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Welcome...to the Threat

Chapter 8

Lethal Industry

His ribs hurt so bad, he can hardly breathe, and they're burning like a five-alarm fire. But nothing—absolutely nothing—will keep him from seeing his not-so-little-anymore girl. He vaguely remembers her confrontation against vicious Echo, and he assumes it was difficult since the latter is such a formidable opponent.

Blue's long, black claws wrap around the bars, and her head leans gently against the cold gate. Owen can see the fading scars, white waves against beautiful blue-grey skin. The ridges and bumps of her sleek hide are glossy, greatly contrasting the obvious matte-finished wounds.

Owen's dying to reach out and touch her, to run a hand across her smooth, tough skin. She's risked life and limb to save him. He'd be dead without her. He wonders if she can sense how eternally grateful he is, and if she can, does she understand?

"Owen," Barry says from behind. "We must get you back before they realize you're gone."

He slowly hobbles a few limping steps forward on the stiff, uncomfortable crutches Barry helped him procure—or in other words, borrowed without asking. He isn't ready to leave. After narrowly missing death, he has no reason to sit in that hospital room. That's for the sick, and he's thankfully alive due to his girl.

Holding a piece of jerky to her snout, he waits for her to take it. Shockingly, she continues to watch him. Her beautiful amber eyes are settled on him. Her nose flares. A soft bark leaves her lips, but she makes no move to take the meat.

Owen's suddenly trying to remember why she's considered lethal. He understands Delta because he's heard he's lost a few employees lately at her expense, and his throbbing, war-torn body has played witness to Echo's wrath.

But Blue's always been different.

She's bit him and scarred him on several occasions but only because she's been excited while playing. When she was close to full age, she never posed a threat to him—unlike Delta who seems to merely tolerate him because Blue demands it. When he was attacked several weeks back, Delta did nothing, which leaves him unsure of her loyalty.

Blue, though…he's nearly positive Blue has his back.

So how does she pose a threat again?

She's an apex predator who could easily overpower him and that makes her dangerous. She was bred to hunt. She was bred to kill.

But he's never been attacked by her.

He's dying to touch her, but he knows he can't. He wants to caress her head and run his hand down her spine like old times, but he's been told so many times she'll likely kill him. Despite the fact she saved him, Wu insists she's a lethal killer.

A lethal killer who is supposed to listen to a handler and complete Black Ops missions.

How is that supposed to work, again?

"Is this a smart idea?" asks Ben, the second of the two to break him out of the hospital.

Owen ignores the question. Sure, his body is throbbing, and he can feel his stomach clench, but he refuses to move. He doesn't care if he's swallowing back bile and that his muscles are screaming with exertion. All that matter is he gets to see his Blue.

Owen presses the jerky stick to her snout again, but she continues to refuse. Instead, those bright, amber eyes of hers observe him as they have since the day she was born. She doesn't seem lethal. She seems so docile, even worried.

"What if Wu's wrong?" Owen questions in a raspy voice. It hurts to talk, hurts to do a lot of things…except this. He could sit with Blue forever, and he suddenly stops caring about everything he's been warned against. "What if she wants the attention she once had?"

"That is a foolish thing to say," Barry objects. "You walked in there and almost died."

"Echo was a bit hostile that day," Owen retorts. "Blue put her in her place."

Barry lets out a sigh. "This is not something we should attempt when you are just waking up from a coma."

Owen has to agree to that. He's been awake less than a day, and the first thing he needed to do was see Blue. He needed to make sure she was all right.

"We need to go," Ben says. "You need to rest again."

He's apparently been resting for nearly four weeks. Owen doesn't need more downtime. While he can feel every muscle in his body giving out and knows he's been stupid for pushing his body to do things it shouldn't right now, he cannot continue to leave Blue alone.

His legs, however, don't seem to care what the rest of him feels like. Before he knows it, his crutches are crashing against the bars, sending Blue back with a snarl. Owen hits his knees and feels his body cry out in shock. His hands grip the mulch as his entire body screams in agony.

"Owen?" Barry questions and suddenly, he's next to him.

Trembles flood his bones, and Owen thinks he shouldn't have risked the trip. He is so thoughtless when it comes to Blue. He needs to make smarter choices. When he looks up, however, he decides the trip is worth it.

Blue's lowered herself to the ground and is attempting to shove her snout through the bars as she sniffs. Her amber eyes are large and never leave him while her brow appears to be furrowed. A low, soft growl similar to a purr, resonates from her throat before turning into an odd kind of whine.

Why is she considered lethal, again?

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

I find it strange the edges of my vision are white and blurry. But the Hatchling Territory is before my eyes, and I'm fleeing from Delta. I find myself falling flat on my snout and hear her chortling behind me. Shifting, I look up at her, my lips pulling back to reveal my teeth in a grin.

By the time I'm on my talons again, I smell Alpha. I sprint for the closed cave and skid to a stop in front of it. My tail swishes as I look up, waiting for it to open. When nothing happens, I scratch the closed cave and hiss softly. Glancing to the clear rock to the right, I don't see him behind it.

"Blue," Delta questions. "What are you doing?"

Snorting, my head turns to the side, and I ignore her. My brow scrunches. It doesn't make sense. I smell Alpha. Where is he?

I sniff.

And sniff again.

My nose twitches as I turn from the cave. The scent is slightly stronger. Nose high in the air, I begin to follow the smell. With each step I take, my head bobs slightly back and forth. There's a certain breath I stop and sniff the ground.

I know he's been here, so…where is he?

"Alpha?" I bark and spin around while my nose continues to twitch.

"You think he's here?" Delta asks as she trots up next to me.

"Don't you smell him?"

She gives a nod then looks toward the closed cave. She's probably hoping for Kind Hand to join.

