BK 3 - Chapter 11 - Escape
"You got your bear?" Lisa asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Yeah, he said I'm five, and now that he's with me, I'm going to get bigger and stronger." Saxon put them both down as soon as they returned to the suite.
"That's incredible, Alex; congratulations." He could see the disappointment on Lisa's face, but before he could say anything, her eyes widened, and she shrieked loudly.
"I got my lioness. Her name is Aliyah, but she said I can call her Ali. She said I will get bigger and stronger too." Lisa flung her arms around Alex as they jumped around with excitement. Saxon wrapped his arms around both of them.
"I'm so proud of both of you. It's getting late. Do you want some leftover pizza before bed?" The cubs had no clothes other than what they were wearing, so Saxon decided to buy them some to be delivered to the suite. He didn't think taking them out shopping right now was a good idea.
"I'll have a piece. Can we take baths?" Lisa asked as her excitement began to simmer down.
"After you eat, you can take a bath. Hopefully, by the time you wake up, our family will be here, and we can get Lanie back." Saxon went to the small kitchenette and heated up pizza for both of them. Then he pulled out his phone and found a store that had clothes for children of all sizes. With them both having their animals now, he knew they would begin seeing changes in them immediately, so he bought clothes in their current sizes and a few bigger sizes. He paid extra to have everything delivered within an hour.
"Saxon, when we get Lanie back, can we call you guys mommy and daddy?" Alex asked so quietly Saxon could hardly hear him. He sat in the chair next to him and smiled.
"You can call us whatever you want. Do you want us to be your parents?" He asked, looking between the two of them.
"Yes. You saved us. Isn't that something a mommy and daddy would do?" Saxon couldn't help chuckling at Lisa's observation. He could tell they'd been mostly around adults. Even though they were kept in cages, their maturity was beyond five years. He looked at them and had a question that was more for their animals.
"So you two have the same birthday?" He asked, and when they started looking far away, he knew their animals were talking to them.
"Remy said that I was made differently. I didn't have a mommy or daddy. He said I was put in another lady's belly until I could be born." Saxon nodded, it sounded like surrogacy, but he wanted to know for sure. Was there another reason they were making cubs to sell?
"Ali said I was made the same way as Alex. She said they've been watching over us for a long time. The scientists didn't think we would both survive." She continued eating her food like it was no big deal, but Saxon hadn't heard anything sadder. These two cubs hadn't had anyone to look after them their entire lives. He and Lanie wouldn't let anyone hurt them.
After eating, Saxon put them in the bathtub filling it with bubbles. They'd never seen bubbles before, so they were nervous until they touched them. Now he was worried they wouldn't leave the bathtub. When there was a knock on the door, he told the cubs to be quiet. Walking to the door, he looked out the peephole and saw a man with several bags in his hands.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"I have the clothes that you bought." The man held the bags so Saxon could see through the peephole. He still didn't trust that he was alone.
"Leave them at the door. Thank you." The guy probably was innocent, but Saxon wasn't taking any chances. Once he was gone and he didn't see anyone else in the hall, he quickly grabbed the bags. When he returned to the restroom, he heard the cubs talking, so he stopped to listen for a minute.
"Do you think their families will make them leave us here?" Alex asked.
"No. You heard mommy. She said no matter what, they're not leaving us behind." Lisa answered in her matter-of-fact way.
"If we were bigger, we could have saved mommy, and those bad people wouldn't have taken her away. Now daddy is sad, and it's our fault. What if he's mad at us and doesn't want us." Saxon felt his heart breaking at Alex's words. He knew they'd never been loved by anyone except for each other. He walked in and saw the tears running down both their faces. Kneeling down next to the bathtub, he smiled.
"Hey, I heard what you guys were talking about. Lanie and I love you already. No matter what happens, you will never be left behind. When you love someone, you can't forget about them just because something terrible happens. Especially when they're part of your family. It makes me so happy to hear you want to call us mommy and daddy. You're not Alex and Lisa to us, you're our cubs, and we love you. So don't ever think anything is going to make us change our minds." They jumped out of the tub and threw their arms around him, soaking Saxon and the floor. He grabbed towels and covered them as they clung to him.
"We love you too, daddy," Lisa said with her face buried in his neck.
After he got them dressed in their new pajamas, he put them to bed. He stood by the door, watching them sleep for a few minutes. Their innocence was refreshing when everything else seemed to be going haywire. Together he and Lanie would give them the best life they could ever have. They just had to get her back.
