The Wolf Within

by Cynthia Eden

  Right. Right. She should have thought—

  She turned away, rushing for the door.

  “Good-bye, Holly.” Duncan’s voice. Rumbling.

  She risked a quick glance back over shoulder. His gaze was on hers. And he looked so…sad.

  “I’ll be back,” she whispered.

  His lips twisted into what could have been a smile. But wasn’t. Too rough. Too hard.

  Then she was running out of that containment area. Hurrying for her office, and she knew that Pate had just wanted to get rid of her. He hadn’t wanted her to hear what was coming. She could have argued, could have stayed, but if some of the guards were still alive, she had to help them.

  And she had to leave Duncan behind.

  ***

  Pate took Duncan into his office. Duncan had been in Pate’s office before, plenty of times, but this was the only time that he’d ever felt like he was a suspect.

  Pate locked the door behind him. “We don’t have a lot of options here.”

  What was with the “we” business? The last time Duncan had checked, Pate was still human.

  He was the one sprouting fur and running on all fours.

  “The moon rises in a few days. If your wolf is taking over, it’ll happen then.”

  A few days wasn’t exactly much of a countdown. Duncan turned his head, and his gaze raked suspiciously over the guy who’d been his boss since he’d joined the unit. “Did you know?”

  Pate’s blond brows rose. “Know that we’d get attacked this morning? That my men would be slaughtered? Hell, no, I didn’t—”

  “Did you know that I could change into a werewolf?” Because when he’d joined the team, Holly had been one of the first people he’d seen. She’d drawn his blood and performed a slate of tests on him. Procedure, or at least that was what Pate had told him.

  But now he wasn’t so sure if it had just been pure procedure. Had Pate been screening the recruits? Checking to see if any of them had DNA that would make them susceptible to a werewolf’s bite? Had he looked to see who could possibly change? “Did you know?” Duncan gritted again because the tight knot in his stomach wasn’t easing up.

  “I knew.” Quiet.

  Duncan’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected Pate to confess to the truth so easily. Duncan crossed his arms over his bare chest and waited to hear the rest.

  Only Pate didn’t speak.

  Jaw locking, Duncan asked, “Did you want me to become a werewolf?” That wasn’t the question he wanted to ask. He wanted to know…Did you set me up to become a monster?

  He was starting to think his boss just might be cold-blooded enough to have done so.

  “I wanted you to be an agent on my team. I wanted you to do your job and take out the monsters that were preying on humans.” Pate stalked toward him. “Every member of my team goes through testing because we have to be prepared for any eventuality. If there’s a chance that a team member will turn, I have to be ready for that situation.”

  “You didn’t tell me. No one bothered to share any test results with me. Don’t you think I had a right to know?”

  “And if you had known?” Pate threw right back as he squared off against Duncan. “Would you have turned down the job? Not gone out and hunted because you were afraid of the risk? Dammit, man, you’d already had run-ins with werewolves just working as a Seattle detective. You could have been bitten at any time. It wasn’t the unit’s fault that you changed.”

  It wasn’t mine.

  Those were the words that Pate didn’t say, but they still seemed to hand in the air.

  “And if I go fucking crazy?” Duncan wanted to know, because, yeah, that was a real possibility. One that no one could sugarcoat for him. Some newly transformed wolves couldn’t handle the beast within them and they went mad. “When that moon rises and my beast takes over, what then?” The full moon would be the most dangerous time. The telling time. If the beast was going to be too strong for the man in him to control, then madness could take him then.

  But Pate was shaking his head. “I’ve already got it figured out for you.”

  Right. He just bet the boss did.

  “You just need an anchor,” Pate said. “Something to hold you in check.”

  Duncan laughed. “Let me guess…Holly’s got a little drug for that?” He knew that she and Pate had been the ones to design the silver collars, an invention that the Powers-That-Be in the FBI loved. Pate did the gadgetry, and Holly did the science. Together, they were supposed to be unbeatable.

