––––––––

Cole had paused to sharpen his hearing and listen to the conversation between Tess and someone else.

Who the hell was that guy?

Gray Wolf had been acting half decent while Tess was around, but he became agitated the minute she left.

When some strange man spoke to Tess, his wolf had practically chewed its way out.

That hampered Cole’s efforts to reach the IV to force the special protein stimulant into his system.

If that was a medic talking to Tess, Cole might have to wait for them to come take his vitals. If so, maybe he could convince them to open the valve for his new IV flow on their way out.

Hell yes. This could work.

Protect mate. Gray Wolf was working himself into a lather.

Cole hissed, “Stop it. She is not our mate.”

Wrong. More snarling.

Dropping his head back, Cole tried to calm his wolf so he could act normal around the medics. Maybe this would be the last visit for the night.

Cole worked to focus his only uncovered eye. Slowly, he made out a design on the ceiling.

The door opened and a guy with a toothpaste smile walked in. He’d dressed up his image to fool everyone, but Cole saw something unnatural when the light struck his eyes.

That was no human.

Nor was he a shifter.

Could he be a Cadell? Cole’s gut instinct made his muscles tense, but he could only identify a Cadell’s magic for sure while in animal form.

A Cadell working with SCIS?

Of course, because it would give Cadells, the Gallize enemy for many generations, access to all shifters.

I’m so fucked.

But ... maybe not. Cole’s eagle tattoo, which marked him as Gallize, had been on the left shoulder. Getting burned would have destroyed the tattoo, right?

For now, he’d be thankful for the charring on that side of his body since it protected his identity. Otherwise, if this guy was definitely Cadell, he’d know immediately that he had a Gallize shifter in his possession.

A badly wounded Gallize.

Cadells hated Gallize shifters. The magic that spawned the first Gallize in the sixth century had been denied to Cadellus, a dangerous witch. She bred Cadells for the sole purpose of killing Gallize shifters and taking their mates.

“I’m Theo Brantley, in charge of security for the southeastern division of SCIS. I partner with Tessella on investigating extreme shifter activity, in particular the Black River pack crimes.”

Cole clenched his jaw at this being speaking Tess’s name, but he said nothing. Brantley must not know that Cole was a Gallize, because Cole was still alive.

All Cole could do for the moment was study the guy through his swollen eye. His vision was starting to focus better every second, now that the tranq drip had been shut off. He could definitely see an unnatural look to the man’s eyes. Based on the weathered skin and slight lines at the corners of his eyes, Cole put this guy around forty ... if this Brantley were human, which Cole seriously doubted. He’d go with his first gut reaction until someone proved him wrong.

“What’s your name?” Brantley asked.

“Colin.”

“Last name?”

“O’Donnell.”

“That’s a start. Tessella indicated you don’t recall anything about the explosion.”

“I don’t.”

Brantley leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking casual, but Cole’s ears perked at the sense he was being hunted. His wolf had quieted again for some reason. When the two of them were in sync, his wolf would become very still with Cole when they were in enemy territory.

Evidently Cole wasn’t the only one who smelled an enemy in the room.

The corner of Brantley’s lips tipped in a smile meant to disturb his prey. “I’m not as gullible as my associate. You have until tomorrow morning to pull your story together. If there are any holes, there are no second chances.”

The door opened again and two men in hospital scrubs walked in.

Cole revised that assessment. Two shifters wearing medical clothing walked in. One had dirty fingernails.

These weren’t medics.

What the hell did they plan to do?

In an effort to stop them from adjusting his IV feed just yet, Cole said, “I’ll tell you everything I know tomorrow. I should be ready to shift and heal by then. Once I do, I’m hoping the rest of my memory returns. I’m getting bits and pieces. Not surprising considering the damage my body has suffered, but ... I’ll be better tomorrow.”

He hoped to be much improved in about an hour if he could convince the so-called medics to lower his bed just a few inches. He’d claim a headache and see if they bought it. Two more inches and he could definitely get his fingers on the IV.

Brantley released his full grin. “I’m certain you’ll be much better in the morning. These fine men are going to help you shift. They’ve brought a special mix we use for shifters who can’t call up their animal. They tell me yours is a wolf, which is quite a coincidence when you think about being at a scene where we were told we’d find a Black River pack member. But let’s save that for tomorrow. In the meantime, your animal will be released and these men will ensure you don’t hurt yourself.”

Hell no. If they forced his wolf to the surface, Cole wouldn’t be healed enough to defend himself against two healthy shifters. Jackals at that.

He tried to keep his heart rate from spiking, but his wolf hadn’t liked this any more than he had. The beast went wild with the urge to attack, ramping up the pain Cole had just gotten to the point of managing.

Cole gritted his teeth and argued, “That’s a bad idea. My wolf is injured and will come out fighting.”

The jackals snickered.

Brantley had turned away as if ignoring Cole. Opening the door, Brantley paused and said, “I’m betting on it.”

One of the jackal shifters moved like lightning to inject a yellow fluid into the IV feed.

Cole lunged at him with his bad arm, but the other shifter slammed the arm with a fist.

Bones snapped in Cole’s restrained hand.

Gray Wolf went wild, banging like crazy to get out.

The rush of new meds shot into Cole’s chest and boiled with the adrenaline already rushing through him.

He lunged up against the restraints, lashing out with his burned arm at the laughing pair.

The bigger of the two shifters grabbed the damaged arm and shoved it down.

Cole’s vision distorted, his back twisted.

Gray Wolf came charging forward.