Chapter 7
Claire woke slowly feeling lazy and peaceful.
She stretched, expecting to find warm legs and strong arms. There was no one in bed with her.
Opening her eyes, she sat up and looked around as the night before rolled back through her mind.
Wanting to kill some time while she waited for Raphael to return from the bunkhouse, she took a shower.
He still hadn’t returned when she was finished.
Victor convinced her to lie down and rest. She was desperate to see Raphael and hear what had happened at the bunkhouse, but emotional exhaustion and lack of sleep conspired against her.
She drifted off and that was the last thing she remembered until she woke up a short time ago.
Jason was expecting her at the laboratory, but there was no way she would be able to concentrate on Oratov Syndrome until she saw for herself that her friends were unharmed.
She wasn’t sure where Victor and Raphael had gone. However, she knew one thing for certain. If any hint of danger remained, they wouldn’t have left her alone. She dressed and put on her coat, but her confidence was shaken when she found a security team posted on the front porch.
“What’s going on?” She didn’t know their names, but she had seen both before, so they didn’t make her uncomfortable. “Where did my mates go?”
“They’ve gone below to explore the tunnels,” one guard said.
“They found an opening within the walls of the village,” the other added.
“Damn. That can’t be good.” She stepped down off the porch and wasn’t surprised when the guards followed her. “Is it alright if I drop by the bunkhouse before I head over to the lab?”
“Our only directive is to go where you go.”
She accepted the explanation with a nod and headed up the hill.
Not waiting for the guards to assist her, she heaved open the wooden door and entered the bunkhouse.
As before, the guards remained outside. Breakfast was well underway, but the neat rows of matching tables and chairs had been replaced by an assortment of mismatched furniture.
Okay, this was different. Not wanting to become the center of attention, she walked over to the nearest table and sat down.
“Do the wolves account for the redecorating or did you run out of firewood?” She kept her tone conversational.
This was the third attack this group of women had endured.
Were they becoming accustomed to the fear and violence, or was the ongoing trauma wearing them down?
Claire’s emotions were trending heavily toward the latter.
She wasn’t sure how much more of the uncertainty she could take.
Olivia, the blonde on Claire’s right, nodded. “We were all upstairs, but we heard the crashes and bangs.”
“And the growls and howling.” Verrin sat across from Claire. Her thin face was pale, dark eyes wide and haunted. “And the screaming. Don’t forget the screaming.”
Claire tensed, but didn’t question Verrin directly. The attack must have been a lot more violent than Claire first thought. “Was all the fighting down here?” she asked carefully. “None of the wolves made it upstairs?”
Olivia looked at Verrin meaningfully, then nodded toward the buffet table. “I need some more coffee. Walk with me.”
Understanding the silent message, Claire followed Olivia across the room.
“The wolves got all five of the women in room six,” Olivia told her. “Verrin isn’t dealing with last night very well. She’s close friends with Shannon and Shannon was in that room.”
Claire searched her memory, trying to remember the names of the other four women.
Easily interpreting Claire’s expression, Olivia listed, “Evelyn, Tianna, Jill, and Luna.”
Claire tensed, trepidation forming a knot in the pit of her stomach.
Luna and Evelyn had medical training and a strong background in genetics.
Claire knew because she’d worked with both during her years at Nuevo Biotech.
“Is there a reason that room was singled out?” The similarity in their education and background had to be a coincidence.
There was no way the wolves could have known.
Olivia shrugged. “It’s at the end of the hall and there’s a huge tree just outside the window. Who knows. It might not have been anything more significant than that.”
Claire wanted to believe that, but the tension in her belly refused to release. “Damn.” Claire shook her head. “I don’t think anything can stop the wolves from attacking, but I thought we’d be safe inside these walls.”
Olivia’s eyes narrowed and her expression hardened. “Hasn’t anyone told you about Heather?”
Claire’s heart lurched and her mouth went dry. “What about her?”
“One of the raptors recognized her from Nuevo Biotech. He was so angry, I thought he’d kill her right then and there.”
Claire felt sick all over. Raphael and Victor knew she was close to Heather. Why wouldn’t they have told her about this? “Where is she? What happened?”
