Page 24 of Redeemed Wolf

I was about to tell them to drug him, to hell with keeping the sample clean, when through the open door we heard a long howl. Amelia.

Isaac went still, eyes flashing a crisp blue, as he listened to her sharp warning. He gnashed his teeth a few times, but otherwise remained still. He didn’t fight as we got the restraints on his ankles, although his muscles were coiled and ready. I heard someone give Dr. Taylor the all-clear, and then Eric at last stepped into the room.

“Well… isn’t that interesting,” he said, staring from the hallway where the last of Amelia’s howl died away, down to Isaac’s prone body, his torso heaving with labored breath. “I wonder what she said to make you so tame.”

“Fuck you,” Isaac spat, determined to show us just how wild he remained.

Eric chuckled. “It doesn’t seem to matter that you have no one to talk to, you still somehow managed to pick up the most vulgar language. Such keen ears you must have, to listen through thesethick walls.” He reached out and gave Isaac’s ear a sharp tug, and Isaac jerked his head, trying to keep out of reach.

I had no doubt that he could snap these restraints if he set his mind to it. They might slice through flesh, but he would heal. The humans in this room, however, would not. If the cold and malnutrition were slowing him down, I couldn’t imagine how strong he would be on a good day.

As Eric took spinal fluid, I could feel the violent rumble of Isaac’s growl, roiling inside him, but he didn’t fight it. I wasn’t about to relax my grip on him, though. I couldn’t trust him not to fight the second he saw an opening. Didn’t he realize the number of guards that stood between him and freedom? It wasn’t like they would just let him walk out the door.

When it came time to flip him, we did it with extreme caution. Isaac’s eyes locked on mine, and I refused to look away, glaring straight back. There was no doubt he knewwhatI was, even if he didn’t know my name or why I was here. I could see all the questions he had, but thankfully, he kept his mouth shut. I wished there were a way I could explain, tell him he wasn’t alone, that he would get his chance at revenge, but instead, I had to trust in his curiosity.

The rest of the testing went smoothly, except this time, instead of leaving us to deal with removing the restraints on our own, Eric injected a heavy dose of sedatives straight into his neck. “They’ll clear out of his system in a matter of minutes, so we’ll need to get clear fast.”

As soon as Isaac sagged under me, we removed the cuffs and filed out the door.

“Those were some impressive moves,” Eric said to me. “Quick reflexes. I had a good feeling about you.” He was watching me too closely, analyzing my body type. I was too skinny to have that kind of heft, too young to have the skill. Did he suspect what I was?

I needed a distraction, and a sudden reckless idea flitted through my mind. A way to change the topic of conversation, as well as give a small message to Isaac. Whether he would hear me through the drugs or not was another story.

So, as we headed out the door, I asked Eric, “Where’s Carter today? I was hoping to say hi.” I smiled in that slick way I had when I was thinking impure thoughts.

Behind me on the floor, I heard a whimper as Isaac tried to speak. “C-C-Car…”

“Not here,” Eric snapped, shooting a look over his shoulder at Isaac before giving me a shove through the door. There was blood smeared on the tiles in the hall, almost black beneath the red light, but there was no sign of the injured guard. He’d likely been taken for medical attention.

As soon as the door was shut and locked behind us, Eric rounded on me, anger coming off him in waves. “I thought I made myself clear that you will stay away from my son.”

I held my hands up in defense. “Whoa, yeah, I got it. Sorry, I was just asking.” Well, my goal had been achieved; he was no longer looking at me like I was a potential experiment waiting to happen. Nope, now he wanted to flay me alive for even thinking of looking at hisson. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

He had to know he couldn’t keep this up. Carter would find out what he’d done, and the more time we spent together, the better his chances of remembering would be.

I was more than ready for noon to roll around. When Carter stepped into the breakroom, I already had a little picnic of food set out. I’d brought two of everything, even though he’d said he would bring his own lunch. The way his eyes lit up when he saw the spread made it all worthwhile.

“What’s this?” he asked, sliding into the chair across from me.

“Lunch, of course. What kind of alpha would I be if I didn’t offer to feed you?” I passed him a turkey sandwich, an apple, a little bag of crackers, a juice box, and a chocolate cupcake.

He reached for the dessert first, his eyes sparkling. “You really didn’t have to do that.”

A sweet tooth. I could work with that.

“I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.” More likeneededto. My instincts had me desperate to take care of him somehow, and as awful as the food selection at the apartment was, my wolf had demanded we provide for our mate. Under different circumstances, I would’ve brought down the biggest buck I could find to leave at his feet.

The air in the room had changed, I’d noticed, sweetened somehow from yesterday. His scent no longer held that acidic twist, but had shifted more to his natural scent, more dew and meadow flower than charcoal and ash. I breathed him in deeply, my body reacting to the aroma. And there, beneath it all, was the first hint of his wolf, beginning to stir.

I wonder what changed…

I wished I could drag his chair over to my side of the table, or even better, draw him into my lap, but that wasn’t how I had to play this. He was shy, nervous around me because he didn’t know how to trust what he was probably feeling. His wolf had to recognize his mate. Would that be enough to push through whatever Eric had done to him?

“So… are you ever going to ask me out?” My gaze flicked up to catch Carter’s cheeky smile.

“Maybe I was waiting for you to ask me out,” I teased, smiling before I bit down on my lip, plucking a grape from its stem to keep my hands busy. “You know, your father has told me to stay away from you.”

He winced. “Sorry about that. Don’t worry about him, I’ll handle it. He’s a little overprotective, but I promise he’sharmless.” Was he, though? How could Carter be so blind to what was happening within these walls? To his own brother and sister!

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