  Good for them.

  “Holly may have something for you, yes,” Pate said softly as a furrow appeared between his brows.

  The faintest flicker of hope lit within Duncan. “Don’t bullshit me.” If there was a chance that he wouldn’t go crazy, that he wouldn’t turn on the humans…

  Then I don’t have to die. Because he’d been ready to meet death if it meant he’d spare innocent lives.

  Pate’s stare was clear. “If I’d thought there was no hope for you, I would have let Elias put his gun to your head.”

  Fair enough. The hope kept growing.

  “Like I said, Holly may be able to help you. She’s a woman with surprising resources.” Duncan’s gray eyes narrowed at that. He wasn’t the only agent there who’d wondered about the rather…close…relationship between Pate and Holly. What was going on with those two?

  Were they involved?

  They’d better not be.

  “But before we get to the moonrise,” Pate continued, seemingly oblivious to Duncan’s glare, “we have to deal with the other alpha. I don’t think he’s just going to let you live peacefully until then.”

  Highly doubtful, and Duncan didn’t want more human guards getting caught in the battle. Unfortunately, Saul and the other wolves in containment weren’t talking. They were too afraid of the alpha. They feared him more than they feared death by silver.

  Duncan exhaled slowly and glanced down at his hands. The claws were gone, for the moment. He hated that they seemed to spring out on their own. As soon as he got angry—bam, there they were.

  Pate said, “Our intel indicates that he moved into town about eight months ago.”

  “Then the murders kicked up,” Duncan muttered. The wolves had begun to kill, not caring if they drew attention from the humans.

  “We know the guy is in his mid-thirties. He blew into town, seemingly with no past, and the guy likes to stay hidden.”

  When you had a pack eager to obey you, it was easy enough to hide behind them.

  Pate’s eyes narrowed. “I think it’s past time we find the bastard’s hiding place. We’ve got the perfect bait back in that containment area. Bait that can lead you right to the alpha. We can take him out, and, without him to follow, the wolves in this city will splinter.”

  Duncan rocked forward onto the balls of his feet. “Bait?”

  “Saul.” Pate shook his head. “I don’t want to let him go—”

  “You said you wouldn’t—”

  “But if we track the guy, keep him monitored twenty-four, seven, we can follow him back to the alpha.”

  Duncan’s heart started to pound faster. “And what will you do if he gets away from your monitoring, huh? He’s a werewolf, it’s not exactly easy to track his kind.”

  “It is if another werewolf is doing the hunting.”

  They stared at each other.

  “You want me to follow Saul.”

  Pate nodded. “Not only that, I want you to be the one to get him out of his cage.”

  What the hell? “Did you hit your head in the attack? Take a shot? Something?” Because this plan was shit.

  Pate’s smile was cold. “In that containment room, I made myself his enemy.”

  “I was the one choking the bastard.” Because of the way Saul had looked at Holly. As if the werewolf could already taste her. No one else gets near her.

  The wolf inside was still pissed. Or maybe the man was. Right then, it was hard to tell the difference b
etween them.

  “I told Saul that I wouldn’t make a deal with him.” Pate walked around behind his desk and sat in the leather chair. He flattened his hands on the desk’s scarred surface. “And I won’t make a deal, but you will. One wolf to another.”

  He didn’t like where this was going. “You’re just gonna let me open his cage?”

  “Um…” A small nod. “And you need to do it now, while the other agents are all distracted by the recent attack. It will look more real that way. It has to look real to Saul. The guy needs to believe that you’re working with him. If he believes you, if he trusts you…then the guy might even wind up siding with you and helping you to take out the alpha.”

  There seemed to be a whole lot of ifs involved in the equation, but they didn’t exactly seem to have a whole lot of options. Either they could wait for the alpha to attack again or Duncan could launch his own attack first.

  “Get his trust,” Pate said. “Use him. Take out the alpha.”

  Easier said than done.

  “Don’t worry about human casualties. The collar that Saul wears will transmit his location to us every minute. He won’t get free.”

