by Eva Gordon
Her pulse climbed. She wrinkled her nose. “Become a werewolf? No thanks.”
His eyes widened as if he were a mad-scientist having a “eureka” moment. “Imagine having the senses of a wolf and the strength of a super hero.”
She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m okay staying human and working on research.”
“Think what it might be like to have canine senses.”
She shook her head. “I’ve seen plenty of werewolf horror movies, not a good look for me.”
Bolton narrowed his eyes and then sighed. “I understand you require time to think about it. I’ll give you as long as you need.” He nodded to his men and then turned to her. “Come, let’s go to the wolf area.”
Knowing the answer, she still wanted to see how truthfully Bolton answered. “How many men have volunteered?”
“Only the eleven men here. So far, everyone was a success.”
Naturally, he didn’t mention all the men who died. “No reactions to the drug?” Like death.
“The worst thing that happens is it doesn’t work.”
She went along with it. “Are there any women who have tried it?”
“Unfortunately, the women never turned. If you do, you will be the first.”
“I’m not the least bit convinced to try the experiment.” Did these women survive? “There must be a reason the virus doesn’t work on women.”
“The trait is not on the sex chromosomes, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.”
“Could be hormonal.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll pass.”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t give anyone anything I wouldn’t try myself.”
“And have you? Tried it, I mean.”
“That is my plan.”
She hadn’t expected him to actually take the virus. “I don’t need to see a demo, but send me a video. Kind of risky for us humans. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know you don’t want to be in the same room as a werewolf.”
“They may look like a monstrous werewolf, but they obey my orders.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“If you are going to work for me, you need to see their magnificent transformation.” His tone darkened and he narrowed his eyes. “If you tell anyone, and I mean even your pet cat, about SERV, my trade secret, they will hunt you down and tear you to pieces.” At least they had the need to keep all of this a secret in common.
She swallowed. “Why don’t we call Boris to see the demonstration since he volunteered to be injected with the retrovirus? Before he makes a decision.” Nik could use mind control on Bolton and possibly the two new werewolves.
“He already agreed.”
“No offense, but you were vague about what having super strength meant.”
“Come, Jane.” He used retina recognition to open a door into a large dim lighted room. The area seemed the size of a basketball court. She scanned for an exit. None. Real soil grass and pine trees occupied the space, as if designed as a wolf habitat. A monster’s private play area.
The two men, Ed and Lee, entered. They removed their boots and clothes. Behind her, Bolton sealed the door shut. A red light beamed on in front of the door, as if signaling something was about to happen. Nik, I hope you aren’t still by the pool. The entire idea of coming here solo had been plain stupid. At least there were only two of them. If things went sour, Nik might be able to fight off two werewolves. As an alpha, Nik could also shift into the monstrous bipedal stage. “Do you mind if I text Boris?”
“No, you may not. We are in a secluded area and there is no communication with the outside world.” He stuck his hand out. “Let me have it.”
“That’s okay, I’ll just put it away.”
“Now.”
She gave it to him. Rather than put it away, he threw it to Ed.
Bolton nodded to him and Ed crushed it.
“Hey, what the…”
“I’m sorry. I’ll get you another one. We can’t risk people finding out.”
Emma swallowed. “No problem.”
Bolton smiled. “Prepare to see the greatest human experiment in genetic modification.”
“Okay.”
The men went to their knees and slowly shifted. Like lycans, after the initial change, there appeared to be no pain during the transition. However, the lycans’ shift was always instantaneous. The men transformed bit by bit. Their breathing loud. First into gray amorphous forms, then fur sprung on their skin like weeds after a spring rain. Bones reshaped.
She gaped and slowly backed against the wall. “Something is happening,” she said doing her best to sound shocked.
“Unfortunately, the transition takes about five minutes, but I’m hoping to speed it up.”
The men stood to what must be seven feet in height. Their drooling mouths stretched into wolf-like jaws. Fangs emerged. Their fingernails turned into long dagger-like claws. Their feet shifted into giant paws. She once witnessed the lycan enforcer, Dominic, turn into this human-wolf monster stage. He could speak, but it sounded more like a growl. That image had ingrained in her brain, and encouraged her vow to remain loyal to the pack. Even the alphas had remained in their wolf form when around her. Time to act normal. She grabbed the door handle and though it was locked, she shook it. “Let me out.”
Bolton remained calm. “Don’t worry, they are under my complete command. Watch.” He signaled for them to come closer. They came forward and remained still in front of Bolton. They cocked their heads at her and snarled.
Bolton smiled. “How are you doing, Ed?”
The gray werewolf nodded. “Feeling great.”
Emma gasped. A few alpha lycans in bipedal monster form could speak, but not as clear as these men. With the exception of Lev, as least according to what she’d been told, no other lycan spoke while in wolf form. Another major difference between the two varieties of werewolves.
Bolton turned to Lee, who appeared an inch shorter than Ed, but stockier. “And you?”
“Never better.”
Bolton turned to Emma and smiled. “Now for your final interview before you get the job.”
Emma swallowed. “Sure. I can also upload my resume and research papers for you as well.”
