"Good. Then you can show us how to undo this. Get them out." Jackson's voice was ice cold. The scientist dry-washed his hands for a moment before Quent growled. He then hopped to his feet, scurrying over to Blake's tank. Quent stood behind him, watching his every move as the scientist pressed buttons.
"I just need to disconnect the monitoring, then the hydro-system," the scientist murmured. The water tank gave a small chirp and the water started to drain. Blake settled gently to the bottom of the tank; when the water was gone, the lid opened with a quiet hiss.
"Blake!" Chloe cried out as she rushed to his side, pulling the ventilator mask from his face.
"Chloe, get back!" Jackson yelled, running to her side and pushing her away and taking her place. Chloe's face crumpled in confusion and anger.
Suddenly, Blake's arm shot up, the fingers clasping tightly around Jackson's throat. Blake's irises glowed golden through blood shot eyes and he snarled. Chloe gasped. His teeth were sharp and pointed. Jackson didn't move, his own eyes flashing golden for a moment.
Blake immediately released his grip, his head falling back into the tank as though his energy were completely drained. Jackson rubbed at the red mark around his throat before turning to Chloe.
"He's okay now. Let's unhook him," he told her quietly. She nodded, her skin pale and mouth thin. She could only imagine what would have happened if it had been her throat Blake's fingers had closed around. Jackson had his wolf strength to protect him; she would have been squished like a bug.
Her hands shook as she pulled off EKG monitor stickers and pulled out the various wires and tubes from Blake's arms and legs. He barely bled as his skin healed up over the holes as quickly as she took the tubes out. She was glad to see his teeth had gone back to their normal size and his eyes were their usual green again, though still bloodshot.
Jackson lifted Chloe's brother from the tank as soon as he was free of the tubes and monitoring devices. As soon as he was on the cold, white floor Blake started to shake. Chloe wrapped her lab coat around him, murmuring soft words and holding him to her. He clutched at her arm, his muscles tight as he slowly awoke from his drug-induced sleep.
Leaving Chloe to care for her brother, Jackson turned to face the scientist. They were about to get some answers.
Chapter 24
Jackson rubbed at the quickly disappearing red mark on his neck. He didn't know how he knew that Blake was going to wake up violent, but somehow he did. He didn't really care how he had known though, just that he had been able to get to Chloe in time. The image of her brother's fingers wrapping around Chloe's neck flashed through his mind and he shook it away. He had kept her safe.
Chloe had her white lab coat wrapped around her brother as she murmured gentle words into his ear. "It's okay, Blake. I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to you. You're okay now..."
Jackson shook his head. They still needed to get the other two soldiers out of their tanks and the three of them somewhere safe. He turned to the scientist. Quent was looking at the trembling man as though he might rip him limb from limb. Jackson had seen that look before in the field. Some marines had once gotten a hold of a prisoner they thought had information. Jackson needed to get control of the situation before Quent injured the man.
Jackson stepped around to get between the scientist and Quent, then leaned casually against the machine. The scientist reeked of fear. "What's your name?" he asked politely.
"Herbert," the man whispered and licked his lips anxiously. "Dr. Herbert Hulsey."
Jackson gave Herbert a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Herbert." Behind him, he could feel Quent bristling.
"Now, Herbert, what my friends and I would really like to know is why that man over there smells like a Were?" Jackson nodded in Blake's direction.
"I activated the Lycan gene. Using the formula, I activated it," Herbert stuttered. Jackson could smell the fear coating the man. He didn't want to push too hard, or the scientist was going to break down and panic.
"Why would you do that?" Quent roared, lunging forward for the man. Jackson caught Quent by the shoulders and held him for a moment before letting him go. Herbert looked ready to mess himself with fear, if he hadn't already.
"Quent," Jackson said calmly. "Would you please go help Chloe and her brother?"
Confusion washed over Quent's face, but Jackson just raised his eyebrows and pointed his head toward Chloe.
"Fine," Quent growled, giving Herbert a dirty look as he passed him. Jackson made a small noise to get Herbert's attention again, and then smiled.
"Now, then. You said you activated the Lycan gene." Jackson let his eyebrows come together in a friendly question. "Why would you do that?"
Herbert glanced nervously at Quent, swallowing hard and then inching closer to Jackson. "Our population is dropping. We keep interbreeding with non-carriers and having non-shifting children. It's only a matter of time before the blood line runs out," he explained, his eyes pleading with Jackson to understand.
"I see. You thought you were helping the Were species," Jackson replied. The scientist nodded emphatically.
"Yes! I had to do
something to keep us from going extinct!" Herbert pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "I have never been a very good wolf, but I thought I could help my species out this way."
Jackson made an understanding noise in his throat. Herbert was possibly the most bottom-of-the-rung, omega wolf he could have imagined. Jackson felt a bit of sympathy for him; he was the lowest of a wolf pack, but he had still wanted to help his people. It was misguided, but Herbert had only wanted to help.
"How exactly did you turn them?" Jackson asked softly. If Herbert had been in wolf form he would have been rolling on his back and showing Jackson his stomach.