Page 57 of Savage Mates
“How do you know there aren’t piranhas in the water?” I asked, my reaction to her defensiveness with crossing my arms.
A slight smile crossed her face and she shifted back and forth in the water. “Because as you know, they aren’t native to the Philippines. Their habitat is the freshwaters of South America, particularly in the Amazon. Nice try though.”
“Who are you, little human? Why are you here?”
“I already told you, Zeus. A scientist. A veterinarian. A lover of animals large and small. Who are you?”
The quick snippet I caught from her mind was surprising. She didn’t truly believe in the existence of shifters, although the little human was excited about the possibilities. That was her scientific mind, needing facts and refusing fiction. The other side of her, the one with reckless emotions, kept her highly concerned.
The strange combination confused me, but I refused to fall prey to a human’s mind games. That’s how I’d been captured in the first place.
However, denying what she was seemed senseless. I couldn’t understand the science around it, but she was our mate. She was our one and only. I almost laughed at the thought. Why not test her and be done with the speculation?
“You already know, don’t you? I can read your mind, doctor, veterinarian, and scientist. You’ve heard of Blackwell Industries and the atrocities they performed on innocent animals.”
Her lower lip quivered if only for a moment. “I know what they did. And it was wrong. That’s not who I am. I’m trying to save the lives of lions, keeping them from facing death from horrible diseases that are only getting worse. If what happened is truthful, there’s a chance I can learn from your altered DNA. But in my mind, altering DNA enough that beasts can turn into humans at will is a stretch.”
She wasn’t lying. I sensed that in my bones. I’d known of lions, leopards, and panthers dying unexpectedly and not from poachers. Their bodies had been ravaged by something out of our control. Was it possible that was the only reason she was here on this island?
“Implausible. We are the aftereffect of what Dr. Blackwell and his team did.”
“Then you might need to prove it.” She was taunting me and the bait was almost easy to take. If she wanted to see the real me, she would be in for a serious shock. “Why do I feel connected to the three of you?”
While her question was valid, answering truthfully would validate what the others already believed. What choice did I have? I could either trust or kill her. And I had no desire for the latter.
“You don’t feel it, little mate? A crackle of electricity? The deep rumble in your system, the need that you can’t understand, but never leaves your mind? A hunger furrowing so deeply inside it’s infested every inch of your skin, digging into bone and muscle? Can you not feel the drive that makes your throat parched and the hunger gnaw at your stomach to the point of sheer agony?”
“Stop trying to scare her, Zeus.” Thor’s voice irritated the hell out of me.
I didn’t bother looking in his direction or at Titus when he flanked my side.
“His questions are valid,” she stated. Still keeping her distance, her face peered at the three of us. Was she nervous? Yes. But she had a true curiosity that couldn’t be faked. “Why do I feel as if I know you? Why am I so drawn to the three of you? There must be a scientific reason. I don’t believe in fiction based on novels and television.”
“Why did you come to find out?” I countered.
Titus sighed. His question also needed an answer. “Why are you and the others here? If you’re being truthful about hoping to cure disease, I can assure you the two men you’re with are not on the same path.”
Her nose wrinkled and she swam backward toward the waterfall, studying us. Yes, even I could read her mind just enough to see she was processing how to handle us.
That was something I couldn’t blame her for doing.
“I admit, I don’t know.” Her answer was fraught with concern.
“What did they hope to gain by altering our DNA?” Titus growled, grilling her just as we’d intended.
She inched closer, her eyes darting back and forth. “I don’t know what to say to you that you can understand. I have a certain belief, but since I wasn’t a party to the project and there is very little left of the research, I can’t answer you truthfully.”
“Try,” I gritted out.
As she moved back and forth, I could sense her anger, but not at us or even the situation. At what she already knew had occurred two years before. What she’d yet to discover was that the research was continuing.
“Put simply, the scientists involved wanted to have full control over a new species and if I were to guess, I’d say to do bad things.” She lifted her gaze, glancing from one to the other of us. “They are specialists in their field and again, I’m not certain it’s something you can fully understand.”
I laughed and turned toward Thor, who’d joined us on the rock, and to Titus. “Do you need one of us to explain something in your language? Perhaps like…” I rubbed my jaw, shifting my thoughts. “Perhaps the central dogma of molecular biology, which you’ll know describes the flow of genetic information, DNA to RNA to protein. Is that enough?”
Her eyes lit up and I expected fear, even horror, but she was excited. I’d spoken her language. “How do you… know that?” She looked away, a smile crossing her face as she laughed. “The experiments were real. But that doesn’t mean…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but the three us could read the conclusion.
That we were shifters.
