Page 23 of Kingly Bitten

Unfortunately, a lot of his answers were along the lines of,That’s over my clearance level. But Calina will know.

I stroked her image once more, my mind thinking of a thousand ways to pull answers from the pretty blonde. Starting with,What are you?

From what James and Louis had explained, the projects in Bunker 47 were all about perfecting human longevity to provide a more sustainable food source.

For all of Lilith’s faults, I could actually understand her goal here. Our kind had become too glutinous, thereby spoiling our food supply. And she’d been trying to create a way to fortify the humans who remained to make them immortal blood bags.

Of course, just because I understood her goal didn’t mean I agreed with it.

There were other ways to improve our quality of food and the durability of the product.

Damien took a step back, his arms folded across his black sweater. “That lycan half is helping him heal,” he mused, gesturing to the bruising along his jaw.

“Does Calina have lycan in her as well?” I asked, my question for James.

“Her mother’s side,” he rasped. “Father was human.”

I frowned. “Then she should have been born a full-blooded lycan.”

The mother’s genetics would have taken over in the womb to override the mortal side of the equation. That was how it worked at the lycan breeding camps, except it was human females mating with male lycans. Most of the human mothers died because their bodies couldn’t handle the immortal growing inside them. But a few survived, at least until childbirth.

James started to shake his head but winced. “Her host was a human. Incubator.” He swallowed, his one good eye finding mine. “It was before my time. I only know what she’s told me.”

Meaning she could have lied to him.

I studied her on the screen once more, then slid the device into my pocket. I’d just have to interrogate her myself.

Decided, I made to stand, when James added, “If you tell her you don’t work for Lilith, she’ll be more forthcoming.”

His words were a whisper of sound, his body still recovering from Damien’s session. However, my enhanced hearing allowed me to hear him clearly.

I resettled in my chair and leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees. Either James had deduced we didn’t work for Lilith, or he’d overheard us talking to the survivors on the plane.

“Why will that information make Calina more forthcoming?” I asked, genuinely interested. She’d been quick to deny me earlier after I’d confirmed that I didn’t work for Lilith. She’d also insinuated that I was inferior as a result. So why did James think that would help my interrogation?

“She didn’t follow protocol,” he replied on a wheeze. “She tried to save us against Lilith’s orders.”

“Do you mean the detection protocol?” Damien asked.

“No.” James coughed, his expression pained, but he continued despite his obvious discomfort. “Doomsday protocol. She… she was supposed to kill everyone inside. She didn’t do it. The detection procedure came later, maybe because she failed. I don’t know.”

Damien and I shared a look. It seemed the pretty doctor had defied her master’s orders. Which suggested she wasn’t the obedient little pet that Louis and Zack claimed her to be.

All four of the survivors were resting in another room after indulging in a nine-course meal. So Louis and Zack weren’t here to listen in or comment. I preferred it that way because I wanted to extract my own answers from Calina.

A beeping sound had Damien walking over to his computers in the corner. He’d chosen to put James in his quarters for the interrogation, stating it would allow for a more efficient use of time. It enabled him to ask questions and focus on the data download at the same time.

We were hoping the files Calina had transmitted said something about Cam because no one else seemed familiar with him. Aside from Louis, of course.

“What the…?” Damien trailed off as he settled at his desk, his eyes skipping over the screens as his fingers flew across the keyboards.

Technology had never been my skill, probably because I’d been born in a much simpler time. But I knew my way around a computer well enough to survive.

“These files are encrypted gibberish,” Damien muttered, his dark eyebrows drawn down in frustration. “Either my interception is flawed, or the data export was intentionally mishandled.”

“It’s Calina,” James whispered. “She probably uploaded old files to distract the recipient… t-to make it look like she was following protocol.” He cleared his throat, flinching as he did so, but I could see the wounds continuing to mend themselves.

An immortal half-human, half-lycan hybrid.It was truly a shocking sight to behold. But not as stunning as the one back in my temporary quarters.