Page 17 of Feral, Part Two (Wolfscorge #2)

"What progress?" Slate asks, his voice tinged with confusion and growing irritation. "I'm doing fine."

"You still don't seem all that comfortable with your new pack," Ulysses explains. "This is about rehabilitation..."

Slate grits his teeth at the word, anger radiating off him in waves. But before he can respond, Preston bursts out laughing from Thane's lap, the sound cutting through the tension like a blade.

"I don't remember you being so disrespectful, Preston," Ulysses says, his tone turning a few degrees colder.

Preston's expression shifts from amusement to fierce protectiveness.

"That's when I didn't know you were lying to us.

We're not getting out of here and Slate is mine.

He'll be comfortable when he's ready and we don't have to prove shit to you.

There's no progress to be had. We're a pack, end of story. "

The boldness of Preston's declaration makes my heart race with both pride and terror.

He's essentially just told a council member to fuck off, which could have serious consequences for all of us.

But there's something magnificent about the way he claims Slate, the way he refuses to let anyone question their bond.

"Yes, of course. But have you noticed any changes? Anything out of the ordinary?"

That same damn question again. He asked me that question when I showed him the pool house and again of my Alphas. I don’t know why he thinks he’s going to get a fucking answer out of us.

I start thinking up some sarcastic response to deflect his probing questions, hoping my humor will be enough to irritate him and make him leave.

After all, this sudden interest in our Omegas means that they know exactly what’s supposed to happen here.

I also don’t like that they showed up just after Preston’s first shift. It seems all a little… coincidental.

My lips part with some asinine joke just as a roar rattles through the courtyard.

It’s nothing like the ones my Alphas let out earlier, ones that had me horny as shit and connected to the rest of my pack all at once.

No, this one is more primal, fully animalistic, and…

terrified? It’s also unlike anything that should exist in this supposedly controlled environment.

I twist my head to the outer fence, my eyes widening as the plaster falls away like a piece of paper, a large brown bear rushing through and tumbling straight into the pool.

Thane and Kael carry our Omegas back inside the house without hesitating, their protective instincts overriding everything else. Ulysses’ eyes widen with fear as he stares at the massive bear thrashing around in our pool, his composed facade completely shattered.

"Since when were there wild bears in Wolfscorge?" I ask, though I already suspect this isn't just some random wildlife encounter.

Looking closer, I can see several darts embedded in the bear's back; the poor creature too weak to get out of the pool. His movements are becoming increasingly sluggish as whatever sedative they shot him with takes effect.

I move closer, driven by some instinct to help even though I'm not exactly sure what I could possibly do against a bear, sedated or not. But before I can get too close, Ulysses is already on his phone, pulling me back with his free hand.

"No, he's vicious. Don't touch him," he warns, his voice tight with panic.

I just stare as guards file into the courtyard, their weapons raised, focused on the confused animal. The sight of so many armed men in our space makes my skin crawl, a stark reminder of how little control we actually have over our own lives.

Some part of me wanted to ask why we didn’t just try to leave anyway.

We knew we weren’t going to get out, but that didn’t mean we willingly had to stay.

However, after the call with Jules and the uncertainty of our babies’ safety out in a world we hadn’t been in…

the safest place was right here, even if it came with 24/7 observation.

I swallow nervously as Ulysses’ grip tightens on my wrist, the guards making way for another Alpha as he steps through the sea of dark clothes and weapons.

Each of them lowers their guns slightly as he steps past them, his aura stronger than anything I’ve ever felt from Kael.

Almost like he’s more than just an Alpha.

"Don't fucking shoot him," he growls out.

I frown, recognition finally hitting me. "Arlo? What the fuck is going on?"

Arlo looks up at me, and I'm struck again by just how imposing he is. He easily has a few inches and several pounds on Kael, his presence more intimidating than anyone on the council or from the guards we’ve seen over the years.

His dark eyes are filled with a mixture of fury and protective desperation that I recognize all too well.

"I'll explain later," he says, but his attention is already back on the bear.

Without hesitation, Arlo jumps into the pool as the bear starts to lose consciousness from the sedatives.

The water splashes around them as he wraps his massive arms around the bear's form, helping to guide him toward the edge of the pool. The bear lets out another massive growl before settling, Arlo whispering something that tells me I’m staring at more than just a wild animal.

