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That gave Micah pause. “Above?”
“Yeah. The weapons were big claws, like talons.”
Standing, Micah let that sink in. “So, what type of creature are we talking about here? A demon? A vampire? They can shift into another form.”
“The lack of feeding suggests it’s not a vampire,” Nick said. “Besides, I don’t know a rogue who’d pass up a good meal.”
There was a morbid thought. “True. A large bird, then? A dragon shifter? Hell, do we even have those for real? Or something else.”
Nick stared at the unfortunate man. “I wish I knew. I’m getting nothing right now.”
“I still don’t get what this attack has to do with me.”
“This.” From his inside jacket pocket, Jesse retrieved a plastic Baggie. Inside the Baggie was a small square of cream-colored paper. Without removing the note, he handed the Baggie over to Micah, who read the writing through the clear plastic easily enough.
SS-509: I am what YOU made me. They may have created me, but you trained me. This blood is on your hands.
“Oh, my God.” Micah thrust the bag into Jesse’s hands and leaned against a tree, panting for breath. He was going to be sick.
The sheriff’s voice was quiet. “Nick said you could shed some light on the meaning.”
It took Micah a long moment to find his voice. He hadn’t wanted to talk about this again, ever. Especially not to anyone besides his Pack brothers.
“What a fucking nightmare.” Micah closed his eyes. There were shuffling sounds, but the others gave him time. Finally, he opened his eyes again and faced the music. “I’m SS-509. Lab subject 509 in the Super Soldier project, to be turned into a weapon of destruction answerable to a new, corrupt government—had things gone the way Malik and Bowman intended.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jesse muttered. “I don’t suppose anyone wants to start at the beginning of that story?”
Nick gave a humorless laugh. “Over a few beers sometime.”
“What this means is, the killer blames me for what happened when we were prisoners,” Micah explained, staring down at the poor, hapless victim. Guilt had bile rising in his throat. “He’s someone I tortured into madness on Bowman’s orders. Now he’s burning for revenge, and is crazy as hell. This is my fucking fault.”
“No,” Jax said firmly, stepping up to him. “It’s not. Whatever you did, you didn’t have a choice. Besides, you were tortured within an inch of your life, same as the others, and you didn’t turn into a killer. This isn’t on you. Whoever is doing this, he snapped.”
“He blames me. In his mind, I’m responsible.”
“Which means he’s twisted and wrong.” Jax clamped a hand on Micah’s shoulder. “He’s tipped his hand, bro. He’s narrowed down our search considerably, and we’ll ID him now. It’s only a matter of time.”
“But how many people will have to die before we find him?”
That, they didn’t have an answer for.
“The note isn’t the only warning,” Micah told them. “The proximity of the murders to the compound is another one, I think. Both killings took place just outside the perimeter that Kalen has warded against intruders.”
“I don’t believe that’s a coincidence, either,” Nick agreed. “He’s leaving them on your doorstep, so to speak.”
“The sick fuck.” Micah turned to Jesse. “Is anyone watching the kid who survived?”
The sheriff nodded. “I’ve got a deputy on his hospital door. The doctor will give us the okay to interview him once he’s stable and awake.”
“I sent Zan ahead to sneak in and speed along his healing. And he needs one of my Pack men to guard him,” Nick insisted. “No offense, Jesse, but your deputies are human. They’re not prepared to fight a crazed shifter who has God knows what abnormalities making him even more dangerous than he should be.”
The man sighed, looking annoyed. But he relented. “Shit. Fine. I’ll let my man know to expect a replacement from one of your team.”
“Thanks. I think that’s the safest thing.” Nick paused. “My gut says our insane shifter won’t come after the kid, that he’s already moved on, but we can’t be too careful.”
Micah said, “We need to find out what he remembers of the shifter, see if we can get a description. Then have Kalen wipe his memory and replace it with a bear attack or something.”
The others agreed. If humans at large were to learn about the paranormal world— Well, that didn’t bear thinking about. The Pack had had some near-misses in recent months where the public was concerned.
