Page 34 of Pawsitive Data

“Good morning, everyone. Let’s try to get through this without any bombs this time.”

Lucas smiled at his mate’s levity, but no one else but his mother did.

“Tough crowd,” she mumbled. “Let me begin by explaining what I have been working on.” She pulled up a set of analyses on the overhead screen. “Before real analysis could be done, a comparative data set needed to be established for a baseline. So after uploading the records the medical technician sent over, I went into the archives and pulled recent historical data.”

A hushed rumble filled the room, making her look up at the elders. Some wore expressions of horror while others looked at her with suspicion.

“Who gave you permission to access the restricted vaults?” Elder Conley asked.

Lucas’s growl vibrated the projector on the table. “You dare challenge my mate?—”

“Yes, that’s another point of contention,” Councilman Warren rose to his feet. “For a century, the pride has not allowed humans to mate with pride members.”

His mother rose from her chair, slowly. “Councilman Warren, are you saying that you are going against the alpha’s wishes concerning his fated mate?”

Warren swallowed hard, but didn’t stand down. “No one is above the law. Including the alpha. I believe it is imperative that the council vote to see if it will allow such a disregard for our culture and values.”

Lucas slammed his hand on the table. “That is a discussion for another day. Today we are focusing on pride safety and Dr. Greene’s work.”

“Agreed,” his mom said. “It’s no wonder we are facing the situation we are. These old ideas are about as out of date as some of you.”

“Nonetheless,” Warren continued. “The council will make their decision.” He turned to Emma. “You may continue, Dr. Greene.”

Lucas’s shoulders relaxed a touch. He needed to have a discussion with his mother soon.

“Right.” Emma turned her attention to the conference room screen. “As I was saying, I’ve detected gaps in the sequencing of data. Both in the current data and older data.

“You’ll notice this remaining data has consistent DNA traits throughout. These traits are in small quantity at the beginning of the timeline, but increase dramatically into the current time.”

Victor, one of the few Lucas trusted, raised a hand. “What are the physical manifestations of these traits?”

She circled a set off to the side. “Here, the genes encoded in the DNA suggest suppressed neural formation of the amygdala and varying functionality of the prefrontal cortex of the brain.”

Victor raised his hand again. “For those who don’t know what you’re talking about, can you use regular English?”

“Okay,” Emma thought for a moment. “How about this: variations can cause ADHD, Schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression as well as heightened aggression and less thinking.”

Sofia cleared her throat, her voice hesitant. “Dr. Greene, are you suggesting these changes were intentional? That someone deliberately bred shifters to be... unintelligent and less emotional?”

Emma nodded, her fingers tapping nervously on the table’s edge. “Not less emotional exactly. More like... hyper-focused on instincts—fight, hunt, survive—while suppressing higher-level emotional processing. But here’s the problem: this tampering could explain the fertility crisis. These engineered traits might be destabilizing the genetic foundations.”

The room went uncomfortably silent, save for the faint hum of the electronics. Lucas glanced around. The elders’ faces were a mix of shock, suspicion, and something colder—fear, perhaps?

Councilman Warren folded his arms, his expression unreadable. “Dr. Greene, you’re implying that someone has been manipulating shifter genetics for decades, if not centuries. That’s a bold accusation. What proof do you have?”

“Yes,” and elder replied. “I heard Malcom accuse you of fabricating data. How do we know you…” Lucas couldn’t stop his cat from growling at the allegation, the elder gulped. “I mean, how do we know who to believe? Where is the solid evidence?”

Lucas stepped forward. “I think Malcolm’s actions speak for themselves.”

Sofia nodded firmly. “Malcolm knows what’s at stake. If Emma’s research succeeds, everything he’s done will be exposed. He’ll be back, and we need to be ready.”

Councilman Warren’s frown deepened. “And what exactly are we preparing for, Lucas? Another attack? A siege? Malcolm and his followers are shifters just like us. Are we really going to risk a civil war within the pride?”

TWENTY-SIX

Lucas’s gaze sharpened. “Risk? Malcolm’s already crossed that line. He’s no longer one of us. He’s a threat to the pride, to our survival.”

Elder Conley leaned forward, his voice low but charged. “You think everyone who disagrees with you is a traitor? Maybe Malcolm’s methods are extreme, but if his goal is to save the pride, can you blame him for that?”

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