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“I want you to return to the club and wait for me. Please, do this for me, mo ghaol. It appears they target females more than males. The last thing I want is for you to be close to them and possibly be caught like Eliana.” He brushed his thumbs over the pulse point on her wrist.

“Fuck, I can handle myself, Severin.” She held her hand up. “Don’t,” she interrupted him. Before he could grab her again, she flashed away but didn’t go to the club. She masked her scent and changed course several times until she felt sure nobody could track her, not even Thane, her twin brother. Once she was settled in the luxurious cabin in Colorado, she stared out of the floor-to-ceiling windows. She pressed her forehead against the cold pane, needing the stark contrast to ground her.

“Where the fuck did she go? Goddammit, I don’t have time to search for her and go get Eliana.” He slammed his fist through the monitor on the wall.

“Boss, you can go search for your female. We’ll go to Long Island and get Eliana.” Uriel waved his hand in front of the busted screen, fixing it with that one small motion.

“No, we go, we get our Eliana as a Family.” The words tasted like ash, like he was leaving his heart out to wither, but not going with the others to rescue Ellie didn’t sit right with him.

Eliana was more than a member of his Clan; she was like a little sister. No, she was his sister, just not of blood. Everyone in his inner circle was closer than his blood family.

They moved as a team, slipping through yellowed doors where the missiles were said to have launched from. As Uriel expected, they found no trace of water after descending the twenty feet to the lower level. He took the lead, with Enzo and Castle behind him, with Uriel at the rear. The sharp scent of antiseptic would’ve been nauseating in human form.

Careful not to set off any sensors, they moved as one, knowing they’d have to sit with the fallout if they fucked up. He wouldn’t fuck up this time, not like with Bianca.

Shit! No way in Hell could they lose one of their females. He hadn’t been there to protect Bianca when Astaroth came for her...he wouldn’t let another female be taken from his world.

They skimmed past rows of shelves with more rust than metal. He led them, staying close to the floor and taking in every smell, molecule, and item they passed. He noticed a small button that didn’t look like it had been there long. The others took in the image, filtering the scent surrounding the item as we catalogued it and moved on.

“It is not Eliana’s,” he said through their link.

“No, but I sense her. She’s here,” Enzo growled.

Two double doors were at the end of the darkened room, clearly new, with a pin-pad lock. Amateurs. Under the door, they slipped through the tiny gap into what looked like a triage. Three men in scrubs and white lab coats sat back to back at computers, with about five feet between them. Across from each man was a bed with a bound female, whose arms and legs were strapped down with metal clamps.

Severin noticed the lights above each figure rotate in a circle, shifting from yellow to white and surging in intensity as they moved from each female’s head to her toes and back. A tray and a large tool chest, like what you’d see in a mechanic’s shop, stood at the head of the bed. Torture tools, most certainly.

“What do you think those lights are doing?” Castel asked.

“Something truly nefarious for sure,” Enzo muttered.

“Who the fuck says nefarious in this day and age?” Uriel sounded like he was laughing in their heads.

“Just because my vocabulary is extensive and yours is limited doesn’t mean you need to be worried I’ll look down upon you.” Enzo pitched his internal voice to sound superior.

“I don’t see Eliana, fuckers. Focus. Enzo, can you sense her more now that we’re in here?” Severin asked, separating from the group, but staying as mist.

“She’s here, but not. Wait, something is interfering with our twin connection. Wait, there’s a false wall to the right of the second bed.” Enzo flowed toward the ceiling. The others followed while he stayed close to the center of the scientists, watching their monitors.

On their screens, he watched them scroll through each female’s charts. He paid attention, memorizing the names and notes beside each one. Anger filled him with each line he read. He noticed they were adding what type of substance they took from the subject, coding each line with reactions after they’d experimented on the female. He skimmed their records for Ellie’s name but found nothing.

“Sev, we found her.” Panic and fury laced Enzo’s tone.

“Can you get her out? Do I need to kill these males now?” he asked, already knowing none of them would be leaving the underground facility alive once they secured Eliana.

“Enzo is going to flash her back to the...shit, the hotel is compromised. They obviously knew we were there, so that’s a no-go.” Uriel didn’t sound happy about that realization.

“No, I think it was more of a lucky catch than anything. I looked through the scientists’ minds here. They were staying at the hotel for a convention. Ellie fucked up and fell into their trap. Did she get in an argument with one of you guys?”

“Fuck. Not that I know of,” Castle muttered.

“Well, someone pissed her off enough that she let her guard down.” Severin looked at the fuckers going over their tests. “Can Enzo get Eliana out of there?”

“Yeah, he’s ready to do it now but was waiting on the go-ahead from you, Boss.” Castle’s murmur held a hint of worry.

“Take her to my cave. It’s secure and secluded. I’ll show you the location and make sure the wards let you and her in. Stay in mist until you’re inside. There’s fresh blood in the fridge for her and you.” Sev sent the coordinates into Enzo’s mind and worked the cave entrance wards to recognize Enzo and Eliana.

Severin made three quick slashes across the throats of the males behind the desks, taking the heads off soundlessly. He considered sampling their blood, but even his inner beasts rebelled at the thought.