Valid, but Walt still grimaced. “Does it have to be the lieutenant?”
“Technically, any of our previous test subjects would do. Have you found any others?”
“No.” A grumbled reply. “The rest of them have disappeared for the moment.” But he had eyes and ears watching for when they surfaced.
“I’m sure you’ll find them.” The doctor knew better than to say anything negative. His healing black eye had been an effective learning moment.
“I’ll see what I can do about catching Patient Seventy-seven, but I’m also working on bringing in a second Patient Zero.”
“You found another natural-born therianthrope?” Dr. Levy couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I’m hoping to soon have a lead on a group of them.”
“Which would provide fresh samples. How soon will you have them in custody?” Dr. Levy practically bounced in eagerness.
“Uncertain as to a time frame yet. But I do believe it won’t be much longer.” The museum losing the artifact needed was a setback, but they’d find a way to overcome.
“Hopefully, it’s soon, because, if I’m right and we can map the DNA strands of each of the different therianthrope types,then we might be able to predict ahead of time what animal the subjects will change into and, maybe, eventually, even find a way to select or modify the beast.”
Choice would be nice. More than nice. They’d seen a wide gamut since they’d begun applying the protocol, with some of the animals being useless. A person who turned into something aquatic tended to die when out of water. A bird without wings strong enough to fly? Also a waste of his time.
Wolves. Tigers. Bears. That was where the money was and where his own personal interest lay. Walt didn’t have much time left. The disease in his body had begun spreading, despite all the treatments. A good thing they’d almost perfected the protocol. His only hesitation? Fear he’d end up as one of the failures.
But if he could choose… Not only would it save his life, but it would also increase the price he’d eventually sell it for.
Once Dr. Levy left, Walt made a few calls and set things in motion.
The lieutenant would live.
For now.
Walt had a more important mission now.
Find the Malaysian tiger shifters.
Chapter Eight
Phoenix was backin the zoo, but at least not in a cage this time. He couldn’t blame Nadirah for taking them somewhere familiar. He just didn’t plan to stay long.
Because of him, she’d been put in danger. She and the lovely old woman who’d fed him.
Unacceptable.
Phoenix might no longer be a soldier, but the morals remained. Protect civilians. Especially very attractive ones who made him wish he weren’t on the run.
As a tiger, he’d thought the lovely Nadirah smelled divine. As a man, he wanted to do more than sniff her. However, he didn’t have time for seduction.
“…you should be fine while I head out to grab you some clothes and fresh meat.”
Her words caught his attention, and he uttered a noise and shook his head. The inability to speak left him in a quandary.
“I’m going to assume you just said no. However, we can’t exactly leave you as a furry striped cat. Not unless you want the director to put you back in a cage.” Nadirah paced, her brow furrowed in thought. “I won’t have to go far. I’m pretty sure the lost and found will have clothing. At worst, I might be able tofind you a maintenance uniform. We also should have gotten our meat shipment this morning, meaning it might be fresh enough to change you back.”
Depended on how bloody it remained.
She kept talking. “While I grab what we need, stay out of sight.”
He shook his head.
