Page 20 of Reconditioning the Wolf

Ishmael growled softly and began stalking around the house. As much as Madagascar wanted to stop him, he knew his mate needed this. Ishmael needed closure on this part of his life in order to properly move on.

Staying close, Madagascar paused at the front corner. A touch to Ishmael’s ruff made his mate do the same. They were in sight of the front, after all.

May as well not advertise our presence.

Madagascar took in the four vehicles fanned out before Olson’s Victorian home. There was one quad-cab pick-up, two SUVs, and one box truck. It looked like they came prepared to grab more than just Ishmael.

A brunette stood in front of the hood of the pick-up. There were two armed men flanking her. They each had a gun in hand and were pointing it toward the house. A half dozen more men stood near the vehicles, weapons in hand and obviously ready to react to... whatever.

“Now, where is—ah, there you are, Ishmael.” Doctor Meyer frowned at Ishmael. “While I’m not pleased you shifted, I know I can fix it.” Heaving a displeased sigh, she shook her head. “You must have been forgetting your meds. I thought I’d stopped that thoughtless behavior with the lashings years ago.” With a flick of her fingers toward the box truck, Meyer stated, “No matter. I’ll get it sorted.”

Madagascar twisted his fingers in Ishmael’s thick fur, just in case he made a move toward the box truck, but his mate stayed put. Relief filled Madagascar.

“Out of curiosity, why did you keep Ishmael as a human for so long?” Kontra crossed his arms over his massive torso, his comments sounding conversational. “Normally, your kind just terminates our kind when you don’t get your experiments right.”

Meyer sneered. “I’m not as short-sighted as those other scientists. One hiccup doesn’t ruin an experiment I’d spent years working on.” She rolled a shoulder negligently. “It just meant I had to put it on hold.” Meyer’s smile turned sickly sweet as she focused on Ishmael. “I hear they planned to terminate your brother when they messed up the formula they gave him, making him feral, so I didn’t use it on you.” Smirking, Doctor Meyer’s eyes hardened in a cruel expression as she continued to taunt Ishmael. “I decided to tweak the formula in my spare time, but that meant I needed to make you useful until I could sort out the problem. Better than having you lying about a cage, you know. Janitors are always necessary, and a big, dumb shifter whose brain cells had been destroyed by my tests and wouldn’t know any better would be perfect for the job.” With a laugh, Meyer claimed, “Hell, if all else fails, I could start a cleaning service by duplicating my work on others of your kind. I’d be rich. No one likes cleaning anymore.”

Madagascar felt the shudder run through Ishmael’s body, and his worst fears were realized. His mate was shifting. The change was slow and sounded a little painful, leaving his big sweet wolf vulnerable.

Meyer laughed as Ishmael changed. “Get them, boys.” Then she lifted her hand and made as if to snap her fingers.

The report of a high-powered rifle filled the air. Blood sprayed from Meyer’s hand—which now sported two missing fingers. Screaming in obvious pain, Meyer flailed her good hand, ordering her men to attack.

Knowing Ryan’s work when he saw it, Madagascar scoffed as he swung into action.

Can’t have her snapping her fingers, after all.

Chapter Ten

Having gone so long without shifting, Ishmael knew he was taking too long. He heard the sound of a gun, heard Doctor Meyer’s scream, and felt Madagascar’s arms around him, but he could do nothing. For several long, agonizing seconds, Ishmael knew he was completely vulnerable.

I should have listened to Kontra. Shifting was a bad idea. I just wanted to ask why so bad... and about my brother.

Finally finished, Ishmael blinked quickly, clearing his vision. He realized he’d been tugged around the side of the house. Madagascar stood with his shirt in his hands, holding it out to him.

“Wrap it around your waist,” Madagascar ordered.

While Ishmael took it, he couldn’t help thinking that his nudity seemed like it should be the least of their worries. After all, weren’t there over half a dozen guys with guns around the corner? Except, then Ishmael realized he didn’t actually hear the sound of gunfire.

Seeing Madagascar peeking around the corner, Ishmael asked, “What’s going on?”

Madagascar scoffed and shook his head. “Come and see.” Then he wrapped his arm around Ishmael’s waist and urged him forward a couple of steps so he could check out the front yard.

Ishmael’s eyes widened as he took in the scene.

Kontra and his friends still stood where they had been, and he actually looked bored. Sam looked annoyed, and Mutegi sported an expression Ishmael couldn’t read. Someone had bandaged Doctor Meyer’s hand, and she stood red-faced and angry. One of the men with her had his palm up to the air, and he seemed confused. A couple of the other men exchanged glances with fear in their eyes.

“What science is this?” Doctor Meyer yelled, glaring at her men. “Some kind of force field? Short it out! Get me my experiments back, or you’ll all be sorry.”

Sadness flooded Ishmael, and he knew thewhy. Doctor Meyer saw them as nothing more than property—things to do with as she saw fit. Ishmael realized he was lucky she hadn’t disposed of him a long time ago, considering the words she’d spewed earlier.

“Not science. Magick.” The melodious tenor filled the clearing as a stunningly pretty man appeared. Appearing about five-foot-ten in height, his long, white hair flowing on the slight breeze, he sauntered forward, every step accentuating his lean runner’s build. Even from that distance, Ishmael could make out the disdain the man felt as he stared at Doctor Meyer and her people with vibrant lavender eyes. “Fae magick, to be exact.” Tipping his chin up, he peered at them with a haughty expression. “You’ve come to the wrong place, scientist, and now, it’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.”

“What are you?” one of the men asked, taking a step backward.

“Fae, of course,” the man replied, his tone droll. He refocused on the doctor. “Your men seem a bit dim. Guess you didn’t hire them for their brains.”

“Cease whatever you’re doing at once,” Doctor Meyer demanded, actually resting her good hand on her hip. “You have no jurisdiction here, fae. Go back to your own realm. This is our business.”

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