Page 31

Miranda

“Tenebrosa is here,” Willow points to a circled location on a large paper map. “And this city is here.” Another circle southeast of Tenebrosa’s location. “At dark, you’ll take the vehicle we’ve prepared and head straight there. You’ll park here,” she points to a black X, “and keep hidden as you move until you get to the gate.” She looks up at us, blue eyes stern yet alight with excitement. “We’ve sent word to our people inside that you’re coming. That’s where you’ll come in.” She looks at Colt and taps her temple.

Colt nods, his demeanor serious. “I’ll pick out friend from foe.”

“Exactly,” Willow continues. She pulls out another large paper roll and straightens it on the tabletop, this one a set of floor plans. “You’re going to burst through the front gate here, which will alert everyone to your assault. My people will convene with you and watch your backs. You’ll enter the facility here,” she points to a side door, “and go through this corridor to the main lab here. That’s where Doctor Song will meet you. She will direct you to Mira’s father, but she has another mission inside that facility.”

“What is it?” Rai asks, his voice hard.

Willow considers him a moment. “Vera’s job was to infiltrate the facility, put an end to the disgusting experimentation, and wait for a distraction to destroy all the logs and data within.”

“We’re the distraction.” Aubrey states it, doesn’t ask.

“You are an opportunity,” she corrects. “We had planned to send a unit of our own to stir things up there so Vera could complete her mission and we could extract the prisoners, but now that you’re all here, that team will be on the front lines to save the children at the juvenile facility.” Her arms cross. “This is a coordinated attack planned for years. You’ll attack the lab, drawing GBE reinforcements away from other outposts tonight, then tomorrow night, we will knock down the gates at the academy and juvenile facility at the same time.”

My head is nodding, jaw set. “We split up and reconvene at the academy after.”

Willow smiles. “Precisely. Our teams on the inside will do what they must to disable the collars just before we strike.”

Caius approaches with a big box in his grasp, placing it on the table beside the papers. “I know Rai will get use out of these,” he says, gesturing at it with his chin.

Rai, looking intrigued, sorts through the items, a grin playing on his lips. “I’ll test some ideas before we leave. Thanks.”

Caius nods. “So, which one of you kids knows how to drive?”

Before I can respond, Colt claps his hands. “That would be me,” he says, sporting his giant smile.

“I, too, can—”

“Oh, no,” Colt cuts Rai off. “You don’t know how to drive, and after the helicopter incident, let’s not test using your power to control the car, hm?”

Rai acquiesces, looking a little like he might be pouting.

Aubrey chimes in. “Is destroying the data in that place going to be enough?”

Willow frowns slightly. “I don’t have a direct line to Vera, it’s too dangerous right now. But I will admit that my desire is to wipe that place off the map, if possible. Only if it’s safe.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“There were reports of...chemicals. Maybe some other toxic materials.” She sighs. “Ask Vera for her input and follow her direction. She will know best.” She looks back at the maps. “Study these. Memorize them. Sundown is in seven hours.”

“I thought I might find you in here.”

Willow’s voice carries like a song through the topiary. The plant life here is calming, and I found myself drawn to it, trying to find some peace before embarking on our mission to save my father. To save everyone.

This has become so much bigger than me and my family, my pack. I guess it always was.

I give her a weak smile. “I hope it’s okay.”

“Of course it is.” She joins me, sitting lotus-style on the ground, surrounded by greenery. “Once we take the academy, as I said, it will be our new base of operations. I’ll need to find a suitable location for my friends here.”

I blink at her in surprise. “You’re going to take them with you?”

“Oh, yes,” she smiles kindly, looking all around her. “Once the battle is won, and we will win, I’ll return for my friends when we move all the history here to the academy.”

“I can barely imagine that place being a true learning institute for Cursed.”

“Believe it,” she says with conviction. “We are going to change the world, Miranda.”

I do believe in her. In the cause. I want to fight for a better future for all of us.

Her voice is quiet when she speaks again. “About a decade ago, I lost one of my mates.” Her arm extends, and a branch reaches out for her, the most beautiful orange and yellow rose on its tip, like flames on its petals. “This rose plant was the first gift he’d ever given me.” She smiles, and a tear drops from her eye, clutching at my heart. “It was a mission gone wrong. One I was in charge of.” She returns her hand to her lap, the rose retreating to its place along the wall. Her head tilts in thought. “I’ve always been so careful. My whole life, I’ve always thought things through to exhaustion, trying to ensure everything went smoothly and we were victorious. But sometimes, you can’t plan for everything.”

