“Because the Lycan community will need to counter misinformation and superstition when they end up revealed.”
“We’re good at hiding.”
It was Griffin who interjected. “Our days of hiding are almost over. Dorian says for every story or sighting they squash, another crops up. Soon we won’t be able to stop one going viral.”
“In which case someone will debunk it as a hoax.” They’d done it before. When a werewolf went rabid, they left a trail that was hard to ignore.
“Do you want to be a part of the research or not?” Griffin asked.
“Maybe. What are her qualifications?”
The doctor shook her head. “If you’re going to be difficult, this won’t work. Do you have someone else I can talk to?” The last directed at Griffin.
“Yeah, Quinn might be cool with it. Dorian, though, will never agree. He’s a got a thing about staying anonymous.”
“Hold on a second, I never said no, but I do have questions,” Ulric argued. “Starting with, how come you didn’t run this through security first? How do you know she’s legit?”
“Because Doctor Silver was vouched for by Theo Russell.” The alpha of the Toronto Golden Paw Pack. “She tested quite a few in his Pack but needs more samples for comparison as part of her work for the Cabal.”
The Cabal. The word so rarely spoken froze him.
“She’s a Cabal agent?” he whispered, despite her sitting right there.
She rolled her eyes. “For god’s sake, they’re not the bogeyman. And, yes, I was hired by the Cabal. Who are Lycan like you, I might add.”
“I know who they are.” The Cabal’s job on a worldwide level involved watching over the Packs. They only rarely got involved, but when they did, shit happened. A Pack being indiscreet often resulted in some or all the adults disappearing as a lesson to follow the rules.
The Cabal didn’t fuck around, meaning if they wanted this woman running tests, then saying no wasn’t a real option.
“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” Ulric grumbled. “When do we start?”
“Tomorrow. Your Alpha will give you the address. Tell no one where you’re going or what you’re doing. It will involve you spending three nights for sleep monitoring, so make arrangements, as you won’t be able to leave once we start.”
“What about phone calls? My girlfriend will think it’s weird if I don’t call.”
“You will be able to contact people so long as you remain discreet.”
“Can I bring my cat?”
“No.”
Griffin coughed. “I’m sure me and the boys can take care of him for a few days.”
“I’ll ask Honey first and see what she says.” Honey, whom he’d have to leave for three days. “I better being getting paid for this,” he grumbled. “Terror is a growing boy.” Not to mention he had his eye on a ring.
“You’ll be paid. And as a bonus, take the rest of the day off to clear out your fridge and tell your girlfriend you’ll be gone.”
“What am I supposed to tell her?” Ulric sucked at lying.
“It’s not that hard,” Dr. Silver interjected. “Your boss is having problems with a shipment and has sent someone on his security team to travel with it.”
“You want me to tell her I’m going away for a few days as a drug mule?”
Dr. Silver shrugged. “I really don’t care what excuse you use.”
In the end, by the time he arrived at Honey’s work to walk her home, he realized Silver’s lie would probably work best. “I gotta go out of town for a few days. Boss thinks someone is shorting our shipments in transit.”
“I’ll miss you,” she said. “Want me to watch Terror for you?”
She took it too well.
“You’re not sad I’m leaving?”
“Of course I am, but at the same time, it might be good because I think I’m coming down with something.” She put a hand to her stomach. “Be warned, if I’m sick, it’s probably already too late for you.”
“I’ve got the constitution of a wolf.” He thumped his chest.
She snorted. “You’re more like a giant bear.”
“I’m insulted.”
“Does that mean no more bear hugs?”
He grinned. “Like hell.” He grabbed her in one that swept her off her feet.
“Put me down.”
She did look green.
He carried her to bed, and Terror snuggled in beside her. When he would have joined them, she waved a hand. “Go. You probably have to pack. I’ll be fine.”
“It doesn’t feel right leaving you while you’re sick.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve ridden out many colds and flus on my own. At worst, I can call my mom for one of her vile remedies.”
“I’ll call you every day, at least twice.”
Then, despite her protests, he kissed her.
Missed her as he tossed and turned in his lonely bed. It was only for a few days. The next morning when he called, she said she felt better and was already at work.
With no excuse, he headed for the address Griffin made him memorize.
“This is like super-secret spy stuff,” he’d joked.
Griffin didn’t disagree.
Wild shit.
The place was a former restaurant with for lease signs plastered all over it. Odd place to be doing medical tests. Then again, no one would ever know.
The doctor herself let him inside, and he was surprised to see she worked alone.
“No nurse assistant?” he asked.
“I prefer to do the work myself to ensure no errors are made.”
A control freak who lacked personality, as she literally ran him like a rat in a wheel. In this case a treadmill. He spent that first day being measured as he exercised.
Electrodes all over his body tracked everything. Heart rate, temperature, sweat. So much sweat.
As he jogged for the fourth time that day, and she stood watching with her tablet, he asked, “Are our bodies that much different from the unbitten?” Calling them human felt dumb. He was human, just with a little something extra.
“Physically, no, or Lycans would have been hard to hide all this time. But on a cellular and genetic level, there appear to be markers that indicate Lycan, but at the same time, they’re not all the same. I’m trying to form a baseline for them.”
“How is it you know about us? Are you married to a Lycan?”
“Nope. But I’ve been aware of them for a while. And since I’m sure you won’t shut up unless I tell you why”—she shoved up her sleeve past the edge of her gloves to show the scars on her forearm—“I was attacked by a werewolf while at university.”
“What?” The very idea horrified.
“It happened on a full moon. I was working on a university project with my lab partner. He shifted suddenly and attacked me. I spent months in the hospital in a coma. When I woke, one of the Cabal was there to tell me I had a choice. I could come and work for them and crack the secret of Lycanthropy, or I could die and take my secret with me.”
“Not much of a choice.”
“No, but that wasn’t their fault. The fact a rogue wolf escaped detection was. Hence the reason why I even got a choice.”