Page 24 of Heroes & Hitmen
“You’ll feel some pain,” Dr. Aspen murmurs, tongue darting out to wet his lips as his eyes return to mine. “But don’t worry, it’ll be over quickly.”
My heart pounds like a drumbeat, throat tightening with apprehension. I know what comes next. There are several ways to bring a shifter’s inner animal forward– rage, pain, fear, arousal….
Dr. Aspen flips a switch, and a white-hot jolt tears through me like a lightning strike.
Pain is the most predictable and easiest to trigger.
I jerk against the table, a choked whimper breaking from mythroat as my skin sizzles with electricity and agony sears into every nerve ending. My inner wolf snarls, surging to the surface to protect me– the exact response this brand of torture is designed to elicit.
The doctor watches with morbid fascination, a satisfied smile curling his lips. Then he approaches with a syringe, positioning the long tip of the needle above my canines and jabbing it into my gums. The burn is immediate and fierce as he pulls back the plunger. I try to scream, but the sound gets caught in my throat, muffled by the mouthpiece.
Dr. Aspen slowly draws the serum out of me as I thrash against the restraints. It pools in the vial, thick and tinged red, while my wolf gives a strangled whine in my head.
This isn’t right.
It isn’t natural.
We’re supposed to seal mate bonds with a bite, not with medical procedures and injections.
My wolf should have a choice.
Ishould have a choice.
Neither of us do.
At least it’s over quickly. I lie there gasping for breath while the doctor disconnects the wires and carefully removes the stickers, his touch subtly lingering on my skin as he peels them away. His silent assistant unstraps my wrists and ankles, bile crawling up my throat as a wave of nausea hits.
“See?” Dr. Aspen says as he sits back with a smile. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”
I resist the urge to punch him in the face. My gums are on fire, my limbs feel like jelly. I rub my wrists as I slowly sit up, the skin raw where the restraints dug in.
The doctor turns away, labeling the vial of my serum and placing it into a small fridge. “You’re all set, Miss Beckett,” he murmurs, dismissing me. “Congratulations on your upcoming pairing. My assistant will see you out.”
I slide off the table, grabbing onto the edge to steady myself when my knees immediately buckle beneath my weight. It takes me a few seconds to get my bearings before I can move to follow Dr. Aspen’s assistant out of the room and down the hall. My wolf is a shadow in my mind, curled up and quiet, the burning in my gums a constant reminder of what just happened.
The only consolation is that my future mate also had to endure this barbaricprocedure.
I hope the asshole screamed.
It’s a relief when I get to the lobby and see the elevator ahead, ignoring the cheery receptionist’s parting remarks as I head straight for it and punch the call button. The doors open and I stumble inside, jabbing the button for the twentieth floor and sagging back against the wall as the doors slide closed.
I swear I can still feel little aftershocks of the electrical current running through my body, my fingers twitching at my sides and a metallic taste lingering in my mouth. My eyes glaze over as I stare blankly at the panel above the elevator doors, watching the numbers count down with its descent.
Thirty-eight. Thirty-five. Thirty-three.
The elevator unexpectedly stops at the thirty-second floor, and when the doors glide open, Ares Raines is waiting on the other side.
Just my luck.
He looks good–too good– like something carved out of stone and dressed in sin. His lips tip up in his signature smirk when our eyes meet, but I can’t even muster the energy to glare back at him like usual. I just stare blankly as he steps into the elevator, his playful expression dissolving on a dime.
“What’s wrong?” he demands.
“Nothing,” I reply, my voice hollow.
Concern furrows his brow as he moves in closer, reaching out for me. I jerk backwards on instinct, hands flying up to halt his advance, eyes flicking to the corner of the ceiling. He follows my gaze to the little black security camera, arms dropping to his sides as he registers my warning.
Ares’ jaw clenches, eyes darkening. “You sure?” he asks, posture tense.
