by Sarah Noffke
“Because it’s what he knows. My guess is that most of the werewolves are going to travel to their hometowns, just as I did. It’s in the wolf’s instinct to return to their original pack,” Zephyr said, his voice calm and not a hint of condescension in it.
“Well, it looks like we were right to pick you as the alpha dog,” Rox said, sliding off the table and standing.
“Why was he elected the alpha?” Connor said, a crease placing itself between his green eyes.
“Because he’s got great hair,” Rox said, pointing at Zephyr and then circling it like cutting out a picture of his head.
“Don’t do things that make me throw up,” Adelaide said and Zephyr just caught a hint of power in her voice, something suddenly different about it.
“Don’t try and use mind control on me. And really, what a broad request. I fear everything I do will make you queasy because I’m not a prude,” Rox said to the girl.
Adelaide narrowed her eyes at Rox, a new anger boiling in her expression.
“Did you just say ‘mind control’?” Zephyr said, looking at Rox and then Adelaide. “Is that your gift?”
“My gift is tolerating wankers like you all,” Adelaide said.
“You are a saint among us demons,” Rox said. “Well, come on, Zeppy. Looks like you and me need to go to Salt Lake City.” She waved Zephyr forward.
“Hold on a second. Who do you think you are? I call the shots on this case,” Adelaide said, bolting to a standing position.
Rox gave a tired sigh. “Cool. Go ahead and order us to go to Salt Lake City so we can be on our way. And I want to take that GAD-C transport you mentioned because flying sucks.”
“You suck,” Adelaide said, turning her attention to Zephyr.
“Although that’s technically true, let’s not discuss that here. And go ahead and admit that Zeppy and me going to bring Kaleb in is the best choice. We’re both trained for these types of missions, whereas you’re more of an administrator,” Rox said.
“I’ve got plenty of field—” Adelaide paused, her face shifting to a calmer expression. “You know what, yes, my little soldiers, please go do the dirty work for me. I’m going to sit in the big girl’s seat and determine our next step in the project, which obviously is too complex for your brain which has suffered from inhaling too much hair dye. Bring me my werewolf while I dig into Olento Research.”
“Yes, master,” Rox said, bowing slightly.
“However, you two aren’t going tonight,” Adelaide said, which produced a confused expression on Rox’s face.
“What? Why?” she said.
“Because if my calculations are correct based on what Zephyr told me, then these dogs,” she said pointing at the two guys, “are due to change into werewolves.”
Zephyr nodded, his hands already in his hair. He dreaded the change. The loss of control. “It’s true. We change at least once a week. It will probably happen tonight,” he said.
“Looks like we get to lock you puppies up and watch some fun,” Rox said, rubbing her hands together.
“Z, take Connor to the safe room where we held you last time. You and FBI-hoe-bag will leave first thing tomorrow. Aiden will teach you how to use the GAD-C for transport to Salt Lake City,” Adelaide said.
Zephyr only nodded, his eyes briefly meeting those of Connor, who complied, although he looked reluctant. Maybe it was a reaction to the change approaching, Zephyr thought. Or maybe it was the strangeness of the Lucidite Institute.
When the door for the strategic department slid closed Adelaide spun around to face Rox, who was much taller than the other girl, especially in three-inch heels.
“Let me make myself clear. I’ve allowed you on this case. Trent encouraged it. However, if I throw a big enough fit then he will have you pulled. You’re new here, but I have a certain control that’s unique, and I don’t mean my mind control. What I say, Trent will do,” Adelaide said, her words already hot with the anger she’d been suppressing. And in truth, she did have a power that no one else owned at the Institute. Unfortunately, it was given to her simply by the fact that she was Ren Lewis’s daughter. He was the most respected Dream Traveler to ever live and by connection to him she could have anything she wanted. And she’d only allowed Rox to stay because of the strange message from the book, which she’d absentmindedly picked up and held in both hands.
