Page 76 of Claimed By the Guardian

No argument from her. She didn’t care what precautions they took so long as they left soon. Thankfully, it didn’t take them long. Less than ten minutes before Hank turned to her.

“Ready?”

“You have no idea how much,” she answered.

She looked around him at a circle of normal-looking guys, if “normal” meant ripped abs, loose clothing, and an animal stillness that was almost creepy. Simon and Alyssa were the leaders. Both looked calm, focused, and in Alyssa’s case, heavily armed. Then there was Vic, Simon’s beta, and Detective Kennedy. And damn that guy sure looked exhausted, but he appeared grimly official with his detective’s badge on a chain around his neck.

There were others, too, but they were assigned to stay behind. It was just the six of them with Cecilia being the only one who refused to acknowledge the danger of the situation. They were all walking to their cars when Cecilia’s phone dinged. A quick glance told her it was more information from Dr. Sherilyn, the only shifter scientist on the case. Unlike Dr. Oltheten, she refused a face-to-face and wouldn’t talk on the phone unless it was an emergency. It was all emailed info and texts, but this last one was a doozy. She read it the moment she got into Hank’s car. There was lots of data, but thankfully Dr. Sherilyn was efficient. She’d put in a summary at the top.

The poison worked to activate latent shifter DNA.

It was water soluble and would never be picked up by any water filtration system.

It stayed in the body far longer than expected. Two to three days before the body was able to clear it from its tissues.

It had massive effect on existing shifters. It made them more aggressive, yes. But also more emotional all the way around. It was subtle, but it absolutely colored everything a shifter did for days.

Cecilia had already guessed the first three conclusions, but she stared at the fourth for a long, long time. Shifters who drank the water had heightened emotions and made decisions under the influence of those emotions. Things like passion and love were artificially increased. She looked at Hank while her mind tallied up data points. Would a man like Hank really fall in love with her in the space of twenty-four hours? Was that logical?

No. It was much more likely that he was showing symptoms of the poison. What he called bonding magic was more likely the influence of the Detroit Flu.

Cecilia stared out the window, not seeing the buildings outside. He’d said he loved her, and she’d believed him. She’d ignored logic and gone with what she’d been feeling. What they’d both felt. But what if all of it was a lie because of the tainted water? What if she’d allowed herself to dream about children and a home in the suburbs when everything would disappear after the poison left his system?

Pain cut deep, shredding dreams she hadn’t even realized she wanted so desperately. A family with Hank. A life with a man who calmed her, understood her, and was devoted to her happiness. But his feelings weren’t real, and the pain of that realization nearly cut her in two. But she wasn’t going to cry. There wasn’t time for it. What she was going to do is end the Detroit Flu forever and then she and Hank could sit down and figure things out. Or maybe she’d just go back to Atlanta and pretend that this whole magical nightmare had never happened. Because it was just too much to process.

Hank noticed her distress. He even tried to touch her, but she pulled back. She couldn’t allow herself to respond now that she knew his affection was the lingering effects of the poison. She wasn’t going to expose herself to feeling anything with him until this was over. Then they’d see where they were. Until that moment, she would just hold herself together by focusing on the problem at hand.

Eventually, they pulled up to Dr. Oltheten’s lab. She climbed out and headed straight for the front door. The others parked at different locations, hidden somewhere doing supersecret spy soldier stuff in case there was a problem. They hadn’t shared the details with her, and she was hoping that none of it was necessary.

She walked in and met the front desk security guy. He was an older man with dark eyes and a bored expression, but his expression narrowed when he noticed Hank standing a step behind Cecilia. Hank hadn’t said a word, but she’d known he would follow her inside. And despite her revelations of the last hour, she was grateful to have him beside her.

His emotions for her might not be real, but hers had solidified the moment she’d seen the wolves attack him. She loved him and wanted to build a life with him. And even if he turned from her tomorrow, at least he was with her now, supporting her as she faced down this damned Flu.

“Hello,” she said firmly, drawing the guard’s eyes to her. “I’m Dr. Cecilia Lu with the CDC. I’m here to see Dr. Oltheten.”

The guard’s expression cleared. “Dr. Oltheten is excited to meet you. He’s been waiting.”

She nodded. “That’s excellent. If you’ll point the way?”

“Sign here,” the man said. He spun a clipboard around, and then he looked at Hank.

“He’s with me,” she said quickly, hoping to forestall a problem.

“No problem,” the guard said. “Always happy to include our ursine friends…assuming he leaves his weapon here.”

Cecilia’s head snapped up. Oh hell. Hank confirmed her thoughts before she could even phrase the question.

“He’s a werewolf. This is the wolves’ lab.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” the guard said. And yes, there was something definitely wolfish about his expression. “We want to solve this Flu as much as you do.”

That sounded reasonable, except now Dr. Oltheten’s words didn’t add up. Why would he hide shifter research from the werewolves?

“I think Dr. Oltheten needs to come down here to me,” she said, but it was too late. Two more guards came out from a back room and though neither of them looked particularly threatening, she knew they weren’t about to let her leave. Well, not her, but maybe Hank could escape. She touched his arm. “Maybe you should wait outside?—”

“Not a chance.”

He wasn’t leaving, so they went through the rigmarole of being patted down. Hank gave up two pistols and a knife. How had he hidden those? And she let the guard inspect the briefcase Alyssa had given her, which had nothing but her electronics inside.