Hunted by the Feral Alpha Read online

  Hunted by the Feral Alpha

  Lillian Sable

  Copyright © 2019 by Lillian Sable

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Also by Lillian Sable

  Lillian Sable

  Prologue

  Muscles corded under his skin as the beast raced through the thick trees. It had caught the scent of prey and chased what ran from it with violent intent. But this beast ran on two legs, not four, and its hands were bare because the only weapon it needed was its clawed fingers designed to rip and tear.

  The need to destroy and consume had overwhelmed anything that resembled human consciousness. It acted only on instinct, following the scent of fear from the prey it hunted like it was a visible trail floating on the air.

  This monster had not always simply been a bundle of primitive impulses; at one point it had been a man. But no more. Now it craved the taste of blood on its tongue

  A shout could be heard in the distance. “I think he went through here! We need more of the tranquilizers.”

  But the beast did not fear the pursuit closing in behind it. The only desire that propelled it forward was the need to break bones and consume hot flesh. Poisoned projectiles from their guns had barely penetrated its thickened skin, which had turned the color of the reddened sky just before sunset. Its features had morphed from something recognizably human—black pupils filled the entirety of its eyes so it could search in the darkness for prey and its jaw unhinged to create a powerful bite.

  It would not be swayed from its purpose, not until the hunt had reached its end.

  Pursuit finally caught up with the beast as it hovered protectively over the fresh carcass of a deer, its guts spilled out onto the ground with steam still rising off them.

  “Get the metal net. These tranquilizer darts are just bouncing right off.”

  The beast allowed itself to be taken, the urge to hunt and kill momentarily satisfied. They would not subdue it for long. Eventually the monster would reemerge to slaughter again.

  Chapter One

  When people looked at Hunt, their eyes slid right past and moved on. It was completely inevitable. He had been trained to move through crowds unnoticed and leave nothing behind to spark so much as a memory. Hiding in plain sight was part of a skill set that he had very deliberately cultivated. And you have to know how to blend into the background when your enemies believe that you’re dead.

  Especially if you wanted it to stay that way.

  It helped that he was good-looking, but in a generic and nonthreatening way. He kept himself clean-cut, but not stylish. The dark urges that tortured his mind were carefully hidden behind a veneer of faked humanity. Tattoos, a remnant of a former life, wound up and down both arms but were always covered in public, even on the hottest summer days. All of them had been trained to remain anonymous until the moment that they struck.

  The first their prey should see of them was the whites of their eyes as they landed the fatal blow.

  But tonight was different. Tonight was an all-in moment.

  Because they had nothing left to lose.

  It started when Savage came bursting into his room like he was back in Fallujah kicking down the doors of mud huts.

  They had finally gotten their new safe house set up in a cherry location that Chase had found. The building was initially conceived as an ambitious hotel project, but the developers went bankrupt during the last recession. It had changed hands a couple of times, but its location on the outskirts of a failing rustbelt city far from the highway didn’t bode well for completion anytime soon.

  After putting up a few interior walls and running a generator for power, the place had all the comforts of home. From the outside, exposed steel beams and graffitied plaster board made the place look like a deathtrap, but on the inside it was the perfect hideout.

  So when Savage burst through the door that Hunt had just put up, hard enough that it flew back to hit the wall, he didn’t react well. It was like the other man had never heard of the concept of judicious use of force.

  After he put Savage through another wall and they beat each other badly enough to come to their senses, Hunt finally started listening to what his sergeant had to say.

  Violence was the only safe way to slake their urges. Better that they take it out on each other than leave a trail of bodies that would lead right back to them.

  “You’re gonna want to see this,” Savage ground out through a broken jaw. He limped away before Hunt had a chance to respond, forcing Hunt to follow him.

  No matter how many times Hunt beat the shit out of him, Savage refused to accept the chain of command. Hunt wasn’t the one who did the fucking following around here.

  But the tight set of Savage’s bruised face was enough let Hunt know something serious was going on. So he put the door back on its hinges, spat out the mouthful of blood from where Savage had managed to catch him in the face, and went after the other man.

  Savage was standing next to a flat-screen television sitting on a wooden crate in the middle of the main room. He had bought the television about a month before he bothered to get a bed.

  A random station was playing on the screen. A cute brunette with half a brain and too much makeup blathered nonsense while two pundits argued from little boxes on either side of her head.

  It was hard to respect a news program that played on a network made famous by animated dick jokes.

  “This shit’ll rot your brain,” Hunt said.

  Savage turned up the volume. “They’re talking about Project Alpha.”

