Page 32 of Feral Mates (Ruthless Instinct #1)

“I know I’m right,” I continued. “I thought there was an issue, the laser system malfunctioning, but all along you were using the varied experiments of your scientists to expand the project all while keeping them in the dark. For money? Is this all about greed or is this about power?”

“I’d be very careful if I were you, Dr. Morgan. You seem to be in a predicament that only I can help you out of.”

He had a point. “What did you do with my wolves?” I winced as he walked closer.

His scent was unusual, different than I remembered.

The fragrance was intoxicating, but not in a good way.

I’d been in close quarters with him before.

I’d almost commented on his choice of aftershave just to make light conversation.

This was something else, almost like the scent of lilies and roses.

And something darker, musky and almost like… Death.

The thought brought another shudder.

“ Your wolves,” he repeated as closed the distance. As he stood over me, he swept the length of my body with his eyes. “How fascinating that you would think of them that way.”

“What did you do? How did you do it? How?” I jerked at the bindings again.

“Come now, Dr. Morgan. You said so yourself many times you knew there was intelligent life in what I’d once believed to be useless blobs of energy.

” He pulled something from his pocket, fingering them before allowing me to see what he was holding.

“You’ve obviously already confirmed my findings.

Good for you. I knew you were the perfect choice. I could feel it.”

The flash drives. Oh, my God, they’d taken the flash drives. My stomach turned, my mouth suddenly bone dry.

He smirked. “I’m so sorry, but you won’t have the opportunity to turn me in to the authorities.

That is what you were planning on doing.

Correct? They wouldn’t understand, Savannah.

Even most scientists are incapable of comprehending the significance of my discovery.

Now we can harness their power. You proved that at the ATM just like I knew you would.

Like the wolves would do. Fascinating to watch.

And it was very clever pretending to be a reporter when calling the refuge.

I don’t think I gave you enough credit for your ingenuity. ”

Fisting his hand, the slight crunch as he crushed the flash drives created a buzz in my ears. He was completely insane. And there was something very wrong with him.

Along with the strange smile and the difference in his eyes, his manner of speaking was not the same.

The man’s profession had been his life. He had no family.

He’d had no hobbies that I’d ever heard about.

He’d worn almost the exact same suits to work, exchanging his jacket for a lab coat.

He’d never been seen with friends. He’d always been reading.

No, this man was different. I could feel it the same way I’d been able to do with the wolves.

With a snap of his hand, he tossed the useless flash drives to the floor, stomping on them as if making a point. He had all four of us exactly where he’d wanted. He’d been watching us, following us the entire time. He wanted our connection strong so he could prove his point.

That he was creating new lifeforms.

His nostrils flared as he lifted his arm.

When he acted as if he was going to touch me, I flinched.

My reaction irritated him and he fisted his fingers, pulling his arm away.

“You were right all along, of course. I allowed you to continue with your tests first out of amusement. Then I realized those very lifeforms behind that glass had become taken with you. It was truly fascinating to watch their reactions every time you entered or left a room.”

“Jesus. You used me.”

“You can’t tell me you weren’t excited to work on the project, Savannah. I know better. So I allowed you to continue awakening your mind.”

“But you didn’t expect your inability to control the lifeforms once the portal was open. Right?”

He offered a cold smile and this time when he reached out, my immediate reaction wasn’t enough for him to pull back. Using the tips of his fingers, he traced a line down my arm. I threw my head in the other direction, loathing the fact heat rushed to the surface of my skin.

“A wonderful surprise.”

I gritted my teeth, doing everything I could to keep my reaction to a minimum. “Then you had a bright idea with the sanctuary. You knew they’d been in trouble before so you…” A sudden thought dawned on me. “No. You tried this experiment years ago. Didn’t you?”

Oh, my God. I could tell by his expression I was right.

“A pet project of mine at the time. Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t right.”

“What happened to the animals you experimented on?” I knew exactly what had happened to them, the very reason the sanctuary had briefly shut down before. Dozens of carcasses of animals had been discovered, unearthed by a general contractor when digging a foundation.

I took gasping breaths, horrified that I hadn’t put two and two together.

