Shadow Shifters: Shifter's Claim Part 25

"We understand, honey," Kalina insisted. "We'll just wait to ask Papplin his thoughts."

"He's been giving us his thoughts for the past couple of weeks and it's gotten us nowhere! He has no clue what's going on!" Nick yelled, which only made Shya scream more, the sound vibrating off the walls and piercing their eardrums.

"That's not true," Papplin said once he'd entered the room. "I know exactly what the problem is."

"Really?" Ary asked, moving so that she stood right in front of the doctor. "Tell us."

Papplin was a gangly man who looked as if the weight of the world rested squarely on his shoulders. Ary remembered the first time she'd met him at George Was.h.i.+ngton Hospital, he'd seemed a whole lot different then.

"Shya doesn't have colic," Papplin told them.

"Then what does she have and how can we fix it?" Rome asked. "I agree with Nick that this has been going on for far too long. If she's sick tell us so we can get her healed."

Papplin visibly startled at Rome's cold tone. He removed his gla.s.ses, rubbed viciously at both his eyes, then put his gla.s.ses back on again.

"Do you remember when you were held captive by Sabar?" he began, speaking directly to Ary.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Do you remember when you realized that he'd drugged you? That he'd sampled the damiana mixture on you to test your reaction?"

A chill ran down Ary's spine.

"I remember."

Papplin cleared his throat, the sound a low rumble compared to Shya's crying. "I tested Shya's blood when she was born. I knew something was wrong then."

"What? You knew something was wrong four months ago and you're just telling us now?" Nick roared.

Shya all but jumped out of his arms with the sound of his voice and Kalina moved quickly to take the baby from him.

"What are you saying, Dr. Papplin? What did you notice when Shya was born?"

"It's customary to take a newborn's blood," he began, wiping a hand over his forehead that was now p.r.i.c.kled with sweat. "But when I looked at the vial I realized there was no coagulation. I figured I may be tired, becoming alarmed by nothing, but then I got the results back. There were traces of something different in her blood, compounds that should not be there. I ran more tests and linked some of the compounds to traces of damiana that she must have contracted from you." He looked pointedly at Ary.

"She's reacting to the drug, and that's why her crying is so extreme," he finished.

"No," Ary whispered. "No. That's not possible. The damiana should have been long out of my system before I became pregnant with her and I've never taken it again. There must be some mistake."

Papplin shook his head. "I even sent her blood to another lab to be tested. It's like her body is re-creating the drug so that it stays continually in her system. I've taken samples every two weeks since her birth and each time it's present to the same degree. It's not dissipating."

"So she's getting worse," Rome added. "She's going to get worse as long as the drug is in her system and you don't know how to get it out. Is that what you're saying?" he asked, raising his voice for what may have been the first time Ary ever heard.

Papplin looked from Rome to Ary apologetically. "That is what I am saying."

Comastaz Laboratories.

Sedona, Arizona.

"There's a problem with the sequence, a gap that I can't quite figure out," Dr. Mario DiLaurent told Captain Crowe as Lilah, the lab a.s.sistant Crowe had hired for him, stood on the other side of the lab table.

"Maybe it's a genetic gap that goes with a particular family," she offered. "It looks like a mini-strand is missing."

"It is. I've been over this a million times. This is the blood taken from that..." he hesitated, "that thing you pulled out of the field and this is how the DNA breaks down. No human lives with a broken DNA strand."

"They're not human," Crowe pointed out.

DiLaurent's brow was p.r.i.c.kled with sweat, the man was more than nervous. So much was riding on this project and Crowe was anxious to share this discovery with the whole world. The thought of creating a super-soldier based on the genetics of a real-life half animal, half human would be a phenomenal discovery. It would also be a very lucrative one, especially for the three creators in this room. They had to fix the genetic sequence and they had to do it soon.

"We need another one of its kind, preferably one from its direct bloodline," DiLaurent stated.

Crowe frowned. "Then I guess it's a good thing those a.s.sholes lost the blood samples we were going to send for final testing. It held the incomplete DNA so it probably wouldn't have created the super-soldier I've got in mind."

DiLaurent hurriedly shook his head. "No, we do not know what that DNA would produce. I think our best bet is to duplicate what it seems like nature has given that one. Keep everything as close to matching him as possible so there'll be less chance of fallout."

"Great, now we need all new blood samples. Ones that match that creature's exactly. Where the h.e.l.l are we going to get that?" Crowe asked, cursing this turn of events.

Lilah sighed. "Go back to where you found this one and look for another one. There's bound to be a female somewhere because there's no way a man like this was traipsing around out there all alone."

DiLaurent resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the simpleminded a.s.sistant. "It has to be a direct match, a sibling or a child." He paused then ran to his cell phone, pressing b.u.t.tons wildly. "Wait a minute, wait a minute."

"What is it?" Lilah asked.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before. A few weeks ago my cousin sent me a blood sample, or rather the DNA strand from a blood sample. He works in the lab at George Was.h.i.+ngton Hospital in D.C. He said this was left on a microscope and he read it. He thought it was unreal and so he sent it to me to get my advice. I've been so busy working with our tight timeline I didn't pay it much attention. But now that I'm thinking about it, now that we're talking about it..." He paused, still looking at his phone. "I got it! I got it right here!"

