His fated mate? No! He couldn’t think that! Melinda whimpered low in her throat.
It’s okay, she tried to comfort herself. Dr. De Rossi had evacuation plans in place. Military helicopters were ready and all of the test subjects, including Coral, would be loaded on them and headed out within minutes, now that they knew the Enforcers were on their way. Coral would be taken to a secret lab and dissected; Flint would never find her.
Flint couldn’t mourn for her forever, could he? He’d come around.
“I’ll go with you,” the wolf Enforcer said.
“Thanks, Clay,” Flint nodded at him.
Rory and the Enforcers resumed their forward charge, heading north.
Melinda took a deep breath, and began jogging west, with Flint following at her heels. “Faster,” he snapped, and she shoved down the urge to lash out, to strike at him hard for hurting her like this. She was so tired of hurting, of wanting what should be hers. Everything about them fit. Why couldn’t he see how perfect she was for him?
It could still work out, she thought. She knew the areas where De Rossi had his guards stationed. What De Rossi didn’t know was that she had planned a double double cross. She pretended to betray the Enforcers to him, but because she knew exactly where all of De Rossi’s men were, she could save Flint’s life – again.
Sure, lots of Enforcers were going to die today because of her actions – because she’d just radioed ahead and let De Rossi know they were coming. That wasn’t her problem. All that mattered was getting Coral out of the way for good, and showing Flint how much he needed her by saving his life again.
This was actually good, she thought, as they loped through the woods. It would be easier for her to personally protect Flint when they were separated from the rest of the Enforcers. She’d lead him towards a group of guards, and then kill the guards before they could kill him.
“Hold it!” Clay stopped suddenly, and Flint stopped too. He tipped his head up in the air. “We’re going the wrong direction.” He grabbed the patch of cloth from Flint and sniffed it, and then sniffed the air again. “Her scent is very strong. She’s this way.” He pointed north.
Flint whirled on Melinda. “What the hell are you trying to pull?” he roared, eyes blazing with rage.
“Nothing! I swear!” Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. “He’s wrong! We’re headed the right way – just follow me!”
“I trust his nose more than I trust you. I swear to God if I find out you had anything to do with what happened to Coral, I’ll kill you,” Flint said.
Melinda let out a strangled cry. How could he speak to her like that?
Flint ignored her misery, the way he’d ignored her love for him. That bastard. That stupid, ungrateful bastard.
“Let’s shift,” he growled to Clay, and in seconds he was in bear form, exploding out of his clothing. He was massive, at least eight feet of bristling brown fury. Clay followed suit, dropping to all fours and shifting into a huge gray wolf, and the two of them ran off, leaving Melinda doubled over and howling with hurt and fury.
Melinda fell to her knees, pounding the ground with her fists in rage and letting out a terrible, heartbroken roar. Her fists became paws. She shifted, the cloth of her shirt and pants splitting and falling from her body. Her rifle strap burst and her rifle fell to the ground.
She leaped to her feet and began running. She had to get there first, had to get to Coral and kill her if it was the last thing she did. Coral and Frederick. They both had to die. Nobody could ever know what she’d done.
Chapter Sixteen
Coral and all of the shifters in the room were alone. De Rossi had gotten a call from one of his mercenaries that had made him go pale, and he’d rushed from the room.
Again, Coral strained at the straps that pinned her down, but this time, something happened – just not what she expected.
Something moved over the open space where the ceiling had been. Tree branches. They were growing at an incredible pace, and at the same time, roots exploded up through the floor, rocking the tables that some of the shifters were on.
I’m doing that, Coral realized. She could feel a thrumming connection to the plants around her, as if they were part of her body.
She concentrated, focusing all of her energy, and roots shot through the floor and twirled up around the table she was on. They swirled around the straps that held her down, and she concentrated harder, sweat beading on her forehead. The roots began tearing at the straps, and she could feel the straps begin to loosen.
She heard roars of rage echo through the room, and looked around to see animal figures struggling on the tables. Marie was a huge, growling wolf, and a panther near her leaped up, tearing free of its bonds. The panther was far too big, at least twice the size of a normal panther.