Third Person POV
It cost Malum almost every fund he had stashed away and what he took from several experiments personal supplies to replace enough wolfsbane to get back to work. Nevermind, the faerie he killed in the marketplace. His blood was the necessary ingredient Malum just couldn't shell out the funds for.
After sending out Karlin and several other experiments to find the runaways, Malum had Christopher brought to his lab. Strapped to the table, covered in bruises and split skin, the wolf laid just beginning to come to. Malum tapped his foot as he waited for Christopher to wake up.
The wolf began to stir.
His vision was blurry when he first came to, a mixture between the swelling of a fresh black eye and the wolfsbane just barely fading from his system. When he saw Malum's still face, his breath hitched.
Malum tapped a vial against his palm.
"Werewolf blood was once so easy to come by." Christopher tried to regulate his breathing and blink the grogginess from his eyes. He found both of his hands strapped to the table as well as his legs. "I simply took it from my experiments. Thought I could manipulate it in some way, reorganize the structure. I thought maybe it would be the easiest method. I could then give it back to the wolf it was taken from and voila!" He held the vial up towards the ceiling. A dark liquid sloshed around in it. "A new breed of werewolf there to do my bidding."
Christopher pulled at one of his hands but found he could not break the leather and metal combination.
"But that led to nowhere. There was nothing within the blood that I could manipulate that would translate back into the host. So I tried something else. It was an accident," he tossed the vial into his other hand in a careful move. "Well," he cocked his head, "almost an accident." He gave a chuckle. "I never meant to kill the vampire girl but it was either her or me that night." Christopher tugged harder at both restraints on his hands. His breathing began to be anything but regular. "Vampires blood is darker than werewolves or humans. Thicker too. It courses through their veins slowly, keeping them sustained until their next kill. I took several vials that night, though I would later learn that it was better if the blood is taken while the creature is alive." Malum gripped the vial tightly in his fist, pushing himself forward and away from Christopher's view. Christopher followed his movements until he could no longer see the man. Drawers opened, items were grabbed. He wasn't sure what.
"My first truly successful experiment came from the blood of that vampire girl. Too bad it didn't last." Things stopped moving behind Christopher. Malum held onto the counter in front of him, recalling the memory of his early experimentation. "The experiment died several days later, though not before displaying some impressive new qualities." He began to search through the drawers again. They were so meticulous before. "The experiments I gave vampire blood to display improved strength. They no longer felt the need to sleep though their diets never changed to match a vampire. Their vision in the dark also improved beyond what I'd call comfortable werewolf territory. It was almost like they were hybrids. Almost." Footsteps.
Malum came back into Christopher's view. The wolf could now see a needle in the hand of the man. He carefully inserted it into the vial and extracted a thick liquid.
"For years, I've kept going. Vampires, faeries, magi - when I could get my hands on them - you name it, and I've probably gotten their blood into my experimentation somehow." He sighs as he pulls the needle from the vial. "But not a single experiment has survived any longer than five years. Five years." He flicks the now filled needle. "That's the longest any of my experiments have lived. Around year two or three, all their gained traits begin to wither away as well as the traits they initially acquired from their own werewolf genes." He hums. "Really, I think, it's about the blood combating in the body. One species to win." He chuckles. Christopher yanks hard at the restraints causing Malum to tut under his breath.
"Look, man," the wolf starts. "If this is about the necklace-"
"The necklace?" Malum stares at Christopher in confusion. Then it flashes in his mind. The girl had a necklace on when she first arrived, expensive by look and weight if he remembered correctly. Was she wearing it when she left? "That doesn't matter now. No, Christopher." The wolf continues to tug uselessly at his hands and feet. "This is happening because I have discovered one thing about you." The tugging stopped. Christopher stared at Malum. Some part of him hoped he would say he shows great potential. If he wasn't so scared right now, he would be sure that's what would be said. "You're fucking useless."
"What?" There's an air of disbelief with a spot of offense at Malum's words.
"I bring you here to help yet all you do is hinder my work and get in my way."
"Hey, I-"
"You gave the girl too much wolfsbane and I think you did it intentionally. Is that how you got her necklace?" He lets the quiet linger for just a second. "No matter now. What does matter is that she was able to link her mate while in recovery and now this spot I've worked so hard on is damned. We will be moving on to bigger and better places, sure, but it's on you that I need to adjust my plans."
"That-"
"I've also decided that the escape of the two falls back to this same action of yours. What were you hoping to achieve? Escape? Your wife and child back? Both?"
"Yes," Christopher hisses. "It's because of you that I'm still without them! You said-"
"I said!?" Malum strides to Christopher and grabs the wolf's jaw in a harsh grip. "I say a lot of things to get what I want. You do too, I think. The only difference?" He turns Christopher's head left to right. "Is that I actually have a brain that fucking works. And you? Once again, are fucking useless. Maybe if I turn you into one of my creatures then you'll actually show some fucking promise."
Christopher tugs his head out of Malum's grip. "You can't turn me! I'm the only one who can help you trace the two back to the Paramount Pack! I-"
"You're dumb too," Malum chuckles. "You were useful when it came to information on the pack but I have all that now. We'll strike in less than a week and we don't need your help with that at all. Not like this," he gestures to Christopher, whose breathing has picked up harshly. "Though if you survive through this process, I'll have another job for you. If not then," he shrugs carelessly. "Now do me a favor and stay still. This will hurt a lot less if you listen to me."