Page 18 of Feral Mate

Emery planned to explain to Kam that the new protocol might throw Mason for a loop so she could explain his body reacting to her cave lion DNA. Once she’d allowed her brain to rest, getting her genetic material into Mason should be easy enough. She’d prepare a syringe and would simply inject him. The new DNA could be introduced either by saliva or blood. Blood was faster, but saliva was gentler and fairly difficult to detect, while blood’s red color was pretty much a giveaway.

One-by-one, Emery watched the other NLGP scientists on this floor turn off their lights and begin exiting the building. She continued to work until Terry knocked on her door.

“I don’t know anyone who puts in as many hours as you.”

“I believe in working hard to accomplish the goals I want.”

“I believe that. I need to finish my rounds; my shift is almost up,” he said as he ambled out.

Emery remained at her desk for another painstaking hour and watched the clock closing in on midnight. Leaving her light on but setting it on dim, she put on her lab coat and crept out into the hall, making sure there was no one around. Walking briskly like she knew exactly where she was going and had every right to be there, she made her way to the bank of elevators.

She pushed the button for Lower Level One. Once she was in the corridor, she walked with purpose to Mason’s room. She entered quietly, not wanting to disturb him if he was asleep. He was sedated and sleeping. She surreptitiously dialed back the sedation and waited for him to come back to the world.

His eyes opened slowly and in the darkness of his room, they glowed with an ethereal light.

“I’d be careful about that. It isn’t human,” she said softly.

“I think the ship may have sailed on that. I’m not convinced they don’t know.”

“Where do I go?”

Knowing what she was looking for, he said, “One floor down—Lower Level Two.”

“Can you hang on a little longer? I’ve got the beginnings of a plan but I’m going to need to be a bit more familiar with these lower levels.”

“I don’t like you being out there on your own.”

“Any more than I like you lying here in this bed, while they keep you out of it. Kam wasn’t wrong when she said you almost didn’t make it. I had a good look at your medical records, and you were more dead than alive when they arrived. Just hold on. We’ll get through this.”

Emery went back to the elevator and pushed the button for Lower Level Two. She thought access would be restricted and was surprised when the elevator took her down a floor. Stepping into the hallway, she glanced both ways to ensure she was alone. This seemed to be a floor of laboratories. Starting with the first one, she entered and began to poke around.

There was evidence of unethical experiments, complete with preserved body parts, journals, notes, and DVDs dating back years. She feared removing the journals or DVDs even back to her office might give her away so slowly but surely, she began searching for thumb drives and loose hand-written notes--things she could put in her own office hidden in plain sight amongst her own notes.

Even a brief scan of the notes made Emery want to vomit. NLGP made the Nazis and their ‘genetic and medical experiments,’ pale in comparison. This was monstrous, and Emery figured she was a good judge of that. After all, most people would consider her cave lion a monster.

CHAPTER 9

MASON

Lying on a bed hooked up to machines and knowing his mate was all alone in a building surrounded by enemies was the hardest thing he’d ever had to endure. As Emery had dialed back the sedation, the fuzzy mind he’d been dealing with whenever he managed to claw his way back to consciousness was slowly receding. The offset to that was all of his senses were now on high alert, and he was straining to hear, see, or scent anything that might give him a clue as to what was going on outside of the bed and room where he was kept prisoner.

Within his mind, his snow leopard prowled, snarling and slowly flicking his tail back and forth. The drugs they’d been feeding him seemed to have lost their effect on his inner beast. When he’d first started to surface from the depths of his unconsciousness, he hadn’t been able to connect to the other half of himself. He’d felt the pang of being truly alone for the first time in his life. From the beginning, he’d always had his snow leopard and his twin, Carson, within his reach. Over time he’d come to trust and embrace Deke and Hayden as brothers, as well. But in this place, until Emery had come and somehow awakened his snow leopard, he’d been utterly alone.

Easy, ole son. Our time will come. Our mate will return, and we will be free of this place.

The snow leopard within grimaced at him, indicating his unhappiness at their present situation. He was sure there were those who thought having a power apex predator as your shifted self would be incredible, and for the most part it was. But when it thought you weren’t acting in your combined best interests—not so much. Showing weakness was almost like extending an invitation for the great beast to take over.

Lost in his musings, Mason almost missed Emery’s approaching presence. She entered his room, looking spooked and uneasy. She was doing her best to quell her feelings, but it was obvious that she’d found something and that something that made her skin crawl. The idea of her facing whatever it was that NLGP was up to while he was confined and shackled to a bed was terrifying. The restraints might not be actual shackles, but combined with the iron collar around his neck that kept him from shifting, they might as well have been.

Schooling his own thoughts and emotions, he reminded himself that there was nothing more he could do at the moment other than share with her whatever he could and heal. Once he was strong enough, they’d get out of this place, report back to Colby, and then Mason could put her someplace safe.

Emery moved directly into the position she liked to use to block their video surveillance. She pretended to look at read-outs and check his IV.

“I take it from your discontent that you had a productive, horrifying trip into what these bastards are doing,” he whispered in a voice low enough that it wouldn’t be overheard. By combining his words with their telepathic link, he was able to communicate with her in a way that wouldn’t exhaust her.

She nodded discreetly. “You’re not healing as quickly as the doctors think you might. I worry that without my genetic therapy you might never fully recuperate. The company set me up in a lovely private office on the third floor. I can see some of the labs on the second floor, but I’m far more interested in my own research and the atrium outside my office. It’s really lovely.”

So, she knew about the cloning and breeding labs on the second lower level. That must be what had her rattled so badly.

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