When she turns to me, her eyes are swimming, glistening in the low light. My heart gives a thud. “My Curse was easy to hide when I discovered it. The only person I ever told was my sister.” Her smile is sad. “She was one year older than me, also an Omega. She was in awe of my power and confided in me that she wished she were Cursed, too. Then, one day, barely at twenty, she fell in love with an Alpha. He was so kind to her, and they wanted to build a life together. Their union was approved by the Council, and they married. Around that time, I found two of my mates, Caius and Thebus. Twins, if you can believe it.”

She lets out a small chuckle that draws a smile to my lips.

“We were living in hiding, my mates and I. We were ready to go in search of the rumored rebellion forces and join them when we received word that my sister was going to have a baby. I knew I had to be there. My mates and I agreed it was for the best that I stay with my sister and her husband to help. I planned to talk them into coming with us when my sister was well enough, but if she refused, I’d return to my mates and the three of us would go.”

She leans back on her hands, looking off into the distance. “When the time came for her to give birth, we had everything ready in their house. A midwife was there, and my brother-in-law was a nervous wreck.” A sad chuckle. “The labor was...difficult. And when my sister gave that final push, the midwife whisked the baby to the corner of the room. I could feel the panic in the air. She did everything she could, but the little one didn’t make it.”

My body shakes with emotion, a tear drips from my eye. Willow and her family had gone through so much…

“My sister demanded to hold her baby, and the midwife presented her with the small bundle, wrapped in a clean blanket, and left us all to mourn. My brother-in-law was white as a sheet, a statue at my sister’s bedside. And I grew angry, watching these people I loved more than anything endure something so...” Her voice trails off, and when she continues, it’s distant, airy. “Then my sister, she wept, wailed like I’d never heard. My heart felt as though it were being torn apart in my chest. I went to her and embraced her. She continued to cry from the depths of her soul until her tears began to glow like the sun, golden and blinding, and I had to look away. When the light died, so did my sister. But her baby...she cried her first tears, took her first breath.”

Willow’s fists clench, tears pouring down her face, and I grasp her fist in my hand, squeezing it tightly, offering any strength I can to this woman whose strength is unimaginable.

“My sister had given her life to bring her baby back. After all that time, she had been Cursed, just like me.” She chokes. “And none of my power could save her.”

She looks at me, her jaw set. “But now, we were in danger. The midwife would know, and the baby would be the offspring of a Cursed.” Her eyes grow hard. “My brother-in-law would not follow me to find the rebellion. Perhaps it was unfair of me to ask in such a dark time, but I thought it was the only answer to save them, for my sister’s sake and theirs. So, instead of us leaving together, I did what I could to help him before fleeing.”

My lips part, my brows draw tight. “You let him say you did it,” I breathe.

She nods slowly, then shakes her head on a sigh. “I ran from the house as fast as I could, made my way home to my mates as stealthily as possible, and we were on our way within an hour.” A huff of humorless laughter. “I didn’t have time to mourn for weeks as we traveled, following cryptic clues. When we’d finally found one of the rebellion branches, that’s where I found Jory, my third mate.” A watery smile. “My Alphas consoled me, purred me to sleep every night as I lay tangled in their limbs. They healed my heart as best they could.”

She takes a deep breath and says, “Thebus was killed in action, giving his life to save mine. Jory infiltrated the GBE five years ago. He’s been undercover ever since. So it’s been me and Caius.”

“Willow…” my whisper is hoarse. “You’ve lost and sacrificed so much.”

“I will do everything I can to save and protect our people.”

“I swear we’ll do everything we can to help, too,” I tell her.

She gives me a kind smile, places her other hand on top of mine, sandwiching it between hers. “I know. Your pack is stronger than you think. But don’t take unnecessary risks, okay?” Her eyes grow fierce. “If anything goes wrong, you get out of there and make your way back to the academy to meet up with us. I mean it. Even if it means leaving your father behind. Any parent would want that of their child.”

I give her an affirmative nod, but I know in my heart that we’ll do whatever it takes to save my father and the other Cursed in that facility, no matter the risks. It’s what Willow would do. I’m sure of it.