broom off of the cart. It took her only a second to pop the tile up and shove it over. Now, how was she going to climb up in there?
Why couldn’t her magic be the kind that made her levitate or fly? It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried.
She shoved the broom between her knees and prepared to throw Jacquie’s bag up first. Then maybe she could roll the cart in here and prop it up on the back of the toilet to climb up.
“Meow.”
The broom wiggled between her knees and slid all the way up, so she was straddling it. Then it lifted her, Jacquie and itself into the air and up through the hole in the ceiling.
Ash didn’t have time to marvel over the fact that she’d just ridden a broom, because the second she was in the crawl space she knew she wasn’t alone.
Whatever was up here with her was darker than a black hole and the intensity of its malevolence had her scooting right back down toward the bathroom.
She’d rather face alien bears over whatever was up there any day.
Three: Dunn’s Smart Heart
Dunn was sure his head was about to explode. Along with his cock.
They’d found their mate.
He could hardly believe it.
She was beautiful, curvy and sexy, smart as hell, and tasted like sex at sunrise. He couldn’t wait to get more of her in his mouth.
Her kisses had intoxicated him. Her pussy was going to kill him in all the best ways.
But, not if they didn’t get her and themselves out of here alive. Dunn hoped she knew what she was doing when she led them away from one staircase and to another. The schematics he’d committed to memory showed they both led to the same place.
Both he and Russet had shifted in order to better protect her. Russ started up this new escape route ahead their mate, making sure it was safe.
Dunn dropped back to guard from behind. Plus, it gave him a chance to stare at her luscious rear end. Oh, the things he was going to do to that ass. The way it wiggled under the pants she wore while she ran would make the most stringent monk hard in an instant.
Exactly like he was.
A meter from the steps she stopped and for a half a second, he could swear, she disappeared. Then she was back, standing almost directly in front of him at a complete standstill.
Dunn almost ran into her and had to take evasive maneuvers to miss barreling her over. He jumped up and over her head crashing into the wall and tumbling up four or five of the steps before his crash landing came to a halt.
He shook his head and blinked. He was again looking at his mate’s backside, as she ran faster than anything he’d ever seen, the other way down the hall and busted into a door they had passed a minute ago.
What the fuck was going on? What did she know that they didn’t? That was the second time he’d seen her use her magic. She was a powerful witch. Why did she keep running away from the weakling TFO agents?
Unless, there were spectrals around.
Without Kady’s powers, neither he nor Russ could see the bastards. They weren’t supposed to be in this part of the compound.
No. That couldn’t be it. Their mate wouldn’t leave them without any defenses against the enemy. Not when she clearly had the skills to deter them with her witchcraft.
Was that why the TFO was keeping her here, making her work for them? Because she was a witch?
Russ jumped down from the next level up, shifting in mid-air, and landing next to Dunn. His voice came out low, from the bear inside. “Where is she?”
Uh-oh. Dunn knew that look. Russ kept his emotions closely in check all the time. He preferred to let his brain rule his decisions, not his heart, like Dunn.
Every so often, times he could count on one paw, Russ lost that cool façade and something more powerful, from deeper inside, dare he call it soul, took over.
Looked like finding their mate was going to be one of those times.
Dunn shifted too and grabbed his brother by the shoulder, feeding off that intense energy.
He usually relied on Russet to balance him, head and heart. Not today. Their mate was as stake.
Anger rolled through him. Yes. He could harness that energy, use it to keep his mate safe.
“She’s there, hiding.”
“From us?”
That hadn’t even occurred to Dunn. It made sense of all her running around. He scented the air, opening his bear senses that he should have been paying attention to in the first place.
He stalked toward the door she’d disappeared into. Mmm. He could smell her arousal, her attraction to him. But, Fates fuck it, he also smelled her fear.
His bear pushed to the surface wanting to protect her, make her feel safe. They approached the door, listening for any signs that she was in distress, that anyone or anything was harming her.
“Come out, mah wah. We need to get you to safety.”
He needed to get her into his bed and under him. Once he and Russet had claimed her, given her their souls, then he be able to make her understand that he would never let any
thing bad happen to her ever again.
