Page 14 of Feral Mates (Ruthless Instinct #1)

S avannah

“Serenity Wildlife Refuge. This is Maggie. How can I help you?”

I was shocked someone had answered so early. I was already sitting in the parking lot of Blackwell Industries, waiting to go in. At this point, I needed a plan.

I needed to discover what the fuck was going on inside the laboratory and on the secure floor I didn’t have access to. That would be a feat. If caught snooping, I’d be fired on the spot.

No questions asked.

I’d scratched Kai on purpose, collecting his DNA under my fingernails, which I’d promptly placed into the DNA kit I’d brought. The test would be made easy enough to determine if he was completely human. What I was thinking was still mindboggling.

“Hi, Maggie. I hope your Monday has started off well. This is Jane Martin of the Arlington Press,” I started.

The lie seemed plausible enough. “I’m doing a follow-up story on reports of an escape at your amazing facility.

” I lied. The refuge had a dicey reputation at best, stories from two years ago prompting an investigation into their practices.

They’d even been reprimanded by the government.

But I’d found nothing to connect them with Blackwell Industries so what the wolves had endured and who they’d become could be a fluke.

Supposedly, the refuge had cleaned up their image and had recently won an award for best practices. I found the sudden turnaround suspicious.

“Oh, yes. We had three wolves escape, but they’ve been caught and brought back to the facility. Fortunately, they weren’t injured in any way. We’re so happy to have them back.”

Maggie’s voice was too gleeful and practiced. However, a sudden wash of emotions I hadn’t expected created doubt in my mind.

What if what I’d experienced had been manufactured by the three men? Maybe not escaped convicts, but con artists. As soon as the thought tickled my mind, another feeling replaced any and all doubt.

Hunger.

The same deep and intense need that had slowly faded the night before. When I shifted in my seat, I was reminded of the harsh spanking. The brutes truly believed I would be obedient to them.

Not a chance.

Then why had the intense throbbing increased?

Get a grip, girl. Concentrate.

I closed my eyes briefly, physically shaking my body to try to remove the lurid images from my mind.

“I’m so happy to hear that. Are you certain they were the same wolves?”

Her hesitation meant she was uncertain my intentions were purely story driven.

“I think the readers would love to hear more about them. You know how people respond to stories of animals being rescued.”

“Ah, yes,” Maggie said. “We are certain. We tag every animal that comes into the facility.”

A lump formed in my throat. “Fantastic. Would you mind if I learned their names? You know what they say about putting a name to a face.”

She laughed with me. “Yes, I do. I don’t mind at all. Apollo, Kai, and Roman.”

As soon as the names left her mouth, I was lost in thought while she went on to explain how names were selected. So far, my instincts had been spot on. That didn’t make me feel any better.

Oh, my God, this was nuts. Closing my eyes, I indulged a few seconds of seeing their faces in a split screen in my mind.

The three chiseled hunks.

I’d known their names.

I’d seen them in my mind.

They’d known mine.

I’d seen them as wolves and a few minutes later they were human.

How was that possible?

This was crazy. This was illogical.

This was exciting.

Another pang of desire brought a deep throb into my pussy.

None of this made any sense.

At this point I didn’t care. I pulled the phone away from my face, staring up at the massive building in front of me. It was already teeming with activity, and I caught sight of Dr. Blackwell himself heading in.

A cold shiver skated down my spine.

“I’m so happy you found them. I bet they’d been on an adventure.” My tone was flat and I found myself slinking down in the seat.

“Yes, well, we’ve reinforced our enclosure, so another escape isn’t possible. We need to keep our lions, tigers, and bears safe and secure from the public.”

While she laughed, my mouth went dry. Was it possible Serenity was keeping various species inside their compound? “So good to hear and thank you for your time.”

“Not a problem, Miss…”

“Martin.”

“Miss Martin. Have a wonderful day.”

By the end of the conversation, the questioning tone of her voice had returned. I held the phone in my lap, going over the same thoughts I’d had while tossing and turning the night before.

I had to find a way onto the floor or into the database. I wasn’t certain what I was thinking at this point, but I knew something was way off. The upper echelon, as Carl loved to call the scientists with high level clearance, had been keeping things from the rest of us.

