“Position, shame, bah! It’s this attitude that keeps us where we’ve been for way too long. Do you think I care about any of that shit? I care about me and mine. The new way of the wolf is coming, Tegan Warden. Profit, muscle, dominance and our rightful place which is not alongside humans like your mate, but over them. I heard he wouldn’t change.” He snorted derisively. “Why did you ask him? Who does he think he is to turn down such a gift?” We’re better than they are. They should beg us to gift them with a wolf.”

He stood abruptly, beginning to pace. “I told Maxwell but did he listen? No. Him and his precious honor and position. Of course he didn’t. He didn’t have to. He got the lake house. He got the Pack. When I threatened to leave, he waved at me and laughed.

Bastard shunned me and my entire family! Well he’s not laughing now that I hold part of his city. And he’s not laughing when the cops are suddenly all over homeless people showing up having died from the change.”

“What?” Tegan hadn’t meant to ask but shock brought the hoarse question from her despite herself. Stupid.

He smirked. “Oh I see he hasn’t told Cascadia, or even National I’d wager. Not that Templeton would do anything about it, he’s in my pocket you know. Let me stroll right in and take over that meeting. Bet Siskiyou is sorry they sided with you now that their Third is meat. But I’ve been trying out our little renewed cocktail on the downtrodden. We’re working on refining it. Naturally until we hit right on the formula there’ll be mistakes.

Humans who pretend to be so noble don’t seem to get too upset when their street people go missing.”

Her leg throbbed and her two broken ribs made it hard to breathe, she tried to shift to be more comfortable when he zeroed in on her.

“Another lovely little thing we cooked up. Just the smallest amount of silver and purified water. Injected into a wound, especially a broken bone, it impedes healing indefinitely. Hurts I bet. I love this lab. It makes me so happy to be here.”

The dude was batshit crazy. Tegan’s head swam but the connection to Ben grew stronger. He was on his way to find her.

“I’ve been wondering what it would do if we injected it into the brain. So we shot Gina in the chest and then injected the serum into her brain to see if she’d heal when her brain couldn’t react.” He laughed, a near giggle, filled with glee. “We’ve tried it on other wolves of course but it’s not every day we get a Second who’s willing to be experimented on. Well, I suppose willing is an overstatement. My boys did get mad because they had to play with damaged goods but they like blood.”

Tegan couldn’t hold back the retching. Nausea roiled through her but she’d eaten nothing so it only hurt her body even more. She tried to shut down, didn’t want to hear any more of it. Would they do that to her? She could live if she had trouble walking for the rest of her life, but her brain?

As they edged up to the building Ben doubled over and began to shake.

“What? Ben, is Tegan…tell me!” Lex ordered urgently, his own hands trembling as he whispered.

“She’s so f**king scared. God, let’s go. She’s so afraid now. They’re going to do something to her.”

Maxwell Williams, the Alpha of Great Lakes shook his head. “We move now.” He gave a hand sign to his wolves and looked to Jack and Lex, who nodded. As a group, they moved into position, took out the guards and with one as a hostage, got into the building.

Megan and Dave destroyed the surveillance cameras as they continued down a long hallway.

Ben scented her, scented Tegan, sickness and blood, smelled her fear and her anguish.

“Don’t rush in there, Ben. Be patient,” Lex warned him. Ben knew that, he’d been on enough of these raids as a cop to know the score but his wolf itched to go and grab his mate.

Suddenly, he heard a shout and they all began to run. Jack kicked open the door and Ben tore his way through three wolves as he rushed straight to a table where Tegan lay, pale and barely conscious.

“Wait, don’t, not that one,” she mumbled as Ben started to snap the neck of the wolf nearest her bed. “He’s been helping.”

“I have. Pellini left using the back door. Be careful, that hall has booby traps!” he called out to Maxwell’s people as they ran to follow Pellini’s retreat.

“I knew you’d come.” She began to cry and Ben didn’t know what to do. His strong warrior woman, his red wolf crying in fear? He locked his knees and leaned over her body.

“You will fix her now or I will kill you,” he growled to the other man.

“I can’t. She’s got silver in her. Pellini used it before he left. It’s killing her. She has to change. I can’t make her wolf answer.”

Nina heard and with a gasp, she ran, shouting Jack’s name. Megan went to her sister’s side as Ben kissed Tegan’s face over and over, murmuring to her.

“Come on, red wolf, come out. I need you to change. I’m a wolf now too. It’s so beautiful and I want to share it with you. Please, don’t you leave me. You can’t. I demand you change right this instant!”

Jack came rushing back and Megan moved so he could get to Tegan on the other side.

“Tegan, I’m going to make your wolf rise. You have to help me. I know it’s painful out here but you’ll be better once you change.” He put his palm on her heart and the other on her forehead.