* * *
Lance’s memory was sharper this time. He remembered more of what he had done while he had shifted. Some part of him felt powerful once he returned to human form. Felt invincible, more than good. But another part, a part that was becoming less and less recognizable, was terrified. He was a monster, an out of control monster.
And he had kidnapped a girl, a girl who was now likely beside herself with fear. What was he doing? He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He had had no control over his actions where she was concerned. Or almost no control. He had managed, in the end, to walk away from her but he had taken some time banging on the door, trying to break it down to get to her. What if he had gotten through the door? What if he had gotten into the basement? What would the creature have done to her, what would he have to witness with his still very human eyes?
The thought was horrible but he also acknowledged the fact that he needed the girl. He had no more tissue to test but if he could harvest an egg, he could create samples and potentially find a way to reverse this and keep his cure intact. And he had to remember that this was not only for his own sake. He was doing it for the sake of so many others who were suffering from this disease. The possibilities were endless really if he thought about all the diseases he could cure with just a single egg from this girl. She was a necessary sacrifice.
After dressing, he made a pot of coffee and some food, found her something of his to wear that was warm and unlocked the basement door. He could at least make it a little more comfortable for her.
Something inside him relished her fear when he found her crouched behind the beam he had bound her to. It took all he had to keep the smile from his face while another part of him, a more human part, wanted to tell her it was going to be all right, that she was going to be all right.
“It’s okay, Rachel. You’re safe,” he said, approaching. “The episode is over.”
She looked around the beam, staring at him, wide-eyed, while he set down the food and took out the key to uncuff her. He removed the handcuffs altogether and sat across from her, rubbing her wrists.
“You can’t keep me here. It’s going to break down that door next time and if it does, if you do, you’re going to hurt me,” she said, her voice betraying her fear.
He released her hands and smiled at her. “I won’t hurt you, I am gaining more and more control over the shifting,” he lied. “You are perfectly safe here, Rachel. In fact, this might be the safest place for you.”
She still looked nervous, stuffing her hands in the deep pockets of his lab coat.
“Here, I’ve brought you some warmer clothes,” he said, holding out a sweater.
She glanced at the food. “I’m hungry. Can I eat first?” she asked so sweetly, he could only smile and nod his head. He turned and picked up the pot of coffee, just opening his mouth to say something when she lunged at him, needle in hand. The pot fell, pouring scalding coffee all over his lap. He screamed in pain even as he grabbed her wrists, just keeping her from injecting him. She fought him, trying to stab him with the thing but she wasn’t hard to hold off. She was quite small and with his new strength, absolutely no match.
He rose to his feet and brought her with him, squeezing her wrist hard, taking the needle from her hand. She tried to kick, realizing her mistake, knowing the trouble she was in. When he pushed her up against the wall hard enough to knock the breath from her, he wrapped one hand around her throat and lifted her off her feet. She fought, gripping his forearm with both her hands, struggling for breath as her feet kicked in wild desperation.
His inhale was audible as he watched her face redden. He set her down on her feet but kept her pinned as he stepped even closer, leaving not an inch between them. He glared down at her.
“That was a mistake,” he hissed.
She still had her hands wrapped around his forearm, still tried to pull him off. He watched her face contort when he stabbed her hip with the needle, injecting her with the sedative. Her eyes lost their focus then closed altogether, and he let her go as she slid to the floor in a heap, unconscious.
He looked down at her, again struggling with his emotions. One part angry, the other sympathetic. But he needed to keep his head clear. He had one goal: fix this serum, stop the shifting, and get the medicine to Dennison.
First thing he did was strip off the lab coat she had worn. Then he dragged her back on top of the mattress, turned her onto her back, and cuffed her. He scanned her body as she lay bound, naked and unconscious. His cock stirred as he took in her smooth skin, her small, round breasts stretched as they were with her arms overhead, the nipples dark. Her belly was flat and a small patch of neatly trimmed dark hair formed a V at her sex. Her legs were spread just enough that he could glimpse the pink lips of her pussy. During her examination he had been aroused even though he had tried to look at her as a specimen. Now, he looked at her purely as a woman.
He touched the hair between her legs and slid a finger just outside the left lip of her pussy. She was soft, so soft. Unable to resist, he pushed her legs wider and knelt between them. He spread both lips open and pressed his thumb inside her. She lay perfectly still, perfectly unconscious. When he reached for the button of his pants however, he abruptly stood and turned away. It took all he had to walk away from her. He wouldn’t rape her. He couldn’t. He wasn’t that sort of monster.
After some moments, once the urge passed, he took down his pants to look at what the scalding coffee had done to him, afraid for what he might find. But strangely enough, or perhaps not so, there was no physical evidence on his skin at all. He should have been burnt, but he neither felt any pain nor did he have a single scar!
He smiled to an exhale and looked down once more at the girl. One casualty for so much good. It couldn’t be helped, really.
