Add this book to Goodreads:

Read an Excerpt

Listen to a Clip from the Audio Edition →

Jump to Buy Links ↓

CHAPTER ONE

Deep in the bayous of Louisiana

Success.

Grim satisfaction surged through Kayden Segal as he rose to his feet with a speed that knocked his chair backward.

A handful of fellow Geeks glared in his direction before returning their attention to their computers that were stationed side by side on a long table in a cramped, dark room.

Since the official headquarters of the Pantera had been destroyed by a suicide bomber, the computer specialists had been forced to use temporary lodgings that were hastily built in the center of the Wildlands. The overcrowded space had only served to further fray the nerves of the puma shifters that had already been scraped raw by the recent attack. None of them had been prepared for the brash intrusion by Christopher Benson’s soldiers. Or for the plot to destroy the computer files that the Pantera had managed to steal from Benson Enterprises.

Thankfully most of the Geeks were all too preoccupied with restoring the files from the remote servers to pay attention to Kayden as he pocketed his phone and headed out of the narrow, wooden cabin.

Although he’d been working as hard as the rest of his people to discover what Christopher Benson had been so anxious to destroy, he’d had a secondary mission.

After all, as devastated as they’d been by the various skirmishes over the past months, the Pantera had managed to inflict their own share of damage on their enemies. Which meant that their security had been compromised.

It was during his search through the files they’d managed to steal from a lab in New Orleans a few months ago that his life had been changed forever.

But it wasn’t until this moment that he finally had the last piece of the puzzle.

* * * *

Xavier, the leader of the Geeks, winced at the noise assaulting his sensitive ears.

The center of the Wildlands was usually bustling with activity. It was the heart of the pack. The area where the Pantera gathered to enjoy meals and watch the cubs play in the dappled sunlight.

Over the past few weeks, however, it’d been crowded with the temporary shelters used by the various factions—Diplomats, Geeks, and Hunters—while the main headquarters was being rebuilt.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, the two males studied the roof being nailed down on the large, colonial-styled structure. The new headquarters would look a lot like the old one, although it would be larger, with the latesttechnology built in.

Xavier, had just received an update from the electrician who was preparing to install the solar panels. He was a tall male with mocha-toned skin and brilliant blue eyes. He had powerful shoulders, a broad chest, and sharp features that were emphasized by the buzzed cut of his dark hair.

Beside him was Raphael, the head of the Diplomats. He was equally tall, although his frame was lean rather than heavily muscled, and his blond hair was long enough to brush his shoulders. His eyes were jade, until his inner puma was aroused. Then they smoldered a pure gold.

The two alphas had been working closely together to not only repair the damage from the recent attack, but to reassure their people they were doing everything in their power to keep them safe.

Xavier was just filling in Raphael on the status of the electronic surveillance they were installing on the border of the Wildlands when he caught sight of the male Pantera strolling toward him with a grim determination.

Kayden.

The younger male was a fellow Geek with short dark hair that always looked messy to Xavier, but his mate told him was mussed in a sexy way. Just as she claimed that Kayden’s neatly trimmed goatee was sexy. Whatever. Women were the strangest creatures.

The male’s eyes were a dark gold that changed to cognac when he was in his cat form. His features were lean, and his skin a rich shade of bronze. At the moment he was wearing a cream knit sweater and charcoal gray pants. The early February weather was gray and chilled, with a persistent drizzle falling from the low clouds.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Kayden said, not sounding a bit sorry as he came to a halt directly in front of Xavier.

Xavier arched a brow. He could practically feel the tension radiating from the younger male.

“What’s going on, Kayden?”

“I need a few days off,” he said, the words clipped.

“A few days for what?” Xavier demanded.

Kayden’s lean face gave nothing away. “It’s personal.”

Xavier scowled. He knew that he could be unreasonable at times. Especially since the attack. But his nerves had been scraped raw.

“You do realize we’re in the middle of war?” he snapped.