Saxon was in desperate need of blood. He found a vampire in the area that would deliver to him. He met her on the suite's balcony and gave her money in exchange for a couple of bags of blood. Once she was gone, he tested it to ensure it wasn't poisoned or tainted. After drinking one bag, he was already feeling better. He knew he wasn't getting any sleep tonight. He just hoped by the time everyone arrived, it wouldn't be too late for Lanie.
_______________
"How much did she take? She should have been awake way before now." Melanie could hear Karlee walking around her. She'd been pretending to be asleep for a while and had been able to learn a lot about them.
Karlee was obviously the one running things. All the others bowed down to her like she was a queen. When she said jump, they asked how high. Vincent was second in command. However, Karlee and Brandon whispered together after everyone else stepped out. They seemed closer than they should be after having already marked their mates.
"I don't know how many cookies she ate. We didn't stick around to count them." Ava answered angrily. Melanie could hear the werecheetahs frustration. She seemed like she didn't want to be there or a part of whatever they were doing.
"Don't get mouthy, Ava. We don't need you." Melanie wondered if she could get Ava to help her.
"If you don't want me telling Vincent about you and my mate, I suggest you keep your mouth shut, dog. I know you think you're running things, but he's the one that gets everything done. You've always been a bitch, Karlee, and I can't wait until we're done so I never have to see your pathetic wolf ass again." Melanie held back her sigh. Asking Ava for help is probably not a good idea. She sounds like she's upset with Karlee personally, not with what they're doing.
"If you know about Brandon and me, why aren't you more upset. It doesn't make you mad that he'd rather be with a wolf than a cat?" Ava laughs with no humor.
"I know he hasn't had sex with you, and he won't. His cheetah won't let him. You're just a distraction. He'll forget about you as soon as we're done here." Melanie stayed perfectly still even as she felt them walking around her.
"That's what you think. What would you say if I told you he's going to reject you, and I'm going to reject Vincent so we can be together." Melanie listened for the others, but there was no noise. Maybe they were in bed, and these two were supposed to watch her. If that were the case, she might be able to take them both down so she can get away.
"I would say you're delusional. We've already marked each other, and so have you and Vincent. Rejecting someone after already marking them can kill you both." Ava sounded like she was getting ready to start throwing punches.
"That's a chance I'm willing to take to be with him. You mean nothing to Brandon. He should have never marked you. I've known him since we were cubs. We were supposed to be together, but then you had to waltz into his life, and he acted like I didn't exist. Why do you think I convinced you both to join us? It was so I could get him back."
*"Chika, do you think we can take them both by surprise?"* Melanie asked anxiously.
*"I think it's worth a shot. They won't want to kill or hurt you because they want the money they will make from selling you. There's no money if you're useless to the buyer. Wait for them to start fighting. That will be your best chance."*
Melanie could feel the tension and anger building in the room. When she heard the first slap, she opened her eyes. Karlee held her hand to her cheek where Ava had just hit her.
"You're going to pay for that," Karlee and Ava lunged at each other at the same time. Melanie saw her opportunity. She jumped up, punched Karlee in the face, and sent her flying across the room. She then turned toward Ava and kicked her hard in the stomach. Her dad had trained her well to take care of herself without shifting.
Before the two women could move or shift, she kicked Karlee in the face so hard it knocked her out. Melanie then turned to Ava, sitting on the ground holding her stomach. She looked up angrily.
"You won't get away. The others will catch you." Melanie sneered at her.
"I'm not scared of you or any of them. I think it's time you took a nap." She kicked Ava in the head, making it slam against the wall. Once they were both out, she looked for a way out. The room she was in had no windows and only one door. She went to the door and slowly opened it. There was no one on the other side. She silently walked out, closing the door softly so it wouldn't make a sound.
Melanie walked slowly down the hallway. Whatever building she was in, there were doors on either side, but she wasn't going to open any of them for fear some or all of the others would be there. At the end of the hall, there was a door with a small window. When she looked outside, she saw they were still in Rio. All she had to do was get out the door, and she could get away.
She put her hand on the door to open it just as she heard a noise behind her. Melanie didn't waste time turning around. When she shoved the door open, an alarm sounded. She took off running as fast as she could across the parking lot. She could hear someone behind her, but she kept going.