  “Sources close to the administration revealed today that an investigation into a military training facility in the Nevada desert has been closed with no charges filed. Multiple deaths and disappearances have been attributed to the facility over the years, with accusations of misconduct by several government officials. But an investigation led by the House Intelligence Committee has found no evidence of wrongdoing.”

  “Fuck.”

  Chase moved so quietly that hearing his voice almost always surprised them. You forgot that he was in the room until he wanted you to remember. He leaned against the far wall, gigantic arms crossed over his broad chest. The stony expression on his face spoke volumes, more than he would ever say.

  Savage turned back to face Hunt. “We need a new plan. These bastards are never going to face justice for what they did. We’ll never have vengeance.”

  Vengeance and justice. Those ideas had become so intertwined in his mind that Hunt couldn’t be sure he even understood the difference anymore.

  And the rest of their squad? Thinking about them set Hunt’s teeth on edge and always spurred a wave of impotent fury that threatened to break his fragile hold on control. That old adage about never leaving a fellow soldier behind only worked when the other choice wasn’t dying right alongside your fallen comrade. They’d had to leave the others behind to escape
the place that had turned them from men into monsters.

  But now Project Alpha had gone underground. They had to find anyone who had ever played a role in it and ensure it was burned to nothing but ashes.

  “Where are we on the senator?” Hunt had asked.

  Senator Fucking Reynolds. Just thinking about his face sent Hunt into a mindless fury that only the taste of blood or the sound of breaking bone could ease.

  “He’s locked down tighter than two thumbs up a pig’s ass.” Savage pulled a tin of chew out of his pocket. When he talked the wad puffed out his cheeks. It was a bad habit that only got worse when he was angry. “Full security detail follows him everywhere he goes.”

  Chase shifted against the wall, making the dozen or so weapons he always wore on his body creak like well-oiled leather. “There’s talk that Senator Reynolds is about to announce his candidacy for president. After that, he’ll have Secret Service covering him.”

  That bible-thumping, right-wing Tennessee cattle rancher also happened to be the current chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee. His down-home constituents back in the holler might believe the family values rhetoric he spewed, but we knew what he really was.

  He was the man responsible for destroying us.

  “Tell me how we get to Reynolds.”

  Savage glared at Hunt, a bundle of fury looking for an outlet. He always got belligerent when he was frustrated. “We don’t. Not unless you’ve got a platoon hidden in your back pocket.”

  What was done to them had made them faster, stronger, and more vicious than a dozen men combined. But they still couldn’t face down an entire army with just the three of them.

  “I need a plan, not excuses. What do we know?”

  Chase grabbed up the most recent round of surveillance photos and fanned them out on the table. “The senator is in DC until the summer recess. He has a townhouse in Georgetown that wouldn’t be too challenging to access—lots of windows and doors. But like I said, Reynolds has security when he’s home. Some guys from a mercenary outfit called Darkfire. They’re well-trained and ex-military. They’ll see us coming. If we had more guys...”

  “No.”

  They had agreed from the beginning not to involve anybody else in this. Anybody who would care was already convinced that they were dead, and that was the way it had to stay.

  “What else?” Hunt turned back to Savage, who was pacing back and forth across the room. A wad of dip spat into the cup in his hand punctuated every step. “We need a weakness. Tell me you’ve got something that I can use.”

  “Depends on how you feel about suicide missions.”

  “That’s enough, Sergeant.” Hunt didn’t bring up old ranks often; those days were long gone. But Savage needed the reminder of who was in charge here before Hunt was forced to kick his teeth in. “If you can’t be useful, get the fuck out.”

  “Fine.” Savage stalked across the room and bent over a file box on the floor. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and the whip scars across his back shined in the low light. The pain of commiseration swept between them but was quickly tamped down when Savage stomped back across the room with a stack of photos in his hand. “You want a weakness? Here it is.”

  Hunt flipped through the pictures. They were all taken at different times and locations, but always of the same girl. “When did I say you could do your own surveillance?”

  Savage ignored the question because he was an insubordinate fuck. “That’s the senator’s kid. She’s his only child.”

  The first thing Hunt noticed about the girl was how young she was, like it would be a stretch to put her out of high school. In every picture she wore button-up shirts and knee-length skirts. Initially, he assumed that she was wearing a school uniform, but each outfit was slightly different in color and style. The girl was making a choice to dress like a Sunday School teacher.

  He was pissed at Savage for tailing her without clearing it with him beforehand, but that didn’t stop him from being intrigued. “Tell me more.”

  “The girl’s name is Sophia. She’s a freshman at Conscience College in West Virginia.”

  So a little older than she looked, but not by much.

