Quarantine was deserted, as if everyone had just dropped their work and abandoned the area. Security had been tightened, but he hadn't seen any troopers as he got out of the car. Owen had no doubts, though. Should anything happen, anything at all, the place would be swarming with armed troops.
For now, he was alone.
Owen braced himself. He squared his shoulders, drew in a deep breath, then relaxed himself by sheer force of will. Nancy had tried to teach him meditation and it had never really worked, but a few things had stuck. He listened to the hum in the back of his mind, located the three clear-cut dots that were the Sorna raptors, then drew in his shields.
Ready.
As ready as he would ever get.
He whistled.
Blue stepped gracefully out of the bushes, clicking and chittering, cautiously approaching the building that she had never been before. Scents assaulted her, of humans and dinosaurs alike.
Owen felt her displeasure at being here.
She didn't like it.
It smelled wrong.
I know, Owen told her. We'll be fine.
The pack had been even more displeased that not all had been allowed to accompany their alpha. Delta had viciously snarled and growled, snapping at Charlie. Echo had yowled when the gates had closed after their alpha and beta had left the paddock.
Owen hadn't liked it either, but having Blue here was complicated enough. All four had been an impossible idea.
They wouldn't actually walk into the complex. That would violate all kinds of protocols for a quarantine area. The three raptors had been isolated on the far side, next to the docking area, and there was an access point that suited Owen's needs.
The raptors had been declared clean, though they had been shot full of vitamins and a cocktail of meds to prevent them catching anything. May had called them hardy little bastards and Owen just knew that they were.
So he and Blue would be able to meet them, without the rest of quarantine being compromised.
Carter, in full gear, armed, and very much alert, shot him a look. The man had been quiet as a mouse the whole time, just watching. It was one of the things he did best, in Owen's opinion: blend into the background and watch.
He was also the only person aside from Owen who was here.
Dan's eyes flicked over to Blue, who returned his gaze calmly. She snuffled softly, then huffed at him. She seemed to straighten up, look taller and more imposing, but not more threatening. Blue briefly tilted her head at him and Carter rested his hands on the barrel of the rifle he had around his neck.
"I'm going in alone, Dan," Owen repeated what he had told his friend countless times already over the past hour.
It got him a brief nod. There was no more need for arguing. Carter didn't like it, had expressed his own displeasure often enough, but he had yielded in the end.
"Be careful," he said neutrally.
Grady shot him a quick smile. "Always am." He turned to his beta. "Blue,"
She fell in step beside him.
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It was just a short walk from the access hatch to the quarantine area reserved for the Sorna raptors. Blue had taken a moment to adjust to the new environment, the smells and faint sounds. Her trust in Owen hadn't let her falter, but he had slowed his step for a moment, scenting.
Now he stood in front of the cage holding the young female and the two males. Her nostrils blew wide as she took in their scent. She rumbled softly. Beta was looking at Owen, alert and on guard, while the two males were threatening with soft growls and hisses.
Blue snarled back, claws flexing, her tail whipping left to right.
One of the males, Red, stepped forward, hissing.
Blue growled deeply, a warning that had Red hesitate. He ducked a little, lips pulled back over sharp teeth, then his jaw dropped open in a warning hiss.
She did the same, front paws spreading wide, showing long, lethal talons.
Posturing, Owen thought. A lot of posturing. This was Blue's island, not the Sorna pack's. She was growling more, then clicked sharply.
Red reared back, huffing. Yellow had joined him, standing closer to Beta, but she was watching Owen with almost curious eyes.
"Hey," he murmured, voice low.
He knew they could hear him, but they didn't understand the language. They had never seen a human before they had been caught by the poachers.
"Hey there, Beta. Red. Yellow."
He looked at each as he called them by the names he had given them himself.
Owen was projecting his status. His stance was non-threatening and non-confrontational. He didn't push his will at the pack just yet. He let them see the alpha and he let them feel his presence, but he had yet to stake a claim on them.
Blue was there. Right there. Her shoulder almost casually touching against his side and her sharp talons rested on his thigh.
It would look dangerous and strangely possessive to an outsider, but it meant so much more as a pack. She was his beta and she would be there for him, no matter what.
The red scars forming over healing wounds on his skin proved it.
A low rumble escaped her throat, barely audible to human ears, but Owen heard it, felt it. And the Sorna pack heard it, too.
For them they were the alpha pair.
The young female stayed still, watched them, then gurgled softly.
Owen let his shields drop slowly. He wasn't crazy enough to open up completely, just peeled back layer by layer to see when it would be enough. He reached for the other raptor and felt her alien mind. She wasn't pack and neither were the two males, but he had learned to roughly interpret their communication. It was like listening to a foreigner speaking English, someone who had learned it not too long ago and wasn't fluent.
"We're going to get you back to Isla Sorna," he told Beta, voice even and calm.
She barked, her mind pushing images at his. Red and Yellow were watching him with cold eyes.
"With the eggs," he added, understanding what she was trying to communicate. "Your eggs are currently in the hatchery, kept at optimum warmth, being cared for. We don't intend to keep them. They are not ours."
