Logan nodded, understanding my brother’s implied request. “All right. I’ll go back down and get things ready.”
Adam turned toward me as Logan left. “Drive to the barn and get this done. I’ll stay here to be sure everything’s secure.”
I frowned. “Someone should be protecting you, too.”
“It won’t take long. We’ll be fine.” He gripped my shoulder. “I’ll yell for you if anything changes up here.”
Becoming Alpha had made my brother’s stubborn streak even worse.
I gave up trying to talk reason into him, and drove my car around the house down the back road to the barn. I couldn’t stop worrying about everyone. Leaving them unguarded bugged me. Not that my brother wasn’t completely capable of keeping them safe—he was. But he was also our Alpha now, and his infants and Sasha’s sister were defenseless.
I didn’t like it.
When I got to the barn and popped my trunk, Gareth came over and nudged me. I was glad to see his jaw was bruised and swollen similar to my lip. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”
His dark eyes flashed, hinting at a smile. “You should see the other guy.”
I laughed even though it hurt. We clasped forearms. It was as close to an apology as either of us was going to get.
Jared walked up next, and I nodded toward the house. “Adam’s got Lana and the family up there. Can you stay close and keep watch? We can handle this.”
Jared nodded. “Sure thing.”
Gareth took one end of the blanketed body, and I took the other while Jared jogged off into the darkness.
“Luke and Logan should have the pyre ready by now,” I said.
We carried Barry’s body down the barn aisle and out the back to find the two younger Pack members stacking wood and shavings. Because of the secrecy of our nature, we couldn’t bury our dead. Over the years, I’d seen Gareth’s parents cremated, their spirits freed to join our ancestors. My mother followed a few years later.
But recently there had been too many fires, too much death. We lost Gabe and then my father in less than two weeks time. Their lives were cut short. They didn’t leave us for the next life—they were stolen from us.
Now another fire would be lit but not for one of our Pack. He was an innocent, killed because he had the bad fortune to work for me.
Gareth and I placed Barry’s body on top of the pyre and doused the blanket with oil as Luke and Logan lit the kindling. The wood cracked and shifted in the heat. We stood around the body like silent sentries.
Usually ritual words were spoken by the Alpha, comforting those of us left behind while opening the heavens above to welcome a new spirit into their midst. I felt like I should say something. Barry’s own family would never know what became of him. We had to stand in their stead.
I opened my mouth, not sure what to say. “Barry wasn’t a member of our Pack, but he was killed simply because he knew us.” Black smoke plumed into the night sky, dimming the bright stars overhead. “He was attacked and murdered by an enemy wolf while he was unarmed. I ask our ancestors to welcome his spirit like one of our own and guide him into the next world.”
The primal growl of the fire and the snapping of the wood were the only sounds as I watched the flames lick at the edges of the blanket. When the fire tasted the oil, the inferno raged, engulfing his body.
“I’m sorry, Barry,” I whispered.
Heat stung my face as I watched my friend’s body being consumed. The next one to burn would be Fonthill. Dead or alive.
Chapter Thirty
Sasha
Even though I was heavily armed, I felt vulnerable after Aren left me alone with Adam and Lana. My eagerness to find a cure for my “condition” had caused both of them pain. Nothing could correct my mistakes. I couldn’t bring Adam’s father back to life any more than I could heal Aren’s ankle. I started trying to think of a way to excuse myself and get out.
Lana worked feverishly on her laptop, scanning through the files on the flash drive Sebastian left us. “You can sit over here if you want to.”
Adam pulled over a chair. “I think your pacing is making her nervous.”
“Oh…sorry.” I hadn’t even noticed I was pacing again. I sat in the chair beside Lana and glanced at her laptop screen. There was so much data to comb through. “Could I get a pad and paper for notes?”
Adam nodded and gave Lana’s shoulders a squeeze. She sat back in her chair. “Nero shot these werewolves up without testing the serum first. When it appeared to work, they shot them up with more.” Adam handed me a pen and paper. “They didn’t know if the solution would permanently alter their DNA or if the soldiers would need regular injections.”
“So if it seemed to be working,” I pondered aloud, “why did they stop?”
She clicked a couple of buttons and turned the laptop my way. A photo of a dead man labeled Test Subject B, filled the screen. He was drenched in sweat, blood trailed down from both nostrils, and his dead eyes were wide open.
“Apparently long-term dosages led to mental breakdown and finally hemorrhaging in the brain.”
I turned from the computer to Lana. “So why is Fonthill still alive?”
“It looks like they divided the Lycan Squad into three sections. The first group of test subjects was given a low dosage daily. Within three months all of the test subjects were dead, all victims of brain hemorrhages.”
I jotted a note and pointed to the screen. “And this guy?”
“He was from the second group. They’d adjusted the dosage and dispensed injections once a week. This group lasted much longer with only one dying within the first three months.”
I frowned. “So what happened to the rest of them?”
“The shift in their DNA also brought about aggressive changes in their behavior. Most of them were unable to complete their missions because of headaches, fights, paranoia. One even refused to shift back to his human form. Nero stopped the injections and observed them to see if the subjects’ DNA would repair itself.”
“I’m guessing the dead body is proof it didn’t?”
She nodded and Adam walked away, shaking his head as he pulled his hair back from his face. “And even after they all died, Nero still experimented on more soldiers?”
“Yeah, apparently they enlisted from Packs, telling the recruits they could serve their country for elite missions, like Navy SEALs only better.” Lana answered. “Fonthill was part of the final group, according to this file. They boosted the serum’s potency but only administered it once a month for three months. From the notes here it seemed to produce a permanent shift in their DNA structure.”
I made more notes, tapping the end of the pen against the pad while I put the pieces together in my mind. “So the last group is still alive and able to shift whenever they feel like it?”
Lana scanned more of the file and shook her head. “Not quite. One had a brain hemorrhage after the first dose. The others survived but many couldn’t control their shifting. It looks like one shot himself, too. The remaining soldiers finished the trial and maintained the ability to shift without the full moon.”
Adam stopped and turned to face us. “How many werewolves are we talking about who can shift anytime?”
“I’m not sure. It looks like there were twelve? Minus the other two, there could be ten if they were still alive.” She clicked on the last file labeled Fonthill. Her brow furrowed as she leaned in closer to the screen. “Oh, crap.”
I tried to see over her shoulder. “What is it?”