“You know what you need to know.” Milliner straightened his spine and a muscle in his cheek twitched. Nate tensed as well, preparing for the next verbal jab. Then Milliner’s posture relaxed and he leaned back in the booth. “I’m a father too, so I’ll let you in on a little secret. Heather was given an earlier version of this formula and there were no ill effects—at least to her.” A knowing smile lifted one corner of Milliner’s mouth.
Nate scooted closer to the table as fury hazed his vision. “What the hell are you talking about? If you touched my daughter without my permission, I’ll rip out your heart and stuff it in your mouth.”
Milliner laughed and the gleam in his eyes fueled Nate’s violent impulses. “We didn’t give it to her. You did. One of our mutual acquaintances convinced you to inject her with the formula yourself. Should have known you couldn’t trust a cat.”
Nate felt his mouth gape and snapped his jaw shut. Milliner was talking about Osric, a tiger-shifter Nate had secretly aligned with six years ago. Well, “aligned” was probably too strong a word. They kept each other informed and occasionally pooled their resources as they worked toward common goals. That didn’t constitute much of an alliance. Nate had never trusted the cat, had never trusted any cat. “Osric was one of yours?”
“I told you my influence stretches further than you could possibly imagine.” Milliner’s smug smile gradually gave way to an ambitious glower.
“Did Osric tell you what that injection did to Carlos? I’ve never seen anything that twisted.”
“The formula has been refined several times since then. If current protocols are followed it’s perfectly safe.”
“Safe?” Nate scoffed. “I doubt you know the meaning of the word.”
“You don’t need to worry about what I know. You have a decision to make. Heather or Dhane? It’s that simple.”
Nate knew more about Milliner and his program than the general suspected. Long ago Nate had realized the importance of accurate information, so he’d recruited strategically placed personnel in each of the other Therian networks. Eli, Nate’s contact in Rocky Mountain Feline Network, had provided him with an in-depth background of Milliner and his partners. The cats had raided one of the project’s laboratories and convinced one of the doctors to trade information for amnesty. Their bold actions had only slowed the program’s progress rather than shutting it down. Still, Nate had benefited from their partial success.
So why had Osric been involved with… It didn’t matter. Osric was dead and Milliner was waiting for Nate’s answer.
With Bruce dead and Landon turned traitor, Dhane was Nate’s last hope for a successor. He had no plans to step down anytime soon but it was every alpha’s duty to secure the future for his pack. That’s what he’d hoped to accomplish with the challenge. He needed to trade Heather for Dhane. He’d explored every alternative and ultimately decided that he had no other choice. Even so, he hadn’t wanted to leave Heather at the mercy of Milliner. Contrary to popular belief, he loved his daughter with all his heart.
Nate knew about the formula, knew it was engineered for an undefined female. It had all been detailed in Eli’s report. If Heather were defined and mated, she would be safe from Milliner’s meddling. Worst case scenario, Milliner would kill Heather to punish Nate for tricking him. But Nate doubted Milliner would carelessly waste such a valuable asset. And that’s all Therians were to the backers—assets, possessions to be bartered, manipulated and exploited. Understanding the true nature of an enemy made that enemy easier to destroy.
“I intend to accept your offer and trade Heather for Dhane.” Nate carefully modulated his voice, keeping any hint of anxiety from revealing itself. “Unfortunately Heather took off last night. So I need a few days to—”
“Took off where? Why?” Milliner shoved his plate aside and rested his forearms on the table. His cold, blue gaze drilled into Nate’s. “Is there any possibility she found out what you intend?”
“No. She’s been skittish ever since her brother died.”
“Ever since you had him killed, don’t you mean?” Milliner arched his brow, accenting the challenge in his tone.
Nate pictured himself lunging across the table and clawing off the human’s face. Milliner was damn lucky they met in public. “This has nothing to do with Bruce.”
“But you just said Bruce was the cause of Heather’s skittishness.”
Nate ignored the provocation and remained outwardly calm. “I have half my pack out looking for her. It’s just a matter of time before she’s found.”