Blue growled her agreement. She added a convincing trill.
"They belong with you. You are in charge of the pack now."
She would make a good alpha one day. Right now she was struggling with being in charge, though the males deferred to her. The alpha had died, as had the alpha's mate. The eggs were still there and intact.
"You'll be aboard a ship back to Sorna tomorrow," Owen told him. "We have to sedate you, though."
The three raptors snarled, the males more than the female. Tails whipped and claws flexed.
Owen didn't react, just waited out the surge of anger. Blue slightly shifted her weight, bumping against him, her claws pushing gently against his thigh, barely felt through the jeans, but so very much capable of just slicing through the material and into his muscles.
Beta's eyes flicked from Owen to her and back again. She made soft clicking and rumbling sounds. Owen felt her confusion, her doubt, but there was still no clear communication. He was learning, though.
"It has to be done," the alpha said calmly, projecting it clearly. "It's the only way you can get back. You will be sedated. The eggs will be kept safe and the moment we are back on your island, you'll be released and the eggs given into your care."
The young female snorted, then rumbled her understanding. She snapped at Yellow, who was still growling threateningly, and the male raptor stepped back. He chuffed.
Owen nodded. "I give you my word as alpha that you'll get home. What happened was terrible. Your first encounter with humans and they took your alpha pair."
Beta hummed, stepping closer until she was so close only the bars separated Owen from her. She sniffed, nostrils wide, and then snorted.
Grady smiled. Blue stretched out her neck and sniffed at the younger raptor. She churred, chittering a little under her breath.
Beta tilted her head, studying her, then whistled and clicked. Blue pulled back, huffing.
Different. Not like us, she told Owen.
No, not like you. But they are raptors. Not family. More like… extended relatives.
Beta watched them. Red and Yellow had come closer, too, wary, but they were responding to the female's acceptance.
She sees the beta-alpha. She feels you are powerful.
Owen rubbed his palm over her shoulder, smiling briefly. "Jealous, Blue?" he murmured.
She snorted, but she brushed her nose over his cheek, a clear sign to the Sornas. I am beta-alpha to you.
Beta watched them, then rumbled at her pack. The two males quieted down more, though they were still very much on guard.
"We'll be there to get you home. I'll be here," Owen said, firmly pushing that across into their minds.
Beta snorted, then turned and padded to the other side of the cage, Yellow and Red following.
"Okay," Owen said with an exhalation of air. "Our signal to go."
Blue gave an amused chuff. Grady shared her amusement.
"C'mon," he chuckled. "Let's go home."
He gestured at Blue to follow, which she did after a look back at the other raptors.
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Outside, after the airlock hatch had closed firmly behind them, Owen drew a deep breath. Blue chittered softly.
Not pack. Never pack.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Wasn't ever planning on keeping them here. That would be inviting trouble."
She agreed.
Carter was waiting for them, leaning against the car, looking at ease but far from it. His eyes tracked the edge of the trees, then came to rest on Blue.
She tilted her head, warbling a little, studying their guard.
Carter didn't say a word, just held her gaze calmly.
Blue huffed, then disappeared into the jungle, heading home.
Dan pushed away from the SUV. "All set?" he asked neutrally.
"Yeah. They understand we want to help."
"Do they now?"
"In their own way. They're just as intelligent as their ancestors, Dan, with complex social structures and communication. Those three lost their alpha pair and their eggs."
"Do they accept you as their alpha? The alpha pair?"
Grady laughed. "No way. I'm not trying to get another pack and it wouldn't work that way anyway. I can communicate on basic levels with them, push the concept of what we want to do into their minds. They can understand that like a toddler would, but they don't trust me. They respond to the alpha, no more, no less."
Carter nodded. "Okay. Understood. So, what's the next step?"
"We have to find a way to get them to Sorna without much fuss. Sedated, of course."
Carter opened the door. "Get in. We got planning to do."
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"No! No way, Grady!"
Owen met the gray-blue eyes, steely in the depths. "You will need all the help you can get!"
"You're in no condition! And we can handle releasing the raptors. Foxworth will sedate them, then we wake them up on Sorna. Easy."
Owen glared at him. He was healing. The stitches had come out, the scars, while still bright red, were looking good. He wasn't bleeding, he wasn't weak. And his head was fine. He had all his shields back, able to go about his life without the danger of getting caught in another dinosaur mind again.
"You can't just dump them back on the island!" he argued.
"And why not?"
"Because you need to get them to accept the eggs, call the pack, and not eat you, Carter!"
"I think we can handle them," Dan replied sarcastically, folding his arms in front of his chest.
Owen glared. In the paddock, Blue bellowed and Delta gave a screech.
"They already went through a seriously traumatic situation," Owen tried. "I can keep them calm, can explain, okay?"
"I thought you weren't their alpha."
Grady blew out an exasperated breath. "No, I'm not their alpha, but they respect my status as this pack's leader. You don't want to stress them even more than they already have been so far."
Dan studied him, took in the still fine lines in Owen's face that spoke of the ordeal he had gone through. The determination the other man radiated was clear.
