Page 3 of Savage Mates (Ruthless Instinct #2)

One week before…

Cornell University, Ithica, New York

Lauren

“In closing, the scientific community is on the verge of several fantastic discoveries. This includes altering DNA structures to provide for the eradication of diseases within the animal population. What we learn from that success will drive our research in the future. Imagine the possibilities. The end of cancer and other terminable diseases as we know them. Birth defects. Even the common cold. And… The possible creation of new life.”

Every student was sitting on the edge of their seat. The subject had come up more than once in my classroom.

“However, that’s for next year,” I told them and while several laughed, others groaned. They’d been reading too much science fiction. New life.

Much like alien beings walking amongst us.

The thought was both riveting and terrifying.

I held back a slight grin as I glanced at the clock on the lecture hall’s pastel yellow wall.

I ticked off the last few seconds out of mischievousness, finally clapping my hands.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes a fabulous year. I applaud all of you for your work ethics and accomplishments. Have an amazing summer.”

My statement was met with enthusiastic applause, my students immediately cheering as they scrambled from their seats. While the academic year had been incredible, I was eager for the summer to commence, especially if the Office of Research Development approved my request for a grant.

My research assistant was waiting by the door, eager to see if I needed anything prior to the meeting bright and early the next morning.

My nerves were already on edge even though I’d spent the entire spring semester preparing for their questions.

The fifty-page document was some of my finest work.

However, I needed one final piece, proof that my goals weren’t far-fetched.

Sadly, at this point, I was beginning to think the evidence needed had been nothing more than a fantasy.

I’d based my proposal on little more than rumors as well as a few bones containing DNA and a partial report found in a dumpster in Northern Virginia.

While completely unlike me, a single photograph sent to me anonymously had been all the proof I’d needed to believe my instincts were correct.

I’d had experts check for any sign the photo had been fabricated by AI or another computer graphics program. The picture had been legit.

If I was correct, the discovery would be considered a scientific miracle.

If the grant was awarded and I was wrong, I’d be the laughingstock of the scientific world and I could kiss my career as a molecular biologist goodbye.

“You look nervous.” Carrie Winters was a year and a dissertation away from her doctorate and I’d been lucky enough to snag her as my assistant at the beginning of the year.

She shared my love of animals, which was a plus.

I’d tried to convince her to become a veterinarian since she was so good with animals.

“Not nervous exactly,” I told her. “Terrified.”

“Don’t be. You’ve got this down cold. Plus, I have faith Finn will come through.”

She’d heard all about my childhood friend who now served in the military, currently stationed in the Philippines.

A hop, skip, and a jump from the reported sightings.

Since he was a pilot for the Air Force, I’d begged him for a favor, obtaining aerial photographs as proof.

However, there was red tape with both the Air Force and with the Philippines, so he’d reminded me not to get my hopes up.

“I know he’ll try.” After I shoved my laptop into my computer bag, we headed for the door.

Finn had never let me down before, but this wasn’t like pretending to be my boyfriend, which he’d done three times.

Nor was it about confessing to a teensy tiny crime I’d committed as a teenager. This was something entirely different.

“You want to go out for a glass of wine to celebrate the end of the year?”

“I have lion duty this afternoon.” I grinned, eager to stroke my baby behind the ear.

She chuckled. “You and that lion. A true love affair.”

“I can’t help it if I prefer animals to people.

” The lion had been kept in a circus, the poor baby abused and broken in both body and spirit.

My team had lovingly nursed her back to health, hoping that since she was so young, maybe one day she could be introduced to a pride.

It was a long shot, but one I was willing to do anything to make happen.

Simba represented everything I’d been brought up to appreciate by my parents.

They were the reason I’d become a large breed veterinarian, going further to complete my PhD so I could learn more about the various diseases taking a tremendous toll on the animal kingdom.

I’d been lucky enough to be wooed by Cornell, asked to teach a few classes as an adjunct professor in exchange for funding my research.

Right now, I was living my dream. I simply wanted to expand my horizons.

“Hey!”

