Page 80 of Claimed By the Guardian

Why did everybody keep asking her that? She was fine. Though she’d just emptied her stomach and couldn’t put enough strength into her body to stand. “Dr. Oltheten…” She took a steadying breath. “He created the serum. Him and his sister.”

Simon nodded as if he’d already figured that out. “Any idea what was in those cardboard boxes they took out?”

Hank shook his head, while Cecilia started thinking well enough to ask questions. “How do you know about the boxes? How did you know when the doors locked?”

Hank touched her briefcase. “Your tablet and phone have been broadcasting this whole time. And mine.”

She blinked. Right. That was a sensible precaution. Then Hank turned to Simon.

“Did you catch anyone?”

“We’ve taken control of the building, but Wolf never showed. We covered all the exits but?—”

Alyssa cursed as she poked at her tablet. “Got the building specs. There’s a basement. I’ll bet my next paycheck there’s a tunnel out from there and a secret exit.”

“No bet,” Simon growled. Then he focused back on Cecilia. “Can you figure this science out? From his notes?”

Hank turned to her, his voice soft. “You don’t have to,” he said gently. “You don’t?—”

She stared at him. “Are you kidding?” She was finally able to grab at a normal touchstone again. Science. The solution to the Detroit Flu. All right here. “Anyone see a laptop anywhere?”

“Over there,” Simon said pointing to a work area hidden from her view by a cheap microwave.

She stood on shaky legs and started walking. Hank hovered beside her, a hand outstretched just in case. She didn’t need it, and he didn’t force the issue by touching her anyway, which actually made her sad. She really wanted him to hold her, but she was afraid that if she crumpled now, she’d never stop screaming.

So she sat down in front of Dr. Oltheten’s computer and started typing. Lucky her, the guy didn’t have password protection. What he did have was layers and layers of data that she could sink into until she forgot absolutely everything else.

“Don’t look at it now,” Simon interrupted. “Just point at what you want to keep. I want us out of here in twenty minutes.”

“Yeah,” agreed Hank. Then he looked at Cecilia and added an explanation. “We didn’t get the wolf alpha, just some of his men.” She stared at him, the message still not computing so he tried again. “They could come back at any moment.”

The wolves back here. She swallowed and closed up the laptop.

“Get a box. I’ll show you what we need to take.”

CHAPTER 22

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Dennis. Tell me what happened.”

Hank watched Cecilia, his body tight, his senses on alert. There was no reason for it. They were in the Griz headquarters and perfectly safe. Simon had installed sentries, video cameras, and God only knew what kinds of more subtle security in this converted Ace Hardware store. Since Alyssa’s home had burned to the ground, they had moved in upstairs and Simon was taking no chances with his mate. Fort Knox probably had less security.

That made this the safest place to come with all of Dr. Oltheten’s science shit. Cecilia had set up in a back corner and had been poring over them most of the night. Around midnight, she’d called Dr. Sherilyn and started talking data blots and adrenal compounds. Together they’d come up with a solution or so they hoped. A triple cocktail of existing medicines that would suppress the conversion to hybrid, assuming the victim got it in time.

Then they had to wait for a victim while convincing Dennis to try the treatment. A young woman had come in to the ER around two a.m. Dennis had administered the medication and now two hours later, everybody tried to listen in as Cecilia got an update.

“What does it matter where I got the idea?” Cecilia huffed into her phone. “It was magic.”

Hank flashed her a warm smile, but she didn’t see it. She was too deep in her argument with Dennis. Part of him was grateful. She’d been terrified not once, but twice today and the violence of it had shaken her to her core.

He’d watched her draw into herself, her eyes becoming haunted and her body strung tight. But ever since they’d grabbed Dr. Oltheten’s data, her confidence had come back. She was firmly ensconced in the one area she ruled supreme: science. And as more and more of the pieces had fallen into place, she’d come alive in a way he’d never seen before.

This was her life’s calling. She solved medical mysteries, and she would never be happy doing anything else. That was fine with him. He had no desire to stop her and would, in fact, follow her to whatever city she landed in. But what if she didn’t want him around? What if she buried herself so deeply into science that she rejected all things magic?

She wouldn’t be the first person to choose to go blind again. And the happier she got talking about chemical compounds, the more Hank felt her slipping away from him. He was already hovering too close, standing too much in her line of sight, just in the hopes that she wouldn’t forget him.

But that hadn’t helped. It had been over an hour since she’d even looked at him.

“Fine,” she all but bellowed into the phone. “I prayed, Dennis. Happy? I prayed for a miracle, and I got one. Now for the love of God—” Her words cut off as she shot to her feet. Across the room, Simon looked up. Alyssa was already halfway across the room, not even trying to hide that she was eavesdropping. “Are you sure? What about the blood work? Yes, yes, that weird enzyme I sent you.” She dropped her head back as she glared at the ceiling. “Prayer. God. Miracle. That’s how. Now is there any trace…?”