Page 47 of Wolf Revealed

“Larkspur! Mike!” her mother said, hurrying over to hug Lark first and then Mike.

“When did you guys get here?” Lark asked, giving her father a hug, too.

“About ten minutes ago,” her mother said with a smile. With the same periwinkle-colored eyes and dark hair, Isla Hayes was an older version of Lark and Violet.

“Good to see you again, Mike,” Corbin Hayes said, shaking his hand. Tall with dark hair, Lark’s father was the spitting image of his sons. “Thank you for bringing Kal back safely.”

“No thanks are necessary,” Mike said, returning his smile. “He’s my son.” He took Lark’s hand and added, “Our son.”

“Still,” Corbin murmured with a nod of understanding. “I can’t imagine that learning about everything the way you did was easy for you.”

“I admit I was caught off guard at first,” Mike said, glancing at Lark, his inner wolf sighing with contentment simply because she was near him. “But, in the end, it all worked out better than we could have ever hoped.”

Isla beamed at them. “I’m so happy the two of you are back together.”

Lark smiled, glancing up at Mike. “Me, too.”

“Me, three!” Kal said, face full of happiness as he paused in the middle of eating his pancakes to grin at them, making everyone laugh.

As Mike and Lark joined Kal at the island with their own breakfast of pancakes and syrup, they brought Lark’s parents and older brother, Everett, up to speed on everything that had happened since rescuing their son.

“I thought I knew how dangerous Roman could be, but I was wrong,” Mike said, sipping his coffee. “These supernatural abilities he’s discovered, along with the other supernaturals on his crew, are going to be hard for us to deal with.”

“And that’s before we add in Sentinel,” Gage said as he pulled a picture from one of the pockets of his uniform top. “Speaking of which, that’s why I came over this morning. We finally have an ID on another terrorist.”

Mike leaned closer to get a better look at the photo of the dark-haired man Gage placed on the granite island. “That’s the guy who tried to kidnap Xander yesterday. He’s also one of the men who tried to abduct Carter.”

“According to our sources at the FBI, his name is Nick Chapman,” Gage said. “He’s a former Navy SEAL, and now makes his living as a soldier of fortune and an arms dealer. He arrived in the Dallas area about a week ago, rumored to have been hired by Sentinel to run this operation. But the feds have no idea how Chapman and Sentinel are involved with Roman and his criminal organization. Or why they’re interested in Carter and Xander.”

“I think we may be able to help with that,” Everett announced, grabbing a soft-sided messenger bag from the floor. “We got this information from a trusted source right before we got on the plane down here.”

As Everett spread a dozen photos across the island, Mike leaned over to see a picture of a fancy glass-fronted office building at least ten stories tall, as well as some separate shots of men and women in suits and lab coats.

“You’re looking at the corporate headquarters of the Carlyle Medical Research Group,” Everett said. “They’re an international collection of doctors and scientists who are well-known for their groundbreaking research into various diseases.”

“But that’s not the only thing they do,” Corbin added. “Behind the scenes, Carlyle runs a covert research cell, focusing on ethically gray areas. We’re talking bio-agents for targeted assassinations, genetic manipulation, cybernetic enhancements, and most recently, supernatural experimentations.”

“We’d heard rumors about a group of medical types offering supernatural upgrades to humans,” Mike said, remembering what Davin had told them. “Mind if I ask where you got your information?”

Everett exchanged looks with his father, who nodded.

“For obvious reasons, what we’re about to tell you can’t leave this room,” Everett said, glancing around the kitchen. “But our pack has had someone undercover with Carlyle for years to make sure we have access to any information that could have a negative impact on us. Like a group of unethical scientists acquiring genetic material from a broad range of supernaturals by any means necessary, and then using that material to create supernatural modifications—or MODS as they’re calling it—for profit.”

Mike wasn’t sure what stunned him more. That there was a group out there selling supernatural supplements to humans, or that Lark’s pack had someone on the inside for years. It kind of boggled the mind. The idea that Roman was buying who-knew-what kind of abilities from these Carlyle people was simply the top of a very tall mountain of surprises.

“Any idea where Carlyle gets this genetic material they use for the MODS?” Mike asked, a shiver running up his spine as his mind went to the worst possible places.

“According to our undercover agent, Carlyle isn’t too particular where they harvest their genetic samples,” Corbin said. “While they occasionally accept volunteer donations for money, most of the genetic material is taken from supernaturals they’ve kidnapped. A couple years ago, Carlyle even made an appearance at a supernatural trafficking auction in Greece and took samples of each of the supernaturals before they were sold off.”

Mike’s gut twisted, the pancakes he’d eaten feeling like lead in his stomach. He wasn’t naive. He knew the world was filled with horrible people doing horrible things. But kidnapping supernaturals to steal samples of their genetic material was next-level wrong. Not to mention selling those same supernaturals at an auction.

“After the two run-ins we’ve had with the man, is it safe to assume Roman and his crew are repeat customers of Carlyle?” Gage asked

“Understatement there,” Corbin said. “You’ve heard of people who become addicted to plastic surgery? Well, that’s Roman, only he’s addicted to these supernatural modifications. He’s been burning through millions of dollars every month buying MODS for him and his men. Speed, strength, improved vision, hearing, and sense of smell, along with enhanced aggression. But lately, his drug of choice has been vitality MODS.”

“Vitality MODS? What the heck is that?” Mike asked, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer to that question.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed Roman looks younger than he should? Maybe even younger than he did when you worked undercover in his organization a decade ago?” Everett asked. “Well, there’s a type of vampire called the vita lamia that survives off the life force of other creatures. In addition to making them live forever, it also makes them look way younger than they are. Based on the intel, Carlyle has created a way to extract the vitality they possess, and for lack of a better word, inject it into their customers.”