Page 35 of The Alpha Experiment
I absently rubbed my fingertips together, staring down at them and wondering, not for the first time, what they’d look like with claws.
I jolted upright in my seat like someone had stuck me with a cattle prod.
Claws. Fangs. Fingertips. Itching gums.
Itching gums.
Evan had complained all the time about how it felt to do a partial shift, way back when he’d been an adolescent and learning to control it. I remembered him complaining about it as a little kid, too, when it used to happen randomly when he got startled.
I’d finally calmed down, and there went my heartbeat, ratcheting right back up again. I did feel nauseated, but it had nothing to do with writing in the car and everything to do with the bubble of excitement and hope welling up in my stomach.
“What does it feel like to partially shift?” I tried to sound calm and casual, but I knew I’d failed. My voice practically vibrated with eagerness.
“You’re not asking that randomly,” Colin said. “Newt? What’s up?” And then the penny dropped. “Holy shit! You felt something, didn’t you?”
“I think so.” I looked back down at my notes, as if seeing it jotted down in messy ballpoint made it more real. “I seriously think I did.”
“Jesus,” Colin said, sounding completely stunned. “I can’t believe it actually worked.”
The flare of annoyance at his lack of enthusiasm couldn’t dent my joy. I leaned back in my seat, a smile taking over my face until my cheeks hurt from it—or maybe that was partly the scratches left from getting slammed into the ground. Either way, it felt amazing.
***
I got my shower beer practically the minute we were home, diving into the bathroom and leaving Colin to fend for himself. Before I took my first swig, I rummaged in the cabinet for a phlebotomy kit I knew I’d stashed there just in case I ever needed to collect a blood sample unexpectedly, drew a vial, and set it aside.
There. Now I’d be able to run that, the next time I got to the lab.
With that done, I got under the hot water, nearly moaning at how goddamn good it felt.
Despite my exhaustion, I was nearly dancing as I swigged my beer and scrubbed down, singing to myself as I rinsed, and bouncing as I got out.
I’d done it. I’d actually freaking done it, after years of effort and frustration. I’d been seconds from popping claws and fangs. Iknewit.
And now all I had to do was finish the job. I’d been angry with Colin, upset and a little betrayed. Worried about what he’d done—almost done? I still wasn’t sure what had happened there. But obviously the experiment had affected both of us. It’d done something to my physiology, and it’d had an effect on his, too, something I should have expected. After all, if the plan was to bring out shifter instincts and heighten the expression of shifter genes, why wouldn’t it enhance his responses, too?
Sure, Colin had freaked me out for a minute. But I was leaning toward the idea that it’d been a prank, one he’d conceived of when he’d said there would be consequences. He’d stopped when it genuinely upset me, anyway.
And bottom line, I didn’t care how freaked out I’d been, or why Colin had done it: it had worked. That was the thing. It hadworked. Which meant…we had to do it again, and go further, next time. No matter how freaked out I’d been.
In fact, specifically because of how freaked out I’d been. That, I was sure, had been the driver for the incipient change. Maybe the idea of ‘going further’ in the logical direction freaked me out exponentially more, but it didn’t matter. The stakes were too high to get hung up on my personal comfort or discomfort.
Colin, and his freak-out about freaking me out, was going to be the sticking point.
I flung on the clothes I’d brought in the bathroom with me and popped out the door, finding Colin sprawled out on the couch with a beer of his own. I blinked a couple of times to clear the image of him naked that kept flashing in front of my eyes. I might need to get used to the idea, but I also didn’t want to dwell on it.
“Want another?” I asked as I headed for the fridge to put my blood away. I sure as hell did. No more bourbon, because the way I’d woken up this morning wasn’t something I wanted to repeat, but I deserved a celebration. And I needed to soften Colin up a little.
“Sure.” He sounded wary, like he knew what I was doing.
I grabbed two beers, turned around, and drew a deep breath. Screw it. No beating around the bush.
“We need to push this experiment to the next level.”
Colin shook his head at me. “At least bring me that beer before you start trying to talk me into something you know I’m not going to want to do.”
“Oh, come on, Col! You don’t even know what I’m about to suggest!” I headed for him with the beers in hand. “And I was going to get you one anyway. I don’t need an ulterior motive.”
Colin took the bottle and eyed me skeptically. “Uh-huh.”
