I wanted to move closer to Connor, take his hand, but I didn't want to put him in the line of fire—even though the odds of him surviving a bullet were much better than mine. But as long as they never saw Connor shift, all they'd have was lab work that could be disproved some way.
"Impressive guns there," Mason said, referring to Connor's biceps.
"The better to strangle you with."
Mason smirked. "You're just one bad line after another, aren't you?"
"Sorry, but I'm having a hard time taking this little game of yours seriously."
"It's not a game. You'll see. When we have the serum perfected, and I transform into a wolf, maybe you and I will get into it."
"Why wait? Let's get into it now."
"Later. So the muscles, are they a result of the constant transforming?"
"Weights. There is no transforming."
"That line's really getting old. I know what I know."
"Which apparently is nothing."
I could tell that Mason wanted to say more, that he was irritated with Connor's attitude. As for me, I was impressed that he could act so cool and nonchalant—like our lives weren't in danger of ending at any moment.
When Ethan was finished drawing blood, he took some of Connor's hair and a scraping of his skin. He looked unsure as he covered the bleeding spot on the back of Connor's hand with a bandage. When Ethan moved away with his treasures, Tyler approached with a cooler. He started placing bottled water between the bars.
"What? No beer?" Connor asked sarcastically.
It was hard to believe now that earlier in the summer we'd all drunk beer together out in the woods.
Tyler's cheeks burned red, but he didn't say anything as he also placed prepackaged sandwiches, protein bars, and some apples inside the cage.
"All right," Mason said. "Enjoy your meal. We'll be in touch." He turned to go.
"Hey, Mason," Connor called out lightly, like one buddy to another.
Mason swung back around.
"You really don't want me for an enemy," Connor said darkly, in a threatening manner that even sent a shiver of dread up my spine.
Mason paled before regaining his cocky composure. "Same goes."
Not until Mason and his entourage had left the room did I hurry over and wrap my arms around Connor. He closed his around me, squeezing me tightly. Not since I'd faced the moon alone had I felt so terrified.
"At least they didn't take anything from you," Connor said quietly.
I squeezed my eyes shut. There was a reason they hadn't, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I wasn't a Shifter and they knew it. I really wasn't rooting for the bad guys to come out victorious in all this, but I also couldn't help thinking that if Mason did succeed, if he did develop a serum or a pill or whatever—that if I took it, Connor would never have to know about my deficiencies. Instinctively I knew that it was the bond of Shifters that was driving him toward me. He thought we were the same species. Shifters moved around in packs. Even out in the world, Shifters kept their distance, were wary of non-Shifters. I still couldn't believe my mom had fallen in love with a human.
"Everything's going to be okay," Connor assured me.
Tilting my head back, I studied the contours of his face, saw no doubt in his eyes. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I know when our opportunity comes to escape you'll be able to kick his butt."
Releasing a strangled laugh, I fought not to start crying like a human girl would. I wanted to be Shifter-strong for Connor.
Tenderly he cradled my cheek and leaned in, his lips brushing near my ear as he spoke in an incredibly low and sensual voice. "Seriously. We won't be alone for long. We just have to hold on until the others get here."
"How do you know they'll come?" I whispered.
"Because my team was supposed to come scout this area out, and when I don't show up, they'll get Lucas. Might take them a couple of days of trying to figure out where the hell I went, but eventually the pack comes first and they'll head up here to complete their mission. And rescue us in the process."
I knew the timing was lousy, but when would be a better time? I was still stinging from his decision to oust me. "Why did you kick me off your team?"
Leaning back, he stroked his thumb over my bottom lip. "Because I can't concentrate when you're around. Because from the moment you silently challenged me in the dungeon, whenever I see you I feel that punch to the gut Lucas was talking about and all I want is—"
He kissed me with a hunger, a desperation. Maybe our fears that we weren't in control as much as we were used to added to the moment. But we clung to each other as though we never planned to let go. In the back of my mind, I knew this was a bad idea. It was just going to give Mason more fuel to use against us.
Connor must have had the same thought, because he drew back and squinted at one of the cameras. "Bad timing."
"It always is with us, I guess."
Again he brushed his thumb over my lower lip, but it was swollen now and tingled. "Yeah. I'm hungry, and not just for you."
He started to step away, then stopped. "Hey, what's that?"
I followed the direction of his gaze and discovered a tear in the sleeve of my shirt. "They must have torn my shirt getting me into the cage or something. No big deal."
"Not that," he said, his voice taut. He slipped his finger inside the ragged tear. "That. Did Mason hurt you?"
And I realized he'd spotted the bruise he'd given me when we wrestled. But I couldn't admit that. He'd wonder why I hadn't taken care of it the Shifter-way.
"Yeah, I guess. But it's not bad. It doesn't bother me."
"That guy's gonna pay," he ground out, releasing my arm, but taking my hand. He pulled me down to the floor and we sat against the bars. He opened one of the bottles of water and sniffed it. He handed it to me.
"You think it's safe?" I asked.
"I can't smell anything that shouldn't be there. Worst case scenario, they added something to the water or food to put us to sleep. Quite honestly, I think Mason would have more fun shooting us with tranq guns. He's not exactly Mr. Subtle when it comes to his plans. Seriously he's just trying to be in control."