Revenge of the Cat Men: A Shifter Romance (The Pride Book 1) (2 page)

Suddenly both he and William heard an alarm klaxon sounding inside the first floor of the building.  Gerald knew that a normal human would never had heard it from here and that it was supposed to silent  so the guards could surprise them.  They were not normal men. 

Without hesitation William threw Samuel over his shoulder and dashed back to the elevator.  He leapt inside and grabbed the cables, Gerald right behind him.  In leaps they jumped to the higher floors and bolted back to the opening to the roof. 

The pride was on high alert and as soon as they burst onto the roof surrounded them, making a protective circle.  There was a rush of questions.

"Will he live?" asked Davison.

"Is he breathing?' said Jacob at the same time.

"Why did he not escape?" asked Jean Luc.

"He is breathing still, and they drugged him, I can smell it," said William, picking to answer only the questions he was sure of.

"No more questions, they are coming for us.  Now flee and we will follow," Gerald commanded.  Jean Luc took Samuel from William and ran to the side of the roof.  He made a tremendous leap and landed on the side of the next building over.  He hit the ground running and in a second was lost in the night.  Gerald and William watched the rest of the pride on all fours make their escape, diving and jumping like the cats they were.

"Do we go next?" asked William.  He was shocked when he saw the snarl on Gerald’s feline face.

"Not yet, first we will take one of theirs and make them pay for what they have done," Gerald said, his face grim and hard.  He was looking over the ledge of the building.  William came up behind him and saw the blond woman rushing out, clutching her purse and running down the street.

*******

A
lison heard the alarm going and sat at her desk for almost a minute before she realized what was happening.  It was a light ringing and at first she thought she had forgotten to silence her phone but quickly discovered that the noise was coming from under her desk.  She looked underneath it and saw a small light flashing red. 

Trying to remember back when she started, she thought back to those first days.  She had been told about the light but it was dismissed as something that would never go off and not to worry about it.  Well, now it was evidently something to worry about.  Picking up her desk phone she checked the list and dialed the only researcher she had every really spoke to, the old man who had hired her.  She didn't really expect an answer this late but she didn't have any other ideas.  After letting it ring until the phone went to voicemail she hung up and tried to think about what to do next.

She didn't want to just abandon her desk but wasn't it possible that this was a fire alarm?  Should she wait outside? 

Her head snapped up when she heard the security doors slide open and she saw three men burst inside the lobby.  She was shocked to see that they were wearing helmets and carrying pistols, out of the holsters and held in front of them. 

"Hey!" she shouted, cursing at herself for not knowing what else to do.  Alison knew she didn't handle crisis well, but she should have at least thought of something better to say than that.  One of the men turned his head towards her, keeping his gun pointed forward.

"You!  Get out of here!" he yelled and stabbed the button for the elevator.

"What's going on?" she asked him, getting out of her chair and taking a step towards them.  He glanced at her but quickly returned his attention to scanning the room, looking for anything out of place.

"GO NOW!" another of the men barked and Alison.  She took a step back at the intensity of the command.  She was about to argue with his for being such an ass and not taking a second to explain when she realized that maybe seconds counted right now.  She grabbed her purse and coat and sprinted for the doors and into the empty street.  Deciding that the only thing she needed to do was to get as far away from the complex as possible she quickly headed down the street a block. 

Alison didn't know how far she should run, or if running was even necessary at all.  She felt silly now that she was out of the building and stopped and looked back.  The building looked like it always did, nondescript and plain, surrounded by similar buildings of no consequence.  She stood and waited and wondered what her next step should be, staring at the building. 

In the corner of her eye she saw movement, a dark patch on the roof.  She peered up at it just in time to see the shadow jump off the roof.  It stopped its fall part of the way down and hung on a ledge.

"A gorilla?" she asked herself quietly, unaware she said it out loud.  Before she knew the answer she saw the other one of the creatures and her blood ran cold. 

Whatever they were, they were both looking right at her.

She could see the reflection of light in their eyes, a yellow glint in the dark forms.  A second later they had leaped to the ground and were coming for her, about to give chase.  Without even thinking about what she was doing she turned and fled as fast as she could.

Alison could hear the howls of the creatures chasing her.  Dashing between two parked cars she stumbled before catching herself and running down a side alley.  She shot a look behind her to see if she could see anything but the street was empty.  She knew the monsters were still following her because she could still hear the growls and snarls of the beasts, she just couldn’t see them.

Alison saw a back door to one of the buildings in the alley and grabbed at it, twisting the knob and letting out a sob when it didn't budge.  She looked for another door that was close by but didn't see any.  Far down the alley she saw what could only be the back side of a restaurant with a large trash bin next to a pile of boxes.  It was far but there was at least a door and there might be people inside.  She was going to have to make a break for it.

As she started to run the door next the garbage bin opened and a man in a stain covered apron came out, kicking the door wide with his foot because he was carrying several bags of trash in his hands.

"Help me!" she screamed.  She ran towards the man, crossing the alley and sprinting towards him.  He turned to face her, his mouth open as he tried to understand why he was being yelled at.

A dark shape dropped down over the man and Alison skidded to a stop.  As he let out a yell the man was thrown to the ground and the bags of garbage spilled into the alley.  The creature leaped on him and the back of his head was slammed into the cement with the weight.  Alison saw the creature rise up to its haunches, sitting over the cook who was now knocked senseless.

The creature was vaguely human, a muscular male who’s features blended from feline to man.  Lean and naked except for a short layer of fur he looked at Alison, his pointed ears turning to take in every sound around him.  Alison saw that a thick tail sliding from side to side behind him. 