  Pate was way too confident. “It’s not the getting free part that worries me. It’s the whole slicing the throats of humans part.” Like Saul had already done, six times before. He’d gone after the homeless deliberately because the guy had a taste for the helpless and weak.

  “Your job is to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone, Agent McGuire. Consider yourself the guy’s federal guard, if that makes you feel better.”

  Was the guy crazy? “I’m the one we need to watch! I need a guard!” He lifted his hands. With his increased heart beat and the tension that was eating away at him, sure enough, the claws were pushing out again. “Screw Saul. He’s got years of control—”

  “No, he obviously doesn’t, or he wouldn’t be killing.”

  “I could be the one to go bad. I could start killing.”

  “And that’s why you’re wearing a collar, too.”

  He barely felt the weight of the silver around his neck. Probably because Holly had set it for the lightest possible intensity level. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him.

  And he…

  I want her.

  Duncan cleared his throat. He had to stay away from her. When he was near Holly, he just thought about fucking.

  Or killing anyone who wanted to hurt her.

  The beast was way too unstable when she was near.

  Pate held up the remote he’d taken from Holly. “There are several master remotes at this facility. And the silver can’t just be amped up…the setting can be switched to kill mode.”

  So Duncan had always suspected.

  “You go rogue, you start attacking humans, don’t worry, I’ll take you out myself.”

  Good to know.

  “Now time is running out.” The lines near Pate’s eyes deepened. “If you’re not in for this plan, then—”

  “You think I’m stable enough to handle this?” A question that had to be asked. “Another shift could come. I can’t—I can’t stop the shift.” He’d been so angry before when he’d been in his cell and he’d heard Holly’s screams. Enraged and afraid for Holly. The shift had swept over him, and there’d been nothing he could do to stop it.

  But then, he hadn’t been sure that he wanted to stop it then. He’d wanted to attack whoever—whatever—had been hurting her.

  “We wanted you to stay the night at the facility so that Holly could do her tests.” One brow rose even as Pate’s gaze dropped to his neck. “So you’d be collared.”

  And you’d have your automatic kill switch?

  “But you aren’t a prisoner here. You’re a federal agent. A man who has always done his job and protected the innocent. You can walk out of this building anytime you want.” A pause. “Though I’d prefer for you to leave in the next five minutes…with Saul.”

  Taking that guy anywhere was going to be a risk. “I want a master remote.”

  Pate immediately tossed it to him. “Done. Saul’s code is 7943.”

  “And my code?”

  Pate smiled.

  Right.

  “I know it. Holly knows it. So I’d say we’re covered on that end,” Pate told him.

  No, Pate was covered.

  “Are you going to tell the others what I’m doing?” Duncan asked. He’d rather prefer not to get shot down by his own team members.

  Pate nodded. “After you’re gone, they’ll all know.”

  “Not before?”

  “We need to make it look real,” a soft murmur.

  So it looked like he was going to do this. All right. Fine. He motioned toward himself. “I think I’ll need more clothes.”

  “Back up gear and clothing are waiting outside. Go in the hall, then take the fourth door on your right.”

  Duncan turned away.

  “Ah…just one more thing, McGuire.”

  Wasn’t there always one more thing with that guy?

  “I’ve noticed that you seem to be reacting a bit…intently to Holly.”

  Understatement of the century.

  “You’re too dangerous to be around a woman right now in any sort of sexual capacity.” Pate’s voice had hardened. “So I’m giving you an order. Stay away from her.”

  The wolf growled. The sound hung in the air.

  “I’m still your director here.” Pate’s chair squeaked and Duncan knew the guy had shot to his feet. “You will listen to what I say and—”

  Duncan glanced back over his shoulder. Pate’s eyes widened as he gazed at Duncan’s face. What does he see there? “Staying away from her may not be an option.” Not when the moon rose. He was very much afraid that when the moon rose, the wolf would go straight to her. “You work on keeping her away from me. Send her away from this place. Get her out of the town. Do whatever you need to do.”