Moving quickly he thrust his arm forward so Lilah could see his cell phone. She looked at it once, and then looked back at the sequence showing on the screen of DiLaurent's laptop. For good measure she looked back once more. "You need to get both of these sequences loaded and run them together, make sure they're a match," she told him excitedly.

"Does it look like a match?" Crowe asked.

Lilah was already nodding her head. "It does. It looks like a match."

"Then your one and only job for the foreseeable future is to find me the one that blood sample belongs to. I want that one here on this table within the week. Do we understand each other?" Crowe commanded.

Lilah looked at DiLaurent and they both replied, "Yes, sir."

It looked like Lilah would be heading to Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., to find out whose blood sample that was in the George Was.h.i.+ngton Hospital and to bring that someone or something back to Comastaz. There was a lot riding on this, surely this "person" wouldn't mind donating some more of its blood for a good cause, even if that cause put an end to its kind for good.

Read on for an excerpt from.

HUNGER'S MATE.

by A.C. Arthur.

Coming soon from St. Martin's Press.

His skin was glossed with a light sheen of sweat, marred by one tattoo over his right bicep. Pure strength rippled along the thick p.r.o.nounced veins in his arms as he lifted the bar holding at least two-hundred-and-fifty-pound weights on either side. From his position on the bench Jewel had a great view of thighs cut to perfection with muscle, narrow hips, and a bulge in his shorts that made her mouth water and her temples throb slightly at the thought that this was his relaxed-and not aroused-state.

From where she stood across the floor of Perryville Resort's fitness center, peeking around the wall that she used for cover, Jewel had a magnificent view. A delicious view that had awakened feelings inside her she'd thought long dead. She swallowed deeply, figured her lips were just as dry as her throat, and then licked them before releasing a deep breath. How many times had she come down here to work out? How many hours had she spent in this very room, absorbed in her own routine, focused only on the burn of tired and thoroughly worked muscles? Yet for the last ten minutes, she'd been glued to this spot, watching this man lift those weights, wanting him like she'd never wanted anything else in her life.

"Why don't you join me?"

She startled and stepped back at the sound of the male voice. After a second or two she leaned forward once more, easing her head around the wall and feeling absolutely foolish for doing so, until she saw that he'd sat up on the bench and was staring directly at her.

"I said, why don't you join me?" he asked again, the cleft in his chin holding her attention as he talked.

It was easier to find a focal point than to look directly into his eyes. They were smoldering; she knew because she'd just peeked and felt waves of heat pouring over her. It was ridiculous, she knew. He was just a man and she was just a woman, and even considering the distance between them, there should not have been any type of connection.

But there was.

Jewel cleared her throat. "I'm leaving," she announced but failed to move.

"No, you're not," he said in a slow, casual tone that made her feel just as uncomfortable as if he'd demanded she stay instead. "You're still standing there watching me. You'd get a better view if you came closer."

The arrogant jerk, she thought, but didn't fire those words at him exactly.

"I think I've seen enough," she replied instead.

He gave her a curt nod and a shrug of those perfectly cut shoulders. "Suit yourself."

Before she could reply, he lay back on the bench. His feet planted firmly against the floor, his thighs flexing, preparing to hold him steady as he lifted hundreds of pounds. The rippled planes of his abs uncurled, like a feast being uncovered for consumption. As his arms rose, his fingers wrapped around the metal pole, closing, opening, closing again before he boosted it off the rack. Glossy dark biceps flexed, muscles bulged. Jewel's nipples hardened, intense spikes of pleasure traveling from the heavy mounds to rest with a persistent throb between her legs.

He'd just completed his fifth repet.i.tion when the heat clawing at her had Jewel's knees about to buckle. Instead of falling to the floor, panting after a man she didn't know, and in desperate need of s.e.xual release that she hadn't required in years, Jewel decided retreat was best. The first step was the hardest-as was probably the norm-but she did finally manage to move one foot and then another, all while still trying to watch every pull and release of muscle on his body, including, but definitely not limited to, the bulge between his legs that she was almost certain had increased in size as she stared. Her mouth watered as her back slammed into another wall, jarring just a semblance of sense into her. Shaking her head, she finally pulled her gaze away from him, turned, and ran like she was being chased by police all the way back to her room.

Truth be told, Jewel always felt like she was being chased, like at any moment her secret would be revealed and everything she'd risked her life and her father's life for had been for nothing. There was no way Ezra Preston, the stranger who had come to Perryville weeks ago behind a lot of hushed conversations and worried looks on behalf of Jacques and Mr. Perry, could know anything about what she'd done before she came here. Absolutely no possibility he could be here to unveil the secrets she guarded so closely. Still, as she closed the door to her room and leaned back against it, common sense said it was best she steer clear of him totally.

