Bennett - Milly Taiden Page 0,48

them, just the three of us? Huh?”

“When did they inject?” Bennett asked.

“Pretty much the second you left. And mind you, they did it while they were perfectly healthy. No mortal wounds, no deathly allergies. With all of the work we did on the serum over the last few days, we figure they’ll change and be ready to go in a couple of hours.”

Dakota groaned, and her hands went up to her hair. “I am so fucking dead. Nick is going to make tigress sausage out of me.” She pointed to Vance’s half-eaten snack.

“It’s going to be fine,” Bennett assured her as he ran a hand across her back soothingly. “Bring me to the two idiots.”

“They’re in your room,” Vance said as he tore a piece of pork from the skewer.”

“You’re gross,” Dakota told him as she rushed by Vance.

Bennett understood the gnawing hunger that Vance felt. He had felt it, too. The first time he ate a meal after the change had rooted in him, Bennett had eaten so much, he was sure he was nothing more than a bottomless pit. Dakota had always been a shifter, so she didn’t understand the intricacies a body went through to change and keep up the change.

In the guest suite that had served as his bedroom, Bennett found Corey and Stuart on the ground. Each man was covered in sweat and writhing in pain. They were both completely lucid.

“They’re stable enough, given what they’re going through. I tried to sedate them, but it hasn’t worked. I guess it helps to go through the change when you’re out with morphine because of injuries.” Vance’s explanation made sense, of course.

“I’m happy it hurts,” Bennett told his two friends. “What you’ve done is idiotic.” He turned to Vance. “Go and turn on the laser perimeter. Make sure the alarm is on. Dakota, go and hide the rest of the serum someplace safe.”

“There’s only a tiny bit left in one of the vials. The rest is gone,” Vance said. “It’s in the kitchen.”

Soon after, the two capable shifters joined him in the living room. Bennett was still surprised that the house hadn’t been attacked yet.

“I think that they were thrown off by the fact that you were a shifter,” Dakota said. “They thought I was the only one after we let Baldy go last time. They probably called their boss and told her that there were more shifters. Maybe they’ll think Nick and Gray are back in town and back off.”

Bennett shook his head. “You’re right. Maybe they decided to reconvene, but I don’t think they’ll back down. We need to keep them away from the serum and away from the two idiots who are now dealing with the change. We’re going to go outside. Beyond the laser perimeter. They can’t see it, it’s naked to the human eye. At least there’s that. They won’t understand that it’s the house we’re protecting. We have to meet them outside.”

“We’ve got no way of knowing when they’ll be here,” Vance argued.

“No, Ben is right. We should bring the fight outside. As shifters, we can use the surrounding forest to our advantage.”

Bennett focused on her. “What are you thinking?”

“We hide in the forest, right out on the edge of the laser perimeter. When they approach, we ambush them. They’ll think they have the upper hand until we pop out in our tiger forms. They’ll be surprised to see three animals instead of two.”

He nodded. “That’s a great idea. Let’s go out and find the ideal spot.”

Bennett took one side of the laneway while Vance and Dakota took the other. They were three tigers, ready for action. It felt like hours had passed by when finally, three large black SUVs drove down the driveway. They stopped just short of the perimeter. Had they gone any further, the laser would have burned them. It was a dark invention for four boys to create as kids, but it would serve them well as men.

Thinking as one, Bennett and Dakota pounced on the small army of men that were climbing out of the cars.

It was pure chaos. They hadn’t given the intruders a chance to get into position. Bennett and Dakota were tearing at limbs. Vance was doing the same, but he was slower, and he was already injured, blood matting the orange fur at his side.

Bennett was worried about his friend, but he didn’t have time to think about it until this threat was neutralized. That’s the best he could do for Dakota.