Fur, Cloak and Dagger (Team Greywolf 4)
No way are they experimenting on me. It appeared the virus remained latent in females. “How long ago did Nexus receive the virus?”
Nexus looked up from her smart phone. “A month ago. Nothing happened. I still had to get rid of a bad cavity, which apparently werewolves don’t get.” She scowled at Bolton.
“And you feel normal?”
Nexus smirked. “Me, normal? Not. Although, if you mean a reaction to the chimera drug, nope.”
“Hmm. No side effects, yet,” said Emma. Humans had longer lifespans than any species of ape and monkey. Would the enraged behavior seen in the male monkeys eventually overtake Bolton’s men?
Bolton changed the subject. “Ah, here’s the first course.”
Was he worried the chimera virus would backfire? Emma gave Nik a glance. He had downed his glass of water.
Nik had no appetite for the fresh fish and barbecued pork. Bolton threatened Emma with the poorly tested shifter drug. He would not allow that to happen. Yet…the odds had taken a turn for the worse. If he shifted to his alcohol-induced monster werewolf form, he might be able to fight off Bolton and the three guards. He just needed to communicate with Emma to run. But where? He’d only seen one motor boat and a huge yacht. The server poured Nik a glass of wine. Instead, he reached for the water and drained it. Emma ate and acted as if the entire dinner party was normal, laughing and complimenting the taste of the food. Yet, he detected her rapid pulse. The woman had nerves of iron, a real pro. They discussed Bolton’s pharma business, and Emma furrowed her brow in rapt attention. He turned to Nexus. He spoke loudly since her headphones blasted music. From her scowl and mannerisms, he sensed she either hated eating with others or the sound of chewing. “So where did you learn to hack?”
Nexus drank coffee instead of wine and barely touched her food. She put her cup down, lifted her headphones and snorted. “Why do you want to know?”
“Curious.”
“Home schooled.”
“Must have been a high-tech home.”
She smirked. “Not.”
“Why did you want to become a werewolf?”
“Besides it being cool, I’d be able to tear annoying people to shreds.”
Nik smiled. “You are not worried about side effects?”
“If I would have turned a month ago, then yeah. I’m still human.”
“Besides killing annoying people, why else did you want to become a werewolf?”
“I could run away into the wilderness any damn time I pleased.”
Nik raise a brow. “You can run away anytime.”
“Yeah, right. At least, I’m still alive.” Maybe they had forced her to take the drug and she pretended she made the choice.
Nik smiled. “I’m happy you didn’t die from the experiment.”
Nexus sighed and adjusted her headphones. Her music was so loud, Nik had a hard time focusing on the other conversations. She gave him the silent treatment. Interesting that she made little eye contact with anyone and didn’t do small talk. Obviously, an introvert. He imagined her in a basement with laptops everywhere. Alone.
Nexus glared at a woman chewing loudly, finished her salad and stood. “I’m done.”
Bolton didn’t seem the least bit surprised. “Talk later.”
Nexus glanced at the prime rib, but then grabbed bread rolls, nodded and left.
Emma quipped. “She didn’t eat much.”
“Nexus is a vegetarian, which is probably why SERV never took.”
Nik noticed how Nexus longed for the meat. Maybe she would eventually turn.
Bolton turned his attention to Nik and gestured toward the view. “This life could be yours.”