* * *
Rachel came to sometime later, her head throbbing with pain. She remained still however as she took stock of herself, knowing she had been rebound. She shivered in the cold, not having even the thin fabric of the lab coat to cover her.
She heard his phone ring and listened, keeping her eyes closed, feigning sleep.
“This is Professor Weston,” he said. There was a pause, then “Thank you, Judy, I’m feeling better but not fully myself yet. I don’t want to infect the rest of you. M-hmm, yes, that’s right. Sorry, who called? Dr. Dennison from Wayne Labs? Three times already? All right. No, that’s fine. I will give him a call now. Thank you. Yes, you did the right thing, this was urgent. All right, good bye, Judy.”
She heard him mutter a curse and knew he had hung up. She opened one eye slightly to look and see what he was doing. This Dr. Dennison bothered him.
He dialed the phone, glancing around nervously as he waited.
“Dr. Dennison, please. This is Lance Weston.” Silence while he waited. “Hello, Dr. Dennison. Yes, that’s right, a bit under the weather… You did what? I told you I would be there.” He was becoming angry, she could both hear and see it. “No, Dr. Dennison, it is not ready to be sent ahead of my arrival. I’m sorry. Who is on his way to the lab?” This pause went on for a much longer time and Lance seemed to calm down just a little. “Fine. No, they won’t know at the lab. I’ll meet him myself. No, no need to come to my home. It’s too far out of town. That’s right. All right. Good bye, Dr. Dennison.”
He hung up the phone and turned to her. She stared back at him, realizing she was naked. He walked toward her and she sat up, trying to cover up as much of herself as possible.
“Can I have something to wear?” she asked.
“No you cannot. Not after that stunt you pulled. I can’t trust you, Rachel.”
“I’m cold.”
“I’ll turn the heat up.”
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked, afraid of the answer even as she knew it.
“I’m going to take some eggs from you. That is all. But first, I need to prepare another sample for Dr. Dennison.” That p
art he said more to himself than to her.
“I mean after you take what you want to take? What are you going to do to me then?”
He looked at her for a while, his eyes moving through a series of emotions. “You’ll be fine, Rachel.”
She knew as he said it that she wouldn’t be fine at all. She began to shiver all at once, as if just understanding the seriousness of her situation. He didn’t look at her. Instead, he went upstairs then returned a few moments later with a blanket he draped over her shoulders.
“You’re going to hurt me, aren’t you?” she asked. “I’m not going to go home again, am I?”
He only studied her for a moment, then tucked the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Shh. Of course you’ll go home,” he said.
It was a lie and she knew it.
At that point, she watched as he took some things out of the refrigerator, arranging and pouring and mixing. After some time of this, he labeled two vials, set them aside, and checked his watch.
“I have to go out for a while. Do you need to use the bathroom before I go?”
She nodded. He unlocked her cuffs and she held onto the blanket over her shoulders as he led her upstairs. She didn’t try to fight him, knowing he could overpower her easily, afraid of what he would do to her for trying. Her only hope now was Elijah.
“When I’m back, I’ll make you something to eat.”
“What if something happens when you’re gone? I’m locked up in here, if there’s a fire…”
“You’ll be fine, nothing will happen. Sit down, Rachel.”
She sat and he bound her, again taking care to wrap the blanket over her shoulders. He collected one of the vials he had prepared and placed the other one in the refrigerator. She listened as he climbed up the stairs, closed and bolted the door behind him.
Chapter Twelve
The scent led them to a large home at the end of a cul-de-sac. Marcus and Elijah slowed to a stop and looked at one another.
It was Marcus who communicated first. She’s here.
This is also the source of the scent, Elijah said.
You mean stench. Christ, it’s unbearable here!
Marcus began to move toward the house. Hold on, brother.
Just then, the garage door opened and a car pulled out. The man inside paused, scanning the area while the garage door closed. He pulled out onto the street and stopped again, rolling down his window. He scanned the woods and for a moment, Marcus wondered if he’d seen them because he seemed to look straight at them, directly into the woods where they hid.
But then the window rolled closed and the man drove off.
Marcus and Elijah shifted to human form and looked at each other. “What the hell was that?” Elijah asked.
“I swear he saw us.”
“I wonder if that is Professor Lance Weston,” Elijah said.
“I’m going to kill him if he’s hurt her. Let’s go, she’s here, still inside,” Marcus said.
The other houses were far enough away that they didn’t worry about being seen, but they walked to the back of the house, scanning the area even though there was no other scent or sound to pick up.
“Door’s locked,” Marcus said. Then, without hesitation, he threw his weight on it, busting through the back door.
“Subtlety was always your gift,” Elijah said, following him in.
They scanned the kitchen, noting the mess there, the dishes scattered, some broken glass on the floor. A partially eaten piece of meat sat on a plate, the knife and fork set on top of it as if someone had been interrupted while eating the raw steak.
