Page 22 of Act of Brotherhood
No.
His brother was aligned with an organization hell-bent on world domination. They had achieved great headway in making that a reality. Every day there seemed to be new information coming to light about The Corporation and just how far and deep their reach extended. He held little doubt that they actually controlled a fair number of governments fully. He wouldn’t put it past them.
They did unspeakable things.
And his brother was with them.
The thought twisted Garth’s gut.
Plus, that meant the annoying fucking French vampire had been right a century ago. But that didn’t mean he was right now.
“I’m nothing like Grid,” said Garth, his tone harsh, his fists clenching as he stared at Auberi.
James eased between the men as if expecting trouble.
Auberi leaned, looking past James. He licked his lower lip. “If you say so, Viking.”
“Enough,” warned James as he put a hand on Auberi’s chest and eased him back to the other side of the room.
James and Auberi began to speak and the medical jargon sounded like gibberish to Garth, so he ignored them. Focusing on his friend, a pang of guilt hit him. Gram wouldn’t have been in this situation if he’d still been Garth’s second-in-command. If Garth would have refused to sign off on Gram’s transfer, the man wouldn’t be where he was now. In a medically induced coma.
He’d be safe.
But then Malik’s daughter might not be. After all, she was the child Gram had given his all to save. The very little girl that Gram saw as a stepdaughter. Garth had been right all those years ago when he’d thought Gram would make a great father. The man’s caring nature and fierce need to protect those he loved had left him taking the brunt of a blast while shielding Bethany, Brooke’s daughter, from injury. Still, all of it happened because Garth had okayed Gram’s transfer off Team Eight and to the Shadow Agents side of things.
The thought made Garth tense.
He wasn’t a fan of small children, or children at all, but he had to admit Bethany had grown on him quickly too. Her father, Malik Nasser, was a man Garth had called a friend for centuries. They had a long history and trusted one another without question. It had always pained him that Gram and Malik could never find common ground before the recent tragedy. Both men were close to him, yet neither could tolerate the other. At least that had been the case prior to the explosion. Malik visited Gram’s bedside, wanting the man to heal. Garth knew Malik was thankful Gram had acted so selflessly.
Just like Auberi and Garth, Malik and Gram had a lot of water under the bridge between them. Maybe the two alpha males could mend fences. In order for that to happen, Gram had to live.
It took Garth a minute to realize both Auberi and James were staring at him.
“What?” he asked.
James scratched his chin. “Never mind. Nothing.”
Auberi rolled his eyes. “James has come up with something he thinks will help Gram, but he’s worried about testing it on him with as weak as he is. I offered to let him test it on me, but seeing as how I’m not a dog-shifter,” he gave Garth a wicked smile, knowing being called a dog would piss him off, “the results won’t be worth anything. James can’t try it himself because he has amped-up healing abilities that The Corporation gave him during his involuntary stay with them. He was about to go ask Duke to test it, but you’re here. We can test it on you.”
Garth stood quickly. “Yes. Test it on me.”
James sighed. “They tell me you were there when Malik lost his shit in Egypt five years ago. Back when he tested those suppression drugs for PSI.”
Garthhadbeen there. Malik had lost control of his shifter side back then. He’d claimed his mate, and, in the process, his beast had broken free. Garth remembered the incident vividly, as he’d been one of the men who’d been forced to pin the ancient Egyptian to the floor of his hotel room while the man was in full lion mode. That had lasted nearly two hours and wasn’t something he wanted to see repeated anytime soon.
During the entire event, everyone thought Malik was nuts because he’d claimed a woman they’d all thought was human. Turns out, she wasn’t human after all, but the suppression drugs that Malik had volunteered to test had monkeyed with his senses. They’d thrown his beast off-kilter, making it unable to detect what was right before his eyes. Not to mention, Brooke’s mother had apparently suppressed her natural abilities in order to hide her from the enemy.
Garth took a deep breath. “I was there. I saw the drugs fuck with his head and senses.”
James gave Auberi a sideways look and then inclined his head. “You know I took some blood from Brooke, and that I’ve been trying to engineer it to help Gram because her healing abilities are off the charts, right?”
Again, Garth nodded. “Auberi told me as much.”
“I think by playing off the research and the drug PSI was testing five years back, I might be able to help Gram. I just don’t want to chance testing it on him. If it has a weird side effect, I’m not sure he’d be strong enough to survive it. Testing it on you, a fellow wolf-shifter who’s healthy, will let me know if there are any major side effects.”
Garth put his arm out. “I already said you could test it on me. Do it.”
James sighed. “Okay, but just a small amount. I don’t want to be responsible for the next mating mix-up around here.”
