Page 56 of Broken Wolf Heart
“It’s classified,” she says, apparently also realizing her answers aren’t going well for her.
Grey scowls and starts to respond, but I cut him off, not ready to make an enemy of someone with enough magic to power an entire science lab for years on end.
“How much do you owe him?” I ask. “For the debt, I mean.”
“My life,” she says with a shrug, “Which is ambiguous, I know, and my fault for not being specific in the terms of our deal.” Her expression darkens, and I wonder just how much Franco took advantage of this girl and what he’s made her do in the name of that debt. Does powering this place hurt her at all?
“Well, in case you haven’t heard,” Mia says, “let me be the one to tell you the good news: Franco’s dead. I think it’s safe to say your debt is paid.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to keep this place going,” I tell her.
“Thanks.” She glances away. “But I still have a few loose ends to tie up.”
Severin clears his throat. “If Davina left, we’d need another way to power the lab.”
I start to tell him that won’t be necessary, but Grey stops me with a subtle shake of his head. “Let’s look around,” he says pointedly. “Before making any final decisions.”
He’s right. We came for answers.
I blow out a breath. “Fine.”
Grey looks at Severin. “How about a tour?”
“Certainly. The doctor gestures at the sliding door Davina came through. “The main lab is just through there.”
“Lead the way,” Grey says in a tone ominous enough that I certainly wouldn’t have turned my back on him. But Dr. Severin is clearly used to dealing with murdery alphas because he turns around and does as Grey asks.
On the other side of the sliding door, the lab opens into a wide, high-ceiling chamber filled with softly-glowing screens and enough circuitry and screens to make my head ache just looking at them all. In the center, a holographic image of what looks like a strand of DNA rotates in the air—twisting, pulsing red and blue.
“What is that?” Mia asks.
“This,” Severin says, “is the LAG gene sequence.”
Mia wrinkles her brow. “Is that a gamer term or…?”
I fold my arms, trying to brace myself against the horrors of my past. “It stands for Lupine Alpha Gene.”
“Very good.” He taps a few keys on a computer in the center of the room. “The Lupine Alpha Gene was discovered decades ago in rare shifter bloodlines—most often dormant or operating at a much lower level than what you see here. Franco had the vision to activate it. Enhance it.”
“You mean he experimented on people without their consent,” Grey says in a hard voice.
Severin doesn’t even have the decency to look ashamed as he says, “Sacrifice is always necessary for progress.”
Mia glares at that. I can see her toying with the handle of her knife again. “This is what Ramsey was talking about,” she says, looking back and forth between me and Grey. “The experiments Franco did.”
“Yes,” Grey says.
I blink, startled. “Ramsey told you?”
“We were basically interrogating him at that point, but yes. He said Franco experimented on you and your parents, trying to activate the gene.”
I take a wobbly breath, refusing to look at Severin in casemy wolf decides to rip his throat out. “He didn’t just try,” I say quietly.
Mia snarls at that and turns back to face the doctor, her knife gripped in a white-knuckled hand.
My stomach churns, and I’m not sure I’ll stop her if she tries to take the asshole out right now. The more I think about what was done to me—not just the experimenting but the way my wolf was stolen from me all these years—the wilder my wolf becomes. She wants out. To take her vengeance on this place, these people.
I flick a glance at Davina, who hovers near the back, watching and listening with arms crossed. Her participation here was technically forced. I can’t let my wolf hurt her for something she didn’t have a choice about. Still, I’m getting the feeling her magic did more than keep the lights on.