One of the guards steps forward, probably planning to take control of the situation, but Arlo glares at him with such intensity that the man actually takes a step back.

"You've done enough," Arlo growls, his voice carrying that dangerous edge that all-powerful Alphas possess when their protective instincts are triggered. "I get that you have a job to do, but scaring him isn't the way to go. You made your point."

Ulysses clears his throat as he shoves his phone back into his pocket, offering me a sheepish smile. "We're sorry for the disturbance. We'll make sure the fence is fixed as soon as possible. Guards, get that... bear out of here."

Arlo stands up fully in the pool, his clothes clinging to him as he carefully shoulders the now-unconscious bear. The ease with which he maneuvers the massive form over his back speaks to the strength that goes beyond just physical training.

"If you touch him, I will have your heads," Arlo states with deadly calm. "You can guide me somewhere, but you won't touch him. Not again. He's mine."

They exit through the same hole in the fence that the bear created, Arlo carrying his burden while the guards maintain a respectful distance. Ulysses follows behind them, my sorry ass waiting until they’re far enough before rushing back into the house.

"What the hell was that about?" Kael demands as soon as I close the door behind me.

"I think they already created the next feral," I force myself to say. Arlo has never been protective over a damn soul. He’s one of the more elusive Alphas in Wolfscorge and I have absolutely no idea why he’s even in here.

He’s never mentioned it and the few times we’ve seen him at the market, it’s a curt conversation here and there.

"I think I missed a few chapters," Slate says, bringing me back to reality.

I look to Kael, who just sighs deeply before launching into an explanation that's going to shatter whatever illusions any of us had left about our situation.

"We've been researching the real reason we got transferred here rather than just finishing our sentence out in jail.

We all know now that it's because we're exactly what a feral pack was supposed to be made up of.

It means that you can shift and we're all going to be slightly off kilter.

" Kael pauses, his jaw tightening as he continues.

"But a little more digging has revealed that literally everything we've done up until this point is part of the experiment.

Slate nods from where he’s perched at the edge of the couch beside Kael. “Yes, Malik told me some of that. And I’ve heard you guys talking a little bit about The Collective or whatever.”

Kael forces a smile onto his face. "Thane and I worked for The Collective. Our parents kind of helped start the whole thing, but they’re really into scientific and genetic experiments and bullshit.

We’ve both been jipped out of rightful positions, but I guess it was all part of the plan so we’d revolt and find ourselves here.

Thane's mother sent us a little box a year or so ago and it had one of the old notepads from the company with a handful of animals on it.

Fox, bear, snake, maybe? I'm not sure," Kael continues, his voice getting rougher with each word.

"You really think they're just going around making shifters?" Slate asks. "For what?"

"At first, I thought it might be some kind of zoo," I say, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

"They've always wanted to be the best, show off medical curiosities, build things they were never supposed to.

If they could bring back dinosaurs, The Collective absolutely would be the ones running the park. "

“But you don’t think that now.” Slate runs his tongue along the top of his teeth.

Preston groans from his position in Thane's lap. "So, the bear was..."

"I think so," I confirm. "And I think he's Arlo's mate."

Thane frowns, his expression skeptical. "Arlo isn't mated to anyone, not since two days ago. And Slate didn't shift that fast, did he?"

It's a valid point. Slate's transformation took weeks of conditioning, trauma, and systematic breaking down before he ended up shifting. If they've managed to accelerate the process for subsequent experiments, it suggests they've refined their methods significantly.

I shrug, not having any good answers for the timeline discrepancies.

"Who the fuck knows? Slate didn’t shift until both of your bites were in his shoulder, so either Arlo has already mated him or they’ve ripped that poor bear from whatever Alpha helped him shift and stuck him in here. Regardless, they’re not going to stop.”

"What was the next word on the list?" Slate asks, a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty swirling around in his expression.

"Belbus, I think?" I reply, trying to remember the exact order from Kael's recitation of the Latin names.

The color drains from Slate's face so completely that for a moment, I'm worried he might pass out. His dark eyes go wide with what can only be described as horror. "That's a hyena," he whispers. "They're going to try making a fucking hyena?"

"Knowing them, they've already started," Kael says grimly.