Page 47

A man stepped into view—tall, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit. Sean Pearson. Noah's father.

"Mr. Hunter," Pearson said with a thin smile. "Thank you for joining us. I apologize for the rather...dramatic means of bringing you here, but I find that willing test subjects are hard to come by."

"Test subjects?" Zack pulled against his restraints, the silver burning his skin. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Pearson walked around the table, studying Zack with a clinical detachment. "You're quite unique, you know. A male omega bear shifter who's successfully conceived. Do you have any idea how rare that makes you?"

Zack froze. "What?"

"Oh." Pearson's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "You didn't know? How interesting." He picked up a tablet from a nearby counter and turned it to face Zack. On the screen was what looked like an ultrasound image. "Congratulations are in order, I suppose."

Zack stared at the image, unable to process what he was seeing, even though all he could see was barely a black dot. "That's not possible."

"And yet, here we are." Pearson set the tablet down. "Male omegas are extraordinarily rare in shifter communities. Most are identified early and claimed by alphas before they ever come to my attention. But you..." He smiled coldly. "You slipped through undetected. A bear shifter who never knew what he truly was."

Zack's mind was racing. There had been something Victor had wanted to talk about, but Zack had assumed he meant the bite.

“And Noah was very helpful. Of course, I soon realized he was torn between wanting to protect his brother and not wanting to betray you all.” He sneered. “He told me what he thought was inconsequential. The length of time you were bonding for. Your mating bite. He didn’t realize, of course, how significant that was.”

"What do you want from me?" Zack asked, fighting to keep his voice steady. He didn’t blame Noah.

"Progress," Pearson replied simply. "Humanity has tried and failed to harness the extraordinary abilities of shifters. Regeneration. Enhanced strength. But the ability to transform genetic material—to actually change one's fundamental biology—that's the holy grail."

He gestured to the equipment surrounding Zack. "Imagine what we could do with that knowledge. Cure genetic diseases. Enhance human capabilities. Create perfect soldiers who could heal from battle injuries.”

“Someone already failed at that,” Zack slurred, wondering why he was struggling to speak.

“Ah yes, I am aware of the shortsightedness of the idiot who attempted to create shifters from human subjects that you successfully defeated last year.”

“Shor…sight…dness?” Zack struggled. Fuck, he was so tired. He realized he’d closed his eyes, and it seemed to take a gargantuan effort to open them.

Pearson chuckled. “I don’t need to create shifters. You can successfully manage to copulate on your own. Controlling them, however, is a delicious thought. I’m sure you realize the governments of this world are already salivating over getting their own shifter armies. But what no one is considering, and I must say I find this incredibly foolish even if it’s a golden opportunity that will make me billions, is how to stop them.”

Zack thought the wordsstop thembut his lips seemed numb and making them form words was too much of an effort.

“Exactly,” Pearson said, as if Zack had answered. “In their small minds the superpowers of the world will just fight might with might. Boys and their toys,” he chuckled. “But what I’m going to offer is a drug to neutralize the effectiveness of shifters. Sap their strength.” He leaned forward. “Stop them from procreating or cause them to birth regular babies without shifting abilities.” Alarm flooded Zack, even if he didn’t seem to be able to react.

“I’ve managed to experiment on shifter children, but up to now I’ve been unable to get my hands on an embryo.”

An embryo?

“Now, I’m sure you are feeling weary. The drugs currently pumping through your system are taking care of that, but there are two doctors on their way to see how your embryo reacts specifically.” He smiled. “After all, we don’t want to kill it…not yet, anyway.”

Zack fought to stay conscious, but the drugs in his system were too powerful. As his eyes slid shut, one thought burned in his mind: Victor and Mo would find him. And when they did, Pearson would regret the day he ever heard of shifters.

When he woke again, the lighting in the room had changed. Shadows stretched across the floor, suggesting hours had passed. His mouth felt like cotton, and a dull ache had settled in his abdomen. Zack tried to shift his position, but the restraints held firm, the silver burning against his skin.

Two figures in white lab coats stood at a computer terminal across the room, their backs to him. A woman's voice, clinical and detached, floated over to him.

"The embryo's vitals are strong despite the sedation. Remarkable resilience."

"Pearson wants tissue samples," a male voice replied. "Can we proceed without risking termination?"

"I believe so. The abdominal sac is forming nicely. We should be able to extract what we need without disturbing development."

Zack's heart raced. They were talking about his baby—their child. A child he hadn't even known existed until Pearson told him. He strained against the restraints again, panic lending him strength.

The doctor turned, noticing his movement. "He's awake again."