Page 48 of Sergi
No one seemed concerned, as if they knew this one would take longer.
The wolfman’s gaze fell on me again, and it was filled with a hopeless sadness as his body relaxed. His gaze changed from terror and sadness to nothing but a blank expression. He wasstill alive based on the rise and fall of his chest, but he’d either been sedated or they’d somehow cut off his emotions.
“Put the collar on,” the female scientist ordered.
Leonard picked up a thin nylon collar with a small black box that had been threaded onto it. It looked like a dog collar used to control barking or inappropriate behavior.
Deep anger filled me with silent rage.
Leonard didn’t seem as brave as before and handed the collar to one of the guards. That was the first time I noticed the smaller cage door that allowed access above the waist.
The wolfman remained still as the guard fitted the collar around his neck. He was stepping back to close the door when the female scientist said, “Let’s keep it open.”
The guard looked at her, nodded, then stepped back.
She removed a cylindrical black box, aimed it toward the wolfman and pressed a button. The reaction was instantaneous. The wolfman snarled and pulled at his restraints. His eyes were no longer blank but filled with rage and, based on knowing my own wolf, hunger. His hands flexed and unflexed, unable to form a fist because of the long nails but wanting to strike at something. Anything.
When the button was hit a second time, the snarling instantly stopped. The wolfman’s body relaxed and the dull expression returned.
The female scientist smiled and turned toward the director. “Phase two is complete. We have success.”
The director’s expression changed from his earlier anxious state to all smiles, as if a great pressure had been lifted.
“We have several more tests to perform before we move to field experiments,” the female scientist continued. “I’d like to turn five more so we have a good working group for the next stage of trials.”
The director rubbed his hands together. “Yes. Yes. As many as you want, but I want field trials ready in two weeks.” He kept nodding, his smile wide as he stared at his creation. “This is excellent. Our Master will be quite happy about this.”
The words hit like a sledgehammer to the gut. I was trying to understand what this all meant, but his words about the Master stopped all other thinking. The director wasn’t the Master. If not him, then who, and were they somewhere in the facility or someplace else?
Two weeks before field experiments. This had to be stopped.
The discussions between those behind the window and those in the lab continued. The remote control was passed around so others could turn it on and off as if it wasn’t some evil game.
Through it all, Gheata stood and watched the wolfman. The grin was still there as he slowly nodded. He seemed eager to see Frankenstein’s monster unleashed.
I rubbed a hand along my waist, feeling the bump of the vial. What could one vampire do against this? What would happen to those left behind if the vampire escaped?
“This has to stop.” My words were nothing more than a whisper.
“You can’t worry about the rest of us. We’re all doomed. But you have the ability to save the rest of the shifters.”
What would my uncle do?
It was a stupid question.
Protect the species—at all costs.
Chapter Eighteen
I staredat an irregular brown stain on the wall. It had faded over time, and the guards hadn’t bothered to paint over it, probably tired of buying white paint. I’d been staring at it for hours. I called upon my wolf, but only enough to ignite the red glow.
Shifters had excellent eyesight in the dark, but it could be heightened through our wolf. I couldn’t hold the wolf in that state for long—close to awakening but not enough to shift. Tonight, my rage lay too close to the surface, and it was a struggle to keep her at bay.
She wanted to come out. She wanted to hunt. She wanted to taste blood.
So, I focused on the stain. There were several like it on the walls of my cell, but this one was at eye level when I sat on the bed, my back to the wall. During long days when I had no work assignment, I’d study it like a Rorschach test, counting how many different objects I could create from the image.
Not tonight. Though my gaze was locked on the shape, I saw it for what it was. Blood. Shifter blood.
