Page 70 of Vicious Wolf Mate

“But I removed mine,” I grumble.

“Tsk, tsk.” Natalie replies circling around me so that she is now standing behind my father’s desk. With a quick little hop, she plops down into the cheap squeaky chair.

With the gun she motions me to sit, but I plant my feet and cross my arms across my chest defiantly. Natalia simply shrugs, as if to say suit yourself, before kicking up her feet. The gun now rests lazily in one hand.

“Remember that day in middle school when you passed out and nobody could revive you for more than 24 hours?” She asks.

“Yes,” I reply hesitantly.

“And despite months of testing, the doctors were never able to find anything actually wrong with you.” She continues.

A sense of dread begins to creep up on me. “What are you saying Natalie?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

“You’ve always had another chip in you McKenna.”

My stomach roils. Of course, my father put another tracker on me. But where, and why?

“But I double-checked both my ankles just to be sure.” I admit.

“Silly, they put it in your brain.” She says lightly tapping the side of the gun to her own head.

Horror grips me. Did daddy dearest also load it with the kill routine?

“But, if he knew where I was the entire time, then why not come rescue me the second I was kidnapped?” I demand.

“Didn’t want to waste precious resources on his traitorous daughter, I imagine.” Natalie replies.

I sigh and turn my gaze to the floor. I’m betting my father knew I intended to betray him. I tried keeping my poking and prodding discrete, but it is difficult hiding my growing disdain.

“Plus, if the shifters had killed you, he would have made you a martyr.” Natalie adds. “Actually, that’s still the plan.”

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Tomorrow morning, he will make a speech, claiming that members of Typhon’s Brood kidnapped and murdered his beloved daughter. He intends to use your name as a battle cry for all of humanity. And then he’ll unleash Project Oxytocin.” Natalie explains.

“You’ll be a hero, Mckenna,” Natalie announces, twirling the gun in the air.

My legs give out and I collapse into one of the hard wooden chairs that sits in front of my father’s desk. The thought of him using my name to spur on what will likely turn into mass genocide, turns my stomach. It takes all my willpower to keep from vomiting.

“Do you see now? How you’ve so perfectly walked into our trap?” Natalie breaks out into a fit of giggles as she says this.

“You bitch.” I whisper through gritted teeth.How the hell am I going to get us out of this mess, I wonder silently.

49

MACE

“It’s here,” I announce, stopping at the ladder.

“Finally,” Gnash and Drario say at once.

We reach the entrance to the lab after walking for so long. I climb up first. Sure enough, it’s secured like Mckenna has mentioned.

I look through it to get a feel of the area. It’s difficult to do so while trying to go unnoticed by whoever’s inside. My eyes don’t reach farther from the edge of the window.

“What are you doing? Hurry up,” Drario says.

“I’m trying to find the scientist.”

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