Lab experiment
19: 19.
Lab experiment Aria
“I never thought I’d say this, but wow someone’s gunning for your asshole crown, Ronan,” I say when those gangly creeps leave.
It’s the lack of sound that makes me turn around.
When I do, everyone is staring at me.
Not casually.
Not the normal wow, that was weird kind of staring.
No.
This is the intense, analytical, slightly unsettled kind of staring that makes the back of my neck prickle.
Five large wolves are looking at me like I just grew a second head.
I shift slightly under the weight of their attention.
“…Why are you all looking at me that way?”
My voice breaks the silence in the room.
The Assembly envoy has been gone for maybe three minutes, but the tension they left behind is still hanging in the air like smoke.
I glance toward my brother.
“Liam?”
He’s standing beside Barric near the coffee table where the Assembly wolves were sitting earlier.
His brows are furrowed as he studies me.
“We’ve just never seen someone react that way to The Call,” he says slowly.
I cross my arms.
“That way, meaning… not liking strangers messing with my brain?”
Barric huffs a quiet laugh.
But Liam shakes his head.
“No,” he says.
“Meaning resisting it.”
His gaze flicks briefly toward Ronan.
“…unless they were a more dominant wolf.”
That makes my stomach flip.
My eyes instinctively move to Ronan.
He’s leaning back in the chair, arms folded across his chest, his broad shoulders taking up an unfair amount of space in the room.
His dark gaze meets mine.
For just a second, there’s something there.
A flicker of surprise.
Gone almost immediately.
Then he nods once.
Confirmation.
My brain trips over that information.
“Wait,” I say.
“Are you telling me the only people who usually fight off the creepy mind control thing are… wolves?”
“Dominant wolves,” Kade clarifies.
He’s leaning back in one of the chairs, long legs stretched out casually in front of him.
His sky-blue eyes meet mine.
And for a moment, I get distracted.
Which is unfair.
I never paid much attention to the way they look, mostly because I hated everything about them.
But without the haze of uncontrollable rage, it was annoyingly apparent how lickable they all were.
Especially after meeting the rest of the pack.
Because apparently all shifters are mixed with some sort of impossibly sexy DNA that makes their gaze just as dangerous as their claws.
Those blue eyes are bright and sharp, and there’s something warm behind them that catches me off guard.
I clear my throat.
Focus, Aria.
Barric tilts his head slightly.
“How did it feel?”
I blink.
“…what?”
“The Call,” he says.
His voice is curious, not threatening.
“How did it feel when they tried to use it on you?”
I pause.
Actually thinking about it.
Because in the moment, I mostly just reacted.
But now that I replay it in my head…
“It feels like…” I hesitate.
The room is quiet.
Everyone waiting.
“…pressure.”
Five wolves lean in slightly.
I frown, trying to find the right words.
“Wrong pressure,” I add.
“What do you mean?” Liam asks.
“It’s like… you know when you’re about to get sick?”
They stare at me.
“That moment before a cold hits,” I explain.
“When something in your body just feels off.”
“You can’t see it yet, but you know something’s wrong.”
Barric nods slowly.
“Your instincts are warning you.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“That.”
Kade leans forward a little.
“So how did you stop it?”
My brain stalls.
“…I don’t know.”
Five skeptical looks greet that answer.
“Think. Try your best to put it into words,” Ronan says.
His voice is calm, but there’s an intensity behind the word.
I sigh.
“Okay.”
I close my eyes briefly, remembering the moment when the Assembly wolf pushed against my mind.
“That pressure starts building,” I say slowly.
“Like someone knocking on a door inside your head.”
“Except it’s not a polite knock.”
“It’s more like someone trying to shove the door open.”
Barric’s wolf flickers in his eyes for just a moment.
Interest.
“And then?” he asks.
“I say no.”
The room goes quiet again.
“That’s it?” Kade asks.
“Not exactly.”
I open my eyes and gesture vaguely in the air.
“My mind kind of… shuts it out.”
Liam tilts his head.
“Like when you ignore someone talking to you?”
“Sort of,” I say.
“But it takes more effort.” I try to explain the feeling.
“It’s like pushing something away from you. With your mind. Like this invisible pressure trying to come closer, and you just keep forcing it back.”
Kade’s brows lift.
Barric glances toward Ronan.
Ronan doesn’t say anything.
But his gaze is locked on me.
Studying.
Evaluating.
