ChapterEighteen
Ican’t do it…
Dr. Dante’s frantic whisper followed Johnathan out to the front porch.
I can’t take the risk.
The flash of panic in the man’s expression Johnathan caught from the corner of his eye weighed down his shoulders.
Without Dr. Dante, they had little to no chance of fixing the VrK without years of trial and error.
Johnathan’s people didn’t have years. He wasn’t even sure they had one.
Especially now with the Senate scheming to make them into monsters.
And they’d get their war when the public demanded their government to erase Mah from the earth.
If the rest of what Dr. Dante said was true, if the VrK had changed the rules in creating curs, then Mah were truly a danger to human existence.
Because Dr. Dante was right, others would see it as an opportunity to eradicate their oppressor.
Johnathan wished he didn’t understand why his people felt that way. He also wished he could promise Dr. Dante if he chose not to change the VrK, he wouldn’t be pursued, captured, and locked up somewhere forced to work. Even if Grey Dekker didn’t go after him, another Mah pack leader would. Then not only would Dr. Dante be held against his will to make the VrK, he’d become tied to a member of the pack, and the strength he’d give them could empower them to challenge Grey for the entire Clan.
The screen door creaked, and Dr. Dante’s sweet scent spilled outside.
He stopped next to Johnathan. “You heard what I said to Luca, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. Kind of hard not to.”
“I don’t know why I thought you wouldn’t.” He cleared his throat and watched the horizon.
“Maybe you did know and said it so you wouldn’t have to say it to my face.”
Craige and Dalton stood under the bare branches of a large oak, talking. “Dalton.” Johnathan’s voice boomed across the open space. “Take Phillip’s rental and move it to the back. Make sure you don’t leave the keys in the ignition.” On foot, Johnathan had a chance of catching her if she decided to vacate the premises.
Dalton nodded and got in Phillips’s car.
“Sorry about that. Sometimes I have to separate them like elementary students so they’ll keep their mind on their job.”
“It’s okay.” Dr. Dante toed the head of a nail sticking up from one of the slats on the porch. After a long silence, he said, “Am I right? You know, about the rest?”
“My father will protect you, but he’ll force you to work on the VrK.”
“I’m not going to be very good at my job if he sticks toothpicks under my fingernails.” The tremor in Dr. Dante’s voice would have been missed by human ears.
“There are many ways to break a man of his will without harming him.”
“Sleep deprivation? Sound torture? Psychological damage would ensure my inability to work.”
“He won’t need to do that either.”
Dr. Dante looked at him. The question burned in his eyes but so did the fear of asking it. Johnathan wanted to spare him, but Dr. Dante needed to know what he’d face if he failed to comply. “One of the things that makes an Alpha Mah is their will. When they want to overpower a lower rank, all they need to do is will it. It’s like a fire, and even from a distance, you will get burned. You might not know it until you blister, but by then, it’s too late.”
“Why did you tell me I could leave if it was a lie?” Dr. Dante sounded lost.
“Because I’m not my father, and if you want to leave, I’ll make it happen. I’ll make sure you have the means to vanish, so even I won’t know where you are.” As long as Dr. Dante didn’t run or as long as he was far enough away for a Mah to trigger him, he could stay hidden.
Johnathan hoped.