Preview: The Blackstone Lion

This was not how Luke Lennox thought his day would go.

He certainly didn’t expect to start it by confronting an entire biker gang, and then ending it with a suicide rescue mission with no backup.

Dr. Violet Robichaux didn’t seem like it, but she could be one crazy chick. Barging into the old canning factory guarded by armed men only proved it.

“Fuck.” He clenched his fists at his sides. “Let’s go before she gets herself killed.” He had barely finished his sentence before Nathan, Violet’s mate, disappeared through the doorway.

Damn women, he muttered as he into the laboratory. Why was it even the most reasonable shifter males lost their fucking minds when it came to their mates. Even the notorious womanizer Nathan Caldwell was no different. I don’t even know why I give a fuck.

Nathan’s nose was probably sensitive enough to know where Violet had gone to, so he followed the wolf shifter until they reached one of the rooms inside the factory.

“Don’t you ever do that again,” Nathan said through gritted teeth as he approached his mate.

“It’s her,” Violet gasped. “Joanne.”

Luke came closer, glancing at the frail girl on the bed in the middle of the lab. This was the girl they had risked their lives for. His inner lion raged, seeing her state—dressed in a white paper gown, wires sticking out, her face pale.

Just when he thought humankind’s cruelty had reached its lowest, they go and do something like this. Those fucking assholes. He looked around the room. It was as sterile as the rest of the facility, with various types of medical equipment all around. There were several beds, but only two were occupied—Joanne and another girl. As they had suspected, the factory had been turned into some kind of laboratory that experimented on shifters.

“Is she okay?” Violet asked as Nathan was checked on the other girl.

“Heartbeat’s faint, but she seems to be hanging in there.”

There was no time to lose. Gently, Luke picked up the Joanne. The scent of feathers tickled his nose. Flight shifter. Glancing over at Nathan, he saw he that he was lifting the other girl off the table.

Luke nodded to the door. “Let’s get them out of here.”

Violet’s face was serene as she nodded in agreement, but he knew the animal she kept in reign was roaring to get out. Just like his lion.

The sooner they were out of here, the better. He’d never admit it out loud, but this place gave him the creeps.

They were only one step out of the lab when the alarms when off. Luke knew things would only get harder from here.

Nathan cursed. “Shit! They know we’re here.”

“Had to happen eventually.” Luke nodded toward the exit. “C’mon. We need to get out in case they have lockdown procedures.”

“Someone’s down there.” Violet pointed down the opposite end of the hallway. “She needs our help.”

“We’ll come back for her! Let’s go now and save these two,” Nathan insisted.

Thank God someone around here was thinking straight.

“No! I’m not leaving anyone behind!” Violet began to walk away from them.

“Goddamnit!” Nathan turned to Luke, and handed him the girl in his arms. “Get them out of here!”

Luke easily slung the second girl over his right shoulder as he tucked Joanna under his left arm. He gave Nathan an affirmative grunt as he pivoted and headed toward the door. Behind him, he could hear the pounding of boots and the sounds of clothes ripping as Violet and Nathan shifted into their animals.

Damn fools. They already had two girls. Why the hell were they risking their lives to save one more? The equation didn’t make sense, but he didn’t have time to think about it now.

Luke made it to the exit without incident, which solidified his earlier suspicions. This place wasn’t well-protected. Its best defense was keeping a low profile. The factory had been abandoned for decades and no one passed by the old highway anymore. Which is probably why those bastards used it to conduct their experiments.

Thinking about what they could have done to these girls or any other shifter made his blood rage in his veins. But, there would be time for that later. Right now, he had to get these girls to safety.

Luke walked around to the front. It was empty, though there was garage. When he entered the rickety structure, he saw the nondescript Honda sedan inside.

Jackpot. It was even unlocked and the keys were in the ignition. These people really didn’t expect to be discovered.

Luke placed the two girls in the back seat and shut the door. As he was about to get into the driver’s side when he stopped, his hand frozen at the latch.

There it was again. The sound of a woman’s voice. He heard it earlier, before Violet lost her shit and re-enacted her solo version of D-Day on the place. He initially ignored the way it made the hairs on his arms stand on end. But now, he just couldn’t.

His lion roared, urging him to go back.

“We gotta go,” he said in a gruff voice. But the animal ignored him. Damn lion had loved a fight. It helped feed the blood thirst that always seemed to be bubbling on the surface.

“Fine.” He let go of the car door and strode outside, marching back toward the facility with purposeful strides. As he went inside, he saw two more guards running down the hallway, toward the door where Nathan and Violet had headed earlier. Fuck. As he shucked his jeans down, he let out a whistle, catching the guards’ attention.

