Page 28 of Anders (The Sunburst Pack #2)

A NDERS STOOD AT THE edge of pack territory, the wind carrying fragments of Etta’s scent away from him.

The trail ended abruptly at the highway, suggesting she’d either left in a vehicle or deliberately obscured her path. In either case, she’d vanished without a word, without warning.

The mate bond throbbed dully in his chest, a persistent ache that confirmed she was still alive but offered little else. The connection that had been growing stronger by the day now felt muted, distant—as if she’d purposely withdrawn from him.

Why would she run in the opposite direction?

The question haunted him as he made his way back through the wilderness.

The rational part of his mind, the guardian trained to analyze and assess, knew the answer. The files they’d discovered in the newspaper office basement had shaken her. Learning that she had been spying on the pack—even unwittingly—would have been devastating to someone with Etta’s integrity.

So when she’d escaped from the Chimera facility, she’d taken herself away from the pack she’d endangered.

But to leave without a word…

Anders pushed the thought aside. Emotional speculation wouldn’t help him find her. He needed facts, evidence, a trail to follow.

When they’d arrived at the Chimera facility in the heart of the nearby national forest, it had been empty. But it had been cleared out hastily, and Anders and the twins had retrieved several files he doubted the lead researcher—a Dr. Mercer, according to the paperwork—had intended to leave behind.

And inside the facility, Anders could still smell Etta’s scent.

He’d immediately gone tracking in wolf form, hoping to catch her scent while it was still fresh. That effort had led only to the dead end at the highway.

Now it was time for a different approach.

B ACK IN HIS OWN command center in the Old Packhouse, the monitors flickered to life as Anders activated the systems, bathing the room in a pale glow.

His fingers moved across the keyboard with practiced efficiency, pulling up the surveillance feeds from the previous night.

The network of cameras he’d installed throughout pack territory had been intended to protect them from external threats.

He’d never imagined using them to track someone leaving.

The command center door opened behind him, and Anders tensed momentarily before recognizing Malcolm’s scent.

Any sign of her? the alpha asked, his voice deliberately neutral.

Anders shook his head without taking his eyes from the screen. Trail ended at the highway. I’ve been reviewing the surveillance footage, but it doesn’t tell me anything new.

Malcolm moved to stand beside him, watching the footage in silence for a moment. The council is concerned.

About Etta?

About you. Malcolm’s tone remained carefully even. The head guardian abandoning his post to search for a potential security risk raises questions.

Anders turned to face his alpha, his expression hardening. She’s not a security risk. She’s a victim.

I know that, Malcolm said quietly. But not everyone does. The information we recovered from the newspaper office is…damning, if viewed without context. And her sudden disappearance doesn’t help matters.

The implications hung in the air between them. Some pack members might view Etta’s flight as confirmation of guilt rather than a desperate act of someone trying to protect them.

I need to find her, Anders said, the words coming out more forcefully than he’d intended. The neural interface in her neck is unstable without the chemical suppressants. If what Dr. Mercer wrote in his notes is true, it could kill her.

Malcolm studied him for a long moment. How are you handling the separation? The mate bond…

Is still forming, Anders finished. It’s uncomfortable, but manageable.

That was an understatement.

The persistent ache had been growing steadily worse, a hollow sensation spreading through his chest as if a vital part of himself had been carved away. His wolf paced restlessly beneath his skin, howling for its mate with increasing desperation.

Malcolm seemed to sense the half-truth but didn’t press further. What’s your plan?

Anders turned back to the monitors, pulling up the files they’d recovered—both from the Chimera facility and from the newspaper office basement. These documents contain more than just surveillance on our pack. The Chimera Program is operating across multiple territories with multiple assets.

He pointed to a particular passage. See? Five territories, five assets. Etta was one of five shifters they successfully abducted, programmed, and placed in strategic locations.

Malcolm leaned closer, his expression darkening as he scanned the document. A coordinated intelligence operation against all major shifter communities.