Continuing my trek, I follow the smell, and it begins to surround me. With as strong as it is, he has to be close. Why am I not touching him?

There's a loud snarl as something comes out from behind a tree. I shriek and slash. Alpha is suddenly before me, chortling, while his arms start to bleed. I lower my body toward the ground. Is he mad?

My eyes look at him and notice his face is not angry. His teeth are showing, not from dominance, but from joy. I take a step toward him when the world suddenly blacks out.

When my eyes actually open, I can't figure out where I am. Wasn't I just with Alpha? Weren't we just together? He pounced at me like Charlie does.

I rise from my spot and walk the walls of my cave. I've been seeing these images every time I try to sleep. I don't know what they mean. I don't know what they are. They're suns I've already lived through, but it's like I'm going through them again.

I don't understand.

But I want Alpha to be with me again. Just like when I was younger.

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

Owen hates that he needs a cane to walk. He's told it won't be that long, but needing the stick makes him feel vulnerable. It makes him seem weak. He's stronger than that.

The truth is, he can't walk without the cane, and part of him wants the crutches back.

So, he does his best to square his shoulders as he walks into the viewing room in the Raptor Paddock extension. His team is there, and he realizes what Barry meant when the man said it had dwindled significantly. There are twenty-two employees left, and one of the victims was thorn-in-side Hank. Owen can't say he's too upset, and he was definitely glad he was out during the memorial service. That would have been difficult to sit through.

Hobbling further into the room, Owen sees several employees gathered at the window, one of which is Ben who has been the voice of reason many times. He's standing next to that Doe girl Owen once lashed out at.

When Ben sees him, he takes a breath and approaches. "How are you doing, Sir?"

"Not too shabby," he responds, but his head is starting to pound. "You can call me Owen."

The man gives a nod. "Certainly."

Owen uses his chin to gesture toward the crowd. "What's going on?"

"They've moved the raptors into that pen. The first visitors are on their way to see them."

He wets his lips. There's a part of Owen that can't believe they're still allowing this to happen. After what happened to him and with the death of the eight other employees, it seems asinine to open this attraction.

"This is not ideal," a new voice says, "but Ms. Dearing insists on it."

Owen turns to see Barry approach. The man's brow is drawn low, and he crosses his arms when he gets close enough.

"This is not good, Owen. The girls are still not over the incident. They sleep all day. They've been less responsive and seemingly more aggressive," Barry informs him.

"They haven't been more aggressive," Ben objects. "They seem to have better ambush techniques. And our people have been less observant."

Owen's mind is a blur. He can't figure out what's the best move. The girls seem to be out of hand, but if it's human stupidity, how can they be blamed for acting on instinct? Perhaps he should take some time off. After all, he's still taking painkillers and having trouble moving. At the moment, he's ready to fall over and sleep.

"Mr. Grady!"

Owen grits his teeth at the feminine voice. He doesn't even have to turn to know it's Ms. Dearing.

"Mr. Grady," she repeats again as she approaches the group. "We need to talk."

Ben takes the cue and leaves while Barry moves beside him. Owen wonders if the man can sense he's ready to fall over any second.

"What is it?" he questions and shifts his weight.

Ms. Dearing looks around before opening a file folder she brought with her. In it, Owen sees darkened pictures showing the outside of the raptor den. There's a figure at Blue's cage. His heart begins to speed up. He does everything he can to keep his breathing steady.

"Who is that?" he asks. There are several pictures, but all of them are grainy and the figure is wearing a hoodie.

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us," Dearing replies. "They always seem to know when security is lax. We have a guard rotation on this paddock, and they've all fallen victim."

Owen manages a nod, and Barry moves to the group. No doubt the man will interrogate them all. Whether he'll have luck is another story.

Dearing stands there for several long moments before closing her folder. "I assume you'll look into this."

"Yes," he says and suddenly needs to sit down somewhere.

The woman stands for several more moments and takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry about the incident, Mr. Grady."

"Owen," he corrects as his brow rises. He's a bit confused as to why Dearing is apologizing. It doesn't make any sense. She's never apologized for her actions. Although, it is a bit humorous that she refers to it as the "incident".

"Owen," she says softly. She glances over to the employees before clearing her throat and looks back at him. "I didn't realize what these assets might do."

His brow rises. "Assets? These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet."

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I'm trying to say I'm sorry you walked into that paddock and were injured."

He doesn't know whether to accept the apology or laugh. She's referred to his girls as assets. She's saying she's apologizing, but she's really not. However, at some point, he needs to cut his losses. "Look, it's all right. I'm alive, so are the raptors, and that's all that matters."

She lets out a heavy breath and gives a nod. "Well, let's hope they perform well for the visitors today."

With that, Ms. Dearing turns and exits the room.

Owen doesn't mean to yawn, but he does anyhow. He's tired, hurting, and wondering about those pictures. Where did they come from? Which staff member is approaching the raptor cages at night?

Barry returns just as he's settled onto a bench. The man sits next to him and keeps his voice low.

"They are all accounted for." Barry shifts and casts a glance at the group. "The older crew mostly hang out in the employee lounge shooting pool and drinking. The only three survivors from the newest group, Tanner, Ben, and Doe, all travel to the mainland and frequent one of the bars."

"This is a fact?" questions Owen.

Barry nods. "Tanner has been seen wandering back to his apartment in the late hours, extremely drunk. Ben would seem like a suspect, except he's often with some of the control room workers when he gets back. And Doe goes home with a different man every night."

"Someone is hanging around the girls," Owen responds, and he looks over the group. "Who's lying?"

The curator would like to take a moment to say thank you for your patronage. Thank you for the follows, favs, and reviews. Those keep her motivated and able to pump out more chapters.

Thank you, tourist. Thank you.

Hope you are enjoying the park.