"He's near."

Randolph nodded, but it was Jackson who spoke. "Are you able to sense him?"

Ever since her creature had wakened, Raven had been reluctant to call her power for fear of discovering she had nothing left. "I'll give it a try."

She sank her fingers into the electricity hovering under her skin. The creature clenched her talons, resisting the pull. Raven pushed harder until her stomach rebelled under the strain. The air became thick in the cabin, movements slowed as if through molasses, the creature fighting her every step of the way.

It was hording the power for itself.

That was unacceptable, not when the life of her pack was at stake. Raven took every pathetic bit of power she could gather and threw it all at the creature.

Demanded a response.

With a huff, the creature finally relented, and the power broke free.

Current built under her skin, gaining momentum like a wave about to crest and drown her. Unable to hold it back, the energy broke free and shot out across the forest floor like a shockwave from a blast. The weak plywood floor of the cabin bucked under their feet. The strength of her power nearly knocked everyone in the cabin to their knees.

Raven ignored their stares, ignored the slight bitter taste of fear and awe, concentrating on the information feeding to her. She dismissed the hits she'd received from the group, followed the curl of energy, but something niggled at the back of her mind.

Then she knew.

There was one too many people.

"He's outside."

And coming up right behind Taggert.

Raven's eyes widened in alarm, and she shot out of the doorway, her fear allowing her to move faster.

"Taggert!"

She ran and leapt off the porch, her injury throbbing in protest. Slowing her down. Taggert's form was silhouetted against the stillness of the trees.

Safe.

But the tension riding her didn't abate.

"Taggerta"

He straightened but too late. A man looped his arm around Taggert's neck, shoving something that looked like a gun at his carotid.

No, not a pistol, a dart gun.

"Come any closer and I will inject your friend with the latest version of my serum."

Raven skidded to a stop with less than ten feet separating them. "Professor."

How could she not have made the connection sooner?

She only had her own stupidity to blame. She'd been so focused on her dislike of Vivian and fighting with the rogues, she was blinded to the true killer.

Though he issued the threat to everyone, he hadn't removed his gaze from her as if she were the biggest threat.

Which made no sense to her at all.

Taggert didn't appear concerned at the turn of events.

That was okay.

She was frightened enough for the both of them.

On edge, waiting for the slightest opening, she watched Professor's thumb on the trigger. If he moved, she would fry him. Professor knew it, too.

"It seems we're at a stand-off." She circled to get a better angle.

His grip tightened, his finger tensing on the trigger. "Ah-ah. I wouldn't do that. I would hate to have an accident."

Going against instinct, Raven stilled. She kept her body lose and ready to react the instant he let down his guard. "You don't seem too shocked to see me."

Professor shook his head. "The rogues' alpha hadn't the skill to kill you. You've defied all his attempts. He was a fool and underestimated you."

Implying that Professor wouldn't.

"You used him to do your dirty work, turned him against his own kind."

"No, I just gave him the opportunity. He did all the rest on his own." He twisted, using his shoulder to push up the corner of his glasses. "I have the brains. Sadly, I lack the brawn to make people listen and obey."

"So you promised him power and money in return for his cooperation." Raven shuffled closer. "Did he decide that I must die on his own or did you give him a little help?"

The slight man shook his head. "That was him. All he cared about was not allowing anyone to stop his petty pursuit of revenge. He couldn't see the bigger picture."

Raven raised a brow, not believing him completely. "And it didn't matter all the people you had to kill to perfect your drug. But it isn't perfect, is it?"

"You sound like that fool at Pak Pharmaceuticals."

Kevin.

Somehow, she wasn't surprised.

"We were at the testing stage. A few people died, so he shut us down despite all that we could've gained. He thought he'd destroyed my research, but I had backups."

Raven gritted her teeth knowing that all of this could've been avoided if protocols had been followed. "How do you think this will end after all the people you've murdered with your experiments?"

The bespectacled man smiled. "I'll be a hero. And you're going to help me. You burst into the shifter world, disdaining the old ways. You're not like the others. You understand what I'm trying to do."

Raven calculated a dozen ways to free Taggert while Professor babbled and dismissed them all. The percentages were too high.

Professor nodded to his lab, fervor lighting his eyes. "Together, we can create an equal world, no more rogues, no more alphas to rule us."

He didn't seem to realize that most of her actions had been made in ignorance to protect her pack. "There are rules in place for a reason. The way rogues are treated is atrocious, but there is dynamic in the pack beyond just control and power. An alpha keeps the pack in line and prevents them from falling into chaos."

The man's face fell. "They already got to you. Filled your head with their lies."

She tracked Professor's every gesture, shuffling closer. "You think drugging and killing shifters is the answer? You're no better than the humans."

"Only the weak," he shouted, his face turning red from the insult. The barrel of the gun pressed brutally against Taggert's neck until he winced.

Raven tensed at his outburst.

Taggert waited for her signal to run or duck. The complete faith in his eyes sent a sharp thrust of panic to her gut.

She couldn't risk him.

