Skin Walkers: Angel Lost Read online

  SKIN WALKERS:

  ANGEL LOST

  By

  Susan A. Bliler

  Copyright © 2016 by Susan A. Bliler

  www.susanbliler.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Cover fonts, spine, and back cover done by:

  Cindy Hubbard

  www.cind-e-designs.com

  Images courtesy of Shutterstock

  Editing done by:

  Leiah Cooper with

  So I Read This Book Today…

  http://soireadthisbooktoday.com/

  As always thanks to my Beta, Cindy.

  I couldn’t do this without you.

  Thanks for believing in me when no one else did.

  ;o) ting

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidences are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Susan A. Bliler.

  DEDICATION

  I would like to dedicate this book to my fellow authors.

  For those days at work, watching the clock, eager to get home to a good book.

  For those moments reading an outstanding passage where you actually stop to squeal with delight.

  For those moments when your husband stares at you like you’re crazy because you set your book down and scream, “NOOOOO!” at the top of your lungs.

  Thank you all so much for the minutes, hours, days, and years of entertainment. I am honored and humbled to count myself among you.

  Prologue

  “They found you! You’ve got incoming!”

  “What?” Monroe StoneCrow snarled, as he dropped his pen onto the stack of paperwork on his desk.

  “ETA five minutes, Monroe! Get your people secure. Trouble’s coming to your fucking door!”

  Monroe stiffened as he recognized the voice on the other end of the line. “HEY!” he shouted, trying to stop the caller from hanging up. “Who? When?”

  The sound of snapping teeth carried over the line. “It’s them! And they’re coming RIGHT FUCKING NOW!”

  “Get your ass here!”

  “No. And if you send Walkers after me, they won’t be coming back!”

  The line went dead. Monroe stared at the receiver for only a moment before shooting up from his desk, bellowing, “KING!”

  His Chief of Security and personal guard rushed into the room even as Monroe raced toward him. The two men nearly collided as Monroe grabbed King’s arm and turned him, shoving the behemoth out the door in front of him.

  “Megalya are coming!” Monroe snarled, feet never faltering even when King turned incredulous eyes on him. “Grab her!” He shoved King toward Amanda EnemyHunter, who’d stood from her desk and was gaping at Monroe.

  King didn’t hesitate. Snagging Amanda’s hand, they rushed out of the office after Monroe.

  Reaching out through the Skin Walkers telepathic link, the mist, Monroe struggled to concentrate on all the Walkers currently in the main estate house. “Megalya are here! Secure your families…” He didn’t get to finish his words. The ground beneath his feet rumbled as artillery rounds rocked the grounds. Turning, Monroe snarled to King, “Get your ass out there! I’m going for my family.”

  “AMANDA!” Mason bellowed from the end of the hall, racing toward his Angel. King relinquished her, ordering Mason as he passed, “Get her to the bunker!” As people began flooding the halls, staring about wild-eyed, King amended, “Get them all to the bunker.”

  A second round slammed into the building, and people stumbled as the building rocked. The lights flickered, then went out, the sudden darkness dragging screams from the women and children in the hall.

  “Shit,” King growled, panic lacing his tone. “Another one hit the building!” He turned to Monroe for direction, but he was already gone.

  Chapter 1

  Nearing his suite, Monroe’s heart contracted when he saw his son, Micah, rushing toward him with he and Eden’s youngest, Roan, crushed to his chest. Their daughter Peyton, crying uncontrollably, held Micah’s other hand. Ransom and Cole tagged behind, fear-filled eyes meeting his as JoJo ushered them forward, even as she shot worried eyes to Micah.

  “MONROE!” Micah shouted, relief evident in his tone as he ushered his younger siblings toward their father.

  “DADDY!” Peyton broke off from Micah to rush Monroe, and he bent and scooped the girl up in his arms. Cole and Ransom hurried forward as well, relief at finding their father filling their faces.