What and why?

Thoughts about the location of the refuge entered my mind. I unlocked the screen on my phone, shifting to the photograph I’d taken of the wolves. I’d managed to capture the essence of power and grace. They were magnificent as animals.

Even better as men.

Proving what I wholeheartedly believed wasn’t going to be an easy task.

Just before I grabbed my things, Dr. Blackwell stopped walking. Turning slowly, he scanned the parking lot, homing in on my little Cruze.

I slunk down even further in my seat, but couldn’t take my eyes off him. From where I was parked and the reflection of the morning sun, he shouldn’t be able to see inside my car.

But I knew otherwise.

The man’s expression was always the same. Blank.

Yet at that moment, the edges of his upper lip curled into a smile.

Holy fuck.

What if he already knew I was snooping? No, that wasn’t possible.

Don’t go crazy, Sav. Think this through. Act normal.

He finally turned again, heading into the building.

A sense of relief flooded through me, my muscles relaxing, but I knew this was going to be dangerous.

What choice did I have? If any lifeforms had come through the portal opening, they needed to be studied.

And possibly controlled.

That much I’d discovered in my tests.

My apprehension continued, but both the work and the ongoing questions were far too important to chicken out.

I hugged my bag against me, keeping my head down as I headed into the facility, my breath catching as soon as I headed into the lobby.

Since the day I’d interviewed for my position, there’d been security measures in place, metal detectors and advanced imaging technology used, but this morning, there were two additional security guards carefully watching the comings and goings of both guests and employees.

After taking a deep breath, I headed through the devices, managing to plaster a smile on my face even though my hands were shaking.

Fortunately, there were no signs of Dr. Blackwell lurking in the shadows. Cleared, I headed to the third floor, almost pressing the button for the fourth. A risky move, but one I was willing to take.

At some point.

I had to get my ducks in a row first.

I headed into the lab, tossing my things in my locker. From what I could tell, everything was business as usual.

Yet I felt a different vibe, an electric energy that hadn’t been so evident on Friday night. Everything had felt different three days before. So much had changed. Even though I was nervous, I remained excited. The possibilities of such an incredible discovery were endless.

I headed to my station, immediately logging onto the system.

If Dr. Blackwell followed his usual schedule, he’d walk the floor, asking us at random questions about the scope of our work.

We all played a different part. It was our team effort that had helped advance the anticipated schedule of the project.

Once I’d pulled up my files, my attention was drawn to the clear glass viewing panel.

According to my computer, the laser was working, yet there was no indication of any life force or quantum strands.

But it would appear my configuration had worked given the last test I’d performed had completed after I’d left for the night.

The realization brought on another breathtaking moment. And dozens more questions.

My usual email providing weekend testing results wasn’t in my inbox. That was odd. There were usually tests continually run and providing updates, which every scientist in the building was privy to. Monday morning emails were a constant.

It was possible the portal had been shut down over the weekend, but the laser system was always on, taking random tests. To see it in a dormant state certainly didn’t seem like a coincidence.

Why would Dr. Blackwell do that when our tests weren’t completed and every scrap of information could give us more evidence for our theories?

Besides, there were grants involved, millions on the line. He needed to show results. I might not be an economics whiz, but I knew how the grant system worked. There were timelines and goals, inspections and required reports. Plus, his reputation was on the line.

One of the reasons I’d come to work for him was based on his theory of a parallel universe. He’d taught a course at the university and I’d embraced his brilliance.

Even if he was an odd cat.

With my fingers flying, I activated another screen and was finally able to see the system had indeed been active all weekend long. Very active. As in multiple tests had been taken that weren’t the typical perfunctory ones. Someone had been at the laboratory over the weekend.

Excited, I maneuvered to the results page, eager to see if what I’d experienced on Friday had continued.

A quick flash of red covered the screen.

“What the fuck?”

I’d been locked out of the results page. That had never happened before.

“What’s wrong, sunshine? Didn’t enjoy your weekend?”

Hearing Carl’s voice brought a sense of normalcy.

“Have you logged onto the secure area of the system this morning?”