Page 77 of Alpha Hunt

“Well, something unnatural was definitely going on there,” I snap, my temper flaring. “You didn’t see what I saw. Those cages, the way they were treated…” I stop talking, too upset to continue.

“Honey, maybe you need to tell us exactly what you saw in that place,” Dr. Bea says.

Edirn presses against my leg, a low sound escaping him. I look down at him, my heart clenching. He’s been through so much, and yet here he is, still by my side.

Always by my side.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. “Look, I don’t know what they did to them over there, but they did it to Edirn, too.”

Jagger sucks in a breath, and Edirn growls.

“He can’t change back?” Dr. Bea is looking at him.

I shake my head. “And when I got there, he didn’t know who I was.”

The doctor makes a tutting sound, then stoops slightly to look into Edirn’s eyes. She doesn’t have to go too low; in his wolf form, he almost looks her in the eye. “That’s not good,” she murmurs. “Do you think they were conducting experiments on them?” She glances back at me.

I shrug. “No idea.” I lift the case I’ve been hefting since we left the sanctuary. “But I think you may find some answers in here.”

Jagger steps forward to take it from me, and Edirn growls in warning; his protective instincts seem to have been pushed to the max.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, handing the bag over. “I found it in among a bunch of medical gear. They’d laid out rows of syringes, and this was nearby. I figured it was important.”

We all watch as Dr. Bea opens the case, revealing a foam-padded interior with spaces cut out to hold glass vials. Some are green, others red. She carefully extracts one, holding it up to the light to examine it more closely. There’s a label on it, and her lips move as she reads it.

“Curious,” she murmurs as she studies the label of another one. “I recognize some of these compounds.” She taps the green bottle. “These contain powerful hallucinogenics.” Her finger moves to the red vials. “And these have antipsychotics, among other things.”

My heart races as the implications sink in. “You think they used the green ones to force them to stay in their wolf forms?” I ask, my voice tight.

Dr. Bea nods slowly. “It’s possible. In which case, the red vials might reverse the effects.”

Sierra and Savannah exchange anguished looks, their faces pale. I can see the conflict in their eyes – the desperate hope warring with the fear of the unknown.

“But how can we be sure it’ll work?” Sierra asks, her voice trembling. “What if it makes things worse?”

Savannah reaches for her sister’s hand, gripping it tightly. Her other hand is burrowed into the fur of the tawny wolf. “We can’t risk it. Not without knowing more.”

I open my mouth to argue, but before I can get a word out, Edirn steps forward. My heart leaps into my throat as I realize what he’s doing.

He’s volunteering to be the test subject.

“No,” I whisper, reaching for him. “Edirn, you can’t.”

But even as I say it, I know it’s futile. The determination in his eyes is unmistakable. He’s made up his mind, and nothing I say will change it.

Dr. Bea looks at him, her expression grave. “Are you sure about this?”

Edirn meets her gaze steadily, then nods once.

The doctor reaches for a syringe. Her hands are steady as she fills it with the contents of one of the red vials.

I want to scream at her to stop, to find another way. But I force myself to stay silent, my hands clenched into fists at my sides as she approaches Edirn.

This has to work. It has to.

Because if it doesn’t…I don’t know what I’ll do.

There’s a combined intake of breath as Dr. Bea pinches up a section of fur on Edirn’s shoulder and jabs the needle in. She depresses the plunger on the syringe and then withdraws the needle.

---