“Present company excluded of course.” Halfway down the corridor, I caught a blip coming from my phone.

A text. Nervous energy tore through me as I struggled to find my cellphone in the bottom of my bag.

When I pulled it into my hand, I realized my entire arm was shaking.

Carrie flanked my side as I pushed myself against the wall to avoid the crowd of students.

After counting to three, I pressed my finger against the screen. A text from Finn.

I held my breath as I pulled up what he’d sent me. Six crystal clear, vivid photographs. “Oh, my God,” I whispered.

“What is it?”

A squeal was poised to escape my lips, but I managed to squelch it as I handed Carrie my phone.

I watched her expression go from eagerness to disbelief back to sheer excitement. “Is that what I think it is?”

The creature was beautiful, absolutely majestic, and very much alive.

“Yes. That’s a Cape lion. Extinct for over two hundred years.”

Pamela stared at the photograph for a long time before handing me back my phone. Dr. Shreves had started as my mentor, her veterinary classes at Cornell inspirational. After I’d returned to Cornell and been asked to work with her at her large breed veterinary clinic, she’d become a friend.

“That is… amazing. You’re certain this is one hundred percent accurate and you trust the person who took the photograph.”

Her words were clipped.

“I would trust him with my life.”

She took a deep breath. When she walked back toward her office, I was taken aback. She wasn’t the kind of woman to hold back on her thoughts. Why now? I followed her, standing in her doorway. “You don’t seem overly impressed.”

Even her deep breathing caught me off guard. “I am impressed, Lauren.”

“But?” I caught her quick glance toward the doorway, so I moved inside, closing the door behind me. “What’s wrong?”

“Haven’t you asked yourself how that’s possible?”

“Of course, but molecular geneticists were able to bring back the dire wolf.”

“True, but the specimen also died shortly after birth due to a lung defect.”

“Then a group of scientists may have found a better method. Imagine what can be learned, the advancements made. It could help with discovery on diseases destroying several animal populations. That could trickle down to domestic animals as well.”

“With the act of playing God. Is that what you want?”

I shrank back slightly, even annoyed at her bypassing the reason for my excitement. “I get your point, but that’s not what I’m trying to do. I simply want to help animals live a longer, healthier life.”

“But someone is interested in creating life.”

“You say that like your misgivings are based on personal knowledge.”

“Let me ask you something,” Pamela continued. “Have you ever heard of Blackwell Industries?”

I thought about the question. Yes, I knew about Blackwell Industries and the terrible experiments they’d performed while attempting to connect with an alternate universe.

While unconfirmed, I’d heard all the juicy gossip about the discovery of intelligent lifeforms. Just like my students wanted to believe.

As a woman of science, the theory was a little far-fetched in my mind, but the horrors inflicted on wild animals had been verified.

I’d even written a paper about when the company had been exposed, expressing my views on the scientific possibilities while avoiding the ethical side of whether attempting to create new life was something any scientist should be involved in.

However, since it was such a controversial issue and after I’d been threatened by unknown sources, I’d removed my paper from the internet. At this point, keeping my views to myself was a practice I intended on keeping. Even from my friend. The topic was polarizing.

“Wasn’t Blackwell shut down a couple years ago after discovery that their research practices included performing horrific experiments using wild animals?” I asked innocently enough.

She nodded, almost as if prodding me to remember additional details.

Sighing, I looked away briefly. I’d heard several rumors that had seemed more science fiction than science. Altering the DNA of animals, merging them with humans and other lifeforms. Impossible. Maybe. “I remember hearing they discovered a portal or something. Energy fields.”

“You’re almost correct. Blackwell had a research facility located in Manassas, Virginia. A couple of years ago, a group of highly skilled, world-renowned scientists discovered a parallel universe.” She allowed the information to sink in.

“Okay. Wow. So the rumors are true.” The same excitement I’d felt before crowded out all sense of reality.

Even so, a cold shiver skated down my spine as I thought about the reason for my grant application, the information found in the dumpster near the site of the facility.

That couldn’t be coincidental. Was my past article coming back to haunt me?

Don’t be silly, Lauren.