The two goons turned on their heels. They were so surprised at the fully-grown lion jumping toward them, they didn’t even have time to raise their guns. He pounced on them, knocking one back so he slammed against the wall, while the other ended up underneath him. The lion let out a roar, before swiping a paw that slashed down the man’s face.

“No!”

The sound of her voice was tugging at something deep in his chest. The lion took over, and charged toward the sound, sprinting as fast as he could to the door at the end.

“You stupid whore!” someone shouted

As Luke sailed through the door, he saw a tall, man in green scrubs as he staggered forward. The small figure in his arms broke free, but the man’s arms swung wildly. Luke saw something glinting in his hand that made adrenaline pound through his veins faster. Instinct told him he couldn’t let that man harm her.

He bore down on the man, using his claws to scratch down his back, eliciting a screamed. Luke had never seen him before, but in his gut he knew this man was responsible for the suffering of many shifters. He didn’t even think twice as he opened his mouth and sank his teeth into his head.

When the man stopped moving and struggling, he released the lifeless skull from his jaws. The lion stepped back, and began to change and shift.

As he transformed back into his human self, Luke grabbed a rag from a table and wiped off the blood from his mouth and chest. It would be a long time before he’d feel clean again, but it was worth it, knowing that evil bastard was dead. Was he the leader of this shadowy group that was hell-bent on killing every shifter in the world?

Luke threw the rag aside and glanced at the bloody mess on the floor. Someone as important as the head of an underground operation like this probably wouldn’t have been this vulnerable or easy to kill. His instincts were telling him that there was someone higher up the chain.

The distinct clang of claws hitting metal caught his attention. Glancing to the side, he saw Nathan standing by a stack of cages. The scent of various furs, feathers, and scales hung in the air and Luke realized what those cages were for.

I’m going to tear all of them apart, then hunt down the bastards that did this. He strode toward Nathan, who had unlocked the cage with his claws. The other cages seemed to be empty, but—

Luke felt like he hit an invisible brick wall. As his eyes landed on the woman next to Nathan, his heart stopped, only to speed up at an alarming rate.

Mine! His lion roared.

He was so stunned, he hardly noticed the small figure that clung to her.

“Mommy,” the little blond boy said in a hoarse voice. “The bad man … is he gone?”

“He won’t hurt you anymore.”

The growl escaped his lips before her could stop it. It must have been loud enough, because it startled Nathan.

“Luke, you okay, man?”

Mine!

His lion’s unearthly voice was the only thing he could hear aside from the roaring of his blood in his ears. Every muscle in his body tensed up. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t be—It took every ounce of his strength, but he managed to tear his gaze away from her and turn around.

“Luke! Where are you going?”

A muscle spasmed in his jaw. “Outside.”

“Outside?”

“Yeah.” There was a thickness coating his throat that he didn’t even realize was there. Clearing it, he simply said, “Jason and Christina’ll be here any minute,” before walking away.

His lion fought him with each step that took him farther away from her. We can’t, he told his inner animal. We’re not meant for a mate. This isn’t right.

His words were answered by angry growls.

“No!” he roared. We can’t have her. Besides, she’s already got a man.

Ugly jealousy reared its head, but he pushed it down. He didn’t have the chance to look at her for long, but her image was burned into his mind. Plump, pink lips. Long brown hair like a mahogany waterfall. Large, soft brown eyes. A softly-rounded face. She was obviously distraught, but he could imagine her with a big smile that would reach those doe-eyes. Looking up with a sweet expression, not at him, but her husband, the father of her bear cub.

She could never be his. There had to be some mistake. He knew his lion was fucked up, so it probably got its wires crossed.

“Luke!”

He spied the familiar Range Rover parked next to the garage. Jason and Christina had finally arrived.

“What happened?” the dragon shifter asked.

“It’s a long story but,” he nodded at the factory, “Nathan and Dr. Robichaux are still in there. They’re going to need your help.”

“We’re on it,” Jason said. “Where are you going?”

“We found more kidnap victims,” he explained. “I got them safe, but I should bring them to the hospital.”

“Good idea.” Jason clapped him on the shoulder. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Jason shrugged. “I dunno. You just look a little … disturbed.”

Luke’s huffed. “If you went in there, you’d know why.”

“Are Nathan and Violet okay?” Christina asked.

“They should be out soon.” Without further explanation, he marched toward the garage, to the girls he left behind in the car.

The breathing of the two women sounded normal enough, so he knew they’d be okay until they reached Blackstone Hospital’s ER. Verona Mills was closer, but they’d be much better off in Blackstone than at some human-run place.

Forget about her, he thought as he turned the key in the ignition. He gripped the wheel tight and gnashed his teeth. She and her cub are safe, and soon, they’ll be on their way home. That was all that mattered.