Page 25 of Feral Mates (Ruthless Instinct #1)

I gave him a hard look. “Not even a little. I’m serious, Kai. You need to promise me that you won’t go after someone. That just can’t happen; I won’t be able to protect you.” My God. I really did want to keep them from harm’s way. What did that say about me?

“Humans are not our friends, Savannah, but we didn’t have any intention of hurting the family. The wolves wanted to tear them apart and not for food. They were vicious, rogue wolves that were out for blood.”

“That means your entire species will be blamed. They’re hunting you. Every wolf. You heard the announcement. They won’t stop until you’re dead and buried. I won’t allow that to happen.”

Every time one of them smirked, I wanted to smack the expression off their faces. “I would love to see you try and protect us, little mate.”

“Don’t push me. You won’t like what happens when I’m pushed. Just ask anyone. I’m a bitch.” I fisted my hand, realizing that my natural urges were to protect them as well. Why?

“Understood,” Kai said. Still amused.

While I was still annoyed.

“Good. I hope you do. I’m not some pushover scientist chick.

I can fend for myself. That’s something my father made certain of.

And trust me. He was a crack shot. Make yourselves right at home.

My father also has a superior computer system.

I need to see if his login information is the same as before.

Then I’m going to ascertain what in the hell we’re dealing with. ”

“Us against the world.”

There was something almost hypnotic about his voice, yet the meaning was very clear. I thought about his suggestion. “Yes, I guess so.”

“There may come a point when there won’t be time for guessing.”

Everything about his words was chilling. “Maybe. We’ll deal with that when the time comes.” And I prayed to God it didn’t.

“What information do you have?”

“Tests on the molecular structure of quantum strands. Initially it was in hopes of doing communicating with and learning from a parallel universe found accidentally.” When he looked at me quizzically, I smiled.

“Think of them as building blocks for all matter and the forces of the universe. It’s really quite simple in theory.

They are one-dimensional, but necessary in the creation of all beings.

We managed to introduce them to the energy fields coming from light sources within the portal.

We offered various stimuli in hopes of increasing what limited connections we had. ”

“Did you?”

“Yes, we did early on. Then our project expanded and I felt this close to proving the strands had far too much intelligence to be light refractions and cosmic pulses, which is what other scientists have believed for years,” I said with certainty.

“Other dimensions can be very small yet hold significant and powerful data. The origin of our world and many others is thought to be powered by the strands. To put it simply, my tests were close to confirming dozens if not thousands of lifeforms were waiting for us to communicate with them. Unfortunately, I believe the breakthrough was being used in an entirely different way.”

Kai cocked his head, listening intently, but saying nothing.

“I considered this implausible until the other day, more like science fiction than science, but at this point, I would believe almost anything. I believe our tests have been used to establish new lifeforms utilizing strands from both dimensions. Once achieved, and you standing in front of me proves it has already been done, it’s likely that the hybrid could be more easily controlled.

Imagine the power. Anyone who controlled such a magnificent discovery could rule the world and beyond. ”

“But you don’t believe that’s possible as of yet.”

I shook my head. While my thoughts were still being pieced together into anything substantive, the more time went by and my brain mentally went through the testing exercises, I realized neither the energy nor the lifeforms would allow anyone to restrain them.

“No, I don’t. There’s too much power, too much intelligence to be controlled. ”

He sensed my excitement, his chest rising and falling as his pulse increased. “What if all those lifeforms aren’t considered positive?”

“You mean if they are here for evil purposes.”

“Yes.”

“Then the portal needs to be shut down and never reopened.”

“Why?” Kai asked as he searched my eyes.

“Because if they can’t be kept constrained, they could alter the face of our universe in horrible ways. Once unleashed, there might never be a way of stopping them, whatever their intentions might be, or the damage done.”

Kai cupped my face with more force than he’d done before. He narrowed his eyes while lifting my head. “Then that’s what we must do. The lifeforms must not be allowed to exist.”

Nodding, I still wasn’t certain what to say.

“You should know that if any of what I’m suggesting is true and it’s confirmed the lifeforms are dangerous and destructive, any being entering this universe would be hunted and destroyed.

They won’t allow the chance for the phenomenon to occur again.

At least not in our lifetime. Do you understand what I’m telling you? ”

Apollo and Roman appeared, standing in the foyer and watching our interaction with mixed interest. Kai barely gave them a glance or a thought before answering. “That means we will be exterminated.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” And what I didn’t want.

Whatever had created our connection, it was strong and growing more so with every passing hour. The sensations weren’t just carnal in nature, nor were they only primal. It was a bond forged in the very depths of our beings.

As if being unearthed from centuries of hibernation. That was the only way I could explain the possibility of being able to mate with them.

The crazy meter went off in my head.

“You should get some sleep, little mate,” Apollo directed, his features darker than before.

“Not until I know what’s on the flash drive I was given. Knowledge is power.” And I had a feeling we’d need every scrap of power possible.

“You’ll need your rest,” he insisted.

“I will after I take a look.”

As evidenced before, he wasn’t used to having anyone tell him no. Especially a human. His nostrils flared and when he took a step closer, I stood my ground. Exhausted or not, I wasn’t going to waste a single moment.

Even if having the three of them so close was making me lose my mind in an entirely different way.

My breath was caught in my throat, the flush I felt on my cheeks extending to my neck and chest. Even my arms were hot to the touch.

Reaching out, he curled his thick fingers, tracing his knuckles from one side of my jaw to the other. His entire body was shimmering with explosive energy and for a moment, I was certain he was electrified.

Blinking, I sucked in my breath and my actions seemed to amuse him, the corners of his upper lip twisting in a quiet smirk.

“As I told you before, little mate. You will need to obey us.”

“Just like the deer.”