"You want to handle this alone?" Owen challenged.
The blond snorted. "I don't want to handle it at all, Owen."
"They have to get back home."
"I know."
"Which means sedation and releasing them on Isla Sorna."
"I read the memo. You apparently didn't finish it, though. No one mentioned you being there."
Owen scowled. Carter just gave him a humorless smile.
"This isn't a vacation cruise, Owen."
"Fuck, Dan! I know all that and you know you'll need every help you can get, right? I can do this!"
"Alone?"
Owen blinked, then stiffened.
"If you touch them, you're open, right?"
"I'll be fine," he ground out, stalking past Carter.
Dan grabbed his arm, holding him back. "Grady, don't make this so hard!"
Owen glared at him. "Let go."
Carter released him, holding up his hand. Behind them, in the paddock, there was hardly a sound. Blue was watching them with eagle eyes, but apparently didn't read any aggression in Dan's behavior.
"I don't want to cart your sorry ass back home because you overloaded again, okay?" the chief of security said, voice low and intense.
"I'm fine, Dan. I can do this."
"If you come along, what about the pack?"
Owen gave a soft hiss, almost raptor-like. Carter watched him, then nodded slowly. There was almost a look of resignation on his features.
"Blue. You're taking Blue. You're the alpha pair."
"We're not…" Owen stopped at the raised eyebrows and his lips compressed into a tight line.
Blue was an amused presence in the back of his mind.
The Sorna pack wasn't used to the pack dynamics as they had encountered them with his girls. They were used to an alpha pair, a matriarch and her mate. They didn't know about human alphas, had never seen a human do what Owen could do, and they had never felt an absolute alpha. Owen inspired respect, but they were confused as to why they reacted the way they did.
Ferrying them over to their home island and just leaving them to wake up and gather their thoughts was not what Owen had planned to do. There was no telling how the other raptors would react. There was no telling how safe the eggs were. There was also no chance in hell that anyone would traipse deeper into the jungle and look for the rest of the pack to deliver their missing members.
Not even Owen was crazy enough to do that.
The pack was one voice in his head, telling him that this would definitely not happen.
And Blue would be with him on the ferry.
Not sedated.
"Can raptors get sea sick?" Carter asked with a faint smile.
Owen huffed a little laugh. "No idea. I know they can swim, though mine haven't paddled around any ponds just yet."
"What about you?"
"I can swim, if that's what you're asking."
Carter smirked. "Good to know. So, when do you want to get this operation going, alpha?"
Owen glared, but he refused to be baited. "ASAP. The forecast looks good."
"Yeah. I'll round up a team, you decide if you want anyone else along," the chief of security told him. "Other trainers, maybe? Keepers? To keep an eye on the cargo?"
"Just me and Blue. That's it."
"You and Blue."
"Alpha pair, right?" Owen joked.
Carter just looked at him, then shook his head with weary acceptance. "I'll brief my men. You do… whatever you need to do."
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Alan just looked at him, then shook his head and exchanged a long-suffering look with Barry. Devoe was just leaving and had listened to Owen explaining what they were going to do.
"Dangerous," had been his only comment. "But if anyone can do it, it's you."
"See?" Owen said and turned to Alan. "That's how you do it. Positive reinforcement."
"Might be French for 'you're a crazy guy with a death wish'," Alan replied dryly.
Barry laughed whole-heartedly. "He is that, yes. But he knows what he's doing."
Owen made a 'see?' gesture at Barry.
"And now I better go before I'm accused of taking sides with the boss."
Barry swung a leg over the ATV and started the engine. "Don't get eaten, Owen."
"I never do."
And then he was off toward the park.
Alan pulled his hat firmly onto his head by the brim. "You know I trust you to know what you're doing with your pack, kid, but we're talking about Isla Sorna and its inhabitants."
"I'm not spending more time on the island than necessary to release the pack. No camping trip, no overnight stay. Carter signed off on the plan. So has Claire."
Alan didn't look happy, but accepting. He had been to Sorna and he had had the pleasure of getting to know the indigenous raptor species intimately.
"Blue is coming with me. To back me up as the alpha," Owen explained. "The rest of the pack has to stay here. They're not happy about it, but they accept it. Barry and Peter will take care of them, keep them fed and busy."
Alan glanced at the enclosure. He didn't seem surprised to discover the well-known shape of Echo close to the bars.
"You can stay here, too," Owen offered. "If you want. Keep Echo happy?" he added with a small begging note to his voice.
Grant chuckled and shook his head. "You have a way, kid…"
"It's your choice. They'll be in good hands. I trust both Barry and Peter, and the pack won't act out. Even without their alpha there. We'll only be gone for a day."
"You place a lot of trust in them."
"Because I know I can."
He blew out a breath. Echo made a little trilling sound as if she was aware what was going on. Trying to influence him.
"I'll stay."
Echo called out.
"She heard me?"
"Not directly. She got it through me." Owen shrugged. "And thanks."
"Therapy, remember?" Alan winked, looking a little more at ease.
tbc...