Page 3 of Redeemed Wolf (Grim Wilds #4)

Chapter 3

Silas

I’d never been to a job interview before.

“Are you sure this is right?” I asked, scowling into the mirror. I compared my reflection to the image of a man in a suit that I’d pulled up on my phone, but whereas the model looked handsome, charming, and relaxed, I just looked like I was playing dress-up with something I found in my father’s closet—if I’d had a real father, that is. I tugged at the tie, tight enough to feel like a noose around my throat. No amount of straightening the collar could hide my scars that extended all the way up to my jaw.

Pacey appeared behind me in the mirror. “Of course I’m sure. Why would you doubt me?” Even though he didn’t even crack a smile, I felt like he was making a joke. He rarely smiled, which made it impossible to tell whether or not he was making fun of me.

Ignoring his question, I asked, “When the hell have you ever been to a job interview?”

Pretending he hadn’t heard me, he flopped down on the bed, the springs creaking dangerously. My Beta was an immovable beast, even in his human form. He looked like some kind of Viking, with his broad tattooed frame, long dark hair, and the way he braided his beard. I’d originally selected him as my second primarily because of his ability to intimidate with a simple glare, but I’d been pleased to find he had other redeeming qualities. Such as enough loyalty to follow me all the way to Fairhome for a fucking job interview.

I might not have had a job interview before, seeing as I’d always just been assigned tasks in my packs, but I’d had plenty of pointers from Morgan before I left for the city. “Make sure you smile,” he’d said, but when I’d tried out my smile on him, he’d grimaced. “Okay, maybe don’t show your teeth. You look like a predator.”

“I am a predator,” I’d reminded him, allowing my wolf’s canines to drop and my eyes to shine.

He’d rolled his eyes and continued with his instructions. “A little bit of eye contact is good, but since… you know,” he said, gesturing to my face in general. “Just try not to be intimidating.”

“The job is for security personnel. Shouldn’t I be—?”

“Don’t scare your boss,” he’d said, interrupting smoothly. “Try to be charming but not sleezy, and for the love of gods, don’t hit on him. You can expect questions about your previous jobs, so Joe and I have created a fake resume for you, showing how extremely qualified you are. If he calls your references, Joe has made sure someone will pick up, and they will give you a glowing recommendation.” He’d smiled tightly. “Just stick to your backstory and you should be fine.”

My backstory. Right. I’d been studying it ever since.

Morgan had stayed at the camp. Out of everyone, he’d spent the most time with this Dr. Taylor guy and would be recognized on sight. Jude, too, was no use in this mission.

It all came down to me…

Nerves began to churn in my gut. It was an unfamiliar sensation, and wholly unpleasant. Did everyone feel like this before an interview? I wondered why anyone would ever want to get a new job if this was the price, though most people weren’t also risking their lives in the process.

I was normally a pretty relaxed guy, calm and cool under pressure, but for the first time in a long time, I felt thoroughly out of my depth. I was in a city surrounded by humans, wearing an ill-fitting suit, and consuming the most disgusting food. My half-eaten hamburger still sat on the kitchen table on top of its wrapper. I had a hard time believing it was actually meat.

“You okay?” Pacey asked, and I dragged my eyes over to his in the mirror’s reflection.

“I’m fine,” I barked.

Yeah, I so wasn’t fine, and there was no hiding that fact. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was walking into a trap or if it was because this was the first time the reward for accomplishing a goal was something I truly wanted.

I gave up on fixing the tie—there was no amount of adjusting that would suddenly make it comfortable—and walked over to the bedside table where I’d left a folder of pictures. My targets.

Right on top of the stack was Dr. Eric Taylor. We didn’t have a ton of information on him, though Joe had managed to dig up his home address and his bank records, and he’d put a tail on him to see if there was anything else we could learn that might be important. I didn’t see how learning his eating habits would tell us whether or not he had Jude’s siblings held captive in his super-secret lab, but whatever. What did I know.