“I have those, Jane,” he drawled.
“Good.”
“In fact, I hired, or rather broke out of prison, one of the world’s best hackers.”
Emma’s skin grew cold. “You are telling me this…why?” The two werewolves locked eyes on her as if waiting for Bolton’s command to attack.
“I have to admit, according to my hacker who looked into your so called research and even university degrees, your cover was foolproof.”
“Cover?”
Bolton addressed Ed. “What do you think?”
He growled and then answered him in a demonic tone. “Have her remove her glasses, mask and wig.”
Bolton gave her a sick grin. “Go on, remove them.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Ed clawed off her wig and the net holding her long dark hair fell to the ground.
She laughed nervously. “Hey, so what if I’m not a natural blonde.”
Bolton frowned. “Remove the mask, Agent York, or he might just claw off your face with it.”
Shit. Not only was her cover blown, but he knew her identity. At least her CIA name.
The werewolf lifted his claw.
“Okay, give me a minute.” She removed the mask and dropped it.
Bolton clapped. “Very good. I’ve heard so much about your ability to transform into a different person.”
From who? Please, Nik, be looking for me. The question is why am I still alive? “If you had hired a better assassin, you wouldn’t have entertained me.”
“Assassin? What are you talking about?”
“The one back in California.”
“Not me.” He laughed. “If for whatever reason I wanted you dead, you would have been long gone and buried.”
“Did you hire some
one to kill agent Danny Reed and the other members of my team?”
He smirked. “Agent Reed was on my hit list, but no. I’m afraid someone beat me to it.” He narrowed his eyes. “Damn agent discovered my private business deal and then destroyed my stateside lab.”
“Illegal bioweapons trafficking,” she muttered as if it would help to intimidate him even more. He didn’t appear to know she and Danny had been engaged. No one but her father and Rylee had known. Being expert spies, they had kept their romantic relationship a deep secret. Or had they?
“That was the past. Now I can market my super soldiers for hire.”
“So what do you plan to do with me?”
“You and the phony guide, Boris. I’ll have to mull it over after I get more information on him.” He narrowed his eyes. “He is not CIA or GRU.”
“Sounds like your hacker is not that good.” Emma suspected Nik’s files with Russian intelligence were completely encrypted.
“Your guide doesn’t exist. At least not online or on paper. It’s as though he is an even bigger secret than a CIA field agent.”
She lifted a brow. “That is odd.”
Bolton glared at her. “How did you know about the special pack in Siberia?”
Did he know she was Ms. H. and about the LIA? Without a doubt, the LIA was the most secretive entity to ever exist. The lycan society fiercely guarded its kind. Nik could mind control Bolton, but what about his werewolf-men? “A hiker took pictures of men who died in the middle of a forest. Your experimental failures.”
Bolton’s smug face twisted into anger. “What hiker? That fucking site had no humans other than us.”
“Hey, don’t kill the messenger. We recognized some of our military men who had gone MIA in your heap of dead bodies.”
Lee growled at her. “Do you want me to kill her now or later?”
Bolton smiled. “Nonsense, Miss York, Emma, will join me for dinner.”
Emma shrugged. “You are in luck since I don’t have dinner plans.”
“I’ll even invite the mysterious Boris as well.”
“He’s not mysterious. I hired him, thinking he was a guide, but who knows, maybe he is a Russian spy? After all, there is a new Cold War going on between us and the Russians.”
“If that’s true, he too will be useful.”
Knowing Bolton, he might cause even more problems between the U.S. and Russia. As long as he didn’t find out Nik was a werewolf, it didn’t matter.
Nik had dressed and then ran to the dome building bordered by crystal blue waters. Emma and Bolton had been gone for two hours. Why had she not communicated with him? The scent of werewolves, but not his kind, did not bode well. Was she in trouble? Or was she simply so self-absorbed she neglected her comrade?
He stopped at the locked gate entrance. No guards. Why would they have men posted? The only way in was by private jet or boat. He scanned the area. A camera swung in his direction. His wolf urged him to leap over the fence. That would be foolish, wolf. The camera would film a man with superhuman strength and blow his cover as a normal human. He pressed the gate intercom.
A woman spoke, “Identify.”
“Boris Orlov. I have a meeting with Mr. Boss.”
“Please have a seat in the gazebo while I verify the meeting.”
Nik pressed the intercom. “I meant I want to see Mr. Boss. I’m his guest.”
“Understood.”
He sat on a bench in the gazebo beneath a canopy of palm trees. He stood and glanced at his watch. Five minutes. Nik raked his hair back and paced.
The voice returned. “Permission granted.”
As the sliding glass doors opened, an older attractive woman with silver hair and wearing a white silk business suit greeted him at the door. Her scent was human, but her blood type unique. A Stallo woman. He’d seen pictures of Svetlana and immediately confirmed her identity. She spoke to him in Russian and lifted her hand for him to kiss. “Welcome to our lab facility, Boris.”
Nik kissed her hand. At least the mystery partner was not Saskia who would have immediately blown his cover. “The pleasure is mine, Ms...”
Her eyes sparkled. “The others call me Mistress, but you may call me Svetlana.”
