“Help!”
It was her, his mate. “Gaby!”
The she-wolf snapped, “Wait.”
He turned to run to Gaby, despite his inner voice telling him to stay. Gaby was not one of them. She wasn’t his.
Kane jerked awake. Another fucking nightmare. The castle in the vast forest. This time he was hunted. A mysterious she-wolf called him Prince Steele. Gaby begged for help. What did it all mean?
He lifted his wolf head and sniffed. Instead of the scent of trees and other wolves, he caught the sterile smell of disinfectant and dog. His clothing lay torn in the cage. What the fuck? He recalled the high-pitched sound that sent him reeling in pain. Then nothing. The pain had gone and his hearing returned to normal.
A light bulb on the ceiling blinked red and a monotone voice said, “The specimen is ready.”
He growled and bounced to his feet. He glanced around. Not the same room where he’d been caged when he first arrived. Two other empty cages sat across from him and a locked chamber painted black. An isolation room? On a table lay a shackled unconscious pit bull terrier with wires plugged into its shaved head. On another long table sat electrical devices that looked like cattle prods. He inhaled. A metallic smell mixed with the stench of burning rubber accosted his nose. Electroshock. Primitive. The area appeared more of a dungeon than a research lab. Familiar, but why? The dog strapped to the table convulsed once and then his heart quit beating. Poor thing. His concern turned to Gaby. Had she gotten in trouble as his dream foretold? Was she really on his side? He paced the cage.
Dr. Tomlin and Avery Kraig entered.
He snarled and charged. The steel cage remained intact. The bars too narrow for his clawed arm to reach the fucking assholes.
Avery smiled. “Tell me, Steele, has your memory returned?”
“The wolf is too riled for me to check him,” said Dr. Tomlin.
If he called him Steele again, he’d go mad. The name he heard in his dream still meant nothing. He shifted to human form and stood. “Cut the crap, who am I?”
“I am not entirely sold on the idea that you don’t know who you are, although if you have been brain wiped, you must have committed a crime worth the punishment.”
Then dumped, unlikely. “Giles told you he found me in wolf form, drowning in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite my injuries, he brought me here.” Kane put on his ripped pants.
“Yes, he thought a wolf would be a great asset for Project Sabertooth. Imagine his surprise on learning you were a werewolf.”
He sneered. “Yet, you weren’t the least bit surprised.”
Avery turned to Tomlin. “Doctor, he appears well recovered. You may leave.”
Kane scowled. “By the way, Doc, your dog is dead.”
Tomlin turned to look at the pit bull on the table. “Shit.”
Avery scoffed. “Let’s try not to be so negligent with the wolf.”
Tomlin unplugged the dog and lifted him. “I’ll leave you alone.” He took the poor animal with him and stepped out.
After he left, Avery smiled at him. “You are right.” He pulled a chair away from a desk and sat. “I’m not the least bit surprised you’re a werewolf. I’m just surprised you were caught.”
The high-pitched sound and strong tranquilizer meant Avery knew how to capture his kind. His wolf growled. The man must die. “And you claim my name is Steele.”
“Yes, Prince Steele, brother of the American lycan King Conan Wildwood.”
He furrowed his brow. King? Could he live in a castle? His wolf snarled. I feel he is right. I belong to a pack. “Sounds like a fairytale.”
“Yes, a dark fairytale.” He tapped a fist on his lips. “Although, I’m at a loss on why an important werewolf would go on special missions.”
“You speak in riddles.”
“Does the Keep sound familiar to you?”
His wolf responded with a snarl, sensing danger rather than recognition of the name. He massaged his temples. “No.” Like I would tell you even if I knew.