The rest of the papers in the folder were what we’d dug up at the lab we’d raided last year. That had been purely a brute-force attack. We’d hit them hard and fast, and in the end, it had been effective, but it lacked finesse. If we’d had more time to plan, it would’ve been smoother, but we were in a rush. Dr. Taylor hadn’t been on site, and neither had Jude’s siblings, and now these bastards knew we were coming. An attack like that wouldn’t work a second time.

I looked at the time on my new phone, bought specifically for this mission. “You’ll be here when I get back?” I asked Pacey, pocketing my phone and heading for the door.

“I can be.”

I nodded. “If I’m not back by dark, let Shan know…” I trailed off. What was I supposed to say? I’d told them I was expendable, and even then, I knew Shan was too good, too kind, to just leave me behind if something should go wrong. But I honestly didn’t want them to come after me. It would be a suicide mission. I thought of those sweet kids, already touched by the darkness that had befallen this cursed pack. “Tell him I’m dead.”

His dark eyes met mine, and after a pause, he nodded solemnly.

I stepped out of the apartment we’d rented under my alias, Silas Graves, and headed down to the parking lot where I got into my new used car. The upholstery still reeked like whatever air freshener the dealer had drenched it in, a rose scent that smelled nothing like actual roses and which somehow still couldn’t entirely hide the stench of the previous owner’s cigarette smoke. It made my sinuses burn, and my wolf jerked back as far as he could go inside me—which wasn’t anywhere near far enough to escape the smell.

“Suck it up, buttercup,” I muttered, trying to hold my breath while I rolled down the window. We had to look human, and humans liked shit like air fresheners and fast food.

According to Joe’s file, the lab was just outside of town in a row of industrial complexes. The drive there took longer than I’d hoped, with rush hour just starting. My gaze kept flicking between the mirrors, halfway expecting to see one of their tinted SUVs falling in behind me. I saw nothing, but it was still early. There would be plenty of time for them to investigate me once I got the job.

I pulled the car up in front of the guarded gate and rolled down my window. The uniformed guard stepped out of his booth and leaned in, and I gave him a quick scan, trying to be casual about the perusal. His eyes weren’t lazy or unfocused, and I noticed from the corner of my eye that he had a gun holstered at his hip.

“Uh, hi,” I mumbled, because in my mind, humans mumbled, right? Morgan did. “I’m here for a job interview with, um… Dr. Taylor?” I tried to make myself look appropriately nervous—which wasn’t hard, since my intestines were currently tying themselves into knots in my gut.

“Can I see some ID?” the guard asked, grabbing a clipboard from his booth.

“Yeah, sure.” I pulled out my wallet and dug out the fake ID Joe’s team had made for me. While he was comparing my name to a list, I asked, “Hey, can you tell me how many other applicants there are? Do I have a shot?” I gave a shy smile. I knew I had a wholesome boy-next-door face, and I intended to use it.

The guard softened a little. “Only a dozen or so. Most applicants didn’t even make it past the preliminary background check.”

I let out a breath of relief, smiling crookedly. “Thanks.”

“Now, I am sorry, but I do have to take your phone. The lab is a secure facility, and there can be no risk of any photography. You can pick it back up here at the gate on your way out.”

“Oh! Yes, of course, I understand.” I acted surprised, but in fact, we’d expected this and were prepared. We’d loaded the phone with pictures of another life, one of a boring human living in the city. Images of my breakfast and pets and groups of smiling people I’d never met. There were apps for a bank, utilities, and various streaming and social media platforms, all in the name Silas Graves, plus idle games I knew nothing about, and I expected them to go through it all while I was inside. Dr. Taylor was nothing if not curious and cautious.

After I’d turned over my phone, he passed me a visitor’s badge on a lanyard and directed me where to park, before opening the remote gate with the push of a button. I paid close attention to every step of the process, including him radioing someone inside to let them know to meet me at the front entrance.

A tightly wound man in a slim-fitting suit opened the front door for me. He had a slightly rodent quality to him—not that he was a rat shifter or anything, but more like I expected him to wiggle his upturned nose. He had beady black eyes and slicked-back hair, and his voice was raspy. “Mr. Graves, if you will please follow me.” He didn’t introduce himself, and I suspected it was intentional.

