Page 23 of The Beast's Betrayed Mate
“What is it?” Peter prompted.
“Are you sure?”
“If what you say might provide us with some sort of direction for finding Michael or find out what the fuck is going on or both? Fire away,” he encouraged.
“Oh, God,” she murmured, dragging her hands through her hair. It appeared she was about to reveal something that was going to rock his world. He felt the anticipation build until he was ready to snap at her to tell him already, but she beat him to it, saying, “Okay, so I’m not only working for your division.”
He had not expected that. “Okay?”
“Well, yes, I thought it was okay, but now I’m really not so sure.”
“Go on.”
“This other project I’m working on is top secret,” she said. “No one except for those who have been invited to work on it know about it. It’s why I transferred from Chicago.”
He stared at her, at a loss for words. “And what does it entail?”
“It’s a trial,” she said. “That’s all I know. I’m tasked with analyzing the test results, comparing them with prior results and determining whether each trial has failed or been a success. I don’t even know what the trials entail. Subject one reacted differently than subject two etcetera. It’s all extremely covert, the language is vague, all designed for everyone involved to know as little as possible. And I thought… Well, I thought it was probably something for the government. Something military, you know? But now…”
“But now?”
“Well, the codename for the project is two letters: BR.”
“Oh, wow,” he mumbled, getting to his feet as well. “But this Brendan Rosen had dealings with the company back in the seventies. I mean…”
“Yes, when the pharmaceutical branch of MRM was founded,” Olive remarked. “Clearly, he founded it.”
Peter couldn’t wrap his head around the implications, but it all lined up. It made sense why Michael might be gone, why a wolf had been stationed outside his door, watching it for interference. If this was company related and what they were doing was this secret, then it seemed increasingly likely that it was illegal. If they were caught, the whole company would go down. The company was the red thread that connected all of the puzzle pieces—Michael’s disappearance, his research of his family, and why Peter coming across that research had landed him attacked by a wolf.
“But… wolves?” Peter said slowly.
“We have to suppose the company has always known that this type of wolf exists,” Olive said. “The trials… They could be about making more, perhaps? What if…”
She trailed off and Peter raised his eyebrows for her to finish her thought. She hesitated, but finally offered, “What if you’re part of it? What if you weren’t bitten by accident? What if they want to take every opportunity to see what happens when a human shifts into a wolf? What if…”
She trailed off again, this time glancing around the room, looking uncertain.
He realized why.
What if his flat was bugged? What if they both were listened in on at all times? Their phones could be tapped. They might be carrying some device too small to even detect, attached to their clothes or bags or anything.
He put a finger to his mouth. She nodded. There was no point in being careless. Perhaps they’d showed up at Michael’s because they’d been listening in the whole time, letting him get the information before taking off and waiting for the moment to strike. This might all be a tightly contained experiment to them.
Were they playing right into their hands?
They couldn’t have factored in Olive, though any experiment would have variables to contend with.
Olive could very well be a variable to them. And if she didn’t prove useful, they might get rid of her.
He grabbed a pen and paper, scribbling:
Do you know how to look for this sort of equipment?
She shook her head but signed for him to follow her into the bathroom. She turned the shower and the faucet on at full stream and closed the door behind them.
“I’ve only seen this in movies,” she admitted. “I don’t know if it’ll work. But do you really think that they would do something like this? It’s so…”
“Inhumane?” he asked.
