When Maggie Black is freed from captivity, she tries to return to a normal life. But one night with her friends, she meets her mates. Desire grows quickly between them and she revels in the connection. An attack on her reveals the danger isn’t all in the past.

Jeremiah, Gideon, and Sterling Shaw found their mate and they’d do anything to keep her safe and with them. When the attacks keep coming, they stay close and watch over her while trying to allow her a normal life. The attraction draws them closer to her. They desperately try to discover who’s coming after her and protect her until they do. Now that they’ve found her, they can’t lose her.

With attacks still coming, they struggle to keep her safe and Maggie fears it will never end. The sex with her three men is deliciously intense and Maggie’s feelings deepen. Somehow, they have to stop these attacks before they lose everything.

Chapter One

When would this end?

Maggie leaned her head against the wall and scrunched into the corner of the cage. The chilly metal pressed against her cheek. Caged like some damned misbehaving pet. She shook her head. This sucked.

At least, huddling at the back gave her some distance from the sticks the guards poked into the cages when they needed to move them. The clubs were slightly less painful than those damn cattle prods as long as the bastards only used the clubs to guide or nudge her.

She licked dry, chapped lips. Damn, she needed help. Had Penny remembered the code? Does she know I’m in trouble?

Maggie shook her head. Penny would catch it even if she didn’t realize the truth at first. The mention of Granger might take her off guard, but hopefully, their recent conversation about the code would help. Penny would remember and Ethan would tear this city apart. Hopefully, before Maggie lost her mind.

“Hey.” A rough voice sounded from the cage next to her.

Maggie sat up. When had they put someone in that cage? It had been empty the last time she saw it. She tilted her head. With that deep voice, it had to be male. But was he actually a prisoner?

The man could be a plant to keep an eye on them. One of the other women had muttered about someone betraying her when she tried to escape. What better way to gain a prisoner’s trust than to act like one as well.

“Hey, little cat, don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here. I’m Jeremiah.” His voice sounded a little closer, as if he leaned against the bars on his side of the box.

The wall blocked her view of him and the bars were too close to get even a peek at his hands. How long had he been here? Was there another holding area or could they have just brought him in?

“Why should I be worried? I’m only sitting in a little box like a bad puppy.” She kicked at the wall. “And how many of you are over there? Who’s the we?”

“Unfortunately, right now, it’s just me, but you know how this goes. Someone will come.” His voice lowered. “We’ll get you to safety.”

“As I said, just having a little vacation.” And when she got the chance, she would rake her claws over that doctor’s face. Whatever he’d pumped into her kicked her system in high gear.

“Come closer so we can talk quietly. I don’t know if they have listening devices in the cages.” He tapped the side of the wall.

She shrugged. What else could she do? Not like anyone was saving them at the moment. She scooted closer. But she wouldn’t trust him. She couldn’t take the chance.

“You’re here now, aren’t you?” His voice was so low, barely a whisper.

“Yeah.” She leaned her head against the wall.

“I couldn’t believe it when they dragged you past me. I never thought I’d be happy to be in this place,” he said.

“Why would you be happy?” She frowned. Had the drugs made him crazy?

“I found you. You’re my mate.” His voice softened.

Oh, hell, didn’t he realize it probably wasn’t true? They’d injected her with so much stuff that she couldn’t trust anything her senses told her. He was probably in the same situation.

“Have they injected you?” She leaned her head against the wall separating them. A distinct musky scent combined with an acrid hint of coffee swirled around her. Her heart raced. Mate.

“Yes. Several times before they brought me over. I was asleep when they did that, so they could have pumped more into me,” he whispered.

“What they’ve put into me has me so messed up. It’s probably not true. I know they’re tampering with the reproductive system and some of the drugs probably fuck with our senses. Don’t get your hopes up about that. It would be worse finding out it’s not true.” She put her hand on the wall. But if it was true, it would be one decent thing to come out of this clusterfuck of a disaster.

“No talking down there.” Two guards strode down the aisle between the cages. They rapped on the bars. “Get back from the bars.”

* * * *

Maggie struggled against the two men holding her. Her pulse pounded against her chest. Fear and anger dueled for supremacy.

She wrenched to the left. No, not again. Those bastards wouldn’t probe her again. The two men held her and dragged her down the corridor. She stomped on the right one’s foot and rammed her elbow into the ribs of the man on her left. The guard grunted.

She turned. Something dug into her stomach a moment before current jolted through her. Fire seared through her and her muscles seized. She fell to the ground, a burning pain pulsing through her.

Fucking hell. She gasped. Her breath locked in her throat. The two guards picked her up by the arms and dragged her down the hallway.

“When are you going to learn, little kitty? Fighting won’t get you anything but pain.” The guard on the right chuckled.

Bastard. If she got out of here, she’d use his ass as a scratching post.

They carried her into the examination room and lifted her onto the table. The guards strapped her down and secured her hands before they positioned her legs. She kicked, but it was too late. They lashed her legs into the stirrups.

The men left the room and the last one turned at the door. “The doctor will be in soon, kitty.”