Everything here was buttoned up tight. All doors were closed and presumably locked if those digital keypads were any indication, unadorned white walls, and white floor tiles that smelled like bleach, covering up any potential scent I might’ve been able to pick up. There were red lights blinking from security cameras in every corner. There’d been a handful of cars in the parking lot, but I saw no one besides the two of us.

I really hoped I got this job, because I would get nothing from this little foray inside their walls. I needed more time.

We passed two more armed guards, both wearing black uniforms, guns at their hip, their eyes following our progress through the building. The man finally stopped at a series of chairs along one wall. “Wait here. Dr. Taylor will be with you in a moment.”

I smiled blandly in thanks and lowered myself into a chair. My necktie had seemed to constrict even further, making my quickening pulse pound in my temples. I hooked a finger above the knot and loosened the tie just a bit, tugging my collar up.

The soundproofing on the room behind me was decent, leaving my keen sense of hearing with nothing more than the hum of two voices. I was so focused on trying to hear what they were saying that I was startled when the door swung inward, the voice suddenly much louder.

“Thank you so much for coming, Mr. Sadiq. We’ll be in touch,” a man said without much enthusiasm.

It wasn’t the man that snatched my attention, though—it was the coppery scent of blood that wafted from the room, nudging aside the chemically stink of bleach. The applicant who exited the room had his sleeve rolled up, and he was holding a piece of gauze to the crease of his elbow.

Shit. Were they taking blood samples of the applicants?

I thought back to Shan saying they would have a way to test everyone to make sure they were human.

My heart bucked against my ribs until I was sure even the humans would be able to hear it. My throat tightened, and when I reached for my collar this time, my fingers brushed against my scars. My thoughts cleared for a single beat, and I latched onto the idea with both hands. Instead of tugging the collar higher to cover the scars, I yanked it down, revealing as much as I could without looking obvious. Shifters didn’t scar—usually. Would it be enough to convince them I wasn’t human?

I rose from the chair as the human rodent returned to escort Mr. Sadiq back to the entry, then I turned to the man of the hour—Dr. Taylor.

He wore gray slacks and a blue button-up. He’d once been blond, now more silver, with light blue eyes that lit up when he smiled, offering me his hand to shake. “You must be Mr. Graves.”

“Please, call me Silas,” I said, shaking his hand. I made sure to be gentle, to let him have the strongest grip. And just as I’d hoped, his eyes went straight to my neck. I knew he wanted to ask about the scars, but his gaze flicked back up. His smile didn’t even waver.

“Thank you, Silas. Then why don’t you call me Eric. Come on in and let’s see if you’re a good fit for the family here at Apex Labs.”

This room was as bland as the rest, just two chairs, an unused desk, no personal items to be seen, and I had this crazy notion that none of this was real. None of these offices were occupied, that it was all a front for whatever they were up to. Dr. Taylor offered me a seat, and as he made his way around the desk, my eyes caught the stand of plastic vials on the left side of the desk, filled with blood. I tried not to react in the slightest, but the doubt I felt was heavy. What would my blood look like under a microscope? Or worse, what would happen if they took a blood sample and saw me heal once the needle was removed? Would I even make it out of this room?

“So, Silas… I already looked over your resume, and I have to say, it’s quite impressive. Your references have nothing but good things to say about you, but why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. Something that’s not on the resume.”

“Uh, well, I’m new to Fairhome. I was an Army brat, so we moved around a lot growing up, but I would really love to find somewhere to settle down. Somewhere to call home. And, well, home is literally in the city’s name, so… I figured it would be a good place to start.” I laughed awkwardly, and Eric chuckled along politely.

This was all part of my fake backstory, and I knew it was reflected in my resume, with jobs all over the country.

