Page 28

CHAPTER 27

C alla

I ’ve put my mates in danger.

Again .

They don’t even have to punish me this time. I’ll punish myself. Once we make it out of here. Dragging them into Haven North was foolish. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was wrong. Now a lot of people are going to die for it, and that blood will be on my hands. I just hope it isn’t one of my mates I’m mourning when we make it to the tunnel.

The peace officers close in and surround us, but they don’t make an aggressive move. There’s something different about them. Identical, almost, down to the shade of their skin. Pale, like they haven’t spent much time in the sun. That’s almost impossible in Haven North. You can get a tan walking to work during the summer months. The fact my mates can’t get their scent is certainly concerning.

“Why aren’t they attacking?” Jace mutters. “Fuck it, let’s just shift and clear a hole.”

“These aren’t ordinary men, brother,” Gideon cautions. “Something is off.”

There’s commotion behind us and the peace officers part. A man with shaggy brown hair and sharp features walks between them. It takes me a moment to recognize him without his white coat. All of my mates tense up.

“Dr. Thomas?” I ask.

“Dad…” Gideon mutters, his eyes getting wide. “What? How is this possible?”

“Wait, what?” I spin toward Gideon in confusion. “Dr. Thomas is… Your dad?”

The rest of my mates look shocked, too. Jace’s eyes are wider than Gideon’s. Knox’s face is tight, but his stare is softer than it usually is. Vance’s jaw is hanging open. Caleb—all of the emotion is gone from his face, even the intensity that always seems to linger.

“The prodigal sons return home,” Dr. Thomas says, some amusement in his voice. “I wondered if there were any of you left out there in The Tangle, but I figured it took care of you a long time ago. It seems I was wrong. Where’s Silas? Surely the rest of you didn’t survive this long without him.”

“He’s gone,” Caleb spits out, some intensity finally flickering in his eyes.

“That’s a shame,” Dr. Thomas sighs. “But five of you is plenty.”

“Plenty?” Gideon growls. “Plenty enough for what? And you still haven’t told us how the hell you’re still alive. We were told you and Mom both died when Gen-York was bombed. And if you didn’t, you sure as hell shouldn’t have lived this long.”

“And this isn’t the first time we’ve come to Haven North,” Knox adds. “We built the fucking wall.”

“Yes, yes, I heard about that,” Dr. Thomas chuckles. “Men with golden eyes who were faster and stronger than everyone else. Men who could turn into wolves . It seems the experiments were more successful than I realized. As for how I’m still alive? Same way you are. The first genetic experiments we ran focused on extending lifespans for the rich and powerful. Cell regeneration, anti-aging. I would have been dead long before all of you came along if it wasn’t for that. Although I regretted it a few times while I was trapped in a bunker underneath a pile of rubble for over a hundred years. That hunger—it was brutal.”

“And Mom?” Vance asks. “Is she still alive too?”

“No, son.” Dr. Thomas shakes his head. “Your mother didn’t have the same enhancements as me. She was simply compatible. But that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that my sons have returned to me. It’s been difficult to salvage enough technology to start my experiments again, but I should have enough to do some trial runs… I’ll be able to skip so many steps now.”

Gideon tenses up and shakes his head. He takes a step forward and several peace officers ready their weapons, but Dr. Thomas waves them off.

“We’re done with all that, Dad,” Gideon growls. “We’re not lab rats anymore and we haven’t been since they sent us to fight in the Great War.”

“Mm, yes. That was foolish. We were so close. So damn close,” Dr. Thomas sighs. “But now, I can pick up right where I left off. Surely, I can find someone compatible, even if most of the women in Haven North are useless and infertile.”

I want to say something, but I bite my tongue. Dr. Thomas notices and turns his attention to me. “I must say I’m rather surprised to see you running with a pack of wolves, Nurse Calla. But I guess I should thank you for bringing them back to me. You’re more useful than I realized when I gave Clyde permission to sell you to the slavers.”

“You gave him permission ?” I snap, anger rising that I’m unable to hold back. “You’re the one selling women to the slavers?”

“That was going on before I was brought to Haven North,” Dr. Thomas answers. “But it’s either selling them off or killing them to keep the population under control. There aren’t enough jobs, and we can’t send them all to the Lower District, especially the smart ones.”