  “JoJo,” he barked, “grab onto Micah’s coat.” His older daughter did as directed as Monroe barked at Micah, “We’ve got to get everyone to the bunker.” He flicked a glance over Micah’s shoulder. “Where’s your mother?”

  Micah’s feet pounded as he raced to stay behind Monroe as swarms of people—all heading the same direction—nearly separated them. “She went to the cafeteria to get the boys some pudding!”

  Monroe’s heart raced, making it even harder to concentrate as a cacophony of Walker voices assailed his mind with reports.

  “Front gates have been breached!”

  “Monroe, we’re under attack!”

  “Gymnasium is demolished, get everyone to the bunker!”

  “There’s a fire at the tree line near where the parking garage used to be!”

  “Monroe, I’ve contacted Tyce, he’s sending his Walkers!”

  Nearly dizzy from the roar in his head, Monroe focused on the task at hand. Down two flights of stairs to the main level, Monroe turned and hurried along with the crowd to the double doors leading down to the basement bunker, designed with just this type of incident in mind. Reinforced metal beams, food stores, and winding tunnels leading in several directions off the Estate were specifically designed to keep Walker children and Angels safe in the event of an attack. Monroe was relieved to find a good portion of the Estate’s population huddled within, but few Walker males were present, though he wasn’t surprised. The most viable Walker males would be outside, battling to protect their home, their families, and their friends.

  Setting Peyton down, Monroe turned to Micah. “Stay here!” Micah opened his mouth to protest, but Monroe didn’t allow it. He couldn’t, there simply wasn’t time. “You’re in charge. Keep them safe. Keep them all safe. I’m going for your mother.” Monroe scanned the room, his eyes locking on where Banta was setting a child on his feet. The Walker Sentry turned to exit the bunker, but Monroe stopped him with a barked, “SENTRY!”

  Banta turned, and when his eyes locked on Monroe, he rushed to him.

  “I’m going to find my Angel.” He punched a finger toward his children. “Guard my children!”

  Banta nodded once, moving quickly to where Monroe and Eden’s six children huddled in fear as the Dominant turned to leave.

  The sea of people gathered in the bunker parted to allow Monroe through, and his gut wrenched at having to leave his children behind. It might not have been so bad if he’d been afforded a moment to console them, and tell them he loved them, but there just wasn’t any time. They were safe for the time being, but Eden was somewhere in the manor and Monroe had to find her. Her safety was the single most important thing right now.

  At the doors to the basement, Monroe felt the mental nudge indicating another message was coming through specifically for him.

  “Holy hell, the main house has been hit. The school and cafeteria are wrecked!”

  The words flooded his system with horror. Eden had gone to the cafeteria!

  His shift explo
ded from Monroe, and he used his mountain lion’s powerful claws to propel himself at breakneck speed to the east wing of the main floor. Arriving, he slammed to a stop as he saw the devastating carnage. A gaping hole was ripped through the side of the building, the walls fallen, debris and smoke clogging the air.

  Shifting back to his human form, Monroe screamed, “EDEN!” When there was no response, he flared his nostrils and inhaled deeply, ignoring the burn in his throat and eyes from the pungent smoke. He couldn’t scent his Angel! A guttural growl rolled from his throat as he launched himself forward, vaulting over a downed beam. His feet crunched on broken glass as he shouted again. “EDEN!”

  Then, Mason was there. “We’ll find her!”

  Mason began lifting debris, throwing it over his shoulder as Monroe watched him in a daze for a moment, before he blinked and began following suit. It wasn’t until moments later when, annoyance bunching his brows, he realized the reason he couldn’t focus his eyes was because they were filled with tears. “Be okay, be okay, be okay, Damn It!” Monroe didn’t pray often, but he was right now. He was begging. “I’ll do anything, if you just let her be okay!”

  “MONROE!” Mason barked. “HERE!”

  Dropping the huge piece of wall in his hands, Monroe raced to Mason, feeling his heart seize when he saw a lifeless hand poking out from under a large slab of concrete wall.

