I chuckled. “Adam Sloan helped Sebastian topple the Nero empire, and then brought Sebastian into his Pack so…” I shrugged. “If he trusts him, then that’s good enough for me.”
She stretched out beside me and smiled. “So while they check on it, we get to stay in bed all day?”
Damn. The hope in her eyes tied me in knots. Knowing she wanted me as much as I wanted her squelched some of the fears that she could walk away anytime. Good thing, too, because I could love this woman. Maybe I already did.
“I wish.” I pulled her down for a kiss but she dipped and my lips hit her forehead.
“Toothbrush,” she mumbled.
I chuckled and relaxed back into the pillow again. “We need to make a plan for Deidra’s fundraiser.”
The truth was, I wanted Madison to quit and leave Deidra Harlow in the rearview mirror. She ran Evolution Defense and that was enough reason for me to not want my mate anywhere near her. But it wasn’t my decision to make and Madison seemed pretty set on attending the fundraiser. I’d stay close and make sure she was safe.
“You really think she’s trying to use me to get to Chandler and Wendy?” she asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think it makes sense.” I stroked her hair back from her forehead. “If Deidra did hire you because she knows Chandler is your brother, then his babies would be potential werewolf DNA for her research.”
“Huh.” She propped her head on her elbow next to me. “And here I thought I got the job because of my amazing résumé.”
I laughed and rolled over to nibble her neck. “I’m sure your résumé was a bonus.”
She gave me a playful shove. “Now you’re just trying to kiss up.”
“I’m not stupid.” I grinned and winked at her.
Her laughter filled me with even more determination to figure this out. She was a treasure, the other half of my soul. More than anything, I wanted a future with her, which meant assuring her safety.
I put the details for the fundraiser into my phone and met her eyes. “This event is the night before the full moon.”
“Is that a problem?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Not really. It just means my wolf will be closer to the surface so my fuse will probably be short when it comes to men being around you, but I’ll be all right.”
She inspected me with a crooked smile. “Are you saying you’re going to be jealous?”
I chuckled. “Definitely, but I’ll try not to let it show.”
She pressed a kiss to my chin. “It’s sort of sweet—as long as you don’t punch anyone.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “I can’t risk getting arrested that close to the full moon.”
Her eyes widened as she made the connection. “You can’t be in jail during the full moon.”
“Not if we want to keep shifters secret from the rest of the world.” I swirled my finger along the edge of her belly button. “You can schmooze with the investors while I poke around for any sign of what Deidra might be up to. Maybe we’ll find a clue about woman who keeps reaching out to you for help.”
“It seemed like her voice was coming from that direction, but I don’t know if she’s connected to Deidra at all.”
“I know.” I kissed her forehead, drinking in the scent of her hair. “But she’s been working on the same super soldier defense contracts as Nero used to. I wouldn’t put it past her to be experimenting on psychics too.”
She ran her finger down the center of my chest. “What do we do if you do find her there?”
“Asher is going to have Ryker, Micah, and Vance staked out nearby. If we can extract her without anyone noticing, we will, and if there’s any trouble, they’ll get us out of there.” I ran my tongue along my teeth, struggling to rein in the wolf’s surge of aggression at the danger surrounding our mate. It was going to be tricky until I figured out how to navigate my wolf being closer to the surface of my consciousness now that Madison was in our life. “Deidra might have juiced-up bodyguards around her.”
“Steroids?”
“I wish.” I chuckled, shaking my head. “She used the DNA she took from Wendy to formulate a serum, she thought would give soldiers a werewolf’s heightened senses without the shift.”
Her eyes widened. “Did it work?”
“Partially.” I met her eyes. “She injected the serum into a Special Forces team called the Timberwolves. They did get heightened senses but no wolf to anchor them with instincts to decipher those senses. It’s like they got these abilities and nothing to help them control them.”
“That sounds bad.”
“Yeah. Most of them didn’t survive. Between the paranoia and mental stress, some of them suffered brain bleeds.” I stared at the ceiling. “You remember Vance from the baby shower?”
“The Australian guy?”
I nodded. “He’s a jaguar shifter like Chandler, but his half brother, Micah, was human. He turned out to be one of the survivors of the Timberwolves experiment.”
Vance loved his brother, but I still didn’t trust him. We’d discovered his existence when he had accepted mercenary work for Evolution Defense and abducted Bart. He’d taken good care of the boy and didn’t turn him over to Deidra and her scientists, but the fact that he was willing to try… Vance was convinced Micah had only done it to find him. I had my doubts.
Asher hadn’t gone so far as to allow Micah to join the Sedona Pack, but our Alpha still worked with him occasionally, testing the waters I supposed. I did my best to bury my misgivings. I trusted Asher’s judgment.
“And Micah is going to be one of the guys on the stakeout?”
I nodded and turned to look at her. “He’s the only one who would recognize any of the Timberwolves who might be watching Deidra’s back. He can warn me.”
“You couldn’t tell by their smell?”
I grinned, impressed with her ability to weave my werewolf senses into her new reality. “That’s why they’re so dangerous to our pack. Because their heightened senses aren’t tied to an animal, their scent is still human.”
She flopped back onto the pillow. “I need a little time to absorb all this. I can’t believe the mild-mannered scientist that hired me to manage her cattle ranch is really some kind of mad scientist who experiments on shifters and possibly psychics. It seems impossible.” She glanced my way. “Why do you think she’s so determined? She doesn’t seem evil. I mean maybe she’s just good at hiding it, but I never would have guessed she’d be willing to abduct babies.”
I’d been so wrapped up in trying to keep my pack safe from Deidra that I’d never thought about her motives. I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the usual suspects, money and power.”
“I don’t know.” Madison didn’t look convinced. “If Deidra really believed in the cause to protect soldiers by making them stronger, she wouldn’t be so eager to put them at risk with an untested serum, right? I know she’s a scientist, but she’s still a doctor. Do no harm and all.”
“I guess.” I frowned.