He leaped from the cook and bounded directly to Alison, the moonlight flashing on its extended claws, reaching for her.  Shrieking she turned to flee and immediately tumbled to the hard ground.  She tried to regain her feet when a second creature dropped down directly in front of her.  He was similar to the first but even larger, a lion-like mane of hair framing his face.  His eyes focused on hers and she was shocked to see the slit pupils of a cat that seemed so out of place on the lean, half man body.  His paw like hands gripped her shoulders and he slowly pulled her closer to him until she was face to face with it.  She could hear him letting out a low growl and saw the lips pull back to reveal a row of pointed, sharp teeth.

It was too much for Alison, she fainted in his arms like a rag doll, held up only by the monster's grip on her.

He tossed her over his shoulder and leaped up to catch a window ledge before jumping again to a higher one.  Alison's limp body dangled over his shoulder, swinging as he pulled himself to the rooftop.  The first creature joined him and they set a path back to the den.

*******

G
erald barely felt the weight of Alison on his back as he leaped up to the rooftops.  It was the only place in the city he felt comfortable when away from the den.  He needed to be able to be high and see his surrounding to feel safe.  Tonight even high above the city he felt more venerable than ever before.  His pride had been violated and he was furious.

Diving forward Gerald moved at such great speed that William was having trouble keeping up.  The city sped into a blur of movement underneath them.  Moving like shadows they made their way towards home.  People went about their business unaware of the unnatural kidnapping going on above their heads. 

Only when they reached the destination did they slow their pace.  For a very long time the pride had owned a section of property that to anyone else in the world would be useless.  Abandoned and dilapidated and in a section of the city that was ignored by everyone, their den was secure.  On the outside it was a broken shell of a building but that was just what they wanted.  Inside was equally ruined except for one door buried deep inside.  That door was new, well maintained, and led to the most private and secure area of the city.  The pride's den.

Swinging down by one arm Gerald entered the outer building, in his haste not even double checking to make sure he was unnoticed by the normal humans.  He came to the heavy steel door and keyed the passcode that kept them locked.  As William caught up behind him the system unlocked and the door swung wide.  It was several inches thick with thick rods that held it in place.

William watched as Gerald strode purposefully through the entrance to their home.  He paused his following to shut and lock the door behind them before hurrying to join his leader. 

The inside of the den was a violent contrast to the outside facade.  Hundreds of years of collecting rare and exclusive items had made the pride wealthy beyond belief.  Plush carpets lined the floors and rare works of art hung on the walls of the entrance corridor that the men walked down.  Once they reached the main hall it was even more evident with every item or piece of furniture hand-picked throughout history.  The pride had a home of luxury and comfort to come back to after venturing into the realm of the humans.  He placed Alison on the floor even though there were several soft couches in the room, uncaring for her comfort out of worry for Samuel. 

Wasting no time Gerald went directly to where he knew Samuel would be.  Mathew was the closest thing the pride had to a doctor and Gerald knew that he would be caring for their recovered brother.  He wasn't surprised to find that all of the pride had gathered around Samuel and Mathew in the chamber.

“Let me through, here, make a path,” he said, pushing past Jean Luc and Davidson to kneel down next to the young kit. 

“His breathing is steady, and his pulse is strong,” Mathew told him. 

“Will he live?” William asked.

“I can not see any reason why not,” Mathew replied.  “But other than the drugs they used to sedate him I do not know what exactly was done to his body and mind.”

“What do you mean?” asked Davidson.

“How would you have liked being captured, your skin torn from you, locked in a cage?”  Jacob said, knowing the question would be also the answer.  Gerald focused on the missing patches of skin and fur on Samuel's hide.  They had taken samples, to try and discover why he wasn't like them.  They had violated him, and now they were going to violate their captive in return.

“What he needs now is rest,” Mathew said.  It was true, the metabolism of the shifter men allowed for rapid healing.  Now that Samuel was safe in the den he would only get better.  But in their minds that didn't change what happened before to him.  Gerald was relieved to have him home, but seeing him torn like this made the fury rise in his soul.

“Come with me, we have some justice to serve,” he said.

*******

A
lison woke up.  She was confused and didn't like it.  Holding her head she sat up and looked around her.  Unsure of what had happened she sat there, trying to concentrate.  She felt for her phone and couldn't find it.  She tried to take in her surroundings but it just didn't make any sense.  It looked like she was in a museum inside someone's house.  How had she gotten here?

She tried to remember the last thing she could think of.  She had been at work, she remembered that.  Something about work, something had happened at work.  There was a fire alarm?  No that wasn't it.  She was at her desk and then...

Suddenly something snapped in her mind and what she was blocking rushed back.  She remembered the armed men, the flight from the building, and the monsters that had chased her. 

She had to get out of here, right now. 

She saw that there were several doors in the room she was in and started heading at the closest one.  She would try and find a way out, the police, the army, animal control, anybody who might keep her safe.

Her hastily made plans were shredded when the door she was running to was suddenly thrown open and a beast stood there, silhouetted in the door frame.

Gasping, Alison tried to back pedal but just had her feet fall out from under her to land on her butt on the floor.  The monster entered the room and she saw with growing fear that he was not alone.  She counted five more of the man-like creatures as the spilled into the room, surrounding her.

She studied them, unable to take her eyes away.  Each of the things were half man, and half cat.  She saw the features of lions, jaguars, even house cats as the moved.  They were lean and tall, muscular like cats but with human bodies merged together into something more.  Ears were pointed, hands were clawed, and the eyes were larger than what a man would have, more expressive too.  Over every inch of their bodies a layer of fun covered them.  Even with the hair she could see the muscles rippling on them as they moved.

She was surrounded, there would be no escape.  Alison could think of only one reason why she was here.  She was going to be dinner for these things and nothing she could do would stop it.  She wondered how much it would hurt to be ripped apart by those claws and teeth and shuddered.  Knowing it was futile she went on the offensive, unable to think of anything else to do.