“You’re a monster!” I say, stepping past my mates. Gideon grabs my arm, but I shrug him off. “It’s bad enough that you force everyone to take supplements if they get an assigned path. But selling people? That’s just evil.”

“Are you really going to let this bitch talk to your father like that?” Dr. Thomas asks, looking at my mates. Gideon lets out a growl and Vance moves closer to me. Dr. Thomas’s eyes light up as he sees the exchange. “Oh, she’s important to you. Interesting. Unfortunately, I’ve already tested her. She’s infertile, so she’s useless to me. If you want to keep her as a plaything until I find someone compatible for the experiments, that’s fine.”

“We are not going to your damn lab, Dad,” Gideon reiterates. “You can either tell your men to stand down, or we’ll go through them. We’re not staying in Haven North.”

“You might find that more difficult than you think, son,” Dr. Thomas chuckles. “Since I didn’t have any viable subjects for my experiments, I’ve been focusing more on supplements than genetics. These aren’t ordinary peace officers. They obey orders without question. They don’t feel pain, even if you rip off their limbs. They’re barely human. They’ll fight to their dying breath, and they will subdue you, if necessary. I hope it doesn’t have to come to that.”

“What the fuck do we do?” Jace whispers. “I say we fight.”

“If they want to subdue us, then those aren’t ordinary guns,” Knox deduces, keeping his voice low. “Probably loaded with sedatives or tranquilizers like they used to use on wild animals. We won’t be able to take many of those without going down.”

“I’m not going willingly,” Knox mutters. “But we have to protect Calla.”

The tension mounts. We’re in a standoff. I look down at my bracelet and see tendrils moving. It’s ready to fight, so I guess I am, too. I’m not letting my mates get taken to a lab, even if I get to go with them. Dr. Thomas may know they can shift into wolves, but he has no idea what I have inside me.

“I’ll make a deal with you, Dad,” Caleb says, stepping forward. “Let all of them go, and I’ll come with you. Willingly. I’ll let you experiment on me. I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“Caleb, no!” I call out, my hands balling into fists.

“Tempting, but you’re in no position to negotiate,” Dr. Thomas says. “You may look like Silas, but I can tell Gideon is the strongest of you now. I can’t wait to see what has been going on inside all of you since the last time you were tested.”

“We all fight,” I whisper. “Don’t worry about protecting me. I’ll take care of myself.”

“No,” Knox says under his breath. “We’ll clear a hole, and you run. Your survival is more important than ours. We don’t have the fabric of creation inside us.”

“It won’t matter if I don’t have my mates,” I whisper.

“Knox is right,” Vance sighs. “We were the first to be healed, according to Silas, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be the last. If The Aether wants your bloodline to continue, I’m sure there are other mates for you. We can’t be the only ones.”

“I don’t want other mates!” I spit back, louder than I should.

“Are we doing this the easy way or the hard way?” Dr. Thomas asks, sounding almost bored.

“You want to see what is inside us, Dad?” Gideon growls. “You’re about to. We’ll give you a good look at the monsters you created.”

Gideon starts to shift. The others do as well, shedding their clothes as the furs and fangs rip through the flesh. Dr. Thomas moves behind the peace officers and yells for them to attack us.

“Please don’t fail me now,” I beg, looking down at my bracelet. “Just… please help!”

The first peace officer readies their rifle and fires at Gideon. His golden fur wisps as something buzzes by him, imbeds in the pavement, and crackles with electricity. Gideon leaps at the peace officer who fired. He rips through the peace officer’s armor and throat with one bite, landing on four paws with blood streaming down his muzzle.

More shots. More flashes of fur. None of the peace officers seem concerned about me. They’re too worried about the wolves. It’s eerie hearing them die without any screams. No cries of pain. Just death gasps and growls as the wolves tear into them.

But there’s too many. Only five wolves and dozens of armed men. I get cut off from my mates and see a shot get fired at Vance’s back. He doesn’t see it.

“Vance, look out!” I yell, flinging my hand forward. “Please work! Please work!”

Tendrils erupt from my bracelet and snatch the electrical device out of the air. It skids across the pavement, and I smile. I can help. I can help a lot.