  “Help me,” Mason grunted, as he grabbed a section of the wall and attempted to lift, to no avail. He groaned, straining against the weight.

  Monroe shoved him aside, even as Mason breathed, “Too heavy. Need more men!” He turned to go for help, but Monroe didn’t wait. He couldn’t.

  Gripping the wall, Monroe’s muscles bunched as he used every ounce of his strength, and the adrenalin rush of pure desperation, to lift the concrete slab off his Angel with a long, anguished groan.

  “Shit!” Mason spun, rushing back to Monroe’s side to wordlessly grab a side of the wall, adding his strength to that of the Dominant.

  Once the wall was up, Monroe strained to hold it in place as he grunted, “GR-GRAB HER!”

  “Shit!” Mason hissed, releasing his hold on the wall and dropping to reach under and pull Eden to safety. “WE’RE CLEAR!”

  Monroe dropped the wall and spun, a cloud of dust and debris kicking around him as the wall slammed to the floor.

  Mason pressed his fingers to Eden’s throat. “She’s breathing.”

  Rushing forward, Monroe swallowed hard at the ashen pallor of his mate and the blood pouring down her face from a wicked gash at her hairline. Taking his Angel from Mason’s arms, he cleared a felled beam in one jump, then raced for the infirmary.

  Chapter 2

  Stepping into the long corridor leading to the infirmary, Monroe was shocked to a halt. The hall was lined with people, some injured, some providing what aid they could to the medical staff, while others raced back and forth with bandages and other supplies. Stoney, one of the nurses, was running triage, barking orders at the Walkers bringing in casualties. “NO! Put him over there. Only the most serious cases are going down the hall to Jenny!”

  Stoney’s eyes snagged on Monroe and she raced over. “Oh shit! What happened?” She lifted her stethoscope to her ears and held it to Eden’s chest.

  “She was in the cafeteria when it took a hit. I found her under a portion of fallen wall.”

  Dropping the stethoscope, Stoney gripped Eden’s wrist, lifting her own to study her watch as she waited.

  “Christ,” Stoney hissed. “Bring her this way.”

  She led him down the hall to where Chief of Surgery, Jenny Arkinson, was working feverishly on a patient. Glancing up, Jenny caught sight of Monroe, dropping her eyes to where Eden lay unconscious in his arms. “Put her in room five,” she shouted, then finished her task before following the trio into the room.

  “Stoney, I need more supplies.” Jenny wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. “Send someone, then get to room two. The kid in there needs stitches in his neck.”

  Stoney nodded and disappeared as Jenny leaned over Eden seconds after Monroe set her on the med bed. “What happened?”

  “A wall fell on her,” Monroe snarled, as he quickly stepped back to give Jenny room. “She hasn’t stirred.”

  Stoney popped her head through the door. “We’ve got more incoming, Jen!”

  Jenny snapped at Monroe, “Get out there and help! Send the worst ones to me, all the rest will have to wait. Make them comfortable, and for Christ’s sake, contact Apex. I need their full medical team!”

  Monroe didn’t move, his normally stern face filled with anguish.

  “I’ve got her, Monroe! We need all hands on deck right now, so get out there and help. I’ll take care of Eden.” When he still didn’t move, Jenny straightened. “I swear it, my Dominant. Your Angel comes first and foremost.”

  Monroe knew he needed to go, but leaving Eden when she was injured and unconscious felt wrong. Jenny calling him her Dominant was her way of reminding him that he was responsible for all individuals on the Estate, not just his Eden, and it moved him to slowly back towards the door. “Contact me the second you know something, Jenny!”

  “Got it!”

  Then he was out the door and immersed in caring for the injured. Everything from broken bones and bloody noses to severe cases were filling the hall. Though he knew without any doubts he needed to be outside, battling alongside his Walkers, he couldn’t bring himself to leave the infirmary. He didn’t want to be too far from Eden in case she needed him, or in case… He swallowed hard, unwilling to consider anything other than her waking up.

