Chapter Three
“Why do you keep staring at me, dude? It’s kind of creepy, and trust me, I can handle a whole level of creep,” Boyan said.
Rocco hadn’t realized he was staring.
“Sorry.”
They were out patrolling the perimeter. Usually, they left this to the beta team, but with the threat of Milton’s experiments, neither Alpha nor any of the club wanted them to have to deal with feral humans.
“Okay, now I am freaked out. Since when does Rocco say sorry?”
“It’s nothing. I was just curious is all.”
“About what? I’m not a mind reader, Rocco. Just spit it out.”
Rocco didn’t want to ask the question because he knew it would open a whole bunch of questions that quite frankly he didn’t want to answer, and it would be a lot easier for him if he didn’t have to.
“Dude, out with it!”
He glared at his friend. “What’s it like … you know, having a mate? Being mated? Do you like having Agatha around?”
Boyan laughed. “Wow, I hope you don’t ever get a mate.”
“Why?”
“You’d be bad at it.”
“Fuck you.” Although, he couldn’t exactly argue seeing as Rose didn’t want to be around him. They did share a moment a few weeks ago. Rocco couldn’t even describe what came over him. It was like one moment he was so focused, and then the next he had to see Rose. He just needed to hold her. When she opened the door, he saw how broken she looked, how the last few weeks had drained her, but he also knew she was stubborn. Everything she was going through was his fault. He’d denied their bond, rejected her, and he had fucked up. All for a good reason.
With all the bad shit going on, being a member of the Poison Wolves MC, and the fact Rose was who she was, he didn’t see a future for them. She was a recluse, and he was the opposite.
His rejection made sense in his fucked-up head, but now it didn’t seem to make any sense to him, which sucked big time. He didn’t know if it was because he was spending more time with her, or whatever the fuck it was. Either way, Rose dominated his every waking thought, also his sleeping ones.
“It’s like you don’t realize you haven’t been living, and I know that sounds poetic and stuff, but it is. When I finally allowed myself to commit to Agatha, and see we had this bond, this connection, that she was supposed to be my mate, there was nothing else I wanted. She is and always will be everything. There are no words. I know when I get back home, she’s going to be waiting for me, and just having her in my arms is going to make all the bad shit disappear.”
The picture he painted was surreal. Rocco hated to be jealous of him, because he had no right to be. He’d done this to him and Rose.
“Do you ever believe you and Agatha shouldn’t be together?” Rocco asked.
“Nah, man, she makes me a better man and a much better wolf. She is my life, and I won’t be without her. She makes everything better and more worthwhile. She makes me happy, and that is what I need.”
He looked toward Boyan and nodded, just as they heard shuffling. They both tensed up and Rocco scented the air, but the last few infected humans hadn’t smelled like anything. Milton had been experimenting with bleaches or some shit to hide the scent of his little pets.
Rocco waited, and together, he and Boyan advanced toward the edge of the forest, but it was a rabbit that bounced out, looking so cute and innocent. They both relaxed, chuckling to themselves.
“Shit, man, all of this bullshit is messing with my head.”
Boyan spoke too soon, as an almighty growl erupted, followed by a large, semi-naked figure trying to pounce on the rabbit.
Rocco reacted, taking the brunt of the force, and the large man shoved him to the floor. Boyan didn’t wait long, holding the man in a choke hold, but this was a new kind of infected human. Normally, they were panicky, scared, terrified. This man was feral and strong. He was bigger than a human, but not as big as a wolf.
He threw Boyan off him, but Rocco was able to react in time, swiping his feet out from under him. Within a few moments, he had the tranquilizer dart and he thrust it into the guy’s back, only the first one didn’t take him down. It took three tranquilizer darts to finally knock him out, as Boyan came toward him. “What the ever-loving fuck!”
The man-monster had fallen onto his chest and Rocco grabbed his arm, turning him over, and they got a good look of him.
“This is new,” Boyan said, panting a little.
They didn’t have to exert much energy to deal with the other human wolf infections. Most of them were sick, or on the verge of dying, and confused. They’d been easy to deal with.
Rocco looked toward Boyan. This man, he looked … healthy, although he was knocked out and in the land of sleep.
He looked around the perimeter.
“Are you getting pissed off that they seem to be coming to our territory?” Boyan asked. “Why couldn’t they be someone else’s problem?”
They reached down together and it took the two of them to lift the large man. He was all muscle. Rocco didn’t like this.
