And I won’t for much longer.He could feel death creeping over his fur, seeping into his bones. Soon it would crush his lungs, and his heart would stop. Hearing Nico whimper, Teilo was just glad his cat form couldn’t cry.
I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m so sorry I didn’t hold you. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to kiss those gorgeous lips of yours just once. May we find each other in the next life, my love. It has to be better than this.
The lion’s gasping death rattle stopped. It would be his turn next. Teilo imagined him and Nico running on a beach somewhere, splashing in the waves under a glorious blue sky as he waited for his lungs to shut down and his heart to stop.
Chapter Three
Ben
As if time had slowed, the time of arrival at La Victoria Airport was still fifteen minutes away. It was where Kylo would wait after Ben had rung him when his panther was getting frantic. They’d rerouted the plane from Filadelfia Airport, which was several hours over land from where they needed to be. They were fast in their shifted form, but the plane was faster.
“We are starting our descent.” Rupert nodded to his lap. “You’ll need to fasten your seatbelt.”
Ben reached and clipped the belt together. “Yeah, sorry.”
Rupert took the cup and went about his business before taking a seat a few minutes later.
Fingers twisting together, Ben shut his eyes and focused on breathing. In… out… in… out…
At the bump of the wheels on the tarmac, his fingers were reaching to unfasten the seatbelt as his eyes flickered open to look out the window. The plane taxied to where he could see his brother was standing. Ben had a lot to thank Alexi for with all these privileges.
Kylo, big and dark like him, stood staring at the plane, eyes narrowed. They were similar in stature. Broad across the chest and slim hips. Tall at over six feet four, there wasn’t very much between them. His lips twitched into a smile when Nori, the youngest, appeared from behind Kylo. His energetic nature was playful, which often got him into bother.
When Kylo clipped him over the back of the head, Ben shook his head as Nori only grinned in return.
When the plane taxied to a stop, Ben was up and out of the seat before Rupert could get the plane door open. The heat for the uninitiated could be brutal in summer. Paraguay only had two seasons: summer and winter. There was no spring or fall. It was currently summer, and Ben had dressed accordingly. The loose T-shirt and cargo short’s he’d found an hour earlier when he’d packed a small bag. One he’d found in a cupboard, and hoped Alexi and his brothers wouldn’t mind him using their things temporarily, he collected off the seat next to him.
He waited impatiently for Rupert to sort the steps, his gaze going to the two men walking towards him. Both came dressed in ragged shorts and black T-shirts, with strong boots. Deep brown, tanned skin gleamed like polished wood. The grace with which they came towards him spoke to what they were if folks took the time to notice. And if that wasn’t enough, the dark yellow ringed eyes spoke of their heritage.
The smile was gone from Nori’s lips, and Kylo wore a grim expression. Ben swallowed, his gaze filtered by his panther.
“Good to see you brother, it’s been too long.” Kylo hugged him as Ben got to the bottom of the steps, bag in hand.
The familiar scent of eucalyptus came from Kylo as Ben one arm hugged him. When he let go, Nori was there to take his place. “You’ve grown,” Ben muttered as he eyed his youngest brother, who was at least two inches taller than him.
“Yep, told you one day I’d be bigger than all of you.” There were six brothers, and when together, they could be highly competitive.
“That’s just your mouth.” Kylo rolled his eyes before he got serious again. “We need to get moving.” He glanced at the plane, then back at Ben. “They gonna stay?”
“Yes, they’ll wait for me as long as they need to.” Ben had spent some time figuring out what he might need. What his mates might need and the condition they might be in when he found them.
Ben wasn’t sure how accepting they were going to be when they arrived. Trapped and used for so long, his mates weren’t going to be trusting of strangers. Trained killers, their survival instincts would be on high alert. He could only hope their animals would recognize him. Recognize what they were to each other.
“This council job you got, does it come with these perks?” Nori eyed the plane with interest.
“We can talk about that later, right now, we need to get going.” Kylo met Ben’s stare and what he could see set off his panther.
Ben walked next to Kylo as they headed towards the beaten up truck he’d had for more than a quarter of a century. “What aren’t you saying?”
Nori fell into step next to Ben and took the bag from him. “You’re gonna need to shift to get where we need to go. The place is in Macharetti. Right in the center of the forest. They’ve hidden the facility and built it into the forest and down underground.”
“Underground?” Ben ran through council funded projects and couldn’t come up with anything that rang a bell connected to this.
“Looks like. From what I could sniff out, a large concrete box sits several feet under the earth. It would’ve been a big undertaking, excavating that far down. The top section of the place gives nothing away. It comes off looking like a wooden cabin built into the trees. A place folks would go on holiday to get a rain forest experience… only it don’t smell like that.” Nori’s nose wrinkled, and all humor was gone from his expression. “Death… and it’s fresh.”
The painful thud of his heart competed with the growl of his panther. “Is there any sign of life?” Ben, at the back of the truck with shaking fingers, stripped. He couldn’t look at Kylo, who’d never been one to soften the truth.
“It’s deserted. Well, the top section is. I didn’t wanna alert anyone to my interest, so I didn’t break into the lower part. I wasn’t sure what kind of security system they have. Though I figured out how to get in. There’s an air vent at the back at ground level that a panther could slink in through, easily. I’ve hidden a couple of packs with food, water, clothes, and medical supplies. With what was in the files you shared, we don’t know what we’re gonna be facing when we get inside. Especially as there ain’t no one hanging around above ground.”
