Page 41 of The Scent of Seduction

Dr. Guppa faced Shaun. “When Broyles brought us here, he shifted the program's focus. He had us training the children in physical and mental exercises. He was building an army, not trying to destroy his product. Unfortunately, the experiments didn’t cease completely. He reserved those for the others. And believe me—I’m sickened by some things I’ve done.”

Jaryn watched a young woman walk up and put her arm around Craig. She gave him a little squeeze, then turned to face Jaryn. Dr Craig’s face was decidedly more ashen than it had been a moment ago. Jaryn suspected that the doctor was struggling with his own guilt.

“I’m Dr. Charlotte Kelly. It was Craig’s idea to give the children names. Up till that point, they were simply referred to by their subject number.”

Craig eked out a smile for Charlotte. “And it was you who taught them basic social skills. Before that, they did little more than exist. Now I’ve seen how they band together.”

The last scientist brought over a data chip and handed it to Shaun. “This is everything we have. All our data and the data of those who came before us.”

“And you are?” Shaun prompted.

“Dr. Irvin Rakaza. I’m in charge of intellectual development. You should know that every one of those kids has an IQ off the charts. Given the proper development, they’ll probably have more knowledge in their little toes than you or I ever will have in our entire bodies.”

“What will happen to them now?” Charlotte asked.

Jaryn rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know. I need to contact the council.” He looked over at Shaun. “Has the rest of the team checked in?”

Shaun nodded. “All secured. Oh, and your buddy Mac found his brother among the hostages. The council already has a team on the way to debrief them. Once we clear them, they can return to their families.

“Good. Let’s take this one step at a time, shall we? Let’s get them out of those fucking cells.” He looked at Craig. “You can introduce me, then we’ll get everyone ready to leave. Tell them they’ll never be coming back, so bring whatever they want to keep. I have a private jet on standby, and if I can get the council’s agreement, I have the perfect place to hide them for a while.”

“Sir, they don’t have any personal possessions. They don’t even have their own clothing. Broyles had us distribute items each day from a stockpile.”

Jaryn cursed and clenched his fists. He heard Shaun grumbling next to him similarly. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly. He wanted to present a calm front to the children, who were probably scared out of their wits right now.

They pushed their way through the doors, then Charlotte took Jaryn’s hand, pulling him towards the closest cell on the left. Inside the glass was a crib.

Oh, Jesus. They’re just babies.

Charlotte pushed in a numbered sequence, and the glass slid away. Jaryn slowly and quietly walked inside. He reached the edge of the crib and looked down. His heart slammed against his chest and his hands tightened on the wooden railing. Staring back at him were two sets of forest green eyes and two tiny heads covered in a slightly brighter shade of extremely familiar red hair. There was something about them that called to Jaryn. Although the features could have been a coincidence, Jaryn couldn't ignore this primal recognition.

“I’d like you to meet Kaden and Gavin.”

“Who’s the biological mother of these babies?”

“Their egg donor was a human prisoner named Nicole Holland. It happened about four months after they brought her to the compound," she frowned. "For some reason, Broyles used another human as surrogate instead of having Ms. Holland carry the twins.” She turned away from the crib and stared out the glass into the lab. “Once we tracked her cycle, we began giving her hormones in her diet without her knowledge to nurture the egg development. We drugged her and brought her down for regular ultrasounds so that we could monitor the progress and determine when it was time to harvest. I was here when Broyles brought her down for the last procedure. She was already unconscious.” Charlotte wiped her eyes. “She never knew it happened. Has no idea Kaden and Gavin even exist. I’m a mother, Mr. Chaunterel. I can’t even imagine…”

Jaryn came over and squeezed Charlotte’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

“After Ms. Holland’s procedure, Broyles ordered us to keep her locked up in a suite of rooms on the second floor. Broyles ordered us to keep Ms. Holland locked up in a suite of rooms on the second floor after her procedure."

“What happened to the surrogate?”

"She didn't handle the pregnancy well, so we had to deliver Kaden and Gavin by Caesarian a month early. She hemorrhaged out. We weren’t able to determine what went wrong. We shouldn’t have even been… we’re all researchers. I haven’t treated patients since my residency, for God’s sake." Charlotte wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. "About two months ago, Broyles forced Craig to perform germ line gene therapy on Ms. Holland, convinced that the therapy would alter her DNA to that of a wolf shifter." She looked back at him. “I don’t even know what happened to her. I heard she disappeared a couple of months ago. Most likely she’s dead, along with the others.”

Jaryn walked back over to the crib. Both of the babies watched him quietly. Jaryn stared into the two innocent faces. These little boys shared DNA with his mate. He reached down into the crib and lifted the infants into his arms.

“She’s not dead. She’s my mate. Right now she’s at our home in Montana.” Jaryn cradled the small bodies against his chest. “Hello… my sons.”

Chapter Fourteen

Nicole gripped the opening of Jaryn's war room, her legs threatening to collapse beneath her. “Jeff?”

“Surprised? I bet Cooper told you only Jaryn’s inner circle knew about this place? Well, that may have been true for a while, but all secrets come to light, eventually. Once I obtained the details from my associate, it was easy enough to lift Cooper’s palm print from the station.” He stepped aside from the opening and gestured with his gun. “Now move. I have a schedule to keep.”

Nicole’s mind moved beyond the shock and she remembered the gun in her hand. In one motion, she flipped the safety off and raised the weapon, taking aim right between Jeff’s eyes.

Jeff shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

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