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I keep my voice low. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but I need your blood. Please don’t hurt me.”

He doesn’t bite me, but a little growl rumbles from his throat as I take off the cap and lift his paw. Hoping for the best and praying to every deity out there, I insert the needle under his skin. He is used to so much pain that he doesn’t flinch, but I hold his gaze as I begin to draw his blood. After a moment, he goes back to tearing at the meat, ignoring me.

When I have enough, I pull out the needle, put the cap on it, and stuff the syringe back in my bra before gently rubbing the spot on his front leg.

“There. All done. Who’s a good boy?”

I rub his ears, expecting him to snap at me, but instead he rumbles in approval, his eyes closing. Despite how dirty he is, hisfur is soft. My heart is in my throat as I pet him. I’m about to stop when he rearranges himself on the ground and places his head in my lap.

I freeze in place. What is happening here?

Letting out a shaky breath, I continue running my fingers through his fur, my heart pounding with each breath I take. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I should stop. But I can’t. He seems…content. For the first time since I arrived, he’s relaxed. How can I take that away from him?

I keep my voice calm and low. “I’m going to get us out of here. Now that I have your blood, I’m going to help you find your way back to who you were. And then I will help you shift back. And then we’re going to escape.”

I try not to let my fear get to me, keeping my voice steady. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been kidnapped, you know. The last time was when I was a child. I’ve always told myself that I would never let anybody make me a victim again. I intend to keep that promise to myself.” I close my eyes. “As long as you don’t kill me first.”

When I returnto the lab, the security camera hasn’t been fixed. The assistant who works alongside me tells me it will be another day or so. He is supposed to be in the lab with me at all times, but he likes to slip out when he knows Cassian won’t be around.

He finally does leave, and I’m able to breathe easier and get to work. After over six months here, I know which spots are covered by which camera. Using that to my advantage, I am able to run my tests on the silver wolf’s blood. I’m careful to label the file with another name so that no one figures it out. Once everything is in the computer system, I destroy the blood sampleand rinse the syringe before breaking it and throwing it in the trash.

The next two weeks are critical. Fortunately, the lab assistant I’ve been given doesn’t know much about what he’s doing. His job is basically to keep an eye on me. But since I’m always working when he’s around, he doesn’t feel the need to stay, giving me the time and space to work on my little escape project.

Creating the right formula isn’t all there is to it. The new drug has to be given to the wolf in periodic doses. This is where I add another level of sneakiness to my plan. I swap the labels of the antidote that I’m supposed to be creating and start giving doses of my own concoction to my wolf companion.

He is brought to the lab four times a week, strapped to a horrifying table like a fetal pig in a high school biology class. It is usually the assistant who administers the injections, but since the wolf doesn’t react as badly to me, he lets me do it. With all this time alone in the lab, I’ve begun to dilute the drugs. The effect is not missed on me: the dazed look in the silver wolf’s eyes is beginning to disappear.

According to my assessment, I need to give my cellmate six doses of the formula that I’ve created, one dose per week, and wait to see the results. I’m hopeful it will work. Everything I’ve calculated says it should, but this would be considered a trial drug in the human world, and the side effects are unknown. With bated breath, at the end of the six weeks, I inject the last dose.

Cassian stands beside me. “Are you sure this will work?”

“It won’t be instantaneous,” I say, not meeting his gaze. “But he should slowly begin to revert to his human form.” He definitely will, with the drug I’ve given him.

“And will he be able to shift back at whim?”

The urgent tone of Cassian’s question makes me wonder why he doesn’t want this particular shifter to be able to change forms.“You told me that you wanted him to shift into his human form and be unable to shift back, right? That is what I’ve tried to do,” I lie through my teeth.

“We should leave him in the lab and monitor him through the cameras.”

I feel a hint of panic at his words. “I don’t think that’s necessary. If the shift happens, he’ll be weak since his human muscles will have atrophied from lack of use. And we don’t know how fast the shift will be. Most probably it will take a long time or something will need to trigger it.”

Cassian comes to stand before me, forcing me to look up at him. “There was a specific component within the formula. It should leave him dazed. We don’t want him recovering his senses.”

I scowl. “Yes. You’ve told me multiple times. I accounted for it. Would you like to see the formula?” I already have a fake version of it completed. The one I’m actually using is in my head.

I bring him to the computer and show him the formula. He reviews it, and I can see that he doesn’t entirely understand it. But he seems satisfied.

“Good.” He puts his hand on my shoulder in a manner that I don’t like. “The person who initially created the formula isn’t here, but one of his disciples will be soon. He’s going to return by tomorrow evening, and he’ll assess your work. If everything goes according to plan, he’ll take you under his wing and begin teaching you.”

“His disciple?”

“His student.” Casian shrugs. “He’s also a human scientist. But he’s good. It was his idea to have you try your hand at this.”

I have so many questions, but I keep my mouth closed. Tomorrow evening? If that scientist shows up and sees this formula, he’s going to know it’s a bunch of gibberish. That means I only have till tomorrow evening to escape.

My wolf companion has been pumped full of enough drugs to knock him out, but when we reach the cell and are left alone, I take out a small vial and force the contents into his mouth. He stirs almost instantly, and I let out a sigh of relief.

The last dose I gave him was incredibly potent. It’s going to take a couple of hours to kick in, but I think it will work. Huddled in a corner of the cell, I wait for my food to arrive and then give it all to him. But as the hours tick by, nothing happens. He just lies there with his eyes closed.