“Doc originally designed that shock collar to control his pet before he realized that threatening the girlfriend was way more effective at making the creature behave,” Rogi said, motioning with his chin toward Kyson. “But unfortunately for you, the collar is still powered to take down a three-hundred-pound monster. It would probably kill a woman your size and all it would take is one push of this button. So keep your hands off the collar or I’ll have to test it out just to see if I’m right.”
Rogi walked away with a smile, tossing the remote box casually into the air, catching it with first one hand and then the other, seemingly thrilled at the prospect of getting to electrocute her to death.
“Don’t worry about the collar,” Nadia said as she leaned against the metal grating of the cage and regarded Samantha coolly. “It’s not really for you. It’s meant to keep your boyfriend under control until Louis gets around to figuring out exactly how he’s going to use his werewolf blood and healing abilities to resolve this little transplant rejection issue he’d been dealing with. Can’t have Officer Duncan going all werewolf on us the second he wakes up. I have no doubt that seeing you wearing a shock collar will keep him nice and tame.”
Samantha began to panic at the thought of what Louis might do to Trey. She’d already accepted her former boss was a flat-out psychopath. His willingness to keep his dead son in a tank of red goo was a clear indication of that. She doubted there was anything he wouldn’t do to Trey if he thought it would get his mad experiment to the next stage.
“Oh, don’t look so glum,” Nadia gloated with a laugh. “You should be grateful there are only two cages down here. At least that way you’ll get a chance to have some quality private time with your boyfriend before Louis gives him back to me.”
Samantha’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, instinctively moving to put herself between Trey and the woman standing outside her cage. “What do you want with him?”
Nadia smiled so wide she looked like the Cheshire Cat. As Samantha watched, she leaned in closer, her eyes slowly changing, becoming larger and darker, causing tingles of fear to run up and down her spine.
“When Louis is done playing Dr. Frankenstein with your werewolf boyfriend, I’m going to suck every bit of life out of him until he’s nothing but a dried-up, old husk.”
As she spoke, Nadia’s eyes turned completely black and her skin started to take on a pale, waxy color. But instead of being afraid, Samantha was on her feet, moving forward until both hands were pressed on the metal grating of her cage door.
“You’ll have to go through me,” she ground out.
She wasn’t sure what she expected, but the peal of delighted laughter wasn’t it.
“Yes, that’s part of the plan as well,” Nadia said, suddenly abnormally long fingers reaching out to tease the palms of Samantha’s hands.
The effect of the slight contact was immediate, cold and tingly, like electricity running through her body and Samantha jerked away, earning yet another laugh from Nadia.
“Hope your boyfriend wakes up soon,” she said. “Wouldn’t want you two to waste this little private time I’m giving you.”
As Nadia walked away, Samantha dropped back down beside Trey and pulled his head into her lap, gently tracing her fingers along his scruffy jaw, praying hedidwake up soon. Even if she was terrified of what would happen when he did.
Chapter 21
As he slowly woke, Trey couldn’t help thinking that maybe it was time to get a new mattress. Because this one was uncomfortable as hell. Like he was sleeping on a damn rock. The pillow was comfy, though. Not to mention smelled absolutely scrumptious.
His eyes fluttered open, confusion hitting him as he caught sight of his old friend Kyson strapped to some kind of rack across the room. Less than a second later, the memories came rushing back and Trey was up and charging the lightweight metal door of the cage, claws and fangs extending fast. There was no way in hell that grating would keep him from reaching his friend. Then he’d find that vita and deal with her once and for all.
“Stop!”
The words were so urgent that Trey’s boots slid across the concrete as he pulled up short of the door. The scent that Trey had thought merely part of a dream turned out to be real and he spun around to see Samantha sitting on the floor, looking absolutely terrified but, thankfully, alive. The sight of her took his breath away.
He saw the heavy leather collar around her neck before he took a step in her direction, and the rage that filled him made a savage growl rumble up from deep in his chest. He reached out, intending to shred the damn offensive thing off her with a single swipe of his claws.
When she backed away from him with fear in her eyes, it was like a ton of bricks had been dropped into the bottom of his stomach. That was when he realized his fangs and claws were out and he’d partially shifted, and that in his anger, his eyes were glowing frigging neon yellow.
And Samantha could see it all.
Trey jerked his hands back, trying to force his fangs to retract so he could tell Samantha that he’d never hurt her. Then he’d tell her how sorry he was, that he should have told her that he was a werewolf earlier, and how he wasn’t the monster she must certainly believe him to be.
Then he heard the soft buzzing coming from the collar and saw Samantha’s body stiffen. Her face went deathly pale.
“You can’t touch the collar,” she hissed in a painful gasp.
Her eyes slid to the side and she looked into the room beyond. Trey followed her gaze, finding the stocky man from his apartment with the beady eyes and the wide shoulders standing outside the cage, a smile on his face and a little black box in his hand.
“That’s right,” the man said. “Don’t touch the collar and don’t touch the door. Or your girlfriend pays the price. Though I’m not too sure she’ll want to be your girlfriend anymore. Not now that she knows what you are.”
The man turned away from the cage, his finger brushing over the top of the little black box in his hand. Samantha immediately slumped sideways, her body relaxing and a sigh of relief slipping out. Trey was immediately at her side, catching her before she could collapse all the way to the floor. He threw a glare at the man across the room, making sure the asshole could see Trey’s hands were nowhere near the collar.
Trey paused for a moment to take in his surroundings, confused and concerned in alternating degrees by the creepy medical equipment, the big vat of red goo with the heavily scarred teenager inside, a living, breathing Kyson strapped to a rack on the far side of the room, and an exhausted young woman on the floor next to him. He couldn’t see her entire face, but Trey was almost certain the woman was the woman who had a thing for Kyson, Shaylee Bright. He couldn’t fathom how she’d ended up here. Then again, he had no idea how any of them had ended up here.
