PATIENCE
Charles McMaster replayed the stream on the screen in front of him. He’d seen wolves change before, of course. He had his subjects in the lab that he’d seen change from human to wolf and back again countless times. There was something so…cathartic about seeing a man break in half and become a beast.
The world had also seen shifters change before during the Unveiling. There was nothing new about this, except for the fact that they’d been with humans when they did it. They’d protected the witch tied to the burning pyre. And now, it seemed that part of the human population was slowly moving to the wolf side of the debate.
Save one damsel in distress, and suddenly, women swooned for the blue-eyed wolf.
McMaster wasn’t interested in the wolf on the screen for that, however. Something told him this particular wolf was important. And he’d learned long ago to trust those gut instincts. He wanted this wolf for his own. He had a few wolves in his possession, but it wasn’t enough.
This wolf needed to be his.
According to his notes, this wolf was the Heir of the Talon Pack. The Heir apparently held some worth. McMaster wanted that for himself. He’d already set forth plans to ensure this Heir would be his. The wolves wouldn’t know what hit them.
He turned off the screen and rolled his shoulders before locking up his secret office and heading toward the medical rooms. He wanted to check on his specimens in the cages. As usual, they screamed, the toxic sludge in their veins probably killing them at this point. They would die for science, for power, and they would have to cling to a world of no hope…except for the hope for him, of course.
McMaster, like his accomplice General Montag, wanted the wolves locked in their dens like the animals they were. While Montag wanted the shifter’s powers for his own purposes, McMaster wanted the beasts put to death.
He’d use them for his own power, then he’d have them die by their own fate. He had a bill coming that he would pay dearly for. But that bill would force the wolves to be outed completely in society, and therefore, be caged like the animals they were within their dens. It would make them easier to study, and eventually end.
Easier for slaughter.
Easier for planning.
Easier for him.
Chapter Twelve
Ryder cupped Leah’s shoulder as she dried her hair with a towel. The soft fabric slid along his wrist, and she shook her head, pulling the towel away from her hair. Her long, honey-brown hair spilled down her back and over his arm. After leaving the icy lake and putting on their dry clothes over cold and wet bodies, they’d made it back to his place. Throughout that and their shower, they’d kept their hands on each other as if they couldn’t keep a distance beyond the one he’d made already. They’d also remained silent.
When they’d passed other Packmates on the way to the house, they’d nodded at them, but that was it.
They’d said enough in the lake to know if they were to break their silence too soon, they might break everything else.
He’d hurt her. Hurt her enough that she thought it was her fault. And that was something that could not be allowed. No matter what he did, no matter how he messed up, it wasn’t Leah’s fault. He was the one with the shattered gift and a wolf who tore him up when he shifted. While he hadn’t wanted to force his pain on her, he’d hurt her just the same.
“You’re thinking so hard I can almost hear your thoughts,” Leah said softly. She turned in his arms and rested her forehead on his chest. “I’m not weak, Ryder. You can lean on me too, you know. You don’t have to do everything on your own.”
He cupped her face, forcing her gaze to his. “I’ve never once thought you were weak. From the moment you woke up and fought to protect yourself from the unknown, I knew you were stronger than anyone I had ever met.”
She blew out a breath. “You say that, yet you don’t treat me as if you believe it.”
His thumb ran along her cheekbone, and she ever so slightly leaned in to his hold. “You can take care of yourself, and yet, sometimes, I don’t want you to have to. That’s not only my wolf in action, but the man.”
Leah pulled away from his hold but took his hand. “Let’s go to the living room and sit down. Then you can tell me what you need to.”
Ryder was the Heir of the Talon Pack. He had fought for his Pack and protected his own. He’d withheld his secrets so enemies could not use them, as well as to keep his shame from those who loved him.