Maggie’s heart raced and she twisted, wrenching to the left and right. The straps dug into her arms and stomach. Cold fear ran down her spine. Not again. Not again.

A loud boom rumbled and vibrations shook the building. Maggie gasped, staring toward the door. What the hell?

Maggie twisted, trying to slip free of the bindings. What was that noise? That had never happened before.

It could have been anything. So much seemed to be happening here. She heard that beep-beep sound of a machine backing up a couple times, but this wasn’t a warehouse. Other than the cages on the lower levels, it seemed to be something akin to an office building or maybe a clinic considering the medical equipment in some of the rooms.

But the only thing outside seemed to be trees and one road in. A simple glance out the window one day as they were wheeling her for a test had revealed that. That could be more trickery though. It would be so easy to attach a picture to the outside of the window.

She twisted on the table. Was that damn doctor going to come in the room? Was he going to inject her again and do another pelvic exam? She’d lose it if she had to deal with much more of this.

Soft thuds sounded in the hallway and a soft murmur made it through the thin door. She caught her breath. Was it the doctor and his thugs back to take more samples? Fuck. Nothing was consistent about these tests, samples, and injections. Yeah, they were doing something with fertility. But why? None of it made sense, especially since males and females weren’t put together.

The door flew open and a man in black stood, staring at her. That wasn’t one of the guards. They wore tan uniforms and didn’t have riot gear on. The man blinked once.

“We have a female victim down here.” The man stepped out into the hall and waved his hand. “It’s all right. We’re here to help you.”

Maggie rested her head on the table. Thank God. Finally, she’d get out of here. Was Ethan here? Had he managed to find her?

A female in black came into the room. She walked over and loosened the straps, first on her hands.

“Hi, I’m Lana. We’ll get you and the others out of here.” She pulled the buckle loose on her chest. “Some of the counselors pulled in to help with this mission suggested females be ready to help any captive females.”

“Maggie, and I hoped someone would come. I’ve been holding out hope.” Maggie sat up as the buckle on her stomach fell away.

“Maggie Black?” The woman’s eyes snapped back up to her and she stopped loosening the belt at her feet.

“Yes, how do you know my name?” Maggie frowned and reached down to her opposite leg to pull the belt free.

“Your brother Ethan’s here. He’s the one who started the search for the doctor and the facility. Without him pushing, I doubt that anyone would have put everything together yet.” The woman released her leg. “I’ll have someone bring him.”

Maggie exhaled. “That would be good.”

“Where are the other captives?” the male asked.

“There are levels below this. There’s an elevator. Go down the hall, turn right, and head straight down that corridor until you reach them.” Maggie grimaced. “You’ll need a key to use them, though. The guards have them at their belts. Did you get the doctor or did he manage to escape?”

“We have the doctor and have seized everything here. Going through it all will take time. Plus, we’ll need to see what we can discover about the purpose of this. This is a well-funded operation.” The woman smiled. She went to a closet and pulled out a lab coat. “Here, wear this. You’ll need something when you’re taken out of here.”

Maggie slid off the table and braced her hands on the padded surface as her knees buckled. Damn, maybe she hadn’t shaken off the jolt of electricity yet. She held her breath and stiffened her legs. Fuck.

She straightened and put on the white coat. The thin garment hung to her knees, but it was better than the tattered, thin, white shirt she wore. They’d thrown it into her cell after they’d put her in that first time.

“I’ve only been to the section I was in, but I think there were others. There was a guy in the cell next to me for a while who’d been brought from somewhere else. Don’t leave anyone here.” Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The man who’d said he was her mate was down there somewhere. She shook her head. No, can’t think of that. It’s not true. Just the drugs talking. If it wasn’t, she might be walking away from her mate. And that would be the ultimate screw over from this whole experience.

“We won’t. We’ll go through this place and make sure everyone is out.” The woman smiled.

Ethan and Dawson rushed into the room. They ran over to her. She exhaled and tension leached from her muscles. They’d found her.

“Damn, Maggie, you scared the shit out of us.” Ethan pulled her close in a fierce hug.

“I scared you? This all terrified me.” Maggie tightened her arms around him before releasing him. She took a deep breath as Ethan stepped back.

Dawson hugged her and then let her go. “Penny’s been worried sick about you.”

“Did she realize I was in trouble? Did she get the clue?” Maggie looked up.

“She knew the night you called her. We’ve been trying to find this place since then.” Ethan ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he’d missed a few days of sleep.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” John stepped up to the doorway.

“Will this place be fully shut down? Everyone taken in?” Ethan frowned.

“Yes, the local shifters are taking care of it. The cougar alpha seems to have finally stepped up, but the other shifters will keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn’t back off. They’ll close this place down and make sure to follow up on any information that’s found. But this operation is finished.” John waved his hand as Logan stepped up beside him.

“Good.” Maggie nodded. “This shit needs to end. Can we stop somewhere I can shower before we go home? I need to wash and get into some clean clothes. “

“We’ve got a hotel room waiting. You can clean up and then we’ll head back to Casworth.” Ethan nodded.

Maybe with time, she could get over this and life would return to normal. Maggie clenched her fist. Was there normal after something like this?