"Well, this is going to be the best full moon ever," Quent snorted under his breath.
"I did it to save our species!" Herbert shouted back at him, his eyes glowing for a moment.
"That is something you should have brought up with the Council," Quent snarled back.
Jackson held up his arms between them, trying to keep the peace. He opened his mouth but before he could speak, the main lab door flung open.
Standing with a pistol pointed directly at Jackson, Colonel Bronn filled the doorway. The man's rage was palpable. Even from across the room, Jackson could see the veins in his neck popping out. Jackson reached for his gun before remembering he had given it to Chloe. He could see it laying on the floor next to Blake's empty tank.
"What the hell is going on here?" The Colonel roared. Jackson couldn't see any men behind him, and he hoped the Colonel had come to check on his pet project by himself. The last thing they needed was base guards coming to join in.
If Herbert had looked frightened at Jackson, he looked absolutely terror-stricken by Colonel Bronn. Jackson could barely breathe for the stench of fear radiating off the man in tidal waves.
"Put them back and hook them up," Bronn commanded. He aimed his gun.
Herbert took a step toward where Blake rested in front of his tank, but Jackson put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Jackson took a step in front of him, looking Colonel Bronn in the eye.
"These troops are mobilizing." Jackson's voice rang out across the lab. Herbert cringed.
The Colonel sneered. "Your career is over, Captain. Over. You have no idea what you are messing with here."
Jackson took another step toward the Colonel. His gaze fell on Chloe tending to her brother. Her hair was mussed in its ponytail, but she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Now that she was in his life, his military career didn't seem important any more.
"I was looking for something more civilian anyway," Jackson replied, shrugging. "You should just leave now, Colonel."
"If anyone is leaving, it's you." The Colonel cocked his gun. "Dr. Hulsey, hook them back up."
"No one is putting my brother back in there," Chloe said, rising to her feet. Colonel Bronn's face twisted with anger and he swung the gun to point directly at her head.
Jackson's blood went cold. There was no way he would ever reach her in time if Bronn fired. Chloe stood defiant as Bronn's finger trembled on the trigger. Jackson started to move, smelling the gun powder as he heard the bullet release from the chamber, barreling straight for Chloe's head.
Chapter 25
"No one is putting my brother back in there," Chloe stated, rising to her feet. She had just spent the last six months of her life searching for her brother, and now, after finding him hooked up like a lab rat in a tank, there was no way she was going to let him go.
The gun swiveled in slow motion to point directly at her. She squared her shoulders and raised her jaw. She looked Colonel Bronn right in the eye and saw only a lust for power. She wished she could have had more time with Jackson. A muscle in the Colonel's cheek twitched as he pulled the trigger. Chloe closed her eyes.
A heartbeat later, she was still standing. She almost didn't dare to open her eyes, afraid that the bullet would just be closer, but she did.
Standing in front of her, snarling, was Blake. His brown hair grew longer by the second and fur erupted along the edge of his shoulders, poking out from the now ripped seams of his jacket. She could see the fear in Colonel Bronn's eyes as a beast of his own creation stared him down. He held a bloodied hand to his chest, the red streaks leaking onto his uniform. Her brother had swiped the gun out of his hand and it had skittered across the floor and under one of the tanks. Blake made a horrible howling noise, something trapped between human and wolf, and lunged for the Colonel.
The Colonel dodged the wolf-man with more dexterity than Chloe would have given him credit for, but with one smooth motion of his clawed hand, Blake sent the Colonel flying across the lab. Bronn landed with a heavy thud against the wall, sliding down like he was made of spaghetti and landing in a crumpled heap on the floor. Blake took a step toward the wall, ready to finish off his sister's attacker, but his body wasn't strong enough. He stumbled to the floor, his claws clattering on the white cement.
Chloe knelt by her brother, her heart pounding and adrenaline coursing through her system like a drug. She had stared down death in the eye and lived. She smoothed the tousled hair on her brother's forehead and felt Jackson touch her shoulder. She looked up at him. His eyes were golden and full of concern. He touched her shoulder and she could feel the relief at her safety flood through her. She gave him a soft smile and the lines around his eyes relaxed.
Quent had his hands full on the other side of the tank keeping the other two soldiers under control. Even in their just wakened state, they wanted to go to Blake's side. The smell of blood, fear, and urgency was riling them up. They whined as their eyes went golden, trying to get past Quent and Herbert to help their fallen comrade.
"I've got him," Chloe told Jackson with a nod. He straightened to his full height and went to check on the Colonel, walking slowly across the room.
Blake struggled against the floor, trapped between man and beast. His eyes were amber and his teeth pointed from his mouth like oversized Halloween vampire fangs. With every second he seemed to lose more of himself, but yet wasn't finding his way to the wolf. It terrified Chloe to see him like this and she wasn't sure what she needed to do.
"He doesn't know how to control the change," Quent yelled at her, trying to keep control of the other two soldiers. "You have to get him to calm down!"
