Chapter 14

One week into her stay Daniella sat in the garden playing cards with Katrina . Oliver was on the swing staring up at the sun. The girl was taking the death of her family really well. The rest of the men were inside having a meeting. Four cars had arrived that morning, and Daniella knew they were all Alphas from different packs. Katrina placed her palm on top of the deck as the two cards matched.

"What's going on with you, Daniella?" Katrina asked.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering what the meetings all about," she said, pressing a card on top of the others. Glancing toward Oliver, she couldn't help but be worried about the young girl.

"She's doing fine, you know."

"How do you know? Her family was killed before her eyes. She should be feeling something."

"The men have been talking, and Oliver was considered a mutt amongst the pack."

Daniella frowned, looking back at Oliver . Whenever she'd been at the house, Oliver was treated like a princess even though she recalled the young girl not smelling like the rest of the pack. In fact, Oliver smelled a lot different from the pack she'd been part of.

"A mutt?"

"Yeah, Jonathan and Naomi were not her real parents. She was a half breed they took in, or at least that's what rumor is saying."

Smacking her hand on top of the pack, Daniella won the round of cards. Katrina chuckled.

"Oliver was not a half breed. She was their daughter. It's what I was told." Oliver was looking at her with sympathy. "

What?"

"Daniella , you weren't there all the time. From what I heard you were not allowed to mingle with the group. Oliver talked to you and was punished for it."

Jerking at what Katrina was telling her, Daniella knew she'd missed a hell of a lot in her time at the pack. Putting her pile of cards down, she walked over toward the other girl. Oliver didn't pause in her swinging, and there were tears in her eyes.

"Is it true?" Daniella asked.

"About me being a half breed?"

"Yes."

The young girl nodded. "Yeah. I was never allowed to say anything. I can turn at will, but Jonathan and Naomi threatened to hurt me if I told anyone about what I could do. No one knew half breeds could turn at will. They killed my parents, and my father was a full breed. He mated with my mother, and I was born nine months later. I saw them kill my parents, and they terrified me. When I met you I thought you could save me. I was right. They were all prepared to let me die that night with them."

"How come you've never said anything to me since then?" Daniella asked, feeling slightly hurt.

"We've not really had time to talk." Oliver shrugged. "I couldn't tell anyone, and it was easier to keep the truth to myself."

Daniella couldn't argue with her. "Why make you pretend to be their daughter?"

"I always wondered about that, but I guess it probably had to do with Jason and other Alphas visiting. They'd start to ask questions if they saw a ten year old without her parents wandering about the house. They did it to stop being suspected of something."

"Does Jason know this?"

Oliver nodded. "They kept files. I didn't even remember, but without the injections and reading those files I was able to remember everything. I've been a wolf a lot longer than you. I was born into it even though I'm a half breed. My dad didn't turn my mom until after I was born. I have his blood inside me and my mom's human side whereas you were changed a lot later in life."

"What the hell happened?" Wrapping her fingers around the metal pole of the swing she listened to Oliver talk.

"They took me when I was ten years old. Jonathan and Naomi made a file up with everything. They experimented on me as well."

"Did they discover anything?" Daniella asked.

"No. They didn't discover anything, but they couldn't risk me leaving. For some reason they didn't kill me and decided I'd serve them well."

She stopped swinging, and Daniella wrapped her arms around the young woman. "They killed my parents, and I was caught up in the fray."

"It's okay. You're safe now." Daniella saw Katrina had disappeared inside the house giving them some privacy.

"I've heard what they've been saying. Jonathan and Naomi are responsible for kidnapping other wolves. They were experimenting on them in the hope to gain power." Oliver was sobbing. Stroking her blonde hair, Daniella listened as they had it all out.

"Katrina said you were punished for talking to me," she said.

"They didn't want anyone to slip up. They said you were special because of who bit you."

"What did they do to you?" Daniella asked, hating herself for not knowing what was happening when she visited.

"They put me in a cage without food for a couple of days. Others got it a lot worse than I did."

"If you'd told me I would have put a stop to it," Daniella said.

