Dr. Phenix must have found another lackey to do his bidding. A man came through a door. Of course, it wasn’t the man from the hospital. She’d taken care of him. This man looked more security guard than medical staff, dressed all in black. His T-shirt barely contained his muscular body. More footsteps sounded upstairs. Damn... there are more of them.
“Doctor, they’re ready.” The man spoke from just inside the door.
When the man walked out, Mara saw a gun tucked in the waistband of his pants. She knew she caused the extra security to be in force. The hospital had lacked in the security department, her ease of escape had proven that.
“That’s my cue to leave. Don’t worry, I’ll get to you soon.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.” She glared at him when he strolled away, laughing.
Mara wasn’t going to let him do any more experiments on her. If she had her way, he wouldn’t be doing them on anyone else either. He had done enough damage to so many lives already.
The moment the doors closed behind him, Mara ran to the bars where Trina laid motionless. She knelt and reached through the bars. She was close enough for Mara to reach. She brushed the hair out of Trina’s face.
“Trina, are you okay?” Mara asked, watching her for any sign of movement.
Mara checked Trina’s pulse. Blood pulsed strong and steady, a good sign. Mara breathed a sigh of relief, knowing her friend lived. Trina’s eyelids fluttered. She was waking up.
“Trina, talk to me.” She lightly shook Trina’s shoulder. Trina’s eyelids opened and blinked a few times. After a few moments, she finally spoke.
“I thought you were dead.” Her eyes slowly closed, then opened again. She took in a deep breath and exhaled. “You smell like my brother.”
“Xeon?” Mara asked in confusion
“Yes, he’s my brother” Trina weakly said, nuzzling her nose closer to Mara as if trying to find a way home.
“Yeah, about that. Apparently, he’s my mate,” Mara confessed.
Trina laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Mara arched her eyebrow, not seeing any humor in their situation.
“I have been a wolf for thirty years and haven’t found my mate yet. You’re a shifter for less than a week, and you have already found one.” Trina looked up at her.
“Two, actually.” Mara grinned, thinking about the two hunks she had back at the compound. “I certainly didn’t expect something like that to happen to me.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me. Kyro too?” Her eyes widened.
Mara nodded. “How did you know it was Kyro?”
“I smell him too. I just thought that since he and Xeon are always together, you would smell like them both.”
“It came as a bit of a shock to me too. How are you feeling?” Mara placed her hand on Trina’s forehead to check for a fever.
“Slightly better by the minute. Dr. Crazy-ass tried to add fox DNA. Obviously, it didn’t take. I have been stuck in tiger form since yesterday.” Trina slowly sat up and leaned her back against the bars.
“That’s terrible. What about your wolf?” Mara asked.
“Hiding for all I know. She’s hoping we’ll be able to switch back and forth to either animal inside of us. I can still feel the wolf a little.”
“Where are the others? I know there were more than this last time.” Mara looked around at the other shifters.
“The humans he had didn’t make it. You remember the wolves you saw last time? Those were humans. They shifted just fine. Then they became erratic in their cells. After a couple of days, they died as wolves. I think their bodies just couldn’t handle the changes. I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did.
“There was a guy in here, originally a fox, who didn’t take the added DNA well. He nearly broke down the bars at the last place.” Trina ran her hands through her hair. “They took him out one day, and I haven’t seen him since.”
“Are you talking about Zeke?” Mara asked, remembering his name from Xeon and Kyro’s conversation.
“Yeah, I believe so. Did you see him? He wasn’t here when I last saw you.” Trina cocked her head to the side.
“No, but your brother and some of the pack mates saved him at a warehouse. Right after he tried to kill them.”
“It’s not his fault. The serums are driving us all a little crazy.” Trina twisted sideways and leaned her head against the bars.
Need blood, the vampire said inside of Mara. I need it. Mara’s thirst grew as did the voice urging