Page 64 of Shifter Situations

Behind the desk was another metal door, and when we opened it, the stench of a rotting body hit us.

Worse.

More than one.

Behind that door was a heinous sight.

As the hinges creaked, the moaning I’d heard was replaced with snarling and growling.

Rows and rows of chain-link cages lined the interior walls of what used to be a distribution room, floor to ceiling. There had to be twelve or so, all of them filled with shifters.

I rushed in, calling over my shoulder for Palmer to put some kind of wards on the doorways.

A few were dead, several more looked close to death, but most were alive, terrified, and starving.

“York? Can you and Grim start going through the rooms? Maybe find an office or something?”

I needed both of them busy and not focusing on the devastation that was around us. Death permeated the air, and I knew the reaper was sensitive to the suffering souls. He needed a clear mind to ease their transition.

And York… He’d been in their situation not long ago. I knew this would trigger some sort of trauma, but I was hoping that we could lessen whatever memories he was going to relive.

He hadn’t talked about any of it yet, and that worried me.

The last thing I wanted for him was to have flashbacks from his time at the camp. That wouldn’t do either of us any good, seeing as how I couldn’t bring Kelvin back to life to kill him again. His second death would have been miserably slow.

“Yeah,” Grim answered, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. “We’ll search around for any kind of paper or technology that would leave a trail, check the cabinets and things. Yeah. Come on, York.”

My druid’s eyes had dulled; all the sparkle and light had vanished instantly.

As soon as they cleared the room, the rest of us began trying to rip the cage doors open. They were fucking spelled. The moment my hands touched the metal, a jolt of electricity sent me flying backward.

I collided with Blaire, coming to a complete stop at her feet.

“You good?”

“Fucking peachy,” I quipped, rolling my shoulders back as I moved for the cage door once more.

A young, blonde woman crawled to her knees, pushed herself up to her feet, and brushed herself off. She straightened the tattered shirt she was wearing as she eyed me with suspicion.

“You can’t open them without the magic words,” she remarked. “Are you here to move us again or rescue us?”

Her pupils dilated, turning into slits like that of a feline shifter. She wasn’t scared; she was angry. She was on the edge and wanted to know if she needed to fight or not.

I held up my hands, backing away from the cage door to give her some space.

“I’m Sloane King, the Supreme Alpha’s daughter, and these are my mates and friends. We’re here to rescue you guys. Do you know who’s in charge here or who put the spells on these doors?”

“I do, and as soon as I see those cunts and their mage, they’re fucking dead.”

I raised a brow at her. “Who?”

Novak sighed, his voice sounding from behind me. “Anna and Katie.”

“Who the fuck are Anna and Katie?” Jack asked from the center of the room.

“Two fake, bubbly blondes?” the young woman asked.

“Yep,” Novak agreed as Vaughn said, “That's them.”