Masked

CHAPTER 12 | subject 13

Middlemarch Estate

Order was everything. Without it, how could one function? Dr. Hans Fridericks relished the fact he was a neat and methodical person. As such, he insisted on a perfectly sterile working environment. There was a place for everything, and everything was in its place.

Satisfied he was prepared for the next round, Hans ran a critical eye over the room. From the medical monitors to the heart and lung unit, to the mobile 160,000 lux halogen mobile surgical light, no expense had been spared. In fact, the room was better equipped than many of the top hospitals' operating rooms around the world.

He ordered his assistant to recheck the spotless instrument table placed the perfect distance from the medical table. The table itself was laden with surgical knives, scalpels, forceps, and the other myriad of equipment required to carry out his work. Each implement, carefully and lovingly cleaned and then set on the stainless-steel trays in perfect order, was set exactly one inch apart.

He rechecked the monitors and machines that would be used for the procedure, and confirmed everything was in working order and within acceptable parameters. He was taking no chances with this one. It would not do to have another one die on his table—it would take far too long to prepare another test subject.

Time he did not have.

His alpha was becoming less and less tolerant. Hans needed a breakthrough to complete the formula that would be used to carry out their objective. Without it, their work to date would have been in vain. He would never get back to their main experiment. Moreover, he did not wish to suffer the same ending as his predecessor. His alpha was unforgiving when it came to this particular matter.

Failure meant death, and he had come too far to die now.

Hans glanced at his watch, ensuring everything was in order to begin when the alpha arrived. "Tighten the straps," he said to his assistant. "We don't need a repeat of this morning."

"How much longer do you think this one will last?" his assistant said.

Hans raked his gaze across Subject Thirteen's body. "So far we've had positive results. Hopefully, he will make it through the entire procedure." He tilted his head and considered his options. "However, we should start prepping another control subject just in case."

He and his assistant quickly stood to attention as the door to the room opened and Alpha Lauzon stepped inside, along with a Werewolf he had never seen before. Judging from his size and demeanor, the new arrival was also an alpha.

"Are you ready to begin?" Alpha Lauzon said.

Nodding affirmation, Hans moved next to the surgical table, eager to commence the testing.

The unknown alpha sniffed the unconscious body on the table. "So how does this all work?"

Han's peered at the man. American?

Was this the American Alpha that Alpha Lauzon enlisted to help in their quest? Hans had never been given the name of the allies who invested millions of dollars in helping fund their research.

Not sure how to proceed, Hans looked to Alpha Lauzon to ascertain if he was allowed to speak. When he received a curt nod, he said, "We require two subjects for each test. The control subject and the test subject. The latest variation of Wildfire is introduced directly into the bloodstream of the test subject first. We then monitor the somatic stem cells. This is to determine if there has been a breakdown in the body's ability to maintain and repair the disease. The hope is that it's running rampant and uncontrolled throughout the body."