The pressure increased, the knife digging deeper. So deep he swore the doc was cutting straight to his heart. Maybe he was. Apparently satisfied with this cut, the doc removed the now-bloodied knife, laid it on a nearby tray and held out his hand for a new instrument. A large pair of what Aric thought of as oversized tweezers were slapped into Bowmans palm and he pried apart the sliced flesh, inserting the points. A strange tugging sensation in his chest, now accompanied by some pain, took his breath away.
Bowman lifted the tweezers. Arics eyes widened to see a piece of his own tissue dangling from the instrument. If hed been capable, he wouldve gotten violently sick. As it was, the procedure was repeated twice more while Aric tried desperately to think of anything but what they were doing to him. The medication didnt prevent him from closing his eyes, but he couldnt stop watching.
The last sample of flesh was handed to an assistant. Log in and test the heart tissue samples from test subject five fifty-two. I want to know if his DNA and gene strands are compatible to merge with human subject two twenty-nine.
Yes, doctor. The assistant disappeared.
And something chilling occurred to Aricthe fact that Bowman hadnt bothered to put him to sleep, was openly discussing the procedure when he and his bosses knew that Alpha Pack was onto them, meant that Aric wasnt supposed to survive.
When they were done using his body, they would kill him.
Bowman continued, moving down to stand next to Arics spread legs. Now obtaining semen sample from five fifty-two.
The scalpel was handed back to Bowman, and Arics brain reeled in horror as the doctors latex-covered hand lifted his testicles. Only when the knife descended did he realize that the numbing agent must be wearing off. Fucking bastards!
The pain was extraordinary, both bone-cold and white-hot, like nothing hed ever felt. Not even when hed been attacked and turned into a wolf. In spite of the paralyzing medication, his back arched off the table.
And the red wolf howled again and again, but only in his mind.
Hello! Can I help you?
Rowan turned to the speaker with a half-formed reply in the affirmative which promptly died on her lips. Standing right in front of her was a tall, lithe, impossibly gorgeous man dressed in skinny jeans and a snug navy T-shirt.
And, yeah. The guy had long, flowing sapphire blue hair she wouldve thought had been colored by Miss Clairolif it werent for the matching wings.
Well, fuck me sideways, she blurted.
Golden eyes sparkled with humor. An interesting idea. May I at least have your name first?
That surprised a laugh from her, and she held out her hand. Rowan Chase, LAPD. You?
The man, or whatever, took her hand but instead of giving it a firm shake, turned it over and placed a kiss on her palm. Some call me Blue, but my real name is Sariel, and Im a former prince of the Seelie court. Now Im an assistant in Block R, where I help Kira Locke oversee the rehabilitation of displaced and injured otherworldly creatures.
Her skin tingled where his lips had touched and she slowly withdrew her hand, blinking at him. O-kay. Seelie? What the heck is that?
Im Fae, he said proudly. Or faery if you prefer.
She eyed him from his glorious head to his feet, which sported a snazzy pair of Doc Martens. While the gorgeous slice of man looked like he belonged on a Paris runway, he so didnt look like any fairy in her book. But hey, whatever floated his boat. Fae it is.
What is L-A-P-D? he asked, spelling the letters carefully, as though they were foreign to him.
That stands for Los
Angeles Police Department. Im a cop, here on personal business.
Excitement lit his face. Oh! Ive seen those on the television, capturing and shooting bad guys, he said, making a gun with his thumb and forefinger.
His enthusiasm wouldve been cute if it hadnt been for the vision of Luis Garcia dead on the dirty ground that still stalked her brain. Its not all fun and games, she replied shortly. Those people on the tube are actors and the shows rarely get it right.
His smile fell. Im sorry. Its just that Im still learning so much about your world and have so far left to go that when I recognize something familiar
Hey, no sweat. Now she felt bad for ruining his fun.
Shrugging, he went on. Anyway, you must be an extremely worthy female of your kind to have such an important job.
Tell that to the media and the general public.
What? His brow wrinkled.
Nothing. She couldnt believe she was having this conversation any conversationwith a blue-haired dude wearing wings. Say, where does a hungry person get something to eat around here?
Sariel brightened again and offered her his arm. In the dining room, and youre in luck because its time for the evening meal. Ill escort you.
Sounds good. I could eat roadkill right about now. Taking the mans arm, she saw him wrinkle his nose and couldnt help but laugh. Relax, thats just a saying. I dont eat dead animals off the pavement.