Five hundred pounds of steel were nothing in comparison to the heaviness Ezra felt throbbing between his legs. He'd scented her the moment she'd stepped into the gym: the fresh, intense scent of arousal that had permeated his senses, filtering through his body like a fast-acting drug. The high was instant and powerful, almost causing him to lose his grip on the bar holding the weights. That's what made him stop and sit up. He wanted, no, more like needed, to see her up close.

So he'd called to her and she'd stepped out from behind the wall to address him. But she hadn't come further as he'd requested. She hadn't come to him the way he'd craved. Instead she'd continued to watch.

And he'd been content to let her.

Lying back and giving her an unfettered view of his growing erection and whatever else she'd been entranced by so long she'd only been able to leave when she wasn't sure she'd be able to continue resisting.

Ezra heard the beat of her heart, he sensed the thrumming of hot blood in her veins, the dampening of the tender folds between her legs. Everything about her had been embedded in his mind since the first day he'd seen her having lunch with Priya. Only twice since that day more than a month ago had he seen Jewel Jenner at the resort. She worked closely with Bas's Lead Enforcer, Jacques, performing administrative tasks. Originally Bas had thought there might be a romantic link between the two but Jacques didn't have the companheiro calor, the mating scent of the Shadow s.h.i.+fters.

One morning Ezra had timed his appearance in the administrative offices of Perryville Resorts to coincide with the arrival of most of the staff. Jewel always arrived first. She unlocked the front gla.s.s doors that were marked in bold block letters and switched on the lights, her computer, and the Kuerig machine that sat on a stand leading down a small hallway. That hallway led to Jacques's office and the sales directors' office. Jewel sat up front in a partially enclosed s.p.a.ce, while just on the other side of her the receptionist sat to greet anyone coming in with questions.

Instead of startling her by going in right behind her, a few minutes pa.s.sed and the receptionist went inside.

"Is Mr. Germain in?" Ezra had inquired once he'd finally decided to go into the offices himself.

"No. He isn't," the receptionist, who looked more like a college student than a professional office worker, informed him. "May I leave him a message that you were here?"

The request was stilted, as if she'd rehea.r.s.ed it enough to memorize it but not enough to say it with any type of sincerity.

He'd smiled at her efforts, remembering a time when he was young and carefree, or at least young.

"Just tell him Ezra stopped by," he'd replied.

And just like a few minutes ago in the gym, Jewel had peeked around the wall to look at him. When he caught her gaze that time, she'd cleared her throat and stepped completely into the outer area coming to stand right beside the receptionist. She didn't reek of fear, but there was definitely a stand-offish quality to her, as if she'd rather remain out of sight and possibly out of mind.

"He's meeting with Mr. Perry this morning. When he returns I will tell him that you were here," she told him, looking just over his shoulder as she spoke.

"Thanks," he'd said, keeping his gaze steady on hers. After all, she was the one he'd come to see. "I'll stop by later to see if he's in."

"That's fine," Jewel stated in a clipped tone.

Ezra nodded. "Will you tell him that I will be back?" He was speaking slowly, watching, waiting for her to look at him.

He wanted the seal to their connection, the lock of gazes, the first step in the dance Ezra knew they would partake in. When it finally came, it took his breath away. Her eyes were green, a softer shade than his that for some reason didn't strike him as natural, and they were secretive. Ezra was instantly intrigued. Later that day when he'd returned, Jacques was indeed in the office and so was Jewel. She'd been at the receptionist's desk, and instead of having to go back to Jacques's office, the s.h.i.+fter had come out to meet him. As if he'd known what Ezra's plan was all along.

As Jacques stood near Jewel, Ezra noted nothing between them. No simmering arousal, no calor signifying that they'd been intimate. That had solicited an immediate smile.

The next time he'd seen her had been at night when she was coming back into the resort. He had no idea where she'd been all day as he'd been looking around for her. She appeared rested and peaceful upon her return, so much so he'd considered that her day had been spent in her lover's bed, legs spread, body open in surrender to another man. A deep rumble in his chest, the barely restrained growl of his cat, signaled just how much Ezra disliked that thought. She hadn't noticed him at all that night as she moved through the entrance, down past the restaurants to the elevators. He thought of following her to her room but didn't think he'd be able to control his arousal or the rage that someone else might have been touching her. The smart option-which Ezra liked to think he took at all times-was to keep his distance. And he had, until now.

Don't miss these captivating novels of.

The Shadow s.h.i.+fters.

by A.C. Arthur.

Temptation Rising.

Seduction's s.h.i.+ft.

Pa.s.sion's Prey.

Available from St. Martin's Paperbacks.

Also by A.C. Arthur.

Temptation Rising.

Seduction's s.h.i.+ft.

Pa.s.sion's Prey.

PRAISE FOR A.C. ARTHUR.

and her Shadow s.h.i.+fter novels.

"Deliciously edgy, s.e.xy, and certainly not to be missed. A.C. Arthur knows how to deliver the heat."

-Lora Leigh, #1 New York Times bestselling author "The s.h.i.+fter universe just got s.e.xier with the kickoff to Arthur's sizzling new series, Shadow s.h.i.+fters ... intriguing."