Page 43 of Conall (The Sunburst Pack #3)

T HE LABORATORY BECAME A whirlwind of violence as Nadine flowed between threats with fluid grace. Years of Gregory’s instruction, meant to make her the perfect weapon for his purposes, now turned against his operatives with devastating effect.

Dr. Petrov became a living shield and strategic asset, her body positioned to block lines of fire while Nadine used the laboratory’s equipment as improvised weapons.

Surgical instruments became throwing knives.

Chemical containers became caustic distractions.

Monitoring equipment became electronic barriers between herself and increasingly desperate gunfire.

Take her alive! Gregory shouted over the chaos, authority carrying even as his operation collapsed around him. The interface technology requires a living subject!

But his operatives were learning what Nadine had spent years trying to forget—that Gregory’s training had created something far more dangerous than a compliant asset. She was an apex predator who’d been pretending to be domesticated, and now the pretense was over.

The first operative went down to a precisely thrown scalpel that found the gap in his body armor. The second caught a face full of industrial solvent that sent him screaming toward the emergency shower station. The third found himself on the wrong end of his partner’s weapon.

Around them, the operatives were learning that although Gregory Torrance had been considered one of the most dangerous individuals in covert shifter operations, his daughter was better.

Even if you escape, Gregory said, falling back on the last psychological weapon in his arsenal, even if you somehow warn your precious pack about what’s coming—you’re still my creation. Still built from everything I taught you. How long before you become exactly what I made you to be?

The question struck at her fear that Gregory’s influence had shaped her so fundamentally that she could never truly escape his vision of what she should become.

A killer. A manipulator.

Someone who saw other people as assets to be used rather than individuals to be protected.

But even as doubt whispered poison into her mind, another voice cut through her uncertainty—Conall’s, so real that she could almost believe she was really hearing him rather than imagining it.

You are whoever you choose to be .

You are my mate .

You want to know what I learned during my time with the Sunburst Pack?

she asked, using Dr. Petrov’s body to shield herself as she moved toward the lab’s exit.

I learned that strength comes from protecting people, not from controlling them.

That real power comes from building trust, not from exploiting fear.

With one hand, Nadine reached behind her and opened the emergency door, meeting Gregory’s gaze as she backed away.

Most importantly, she continued, I learned that love isn’t weakness. It’s the thing that makes all the knowledge worth having.

This isn’t over, Gregory said, ignoring her words. Even if you warn them, even if you somehow prevent the primary operation—I know you too well. Know your patterns, your psychology, your fundamental need to save everyone.

He smiled with a paternal fondness that made her skin crawl.

You’ll come back for me, Nadine. Because despite everything I’ve done, despite every betrayal you’ve uncovered, you still can’t quite believe your father never loved you.

That ability to hope for connection even when all evidence suggests otherwise—that’s the weakness that will ultimately destroy you.

The psychological attack was precise, aimed at exactly the vulnerability Gregory knew best. But Nadine found herself smiling with genuine amusement.

You’re wrong about one more thing, she said. I’m not coming back for you because I hope you might love me. I’m coming back because stopping you is the right thing to do.

Actually, she’s not coming back for you at all. Conall stepped through the doorway to stand behind Nadine. Because there’s one more thing you’re wrong about.

This is over, Quinton said, following his twin into the lab. Because you’re never leaving here.

Nadine’s heart pounded as she heard the voices of both Stewart twins behind her. The mate bond, which she’d fought so hard to keep closed, blazed to life with Conall’s proximity.

But alongside that relief came terror—they’d walked straight into Gregory’s trap.

You brought them here, Gregory said, his voice carrying satisfaction rather than surprise. Just as I knew you would. The mate bond makes you predictable.

Dr. Petrov stirred in Nadine’s grip, consciousness returning at the worst possible moment. Without hesitation, Nadine drove her elbow into the woman’s solar plexus, sending her crumpling back into unconsciousness. Petrov’s passed-out form slumped to the laboratory floor like discarded equipment.

