“Not good.” Exhausted, I sank into the chair next to him.
I kept the knife pointed at him, although I wasn’t really worried he was going to try something. He seemed too dedicated to his research, too focused on gleaning information from whatever source he could, to be interested in overpowering me. Other than Fletcher, Boone was the only male rabbit shifter who didn’t give off completely icky vibes.
“What if they got more of my blood? Could that save them?” My words came out as barely more than a whisper.
Boone leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know. This is uncharted territory.”
“But based on your research so far, what’s your best guess?” I pressed.
“I don’t think your blood possesses enough antibodies. Even if you still lived in the burrow, your antibodies wouldn’t be high enough.” He paused, then asked. “I’m assuming you’re Charlee, the female who managed to get away?”
“Yes.” I leveled my gaze at him and lifted my chin, prepared to defend my actions.
Boone gave me a small smile. “Good for you.”
Based on my past experience with the men in the burrow, I’d braced myself for a nasty remark or a self-important lecture on how I’d done the burrow wrong by stealing their valuable property—and by property, I meant me.
Good for you.
My utter shock at his words stole the very air from my lungs, making it impossible to do more than gape at him.
“I wouldn’t blame any of the women for trying to leave.” He released a long sigh. “Honestly, they should get away from here. Heck, I’d leave if I could.”
“So why don’t you?” I asked, genuinely curious. “If the council’s ways disgust you, why are you willing to stay and do their dirty work?”
“Don’t look at me like that, Charlee.” Boone turned away and stared at the laptop screen. “I wasn’t the one who started thisresearch. It began long before I was even old enough to work in the lab. My mistake was catching the council’s attention by showing ‘promise’ in mathematics and science in high school. They wanted me in the lab, and they decided on my future career path.”
“You could’ve left,” I pointed out. “Men are given more freedom than women; surely you didn’t have to stay.”
“I know, and I had a whole plan figured out.” Boone nodded. “On the outside, I’d nod my head and agree with the council’s orders long enough to get my college degree, and then I’d disappear. It worked perfectly… until my last year at the university. That’s when the burrow decided to give me a behind-the-scenes tour of their lab, and show me what I’d be working on.”
“Seriously? You expect me to believe you didn’t know about the toxin until then?” I scoffed, struggling to believe his story.
Boone shrugged. “I can’t make you believe anything I say. In fact, you probably shouldn’t believe anything someone in the burrow tells you. The council knew what would happen if the wolf packs found out about the toxin, so they weren’t willing to risk telling me until they were sure I hadn’t gone to university and run my mouth about the burrow’s business. When I didn’t stir up trouble, they decided I was trustworthy, and it was time to let me in on their dirty secret.”
He fell quiet, and the only sound in the room was the soft tapping of his fingers on the keys. Boone was concentrating so hard on his screen that I remained silent. As curious as I was about his backstory, I wanted the documents on the toxin more. My mates were my priority.
After two minutes, he spoke again. “My carefully built plan came crashing down the moment I learned the burrow had created a toxin that could be weaponized. In theory, it couldwipe out unsuspecting wolf packs. Not just the paranormal kind, but also the natural predators.”
Boone paused to stick a USB drive into the side of his laptop, then continued. “The burrow has a toxin that could destroy multiple shifter species and natural fauna, yet they’d done no research into counteracting its effects. They’d already proven they were willing to use it to kill the wolf shifters they captured. That’s why I stayed. By remaining here, I have unlimited access to the toxin and the lab equipment I need for my research. I’ve dedicated my life and freedom to finding an antidote—and then getting it into the hands of the wolf packs.”
I looked at Boone through different eyes. This man wasn’t an evil scientist, like I’d assumed everyone in the lab had to be. Maybe there were a few good people in the burrow after all; rabbit shifters who hadn’t been wooed by their greed and lust. In a way, Boone had been used and trapped, just as I had been before my escape.
As sad as I was for him, this wasn’t the time to let my emotions get the best of me. “So when rabbits are exposed to the toxin, we have a spike of antibodies in our blood. Correct?”
Boone nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Any exposure to the toxin causes it. Through the skin or ingestion.”
I spun the knife in my hand, a nervous habit. “So, what if I go roll in the plants and expose myself to create a spike?”
He hesitated, then shook his head. “It wouldn’t be enough. Your immune system is used to fighting the toxin. So yes, there’d be a spike, but not enough to create the type of antibody load we need if we’re going to save your mates.”
“Okay, what if you inject me directly with the toxin? Instead of a safe dose, give me several vials of the toxin. I don’t care. You could inject me with all of it!”
“No!” Boone spun to face me, his eyes filled with horror. “While a rabbit’s body can tolerate exposure to the toxin andyou have some antibodies in your blood, your body wouldn’t be prepared or able to handle an injection of the toxin in its most potent form.”
“But it would cause a spike, right?” I was a bulldog with a bone, one I wasn’t ready to release anytime soon.
“Well, yes…” he reluctantly agreed. “It would cause a massive antibody response. But it would have fatal, or at least near fatal, effects.”
