Page 7 of Redeemed Wolf

The soundproofing on the room behind me was decent, leaving my keen sense of hearing with nothing more than the hum of two voices. I was so focused on trying to hear what they were saying that I was startled when the door swung inward, the voice suddenly much louder.

“Thank you so much for coming, Mr. Sadiq. We’ll be in touch,” a man said without much enthusiasm.

It wasn’t the man that snatched my attention, though—it was the coppery scent of blood that wafted from the room, nudging aside the chemically stink of bleach. The applicant who exited the room had his sleeve rolled up, and he was holding a piece of gauze to the crease of his elbow.

Shit. Were they taking blood samples of the applicants?

I thought back to Shan saying they would have a way to test everyone to make sure they were human.

My heart bucked against my ribs until I was sure even the humans would be able to hear it. My throat tightened, and when I reached for my collar this time, my fingers brushed against my scars. My thoughts cleared for a single beat, and I latched onto the idea with both hands. Instead of tugging the collar higher to cover the scars, I yanked it down, revealing as much as I could without looking obvious. Shifters didn’t scar—usually. Would it be enough to convince them I wasn’t human?

I rose from the chair as the human rodent returned to escort Mr. Sadiq back to the entry, then I turned to the man of the hour—Dr. Taylor.

He wore gray slacks and a blue button-up. He’d once been blond, now more silver, with light blue eyes that lit up when he smiled, offering me his hand to shake. “You must be Mr. Graves.”

“Please, call me Silas,” I said, shaking his hand. I made sure to be gentle, to let him have the strongest grip. And just as I’d hoped, his eyes went straight to my neck. I knew he wanted to ask about the scars, but his gaze flicked back up. His smile didn’t even waver.

“Thank you, Silas. Then why don’t you call me Eric. Come on in and let’s see if you’re a good fit for the family here at Apex Labs.”

This room was as bland as the rest, just two chairs, an unused desk, no personal items to be seen, and I had this crazy notion that none of this was real. None of these offices were occupied, that it was all a front for whatever they were up to. Dr. Taylor offered me a seat, and as he made his way around the desk, my eyes caught the stand of plastic vials on the left side of the desk, filled with blood. I tried not to react in the slightest, but the doubt I felt was heavy. What would my blood look like under a microscope? Or worse, what would happen if they took a blood sample and saw me heal once the needle was removed? Would I even make it out of this room?

“So, Silas… I already looked over your resume, and I have to say, it’s quite impressive. Your references have nothing but good things to say about you, but why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. Something that’s not on the resume.”

“Uh, well, I’m new to Fairhome. I was an Army brat, so we moved around a lot growing up, but I would really love to find somewhere to settle down. Somewhere to call home. And, well,homeis literally in the city’s name, so… I figured it would be a good place to start.” I laughed awkwardly, and Eric chuckled along politely.

This was all part of my fake backstory, and I knew it was reflected in my resume, with jobs all over the country.

He asked a few questions about my family—father deceased (heart attack), mother living in Boston (and if he called her,a woman claiming to be my mother would no doubt answer the phone. Joe Caruso was nothing if not thorough). While we talked, I noticed he bore the signs of healed injuries—faded scars, the bridge of his nose slightly off center, like it’d been broken—and I remembered that Jude had beaten him nearly to death. It was the reason he hadn’t been at the lab when we’d raided it. He’d been recovering from his injuries.

But when Eric folded his arms over the desktop and leaned in, his eyes hardening, I knew the time for pleasantries was over.

“And the scars?” he asked, gesturing with a finger at my neck. “I’m sorry if this is impolite, but do you mind me asking how you got them? Looks like it’s from an animal of some kind. A big one, I’d guess.”

Shan had suggested a lie for this too, about a dog attack, because he thought we should keep as much distance between us and wolves as possible, but I had a hunch about this. Maybe a way out of this situation.

With only the barest hesitation, I jumped in with both feet. Sink or swim, this was the moment of truth. “Yeah, it was a wolf…” I let my words trail off for a moment as I let that sink in. “A sneaky bastard, I never saw him coming.” As I thought of my long-dead Alpha, Thorn, and his corpse rotting in the woods, nothing more than worm food now, a little darkness snuck into my smile, and I welcomed it. “But I’ll tell you, only one of us came out alive.”

“I’ve had trouble with wolves myself,” he said. Dr. Taylor nodded slowly, his expression greedy for more. “That sounds like it must be an impressive story. I’d love to hear it one day. Perhaps over a drink.”

“I’d like that,” I told him. It was a good sign, and just when I let myself relax, he turned toward the vials of blood and picked up a sterile-sealed needle.

My muscles instinctively tensed, ready for a fight, and I very nearly burst into my fur right then and there, but then he just tapped the needle a few times on his palm. “You know, this would normally be where I would take a blood sample, to run a drug test, but… I don’t think it’s necessary this time. I have a good feeling about you.” He smiled at me, with a genuine kind of emotion on his face—satisfaction or maybe pride. He set the needle down then rose from his chair and moved around the desk, his hand on offer. “We’ll be in touch real soon.”

I stood on quivering legs but somehow managed to stay upright. “Sounds great,” I said, clearing my throat to ease the tension. I shook his hand, then met rat-man in the hallway. As tempting as it was to sprint ahead of him down the hall, I restrained myself. I kept it together, even as I got into my car and drove back to the main gate, retrieving my phone.

From the outside, I had to hope I looked okay, but on the inside, the panic and adrenaline had done a number on me. I couldn’t believe I was still alive. As soon as I was out of sight of the lab, I pulled the car over on the shoulder and leaned out the door to empty my stomach. I threw up what was left of my half-eaten burger, until bile burned my throat, then I sat back in my seat and wiped the back of my arm across my mouth, panting.

I wasn’t afraid to die, not really, after having faced it before, but there was something about that lab, about what these humans were capable of, that really messed with my head.

Why the fuck did I agree to go through with this?

True to his word, Pacey was still there in the apartment when I got back. I kicked off my shoes and threw my balled-up tie onto the floor. “Well?” he asked, following on my heels to the kitchen as I pulled open the fridge, looking for food. “How’d it go?”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “It was good.” I lifted my phone up and held a finger to my lips. It was safe to say that my phone hadbeen tampered with while in their possession. From now on, we had to assume someone was always listening.

I left him standing there as I went into the bathroom and shut the door. I needed to wash this stench off my skin.

My wolf had been quiet since the lab, uneasy, as if he was just now beginning to understand the risks.You know I won’t be able to shift as long as we’re here, I told him.They’ll be watching, waiting for me to screw up.

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