Predictable? Nadine stepped forward, putting herself between Gregory and the twins. Then you should have predicted this.

The shift began before the words finished leaving her lips. Her bones cracked and re-formed as her human shape gave way to something far more dangerous. Every instinct Gregory had tried to suppress, every wild impulse he’d attempted to subdue, surged forward.

Behind her, the Stewart twins followed suit.

Conall’s transformation was swift and efficient, his dark brown wolf materializing with the power of a pack enforcer. Quinton’s shift mirrored his twin’s, their identical forms moving with the synchronized precision that had made them legendary among shifter communities.

Three wolves faced the man who had shaped one of them into a weapon—and now found that weapon turned against him.

Gregory’s laugh echoed off the laboratory walls, but Nadine caught the edge of uncertainty beneath his bravado. You think numbers give you an advantage? I trained you, Nadine. I know every move you’ll make before you make it.

His own shift began, and Gregory’s change carried violence. His wolf was massive, silver-gray with scars marking decades of brutal encounters. Vincent’s enforcer had always been built for intimidation as much as combat.

But he was still only one against three.

Nadine struck first, using her knowledge of Gregory’s patterns against him. She feinted left as he’d taught her, then broke right—but continued the movement into a rolling attack that caught him off guard. Her teeth found purchase along his ribs, silver-streaked fur tearing beneath her assault.

Gregory’s roar of pain and fury shook the laboratory equipment. He twisted with desperate strength, claws raking across her shoulder as he fought to dislodge her. The wounds burned like fire, but Nadine held on with grim determination.

The Stewart twins moved together, their synchronization perfect despite the recent strain in their relationship. Quinton took the high attack, launching himself at Gregory’s throat, while Conall went low, targeting the legs that supported the larger wolf’s massive frame.

Gregory had trained Nadine well, but he’d never faced the coordinated assault of bonded twins.

Their movements complemented each other with deadly precision—when one pressed an attack, the other provided support.

When Gregory tried to focus on a single threat, the other twin would exploit his divided attention.

Blood matted his silver fur from multiple wounds. The three wolves circled him with patient calculation, wearing him down through coordinated strikes rather than risking a direct confrontation with his superior size and experience.

With the mate bond singing between Nadine and Conall, their movements synchronized on an instinctive level that transcended conscious thought.

Every feint he made, she anticipated. Every opening she created, he exploited.

The connection Gregory had tried to use as a weakness had become their greatest strength.

Gregory’s desperation manifested in increasingly reckless attacks.

He launched himself at Quinton with the full weight of his considerable mass, seeking to eliminate one threat through overwhelming force.

But the twin bond that connected Quinton to Conall meant the attack was anticipated, expected, countered before it could find its mark.

Conall intercepted the assault, his smaller frame using momentum and leverage to redirect Gregory’s charge into the laboratory wall. Equipment crashed and sparked as the massive wolf collided with delicate instruments, his own force turned against him.

Before Gregory could recover, all three wolves were on him. Nadine’s teeth found his throat while the twins attacked from either side, their combined assault finally overwhelming his defenses.

Gregory’s struggles grew weaker as blood loss and exhaustion took their toll. The man who had shaped pack politics for decades, who had orchestrated betrayals across multiple territories, found himself brought down by the very bonds he’d tried to exploit.

When Gregory finally went limp on the floor, his lupine form shivering around the edges until his human shape took over, the three wolves took a step back and shifted into their own human forms too.

You cannot win this war, Gregory snarled, his words harsh but still carrying the authority of Vincent’s former enforcer. I’ve spent decades preparing for every possible scenario.

We will win it. We already have, Nadine said. You trained me to be a killer, but you never taught me to be part of something larger than myself. And that’s what will make the difference.

Gregory’s voice began to waver as his strength failed. The Prometheus Group will continue. Others will take my place. The old ways will die regardless of what happens here.

Maybe, Nadine replied, her voice steady despite the pain radiating from her wounded shoulder. But you won’t be around to see it.