A twist of fear sent her heart rattling against her ribs. Talons flexed in her chest, ripping up her insides in the need to act. She needed to distract Professor from his anger, or she'd loose Taggert. "A pack cannot function with all alphas."

"That's just it. We won't need packs anymore. Each of us would be strong enough to hold our own. No more need to rely on anyone else. No more slaves. No more pack war."

At one time, Raven might have agreed with him. "You talk of peace, but you have no clue what it's like to be an alpha." She swallowed hard. "We saw the bodies. They killed each other as they battled for dominance. If this drug ever got out, no shifter would be able to remain in the same city. We'd hunt each other to extinction."

Professor waved away her words, her stubbornness at not seeing things his way beginning to wear thin. "No, you're purposely looking at it wrong. I just need to adjust the drug to weed out the aggression."

"You want to change us. The humans will view us as monsters again. You'll destroy everything that we've built in the last ten years." With each word, rage swelled in her chest, spreading heat in its wake.

"Don't say that. My work is the next step in evolution."

Raven understood then that no amount of reasoning would change his mind. The only way out was to make him mad enough to shoot her, giving Taggert the chance to run. "When we first revealed ourselves to the human world, they experimented on us. They acted out of fear. You're just a coward desperate to escape your fate as a rogue. You would never amount to anything in the pack."

A deathly pall washed over his face, a calmness to him that sent a shiver up her spine. "You're wrong. I'll show you."

Raven tensed to leap, but realized her mistake too late. She surged forward, only able to watch in horror as Professor's finger flexed on the trigger. Taggert flinched, grabbed at his neck even as he crumbled. She fell to her knees, her injured leg giving way when tried to catch him.

Professor raised the gun. She braced to be shot, but he only held it level at her.

"Stop, not any closer. We can't risk anyone else being infected. You know what happens when two alphas fight."

They would battle to the death.

Raven jerked the dart from of Taggert's neck, heaving it into the woods. She watched Taggert on his hands and knees, chest heaving as the toxins coursed through his body. Blood rushed in her ears as she waited. She half expected to see Taggert shredded before her very eyes.

"You've killed him." Sorrow nearly swallowed her whole. Raven waited for wrath or hatred to overwhelm her apathy and take control but guilt left her incapacitated.

She brought him to this by involving him in her cases.

"On the contrary, I saved him. With this new mix, his body would've reacted by now." Victory reflected off his face. "I granted him a gift. He will know what it feels like to be a true alpha."

She reached out with trembling fingers to reassure them both, only to have him snap his teeth at her.

The rejection stung.

Never in her wildest nightmares had she ever anticipated that reaction.

The truth of his words reflected back in Taggert's yellow eyes. Instead of the need for belonging she normally saw there, possessiveness bordering on cruelty, gazed back at her.

Raven retreated and stood. Taggert growled and mimicked her movements. He inhaled as if he could smell her then licked his lips.

Randolph studied her reactions like a bystander. Her lips tightened, her anger growing at his passiveness while her people suffered. Neil ignored the scene unfolding, his attention unwavering as he stared unblinking at the Professor.

"Tell me doctor, what happens to all the women in your grand new world? They will be fought over, hunted down and slaughtered. No more pure lines. Our race will die out. Do you think the humans will allow us to steal their women when none are left?"

Professor shrugged. "It's no better for them now, bartered like cattle."

"They are protected by the pack. They are our future." Anger heated her chest, her outrage nearly making her step toward him.

Taggert's muscles bunched, and she froze.

One more step and he'd be on her.

Shifters always carried their beasts close to the surface. She had no idea how much control the human side of them exuded to remain in charge. How much more she had yet to learn. The drug had ripped away Taggert's filters, leaving her with a wild animal.

Nothing of him remained.

"You're smart, but you forgot one thing."

A frown creased Professor's brow, and he slowly shook his head. "I can assure you that I have not."

"You've discounted the strength of pack." Raven lifted her chin, staring at Taggert in challenge.

His lips pulled back, revealing sharp, canine teeth. Her pulse fluttered, but not in fear of his threat. The fear came from what she had to do to save them.

She had to show dominance.

Normally, not a problem, but all she had left was the creature.

There was no choice.

She couldn't lose Taggert.

Raven slowly dropped the shields she'd spent a lifetime building. The talons in her chest flexed at the new freedom, and Raven surrendered to the pull. The creature immediately dropped into the pure energy.

Cracks spidered along the edges of her core before it slowly crumbled. Heat sizzled through her, speeding along her veins as if someone injected her with acid. Pressure built until her body felt too small to contain it.

The cold that had followed her dissipated and delicious warmth took over.

Raven lashed out. Her hand gripped Taggert's throat, and she dragged him near. A growl rumbled up her throat, angered that he'd dare test her. She fought against the need to rip into him and teach him a lesson.

Taggert dropped to his knees and offered his throat. The yellow eyes splintered to chocolate brown, an alpha recognizing himself as prey to the creature she harbored.

At his recoil, she managed to pull herself back from the edges of her rage, but her power would not be tucked away.