Page 3 of Between Imminent Fates

“Werewolves,” Jax parroted.

A saccharine smile twisted Rayn’s mouth. The man seemed to take pleasure in his shock, gliding over to stand in front of Jax.

“Werewolves. Vampires. Raeths. Elementals. All of them are real, Captain, and you’ve just joined the fight to save humanity.”

One glance at Barlowe confirmed Rayn’s statement. If Jax hadn’t been seated, his legs would’ve given out. He could barely comprehend what these men were telling him. Reality seemed to shift as he tried to fit this new information into a mind already reeling with consequences.

Rabid werewolves howled only yards away from where he sat. What had been impossible only moments before was now proven fact.

“Vampires have the ability to twist the human mind, to make us their puppets,” Barlowe continued. “They take our blood without consent, ruining lives, and stealing what is rightfully ours.

“Werewolves, like the ones you’ve seen today, go rogue and massacre innocents,” he snarled. “There have been crime scenes linked to supernatural shifters for centuries, and only now have they been exposed as truth.”

“A third class of immortal, Raeths, have a wide range of abilities. Some have destructive traits—including one that has a known ability to kill by touch alone.” Barlowe briefly closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Their very existence is a plague against society, a scourge we must eliminate for the greater good.”

Battling through his shock, Jax asked, “What about the other ones you mentioned … Elementals?”

“To our knowledge, they are peaceful,” Barlowe said. “The other immortal races, with one exception, have been approved for indiscriminate elimination.”

“Which exception?” Sobell asked.

“Commander Rayn. He is the sole Raeth to be pardoned.”

A jolt of adrenaline coursed through Jax’s veins as his attention sliced toward the black-haired man only feet away. Even if he ignored the brutality the other man had already displayed, Rayn’s sinister presence made Jax’s skin crawl. All at once, his fingers reached for his firearm. Though it was a small movement, it didn’t go unnoticed.

Before he could process what happened, an unrelenting pressure was applied to his wrist. It halted further movement, but didn’t succeed in startling him enough to make him gasp. Gritting his teeth against the sudden pain, he held Rayn’s gaze as the supernatural being yanked his hand away from his weapon.

“Don’t antagonize me, Captain,” the Raeth mocked.

The pressure vanished, leaving Jax with his fist held aloft. The showing of strength had also been a showing of cruelty. It made him wonder why this man had been pardoned when all others of his ilk were earmarked for death. All Jax knew was that he was in no hurry to ever meet another one of these immortals.

Barlowe ignored the interaction and placed a small black disk, the size of several quarters stacked together, in front of Jax and Sobell. The red button in its center was unlabeled.

“This piece of technology can be used to confirm the identity of most of these creatures,” Barlowe announced. “It will temporarily incapacitate werewolves and vampires, but we’ve not yet utilized it on a Raeth. It needn’t be said, but do not activate it in Commander Rayn’s presence.”

It took most of Jax’s willpower to remain still when he asked, “What side effects does it have for humans, sir?”

“None. It emits at a frequency we can’t hear.”

Despite the sourness in his commander’s expression, Jax pushed the envelope. “May I speak freely, sir?”

“Granted.”

“To what end are we keeping the rabid werewolves alive? Should we not simply put them down, end their misery?”

“Our intel has gathered several locations where the enemy lives,” Barlowe replied. “The werewolves will be released on those populations. Immortal against immortal. They stand a better chance at eliminating them than any human solider.”

“But if we release them, wouldn’t we be endangering civilians if they were to escape that immediate kill zone?”

“That’s enough, Captain Hunter. We’ve work to do.” With a nod to Rayn, Barlowe said, “The process of creating a werewolf is rather simple. A single bite transmits the curse, and they turn on the following full moon.”

The repercussions of what his commanding officer had revealed made Jax suck in a breath. He wondered how many werewolves existed in the world. Given the simplicity of the process, a person could have easily been bitten by accident and the curse would’ve been transmitted. Barlowe had said that anyone who was a werewolf, a Raeth, or a vampire was categorically labeled the enemy. Under that classification, they were condemning an entire people to death without exception.

The thought sat ill with him. Genocide wasn’t something be applauded or supported, it was to be foughtagainst. This new command seemed to encourage the opposite. Grabbing the small disk, he stuffed it in his wallet, unsure when he’d ever use it—if not on Rayn.

Rayn and Barlowe’s voices built ahead of him as he and Sobell followed them from the room. The stink of the kennels made his eyes water as they re-entered the indoor holding area. Though he covertly glanced at Sobell to see how the other Captain was taking the news, he was surprised to see a look of callousness on his colleague’s face.

Before them, a single kennel held a larger wolf, the beast pacing back and forth in the squalid cell. The colonel didn’t glance back at them as Rayn went to a darkened cage just beside it.

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