He asked a few questions about my family—father deceased (heart attack), mother living in Boston (and if he called her, a woman claiming to be my mother would no doubt answer the phone. Joe Caruso was nothing if not thorough). While we talked, I noticed he bore the signs of healed injuries—faded scars, the bridge of his nose slightly off center, like it’d been broken—and I remembered that Jude had beaten him nearly to death. It was the reason he hadn’t been at the lab when we’d raided it. He’d been recovering from his injuries.

But when Eric folded his arms over the desktop and leaned in, his eyes hardening, I knew the time for pleasantries was over.

“And the scars?” he asked, gesturing with a finger at my neck. “I’m sorry if this is impolite, but do you mind me asking how you got them? Looks like it’s from an animal of some kind. A big one, I’d guess.”

Shan had suggested a lie for this too, about a dog attack, because he thought we should keep as much distance between us and wolves as possible, but I had a hunch about this. Maybe a way out of this situation.

With only the barest hesitation, I jumped in with both feet. Sink or swim, this was the moment of truth. “Yeah, it was a wolf…” I let my words trail off for a moment as I let that sink in. “A sneaky bastard, I never saw him coming.” As I thought of my long-dead Alpha, Thorn, and his corpse rotting in the woods, nothing more than worm food now, a little darkness snuck into my smile, and I welcomed it. “But I’ll tell you, only one of us came out alive.”

“I’ve had trouble with wolves myself,” he said. Dr. Taylor nodded slowly, his expression greedy for more. “That sounds like it must be an impressive story. I’d love to hear it one day. Perhaps over a drink.”

“I’d like that,” I told him. It was a good sign, and just when I let myself relax, he turned toward the vials of blood and picked up a sterile-sealed needle.

My muscles instinctively tensed, ready for a fight, and I very nearly burst into my fur right then and there, but then he just tapped the needle a few times on his palm. “You know, this would normally be where I would take a blood sample, to run a drug test, but… I don’t think it’s necessary this time. I have a good feeling about you.” He smiled at me, with a genuine kind of emotion on his face—satisfaction or maybe pride. He set the needle down then rose from his chair and moved around the desk, his hand on offer. “We’ll be in touch real soon.”

I stood on quivering legs but somehow managed to stay upright. “Sounds great,” I said, clearing my throat to ease the tension. I shook his hand, then met rat-man in the hallway. As tempting as it was to sprint ahead of him down the hall, I restrained myself. I kept it together, even as I got into my car and drove back to the main gate, retrieving my phone.

From the outside, I had to hope I looked okay, but on the inside, the panic and adrenaline had done a number on me. I couldn’t believe I was still alive. As soon as I was out of sight of the lab, I pulled the car over on the shoulder and leaned out the door to empty my stomach. I threw up what was left of my half-eaten burger, until bile burned my throat, then I sat back in my seat and wiped the back of my arm across my mouth, panting.

I wasn’t afraid to die, not really, after having faced it before, but there was something about that lab, about what these humans were capable of, that really messed with my head.

Why the fuck did I agree to go through with this?

True to his word, Pacey was still there in the apartment when I got back. I kicked off my shoes and threw my balled-up tie onto the floor. “Well?” he asked, following on my heels to the kitchen as I pulled open the fridge, looking for food. “How’d it go?”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “It was good.” I lifted my phone up and held a finger to my lips. It was safe to say that my phone had been tampered with while in their possession. From now on, we had to assume someone was always listening.

I left him standing there as I went into the bathroom and shut the door. I needed to wash this stench off my skin.

My wolf had been quiet since the lab, uneasy, as if he was just now beginning to understand the risks. You know I won’t be able to shift as long as we’re here , I told him. They’ll be watching, waiting for me to screw up.

He was silent for a moment, thoughtful, before he replied, It will be worth it .

I crashed hard that night, my dreams filled with scalpels and blood and howling wolves.

My phone rang first thing the next morning, and I snatched it up off the bedside table. “Hello?”

“Congratulations, Mr. Graves,” Dr. Taylor said. “I would love to offer you a job. I feel like you would be a great fit for Apex Labs. Would you like to be a part of our family?”

I closed my eyes in a long blink. This was how it began. Once I accepted this job, there was no way I could walk away.

“When can I start?”