  “Conscience,” he repeated the name, trying to place it. “Isn’t that the hyper-conservative place that was founded by a televangelist to train warriors for Christ or some shit?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Poor girl, Hunt thought, a brief moment of pity for the enemy. No wonder she dressed like the child bride of a polygamist. “That’s not a school. It’s a breeding ground for religious wingnuts.”

  “I’m sure she’s a very happy little robot.” When Savage laughed, the sound was not pleasant. “Point is, the girl is an easy target. Maybe we can use her to put the squeeze on Reynolds.”

  “How?”

  “Snatch her up.” Savage had an almost maniacal look in his eyes. He had more scars than the rest of them—both inside and out. He looked eager at the thought of finally getting his hands on someone, no matter who it was. “If Reynolds wants her back, he’ll have to give us what we need first.”

  And what they needed was information on Project Alpha and the people who had destroyed their lives. Senator Reynolds was their only link to the project architects, the ones who were still out there conducting their sick experiments. Those fuckers needed to be stopped. Getting their revenge would be icing on that shit cake.

  “The girl is innocent,” Chase said. He had a sentimental streak that was completely at odds with his bear-like appearance.

  “Nobody’s innocent,” Savage snapped. “The senator is her father. She’s probably as dirty as he is.”

  Chase had to respond. “We won’t hurt her—”

  “Much,” Savage interrupted with a laugh that bared his teeth. “No more than she deserves.”

  There was no telling what they would do with a girl like that at their mercy. Project Alpha had changed them, created urges for dominance and destruction that would make them unrecognizable as the men they were before.

  At their worst, they could destroy this girl and love every minute of it.

  “We’ll do what we have to do,” Hunt finally said, ending the argument. “Tell me more about the girl. How do we get to her?”

  He deliberately didn’t use her name. Keeping it impersonal was the only way to get through this. There was no telling what they’d have to do to her before it was all over.

  Savage opened up a beat-to-hell Toughbook and typed in a few words with one hand. “Conscience let out for a class break a few days ago. The girl will be staying at the townhouse with her father until they resume.”

  Hunt looked over his shoulder at a blueprint of the senator’s townhouse that was pulled up on the screen. Savage had always been a genius at hacking computer systems. It was one of the few reasons Hunt hadn’t beaten him to death for his shitty attitude.

  “I thought you said Reynolds has crazy security.”

  “Reynolds does.” Savage pressed another key. A zoomed-in picture of the girl’s face filled the screen. “They go with him everywhere. We just need to sit on her for a bit and wait until she’s alone. Picking her up will be easy.”

  Hunt’s gaze moved over her face. In the picture, she was running to catch up with someone. Her eyes were bright and her full lips parted as if she were midsentence. She’s pretty, he noted distantly. Pretty in that sweet, innocent way of a girl who never grew out of the stage where other people made all of her decisions for her.

  And one of those people was almost certainly her father. Eventually it would be whatever conservative mouth-breather that the senator picked out for her to marry. They’d live in a suburban house, have exactly two kids, and attend church every Sunday.

  She looked happy and oblivious.

  The moment that they got their hands into her, she’d turn into a blubbering, blithering mess. It probably wouldn’t even be fun in the way the monster inside of him hoped it would be. They’d send a few pictures of her roughed up to th
e senator and he’d give them whatever information they wanted to get her back.

  As Hunt stared at her picture, it almost seemed like she was looking back at him. Her obvious innocence was in direct contrast with the dark thoughts swirling through his head. His gaze moved again over the girl’s face. She was like a puzzle with a piece missing right in the center. Something about her seemed unfinished, incomplete.

  His beast wanted to rip her apart and fuck whatever was left. But the monster could wait. He had to keep her alive long enough to make a trade.

  Destroy her.

  He shook off the evil thoughts and turned back to Savage. “You sure she’s going to be enough? Somebody as cold as Reynolds might just let his daughter die before giving himself up.”

  Savage grinned and it looked more like a baring of teeth. “We’ll think of a way to convince him we’re serious. The last thing that the senator wants is for all of this to go public. He’s about to run for president, remember?”

  The thought of that crooked fuck as commander-in-chief set Hunt’s teeth on edge. That bastard might not have gotten his own hands dirty with Project Alpha, but he knew what happened there and he’d profited off of their suffering. They were subjected horrors that weren’t meant to be survivable, all in the hopes of creating obedient super-soldiers who were all brawn and no brains to do the things that the government couldn’t acknowledge needed to be done.

  Their rage—the only thing that had saved them—was an intended consequence.

  “How long do you think it’ll be?”

  “No telling. The senator is going hard on the campaign trail. Lots of appearances with his loving family in tow. I think the guy is on his third wife at this point. But the daughter makes a nice piece of set-dressing when he’s trying to play on all that family values shit.”