The Unnaturals (Discontinued)

Eleven.

North Taylor practically flew through the halls in an effort to get to Sang's room, leaving Nathan and Gabriel scrambling to catch up. This couldn't be happening. He was trapped in a goddamn nightmare. She couldn't die. He just found her. She couldn't fucking die.

Outside room nine, he halted. They needed to go in together. Despite the shit that was happening, they had to keep up appearances.

His fist wouldn't stop shaking with need. To protect her. To fight.

Nathan reached him first, barely winded despite the sprint. Gabriel, however, was panting and cursing as he tried to catch his breath. His body was made for water, not land.

North threw the door open and ushered his brothers in.

"Where is her locker?" He demanded. They knew who he meant. One girl pushed her corkscrew curls out of her face and hissed.

"Top left," she muttered in reply. Even in the dark, North could see the puffiness of her eyes. The grimace sketched into her face. He wasted no time in opening the locker. There wasn't much there. A comb, a towel, a few items of clothing, and some basic toiletries. Nothing personal. He grabbed a pair of leggings and a camisole and bolted from the room. His brothers would have her sent surrounding them all night. He needed some of it too.

He navigated his way through the labyrinth that was the compound until he reached his own bedroom. Well, his and three other handlers. Thankfully none of whom were in the room. North jammed a hand under his mattress, and pulled out his black-cased cell phone. He flicked through it until he found the app to contact Kota. He redlined him once and hung up. Twice. Three times. Then he shoved the phone back into its hiding place and headed for the woods, Sang's clothes clutched tightly in his fist.

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Owen Blackbourne's heart thundered in his chest. This couldn't be good. North had contacted Kota using the signal reserved for only the most dire emergencies. Now Kota and he stood at the edge of the forest, waiting to hear what horrors North had for them. Owen could hear Kota tap against his leg, silently counting. Please don't let her be dead. He could handle anything but that. Anything but his sweet little mate gone from this world before he even really knew her.

He could smell North before he saw him. But there was something else entwined with the bear's sent. Something feminine. Owen's stomach tightened. Beside him, Kota stiffened.

"This way," North growled. No one was with him. He took off deeper into the forest. Owen and Kota kept pace. As if anything could deter Owen from parting with that scent.

They stopped about a mile away, on the other side of a small river. It would cover their noise and their scent. North spun on them. His eyes were glowing with rage and terror. He opened his mouth.

"Give it to me," Kota barked, pointing at the pieces of clothing North held. So that's where the delicious odor was coming from.

"No."

"Give it to me now!" Kota used just a bit of persuasion into his words, forcing North to comply. His arm jutted out in front. Kota took the camisole from North's unfurled hand. A hand now tipped with claws. And though it was terrible of him, Owen snagged the other piece of clothing and buried his nose in it. Her sent was fruity, but there was something else to it. Home. She smelled like a home he had been searching for all his life.

"This- this is my mate's scent." Kota' voice shook. He buried his face in the fabric again. "Whose clothes are these?"

Shit. At this point would all this brothers share a mate with him? Owen leveled a glare at Kota. One which North soon mimicked.

"Sang's," North grunted. "I want them back."

"No. Let me keep it."

North roared.

Sensing the fight that was about to happen, Owen reluctantly returned the clothing he had. North pressed it to his face an inhaled.

"Why did you call us here, Mr. Taylor?" North exhaled a shaky breath.

"Some bitch lied about Sang plotting to escape." No. No no no no no. "They have her in the lowest level of the compound. According to a handler they are going to torture for a while then kill her. We're out of time."

Owen's heart stopped. He wanted to scream. He wanted to let loose the beast just below his skin and let it do as it pleased. This was his worse fear come to life. He couldn't protect her. He couldn't save her. He couldn't be what she needed. He allowed himself one, low growl. Kota bared his fangs and snarled.

"Do you have access to this part of the compound?"

"No, but I can fix that real damn quick."

"And get yourself killed," Kota said. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "We need a plan."

"Indeed. We can't get her out through a delivery truck now. Mr. Taylor, are the lowest levels guarded at all times?"

"Yeah. And they're strict about it too. Nothing goes in or out without proper approval."

"Even on fight night?" North's eyes lit up. The briefest shimmer of hope.

"Yes, but they're distracted then. Almost all the handlers bet on the fights."

"That would be the best opportunity." The hope vanished.

"But that's five days from now. She could be dead then."

"It's the best we've got."

"And it's better than nothing," Kota whispered, almost to himself.

"It could work," North mused. "I could say they made the last minute decisions to have her fight. To kill her that way. Then we could have a car waiting..."

"It will have to work," Owen said. There was no alternative. No other outcome. It would work and she would be alive. Then he could keep her safe.

She just had to last five days. He clenched his fists, willing her to do it. She was strong. She would prevail.

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Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading, and sorry for the late update. I just want to take a minute to dedicate this chapter to my teacher, who died last week. Thus why I didn't update as planned.