She must have been through hell to have to work for these bastard Earthers. Had they threatened her life, her family, her soul? They could take all of it with one spectral warrior.
“She won’t come out of there with us both growling at her. Our bears aren’t going to help here.”
How Russ kept a cool head even when Dunn knew he was feeling the same emotions churning inside, only the Fates knew.
He took a few deep breaths, still scenting her and the half dozen emotions running through her. Yes, the arousal and fear, but she had an underlying determination that was sexy as fuck.
“What the hell do you want me to do? Pretend I’m not a bear, that I don’t want to throw her over my shoulder and drag her straight to bed? Because I can’t do that.”
“I want that too, but she’s not from Honaw. We don’t even know if she’s ever seen a shifter before. We have to win her trust before we can make any other moves with her.”
“Fuck you and your logical brain. She is mine. She is ours. I need her.”
“I do too. But, you’ve got to get yourself under control. We don’t even know if she can handle mating with the two of us.”
Twin bears shared a soul, shared feelings and emotions, shared everything, including lovers. No twins had ever successfully shared a mate.
None had ever found a woman who could handle the intensity of sharing that intimate bond with two alpha males, two intense warriors, two parts of a soul that darkened by the day without that ultimate connection only mates shared.
At least Dunn felt his half of their soul growing darker. A fact he kept hidden from his own brother.
No bears had ever mated with a powerful witch before. She was the shining light that could save them both.
Dunn didn’t have time to dig deeper into that with Russet, or the own fear he kept locked away because an eerie and too familiar screech sounded from somewhere above them.
“Spectrals.” They cursed in unison.
Without saying another word, they dashed into the room their mate had taken cover in. It turned out to be some sort of toilet facility. A damn primitive one.
He expected to see her cowering in a corner, and when he didn’t see her, looked into the small metal compartments with toilets.
She wasn’t there either.
The screeching got closer and they were running out of time.
“Mate, where are you?” Uh, how did he know what she tasted like and didn’t yet know her name. He’d fix that as soon as possible so he could moan her name while she rode him.
After they escaped the spectral warrior hunting them.
“There.” Russ pointed to the ceiling, where her feet dangled out of the hole she’d crawled through. They both jumped at the same time and dragged her down, catching her in their arms. Her legs in his and her shoulders in Russ’s.
Just like in the hallway, she disappeared and reappeared standing a meter away.
She was pale, and the fear rolled off her. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll zap you with my... uh, alien disintegrating human germs.”
“You can zap us all you want later, but we have to get out of here now. There’s a spectral hunting us.”
Her eyes went as wide as the yellow sun of Earth. “You released a non-photonic being on me? Why would you do that, you assholes? It will destroy us all.”
“No, mate, it’s—”
“There isn’t time. Grab her and go. I’ll use the ward Kady gave us to give you time to get away. Keep her safe, brother.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You take her, I’ll throw the ward. You can take better care of her than I can.”
“If you dickheads have something that can stop a non-photonic being, you’d better use it now, or we’re all dead.” Their mate’s voice was nothing more than a mere whisper. She raised her hand and moved her lips in words only she could hear.
Shit, it was here, and they couldn’t see it. Dunn grabbed the little bottle from his jacket pocket and smashed it on the floor. Swirls of golden light flashed up and over the top of him, illuminating the deadly face of the spectral inches from his face.
It slammed against the protective barrier of the ward spell, holding the soul stealer at bay. For now.
“Whoa. That looks like...what did you throw? Have your species mastered BEC? What particles are you using? Is this metal based?”
Their mate approached the ward, reaching out to touch the barrier. The spectral screeched again and slammed itself against the magic, creating tiny cracks.
Damn.
No more Mr. Nice Bear. He picked her up and threw her and her bag over his shoulder and jumped up into the hole she’d been climbing into before. Russ was right behind them.
“Put me down. Help, somebody help. I’m being kidnapped by aliens, bears, sexy bearded men.”
“The ward will not hold that spectral for long. Did you see how big it was?”
“Yes. Go. Quickly.”