“So what are you getting at? Where is this threat going?” Rox said, blowing a bubble with her gum. It made a soft popping sound before she pulled it back in her mouth.
“I said before, but you obviously need it repeated. These men are under our supervision. They are not potential love interests. So if I find out that you’ve so much as batted your fake eyelashes at one of them, especially Zephyr, then I’m throwing your ass back to the fucking Pentagon where you can crouch under desks, like you’re used to doing,” Adelaide said, her cockney accent strong due to her emotion.
“I’ve just got a flirty personality. Don’t read into things,” Rox said.
“Good. Then let’s shake on this deal, that you’re going to remain professional at all times, especially when out in the field,” Adelaide said, extending a hand to the girl.
Rox eyed it for longer than Adelaide liked, but then reluctantly she extended her own and they shook hands.
That brief touch was enough for Adelaide to determine what she already suspected. From popping into Rox’s head, she knew the girl had lied and she in fact harbored a strong attraction for Zephyr.
“He doesn’t like you,” Adelaide said, pulling her hand from Rox’s. “Read his file. You’re not his type because he doesn’t have one. Zephyr is committed to the job, and currently he works for me,” she said and turned and left.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“The medical well-being of employees is the top priority of the Lucidite Institute. The Healing department is there to assist all employees.”
- Lucidite Employee Manual
Morgan stood leaning against a giant oak tree on the Magner family lawn. He lurked in plain sight. Usually a person on a stakeout would be more inconspicuous, especially since it was early morning and Mr. Magner was leaving the house for work. Through the front window, Morgan had watched the older man load up his briefcase at the kitchen nook table. But neither Mr. Magner nor anyone else could see Morgan. They didn’t know he hadn’t brushed his long brown hair and was wearing a loud red shirt, also not the typical dress for a covert mission. However, none of the rules applied to Morgan, since like his twin sister, he was invisible. Calling about that strange advertisement had been the best thing he’d ever done. In a sea of newsprint the words soared off the page. “Test subjects needed for trial experiments. Participants will be paid.” That was an understatement. Not only had Olento Research paid each of them ten thousand dollars in cash, but now he and Kris could become invisible at will. Morgan’s sister had been reluctant about the idea, but Mr. Lenna was intrigued when he learned Morgan had a twin. He’d offered to double the five-thousand-dollar payment if she agreed to participate in the testing. Apparently, their genetic similarities made it easier to experiment on both of them. And now Olento Research had two invisible people who could spy and steal for them.
Kris was slender and nimble, which made her the perfect thief. Months ago she’d waltzed into the Pentagon and stolen records. Apparently that’s how Mr. Lenna had determined which men to recruit for the werewolf project, Project Canis Lupus. Morgan only knew that because his invisibility made it easy for him to spy and his curiosity made it impossible not to indulge in that activity. Mr. Lenna compartmentalized all parts of his projects, but they were too fascinating for Morgan and Kris not to dig up details. She’d been just as curious as him about what was going on at Olento Research behind the curtain.
And now he was in Salt Lake City spying for the strange company, on the lookout for Kaleb Magner. Morgan worried about an altercation with this half man, half wolf. However, he was strong and it was difficult to fight what one couldn’t se
e. He just had to get close enough to tranquilize the guy, then he could call in Grant’s team.
Mr. Magner set his briefcase down as he locked the bottom and top locks of the front door. So that probably means the other family members are still asleep at this early hour, Morgan thought. Then the man with a head full of gray hair grabbed his briefcase and set off for the Volvo parked just outside the three-car garage. Poor guy worked for his family and didn’t even get a spot inside his own garage. It probably contained his wife’s SUV, the younger daughter’s sports car, and maybe an old custom hot rod that Mr. Magner worked on during weekends.
When the older man passed, only feet from where Morgan stood, the invisible guy whistled. With a jerk of his head, Mr. Magner spun around, his eyes tightening on the spot where Morgan stood. Then his gaze trailed up to the tree, full of leaf-covered branches. Probably assuming the strange whistle came from a bird, he turned back for his car.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Employees are granted time off for a one-week vacation each year.”