Exactly. Anders pulled up another file. And there’s more. The neural interface—the mark on Etta’s neck—isn’t just a control mechanism. It’s connected to something they call the Epsilon Protocol.

And that is?

A kill switch.

A kill switch? Malcolm snarled. That’s horrific.

Anders nodded, his expression serious. If an asset is compromised or begins recovering memories that threaten the operation, the Epsilon Protocol can be remotely activated.

Based on these technical specifications, it delivers a neurological overload that essentially fries the subject’s central nervous system.

Killing them.

And destroying any evidence of the program’s existence. Anders’s jaw tightened. I think that’s what happened last night. Mercer and his team initiated the first stage of the Epsilon Protocol.

But she escaped before they completed it, Malcolm concluded.

For now. Anders pulled up a map on one of the monitors. But she’s carrying what amounts to a ticking time bomb in her nervous system. And based on these documents, the people who did this to her have resources, training, and technological capabilities far beyond what we’ve encountered before.

Malcolm was silent for a moment, absorbing the implications. When he spoke, his voice was quiet but firm. You have to find her.

Anders glanced up sharply, caught off guard by the alpha’s change in tone.

This goes beyond one wolf, or even one pack, Malcolm continued.

If what we’ve uncovered is true, every major shifter community is compromised.

This Chimera Program threatens our entire kind.

He met Anders’s gaze directly. You need to find Etta, not just because she’s your mate, but because she might be the key to stopping this.

Relief washed through Anders. I’ll need resources. Transportation, supplies, communications equipment that can’t be tracked.

Take whatever you need. Conall and Quinton can maintain security protocols in your absence. He hesitated, then added, How will you find her? If she’s deliberately running from the pack—from you—she’ll be covering her tracks.

Anders turned back to the monitors, pulling up a different set of data. I think I’ve managed to hack into the broadcasting system the implant uses.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment.

She’s heading east, avoiding major highways. Moving like someone who knows she’s being pursued.

By us, or by them?

Both, probably. Anders studied the tracking data, his tactical mind calculating distances, routes, likely destinations. She has at least a four-hour head start, but she’ll need to rest eventually. And when she does…

He let the sentence hang unfinished. They both understood what he wasn’t saying—when Etta stopped, the people hunting her might catch up. The neural interface in her neck was like a homing beacon broadcasting her location—not only to Anders, but also to whoever controlled it.

How long do you need to prepare? Malcolm asked.

Anders was already moving, gathering specialized equipment from the various storage compartments built into the command center walls. One hour. Then I’m gone.

The council will want a briefing before you leave, Malcolm began, but Anders cut him off.

The council gets this. He tossed a sealed flash drive to Malcolm.

Everything I’ve uncovered about the Chimera Program, including the other compromised territories and what little we know about their methods.

The council can debate and discuss all they want, but I’m leaving in one hour with or without their approval.

Malcolm studied him for a moment, then nodded. I’ll handle the council. You focus on preparation.

As the alpha turned to leave, Anders called after him. Malcolm.

The other man paused in the doorway, looking back.

Thank you.

Malcolm’s expression softened slightly. Bring her home. And take down whoever did this to her.

After the alpha left, Anders moved with increased urgency.

He gathered specialized tracking equipment, weapons designed to incapacitate without killing, medical supplies specific to shifter physiology, and communications gear that would allow him to stay in contact with the pack while remaining undetectable to conventional surveillance.

As he worked, he tried to ignore the steadily worsening ache in his chest. The mate bond, still forming but already powerful, pulled at him like a tether stretching beyond its limits. His wolf clawed beneath his skin, desperate to run, to hunt, to find their missing mate.

Soon , he promised it. Just a little longer .

He was certain the people who had taken Etta, who had experimented on her and other shifter children, were operating with government sanction and military resources.

Which meant Etta wasn’t just running from the pack. She was running from the full might of a black ops program with seemingly unlimited resources.

No wonder she’d run—she was trying to draw the danger away from the pack. She’d figured out that her presence threatened everyone around her, and rather than putting them at risk, she’d chosen to face the danger alone.