Once they were past the tree line, the area opened up into a small community. Houses lined the clearing. Each pack member had their own place. Every time a new shifter joined the pack, a house would be added. It could be easily done since they built houses for a living. They had a man for each aspect of the process, and everyone worked together.
A meeting house and medical center sat in the center of the property, even though they didn’t use the medical center often since they healed quickly. Plus, they didn’t have a doctor to run it. Though Fiona, a nurse, manned the center when needed. A recreational hall with a serve-yourself bar stood behind the meeting house.
“Wow, you have your own town,” Mara observed the small community.
There were a few houses with lights on. Music played from within the recreational building, seeping into the night air.
“Are we going to the meeting house?” Kyro asked.
Xeon didn’t want to question her in a building like that. It would seem like an interrogation. She would need a place to get some food and to sleep for the night. Possibly longer if his wolf got his way.
“No, we’re going to my place.” He answered Kyro but looked back at Mara for her reaction. She didn’t seem to mind which eased his mind that she trusted him.
Xeon pulled into his driveway. His three-bedroom home, with a wrap-around porch, stood at the rear of the property. When he parked the SUV, he jumped out and opened the back door for Mara. She didn’t bother holding the shirt down as she got out. He watched the shirt creep up her thighs and fought back a groan. He shut the door and walked a few steps behind her on the way to the front door.
His shirt lay just below the cusp of her ass. Kyro had already unlocked the front door, and he held it open for Mara after she walked up the porch steps. She walked into the house. Kyro watched her ass as she passed. Both their wolves wanted this one woman. Xeon felt Kyro’s wolf’s excitement when she passed.
“Have a seat in the living room. I’ll get you something else to put on.” Although he wasn’t fond of the idea of her being covered, he knew he had to do the right thing for this woman.
“Thanks, I appreciate all your help.” She sat in the middle of the couch.
“We haven’t done anything yet.” Xeon walked into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of his drawstring pajama pants.
“You got me off the street. For right now, that’s enough,” she said, watching him come back into the room.
When he handed her the pajama pants, a low purr sounded within her. He sat in his recliner. The purring stopped when Mara stood and slid the pants on. She tied the strings and returned to the sofa. Kyro worked in the kitchen and fixed Mara a plate of food. He grabbed a soda from the fridge and brought everything into the living room.
He placed the plate on the coffee table in front of Mara and handed her the drink. She popped the top and took a long chug from the can.
“Oh, that’s good. I don’t know when I last had something to drink. How long have I been gone?” She asked and took another sip of her drink.
“You were going to meet us two days ago.” Kyro plopped down in the recliner across from Xeon.
“Two days?” she said in disbelief. “It didn’t feel like that long. I wasn’t awake much, though.”
Her stomach growled right on time. She picked up the sandwich Kyro had made for her and took a bite. A small moan came from her, she chewed, grateful for the food.
“No wonder I’m so hungry.” She took another bite.
Xeon let her finish her sandwich in peace. It didn’t take her long to scarf it down and wash it down with more soda. Kyro took her empty plate and disappeared into the kitchen. He washed it quickly and returned to the recliner.
“Where are my pack mates?” Xeon asked once Kyro returned to his seat. “What happened that you didn’t show up to our meeting?”
“I was on my way when my car got a flat tire. My phones battery was dead, so I couldn’t call you. While I tried changing the tire, a man pulled up and offered to help. Someone with him came up behind me and stuck a syringe in my neck. Next thing I knew, I woke up on a lab table. I don’t even know where my car is.”
“I’ll have one of my enforcers check on the car. We’ll send him to the last place you saw it, and it will still be there.” Xeon knew the chances of it still being there were slim.
“I doubt it.” She looked down at her hands. “My purse and everything was in it. Looks like I have a bunch of calls to make to get everything canceled.”
“What did they do to you?” Xeon asked, curious to find out the answer. Different scents were coming from her, but they were changing.
“I only woke up for a little while on the lab table. Dr. Phenix, my boss, stood over me. He gave me another shot, and I passed out. Later, I woke up in a hospital bed on basement level one. Dr. Phenix said I had different DNA. He gave me more injections. The next time I woke up, I found myself in a cage. It was just big enough for a makeshift bed and enough room to pace a little.”
“I’m pretty sure it was the lowest level, basement level two. There were shifters in cages like mine. Some were large wolves, and others were in human form. Dr. Phenix did mention a vampire, but I couldn’t tell who he meant. I met Trina. I recognized her from the news report last week. That’s where I had gotten your number.”
“You saw Trina? Is she okay? Where is she?” he asked anxiously, sitting on the edge of his seat.
“Well, I guess she’s all right, the best I can tell. She didn’t look physically hurt, but they experimented on her too. They experimented on all of them.”
“What kind of experiments?” Kyro asked.
“When I called you the other day, I was a human. A completely normal human. Now, I can shift into a panther. Trina said she turned into a tiger. I saw a man named Benny, Trina said he belonged to her pack. Well, he now shifts into a hyena.”
“Where are they? How can they be changed like that?” Xeon couldn’t wrap his head around these experiments.
“At Garnett Medical Center. That’s where I work. Dr. Phenix is somehow changing our DNA using a serum made from other shifters, vampires, and who knows what else. I was out of it most of the time. So, I don’t know much. There were two wolves in cages across from me. I don’t know who they are or if they were originally wolves or not.” Mara explained what she knew.
“If you were out most of the time, how did you escape?” Xeon asked.
“I think once they changed my DNA to that of a shifter, my body metabolized the drugs quicker than he expected. When I came around the last time, I pretended to still be out. I think he injected me with vampirism. At least that’s what I understood from their conversation. Dr. Phenix wanted to give me a couple more doses of the vampirism serum. When he left the room, I kind of ripped Henry’s throat out and stole his keys and ran.”
“Who’s Henry?” Xeon asked, confused.
“Dr. Phenix’s assistant. He was helping him in his sick experiment.”
“Where are the keys? I didn’t see you with any when you came out of the alley,” Xeon recalled.
“I don’t know, I guess the keys are back at the hospital. I shifted in order to run away, I must have dropped them. We should find those keys. There’s a key on the keychain that opens the cages. That’s why I took them in the first place. I didn’t realize I dropped them. Shifting hasn’t been easy.” The feelings of failure were clear in her tone. She grabbed a throw that was on the back of the sofa and curled up into it.