- Olento Research Employee Manual
“Why do you think you didn’t change last night?” Rox said, pointing to a room up ahead.
“I’m not sure,” Zephyr said, rubbing the back of his neck. Sleeping on the cot in the safe room, next to Connor, hadn’t made for a restful night. However, Zephyr hadn’t changed into a werewolf, so he got more sleep than he would have otherwise. He’d switched to sleeping nights since coming to the Lucidite Institute because these people weren’t nocturnal. Now he wished he’d spent the night dream traveling since Adelaide informed him it was much more restorative than actual sleep. She told him that morning that he would have known that if he’d read the Dream Traveler Codex she’d given him; however, he’d never really liked reading. Still, he’d force himself to read the large volume when he got back.
“Usually I change once a week, but it’s not always exactly seven days apart,” he said to Rox.
“Kind of like your period. Usually it comes every twenty-eight days but sometimes less, sometimes more,” Rox said when they entered Aiden’s lab.
“You just compared a genetic mutation done to me to a woman’s monthly cycle,” he said, shaking his head at her. He actually wanted to laugh at her observation, but didn’t want her to know he found it amusing. A stone face and monotone voice was what he was trying to keep.
“Yeah, I think your little ‘change,’” she said with air quotes on the last word, “is just like PMS. You now know exactly what it’s like to be a woman,” she said, trotting over to where the guy in the white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses stood smiling. Again she was wearing heels, this time black knee-high boots. Considering last time she’d managed to successfully fight a handful of guards in heels, Zephyr concluded that he shouldn’t doubt her so much. If she got the job done while looking like a diva, then maybe he should actually be impressed, rather than repulsed.
“I don’t think I know exactly what it’s like to be a woman. You all are complicated creatures, more so than a werewolf,” Zephyr said.
“That they are,” Aiden said, having heard the last part of their conversation. “So, you two are here to learn how to use the handy-dandy GAD-C.” The scientist clapped his hands together enthusiastically.
“Is this it?” Rox said, trotting over to a machine that took up an entire corner. It in essence looked like a high-tech examining room table with a row of blue lights around its surface and a strange orb-projector above it. Buttons and knobs lined a panel behind the huge machine.
“Indeed it is,” Aiden said, strolling over and pausing beside Rox.
“I read the protocol in the Dream Traveler Codex and think I can manage the process for both myself and Zephyr,” she said.
Damn it, why hadn’t he read that manual? Zephyr thought.
“Great! Yes, just lie down on the bed, dream travel to the location for the GAD-C in Los Angeles, and then generate your body. Then you’ll take the jet to Salt Lake City from there. Sorry, but we don’t have a convenient GAD-C located in that area, so a bit of Middling travel is still needed. However, this will still make it faster,” Aiden said and then turned to Zephyr, who hadn’t moved from his spot. “You will dream travel after Rox and then she’ll generate your body. Cool?”
He nodded, not at all liking the idea of dream traveling and generating his body thousands of miles from where his physical form lay. It all felt too much like science fiction. However, he was a werewolf now and needed to get accustomed to this strange new world. And he was also in favor of staying off the submarine. It wasn’t a pleasant form of travel and being cooped up in a small compartment with Rox again wasn’t something he desired.
Zephyr closed his eyes shortly after lying down on the cold surface of the GAD-C. Dream traveling was one of the strangest things he’d ever done—well, besides ripping into a man’s throat with his fangs and feasting on his blood and flesh. Strange things were relative in his new world. Over the last few days, he’d grown more confident with dream traveling, having practiced as Adelaide ordered. He’d been able to dream travel to all of the locations on the list she gave him. It was unfathomable to him at first that his solitary intention would pull his consciousness from one place to another. And yet, in one night he found himself popping between movie theaters in the suburbs of Boise and then to a research station in Antarctica. He hadn’t felt the cold or any other elements when in the various locations. But he could see the people, probably Middlings, operating in the physical realm, although they couldn’t see him. He would pass right through anything in the physical realm that had a consciousness. Adelaide had informed him that he could move objects from the dream travel realm, but doing so was against Lucidite law since it created a poltergeist effect for those in the physical world not dream traveling.