"I know. They were scary. I couldn't tell you what was happening. What if you never came back? The best time I remember was when Jason came for dinner." Daniella paused. "What?"

"They would spray the house in all different scents, and no one would disappear to the basement. I don't remember being in the basement, but I must have for them to have experimented on." Nothing was making any sense, and Daniella knew she would need to talk withJason .

"The injections you talked about, what were they?"

"They were supposed to relax us. Tranquilizers with hints of silver to keep us docile so we wouldn't fight. I've read some of the research."

Daniella stared up at the sun. The heat did nothing to warm her bones. Whatever had happened with Jonathan and Naomi , she felt it wasn't at an end.

"It's time for dinner," Katrina said, calling out of them. "Are you coming?" Oliver asked.

"I'll be there soon." She smiled at the two women as she made her way around the front of the house. Daniella heard the muffling in the background from the kitchen. Entering the study she saw the paperwork spread out across the desk that Jason had retrieved. A pair of glasses lay on the top of the paperwork. Walking closer she ran her hands over the files, and recognizing Oliver's name she pulled the file out and opened it. A picture of a young Oliver looked up at her. She hated the sadness in the girl's eyes. No one should be sad at such a young age. Flicking through the file she saw codes and names of chemicals along with marks out of ten. None of the notes made sense. Flicking through the pages she saw a daily plan of what they forced the girl through. They beat her in order to force the change. After many months Oliver finally changed into a wolf. There was a note along the bottom.

"Serum induces amnesia. Given to project one-zero- one, and subject shows no memory of treatment." Daniella read the words at the bottom. After that entry there was no other entry made.

"They decided Oliver was not useful, but they put her down as being an asset for future reference. They were going to use her to lure more wolves. Her blonde hair and innocence were going to be the lure," Jason said from the doorway. He carried a plate of food. At the sight of him alone she felt a great wave of need flood her body. She'd spent the whole night in his bed, but it still didn't feel long enough.

"I can't believe we forgot all of this," she said. Closing the file she thought about what he said. "They were going to use her virginity to lure other wolves to claim her?"

"Yeah, they had an entire plan set up. My sister worked for a newspaper, and she'd been keeping an eye on the dead bodies. Each dead body has a mark that other wolves can detect."

"Your sister went out looking for the answer to the dead wolves?" Daniella asked.

"Yes, she didn't find anything at first, but then she stumbled onto this pack." He moved closer. The scent of spicy chicken was overpowering. Her appetite had disappeared yesterday, but now she couldn't stop eating. He placed the plate down on the clearest part of the desk. "Eat. You need to keep your strength up."

Nodding, she grabbed a piece of chicken and a napkin. Sinking her teeth into the succulent flesh, Daniella moaned as the flavors exploded on her tongue. "Katrina is one fine cook."

She loved cooking, but it was nice to eat without worrying about anything. Jason kept staring at her then down at her stomach. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing." He moved behind her, caressing her stomach as he pulled out a file with her name on it. "This one is yours."

Daniella stared at the file suddenly feeling sick. "I don't think I want to read that," she said, touching his hand where it lay against her stomach.

"Keep eating. I've read it." She took a chunk out of the chicken. He put the file down and kept a hand on her at all times. "Your allergy against silver was a problem. They wrote that for two minutes you had died on the table. The doctor panicked, brought you back to life, and they gave you the serum. There was nothing more they could do for you."

"Why keep me alive?" she asked. If it had been her she would have killed anyone who posed a threat to any experiment. She liked the fact they hadn't killed her, but it didn't make any sense as to why they kept her alive.

"They have their reasons. I'm sure we'll find them out soon." He was being vague. Finished with the chicken, she reached for some more. "I want to introduce you to my father," he said. Tensing in his arms, she glanced behind her. "Is that wise?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked, stroking her stomach. "We're not exactly seeing each other."

He chuckled. "My father knows I've got a woman in the house. It would be rude not to introduce her."

"I'm the woman you're using as a sex toy," she said, biting her lip.

"Wolves don't care about that. You're mine to show off as I will."

She shrugged. It was his father, and she wasn't going to cause waves between family members.