Feral Northern Shifters 2

circled the room. The voice came on again, and he roared and hissed until it shut up.
He didn’t care if he died here, but he wanted to warn Bram. These men weren’t werewolves, but they had talked about Doug. Doug had connections Trey hadn’t realized and Bram needed to know he was in danger.
    Bram hadn’t expected much conversation from Trey, but given the fact that Bram slept for most of the journey there wasn’t much opportunity either.
“Ready?” asked Trey near the end of their trip. Bram nodded and not long after, they drove up to a large but plain building that sat in the middle of nowhere. They had to pass through three sets of guards and two fences, one looking decidedly high tech, and Bram could only hope that Trey’s plan worked, because he didn’t see that the odds of escaping without help were high.
People recognized Trey and were happy to see him, so Bram thought that was a good omen. Trey even seemed pleased to see them too, and it wasn’t a fake reaction. One of the few things he’d said on the way over that wasn’t directly related to their plan was that most of the people at the facility were “good”, whatever that meant.
Trey had also cracked his first joke by telling Bram he’d be presented to them as the cat whisperer. It would have been funnier if it hadn’t meant that Ethan was perceived as being out of control.
Ethan must be going through hell.
They were ushered into the building and someone was striding across the foyer. “Trey.” The voice almost boomed. “Am I glad to see you.”
“I’m surprised you could see me.” Trey shook hands firmly.
“I have some discretion, and this is what I consider an emergency.” The man paused, with a glance at Bram, but spoke only to Trey. “You’ll be going in yourself?”
“No.” Trey made the introductions. “Abraham Carson. Shaun Kingley.”
Abraham Carson wasn’t even his name, but he didn’t have to give ID so Bram shook hands.
“Your specialty then?” Kingley asked.
“Yes.” Bram worked on sounding dispassionate, not desperate. “Where is he?”
“We’ll show you soon. He’s sleeping now.”
“Drugged?” asked Trey.
“Yes.” It quickly became apparent that Kingley wanted to speak to Trey in private, as Trey had anticipated. It was part of the deal. So while Bram was chomping at the bit, he allowed himself to be led by a guard to an area for refreshments.
Although his stomach was not exactly welcoming, Bram forced himself to eat and drink. He might need it. It wasn’t much distraction though, with Bram anxious to see Ethan, to rescue Ethan.
In the middle of his second serving of food, another guard entered the room to call the first away. Bram thought little of it and continued to eat. He sure hoped he didn’t have to shift for a while, as he found the process exhausting and the necessity of eating so much a burden. Halfway through his second meal, the hair on the back of his neck rose, he breathed in deeply, and froze.
He identified Doug just before his alpha entered the room and closed the door, leaving just the two of them present.
“Hello, Bram.” His smile was predatory, and Bram choked. “What? You aren’t happy to see me? Why not? Given that you’ve betrayed me, don’t you want to gloat? Though perhaps it’s a little too soon for gloating on your part. The stronger one always wins out, Bram, I think I’ve told you that.”
Bram pushed away from the table.
Doug stepped forward. “Yes, you should be frightened. But I’ll admit it. I enjoy the smell of fear. And I have time. Trey is happy to let me discipline you.”
He was lying, and something in Bram’s face must have said so, because Doug insisted on the lie. “It is true. Trey doesn’t care about you. All Trey cares about is his career here. He’s making a power move behind closed doors. He’s out to prove that only he can control shifters, cat or wolf. He wants this job back, and Kingley wants to give it to him. I’ve been told they work well together.”
Maybe Doug believed this. Bram didn’t detect deception so much as fury, tightly leashed, and a desire to hurt. But Bram refused to be hurt by Doug again, let alone be killed. If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to save Ethan, and Bram would not leave his lover here, caged and drugged. His gaze darted around the room, looking for a weapon.
Doug smiled again—ugly when he smiled like that. “There’s no escaping this time. I’ve made sure of it.”
Bram’s plate had been