  “Why? Why her?”

  “Because the beast knows I want her.” I can still taste her. “And he wants her too.”

  Then Duncan yanked open the door and hurried down the hallway. He had a serial killing werewolf waiting for him. One that needed to get broken out of his cell.

  ***

  The guards outside were dead. So much blood. Everywhere. The attack from the werewolves had been brutal.

  The scent of that blood…it was so strong.

  Feeling light-headed, Holly stumbled back inside. Her shaking body told her that she’d gone too long without her dose. She knew how dangerous her condition was, and she should have been paying more attention to the passage of time.

  But the little matter of the attacking werewolves had distracted her.

  She hurried into the med unit, then made her way into the section she’d designated for her lab. She just needed one dose to get her through the next twelve hours, and—

  “She smells so sweet.”

  The rasping voice froze Holly in her tracks. It was a familiar voice. Saul’s voice.

  “Why does she smell that way?” Saul asked.

  Then a hand was curving over her shoulder. A hand with long, thick claws. Saul’s hand. Holly opened her mouth to scream.

  But the cry never left her lips. Because suddenly Duncan was there, and he put his hand over her mouth, choking back the cry.

  Duncan? No, no, he wouldn’t hurt her. He’d helped her before.

  “You shouldn’t be in here now,” Duncan whispered. His lips brushed over her cheek and a shiver shuddered through her body. “You were supposed to be outside. Helping the guards.”

  There were no guards to help. But she would have still been out there, securing the bodies, if she hadn’t gone too long without her dose. She’d been afraid to go any longer without it.

  Her hand slid into the pocket of her lab coat.

  “She’s going for the remote!” Saul’s fierce warning as his hand jerked from her shoulder and grabbed hold of her wrist. His grip was brutal as he twisted her hand, and the bones snapped.

&n
bsp; She was staring straight into Duncan’s eyes when her wrist broke. His stare was blue, with streaks of gold, but as she cried out in pain, the gold seemed to explode in his gaze. He released her instantly, and he grabbed Saul—then threw the man across the room. Saul crashed onto the operating table. “You don’t hurt her!”

  Holly stumbled back. Her wrist throbbed and…the bones were facing the wrong way. She grabbed her wrist with her left hand, and yanked the bones back into place. A tight, high moan escaped her as the pain shot through her again.

  “Holly…” Duncan growled her name.

  Fumbling, her left hand managed to grab the remote.

  “Stop her!” Saul yelled as he leapt back to his feet. “Stop her or every agent left in this building will come after us!”

  Duncan caught her left wrist in his hand. His grip was gentle but strong. “I can’t let you stop us.”

  “Us?” Holly whispered and shook her head. “There is no ‘us’, Duncan. There’s you. And then there’s a killer.” Nausea rolled in her stomach. The dose. She needed it so badly. The pain she felt just made her all the more desperate to have it.

  Saul ran toward them.

  Before he could reach for Holly, Duncan swung out at him. This time, Saul slammed back and crashed into a cabinet. Bottles fell. Shattered. Bags of blood hit the floor, and Saul’s claws cut right through them as he scrambled back to his feet.

  Holly tried to lurch forward.

  Duncan snatched the remote from her. He shattered it in his hands. Then he pulled her against him. “I’m sorry.” He barely breathed the words into her ear.

  “Let me go!” He didn’t understand what was happening. His wolf must be trying to take over, just as he’d feared and—

  “You can’t stop us.” He lifted her up. Carried her to the table on the right.

  She struggled against him, fighting with all of her strength, but she was no match for him. Not then. Not with the sun up and her body desperate for a dosage. And certainly not with his new enhanced strength pulsing through his body.

  He strapped her down. Her legs first. Then her stomach. Her chest. Her left arm. Her right-her right hand he lifted to his mouth, and he pressed a kiss to her wrist. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  Then he…left her there. Strapped to the table.