“A beautiful name.”
She crinkled a smile. “Mr. Boss asked me to meet you and give you a tour of our lab. First, we go to the atrium and discuss your decision.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Dr. Walker.”
“I’m afraid she’s unavailable at the moment.”
Nik narrowed his eyes at her. “Take me to Dr. Walker now.”
Svetlana laughed with careless abandon, the way a mother would at a petulant child. She met his eyes. “I am in charge here. You are our guest, but you try my patience with your rude behavior.”
A few humans learned how to avoid mind control. Being the wife of a former werewolf, she of all people must have learned that skill. “Please, accept my apologies. My rudeness stemmed from my concern for the woman who hired me.”
“Don’t worry, you will see her soon.”
“Very good.”
“Come, I’ll take you the atrium where we can talk.” Sliding glass doors opened. They entered a beautiful lounge area surrounded by a circular saltwater aquarium. Colorful fish and spectacular coral made it seem like they were beneath the waters. A skin diver’s view. Two men cleaned the empty restaurant and bar. More like a resort hotel than a secret lab. “Impressive.”
“After living in the snow for most of my life, I finally found paradise.”
He gazed at the tropical fish. “I see your point.”
Svetlana motioned to a sofa and he sat. “After our meeting, feel free to order whatever you want from our chef, Montez.”
Nik glanced his way and nodded. Montez returned the gesture. A human. “Thank you.”
She sat across from him. “You remind me so much of my son Pietr.”
The hybrid son she had with the evil mobster, Sergei. Not a compliment. “Is that so?”
“You are muscular and tall with amber eyes that read one’s soul.”
Had she figured out his true nature? She certainly lived long enough to suspect a lycan in the flesh. “Perhaps we are related.”
Svetlana looked away and smiled. “No. Not possible.”
“You never know. Either way, it would be a pleasure to meet him.”
Her expression tightened from cordial to fierce she-wolf. “He, my other son, and my beloved husband were murdered by—a gang.”
She meant pack. How ironic she would call Team Greywolf a gang. “I’m so sorry.”
Svetlana met his eyes and smiled. “Those who killed my sons will be destroyed.”
Karma is a bitch. Was she planning to use newly created wolf-men to exact revenge against Team Greywolf? “Perhaps, I can be of service.”
“You served in the Russian army, no?”
“Correct.”
“According to Mr. Boss, you plan to enhance your strength by taking our new drug?”
“Yes. If I don’t die in the process.”
“Do not worry. If SERV doesn’t work, there is no harm.”
The woman lied so well, but not to the point of convincing an alpha werewolf. “Are you certain?”
“I am. Naturally, I can show you the lab results to ease your concern.”
She and Bolton had convinced the volunteers of its safety. The dead corpses in the field indicated the chance of a successful shift was minimal. Survival of the lucky not the fittest.
“I would like that very much.”
Her smart phone vibrated and she picked it up. “One moment.” Svetlana turned slightly to read a text. He noticed her quickened pulse. Something was wrong. She stood. “Please stay and enjoy drinks and whatever you wish to eat. The seafood is the best.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing that concerns you. A bank transaction that needs my immediate attention.” She walked through the automatic doors. He heard the locki
ng mechanism engage. Trapped.
Montez approached, holding a menu. “I will happily cook whatever you want. My specialty is sea bass.”
He narrowed his eyes at him. “Can you unlock the glass doors?”
Montez shook his head. “I cannot. Mistress enabled the lockdown.”
Bolton and his two henchmen, back in human form, escorted Emma into a large room. Returning to human form took minutes. Certainly, the change for them was not as easy as normal werewolves. Natural lycans could shift in seconds as opposed to minutes.
Bolton unlocked a steel door. The room, somewhere between a medical bay and a detention cell, was furnished with a long black table and two chairs facing one another. Behind glass cabinets were test tubes, syringes and vials of drugs. A large cage stood in the corner most likely to accommodate a bipedal werewolf. In case they lost their mind in the transition as she suspected might happen if the change didn’t go well.
Bolton took out his mobile and texted someone.
Was he ordering Nik captured or killed? Emma took her seat. “Let me guess, you plan to torture me into revealing secrets.” More likely, he meant to inject her with the shifting drug.
Bolton scoffed. “Nonsense. I’m more interested in hearing your choices.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me how you found out about the hiker who discovered the bodies. And how you found a connection with me and the wolves with the human endogenous retrovirus or ...” He nodded to Ed who took out a vial and a syringe.
“Truth serum?”
“No, the alternative is to test our drug on you.”
“You plan to use me as a guinea pig?”
“Unless, you tell me everything about how you connected me to the wolves, yes.”
Emma could leave out the lycans and still tell him the truth, at least about Danny since no more harm could come to him. “After Danny was killed, I picked up the files on you.”
His face lit in anger. “Bull shit. He may have found my other lab and ties to selling bio weapons, but no one, and I mean no one, could have traced me to the wolves.”
“How do you know?”
“If he had, he would have been torn to pieces.”
“By your werewolves.”
“Precisely. We took care of witnesses.”
