Page 2 of Kingly Bitten

My lips flattened. I supposed if a side was going to take control, it should be the most violent part of me. Perhaps the beast would help me kill everyone.

I shivered at the thought. Then I allowed myself one final sigh and checked the clock once more.

35:32:17.

All right.I opened the light oak door and left my pristine white quarters behind.

There were no countdowns or panic in the vacant hallway, and the marble area at the end of my corridor remained just as quiet and desolate.

Because no one else knew about the doomsday protocol. Only me.

“Mornin’, Doctor,” Officer Gerald greeted as the elevator doors automatically opened. His team would have alerted him to my movements with the surveillance footage in the hallway, therefore sending him up to retrieve me.

Staff weren’t allowed to operate elevators.

Not even me—the lead researcher of Bunker 47.

“Morning, Officer,” I replied to him in my usual tone. Flat. Emotionless. Bored. I’d mastered it over the last hundred-plus years.

He gave a nod as I entered. Then he keyed in my intended destination—the wing with my office and labs.

We were already deep underground, but the cage around us plummeted to the depths of hell before opening again.

“Have a beautiful day, Sunshine,” Officer Gerald said as I stepped out onto the obsidian floor.

His statement wasn’t unusual, as he called me that nickname every day because of my light-colored hair. But this time, I looked at him and wondered if he knew what was about to happen down here.

His gray eyes gave nothing away, just crinkled at the corners as they usually did.

He was a Vigil—a human trained in the art of protecting their immortal betters. I never understood how the mortal minds could be so feeble and accept such a ridiculous task. Vampires and lycans didn’t need protection. They needed humans to police each other in order to ensure their domain and rule over humankind. And mortals like Gerald fell right into that trap.

Would Lilith spare his life? I doubted it. She wouldn’t even spare mine. And I was one of her prized creations. Officer Gerald was merely a number to her. I at least had a name.

The elevator door closed before I could answer him, the Vigil off to his next task of retrieving one of my lab technicians. Probably James.

I blinked, then studied the white walls surrounding me. They were a stark contrast when compared to the slick ebony tiles beneath my sneakers.

Am I standing on explosives right now?I wondered, glancing at the floor.Or are they even deeper underground?

A subtle vibration against my wrist told me I didn’t have time to worry about it. A half hour had passed since the initial countdown began, leaving me with thirty-five hours and thirty minutes.

Research first, I decided, heading to my office to begin the tedious task of uploading all the files to the server. That objective alone would take hours to accomplish. And it required vigilance on my part to ensure everything transferred without error.

There would be no tests today. Just this.

I used my watch to unlock my office. The lights came on around me as I entered, the screens flaring to life with a warm welcome. “Hello, Doctor Calina,” the machines all greeted.

I remained silent as I always did. Technology didn’t require formalities or placative words. Instead, it appreciated keystrokes and logical demands. So I unleashed several onto my computer, telling it to begin the download of all the logs.

Passwords I’d memorized decades ago flickered to life in my mind, causing my fingers to move with ease across my keyboard.

I knew what needed to be done.

But as I neared the second-to-last list in my mind, my typing slowed.

If this was all a loyalty test, then Lilith might end the game as soon as I hit that button. Or she might wait until I killed a few subjects first.

However, if she was truly dead…