“What kind of shit was Milton cooking up?” Rocco asked.
“I don’t know, but this is new, and I’ve got a feeling Alpha is going to be pissed.”
Rocco stopped, causing Boyan to as well. “We can’t take him to the clubhouse. Alpha won’t like it, neither will you. We’re going to have to put him in the cages.”
Boyan blew out a breath. “You think they’re strong enough to keep him?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t risk him getting close to the pack or the females.” Rocco didn’t like this because those cages were out in the forest near Rose’s cabin. He couldn’t allow this beast to get to her, or for her to get to him.
“Let’s get his ass to the cages, and then we’ll get Alpha and the club here.”
The man began to moan, and that sent him and Boyan running through the forest. Rocco didn’t have any more tranquilizer darts to knock him out with.
Just as he was coming to, Boyan used another one of his own. By the time they got him to the cages, he was already coming around, but they’d used all their tranquilizers.
They were able to get him chained up and the cages locked. He sent Boyan to get the others, as he stood guard waiting for the guy to come around. He didn’t know what they were going to be facing.
The time ticked and the guy groaned, rolled over, and then suddenly sat up and lost all sense of grogginess. It was like he hadn’t even been knocked out with one of the strongest tranquilizers they owned, the deadliest shit they used. The wolves needed it from time to time, if their anger took control.
The man looked toward him, and Rocco tensed up, waiting.
“I don’t suppose I could claim to have been too drunk to know what is going on?” the guy asked.
Rocco frowned as he looked at him.
The other man laughed and then looked around. “This is cool. All the time Milton was hoping to find a pack, he never could.”
Now he was real fucking tense.
“Milton?”
The other man looked toward him and shrugged. “You’re a wolf, right?” the guy asked. “It’s the only way you would be able to stop me.”
“What are you?” Rocco asked.
“In all honesty, I don’t know what the fuck I am, but if you work for Milton, then you and I are going to have a problem.”
“Milton is dead.”
The anger that had been on his face just moments ago faded, and then he smiled. “About time someone put that evil bastard out of his misery.” He shook his head. “I tried to do it myself, once I realized what he was doing.”
“You worked for him?” This had to be too good to be true. They had been hoping to find another doctor who worked for Milton, but that had been nearly impossible. They had spent a great deal of time with another doctor, Elizabeth Cole, who worked with Milton, but it appeared she only knew so much, and Milton was so obsessed with finding everything out that he’d done a great deal of his own personal kind of research.
“Yeah, I worked for him, and the bastard did this to me.”
****
Rose knew Boyan and Rocco had placed another problem within the cages. As well as being awesome at cleaning up messes, she had impeccable hearing, as long as the wolf wasn’t great at stalking, like Draco. At first, she thought about ignoring it and just waiting until they needed her services. She tried to stay focused on the last of her canning and not think about Rocco, or another soul about to die.
The only problem was, she as well as her wolf were a little too nosy for their own good. She kept trying to go back to her own home, and that wasn’t working. Her wolf wanted to know who would be the next victim, and she knew this wasn’t a good feeling to have, but she found herself getting to the cages.
She heard Rocco and another voice. This made her frown. She had never met any of the human wolf mutations, just the mess they made afterward.
Rose glanced back in the direction of her house, but then her body seemed to be working against her, and she took one foot, then another and another, and she was soon looking at the cages.
Rocco kept his distance and she looked past his shoulder to see the large human male on the floor, chained up, and not even fighting. He looked healthy.
She inhaled the air, and much to her surprise, all she could scent was Rocco. This man didn’t have a smell. The stranger’s eyes met hers, and Rose looked right back at him.
“And there are more of you,” the stranger said.
Rocco tensed up and spun around to face her.
At first, she felt like she’d been caught sneaking up, but then she squared her shoulders and refused to back down. She took a step into the room, ignoring him, and moving closer.
“Don’t,” Rocco said.
He grabbed her arm, and she was tempted to shove him away, but she didn’t know if this stranger was an enemy or possibly a friend.
“He’s infected?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“This is interesting,” the stranger said.
Rose turned toward the stranger and frowned. “He’s lucid and in control.”
The stranger burst out laughing. “Not a few minutes ago. Ask your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Rose said.
The stranger tutted. “Do you not know what you are to each other?”
“Do you?” Rose asked.
“Well, there is a bond there, that is clear, but something is off with you two.” He sniffed the air. “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“She is nothing to me,” Rocco said.
