17. Oscar

Chapter 17

Oscar

I could feel the nerves radiating off Daxton as we set out to find Gene. This was the closest he had come to getting any real answers, and maybe this would be it. Maybe this stop would give him every answer he'd been searching for, or maybe it would open up a whole new can of worms, sending him down different rabbit holes, searching forever. I really hoped it was the first. More importantly, I hoped I'd be able to be his anchor through whatever we found. He was no longer on his own, and I never wanted him to feel that way again.

The ride was short, but the location was so off the grid that we ended up having to hike part of the way there. For someone who was easy to find on the internet, Gene was very difficult to find in real life. We trekked through dense woods, the path barely visible beneath the thick underbrush. The air was crisp and cool, with a faint scent of pine, and the only sounds were the crunch of leaves beneath our feet and our own breaths. Not a sound to be heard, which told me he was probably a shifter too… a fierce one.

Finally, we came upon the cabin. Smoke billowed up from the chimney. Someone was home. I gave Daxton's hand a squeeze, trying to reassure him—and myself—that we had this under control. We walked the short distance to the front door, and just as we knocked, I heard a noise from behind the cabin.

Before I could react, someone bolted out of the back of the cabin and ran into the woods. I wasn't sure what we should do—should we stay? Should we run after him? Should we wait?

Daxton called out, "I think I'm like you!" His voice was clear, cutting through the tension in the air.

The man stopped in his tracks and slowly turned back toward us. He was significantly older than either of us, with a nearly bald head and deep wrinkles etched into his face, but his gait was still strong. He was an odd combination of old and young.

He walked back toward us, cautious but curious.

"Who are you?" the man barked

"I'm… I'm Daxton." His voice wavered slightly. "And I was an experiment too."

It wasn't until he said those words out loud that I fully processed what that list he'd been so focused on really was. It wasn't a list of people responsible for the experiments—it was a list of people who were part of the experiments. How had I missed that before? Maybe because I was so focused on finding the ones responsible, on shutting them down so that others didn't have to go through what some of the people from River's Edge had endured. Whatever the case, it was difficult to hear.

But it also had the man coming forward.

"Come inside," he said, and we followed him into the cabin. "Gene."

"Dax, and my mate, Oscar." And that was the end of our pleasantries.

The inside of the cabin was cozy, almost inviting. Herbs hung from the rafters, and the space was a cross between a homesteading vibe and possibly a healer. There was an earthy smell, a mix of dried herbs and wood smoke, that filled the air. Gene motioned for us to take a seat at the table and put a kettle on.

This wasn't about me and my curiosities, I reminded myself. This was about my mate.

Gene sat down across from us as the water heated. "Tell me what you do." His voice was more curious than commanding.

Daxton looked confused. "Excuse me? You mean for a job?"

"No." Gene shook his head slightly. "What is your ability or beast?"

I watched as Daxton took a deep breath and then began to explain. He told Gene about his beasts, and when Gene asked to see, he showed him his animals. One at a time.

Gene stared at him, amazed, as Daxton shifted part of his arm into a claw, then back again.

Gene's eyes widened as recognition dawned. "I know who you are," he said slowly. "I remember your dad. He got out when they closed the lab—it was an explosion, not a going-out-of-business closing, and everyone scattered. I got out, and he got out…" He sucked in a breath, and we could feel the weight of his grief. "But not everyone did."

He trailed off, getting up from the table and walking over to a small bookshelf in the corner of the room. He pulled out a worn, leather-bound book and brought it back to the table. He opened it carefully, flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He tapped on the page and then looked up at Daxton. "Do you see anything familiar?"

Daxton leaned forward, his eyes scanning the page. After a moment, he gave a single nod. "That's me," he said quietly. It was a baby picture, one taken in a hospital—one that Daxton clearly recognized. He wasn't a newborn in it, but he was close.

Gene nodded. "Yes. I knew your dad. He gave birth to you after we all escaped, during the chaos, but then he shifted to heal so he could escape with you. He never managed to shift back to human and ran off into the woods after I promised to make sure you were okay. About a month later, I found a nice woman who promised to take care of you. She sent me this picture. She worked in a hospital, brought you in, and faked a whole bunch of records to keep you safe. And now…here you are."

The room was silent as the weight of Gene's words settled over us. I could see the mix of emotions on Daxton's face—relief, confusion, sadness. He had finally found some answers, but they came with a new set of questions. Who was this woman who had taken care of him? Where was his dad now? And what did it all mean for the list of names he had been so intent on finding?

I reached over and placed my hand on Daxton's in an attempt to ground him. "We're going to figure this out," I whispered. "We're one step closer."

Gene leaned back in his chair, watching us with a knowing look. "You're going to have to dig deeper. There are more like you out there, and not all of them are going to be as easy to find as I was."

Daxton nodded. "I know. But I'm not going to stop until I find them all. They deserve to know the truth, just like I did."

Gene smiled faintly, a sad sort of smile. "Then you're on the right path. Just be careful. The people who did this…they're not going to let you uncover their secrets without a fight."

And as I looked at Daxton, I knew that no matter what came next, we would put up the fight together.