With a slow inhale to a four count, Zephyr focused on the exact location of the GAD-C in Los Angeles. This was the city where the submarine had dropped off and picked him up twice now. It was also the closest large city to the Lucidite Institute and the place where the most reliable GAD-C could be found. Zephyr wished he didn’t have to take a flight all the way to Salt Lake City while sitting next to Rox, but he wasn’t sure why the urge to put her at a distance was so intense. More and more she looked at him in ways that made him feel different. Made him want to know her differently. He shook off this bizarre new interest and focused on his location. An instant later he was pushed into the silver tunnel. It was the transport device, as Adelaide had called it. Each experience of dream traveling involved moving through these tunnels and the subconscious making the automatic decision to take certain turns until it negotiated the path, depositing Zephyr safely in the place of his choosing.
He appeared in the dream travel realm a moment after Rox. She stood appraising him, her hand on her hip and a wolfish grin on her face.
“Did you enjoy the ride?” she said.
He shook his head and stared around at the small office-like space where he found himself.
“Are you dream traveling or have you generated?” he said to her.
“I’m still in dream travel form or otherwise I couldn’t see you,” she said, giving him a “duh” expression.
“Oh, right,” he said and then focused on the machine taking up much of the small space. It wasn’t as new-looking as the one at the Institute.
“Hop up here and I’ll generate your body first. Then I’ll go,” Rox said.
“Uhhh…” He wasn’t sure he wanted this newbie generating his body for her first time around. “Why don’t you go first?”
Rox stepped forward, an uncomfortably close distance from Zephyr. “Why? Are you scared? Think I’m going to mess up and generate your body so you’re suddenly some strange monster?” she said and her eyes looked so bright from that distance. Something in Zephyr unbuttoned. A carnal yearning that he knew at once belonged to the wolf. It made him want things he shouldn’t have. Think things that obscured his reason.
“Never mi
nd,” he said, shaking his head. “Generate the man in me and leave the wolf behind, would you?” Easily he pulled himself up so he was lying on the table of the GAD-C. It was strange to have a body in dream travel form and then also not. Apparently, it was just the mind’s representation of the human form since it can’t be unthought. People have bodies, no matter what. Even when dreaming. He looked over at Rox and noticed how her form looked almost the same as in the physical realm: long, slender legs, lean, muscular arms, collar bones peeking out of the pink leopard blouse. However, she was a shade lighter than in the physical realm, like a ghost of herself.
“Are you ready to do some science?” she said, turning knobs and smashing down buttons.
“No,” he said with a grunt just as a violent shiver rocketed through his body. It emptied him of air. It brought with it a sea of aches and sharp pinching sensations to his skin. Zephyr’s organs all screamed for attention, as though each were about to burst. And his head seared with a blue fire, one that he was certain would kill him.
And then it was gone.
All the pain, the torture. Totally gone. Everything had disappeared at once and all that remained were the howl-like screams that had started when the agony set him ablaze. Zephyr clapped a hand to his mouth and shot to a standing position. He was alone in the small room, but he knew that wasn’t really true. It was merely that he couldn’t see Rox because she was in the dream travel realm and he was now in the physical world. With a cursory glance down, Zephyr let out a breath of relief that his body appeared the same as it was, unchanged by the GAD-C.
Zephyr pulled the blacked out Audi SUV up to the curb opposite the Magners’ mansion. The Lucidites had arranged everything from the private jet to the vehicle waiting for them at the airport. This was a well-endowed organization that provided the best of everything for its employees.