Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(41)

At a loss, Jax pulled on his clothes as well, hiding his conflicting emotions. He knew she was right, that his possessiveness was nothing more than a by-product of his beast flexing its muscles, but for some reason it didn't make him feel better.

"How did you hurt your leg? If you don't mind my asking."

He did mind, very much. But she was looking at him with such honest concern, not pity, that he found himself answering. "Six months ago, my team was ambushed and five of us were slaughtered. The mangled leg was my souvenir from that night. Guess I got lucky." The bitter sarcasm in his voice wasn't lost on either of them.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. Her eyes locked with his. "But I thought you said shifters were almost impossible to kill."

"Almost being the operative word. But we were lured to an abandoned building, and lowered our guard when we saw it was unoccupied. The next thing we knew, bullets were flying. Silver ones." Remembered horror had him swallowing hard.

Screams of agony, his friends falling. Writhing on the cold concrete floor.

Creatures unlike any they'd ever seen, conjured as though from the worst of their nightmares, swooping from the rafters. Screeching in salacious joy as they ripped through flesh and bone, tearing him apart.

Blood everywhere, flowing like a river.

"Jax?"

Shaking himself from the terrible memory, he noticed she'd stood and was patting his arm. "I'm fine. It just sneaks up on me sometimes."

"Six months isn't long to heal, either physically or emotionally. I apologize for bringing up a painful subject."

"Not your fault," he assured her. "Anyway, we couldn't shift into our wolves because of the silver bullets. Silver shuts down our systems, and it's agonizing no matter what form we take. While we were incapacitated, these creatures attacked. Black leathery bastards, with gaping maws of jagged teeth. All we could do was lie there while they sliced and diced us."

She shuddered. "Demons?"

"No. None of us had ever seen anything like them. Four of us survived-me, Zander, Aric, and Ryon. Zan escaped the worst of the attack and healed the three of us as best he could. Nearly killed himself trying to save the others. I woke up back at the infirmary and learned the rest were dead, including our leader, Terry Noble."

"Then Nick and Hammer came in as the new guys," she finished.

"Yeah. They've fit right in, and Nick is a good boss. Different from us, though," he said, anxious to steer the topic from the massacre.

"How so?"

"He's a born shifter, not made. He's also a rare white wolf and a PreCog. All of that has made him a favorite subject of study with the docs here at the Institute."

"I'll bet." Her expression lit with interest. "Understanding his physiology and his lineage should go a long way toward helping the doctors learn about the life cycle of your kind. Like whether being a shifter shortens or lengthens your life span, what happens when you take a mate and try to have a child-all sorts of stuff."

Mating. Another subject he didn't want to discuss, though he had opened up the subject before they made love, in trying to ease her concerns. But he'd have to talk about it in more depth when he saw the doc, and he should get going soon if he wanted to speak with her today. In a few hours, they'd leave to stake out the cemetery and wait for Goth Guy to show.

He nodded. "They're studying everything they can about what makes us tick, and I figure you'll assist with the research and testing. When you're not making nice with your new buddies from Block R."

"I guess I'll learn more after I see Dr. Mallory." She cocked her head, curious. "By the way, what's the 'evil' creature currently making its home in Block T?"

His eyes narrowed. "Who told you about that?"

"Zander. He also told me not to go down there for any reason."

Way to go, Z-Man. Now Mary Sunshine is sure to try, you dipstick. "He's right-don't even think of finding Block T. None of the creatures who're put there can be rehabbed, and our guest at the moment is no exception."

"What is he?" she repeated.

Damn it. The woman was tenacious when she wanted an answer. "During the massacre, one of the things that attacked us was injured. His buddies left him for dead and he ended up here as our prisoner in hopes of getting information from him about who set up the attack. He either can't communicate, or refuses. We're not sure which."

"You know, I got Sariel to talk when no one else could. Maybe I could-"

"No f**king way!" he practically shouted. "Keep your nosy self far from that piece of shit or I'll turn you over my knee and spank your ass until you can't sit for a week."

Stepping away from him, she stiffened in anger. "A simple no would have sufficed. I'm quite capable of following the rules."

"Says the woman who stole from her employer not twenty-four hours ago," he shot back.

"I explained why I took those samples, and it's a good thing I did since something really weird is going on there that's even weirder than what goes on here. Now, if you'll excuse me, my nosy self has pressing business with my new supervisor."

Sailing past him, she exited the bedroom.

"Hey, wait! Kira, I'm sorry!"