Megans Mark (Breeds 6)

"Keep your eyes closed. " Braden growled as they flew open. "Close your eyes, Megan. Concentrate. Feel the strength I'm lending you, learn how to use it and keep looking. What is the core, baby?"

She was gasping for breath. She could feel the fine sheen of sweat that covered her face, her neck. It wasn't the heat, it was the shaking cold inside her.

Revenge. The word whispered through her mind again. But first, they needed proof. Here lay the proof. They would move to the other side of the curve and wait. GPS on Mark and Aimee's vehicle had been disabled, stealth had been enabled.

"Breed vehicles have stealth?' she asked, confused, thinking of the special electronics that blocked life signs by law enforcement vehicles.

He stiffened in surprise "Not normally. " His voice was grim now.

"Sometimes, only when authorized. "

She kept searching, desperate to find the answers here, now. She didn't

know if she could go further, if she could force herself to pull in the shattered emotions that lingered here. Already her mind was screaming, demanding to be allowed to hide from emotions that weren't its own.

The emotions were stronger here than they had been in the gully where the couple had died. They had rested here within the shelter of this canyon. They had held each other, loved, and accepted that the battle they had taken on may not be successful.

Megan felt herself weakening. Her knees shook, her chest felt tight with a need for oxygen that should have been there. She was gasping for breath; surely she shouldn't feel so deprived?

Behind her closed eyes, sparks of light exploded before her gaze, shifting colors, sizzling heat. She felt a premonition of death, a race to make a call. Another call. Had they been betrayed? Aimee had felt the betrayal beating at her brain, the sense of danger, of death.

Then, through the building emotions, the knowledge of another's danger, another's death, came a sense of impending doom stronger than the impressions lying in wait. Her eyes flew open as she realized they were closer to the sharp bend that led further into the canyon than she had realized.

"Stop. " She hissed, digging in her heels, staring at the curve, her muscles freezing. her mind screaming.

He stopped. Time stood still as she fought to get some sort of control. to separate herself.

"Someone is there," She could feel it. Knew they weren't alone.

"It's the strength of your abilities. " He began to soothe her.

She shook her head desperately. "I feel them. They're there. "

"I don't feel it. " His voice was cold, analyzing. "What do you feel, Megan?"

Her hand fell to her holster as she loosened the clip that held the Glock in place and allowed it to drop into her palm. She was aware of Braden doing the same.

"Do you feel it?" she asked him. Friend or foe? She couldn't be certain. It wasn't a Coyote, she knew that.

He jerked her to the side, moving to the base of the cliff, using the scrub and boulders

that littered the area as a shield. Megan fought to slam the barriers in her mind back in place, almost whimpering in pain as they refused to lower.

As though once lifted, they would be forever out of reach.

"What is it?" she asked. She wanted to clasp her head in an attempt to hold back the sensations still rushing toward her. Whoever, whatever waited on the other side was cold, emotionless. She sensed nothing but their presence.

"Non-Breeds. " Braden's voice carried no farther than her ear. "At least two. "

"Moving or still?"

"Waiting. The scent hasn't changed. They know we're here. What do you feel?"

She shook her head. "No emotion. Just presence. "

She felt more than heard his curse.

"We move back above the canyon. " He growled in her ear. "Back to the Raider. "