“Just like every creature.”

A smile crossed my face. “Not this time, wolf man.” At least not yet. The thought still stimulating my mind, I backed away, breaking our connection. Then I turned abruptly, their heated gazes following me as I walked from the foyer into the shadows.

Only when I was in a completely different room could I breathe.

Exhaling, I turned on the light to my father’s office, instantly taking comfort from being close to him.

This was my father’s favorite room in the house.

It was filled with books, hundreds of them meticulously placed on shelves, categorized as if done by a librarian.

My father was that way, something he’d been trained to do. Everything had its place. That’s why we’d maintained such a strong relationship. We were like two peas in a pod. At least according to my mother.

As I walked toward one of two walls holding his collection of literature, I had a deep longing to call him.

He’d know what to do. He always had answers.

No matter the question or concern. Nothing had been off limits.

Only this time, not only couldn’t he help me, he also would be concerned for my mental stability.

After running my fingers across the edges of half a dozen books, I took a seat at his desk, switching on the desk lamp.

The amber glow emitted was almost exactly the same as those of the wolves’ eyes when in their natural form.

The reflection created spots in my father’s favorite window.

Like three pairs of eyes watching me instead of the other way around.

The massive pane of glass looked out on the garden my mother had created with her loving hands the year they’d moved in,

How many times had I caught my father doing nothing but watching her in her straw hat, pruning shears in her hand? He’d called it his personal reflective time. He’d be lost without her. They adored each other even more after being married for thirty-five years.

That’s the kind of love and devotion I wanted.

Ugh. Why did my thoughts immediately drift to the three incredible, godlike men? Because they weren’t men, not really. Or at least they shouldn’t be. Sighing, I forced myself to look away. There was no sense in daydreaming, wanting something I couldn’t have.

I grabbed the two flash drives. I’d shoved both into my jeans pocket, determined not to lose or have them taken from me.

After some sleep, I’d make sense of everything, taking a few notes so I could attempt to piece everything together.

With my hands shaking, I turned on his computer, waiting for it to come to life.

As I sat back, I turned my head back toward the window.

It suddenly felt as if someone really was out there, only this time watching over me instead if meaning harm.

Half laughing, when the welcome screen flashed in front of my eyes, I crossed my fingers my father hadn’t changed his passcode before leaving for Italy. He’d given me the code only a few weeks before they’d left. As always, just in case something happened.

My fingers were shaking as I typed in the code from memory, something he’d made me do. Never write down passcodes anywhere, he’d told me.

The computer seemed sluggish and I thought for certain I’d be locked out.

But it worked. Thank God.

“Thank you for being you, Daddy.”

A feeling of relief washed over me and I hurriedly shoved in the drive Carl had given me.

As soon as I brought up his files, I realized there was an anomaly. One file didn’t belong to him. Our tests had prefixes that identified quickly the scientists involved.

The number of a single file was out of sequence. Time stamped nine hours before.

“Fuck.” The moment I opened the file, one fear was confirmed.

The portal couldn’t be closed and the scientists with the heaviest security clearance, the country’s best, hadn’t been able to figure out why.

But there was more.

Tests run. Tests confirmed.

Lifeforms had escaped the facility.

And they’d been unable to do anything about it nor did they know the number that had.

Oh, my God. If word got out, there could be mass chaos. Maybe the news had already leaked, which was why the oversight committee had arrived unannounced. That made sense.

My thoughts on the explosion were the same.

Nothing but a diversion.

Something else caught my attention. It was a single document. The title? Mice Will Play. My hand shaking, I opened the file. It was a letter from Carl.

Savannah,

If you’re reading this then there’s a good chance Dr. Blackwell will have discovered evidence of duplicated files.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on the project.

I had concerns weeks ago. I’m sorry I didn’t confide in you, but I was worried for your safety.

You’ll understand after you look at the files.

Just know this. Your assumptions were correct.

There are things going on in the laboratory that Dr. Blackwell and his team do not want other scientists, the government oversight committee, or the public to know.

He’s playing God, altering DNA in samples of living, breathing animals while introducing new lifeforms, infusing their energy.

It’s a complicated process that he’s close to perfecting.

I managed to take a couple of files. Not enough to lay out his plans in detail, but hopefully enough to draw attention and perhaps stop the terrible experiments. You’ll know what to do with them.

Be careful, Savannah. Dr. Blackwell will stop at nothing to continue his experiments.

Carl

His words were chilling.

After that, I opened every file, quickly going through the formulas and documents. What he’d managed to copy was definitely enough to cause concern if not more. The experiments were horrific. I moved quickly, trying to piece things together, hoping and praying that what I was doing would matter.

I needed to ensure the safety of the documentation. For the future. For our lives.

At least thirty minutes had passed, maybe longer.

Time suddenly held no meaning. While what Carl had been working on was more advanced than what I’d been assigned, I wasn’t entirely certain how to use the information to expose Dr. Blackwell.

Yet, I had a feeling if all the components were put together, the smoking gun would turn into a bomb.

A flash out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I quickly glanced toward the window. There stood the lovely deer we’d seen before. I was certain she was the same one. She was so close to the window I could almost reach out and touch her.

Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

I got up, moving very slowly toward her.

“What is it?” As if she could understand me.

But somehow, I knew she did.

First, she provided a head nod downward, once again looking into my eyes.

Then she threw her head over her shoulder to the forest located right behind my parents’ house. The natural habitat was undisturbed, which was the reason there were so many tame deer on the property.

The forest also blocked a road that was maybe a half mile away. An access road. A clear shot toward Northern Virginia and to the District of Columbia.

Hairs stood up on the back of my neck. The deer looked me in the eye one last time before she took off running.

She’d just left a warning.

We’d been compromised.