Bolton moved with lightning speed and stabbed a hypodermic needle into her neck.
She wobbled and then crumpled to the ground. Fucking idiot tranquilized me.
Bolton picked her up and draped her over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I used a human dose.”
Emma opened her mouth to say something, but darkness ensued.
N
ik sat caged in the destroyed lab, again. The grid, or at least the emergency generators, were working again. Near his prison, men salvaged computer equipment and a lab freezer. Their actions silent. Even the chatter and yowls of experimental animals, killed or maybe tranquilized, had quieted.
Nik could force the cage door open, but the guards armed with tranquilizer and wolfsbane rifles watched his every move. Where the hell was Saskia? Had she gone to hunt Emma? Had the vaporo’s effectiveness expired? Even if it still worked, vaporo would not prevent them from hearing or seeing her.
Nik glared at one of the guards. Pretending he was romantically interested in Saskia had been a bad idea. She’d naturally suspect he was lying. What red-blooded werewolf wouldn’t? The door slammed opened.
Saskia approached. Her face red, fangs displayed and nostrils flared. Pissed. Maybe she’d kill him. Or worse, she’d discovered Emma escaped with his help.
She inhaled deep and then grinned, or rather more of a snarl. “Power is back up.” She smiled. “I’m leaving the island, darling.”
“You are?”
“Bolton betrayed us and left.”
Nik’s tension eased. Saskia’s current rage was not directed at Emma. Bolton must have gotten the power back on and found the data he needed. No wonder he took off. Nik hadn’t heard any planes or helicopters. “How?”
“A submersible.”
“I can’t say I blame him. The lab is destroyed and his staff murdered.”
“Like it or not, he is one of us.” She huffed. “The fool won’t stay human for very long.”
“Good luck finding him.” Bolton’s primary focus must be to reverse the activated virus.
Saskia snickered. “Actually, that won’t be a problem. He left me a message about bargaining for the formula, but not where or how.”
Nik narrowed his eyes. “What is he offering?”
“Your bitch, Emma. The woman who stands between us.”
Nik swallowed. Bolton had Emma. That was far better than Saskia having her. Before the trade could happen, he’d free her. “I told you I don’t desire her.”
“Nik, your wolf does not lie.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t sense your heart rate rise when I mentioned her.”
“You plan to just hand him the formula for a human?”
“To taste her blood on my lips, I’d give him all the gold in the world. Then again, why not keep the formula and your pet?”
“Come away with me. To Russia. We can start our own pack,” offered Nik.
Saskia stared at him dreamy-eyed. “Tempting. But as my uncle once said, loyalty is guaranteed only after your brain is re-wired.”
“Must I remind you the memory wipe drugs your uncle used on Slade and me never worked?” Surely she knew that. Maybe not. As far as Nik knew, everything in her uncle’s compound had been obliterated with a cluster bomb.
Saskia glowered. “You require something stronger than mind-altering drugs. Something to shock you into becoming my true mate.”
“Electrotherapy, like in insane asylums. A bit outdated, isn’t it?”
She smiled. “I know of a psychiatrist who, in fact, worked for Russia’s intelligence.”