“It stinks in here. It’s whatever was at Rachel’s house.”
Marcus walked toward the living room but they both stopped when they passed the door that had obviously just recently been installed.
“Look at these,” Marcus said, touching the indentations that looked as though someone had been pounding on the door. Someone with quite some strength. Or something. “She’s behind this door, she’s got to be,” he said, trying the door but finding it secured.
Just then, they heard the sound of the garage door opening. The looked at each other and both went immediately to hide. They watched as, after a moment, the man who had driven off walked into the house from the garage, too consumed in his thoughts to notice the state of the back door. In fact, he was muttering to himself and looked quite angry.
He didn’t pause at all but took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the basement door. Once he pushed it open, Marcus heard Rachel gasp and he and Elijah both charged after the man.
“What the—” the man began when Marcus jumped him, both of them tumbling down the stairs, sending the vial he held crashing on the floor.
“Marcus!” Rachel called out.
He held the man down and turned to her, taking in her small form, naked, bound, and shivering in the corner.
He roared an inhuman roar and turned to meet the eyes of the man he held by the neck. “I’m going to kill you!”
Elijah was at Rachel’s side in a moment. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” he asked, examining her already, looking at the bruises on her neck, the outline of the hand clear there.
“What did you do to her?” Marcus yelled, rising to his feet, dragging the man with him.
“Let me go!” the man yelled, grasping his head, squeezing his eyes shut in obvious pain.
“He’s changing. Marcus, he’s shifting!” Rachel yelled.
Marcus watched in amazement as the man before him opened his eyes again, the now suddenly dark eyes. His face grew red and a sound came from his chest. He pushed Marcus off with a strength that doubled Marcus’ as his clothing tore from his limbs and that sound turned into a roar loud enough to be heard for miles.
“What the hell…?” Elijah said. “Shift, Marcus!” he yelled.
Marcus stood stunned for a moment longer, watching as the man turned into what looked to be a nine foot tall creature. It was hideous, not man, not wolf, just an abomination.
“Marcus!” Rachel yelled.
Marcus shifted then and the two ran at the creature, managing to bring him down when Elijah bit into his leg. Marcus was on top of him but the thing pushed him off and stood, turning to them and roaring again. Marcus lunged at it but only managed to take him back a few steps, toppling him into the counter, sending glass shattering. At that, the creature stopped and something happened that Marcus couldn’t understand. He expected a fight but instead, the creature looked at each of them, focusing the longest on Rachel. Then, just as Marcus and Elijah both lunged at him, he threw them off, ran up the stairs and out of the house. The brothers followed but the creature disappeared at a speed much faster than theirs into the woods. Elijah remained outside watching for him, but Marcus returned to the house, shifting to his human form as he did, and ran down the stairs.
“Rachel!” he called out, running to her.
She cried when she saw him, mumbling something, trying to pull her arms free but unable to. He gathered her in his arms and held her, her naked body trembling against his as she wept.
“Shh, it’s all right. You’re safe now, he’s gone. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
That only seemed to push more tears from her eyes as she looked up at him, trying to move her hands to touch him.
“I thought you’d never come back,” she said, sucking in breath. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m so sorry, Rachel. I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere ever again.” He looked at her hands. “Do you know where the keys are?” he asked.
She nodded. “The first drawer, he put them there.”
Marcus rose to retrieve the keys, glancing at the contents on the counter of the lab. He then turned back to her, his face serious, noticing the bruises on her arms, her legs, her neck. “What did he do to you?” he asked, his voice tight. He knelt before her and unlocked the cuffs.
She started to cry again at his qu
estion and once he had freed her from her bonds, he gathered her to him and rose to his feet, lifting her into his arms.
“Shh, baby. You’re okay now. Shh…”
“I’m cold,” she said against his chest. He looked down at her, taking note of her body as it shivered, and he wondered if the shock of being kidnapped by that creature, not to mention what he would have done to her while he held her captive, was just now dawning on her. He bent to gather the blanket and wrapped her in it.
Elijah came down the stairs. “Is she okay?” he asked Marcus.
Rachel lay against Marcus chest, her eyes closed, her hands wound tightly around his neck.
“I don’t know what he did to her,” Marcus said, looking at her, imagining how afraid she would have been, how helpless. Guilt swept in, punishing him.
“I’m sorry, baby. I should never have left you alone.”
She only hugged him tighter.
Elijah looked around the lab. He opened the refrigerator and took out some vials. “I’m no scientist,” he said as he read the labels. “What the hell was he doing?”
“He had made some sort of serum. Had injected himself with it. You saw what he turned into,” Rachel said. She looked up at Marcus. “I can stand on my own. It’s okay.”
He looked down at her as if he didn’t understand.
“I want to go home. I want to get out of here before he comes back,” she said as he set her on her feet.
“She’s right, we should go before he… it… returns.”
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