Page 19 of Reconditioning the Wolf

After waking the tablet, Kontra showed him a picture. “Ishmael’s older brother is looking for him.”

Looking at a young man that appeared remarkably similar to Ishmael, with a few extra muscles that didn’t seem quite natural, Madagascar let out a long sigh. “He was experimented on, too. Wasn’t he?”

Kontra nodded once. “This is Boaz Cartwright. Boaz and Ishmael were part of the Coonie pack, which was decimated in nineteen-eighty-nine.” The big male’s expression turned sad as he shook his head. “For a long time, it was blamed on these two men.” He used a hand to indicate Boaz’s picture, followed by a playing Ishmael. “Except, they were both captured and sold to scientists by Krakow, and he framed them.”

Madagascar growled low in his throat, knowing Kontra referred to a wolf shifter that had been a councilman. His shady dealings had been brought to light by the Stone Ridge wolf pack. When he’d been removed as councilman, Krakow had gone rogue and had eventually been dispatched.

“They’ve been cleared now, of course,” Kontra continued, relaxing in his seat. “But since Boaz is looking for Ishmael, has been since he was rescued and coaxed back into human form by his mate, I thought we should give Ishmael a chance to reconnect with him.”

“Ishmael doesn’t remember his family,” Madagascar pointed out, hating the idea of offering anything that might hurt his mate, who’d already been through too much abuse.

Kontra shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Boaz does, and he could share some good things with Ishmael.” Offering Madagascar an encouraging smile, he told him, “Until the massacre, Boaz has nothing but good memories of his past.”

“You said that Boaz was coaxed back to human form by his mate?” Madagascar asked, wondering about that.

With a nod, Kontra explained, “Unlike Ishmael, Boaz’s experimentation went a different way. He was given drugs to make him extremely aggressive along with the tweaking of his size.” The grizzly shifter frowned as he peered toward the trees. “When they lost control of Boaz, he was tagged for termination, but the Stone Ridge pack got to him first.” He grimaced as he admitted, “They had to keep him locked up, too, of a sort, until a chance encounter with his mate helped Boaz break through the block they’d put on his mind.”

Nodding, understanding Kontra’s reasoning, Madagascar told him, “I’ll talk to him.” As he watched Ishmael’s wolf pounce on the back of a white tiger, he had to admit, “I’m pretty sure he’ll want to meet him. He has that kind of soft heart.”

“Figured as much just from watching him for a few hours,” Kontra declared. Patting his leg, he prepared to rise. “When Ishmael’s done playing, bring him—”

“Alpha.” Lamar’s call interrupted the alpha shifter. The peacock shifter’s cheeks were flushed, and he carried another tablet. “Sorry to interrupt. Code Red.”

Kontra growled low in his throat as he took the tablet from Lamar. Whatever he saw caused him to roar. The noise was more reminiscent of a bear call—something that should never have been able to come from a human’s throat.

Many of the animals playing in the yard scattered, sprinting into the cypress trees ringing them. A few were herding the new arrivals, obviously accepting responsibility for them. Adam’s white tiger nosed a cowering Ishmael toward them.

Madagascar hurried toward his mate, Kontra following him. “Don’t shift,” the alpha ordered, pointing at them both. “You’re faster in your four-legged forms.” Scowling at his tablet, Kontra grumbled, “And we damn sure don’t want them to get their hands on either of you.”

Just as Kontra finished speaking, the roar of several engines came from the front of the house.

“Let’s see who’s decided to drop in,” Kontra rumbled, striding toward the corner of the house. Instantly, he was flanked by Beta Sam and Enforcer Mutegi. “Keep a sharp eye, guys.”

Indecision filling him, Madagascar glanced toward the trees where he knew the rest of his bear sleuth would be waiting. He rested his hand on Ishmael’s shoulder, wondering what his mate would prefer. Would he want to face his tormentors?

Adam bounded away from them. Instead of heading into the trees, he headed for the house. The tiger jumped from the porch railing to the roof, and he began prowling toward the front.

“Where is he, Olson?”

A woman’s voice echoed through the still afternoon air. From the way Ishmael whined and pressed against him, Madagascar figured his mate would know. He also knew that Olson had once been a guard at a different facility that Kontra had shut down.

Is that Doctor Meyer? And if so, how does she know Olson? Did she work out of the other facility at some point?

“Who are you talking about, Doctor Meyer?” Olson asked, his deep voice carrying easily to him.

That answers that.

The woman issued a very un-lady-like snort. “Don’t toy with me, Olson. I left you alone because I knew you’d quit before my other facility was hit. I’d assumed, wrongly evidently, that you didn’t have anything to do with it.” Anger began to make her voice rise. “And now, my main facility is wiped out, my shifters taken, and you and your friends have even stolen my pet project. Where is Ishmael? I want him back.”

“Why do you want Ishmael?” Kontra’s voice filled the air. “How come you’re not asking about the others?”

“Who are you?” Meyer demanded.

“Most around these parts call me boss,” Kontra replied, lying through his teeth. The only one who called him that was Payson. Evidently, Kontra didn’t plan to advertise that he was a shifter. “Olson told me about your illegal activities, so I brought a team to stop you.”

“You can’t stop us,” Meyer declared with a scoff. “You’re a shifter, right? You look like one. A big one.” Her tone turned calculating. “We’ve gleaned so much information from studying and experimenting on your kind that I could kill you with a snap of my fingers.”

That sounded a little dramatic.

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