Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

My eyes flew open. "You're a clone?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "I prefer to call myself a natural creation of the lab. I am everything my father and the werewolf race is not."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. And yet it explained his size. And the overwhelming power of his aura. It wasn't natural. "But... why then do all your clones reek of death if your father perfected the research?"

"Because much of the research was lost in a fire that took my father's life. And because I use an accelerant so I have fully functioning adults to test. Vampire genes are more elusive than werewolf."

"So why are you working on vampire clones if your father saw the potential of werewolves?"

"Because the vampire is faster than the wolf and has the gift of shadowing. Pinpoint the sequences that give birth to this difference, add them to the werewolf, and you have a creature of unstoppable power."

"And yet you're rejecting me because I'm not full were. That really doesn't make sense, even for a madman."

His smile was condescending. "My creations will be all wolf - they will just have a few extra sequences that will give them greater skills."

"Then they are not wolf."

He snorted. "Like I am not a wolf, just because my DNA has been enhanced? No, my creations will be weres, and they will be all-powerful."

And he planned to be the force behind that power. God only knew what he intended to do with it. "Is Misha working with you in this? His company is certainly working to pinpoint the vampire genes."

Mirth played about his mouth. "Misha refuses to see the benefits in cloning."

So Misha had been telling the truth in that respect, but could I trust the truth of everything else he'd said? Somehow, I suspected not. "So he's your partner?"

"Not in Genoveve."

So, again, Misha had been telling the truth. Question was, why, when he was obviously involved not only with Talon in other ventures, but also with the man who controlled them both?

A light flashed on the panel to my left. Talon sauntered over and picked up the phone. The voice on the other end of the phone was guttural and edged with some sort of accent, making it difficult to pick up any words from where I stood

Talon hung up, then walked over to me and grabbed my face with one hand, his fingers digging into my cheeks. This close his aura was smothering, all heat and longing and need. "Business to attend to," he said, then kissed me hard

God help me, the fever rose, and it was all I could do not to arch into his body. But when he stepped back, I spat in his face. He laughed and wiped the spittle away with an arm. "We shall see how feisty you are once that fever has had time to burn."

He walked out. I closed my eyes and conjured the psi door again, pushing with all my might. This time it opened, and I didn't fall on my face

Are you all right?

Quinn's mind voice was flat and soft, yet his anger and concern seemed to resound through every fiber, providing both warmth and strength

Yes. You?

Nothing worse than bruised ribs. I'm currently locked in a cell, but I have all the hidden weapons.

As have I. I'm chained in what looks like a control room over what I'm presuming is an arena.

Is Talon with you?

Just left.

And the fever?

Burns. Right then the force of fear made me able to ignore it, but I had a suspicion Talon only needed to walk into the room and that would be the end of any pretense of control

Can you escape?

I tugged experimentally on the chains. Concrete dust sprinkled downward, making me sneeze. Probably take me a while, but yes