Chapter 7
seVen
MY HEAD SWAM. "WE'RE what?"
Information was being waterboarded at me and I was having trouble keeping up. I had no idea if the person Drym was currently speaking to in low tones on the phone was an actual breakfast food.
Thinking about bacon made my stomach churn. Whether in hunger or nausea, I had no idea. Add that to the list of mysteries.
Kragen, still crouched a respectable distance in front of me, pinched his nose. It was an oddly human gesture. Then he took a deep breath and studied both me and Quin.
"Wyrfangs have fated mates. When we find them, and with their consent, we cement the mate bond with a bite.
Usually. It seems your bond formed prematurely, without a bite and without your consent, which is.
.. highly unusual. Drym is calling our colleague, who has more knowledge of the bonds and how they should work.
She should be able to tell us if this is something that happens sometimes. " He took another deep breath.
"She knows more about supernaturals than we do."
I still couldn't keep up, but something was weird. "Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why does this person know more about it than you?"
Quin rumbled next to me. "That is a long story."
"Summarize, then."
"We were created in a lab and held there most of our lives. We escaped recently and only then did we learn about Society—that there was an entire world of supernaturals like us that existed. We still have a lot of catching up to do."
My brain decided that was a concrete thing I could latch on to. "You were prisoners."
Quin nodded.
"That's awful."
He cocked his head. "Yeah, most of the time."
Something deep in my bones went cold. I felt like I'd jumped into a frozen lake. "What lab?"
"It was called BioSynth, but they're using a new name now."
I managed to squeak out, "Novagen?"
Kragen shook his head. "No, not that we're aware of."
I slumped in relief. For a second there, I thought I might work for the bad guy.
But that was ridiculous. Novagen created and tested new vaccines under rigorous standards.
I should know. I was the lead compliance officer.
My job was to ensure all the research and clinical trials were conducted in a safe, ethical manner.
Novagen was one of the good guys. We'd even developed a new flu vaccine that protected against several strains at once. I'd taken it several years myself and hadn't had the flu since.
I could see Quin staring at me out of the corner of my eye.
"What were you thinking?"
His eyes narrowed when I met them with my own. "I work for a lab, Novagen, but there's no genetic testing going on. The scientists make vaccines to help people."
His nose was cold on the skin of my neck as he sucked in a deep breath, then shook his head. "Haven... something about this doesn't match what you're saying. It feels... off."
"I can't say any of this is right. But believe me when I say I had no idea anything like you existed."
He harrumphed. I was offended, at first. Then I tried to see the situation from his point of view. He'd been held prisoner in the lab that created him. I worked for a lab. Even though I wasn't the enemy, it would be hard not to see me that way.
I tried to pull away, to give him some space, but my heart went crazy and I started to shiver. My breath shortened instantly, like someone had yanked a cord inside me. He pulled me tight to his side. My body sagged. His touch radiated heat. My pulse jumped and my skin felt too tight.
I found myself looking at his groin. I jerked my head away, heat rushing to my cheeks. I couldn't believe I'd just looked for a dick.
Maybe this wasn't real. Maybe I was in some trauma-induced dissociative state. Staring at the clawed hand wrapped around my waist made it seem very real, though. I snickered, near hysteria, when I saw the rainbow-colored silicone caps.
"Like I said, so we don't inadvertently slice anything—or anyone."
Somehow the absurdity of it snapped me out of the fugue I'd been clinging to. I looked around the room, and seven worried faces looked back at me. Someone was banging around in the kitchen. Must be the older woman. The two younger ones were still there.
They were hugging two of the other beasts, and it made me feel better. I was completely comfortable with Quin, because of the mate bond? The others were kind of scary. Especially the largest of them, who leaned against the far wall, his arms crossed, and his red eyes narrowed to slits.
I shrank further against Quin. "What do you call yourselves?"
"Forgotten my name already, sweetheart?"
I wanted to punch him in the side, but I was too close. I pinched him instead.
"Ow! I was just teasing. No need for physical violence."
"Says the one who left a corpse in my house."
"Touché. In my defense, I was trying to make a good first impression."
I pushed away from his chest and stared up at him. "You thought a corpse was a good first impression?"
"Well, it clearly made an impression."
I rolled my eyes.
"So? Do you have a name?"
"Quin."
I pinched him again. "I mean for all of you. Collectively."
"That smarts, you know."
"It's supposed to."
"If you keep doing that, I'm going to start associating affection with pain, and that is a very slippery slope for a creature with teeth." He harrumphed again.
I'd never been harrumphed at once, let alone twice.
"Wyrfangs. That's what they called us."
He stiffened next to me and I winced. I wanted to avoid all conversation about labs, especially BioSynth, but I was glad to have something to call them besides 'monster' or 'beast'.
Drym ended the call and joined the others in staring at us.
"Bacon is on the way."
"Please tell me she's bringing Meanosaurus." Quin was so eager he sat forward, dragging me with him.
"Of course she's bringing him. Why would she go anywhere without her familiar?"
A familiar. Sure. Add that to today's ever-growing list of things I would panic about later.
Big Scary straightened and shook his head. "I'm out."
"You're leaving?" Quin asked. "He's the only one grumpier than you."
"Exactly. Better for me to leave than explain to Bacon why I ate her familiar."
Quin gasped in mock horror next to me. "Roul! How dare you threaten that sweet baby angel?"
Roul snorted on his way out the door. The older lady appeared in the living room with a tray.
"Come on then. Everybody needs a cookie."