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"What does that entail exactly?" I ask, playing for time.

"We'll move her to a specialized room, which will be more comfortable than this medical setup but still equipped with monitoring devices." Hammond points to a door at the far end of the corridor. "Everything is ready. We just need our participants."

"And the others? What happens to them while Dahlia and I are... occupied?"

"They will stay secured until it's their turn for testing." Hammond's eyes gleam with anticipation. "Though perhapswe'll let them watch the mating. Their reactions could provide valuable data on Alpha territorial responses."

"You've thought of everything,"

"I've been planning for years Evan and I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity. And now, thanks to you, I have everything I need."

"Happy to help."

"I knew you'd come around eventually." Hammond claps me on the shoulder again. "You were always smart. You understand the bigger picture."

"The bigger picture," I repeat. "Yes, that's exactly what matters here."

"This is just the beginning." Hammond's voice takes on an almost religious fervor. "Imagine a world where we control the most powerful beings on the planet, where governments bow to our superior force. Where we decide the course of human evolution."

"Sounds like a nice fantasy."

Hammond frowns. "Fantasy? This is reality, Evan. Our reality. The future we're creating together."

I laugh a hollow and sharp sound that echoes in the sterile room. "Wow, your still fucking delusional."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Hammond's eyes narrow with sudden suspicion.

I turn to face him fully, dropping the mask I've worn since entering this facility. "I mean, Hammond, that you're more delusional than I thought if you believe I'd ever help you turn Dahlia into a breeding machine."

"What are you saying?" Hammond takes a step back, his hand moving towards the inside of his jacket.

"I'm saying you should probably check those 'indestructible' restraints again."

Chapter 25 - Onyx

The sterile white light burns my eyes immediately I open them, making me squint against the pain. I jerk against the restraints to test their strength. They don't budge.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Axl's voice cuts through the fog in my brain. "You missed all the fun."

I blink hard, forcing my vision to clear. We're in a stark white room with a one-way mirror. Axl and Leo are secured to metal chairs identical to mine, their limbs bound with the same heavy-duty restraints.

"Where the fuck are we?" I growl, pulling against the metal cuffs again. The chair creaks, but it holds firm.

"Hammond's secret facility, I guess," Leo answers, "The one Evan so helpfully delivered us to."

"That backstabbing piece of shit," Axl spits, His face is no longer bruised from the earlier attack, but there is still dried blood crusting at his hairline. "I'm going to rip his throat out when I get my hands on him."

Leo shifts in his chair, leaning forward as much as his restraints allow. "Listen," he says, voice dropping. "Evan has a plan."

Axl barks out a harsh laugh. "A plan? Are you fucking kidding me? The asshole tranquilized us and handed us over to a psychopath."

"It's not what you think," Leo insists. "He sent a message to my phone before he darted us."

"Message saying what exactly?" I ask, not ready to believe Evan hasn't betrayed us completely.

"That he's playing along to get inside," Leo explains. "He needed Hammond to trust him."

Axl rolls his eyes. "Great plan. And now we're chained up like animals waiting for slaughter. Brilliant fucking strategy."