Titian’s schematics hadn’t included the inside of the walls, but up ahead there was a shaft that went vertical. Any way they could get back to the surface and their ship was fine.
Russ climbed into the metal box first and the sound of his claws penetrating the sides reverberated in the small space. His feet disappeared, and Russ shoved his woman inside.
She kicked and screamed and screamed some more when Russ grabbed her from above and yanked her up. She dropped her bag and a yowl came from inside.
“Jacquie, no, please.” There was heartbreak in those words.
Whatever kind of animal she had in the bag it was important to her. Dunn grabbed the satchel and threw it over his shoulder, then followed them up to the next level.
A cold shiver spread across his skin. The ward was down and the spectral was after them again.
“Go, go, go.”
In another three or four meters up light shined into the shaft from an open grate. It was nowhere near big enough for any of them to fit through. There was no other alternative. They were going out or they were getting their souls stolen.
Russet released their mate and she fell a meter into Dunn’s waiting arm. Just the one, he needed the other to keep his claws in the metal, so they didn’t both fall back down the shaft.
She wriggled in his grasp until she slipped a little and almost fell again. With a squeak she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
Oh, yeah. “This will not be the last time your legs will be wrapped around me, love. But, the next time I will be buried deep inside of you and you will be screaming in pleasure instead of fear.”
She closed her eyes and cringed. That was not the reaction he was hoping for. Was it possible his pretty plump mate was a virgin?
He’d find out soon enough.
If she was, he would take every care and precaution to make her feel safe with the two of them.
The sound of creaking metal and the crunch of rocks and earth came from above. Russ had slammed his way through the grate and used his bear to smash an opening wide enough for them all to get through.
He handed their mate up to his brother and then crawled out behind them.
Why weren’t Russ and their woman running for the ship?
Dunn stood and found one of Earth’s metal projectile weapons pointed right at his forehead. Okay, that was a good reason not to run.
His body could heal itself from a lot of injuries but a small piece of metal shot into his brain would be hard to come back from.
“Thank God. I’ve never been so happy to see you Men in Black in my life.”
Fuck. His mate stepped forward, moving to the TFO agents. She thought they were here to save her. She still didn’t understand that they were the bad guys. Titian had called it.
“Shut the fuck up, you dumb bitch. You’ve been compromised.” The nearest agent raised one of his weapons to her face.
Fates no. She might not realize who was on the side fighting against the spectrals, but this agent was read
y to kill her.
Not gonna happen.
Dunn glanced over at Russet and simultaneously they shifted into their bears and attacked. They both threw their bodies in front of their mate and Dunn tore the offending agent’s head right off his body.
Russet’s roar shattered through the air, creating more distraction. Every human, including their mate, dropped to the ground.
They all scrambled right back up when they heard the telltale screech of the spectral burst through the wall of the building.
Dunn scooped their mate up, throwing her onto his back and sprinted with everything he had toward the ship. Screams from the men rang through the air behind him, but it was the screech of newly born spectrals that pushed him to run even faster.
He heard the crash of another glass bottle right behind him and the air beside him whooshed as Russ shifted from bear to man and punched the button on the comms unit to open the ramp to the ship.
More screams were cut off as the three of them got inside and the doors bolted shut behind them.
Dunn shifted, letting his mate roll to the floor beside him and jumped into the nav station, taking the ship up and punching the singularity drive into FTL to get them the hell out of there.
“They were going to shoot me.”
Dunn took them all the way into a low orbit around the little blue planet. Only then did he turn to see Russet with his arms wrapped around their woman, comforting her.
Fates, that felt so right.
Finally, a woman who was right for them both.
Russet leaned down and whispered “Mine.” He brushed his lips across hers and the power of that connection rushed through Dunn as if he were the one kissing her.
Swirls of golden magic sparkled off of her and through the cabin. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Until she disappeared.
Four: Ash is the Flash
This. Was. Not. Happening.
Nope. Ash refused to believe that all of sudden her life had gotten flipped, turned upside down. She’d like to take a minute and sit right there, but right there didn’t exist at the moment.