“Hey, I can get my knob polished anytime I want—without the ball and chain hanging on my ankle.”
“Okay, boys, don’t get started,” Kira scolded with a frown. “I’m trying to watch this.”
Jax and his friend made a face at each other over her head, and then he went back to his favorite pastime of studying his new mate. Was it his imagination, or did she have this really healthy glow surrounding her? He liked her pale blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, her cute nose, her little feet. He especially liked the mark of his canines at the curve of her neck, the two small punctures having made a faint, permanent scar in the four days since they’d bonded.
“Quit staring at me,” she muttered, crunching more popcorn.
“Why? I love looking at you.”
“You’re giving me a complex.”
“A good one, I hope.”
“Is there such a thing as a
“Alpha Pack, Kalen, Kira, and A.J., to the meeting room, stat.”
“Goddamn,” Aric grumbled. “The show’s only half over. What’s so freakin’ important it can’t wait until tomorrow? Can
“I’ll help ya,” Ryon quipped.
Jax didn’t blame his friend for being pissed. Most folks didn’t live at work twenty-four-seven and had no idea how annoying it was to be on call day and night. With an assortment of curses and rumbles, everyone rose except the Fae prince, Chup asleep in his lap, who waved them off without looking up from the TV.
Setting aside her bowl and giving the program a look of regret, she fell into step beside Jax for the short walk to the meeting room. When they trooped in, Nick was already waiting, as were Melina and Mac. That and the late hour could only mean some news was breaking, classified as “need to know ASAP.” The team’s lazy demeanor rolled off like oil on wax paper, and they took their seats, completely alert and professional. Not one complaint passed anyone’s lips; they’d already voiced them all.
“I appreciate you all being so prompt and giving up part of your evening,” Nick began. “You know I wouldn’t interrupt unless it was extremely important. Dr. Mallory and Dr. Grant report that it appears our two rescued shifters will survive. One of them finally awakened a short while ago and is talking. What we’ve learned from him is the reason I’ve called you here.” He paused before continuing. Jax and some of the others exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
“The shifter who’s awake is a jaguar named Beck. He told us the other guy is an eagle named Archer who’d been held captive longer than him or any of the others, as far as he knows. He also said there were other captives who were moved a day or so before we arrived, but he’s not sure exactly when because there was no way for them to measure time.”
Zan spoke up. “How many and who were they?”
“According to Beck, three were moved. Two humans and another shifter.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t want you guys to get your hopes up, but . . . the shifter’s name was Micah.”
“Christ,” Jax breathed.
“What the fuck?”
“Why were we told he was dead?”
“And where the hell is he now?”
“If he’s alive, what about Terry, Jonas, Phoenix, and Ari?”
Nick weathered the explosion, fielding their barrage of questions as best as he could under the circumstances. “I know, and believe me, I’m with you all the way. If this is
Giving Nick a short nod, she moved forward. Jax thought she looked rather pale, and figured the idea of Terry perhaps being alive had shaken her. Badly. She wouldn’t wish him dead, but theirs hadn’t been a match made in heaven by any means.
“As I told Nick, the two new shifters will make a full recovery. The speed with which this has occurred is nothing short of remarkable, and our tests on Beck and Archer have given us some startling information.” Scooping a sheaf of papers from the table, presumably her notes, she relayed their findings.
“Both shifters’ bodies contain abnormally high levels of epinephrine, which has super-stimulated their adrenaline. As a side note, this overdosage may account in part for heart failure in at least two of the four bodies we received from the coroner that were found locally. Anyway, in our two survivors, their systems absorbed and accepted the drug, as well as a cocktail of a designer drug that has, by all indications, altered their DNA to contain more animal than human genes.”
“And this means?” Nick prompted.
“In layman’s terms, some of the doctors and researchers at NewLife are attempting to create a breed of highly advanced super-shifters. They’re taking existing shifters and fit humans, enhancing their greatest and deadliest genetic strengths, and striving to perfect the process of making an intelligent man-beast that has Psy gifts and is virtually indestructible.”
Ryon’s eyes were wide. “Like that creature from the old movie
“The premise is similar,” Melina allowed, “except NewLife is working with humans and shifters, not extraterrestrials, and using DNA and genes rather than technology perse. But creating a ruthless, unbeatable soldier is the bottom line.”
“That’s what the dead guys were trying to tell me,” Ryon said, looking tired. “They’re agreeing with you right now, all excited. They’ve been driving me crazy.”
Jax felt sorry for him, and hoped he got some peace from the ghosts.
“This all makes sense, except for why Beck and Archer were in such bad shape when we found them,” Kira put in. “If they’re strong enough to recover so fast, then why would the bastards starve and torture them?”
Nick answered that one. “How do you produce the best warriors? By breaking them down and building them back up again and again, until nothing can stand in their way. The weak perish; the strongest are made stronger.”
“That’s . . . evil.”
“Yes,” their boss agreed. “It’s horrible for the victims, unethical, and dangerous for humanity. Worse, according to Beck these aren’t volunteers in an aboveboard, sanctioned program. They’re being stalked and kidnapped from all walks of life and forced into being test subjects. Beck said that he and Archer were two of the few who’d survived all of the doctors’ engineering so far, and had been scheduled for ‘mind reprogramming.’ ”
“Brainwashing,” Melina clarified.
Jax sat forward. “We were talking about who’s at the top of the pyramid. Does Beck know who they are?”
Nick sighed. “I wish. He says Orson Chappell’s name has been whispered, and from what he’s managed to overhear there are at least two figures above him. And every last doctor, researcher, or other employee who’s in on the program is terrified of them.”
A heavy silence followed. This whole deal was more terrible, more far-reaching, than any of them had envisioned.
“What now?” Zan asked.
“We put NewLife under surveillance,” Nick said. “They might lie low at the Vegas location for a while, but eventually they’ll have to make a move. I want to place two of you in Vegas, and two more to watch their building in Dallas, Texas. Just document everything and everyone you see coming in and out, nothing more. We need to learn where they’re holding other shifters and humans so we can plan our next hit.”
“I’ll take Vegas,” Aric volunteered.
Ryon piped up. “I go with him.”
“Zan and I will take Dallas,” Jax said. He was surprised when Nick vetoed the idea.
