Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series Hayley Lawson (ebook reader play store .TXT) 📖

Leandro wasn’t buying a minute of it. “Yes, you can. You totally can. You are aware you’re talking to me, your son who knows exactly what you’re capable of? Or is that one of your other powers, talking bullshit?” Massimo placed his hand over his mouth, “Did you just curse at your father? I’ll have to put you over my knee for that.”

“Really?” Leandro raised his eyebrow but couldn’t hold his bad mood. The image of Leandro over his dad’s knee was enough to make everyone laugh.

“Don’t call me Fluffy. It’s bad enough when Carter does it.”

“Well, stop leaving me to talk with him.”

“If I turn into a wolf full time you’ll be stuck with him. But all joking aside, you’re right. I’m scared that if I turn into a wolf forever. I’ll lose the human side of me. Not the physical, but the part that makes humans different from animals,” Leandro admitted.

“When you were with Ryder yesterday, did you feel like Fluffy or Leandro?” Massimo asked.

“Like Leandro in…Fluffy’s body.” Leandro cringed as he forced the name out.”

Massimo smiled. “So that’s your answer. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Leandro wasn’t going to risk changing into a wolf. It wasn’t worth it just to see what was happening at the mountain settlement. Once they’d gathered up the team and freed the people from the bunker, then Leandro would decide what to do about his Were problem.

Chapter Eleven

Afana observed specimens One and Two to see what would happen to them after he gave them the infected blood.

He knew that the symptoms of the disease might take some time to present in the subjects, so he’d ordered Advisor Robert to fetch some of the heads from the freezer so he could run tests on them.

Robert had lined up the heads for Afana then he’d left to take blood samples from the other advisors.

Afana hoped that because the advisors hadn’t been outside it would take longer for them to turn, which meant that they would be able to work for longer if the disease did spread. He was also glad Robert was taking blood samples from everyone. That way they could weed out the infected cattle before they all turned and he was left with nothing to eat.

“Robert, are the screens turned on yet?” Afana asked Robert when he returned.

“No.” Robert quickly changed the subject. “I have the blood samples. Would you like to work on the heads or the blood samples?”

Afana thought about it. He looked at the blood samples and then the heads while he decided. “The blood samples.”

The two men got to work on their experiments. As Afana put the first sample of advisor blood into the dish, he knew he’d made a big mistake. He should have checked all of the cattle for the disease before drinking from any of them. He wouldn’t be so lax again.

He added the infected blood to the sample. They only had a small amount of Ivan’s blood, so he had to be careful how much he used on each sample. They would have more infected blood once the specimens succumbed, but so far there was no change in them. The men only glared at Afana, angry that he had injected them.

The samples of advisor blood behaved similarly to Robert’s. It took time for the disease to take over.

Afana selected another sample and dropped the blood into the dish. When he looked through the microscope, he had to check again. He hadn’t added diseased blood, but it was already present in the sample.

Afana selected another dish, making sure that it wasn’t contaminated. He dropped another few drops of the same sample into the new dish and watched it carefully. This advisor was infected.

“Robert, are you seeing this?” Afana asked Robert.

Robert stopped his work and looked at the screen on which the infected blood was projected. “Did you add the diseased blood already?”

Afana shook his head, and Robert came over to the station where Afana was working.

“Which sample is the blood from?” Robert asked.

Afana picked up the tube to read the name on it. “It’s from Advisor Nicholas.”

The two men looked through the glass window at the stations where the advisors were working.

The advisors looked down through the glass floors, watching all the levels to make sure no one was infected. Others were waiting for the camera monitors to be turned on. Some were trying to work out formulas to stop the disease, not knowing that in fact there was an infected person with them already.

Advisor Nicholas didn’t look unwell. He looked the same as he always had. Afana paid closer attention, and he noticed that Nicholas was staring at a blank computer screen. The advisor hadn’t even turned it on.

Afana glanced over the other advisors’ computer screens, which were all on.

“Go get Advisor Nicholas,” Afana ordered. He entered the override code to keep the door open.

Robert exited the glass room. All the other advisors turned to look at Robert, since they were all anxious about their test results—except for Advisor Nicholas. He continued to stare at the computer screen.

Robert walked over to Nicholas and patted him gingerly on the shoulder. The other advisors leaned away from him.

Nicholas’ head jerked toward Robert.

Afana could see by the look in Robert’s eyes that there was something wrong.

Before Nicholas could reach Robert, Afana had crossed the room and twisted Nicholas’ head off like a cork. The blood splattered on the white lab coats of the advisors, and Nicholas’ body fell to the floor. Afana had Nicholas’ head in his hand.

Afana looked at the advisor’s lab coats and was annoyed at himself for risking infecting his cattle.

Everything happened so quickly no one else had had time to react. Once they did, they moved away from the gore scene fast.

Afana placed Nicholas’ head on the table and inspected his body. There was no sign of any disease, except for a single suspicious-looking scab on Nicholas’ shoulder.

“How did he catch the disease?” Robert