Page 56 of Wolf Unleashed
“Are you sure she’s dead?” her father asked.
He was playing mind games with her, trying to cause her to lose focus while his men captured her and Maddox. “Let us go. Maddox, me, and all the shifters you have in your lab.”
“Even if you kill me, sweetie, the guards won’t let anyone go. They have their orders, and there are other doctors to carry on my work. But once you kill me, you’ll never find the truth out about your mother. Or where she is.”
Alyssa hesitated. Ten feet away, a guard held a gun to Maddox’s temple. He’d shifted and been pulled to his feet, his hands bound behind him. He stood there naked, bound, outnumbered, and still didn’t show the slightest bit of fear. His strength flowed through the bond to her. She needed it right now. Despite all she’d said to Maddox about being trained, her father exploited her two greatest weaknesses. Her mate and her mother.
“It’s time you learn the truth about your mother,” her father baited.
She tightened her grip on the shiv, ignoring the rough edge cutting into her palm. “All you do is lie. I won’t believe anything you say. Release Maddox now.”
“He needs to die to sever the bond.”
“If you kill him, you’ll kill me.”
Her father’s brows pursed. “Who told you this?”
“He and other shifters.” She knew it wasn’t true, not fully. Maddox had explained that some shifters didn’t survive the death of a blood-bonded mate, but he had survived Isabella’s death. She was counting on her father’s ignorance on the subject to save Maddox.
“There are two other methods we’ve been developing to permanently kill your wolf. The first relied on a shot which has proven effective in trial runs but often has unexpected and horrific side-effects. The other method requires your cooperation, Alyssa. It’s not something we could force you to do, such as giving you an injection. It includes mind-altering drugs, hypnosis, and allowing a trained psychologist to get into your head, more or less, to convince the wolf that it must cease to exist in order to save you.
“I must confess, we know very little about the blood-bond. It’s possible killing the shifter could harm you. That means the second method might be the only option we have, but you’ll need to cooperate, to allow the hypnosis to take effect. Cooperate with me, and I’ll free that shifter.”
“No, Alyssa. You can’t sacrifice your wolf for me,” Maddox protested, before a guard punched him in the gut.
“Free Maddox and the others,” she countered. “All the shifters you’re holding prisoner here.” She hoped Maddox understood she had little choice. Her priority was making sure they survived.
Her father shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to leave me and my wolf alone.”
He sighed. “You never were easy to convince about anything. I’ll release this shifter and the ones who came for you.”
“Came for me?” Did he know who Rafe and Tiernan were to her?
“The alpha and scout. The ones who trained at the DSA with you.”
She took her eyes off the guard. Big mistake. The soldier grabbed her arm, giving her father ample time to escape her. The big ape of a guard squeezed her wrist until she cried out and dropped the shiv, at which point he yanked her arms behind her and zip-tied her wrists.
“I won’t cooperate unless you release them. All of them,” she repeated through a clenched jaw.
“You have my word, sweetie. As soon as we remove your wolf, we’ll release the other animals. Now, come, let’s get started.”
“Release them first.”
“I can’t. I might need them if the second method fails.”
“Then I guess we’re at an impasse, Father, because I don’t believe you’ll ever release them.”
“Then how about me? Will you believe me, Alyssa?” a woman’s voice said behind her.
Alyssa spun around, shocked to see a woman in her fifties with long, silky brown hair and green eyes strolling toward her with a grace she’d forgotten long ago.
“Who is she?” Maddox asked.
Alyssa cleared her throat, choking back the tears that threatened to spill. “Mom. . .”
Chapter Sixteen
