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“A species of wolf.”

Georgia grimaced. “They want a white tail, don’t they?”

Cleo nodded, her expression stark. “The only predator with the ability to kill their prey by touching them.”

“You mean, they have huge fangs, or they’re expert hunters?” Ash said.

“No, if they bite you, you die,” Cleo said. “And I mean just a nip. It doesn’t even need to be a bad bite, their venom is so toxic.”

“And the white tail wolf is rarer than a hen’s teeth” Georgia said. “We can’t let them experiment on such an incredible creature. If they do, and it’s a success, they’ll have a lethal weapon.”

“That’s where you come in. I want you in the field, monitoring the last known sighting of unusual animal movements. Someone is transporting creatures into labs for testing and experimentation. Your mission is to find out who, if they have any white tails, and what they’ve been doing.”

“And stop them,” Georgia said.

“Not yet. Recon only at this stage,” Cleo said. “We have to know who we’re dealing with, the scale of operation, and if they have partners. They’re already letting loose some of these animals, so we need to know why.”

“Because they’re sick bastards,” Georgia said.

“Maybe that’s it. But they could have a bigger pay master. If that’s true, I want to know who’s pulling the strings.”

Ash wanted to reassure Georgia they’d stop this. Her breath had quickened, and her hands were clenched, so he knew she was stressed. But if he offered her kindness, she’d snap at him. That was how she rolled, and he’d quickly learned, if he wanted to hack her off, he should highlight when she was fighting to keep her emotions under control. Sometimes, Georgia just needed to be pissed at the world. He got that. He had times when all he wanted to do was yell and beat on something. This world could mess you up.

“You’ll get your chance at revenge once we have all the information we need,” Cleo said. “I want you on this mission because of your knowledge of poisons. They’re targeting animals with venom, including the white tails.”

“No problem. I’m in. But if any of these jerks get in my way—”

“You’ll capture them and bring them in for questioning. We can’t lose the chance to find out what’s going on,” Cleo said. “Georgia, do I make myself clear? No killing.”

Georgia gave a swift nod, even though her hands remained clenched.

Cleo glanced at Ash. “Keep a lid on things. Monitor and report back. And keep the violence to a minimum.”

Georgia smirked. “You’re telling the wrong Apexian. Ash loves to hit things more than I do.”

He pursed his lips. That was true. He had a high kill tally but took no pleasure in violence. It was part of the job. “I’ll keep things contained.”

“I know you will. I’ll send through the mission details. Get ready to move out soon. We’re up against the clock on this one. If there are too many more attacks like the one recorded, cities will go into panic mode. We have to contain this and stop whoever is doing it.”

“Understood,” Ash said. “We won’t let you down.” He looked at Georgia. “Will we?”

Her expression remained tight. “Of course not. I’ll follow orders. You point me in the direction of these buttholes, and I’ll aim a good, hard kick at them.”

Cleo shook her head. “I knew I could rely on you two.”