Page 72 of Blade's Battle
“They funded your research to learn about us, Anna,” Callen said. “That’s not the same thing as caring about us.”
She had never thought about that possibility. She had always thought they wanted to better understand shifters better, to ensure that they weren’t a threat to humans. “I’ve been a fool,” she mumbled.
Blade’s hand went to the back of her neck. She met his eyes.
“You were trying to help shifters. There is nothing foolish about that.”
“The U.S. Government has been gathering information on shifters for years. I’m sure you’re not the only scientist in their employ. They’re gathering data, for now,” Callen added.
“What’s done is done, Anna,” Damien said, ending the side-conversation. “No one here will hold anything the WSSO, Drake, or even the U.S. Government does as a result of your research. But I still need an explanation as to why Drake took you.”
The alpha wasn’t going to let go. Anna glanced at Blade, but he too was waiting for her answer. Anna sighed. It was best to get this over with.
“Drake took me because of the same paper that got the WSSO’s attention. I was researching how to strengthen the genes that are broken in weak shifters.”
“Broken?” Damien grasped Tess’s hand in his, but his face betrayed nothing. Anna suspected Tess had given him the news. The results of the tests Anna had performed were clear cut. Tess was losing her ability to shift.
“What makes a shifter weak are gaps in the section of the genetic sequence that allows a shifter to shift,” Anna started to explain. “Envision a bridge. On one side you have the human genome and on the other side the wolf genome. This bridge allows you to shift from human to wolf and back again. It also allows your wolf’s abilities to flow to your human anatomy and for your human awareness and mind to stay in control while you’re in your wolf form. I published the paper when I completed the first phase of my research, the one identifying the genes of this bridge.”
“And that’s what the virus attacks?” Tess asked. “This bridge?”
“In simplistic terms ‘yes’. That’s why the WSSO wanted my research. Once those genes were identified, they targeted them with a virus.”
“Why the hell would you want to identify those genes and put all shifters at risk?” Pryce asked. “Weren’t you married to a shifter?”
Anna swallowed, hard.
“Back off,” Blade warned through gritted teeth before he kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to answer, Angel.”
But she did. If her being here was putting them in danger, then they deserved to know. “I was trying to identify the abnormality that leaves a shifter weak.”
“Abnormality?” Frank asked. “Isn’t it like getting blue or brown eyes? Weak or strong, it’s whatever’s in the cards.”
“It’s a genetic mutation, not a variation. That’s what my work was about all along. Identifying the genes that leave a shifter weak and unable to easily or fully access his wolf’s genome. When I identified two genes that are damaged in weak shifters, genes CLSB1 and CLSB2, I wrote another paper. That’s what I believe got Drake’s attention.”
“Seriously, Anna, you need to stop writing these papers,” Frank said.
“It was part of the condition of the grant money that allowed me to do the research.”
“Why do you think this paper caught Drake’s attention?” Hayden asked. “My brother’s smart, but he never went to college and I don’t think he has an interest in genetics beyond who’s strong and who’s weak in his pack.”
“In addition to detailing my findings, I laid out my plans for Phase Three. In Phase Three, I would replace the damaged CLSB1 and CLSB2 genes in several weak shifters. I hoped to give them full access to their wolves. Essentially, turning weak shifters into strong shifters.”
When Anna hesitated, Blade cupped her cheek. “Go ahead, you can tell them, Angel.”
“After the paper was published, I received death threats from anti-shifters thinking my work would lead to super-charging shifters beyond the abilities they already have.”
“Hell, if my brother thinks there’s a way of super-charging an army of shifters, he’d stop at nothing to get you.”
“I never intended to augment or alter the natural state of healthy genes, only repair damaged ones. But when it comes to shifters, a lot of people are nervous. After my paper, there was a team of scientists, Marks and Browning, who published a paper discussing the risks involved in improving shifter genetics. They called it ‘The Threat of Shifter Evolution’. That’s when I lost my grant and had to rely on private funding to continue my work on Phase Three. Not that any of that mattered ultimately. I never got to Phase Three.”
“What was Phase Three?” Damien asked.
“Oh my God, Anna, I’m so sorry.” Tess covered her mouth with her hands. Everyone was staring at Tess now, and Anna couldn’t speak. Tess gripped Damien’s hand. “You were trying to repair Kurt’s bridge, weren’t you? So his wolf could cure his cancer. Except he died before you ever had a chance.”
Anna stifled a cry and buried her head in Blade’s chest. He cupped the back of her head and wrapped both arms around her.
Here she was, breathing in the scent of a strong shifter who was holding her tight, whispering in her ear that everything would be all right, even though he was following a path that would rip him from her just like Kurt. She couldn’t lose Blade too. He was quickly becoming her world. She had to get to her lab to find a way to keep him from going feral.