  He worked for hours that felt like minutes, reports constantly filling his head from Walkers in the field. His head pounded from the constant, and too frequent, contact.

  As battle weary and injured combatants began to filter in, Monroe looked up to see Bishop striding down hall, making straight for Monroe.

  “Dominant.” Bishop bowed his head. His incisors were still elongated from battle, and the deep rumble of his beasts thickened his words. “It is done. The Megalya have scattered.” His darkened eyes glanced down the hall. “The Domina?”

  Monroe shook his head once. “No word.”

  Bishop eyed the numerous injured filling the hallway. “What can I do?”

  Monroe sighed in relief. After hours of comforting the injured and taking orders from medical staff, his feelings of helplessness and worry for Eden were beginning to overwhelm him. Giving orders was what he was good at. “How is the rest of the Estate?”

  Bishop scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck, flexing his muscles. “Main gate and guard houses are destroyed. Gymnasium and parking garage have been leveled, and . . . As you know, part of the east wing was hit.”

  “Is the rest structurally sound?”

  Bishop nodded. “Mateo’s cordoned off the east wings on each floor. He says the rest of the house is solid.”

  “Good. I want all usable rooms on the first floor opened up. We’ll use them as med rooms. Where’s King?”

  “Securing what perimeter we have left. Should I start bringing people up from the basement?”

  “No. I want everyone kept there for now, in case the Megalya regroup and come at us again. I don’t want them out in the open and vulnerable.” He looked down at the woman whose head he held stable while Stony worked. “Can you take over here? I need to check on Eden.”

  Wordlessly, Bishop replaced Monroe’s hands with his own, watching in worry as his Dominant strode down the corridor.

  ***

  Monroe jerked to a halt as he noted Eden’s absence from the room where she was being treated.

  “Where is she?” His barked query had Jenny’s eyes snapping up from the Walker she was treating, before she rushed forward with her hands up, a look of pure compassion on her face. “It’s all right, Monroe. She’s alive. However, there’s been a…complication.”

  Fear pulsed through him, stealing his breath. “With Eden?” He st
epped forward, searching the room for clues. “Where is she? What’s wrong?”

  “She’s awake,” Jenny soothed, and when Monroe smiled, quickly added, “But, as I’ve said, there’s been a complication.”

  The smile vanished from Monroe’s face and his gaze narrowed on Jenny. “Speak!”

  “Physically, she’s going to be fine, but….”

  Monroe was at the end of whatever patience he had clung to as he’d worked in the infirmary hall. He snarled, “WHAT?”

  “Memory loss. The past several years are just…gone. She doesn’t remember me, you, the kids. Her mind has reverted to a former place and time. She doesn’t even remember working for the FWP, or attending the police academy. I’ve contacted Eden’s friend, Robert, to help us pinpoint exactly where in time her memory is. The two of them were friends before she started with Fish and Wildlife. He’s on his way here now.”

  Dazed, Monroe could only scowl at Jenny as her words sunk in. Blinking hard, he took a step back. “She doesn’t remember,” Monroe muttered to himself, before his head snapped up. “How do you know she doesn’t remember me? She hasn’t seen me yet, she might…”

  Jenny shook her head. “I’ve tested her, and she knows she has a head injury, but she doesn’t remember the year, this place, or any of us. I asked her if she was married, and she said no.”

  All color drained from his face. “When? When will her memory return?”

  Jenny shook her head sadly. “There’s no way to know. It could be a few hours, a few days, or….”

  “Or?”

  Her throat convulsed as she swallowed hard. “There is the possibility that this could be permanent, Monroe.”

  His eyes darkened dangerously before he lifted his head, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply. Scenting his Angel, Monroe stalked forward.

  “Monroe! NO!”

  Jenny grabbed his arm, but was shaken off as Monroe stalked out of the room.