Page 22 of Redeemed Wolf

We got back to work, falling into our routine. I gave him the results of the week’s tests, and he recorded them into his software, graphing it so that it was easy to read trends over a longer period of time.

As we worked in silence, though, my mind kept going back to that image, the memory I’d had after smelling Silas. “Hey, Dad… do you remember that camping trip we took when I was little?” I asked, spinning my chair around to look at him.

He was facing his computer, but I saw the way his shoulders stiffened, before he relaxed and went back to inputting data. When he answered, his voice was casual enough, but almost purposefully light. “Um, I’m not sure. We went camping a few times. Do you remember where it was?”

“No, I don’t remember much. Just this misty forest, sunlight streaming through the trees. When did we go camping?”

He turned his chair to face me, frowning in thought, but there was something off about his expression as his eyes seemed to rake over me, searching for something. “You must’ve been really young, maybe four or five. We went a few times, but you didn’t seem to like it much.”

“I didn’t?” That was weird, because the image I’d had in my mind had been peaceful, filling me with a kind of yearning I couldn’t remember ever feeling.

He laughed. “Hated it! You cried the whole time, refused to sleep in a tent, and you were scared of the dark from then on. I finally gave up trying to introduce you to nature. You’re a city boy, through and through.”

“Yeah, right,” I said, laughing along, even though the statement didn’t resonate at all within me. It was like a chord with one note off-key, a feeling that made me want to cringe away from it. “Well, maybe it’s time I try again. Maybe we could go out to the woods this summer.”

“Hm, maybe,” he said, noncommittally.

I got up from my chair to check on some samples in the sequencer, but I could still feel his eyes on me. Even before he spoke, I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say. “Did you take your pill this morning?”

“Maybe I forgot. I’ll take one now.” I crossed over to the drawer and took out the pill bottle, popping off the cap and shaking a pill out into my palm, but as soon as he turned away, I slipped it straight back into the bottle and put the lid back on. I stared at that plastic container for a long moment, before I dropped it back into the drawer.

My dad had always told me that the pills helped keep me healthy, to stop from having any episodes. I remembered the pain he was talking about, but nothing more. All I knew was that every time I said something he didn’t like, he suggested it was time for me to take a dose. The headaches, the voice in my head, I could understand all that, but what about this misplaced memory and the sexual urges that had been absent up until now? Could it all be tied to these pills? Why would my father want to suppress those? It didn’t make any sense.

What was the worst thing that could happen if I stopped taking them?

I was about to find out.

Chapter 11

Silas

It was going tobe a long morning, anticipating lunchtime. My wolf was still riding me hard, with no concept of patience when it came to taking what we wanted.

Mate. Carter. Claim. Knot. Bite. Mate… mate… mate…

That was pretty much the extent of his dialogue, from the moment I woke up in the morning until I went to sleep at night, and it was making me especially irritable with everyone.

Greg stepped up to my car window. “Hey, Silas. Any word on—”

“No! I have heard nothing about Melissa,” I snapped, more clipped than I’d intended it to be. “But I suggest you stop looking or you’ll be next.”

He looked like I’d slapped him, and I breathed hard, nostrils flaring. I’d promise Shan I was going to try my best not to be an asshole. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that. Work’s been… a lot to handle. That’s no excuse to take it out on you.”

“It’s all right. We all get a little rangy around the full moon.”

I glanced up at him sharply. Did he know what I was, or was it simply a statement about human nature? No one was entirely immune to the moon’s pull, regardless of species. “Yeah. Right.”

“And you’re probably right about Melissa. There are only two possible outcomes, so I’m choosing to believe she got a job in California, making the big bucks.”

“Maybe she won the lottery and she’s on a beach, working on her tan,” I said.

He smiled sadly. “Yeah, I like that.” He swiped my card then passed it back, and the gate began to open as he passed it back to me. “You have a good day, Silas. Try to take it easy. Don’t forget that work isn’t everything.”

“You too.”

As much as I wished I could keep my mind looking forward to lunch, all hope of a relaxing day came to a screeching halt when I saw Dr. Taylor waiting at the desk. He was looking down at his watch, emitting an intense energy that I could taste coming off him. It was a sharp flavor, like if they made pine sap into a sour candy. My wolf was immediately on the alert.

“Hey, boss. What’s up?” I asked warily, prepared for the worst.

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