“He threw her over his shoulder and went down the back stairs. No one has seen her since.” Olivia crossed her arms over her chest as resentment froze her gaze.
“Raphael just stood there and let it happen. In fact, they all did. I guess their offer of protection only works against the wolves. Other raptors are welcome to abuse us.”
“I didn’t know anything about this,” Claire said defensively. She knew a confrontation was a possibility. That’s why she’d pushed so hard to ensure that Heather would be taken back to the feline village. Well, the worst happened. What should she do now?
“Odd that neither of your mates bothered to tell you,” Olivia continued, her tone as cold as her eyes.
Claire had been asleep when Raphael returned, and the males were gone this morning when she woke up. But had they intentionally left the cabin to avoid the conversation, or were they with Gabriel right now? She couldn’t convict them of disloyalty until she had all the information.
“I’ll go find out where she is and why nothing was done to stop it,” Claire promised.
“Good luck with that,” Olivia muttered dismissively then turned toward what was left of the food.
Claire pulled on her coat and left the bunkhouse with her stomach tied in knots.
Despite Heather’s determination to avoid Patrick, Claire was relatively sure he had her.
She strode through the village, but she wasn’t sure where to go.
She didn’t know Gabriel well enough to confront him without her mates, so she decided to return home.
Raphael’s office was in their cabin. Hopefully he’d returned while she was in the bunkhouse.
She eased open the door and sighed. The living room was empty.
If Patrick and Gabriel were also searching the tunnels, there was a slim possibility that they’d left Heather unattended.
The most obvious place for them to have secured her was in their cabin, but they could have stashed her in any of the empty cabins just as easily.
Still, she had to start her search somewhere.
Shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat, Claire turned to the guards and smiled warmly. “I need to speak with Gabriel, but I don’t know where he lives.”
The guards looked at each other, then the taller one smirked. “If your mates wanted you to know where your friend is, they would have told you.”
“Why don’t you go to work,” the other guard suggested bitterly. “My nephew has Oratov Syndrome. He’s still waiting for a cure.”
She wasn’t surprised that he knew she’d joined Jason’s team. There were no secrets in Eagle Village. She nodded and started to turn back around, then looked at the one who’d spoken first. “How well do you know Patrick? Is my friend’s life at risk?”
He shrugged with a nonchalance that made her want to slap him. “She survived the night, so he won’t kill her. But that’s all I’ll predict.”
She nodded again then hurried off along the main path.
Claire was out of ideas. If the guards wouldn’t help her find Patrick’s cabin, then she needed to work on Raphael.
He was the only one with influence over Gabriel.
And Gabriel was responsible for Patrick.
She wasn’t happy with the conclusion, but wandering around the village and peering into windows was a foolish waste of time.
Jason greeted her with a cautious smile as she entered the lab a few minutes later. “I heard the wolves tried to kidnap you last night. I’m so glad they didn’t succeed.”
“So am I.” She hung up her coat and moved to her station before she continued. “But I’d sure as hell like to know who told them where to find me. Out of all the cabins in this village, they came straight to mine.”
“They weren’t lashing out at you,” Jason predicted. “They were retaliating against the raptor that attacked their stronghold.”
“I thought about that, but how did they know Raphael was courting anyone? The attack still stinks of a spy.”
“There are spies in every village,” Jason said with a shrug. “At least our leaders figured out how the wolves got past the guards.”
Claire gave in with a nod and Jason changed the subject.
Grateful for the distraction of work, she focused on her research for the next few hours. She used experiments and simulations to occupy her mind. Oratov Syndrome was a genetic mystery, and she loved unraveling mysteries.
“Jason.” She motioned him over toward her station. “I’m not sure this is significant, but I keep seeing this variant in the PSEN2 gene. The entire chromosome looks odd to me, but—”
“It’s part of Hyptos tribe’s intentional mutation. There are transcribed sections before and after.”
He sounded dismissive, but the involvement of the original transformation seemed to support her hypothesis. “And is the variant only found in Hyptos tribe.”
“Yes.” He turned to her, offering his full attention. “Explain what you’re thinking.”