“You’re late,” an older man snapped when she entered the room. The guy had never spoken to her before and his attitude did nothing to gain a response from her. She repeated the dinner ritual, serving each person and then refilled their water.
“What happened to the other one? The one before you?” the old man asked again.
Asia looked at him and shrugged.
Evening meal complete, she returned to sector B, grabbed the hose and washed everything down, including the people, their waste and their plates. How anyone could be treated in this manner? None of it made sense to her. The lab in Pennsylvania had rooms with separate bathing areas and as much as she’d hated it then, she realized it was a penthouse compared to this caged existence.
To ease her conscience she spent a little more time on the baths of anyone who tried to clean themselves. When she turned off the water a few of them thanked her. Surprised, she nodded and then headed to her sector to repeat the process.
“Great, thanks man, you took care of cleaning sector B,” Chuck said. “I’ll take sector D. After you finish clean-up in your sector, the tray for Hawke is ready. Press in your code in the lift and it’ll take you below. He’s the only door down there, just walk straight ahead out the lift. Promise you won’t miss it. Try not to take too long, he gets’ uber cranky when his food is too late.”
Nodding, she headed to her sector. “Where are you from?” the older man asked when she entered her area.
Test wolves weren’t supposed to talk to her. They never talked. She stared at him and turned on the water.
“Could you clean my mate first?” he pointed to the female in the cage next to him. “She had a rough day today.”
Asia washed the woman down, spending a fair amount of time on her until the older female waved she’d had enough. It took longer than the other sector because there were more people. When finished, she grabbed the tray and headed down to the lab. Strange, she hadn’t heard a word from him since she entered the castle four days ago. Before that he called out to her every day. What happened to him? Where could he be? She had no idea but each hour she grew confident it was not on this level with all the others.
Prickles of unease ran through her.
She scanned the area for Gunnolf. No luck. As she strode down the hall her wolf became agitated. Agitated may not be the right word, excited was more precise.
She placed her palm on the security pad, after a few beeps the door slid open and she stepped into the darkened lab. Dread swept up her back. Flashbacks of her captivity swamped her. The taste of antiseptic hit the back of her tongue. Chloroform and other noxious odors filled her nostrils. The clicking of equipment replayed in her ear. She slammed the door on those debilitating memories and refocused.
“If you insist on standing in the doorway, do so from the other side.” The rude comment snapped her out of it.
“Dinner.”
“I can see that. Place it on the lift and leave.” He turned his back on her and sat at the keyboard.
Asia looked around the large sterile room while walking to the lift, and then placed the tray on the built-in ledge.
Shit. This lab made the one they destroyed in Pennsylvania look like pre-kindergarten. What kind of experiments did they run here? The metal on the table restraints looked familiar. A bone-deep chill raced through her at the enormity of this place. No wonder they sacrificed the other lab, it couldn’t compare to this one. She hadn’t seen this many computers and robotic equipment in any of the other labs.
“Get out.” He didn’t raise his voice; he didn’t need to, his words held a cutting edge that made her hackles rise.
“Yes, your majesty.”
“I heard that.”
She smiled and walked toward the door.
“Wait.” She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
“Your name?”
His scent hit her and her wolf went ballistic. Shock immobilized her. The hunk of man was a full-blood wolf. Full-bloods did not make good lab specimens because their wolves would not obey humans and yet she stared at proof this could happen. Scars criss-crossed his arms, his back and from what she could see, the top of his chest. Someone had performed numerous surgeries on this wolf. Overhead light beams danced across his shoulder, highlighting his shaggy jet black hair. She frowned, the color struck a chord, where had she seen it before? How much wolf remained in the man, or had the Liege found a way to neutralize the beast altogether. La Patron would want to know the answer to that question.
“Your name?”
Asia cleared her throat. “Tate.”
Did he run this lab? She knew better than most the kind of experiments the Liege performed. The notion that a full-blood ran tests on other wolves for the Liege blind-sided her. It just didn’t happen. As a full-blood, she’d done dirty deeds on behalf of the Liege for decades but it took constant reprogramming and she had scars to prove it. Her wolf always looked for opportunities to break the hold they had on her. One thing for sure, they never left her alone in a room full of equipment. Never.
A low throb beat at the base of her neck. Her beast whined pushing her to shift.
“Which sector are you working?”
“Sector C and B today.”
He nodded and turned. “Next time bring my food on time, Tate.”
She threw him the finger as she left.
“I saw that,” he said as the door closed behind her.
Chapter 3
Asia lay on the pallet in the main area between both of her sectors. Although assigned a bunk and locker in the dorms, she’d never used them. Short staffed, she and the others remained below working rotating shifts. She had used every free minute to seek her mentor. Not finding him with the other test wolves wore on her nerves.
The day Gunnolf reached out to her seemed like a dream, perhaps it had been. She’d been ready to board the plane to take her to London along with Tyrese, Angus, Leon, Brix and Danielle, Tyrese’s mate when Gunnolf called her name.
