Chapter 184 Drake's Move

Chapter 184 Drake's Move
IVY’S POV
The Council session started badly and got worse.
Drake stood the moment the High Elder called for new business.
"I have concerns about recent developments," he announced, his voice carrying across the chamber.
Here we go, my wolf said tiredly.
"The Phantom Queen has brought an illegal genetic experiment into our capital," Drake continued. "A child created through Project Nightshade, a Council program so abhorrent it was shut down fifteen years ago and all subjects terminated."
Murmurs rippled through the assembled Alphas.
"Maya Reed is a weapon," Drake said. "Not a child. Not a person. A manufactured Phantom with enhanced abilities designed for combat and espionage. She should be contained, studied, and possibly eliminated for everyone's safety."
Damon’s rage spiked through the bond. I could feel it matching up to mine. My hands were shaking so bad I had to put them on my thighs, away from anyone who could be noticing. My brows furrowed. Fuck, I was so pissed.
"Maya is fifteen years old," I said, standing. "She's Elena's daughter. She was experimented on as an infant without consent. She's a victim, not a weapon."
"She has nullification abilities that can neutralize every Phantom in a room," Drake countered. "That's not a victim. That's a security threat."
"So is my son," I shot back. "Emmett has the same abilities. Are you suggesting we eliminate him too?"
"Your son is your biological child," Drake said. "Maya Reed is a lab creation. There's a difference."
Several Alphas shifted uncomfortably. But some nodded agreement.
He's gaining traction, my wolf warned.
Alpha Morrison stood. "I agree with Drake. Project Nightshade subjects should be placed in Council custody. Not as punishment, but for assessment and containment."
"Containment?" Damon said coldly. "You mean imprisonment."
"I mean protection," Morrison replied. "Protection for pack society from abilities we don't understand. Protection for the subjects themselves from those who might exploit them."
"Maya is under our protection already," I said.
"Your protection is compromised," Drake said. "She's family. You're biased. The Council needs neutral custody to properly assess the threat."
The debate raged for an hour.
Some Alphas supported Maya's freedom. Others demanded Council custody. A few wanted outright elimination.
Finally, Chen, as always, called for a vote. Surrender Maya to Council custody for "protective assessment."
The tally climbed slowly.
Five in favor. Seven against.
The motion failed. But barely.
Too close, my wolf said nervously. Way too close.
Damon was struggling to keep his wolf back now. His wolf nails had come up, and the color of his eyes was fluctuating. He’s struggling to keep his wolf from bursting out and ripping Drake's throat off.
Drake was manipulating fear, turning Maya into a political weapon.
"Easy now baby. We can't just eliminate him," I said Damon through the mindlink.
"I know," Damon sent back. "But I want to."
After the session, we held an emergency meeting with Marcus, Lena, and Dr. Cross.
"Drake's rhetoric is finding traction," Marcus said grimly. "Traditionalist Alphas are genuinely terrified of enhanced Phantoms. Project Nightshade plays into every fear they have about Phantom power."
"We need to counter the narrative," Lena said.
"How?" I asked. "Maya does have enhanced abilities. That's not propaganda, it's fact."
"Then we prove she's not dangerous," Damon said. "Independent medical evaluation. Neutral experts who can assess her abilities and confirm she poses no threat."
"Drake will claim we're rigging the results," Marcus pointed out.
"Not if we let the Council choose the experts," I said. "Independent evaluation by Phantom specialists chosen by neutral Alphas. Complete transparency."
It was risky. But it might work.
Chen supported the proposal when we brought it to the Council. "Independent evaluation with full disclosure. The results are made public, and Maya's status is determined by evidence rather than fear."
The Council voted to approve. Eight in favor, four against.
But finding neutral Phantom experts proved difficult.
Most Phantoms were either allied with us or too afraid to get involved in politics. The few who qualified as "neutral" were scattered across the continent.
It took three days to assemble a panel: three Phantom medical experts from different regions, none with direct ties to our government.
The evaluation was scheduled for one week.

Maya was terrified.
I found her in Elena's quarters the night the evaluation was announced, curled up on the couch.
"I don't want to be examined…," she said quietly. "...like a specimen again. alright."
"I know," I said, sitting beside her.
"Dr. Cross said the experiments were... invasive and painful. They treated us like animals."
Elena, sitting nearby, looked sick.
"This will be different," I promised. "Medical assessment only. If anyone tries to hurt you, we intervene immediately. Political consequences be damned."
"You can't promise that," Maya said. "You're the Queen. You have to follow the rules."
She understands politics better than most adults, my wolf observed.
"I'm also your family," I said. "That comes first."
Damon and I made the decision together through the mindlink. Maya would undergo evaluation, but with strict safeguards. Dr. Cross would oversee everything. Elena would be present. And if anything went wrong, we'd pull Maya out regardless of political fallout.
Dr. Cross agreed to the terms. "I'll make sure they stay within legitimate medical assessment. No experiments, no invasive procedures, nothing that could harm her."
Maya accepted reluctantly. "One week. Then it's over."
"One week," I confirmed.

The night before the evaluation was scheduled to begin, Maya came to my quarters without Elena or Dr. Cross.
"Can we talk?" she asked. "Privately?"
Damon excused himself, sensing this was something Maya needed to say to me specifically.
She sat on the couch, hands clasped tightly.
"I'm scared," she said. "And it’s not the examination I’m scared of. It’s what they'll find."
"They won't find anything wrong with you," I said gently.
"That's not what I mean."
She took a breath.
"Dr. Cross suspects Project Nightshade did more than just enhance our abilities. They altered our DNA at a fundamental level. We're not natural Phantoms, we're constructed."
Where is this going? my wolf asked nervously.
"Dr. Cross thinks there might be complications," Maya continued. "Some side effects they didn't plan for when they were experimenting on us."
"What kind of complications?"
Maya's silver eyes were haunted. "She thinks we might be dying. That whatever they did to enhance our abilities is slowly killing us."
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
"The genetic modifications are unstable," Maya explained. "Our bodies are breaking down at a cellular level. It's slow, it takes years. But it's happening."
She looked at me directly.
"Lucas, Kira, and me. Dr. Cross thinks we have maybe ten years before our bodies fail completely. Before the enhancements kill us."
I shared the information with Damon immediately in the mindlink. He was shocked just as I am.
"Does the evaluation know to look for this?" I asked.
"Dr. Cross will make sure they test for it," Maya said. "But if they find evidence of cellular degradation, if they confirm we're dying..."
She didn't finish.
If the evaluation confirmed Project Nightshade subjects were unstable, dying, potentially dangerous as they degraded, Drake would have all the ammunition he needed.
"We'll find a cure," I said firmly. "If there's cellular damage, we'll fix it. We have the best medical minds, access to old Phantom knowledge, resources…"
"You can't cure genetic instability," Maya interrupted. "Dr. Cross has been trying for fifteen years. She hasn't found anything."
"Then we'll try for sixteen years," I said. "However long it takes."
Damon agreed too. We weren't letting Maya die. Or Lucas, if we found him. Or Kira, wherever she was.
But privately, I wondered, if Project Nightshade subjects were dying, what did that mean for Luna and Emmett?
They weren't artificially enhanced. But they were unprecedented in their power.
What if their abilities were too strong for their bodies to sustain long-term?
“Don't borrow trouble,” my wolf warned. “One crisis at a time.”
"The evaluation starts tomorrow," Maya said. "Whatever they find, promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise you won't treat me differently. Whether I'm dying or not, whether I'm dangerous or not, I'm still me. I'm still your cousin."
I pulled her into a hug.
"You're family," I said. "Nothing changes that. Ever."