Deadly Call by Martha Bourke

worst shot I’ve ever seen you make. Would you stop pacing? They’ll be in any minute.”
    SE handed the cue to Pax. “Something’s not right. I can feel it.”
    That’s when he heard it. Dimitri was shouting his name from the main foyer. He flew around the corner and down the short hallway. X was holding Ana in his arms.
    SE’s blood pressure spiked. “What the hell happened?”
    “ Hellion comes outta nowhere. Second time tonight. Douche whacks her with a two by four.”
    His female was sounding a tad ornery. “I’m fine, X. Would you please put me the hell down?”
    SE held out his arms and took hold of his mate. “I’ve got her. Thanks, X. Let’s get you downstairs to Helen, ihkweea. ”
    “Guess where it got me, my male?” She grinned. “In the ribs.”
    SE shook his head. “There’s a surprise.”
    When he got his hands on the Frankenfucker, he was going to pull its insides out through its mouth and leave it to die out in the cold. No returning to the Goddess bullshit.
    The worried males all followed them down into the compound and then waited outside the exam room door in silence. Every time Ana said I’m fine , they chuckled.
    Troy smiled. “We should come up with a drinkin’ game.”
    Pax laughed. “Yeah, we should.”
    SE poked his head through the curtain. “She’s all set, my brothers. Just a couple of broken ribs. I’ll be taking her upstairs in a few minutes.”
     
    Half an hour later, he had them set up in bed with the TV and snacks. They’d pass out when dawn hit in another hour.
    Ana pulled the duvet off and gingerly slid her legs over the side of the bed.
    “Whoa! Park it. I’ll get you whatever you need.”
    She raised a brow. “You gonna pee for me, too?”
    He laughed. She wasn’t one to put up with his alpha male crap that was for sure. And goddamn was it hot.
    When she came out, her mate helped her climb back into bed. He kissed her cheek. “Are you comfortable enough, ihkweea ? How’s the pain?”
    “Not bad. It’s just…”
    He could see she was working something out. “What is it?”
    “You should have seen those hellions tonight, SE. Something wasn’t right. They just showed up with no shifters. None. I’m talking for miles. It just doesn’t make any sense. Toltec would never allow that. The only time they’re on their own is when they’re asleep in the dens. Even then, there are shifters checking on them. I’ve never seen a mutant without one. Have you?”
    He shook his head. “No, I don’t think any of us have.”
    “Let’s think about this. Toltec’s formula is based on that scientist, Sean Delaney’s work, right? He’s the one who originally isolated the shifter gene, but he never intended for it to be used this way. He was simply a geneticist who had a shifter for a daughter and thought he could find a scientific explanation for shapeshifting. The hellions are still highly experimental.”
    He didn’t like where this was going. “Yeah, when you put it like that.”
    “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
    SE looked into his female’s eyes. “Rogues.”
     
    Seth ran up Berkeley Street and turned down one of Boston’s gazillion Public Alleys. The city was old as fuck and provided the perfect playground for those who needed to live in the shadows. He grabbed the top of a fence, and easily hiked himself over the top. His new body was so strong and way faster than his shifter one had been. Sure, he had to pull over, knock off a shifter, and borrow some k’ul every couple of days, but it was a necessary evil. Kinda like stopping for gas. And it was worth it for this body. Before he’d had the body of an athlete. Now he had the body of a hellion . It was like comparing LeBron James to Superman or some shit. Except, as far as he knew, there was no kryptonite for mutants, other than the sharp blade of some dickhead, New Breed warrior.
    Seth knew he had lucked out.
    Big time.
    Not every hellion came through the process with their gray matter