“Isa… Isa, child is that you? What has taken you so long to return? Are you well?” From that point on, she’d changed plans and remained in Krajdn, seeking information to rescue him. At first she had been full of hope and excitement. Gunnolf knew her as a child, knew her parents, her history. He’d shared bits and pieces with her but not near enough. Starved for knowledge she set out to rescue him.
Jasmine offered to send help, but Asia had refused. This was a personal mission and if it made a wrong turn she alone would suffer. After a long heated discussion, her Mistress agreed to allow her to remain alone if she promised to use the chameleon bracelet as a main weapon. With a bounty of five million on her head, Lord Boris wanted her dead for killing another Liege Lord; Asia had been quick to agree. The Liege could not know she was in the country let alone in one of their holdings.
She had spent days seeking answers about the castle and the inhabitants from the local towns people. Sketchy and conflicting information slowed her progress but everyone agreed Lord Boris Lancaster was not in residence. In fact he seldom visited the place and left his nephew in charge. All the other ramblings of ghosts, mass killings, and Frankenstein experiments she filed in the local folklore column. Angus said her former mentor had been a great man, but no one heard from him in decades.
Stranger still, she hadn’t heard a word from Gunnolf since she entered the castle four days ago. Before that he called out to her every day. What happened to him? Where could he be? Frustrated, each hour she grew confident he was not with the other test wolves. Based on what she had learned so far, if Gunnolf were alive, he would be on this level.
“Mistress?” She called Jasmine through their link. After her accident and brush with death in an old lab in Pennsylvania, all of Asia’s links quit working, except Jasmine’s and within the past two weeks, Gunnolf.
Thoughts of the explosion that shut down the computer chip in her brain, compliments of the Liege, sent chills rippling across her body. The price paid to be free of those men
had indeed been high.
“Asia, I’m glad to hear you. Are you okay?”
The warm concern from her Mistress’ voice eased the tension knotting in her shoulders. She tipped her head from side to side to release more pressure. Unaccustomed to pack, Asia was learning to accept the care of others in slow degrees. In her flawed memory of her upbringing she had been devoid of emotional bonding. Jasmine decided to change all of that. With every connection, and every discussion the woman reminded Asia, either in word or actions, that she had a family who stood behind her. Although thousands of miles and an ocean separated them, Asia wasn’t alone.
“I’m okay. Still in the castle.”
“Did you find out any more information?”
“No, I still have not located Gunnolf.”
“You’ve been there almost a week. Is there a problem?”
“Yes. I don’t think he’s here.” She told Jasmine everything that had happened to that point. Seeking out Lord Boris nephew, chasing him until he caught her, taking information, exchanging places with the new hire Tate and her subsequent search of the castle.
“Sound like you’ve done all you can. You haven’t heard from him since you entered the castle?”
“No, Ma’am. That link is dead. I don’t know what happened.” She had a few ideas, but nothing concrete.
“What now?”
“I’m ready to come home, but...”
“But?”
And then she told Jasmine about the test wolves, and their living conditions.
“You can’t get involved. Silas forbids it. It was one thing to remove Gunnolf, he’s an old and revered friend. But you’re a guest on another Alpha’s turf. He’s turned a blind eye as a courtesy to Silas, but he has no allegiance to us. He’d probably side with the Liege if things went wrong.”
The truth left a bitter taste on her tongue. “The Liege corrupted a full-blood, he runs their lab. If they can do that… we are all at risk.” She tried to sound unaffected by the man in the lab but she could not. Despite the little she knew of him, something about him called to her.
“What?” Jasmine shouted. “A full-blood? Hold on a sec, I need to tell Silas.”
Asia filtered through the sounds in the lower area. Chuck snored. Henry worked the other side with his friend, Armand.
“Are you sure he ran the lab?”
“Yes, he’s a bit of an ass, everyone caters to him. But I am certain of the wolf.” She yawned and pulled the cover to her chin. “I’ll let you know when I figure a way to get out of here and come home.”
“Okay, I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you planned.”
Chapter 4
“Tate, you’re on to take these beauties to his majesty. Since he didn’t kill you the other night for the late meal, you get to spend more time in the lab. Exciting, right?” Chuck laughed and pointed at the cages. “Plus it’s mating day, chances are he’s hot and ready to get the party started.” Chuck slapped the top of two cages earning snarls from the bitches behind the bars. Asia gritted her teeth at the crude remarks and pushed the cart.
“Oh yeah, here take this.” Chuck threw a dog whistle on a long chain to her. “Sometimes he needs a little help to shift, use this. I don’t know why but it helps.”
Lips pressed together, she exhaled and pushed the cart forward. “A dog whistle, what the hell?” she murmured once she cleared the lower lift. “That’s insulting as fuck.”
She placed her hand on the scanner, the door opened and she pushed the cart inside the lab. The wolf stood on all fours a distance from the door; she exhaled and tossed the chain aside. “Good you’ve already shifted, no need to help you then.” The cart seemed heavier, and she gave it a hard shove sending it further into the room and then lowered it on a lift. He trotted in her direction and she looked at him. “Shit.” Certain she was seeing things she shook her head. “Oh shit, you’re a black wolf,” she said looking at the magnificent beast. “How is that possible?” The lift moved down, and she continued to stare. Her wolf howled and pushed to be free.