“I’ve been doing my part,” Kayden reminded him, the air heating with his irritation even as his expression remained stoically calm. As if his inner emotions were so intense he had to keep them locked down tight. “I didn’t sleep for a week after the attack.”

“Yeah, I know. Shit.” Xavier scrubbed his hand over his face, sharing his fear. “I can’t lose any more friends, Kayden.”

“You’re not losing me,” Kayden assured him. “I’ll be back.”

The words did nothing to ease Xavier’s fear. “Can you at least tell me where you’re going?”

A tight smile stretched Kayden’s lips. “To collect on a long overdue payment.”

Without waiting for Xavier’s blessing, the male turned to stride away, his back stiff.

Xavier gave a frustrated shake of his head. “I was afraid of that,” he muttered.

Raphael tilted his head to the side. “Trouble?”

Xavier turned to meet Raphael’s curious gaze. “Kayden is one of my best. He created the program we’re using to retrieve the corrupted files we stole from the Benson Enterprises computers.”

They’d just recently discovered that the scientists who worked for Christopher Benson had had been capturing Pantera and using them in their sick experiments for years.

“Surely you can spare him for a couple of days?” Raphael pointed out. “We’ve been working ourselves to the point of exhaustion. It might be a good idea for all of us to consider some time off to charge our batteries.”

Xavier didn’t have to ask if Raphael was thinking about taking a few days to enjoy his mate and new baby. It was etched on his goofy expression.

The same one that crossed Xavier’s face when he thought of his own mate.

“I wouldn’t mind if I truly thought he was recharging his batteries,” he admitted.

“What do you think he’s doing?”

“Searching for the man who was responsible for killing his parents.”

Raphael stiffened, his eyes smoldering with flecks of gold, his cat prowling close to the surface.

“I thought they died when their plane crashed somewhere in Death Valley?” he growled.

“It’s what we all thought after we were contacted by the FAA,” Xavier conceded. “But, neither the plane nor the bodies were ever recovered.”

“Christ.” Heat sizzled through the air. “Are you saying they didn’t die?”

Xavier’s jaw clenched. For years they’d allowed themselves to become so isolated from society, they hadn’t realized that there was an evil human who’d created an entire industry that centered on kidnapping them to use as laboratory rats.

Now they were trying to discover just how much damage had been inflicted while they’d been hiding in the bayous.

“Kayden recently hacked into a database that listed the captives that had been taken by our enemies over the past fifty years,” he explained.

A low growl rumbled in Raphael’s throat. “Bastards.”

Xavier held up his hand. “Preaching to the choir, dude.”

Raphael sucked in a deep breath, struggling to control his temper.

None of them were capable of discussing Christopher Benson or his henchmen without wanting to have them forced into the Wildlands where they could rip them to shreds with their fangs and claws.

“Did Kayden find something?” he at last asked.

Xavier slowly nodded his head. “A male and female were abducted outside the San Francisco Airport on the exact day his parents’ private flight left and supposedly crashed in the desert.”

Raphael’s brows drew together. “He can’t be sure it was them.”

Xavier shrugged, not surprised by the words. If they’d learned nothing else over the past months, it was to never assume anything.

“That’s what I told him, so he kept digging,” Xavier said.

Raphael’s lips twitched. “I don’t doubt that Kayden managed to turn over every stone.”

“He’s obsessed,” Xavier agreed. Kayden had always been intense. Losing his parents had wounded him deeply. Now that he suspected it was more than a senseless accident, he was consumed with the need to discover the truth. “Especially now.”

“What did he find?” Raphael asked.

“Pictures.”

“Pictures?” Raphael clenched his hands. “Of his mother and father?”

“Yes.”

The scent of angry puma laced the chilled air as Raphael went into hunter-mode.

“They’re alive?” he demanded.

Xavier grimaced. “No. The records show they were killed almost twenty years ago in one of Benson’s Frankenstein laboratories.”

Raphael released his breath on a frustrated hiss. “Shit.”

“My thought exactly,” Xavier muttered.

End of Excerpt