“Don’t look so shocked, Dr. Morgan.” He took a deep breath and allowed his fingers to fall to the skin underneath my armpit. The look on his face disgusted me. Desire.

My stomach lurched.

“With many advancements in science, animals are used and sadly often sacrificed. The work I’m doing is vital to the survival of mankind.”

Once again, I tried to jerk my body away from his prodding touch. “How in God’s name is what you’re doing of any benefit to mankind, Dr. Blackwell? Creating hybrid creatures, some of them potentially evil, how does that help?”

“You said so yourself in your reports to me that you believe we can learn much from the potentially millions of different organisms.”

“Not by playing God.” I flinched again, groaning to try to keep him from continuing to touch me.

Something strange happened. The light pulses didn’t just go wild, they slammed against the glass.

How was that possible? They had no physical components, no structure within the light source. Yet there was no mistaking what we’d both just heard.

Dr. Blackwell snarled and threw the lifeforms a nasty look. “They’re like disobedient children. They need to be corrected from time to time.” I watched in horror as he pulled a remote from his pocket, aiming it at the glass.

The spark was bright, a white light that blinded me.

At that moment, I could feel their pain. “You’re killing them. Stop. Stop it. The Dr. Blackwell I knew and respected would never purposely hurt anyone.” That was true enough, although I wasn’t certain why I was bothering, and it was obvious I hadn’t known him at all.

He pulled back, lowering the remote. Instantly the light faded.

Panting, I could see nothing behind the glass but darkness. No. No. No! “You killed them. You fucking bastard.” Grief poured over me, hard and raw, my mind spinning with what the bastard had just done.

“I assure you that there are plenty more of them when and if I need them.”

“Why are you doing this? Where are the wolves? What is your intention with kidnapping me?”

“Open your mind, Savannah. Imagine the possibilities when new lifeforms are created and nurtured.” He rolled his fingers over my breasts and between them, taking his time as his eyes roamed up and down my body.

“You mean when you learn how to fully control them. Isn’t that what you’re doing? You want to manipulate the new creatures as you’ve been trying to do in creating shifters. New lifeforms that will do your bidding. Why stop with wolves, right? What other beings do you have your sights set on?”

“Careful, Doctor. Don’t ask questions you’re not ready to try and comprehend.”

“Oh, I’m ready. You’re destroying the balance of nature. I won’t allow you to do that.”

His laugh was hollow as if he was filled with nothing but darkness. Evil. That’s what he exuded. Pure, sadistic evil.

There was something very off about the man. It wasn’t just his scent or what he was doing to me or even his obvious need for power. My instinct told me he’d changed.

“Yes, well, controlling them is important as evidenced by their hunger to kill humans.”

“Did you set them free to see what they’d do? Did you purposely allow the wolves to escape in hopes that the lifeforms would use them as hosts?”

Something stirred deep within me.

The wolves.

They were alive.

Relief flooded my mind and my heart. I wanted to cry out to them but feared what Dr. Blackwell would do.

He already knew. I could tell when he lifted his head, staring into another part of the laboratory. “Yes, Savannah. You feel them. Your wolves. They are safe. For now. As long as you cooperate, they will remain that way.”

“Cooperate? What does that mean? What are you trying to do?”

When he continued his exploration of my body, I cringed deep inside. His scent grew more intense, as I’d experienced with Apollo, Kai, and Roman. But the stench of death was even stronger, pungent.

“I’m going to make you famous, Dr. Morgan. I’m going to allow you to become world renowned in a way you never anticipated and one day, the world will exalt in our greatness.”

“What are you talking about? What happened to you, Dr. Blackwell? When you were a professor, you told your students there was nothing more important as scientists than protecting life as it was.”

“I was wrong. As far as what happened to me, I was reborn, finally allowed to see the light that I’d been so blinded by before.”

“Reborn? As what, a monster?”

He rolled his fingers down my stomach, concentrating on swirling them around my bellybutton before sliding his hand between my legs.

The moment he cupped my mound, two powerful things happened.

First, the building began to vibrate, shaking to the point I was certain we were experiencing a powerful earthquake.

And two, Dr. Blackwell opened his mouth, exposing sharp fangs and allowing me to understand exactly what he’d been reborn as.