The black wolf whined as he watched her move downward. Once the lift reached the bottom, she opened the cages. Snarling and snapping, the bitches leapt out the cages and ran to the other side of the lab. Safe behind the cages, she hit the button, and the lift moved upward.
The black wolf howled.
Asia really looked at him. The only other wolves she had seen close to his size were La Patron and his brother Angus. He ignored the bitches and stared at her. His sad sherry colored eyes tugged on her heart, which made no sense.
“Easy big guy, I’ll be back,” she said knowing cameras were everywhere. She hated her black wolf outburst and hoped she didn’t get in trouble. Following Tate’s script she continued. “It’s that time of the month, have fun with the ladies. Fingers crossed, we need pups.” She raised her hand displaying crossed fingers.
Another breeding project, she should have guessed. But why allow the full-blood access to computers? Too many questions and as Mistress said, answering them about a black wolf was not the mission.
“Please, help me.”
Those three words sent shock waves through her system. The black wolf spoke to her on a link burning in her mind. What? How? She didn’t understand. No one had been able to access her links after her re-birth. Was this another trick? New technology?
Time to leave.
The black wolf howled again and jumped at the landing where she stood. His howls turned to snarls as he continued leaping toward the railing.
“Please, I’m a prisoner. What’s left of me can only speak as a wolf. Please, help…” The plea burned in her mind, but she didn’t trust him. First Gunnolf accessed her through a link, now the wolf tapped into her mind. She needed to find out if Gunnolf lived and get out of this damned castle.
Frustrated and confused, Asia placed her palm on the security pad. The door opened. She waited for the scan to complete and then stepped into the hall. The howl of the black wolf sliced through her, causing her to stumble. Sadness, heartache and pain were braided into the sound. In a few seconds, the wolf accomplished something no one had done in decades.
He made her feel.
Chapter 5
Asia noted the cameras lining the hall and headed to an area of the building where staff gathered. She nodded to the two other lab techs, grabbed her clip board and veered to the right.
“How was his majesty today?” Chuck asked.
“No different,” she said sensing their low opinion of the full-blood.
“Did he thank you for the gift?”
“Did you tell him not to kill the bitches this time?” Henry asked. “I’m running low on stock. As hard as he fucks them, you’d think they’d be spitting out pups ten at a time.”
Asia’s forced a smile, certain the lackey whose form she occupied would. Their words concerned her, and pissed off her wolf.
“I’m a prisoner here…” His pitiful words bled through her thoughts. Despite her wolf’s displeasure, she disregarded the wolf and continued down the hall away from that lab. The moment she turned the corner a barrage of scents and sounds hit her.
Henry met her gaze and shrugged. “For some reason they’ve been noisy today. Could be a reaction from his Majesty making all that noise. What’s wrong with him today? Bastard’s nose is usually too stuck up his ass to say thank you when we send bitches for him to mate. Today he’s making all kinds of noise.”
“What’s he doing? Is he mating with them yet?” She asked, allowing Tate’s personality to surface.
“Not yet, I might need to give him a sedative but then he’d try to kill me if he ever saw me again. But how else can I get the bitches out of there?”
“Sedate all of them, then get your bitches.” At least this one would be out of the way while she checked the castle one last time for Gunnolf.
“Hmm, I might have to do that. Let’s hope he’ll settle his big arse down and do the job. So far just two of his pups survived. If we don’
t want to be looking for other jobs we need to up those odds.”
Asia nodded, although the thought ran through Tate’s mind that their bosses would kill them before firing them. As she walked to the area Tate worked, she rifled through his memories again to search for clues. Since he’d never been upstairs, he had no idea what it looked like or who ran this business. Once, sometimes twice a day he reported to a supervisor who never came below but saw and knew everything that happened. Poor guy never expected to leave or have a family. For a new worker he had a pretty dismal view of the place.
“Where are you from?” the old man asked again. His mate glanced at her and then turned aside.
She ignored his question. The door slid closed, and she headed toward the desk and stopped. Tate would do a visual check on each wolf. With long steps she moved down the aisle uncertain what changes she needed to see. These wolves had undergone multiple surgeries and treatments, but since Tate didn’t know the kinds of experiments, neither did she. They were a pitiful bunch. Cuts and bruises marred their faces which surprised her. Those should’ve healed clear.
A lone cage sat a few feet from the others. A few feet away she paused, sensing tighter security at what she assumed were someone’s remains, until he released a tired sigh. The old man lacked both legs and an arm. The one arm left had been cut off at the elbow. Could he see? When he lifted his head she noted the empty sockets and her heart dropped. A wolf would rather be dead than caged, this type of mutilation smacked of a sick mind. The need to leave this place burned in her gut. Sorrow and heartache rose in her chest for the old guy but she didn’t speak or move closer, instead she returned to the desk. The moment she did, the monitor blinked.
“Report.”
Asia gave a concise report based on her observations of the caged wolves. “Very good.” A pause and then. “Hawke is ignoring the bitches and trying to jump over the railing. Did anything happen when you were in the room?”
Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1) Page 2
