“You’re a lucky girl, Abigail. We weren’t sure you were going to make it. I’m Dr. Tanner.”
Fear returned as memories surfaced of what Boris and the other assholes had done. Her gaze darted around the room as a scream bubbled to her throat.
“We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help you,” Dr. Tanner announced, lifting his hands and stepping back. “This is Colton Trapp. He’s the chief of SID, the Shifter Investigation Division.”
“Where am I and how do you know my name?” Abigail shrieked while scurrying as far away as the IV’s and machines would let her from the men. “What did you do to me?”
“An anonymous tip.” The doctor answered with a frown while looking at the other man in the room before meeting her gaze again. “Whoever helped you escape left you in an alley, behind SID. You’d lost a significant amount of blood.”
Abigail rubbed her wrists from where the restraints had scathed her skin. “I was abducted.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Those assholes…”
The man named Colton stepped forward and lifted a reassuring hand before dropping it back to his side. “Will die for what they’ve done.”
She looked up into his eyes and knew he meant what he said.
“You’ll kill them?” Her voice came out a whisper.
“They’re killing innocent people. I’ll do what’s necessary, Abigail,” he reassured her.
The skin on her arms tingled with a sensation she’d never felt before. She glanced down at her fingers. Her normally short nails were long and sharp. Orange and black hairs had started to sprout on her arms. Warmth radiated through her chest. Her heart raced, and her eyes widened as she held up her arms. “What did they do to me?”
“Take several deep breaths and fight your change. We need you coherent.”
“What change?” Her voice rose an octave. “What are you talking about?”
“Calm down, and I’ll explain.”
Abigail took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, trying to will her heartbeat to slow down. She opened her eyes. These men weren’t restraining her. She was safe.
“For as long as I’ve lived, there have always been people from opposite ends of the spectrum; they either hate shifters and want to destroy them or are looking for ways to be just like them. It’s nature. Our intel suggests that the group that abducted you was trying to transform humans into shifters as a way to build an army. They’ve altered your DNA in an experiment to see if they could change you from human to shifter.” He paused. “And they succeeded. We need your help to stop them from doing it to anyone else.”
She looked down at her pale skin. Her voice was a whisper in the room. “They’ve ruined my life.”
“Abigail,” Colton said.
“Abigail’s dead. Those bastards killed her,” she growled and lifted her gaze to meet Colton’s. “And I’m going to return the favor, even if I die trying; you can count me in.”Starting with the man named Boris.
Colton gave her a determined nod. “You aren’t alone anymore, Abigail. I’m going to help you, train you, teach you, and turn you into their worst nightmare.”
She pressed her lips together as hatred seeped into her bones, curling around every fiber of her being. They’d screwed up. They should have killed her while they had the chance. She wasn’t weak anymore. She could feel the shimmering of the beasts stirring to life inside her body. They were just as thirsty for revenge as she was. She might not know how to control them yet, but she would. It was just a matter of time before she could return the pain they’d inflicted on her. The only difference was they wouldn’t be saved, not from her. She slid her legs off the bed, trying to stand for the first time, and Colton stepped forward as if to catch her in the event she fell.
“Abigail, are you okay?”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “I said Abigail is dead.” She paused as the hot anger swept through her again. “Call me Elizabeth.”