Chloe frowned and bit her lip; concern and fear rolled in her stomach and she closed her eyes to try and control her emotions. Determination finally found her and she opened her eyes and grabbed her brother's shoulders. Just because he was something new didn't mean he wasn't going to listen to her. She had always been his guardian and voice of reason; she still could be.
"Blake, look at me." She put her hand under his elongating chin, the fur spreading across his skin prickly and soft at the same time, forcing his golden eyes to look up at her. "Look at me. I need you to breathe."
Blake whined quietly, but kept his eyes glued to hers. She smiled encouragingly. "Come back to me, Blake. Let the wolf go for now."
Blake took a deep breath and green replaced the gold in his eyes. His shoulders relaxed and the fur receded back into his skin; his teeth disappeared back into his mouth and he resumed his human appearance.
With Blake calm, his fellow soldiers relaxed. Quent grinned at her and Herbert leaned against one of the tanks in relief.
"You've got skill, Chloe. Good job."
Jackson returned from looking at the Colonel, kneeling down beside Chloe and putting his hand on her back. His warmth made her feel stronger.
"The Colonel's out cold. We need to get out of here before any guards come." Jackson moved to help Chloe lift her brother to his feet. It was only a matter of time before someone came looking to hear why a gunshot had gone off.
Quent helped the other two soldiers to their feet, the two of them leaning against one another like sapling trees. Since they hadn't changed as much as Blake had, they had more energy, but were still weak as kittens.
"You are coming with us. You have to face the council," Quent informed Herbert. Herbert paled and shook his head. Fear blossomed in his face.
"No!" he screamed, running past Quent and toward Chloe. Quent snarled, spinning to catch him.
Herbert ran past Chloe to where the Colonel now stood. Bronn had removed his jacket and had a needle and one of the red IV bags. He gritted his teeth, in obvious pain but still proceeding. He was feeding the werewolf serum into his arm, squeezing the IV bag to force it in as fast as possible. Herbert skidded to a stop in front of him, going to his knees and putting his hands over his face at being too late to stop him from injecting himself.
Jackson shifted Blake's weight onto Chloe, stepping forward to face the Colonel. Quent was right behind him. Their faces were hard and ready for a fight. If that red substance had made Blake and his friends into werewolves, Chloe could only imagine what it was going to do to the Colonel. It made her shudder to think of the possibilities. She started walking her brother toward the back of the room, grouping the three new Weres together and hoping they would be able to protect themselves from whatever the Colonel was going to change in to.
Colonel Bronn let out a sinister laugh. "I can feel it!" He flexed slightly, the veins in his arms and neck pulsing. "The strength! The power!"
Jackson licked his lips and growled. Quent's eyes already glowed. The Colonel looked at them and laughed again. The red bag was already almost completely emptied into his system. His eyes were turning red, as though he were a demon summoned from the pits of hell. Herbert sat on his knees, looking up at the mutating Colonel with fear in his eyes.
The red bag was empty. The Colonel roared, raising his arms above his head. The seams on his shirt split open as his muscles expanded. He ripped the IV from his arm, flinging it across the room where it landed with a splat. Little red drops fell to the floor as though it had been murdered.
The Colonel growled, rolling his shoulders and feeling the fire of the serum rip through his veins. He howled his dominance, taking a step toward the shaking Herbert.
One step was all he took. The Colonel's body shuddered, and he shook his head. He tried to move, but his body refused to respond. A look of panic passed through his eyes before they rolled up in his head and his body collapsed.
He was dead before his head hit the floor.
Herbert shook his head at the dead man, sadness in his voice. "I told you, the serum will only work on those with the gene."
The room was silent except for the hum of the lights and the computer. Chloe clung to her brother, unsure of what was going to happen next. Everything already felt like a dream, so she was mentally preparing herself for the Colonel to come back to life as dream monsters always seemed to do.
Herbert rose from his knees. His shoulders slumped forward for a moment, but then seemed to find an energy. He turned, squaring them before facing Jackson and Quent. He took a set of keys from his pocket and undid the ring, pulling a brass car key from the set. He handed it to Jackson.
"That goes to the supply van outside that door. Get them away from here. I'll take care of things," Herbert told him.
Jackson took the key and slid it into his pocket. "What are you going to do?"
Herbert looked back at the fallen Colonel. He seemed less afraid now that the man lay dead at his feet. "He was the only one who knew the true extent of the experiments. He wanted all the glory, so he made sure to keep the exact reasons for my research a secret." Herbert turned back to Jackson and Quent.
"As far as the government knows, I was working with these soldiers, of their own accord, to work on healing and regeneration via the Lycan gene. There is going to be a tragic accident that will destroy the servers with the information and the entire supply of the cross-gene formula." Herbert looked down at his hands.
"And that will keep them from investigating?" Quent asked.
Herbert nodded. "As far as anyone will know, the experiment was a failure. The Lycan gene is just junk DNA and trying to activate it is a fruitless endeavor."