“Don’t worry about holding back,” I say. “I’ll take all the help you can offer, even if I glow green, start floating, and pass out for days after it’s over.”

The bracelet vibrates and the green glow begins to engulf me. I feel my feet lifting off the ground. I fling vines at the peace officers, strip weapons, wrapping tendrils around their throats, and hurling them out of the way. I clear a path to my mates.

“Shoot the girl! Shoot Nurse Calla!” Dr. Thomas screams.

My mates surround me and keep the peace officers at bay while I attack. But there’s still too many. I can’t stop the devices they’re shooting fast enough, especially now that most of them are coming at me. I snatch several out of the air before Caleb nearly knocks me away leaping in front of one. The tendril misses and it imbeds in his side, blood gushing from the wound as electricity ripples across his onyx fur.

“Caleb, no!” I yell, slinging tendrils at the peace officer who fired at him. My anger rages and the tendrils rip him apart like they did with the treants.

“Shoot the girl!” Dr. Thomas orders again. “Focus on the girl!”

The green glow around me flickers. I start sinking to the ground. Weakness engulfs me.

“No, no! Not yet!” I beg, shaking my arm. “More, please! I need you!”

The green glow fades and I collapse. Gideon shifts and grabs me before I hit the pavement. His golden stare anchors me for a moment before a shot rings out and electricity dances across his flesh.

“Gideon!” I squeal, catching myself on my feet as he goes down.

“Please, help,” I beg, tears starting to well up as I realize we’re losing. There are simply too many peace officers and too many rounds being fired. My bracelet is no longer glowing. There are no tendrils. It’s just a vine on my wrist. “You can’t abandon me now. You said…”

A loud whimper pulls my attention, and I see Vance go down. I rush to his side and sling my hand forward, hoping the bracelet will respond. It doesn’t. Jace and Knox put themselves between the approaching peace officers and their fallen brother, but it’s me they’re protecting.

“I think my bracelet is out of juice,” I whimper, realizing how hopeless the situation is becoming. “Or The Aether gave up on me.”

Jace and Knox put up a fight. They keep the peace officers at bay, nipping at their weapons, dodging the rounds that hit the pavement below us and building behind us. I shake my arm until I lose feeling in it, begging The Aether for just a little more help. Instead, I hear a whimpering howl as Knox finally goes down.

“The girl is no longer a concern! Take out the last wolf!” Dr. Thomas yells.

Jace backs up to me, growling and threatening the peace officers that approach. I see one ready their weapon, and I jump in front of it out of instinct when they aim at Jace. The object being fired hits my shoulder, slices almost to the bone, and ricochets off with a burst of electricity that nearly knocks me down. Jace shoulders me out of the way with a roar, and the next one hits him in the chest.

“Grab her!” Dr. Thomas says. “Bring her to me!”

I spin in every direction, but I’m trapped. My shoulder is gushing blood. I can still feel the currents of static zapping my bones. One peace officer grabs my left arm. Another takes my right. They drag me toward Dr. Thomas, who pulls a knife.

“Let me go! Let go!” I yell angrily, fighting against the peace officers with everything I have, but they’re far too strong.

“I’ll have to study this,” Dr. Thomas says, grabbing the bracelet and cutting it off my wrist.

The pulse that has been beating in rhythm with my heart dissipates as the bracelet is pulled away. I panic and thrash, but I’m powerless against the peace officers. Dr. Thomas pulls a metal case out of his pocket, opens it, and readies a syringe.

“Dr. Thomas! Don’t do this! They’re your sons!” I plead, looking at my fallen mates.

“Yes, I can’t wait to find out what makes the kind of changes they’ve undergone since the last time I tried to breed them,” Dr. Thomas says, smiling as he holds up the syringe. “But you’re clearly a lot more special than I realized, so I think I’ll have a look inside you, too.”

I turn my head, lift my shoulders, and do everything I can to keep the syringe away from my neck, but it’s no use. Dr. Thomas jabs the metal into my skin and presses down. The sedative works quickly. My eyelids flutter, everything goes numb, and the darkness closes in.

I put my mates in danger, and it’s going to cost us everything.

Even The Aether seems to have given up on me.