They were the hardest words I'd ever spoken. And judging by the stunned expression on Connor's face they were the worst words he'd ever heard.
The cougar shrieked as it loped down the tunnel. Connor's survival instincts kicked in. He backed into the far corner to give himself maneuverability and began to remove his jeans.
I turned away, wrapping my hands around the bars, because I couldn't stand to watch the confrontation. The cage shook with the power of the cougar entering it and then I heard the howl of the wolf.
I spun around. The wolf and cougar were entangled in a deadly embrace, similar to what Connor and I had experienced when we'd wrestled. First one would be on top, then the other. Then they'd break apart and come at each other again. Teeth and claws were striking hard, making wounds, drawing blood that was beginning to leave trails on the floor.
My gaze drifted over to Mason once. He looked as though he was experiencing ecstasy. I could see the hunger, the yearning to possess the power that Connor now exhibited.
But mostly I watched Connor fighting for his life, knowing there was little I could do. I had no weapon. I had no way to help him maneuver the cougar into a position that would allow him to sink his teeth into its throat. I jumped around the cage, trying not to get in the way, thinking that if I could get to the doorway, I could scamper into the tunnel and give Connor more room to fight without having to worry about me.
As though he was now worrying about me. He was probably wishing the cougar had taken me first as a snack.
Suddenly I was angrier than I'd ever been. Angry at my mother for leading me to believe that I was a Shifter. Angry at Mason for forcing me to reveal that I wasn't. I wanted to take him on.
Then I thought to hell with him and his manipulations. Just because I wasn't a Shifter, it didn't mean that Connor had to fight alone. I had a mean roundhouse kick.
Making fists, bouncing on the balls of my feet, I concentrated on the battle playing out before me, waiting for the moment to make my strike. I knew Connor's moves, had experienced them firsthand. His wolf maneuvers wouldn't be that different, because even in wolf form he was still Connor. I watched, saw the opportunity, moved in, and kicked the cougar's rump—hard.
Hard enough to make it screech. Hard enough to distract it.
I quickly backed off.
Connor had an advantage now and he took it. Went in for the kill, sank his teeth into the cougar's jugular.
I knew, unlike Mason, Connor took no pleasure in ending any creature's life. Shifters respected all aspects of nature. Even an enemy was killed with regret.
The cougar thrashed and stilled. Connor backed away, stumbled, and went down. Until that moment, I hadn't realized that he'd been seriously wounded.
I rushed over to him, knelt beside him, and gently lifted his head into my lap.
When Shifters transformed, hair turned into fur, hands and feet became paws, teeth sharpened and lengthen, noses turned into snouts—but the eyes, the eyes didn't change. When someone looked into the eyes of a Shifter, he saw human eyes, not wolf eyes.
So now as I gazed at the wolf's face, I was looking into Connor's eyes. It was Connor I was seeing, Connor I was talking to. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you." I combed my fingers through his fur. "I'm so, so sorry." I knew I was repeating myself but I couldn't think of any other words to express my sorrow and remorse. And my shame.
I'd let him down. Something I'd never expected to do. No matter the circumstances, I'd always thought I could protect our kind, I could uphold my end of any confrontation.
I heard movement and glanced up. Mason and Wilson were standing by the cage, Wilson pointing a dart gun. I held up my hand. "No, you have to give him time—"
Wilson fired. Connor jerked as the dart lodged home in his shoulder. He struggled to lift his head, but in his eyes I could see the drug taking effect. He collapsed in my lap.
"Damn you, Mason' You needed to give him time to heal." I tore off the sweatshirt and by the time I draped it over Connor, he had returned to human form.
"Huh," Mason said. "So they revert back when they're unconscious?"
I wasn't in the mood to answer his questions. Blood was soaking through the shirt. "He's badly hurt. He needs a doctor."
"You're not a werewolf, but you know about werewolves." He was stating not asking.
"Shifters. They refer to themselves as Shifters. Get him a doctor and I'll tell you everything I know."
"No lies?"
"No lies."
He nodded and glanced over his shoulder. "Ethan, go get my dad."
I wouldn't leave until Dr. Keane was finished treating Connor. Since I'd last seen him, his hair had gone com pletely white. I imagined working with his out-of-control son could do that to a man.
"So I just stitch him up normally, as though he were human?" Dr. Keane asked.
I confirmed his question with a nod. Connor's head was in my lap and I was combing my fingers through his hair. The cougar had gotten him in the shoulder, side, and thigh. "When he wakes up, he'll heal himself."
"So he can shift at will," Mason said. "Not just when danger threatens. I mean, he doesn't need an adrenaline rush to trigger the change?"
"He shifts at will," I confirmed, feeling sick to my stomach with each fact I corroborated.
"When we shot Lucas with a tranq dart, he didn't shift back."
"Maybe he wasn't completely unconscious."
"So Lucas is the wolf with the multicolored coat."
I hated that I'd unwittingly betrayed Lucas by not paying more attention to the questions. Yes, I'd promised to tell Mason everything, but I was only planning to tell him everything that wouldn't give him any sort of advantage over the Shifters. I may not be one of them but my loyalty first and foremost was to them. "Yes."
"So are only the male sherpas Shifters?" Mason asked.
I swallowed hard. "No, there are girls."
"But not you?"
I shook my head.
"Our tests have already proven it's genetic, and Connor thought you were a Shifter so what's the story there?"
I didn't figure I had anything to lose so I told him about my Shifter mother and human father.
"Then the Shifter gene is recessive," he said.
I shrugged. "You're the scientist, not me."