The silence stretches.
And then all four men exchange a look.
One of those silent wolf communication things they do that I’m definitely not included in.
“That look is making me uncomfortable,” I inform them.
Barric chuckles.
“Sorry.
You’re just… interesting.”
“Fantastic,” I deadpan.
“That’s exactly what every girl wants to hear from supernatural predators.”
Liam rolls his eyes.
“You’re doing great.”
“Is this over now? Because I feel like a lab experiment.”
Ronan’s phone suddenly rings.
The sharp sound cuts through the tension.
He pulls it from his pocket and glances at the screen.
“Theo,” he mutters.
He answers.
“Report.”
The rest of us listen quietly while he talks.
There’s a short pause.
Then Ronan nods once.
“Good.”
He hangs up and slips the phone back into his pocket.
“The Assembly members have left the pack land.”
I exhale slowly.
“Well, that’s comforting.”
Kade stretches his arms behind his head.
“Temporary comfort.”
“Don’t ruin the moment,” I say.
The room relaxes slightly now that the immediate threat is gone.
For now.
My brain, however, is already moving on to other things.
Specifically—
Projects.
I turn toward Barric.
“Can I steal some of your tools?”
He blinks.
“…my tools?”
“Yeah. I wanna play. Don’t work, I know how to work my way around iron. I won’t hurt myself. Or you.”
His eyes sharpen.
“I knew I saw you eyeing the workshed.”
I clasp my hands together.
“I’ve been sitting around for two days while my entire understanding of reality implodes. I’m going to go crazy if I don’t get my hands on something. I need something… normal to do.”
Barric looks amused.
“What kind of tools?”
“Woodworking stuff.”
Screwdrivers.
Sanders.
Things I can hit with other things.
“…wolf things.”
Barric bursts out laughing.
The sound fills the room.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Ronan and Kade both frowning slightly.
Which is interesting.
Barric shakes his head, still chuckling.
“You can take whatever you want.”
“Yes!” I pump a small victory fist.
“I might have to head out later for some pack assessments,” he continues.
“But feel free to make yourself at home in the work shed.”
I grin.
“I knew you liked me.”
He snorts.
“Don’t get cocky.”
Too late.
Because honestly?
Right now I need this.
Something simple.
Something normal.
Something that doesn’t involve mind control, wolves, or secret supernatural councils deciding whether I’m a threat to their species.
Woodworking sounds perfect.
Behind me, I hear Ronan shift slightly.
And even though I’m not looking at him, I can practically feel his eyes on me.
Watching.
Thinking.
Trying to figure something out.
Barric pushes away from the table.
“Come on,” he says.
“I’ll show you where everything is before I head out.”
“Perfect.”
I start toward the door with him.
But before I can get more than two steps, a chair scrapes loudly across the floor behind me.
I glance back.
Kade is standing now.
His posture is stiff.
His jaw tight.
“I’ll go,” he says.
Barric pauses mid-step.
“…go where?”
“To the shed.”
His blue eyes flick to me briefly before settling on Barric again.
“I know where everything is. And this way, one of us is with Aria until you get back.”
Barric raises an eyebrow.
“Okay.”
The tension in the room thickens instantly.
I blink between them.
Did I miss something?
Barric studies Kade for a moment, then smirks slightly.
“Are you volunteering to babysit?”
Kade’s eyes narrow.
“I’m making sure she doesn’t cut her hand off.”
Something in Kade’s tone makes me look at him more carefully.
“Are you okay, Prince Charming?”
“I will be one when we get going,” he says
“Rude,” I mutter.
“Well,” Barric says casually, “if you’re that concerned…” He gestures toward the door.
“Knock yourself out.”
Kade doesn’t wait for a second invitation.
He walks over and stops beside me.
“Come on.”
His voice is calmer now, but there’s still a tightness in it.
I glance between him and Barric.
Then I grin.
“Well,” I say lightly.
“Looks like I’ve got my shackles for the day.”
Barric laughs under his breath.
Behind him, Ronan is watching the entire exchange with that same unreadable expression.
Kade opens the door.
I step through first.
But as we walk down the hall toward the work shed, I can’t help glancing sideways at him.
His jaw is still tight.
His shoulders are still stiff.
And despite everything happening around us—
The Assembly.
The wolves.
The supernatural chaos of my life—
I feel a small, amused smile tug at my lips.
Because some things are starting to feel almost normal.