Rose tried not to react to his cruel rejection, but it was impossible not to. Unfortunately, this caused the stranger to tut. “You do know your words hurt her, don’t you?”
She didn’t want anyone knowing her business or how she felt. Ever since Rocco’s first rejection, everything had been tolerated because no one knew about it, and it was easier that way.
“What’s your name?” she asked, hoping to create a distraction as she focused on the man in front of her.
The stranger smiled at her. “Graham,” he said.
This also surprised her. She expected him to put up more of a fight. She turned toward Rocco. “Are you sure he is one of them?”
“He is, trust me. The guy was going feral on a rabbit when I got him. It took three tranq darts to knock him the fuck out. Alpha and the others are on the way. You can leave, and we’ll talk to you when the time is necessary.”
“You’re telling me to get lost,” Rose said.
“You know, that is no way to talk to a mate,” Graham said.
“Shut up,” Rocco said. “You know you’re going to be dead soon.”
After her conversation with Draco, she didn’t like what he said. “Stop it.”
Both men turned toward her, and the truth was, she didn’t have a clue what to say to either of them. She didn’t want to freak out Graham, so she looked at Rocco. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“I don’t think that is a good idea. I don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“I’m not capable of anything. I’m chained up.”
“Yeah, and I saw how feral you were going after a rabbit.”
“And you stopped me. Trust me, get me some food and I’ll be more than happy to stay here as your prisoner, especially if I’m going to get her for company.”
A low growl emitted from Rocco, but Rose wasn’t going to get her hopes up that it might mean what she thought. When it came to Rocco, she would only expect the worst. She did believe he was going to deny her request, but then, as if something weighed him down, he finally spun on his heel and moved toward her, following her out of the cages.
“What?” Rocco asked.
Rose took a deep breath. “You can’t talk to him that way.”
“You’re going to tell me how to do my job?”
“I’m going to tell you to stop scaring him, or anyone else that might come here searching for help. What is the one thing they all have in common?”
“For fuck’s sake, Rose, I’m not interested in what they all have in common. I’m interested in keeping my pack safe, once and for all.”
“Stop being so stubborn minded.” She put her hands on her hips, so infuriated with this man, it was unreal. She released a growl. “They’re all confused. Haven’t you noticed that? None of them truly know what is happening to them.”
“That’s because they are human and don’t deserve what is happening to them.”
Rose clenched her hands into fists and then released them, taking several deep breaths in the hope it would eventually calm her down, but nothing seemed to be working, and all she wanted to do was scream at Rocco. The only problem was, she didn’t know exactly why she was screaming. Her annoyance with him? Her pain? Her hurt? The betrayal?
“Don’t deserve what is happening to them?” she asked, repeating his words.
“We’re wolves. This is what our fate and our destiny made for us. What we are is not for the average human.”
“And you think they all wanted this?” Rose asked.
“Of course they did. Who wouldn’t want strength, our abilities to fight, to hunt, to fuck?”
Rose shook her head. “I’m pretty sure there are a lot of women out there who don’t want an asshole for a mate.”
And with that, she was done talking to him, and she stormed back down to the cages, ignoring Rocco and going to Graham.
She wrapped her fingers around the bars, and looked through the cage. The man looked exhausted, even if he was trying to hold it together. He wasn’t hiding it quite as well as he probably thought.
“You worked with the doctor that has caused a lot of death.”
Graham dropped his head. “I had no idea what he was doing.”
“You didn’t?” Rose asked, aware Rocco had come to join them.
He laughed. “I don’t know about everyone working for him, but when I was brought on, I was told we were looking for ways to extend the life of dogs, to eradicate all their diseases.” Graham sighed. “I was an actual fucking vet. When he started bringing wolves in, I don’t know, I figured it was because dogs are supposedly descended from wolves, or some shit. Then, by the time I realized what was going on, I didn’t grasp quite so quickly that he’d been experimenting on me as well. Putting vials of stuff in my coffee, mixing things in with my food. I had no idea the vastness of his operation, or that he had several different locations.”
She turned toward Rocco. “He didn’t ask for this, and you might find there are a lot of people who didn’t ask for this. Why not ask Agatha, and while you do it, be sure to have Boyan present. I’m sure he’d love the way you feel about … everything.” With that, she turned to Graham. “I wish you all the best.”
This time, she left the cages. She sensed the coming of the pack, and she didn’t want to be there. She wanted to be as far away from Rocco as possible.
Why did she have to hate and crave him with equal measure? It didn’t make any sense.