Page 47

EPILOGUE

A nother female was dead.

Sighing, the doctor removed his glasses, setting them on the workspace beside the bed. Looking over the female’s body, the doctor bowed his head. This was the thirteenth dead female in a row.

They only had a few females left, but all signs pointed to the same outcome.

They would all die, and all of this would be for nothing.

“Doctor?”

Turning, the doctor saw the orderly standing in the doorway to the operating room, likely coming to dispose of the body.

He was so tired of the bodies. Of the failures.

“I was sent to get her,” the young man stammered, looking entirely too young for the task of lifting the female into the basement incinerator. “Get the body.”

Always the body.

He had quickly drilled into the heads of his staff that these women were not females or persons. They were subjects, vessels to be used in the name of science. It was the only way to stomach the work that needed to be done.

It was easy to explain in theory. Infinitely harder to implement in practice.

Stepping aside, the doctor picked up his glasses, waving the boy forward. “Go ahead. We’ve extracted all the samples we need from this one.”

He left the room, heading for his office a few doors down. He wasn’t surprised to find the man waiting for him inside.

He wasn’t happy, but then, the benefactor was never happy.

“Another dead?” His deep voice rang with disappointment.

Nodding, the doctor moved to his seat. He reached for the stack of charts on the glass desk, flipping open the top one. Taking a stamp out of his desk, he slapped the ‘DECEASED’ mark across her image before closing the file.

The man stood by the window, looking down at the world beneath his feet. “I expected better results.”

“Then get me better candidates!” the doctor finally snapped. The sudden surge of frustration ebbed as quickly as it rose, leaving him pale when he realized the tone he had used with the man before him.

“You’re saying I’m not providing adequate samples?” The benefactor never turned or showed his displeasure, but his tone was arctic. He rarely showed any sort of emotion aside from annoyed indifference.

“We’ve exhausted every human option to solve the problem. We need to start exploring the wolf aspect,” the doctor explained, his voice small and tired. “Lone wolves and unmated pack members are not giving us the results we expected. The results we need . Age may also play a part in the degradation of the cells for the procedure, but I think it’s their pack connection.”

The man turned, his eyes hard. “What do you need?”

The doctor leaned forward. “Find me younger females, preferably those who have an established mate.”

“How young? Thirties? Twenties?” The man looked intrigued by this new prospect. A new option.

“The younger the better,” the doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead. “But they need to have an established mate or potential mate. No more single, lone wolves.”

“You’re asking me to have my men remove a young female... from her mate?” The benefactor snorted at the audacity of the suggestion.

With a sigh, the doctor rubbed his temples. “Unless you’re prepared to witness the extinction of our species, yes. The time for quietly stealing inconsequential, uncommitted females is over. I understand it will bring a new level of scrutiny and outrage in the community, but we need this. We need something to turn the tide. We need a proverbial white whale.”

The benefactor smirked, looking back at the window. “I think you mean a white wolf , doctor.”