Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

was going to bring the whole place down. That meant Mitch had around seven minutes to kill Percival and get his ass out of the blast zone.
    Ben moved silently, placing charges at strategic points he had already mapped out earlier. As he passed an open window, he paused when the smell of warm cinnamon hit him. He had never smelled anything better in his sixty-five-year existence. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stood on end and Ben could feel his wolf’s excitement grow to match his own.
    Mate!
    Calm down, pup, I smell it too.
    Ben’s wolf was literally pouncing around in his head. He distracted Ben enough that he was hit over the head before he even realized he was no longer alone. Deciding to pretend he was unconscious, Ben slumped down. Hands gripped his arms and started dragging him toward the door of the house. With each step the guards took, he smelled his mate even more. It seemed they were taking him directly to her. He also smelled Mitch nearby, which he was grateful for. He had backup if he needed it. He heard shouting coming from a closed door as they neared it.
    “I told you to increase the formula!”
    “But, sir, if we increase the dose anymore, it could kill them.”
    The voice was female and Ben felt his fangs threatening to punch through his gums at the fear he heard in her voice. It was his mate. The quiver in her voice told him she was scared of whomever she was talking to.
    “I don’t care what you have to do. Just get it right. I’m tired of these pathetic little pets you created. I don’t want lapdogs. I want mindless beasts.”
    Ben knew the man they had been searching for was behind the door based on the conversation. The two men dragged Ben between them, headed directly for the door the voices were behind, and opened it.
    “Look what we found lurking outside, boss,” one of the men said, confirming the target was in the room.
    “Well, well, what do we have here? Jacqueline, go pack up. It looks like the council has finally caught on to our little plan. Joe, go warn the men there may be more enforcers out there. Jerry, take him with us. I can use someone fresh to work with.”
    Jacqueline, his mate’s name was Jacqueline. Ben wished he could open his eyes and look at her, but at the moment, he was supposed to be unconscious. He didn’t want to give away his element of surprise. Shortly after one of the guards left, Ben not only heard, but smelled Mitch as he entered the room. He stayed loose and relaxed as one of the guards lifted him up and pulled him in front of him. The shifter then pressed a gun to Ben’s temple, and he had to force himself to stay relaxed and fight the urge to act.
    “Enforcer Ericson, I’m delighted you dropped in for a visit. Unfortunately, we can’t be staying.”
    Ben heard Mitch growl at the man speaking. “Tell your friend here to let Ben go, and I’ll make it quick and painless. You hurt him, and I will make sure you end up begging me to kill you.”
    Ben cracked his eyes open just in time to see Percival laugh as he moved around the room, pointing at things. The woman he assumed was his mate, and who the councilman had been talking to earlier, trailed behind him, stuffing each thing he pointed out into a bag. “It looks to me like you aren’t in the position to be making demands. We have your enforcer as a hostage, so it seems we have the upper hand.”
    Ben watched as Percival strolled around the room like he didn’t have a care in the world while his mate trailed behind the man, grabbing everything he pointed to. He couldn’t see the woman’s face due to the fact that she kept her head down and her stringy hair fell in the way, but he could smell her terror from across the room. It made him want to shred every man in that room to pieces and then take her someplace safe.
    “I would say this visit has been nice, but that wouldn’t be the case for you. Either way, I must go.” Percival walked over to a bookshelf and pulled it away from the wall, revealing a set of stone steps leading down.
    Mitch’s watch alarm chose that moment to beep, signaling the explosives Ben had set were about to detonate. The noise seemed to set everyone off, and everything went crazy. Ben snapped his eyes open and stared directly at Mitch to let him know that his unconsciousness had all been an act. He didn’t want Mitch distracted from killing Percival by trying to save him. Ben let himself partially shift and brought his clawed hand up and raked