Excerpt: Tiger Soul

“You are not cleared to be here.” She snapped at me, obviously angered further by my presence in conjunction with the lack of support she was getting from John and Doc. “You will leave now.”
I shook my head, causing my hair to float around me before settling again on my shoulders. “I will not.”
Her eyes narrowed. “It is not a request.”
I was gritting my teeth so hard I thought they might break. “That creature…”
“That creature is none of your business! You will go back to your quarters until your assistance is required!”
The façade I had put up to hide my emotional state cracked and disintegrated, leaving only naked fury. I could feel the tightness in my muscles as my stance became rigid. I felt my face contort into a mask of pure malevolence and knew that my eyes were throwing invisible daggers across the room. When I opened my mouth, my tongue lashed out like a whip and I did nothing to curb it. I did nothing to stop any of it.
“That creature is most certainly more my business than it is yours. It is disgusting and vile, the way you have decided to play God here. I do not care what kind of information you might get from studying him.” My words tasted like poison and I was advancing forward slowly, stalking like a cat. “You will not be dealing with this any further because you are obviously incapable of acting in a sane and humane manner. I am not leaving from this room because I do not trust you to adhere to anything remotely resembling the right course of action. I do not know you or what your intentions are but I know that this creature is in pain. He is terrified because of your actions and his surroundings. I have this knowledge, just like I have the knowledge that You Will Let Him Go. NOW!”