The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride-Chapter 81: Finding Our Way Back

(MAYA)

The food arrives an hour later, and Cassian sets it down before me. "Eat. I wouldn’t want you to die without finishing my task."

"How considerate of you," I say sarcastically. When he lingers, I stare at him. "Do you mind? I don’t like an audience when I’m eating."

He tilts his head. "You’re losing weight. Your clothes are hanging off you."

I tap the dish with my finger. "Speaks volumes about how much you’re feeding me. Are you worried that if you give me enough to eat, I might suddenly gain some superhuman strength and break through the cage and run away?"

He looks amused. "I don’t see you getting past me. Even if you did, you’d have to contend with the twenty guards stationed outside."

My lips twist in an angry smile. "You’re so funny. Now, if you’re done trying to half-starve me, can you leave? I’d rather not see your face any more than I have to."

He leans down and grabs my jaw, forcibly tilting my head back, his voice harsh. "I don’t care much for your rudeness, Maya."

I swallow but refuse to back down. "Well, then, it sucks that you’re stuck with me, isn’t it?" I push his hand away. "My food is getting cold. Unless you put some poison in this that you want to watch me eat, go away. I’ve had enough of you shifters for one day."

"Insolent little thing, aren’t you?" he murmurs, releasing me.

"I’m sorry, I forgot I was supposed to be nice to my captors," I sneer at him.

"Any other shifter would have killed you already." His voice is quiet.

"Why haven’t you, then?"

He shrugs, watching me with a curious expression on his face. "I don’t know. I’ll send you some more food."

Once he leaves, I let out a sigh of relief and look toward the beast in the corner. "Can you believe him? He’s crazy on steroids."

I make sure nobody is around before uncovering the dish.

A steak. How nice. Lately, the quality of my meals has been improving.

I cut off a little piece for myself and then scoot over to the wolf in the corner with the plate. "Hurry up. Before he comes back."

He quickly starts to eat the meat, and I use his distraction to approach him. He’s used to my touch now, so he doesn’t react immediately. Taking the syringe from my bra, I consider surprising him, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t like his reaction. Taking a deep breath, I show him the syringe, and he goes stiff.

I keep my voice low. "I don’t know if you can understand me, but I need your blood. Please don’t hurt me."

He doesn’t bite me, but a little growl rumbles from his throat as I take off the cap and lift his paw. Hoping for the best and praying to every deity out there, I insert the needle under his skin. He is used to so much pain that he doesn’t flinch, but I hold his gaze as I begin to draw his blood. After a moment, he goes back to tearing at the meat, ignoring me.

When I have enough, I pull out the needle, put the cap on it, and stuff the syringe back in my bra before gently rubbing the spot on his front leg.

"There. All done. Who’s a good boy?"

I rub his ears, expecting him to snap at me, but instead he rumbles in approval, his eyes closing. Despite how dirty he is, his fur is soft. My heart is in my throat as I pet him. I’m about to stop when he rearranges himself on the ground and places his head in my lap.

I freeze in place. What is happening here?

Letting out a shaky breath, I continue running my fingers through his fur, my heart pounding with each breath I take. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I should stop. But I can’t. He seems...content. For the first time since I arrived, he’s relaxed. How can I take that away from him?

I keep my voice calm and low. "I’m going to get us out of here. Now that I have your blood, I’m going to help you find your way back to who you were. And then I will help you shift back. And then we’re going to escape."

I try not to let my fear get to me, keeping my voice steady. "This isn’t the first time I’ve been kidnapped, you know. The last time was when I was a child. I’ve always told myself that I would never let anybody make me a victim again. I intend to keep that promise to myself." I close my eyes. "As long as you don’t kill me first."

***

When I return to the lab, the security camera has still not been fixed. The assistant who works alongside me tells me it will be another day or so. He is supposed to be in the lab with me at all times, but he likes to slip out when he knows Cassian won’t be around.

He finally does leave, and I’m able to breathe easier and get to work. After spending over six months here, I have become familiar with which areas are covered by which camera. Using that to my advantage, I can run my tests on the silver wolf’s blood. I’m careful to label the file with another name so that no one figures it out. Once everything is in the computer system, I destroy the blood sample and rinse the syringe before breaking it and throwing it in the trash.

The next two weeks are critical. Fortunately, the lab assistant I’ve been given doesn’t know much about what he’s doing. His job is basically to keep an eye on me. However, since I’m always working when he’s around, he doesn’t feel the need to stay, which gives me the time and space to work on my little escape project.

Creating the right formula isn’t all that’s required. The new drug must be administered to the wolf in periodic doses. This is where I add another level of sneakiness to my plan. I swap the labels of the antidote that I’m supposed to be creating and start giving doses of my own concoction to my wolf companion.

He is brought to the lab four times a week, strapped to a horrifying table like a fetal pig in a high school biology class. It is usually the assistant who administers the injections, but since the wolf doesn’t react as badly to me, he lets me do it. With all this time alone in the lab, I’ve begun to dilute the drugs. The effect is not missed on me: the dazed look in the silver wolf’s eyes is beginning to disappear.

According to my assessment, I need to administer six doses of the formula I’ve created, one dose per week, and wait to see the results. I’m hopeful it will work. Everything I’ve calculated says it should, but this would be considered a trial drug in the human world, and the side effects are unknown. With bated breath, at the end of the six weeks, I inject the last dose.

Cassian stands beside me. "Are you sure this will work?"

"It won’t be instantaneous," I say, not meeting his gaze. "But he should slowly begin to revert to his human form." He definitely will, with the drug I’ve given him.