Chapter 114: The Hunt

Chapter 114: The Hunt
Lia

I ran until my paws bled.
Ran until my lungs burned and my vision blurred and every muscle in my body screamed for me to stop.
But I couldn't stop. Couldn't accept what had just happened.
Lia had surrendered.
Given herself to the Circle to save us.
And I'd let Theron drag me away like a fucking coward.
"KAI, STOP!" Viktor's voice cut through my rage. "You're going to kill yourself!"
I collapsed at the border, shifting back to human form. My body was a map of injuries, claw marks, bite wounds, silver burns from the spelled chains. But none of it compared to the agony tearing through my chest.
The bond was still there. Faint. Distant. But present.
She was alive.
For now.
"We're going after her." I forced myself to stand. "Now."
"With what army?" Theron appeared, his throat still healing. "They took half our forces in that ambush. The Circle knew exactly where to hit, exactly when. Someone fed them our patrol schedules."
"Seraphina," I spat the name like poison.
"Yes. And she's been planning this for months." Zara emerged from the forest, supporting a wounded coalition wolf. "We found communications in her quarters. She's been coordinating with the Circle since before Lia arrived."
My claws extended involuntarily. "I'm going to tear her apart."
"Get in line." Theron's silver eyes were ice. "But first, we need to find the facility."
"You know where it is?" Viktor asked.
"I have suspicions." Theron pulled out a map, spreading it on the ground. "The Circle has three known research facilities. But only one is equipped for Silvermane study." He tapped a location deep in the Northern Wastes. "Here. Blackstone Compound. Built on the ruins of the original Silvermane Pack territory."
Of course they'd take her there. Poetic fucking justice.
"That's four days' travel," Viktor calculated. "Five if the terrain's as bad as the maps show."
"Then we leave immediately." I grabbed the map. "Theron, Viktor, and me. Small strike team. Fast."
"You're wounded," Zara pointed out. "Barely standing. And the bond, you're not thinking clearly."
"The bond is the only thing keeping me from going feral right now." I met her amber eyes. "They have my mate. My Luna. Every second she's there, they're hurting her. Studying her. Breaking her. So either help me get her back or get out of my way."
Zara studied me for a long moment. Then nodded. "I'll hold the coalition together while you're gone. But Kai—if you don't come back with her, there won't be a coalition to return to. She's the only thing holding us together."
"Then I'll bring her back. Or die trying."

Consciousness returned in fragments.
Cold. So cold my bones ached.
Silver burning every inch of exposed skin.
And voices, clinical, detached, discussing me like I was a specimen instead of a person.
"The subject is responding to the suppression serum. Silvermane abilities currently dormant."
"Excellent. Begin the first extraction in one hour."
Extraction.
The word sent terror spiking through me.
I forced my eyes open. White walls. Bright lights. Medical equipment I didn't recognize.
And chains. So many chains.
Silver wrapped around my wrists, ankles, throat, waist. Connected to the walls by spelled links that glowed with the same runes as before. I couldn't even sit up without the metal biting into flesh.
"The subject is conscious. Should we increase sedation?"
"No. The director wants her to be aware of the initial procedures."
A face appeared above me. Female. Middle-aged. With eyes that held no empathy whatsoever.
"Luna Lia," she said pleasantly, like we were meeting for tea. "Welcome to Blackstone. I'm Dr. Reeves. I'll be overseeing your... contribution to our research."
"Fuck you," I rasped. My throat felt like I'd swallowed glass.
"Expected." Dr. Reeves made a note on her tablet. "Subjects typically go through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. You're currently in stage two. Most never reach stage five."
"Because you kill them first?"
"Because they kill themselves." Her smile was clinical. "The mind breaks before the body does. Usually around the third week of extractions."
Week. Weeks of this.
"Your mate won't find you," Dr. Reeves continued, checking my restraints. "This facility doesn't officially exist. And even if he somehow located it, our defenses are... substantial. Two hundred trained warriors. Spelled barriers. Automated weapons systems."
"He'll still come."
"Then he'll die." She moved to a tray of instruments. "Now, let's begin with something simple. We need a baseline reading of your Silvermane power output."
She picked up a device that looked like a cross between a collar and a torture instrument.
"This will hurt," she said conversationally. "Quite a lot, actually. But the data is invaluable."
The device clamped around my neck. Pain exploded through me—not physical, but deeper. Like someone was trying to rip my wolf out through my throat.
I screamed.
"Excellent response. Power level is... remarkable. Subject shows 73% higher output than previous Silvermane specimens." Dr. Reeves made more notes. "Proceed to full extraction sequence."
The pain intensified. I felt my power being pulled, drawn out of me by the device, collected in vials that glowed silver.
"Please," I gasped. "Please stop."
"Stage three already? That was fast." Dr. Reeves smiled. "But no. We need at least six full extractions before we can begin the bonding experiments."
"Bonding experiments?"
"Didn't Seraphina explain? No, of course not. She was always terrible at briefing subjects." Dr. Reeves pulled up a holographic display. "We've discovered that Silvermane power can be transferred. Given to pure-blood wolves through a specialized bonding process. Imagine—an army of warriors with your abilities, but without the inconvenient independence and moral complications."
They wanted to make weapons. Using my power. My bloodline.
"You're insane."
"We're evolutionary." Dr. Reeves increased the device's intensity. "Silvermane Lunas were a mistake of nature, too powerful to control, too dangerous to allow free. But their abilities? Those are valuable. Once we extract and synthesize your power, we won't need live subjects anymore. We can create Silvermane warriors on demand."
"It won't work," I forced out through the agony. "The power needs... the mate bond... to stabilize..."
"Ah, yes. That's where the bonding experiments come in." Her smile widened. "We'll be testing various forced mate bonds with volunteer warriors. See which combination produces the most controllable results. Don't worry—we've learned from previous failures. Only three subjects died during initial trials."
My vision was going dark. The extraction was too much. I couldn't—
The device shut off.
I collapsed against the restraints, gasping.
"That's enough for today," Dr. Reeves said. "Can't have you dying before we've collected sufficient samples. Rest, Luna. Tomorrow we begin the real work."
She left.
And I hung there in silver chains, feeling my power slowly regenerating but knowing it would just be ripped out again.
This was my life now. This was what I'd traded for the coalition's safety.
Through the bond, weak, suppressed, but still there—I felt Kai. Felt his determination, his rage, his absolute refusal to abandon me.
Don't come, I sent through the connection. Please don't come. It's a trap.
His response was immediate, fierce: I'm already coming. Hold on.
You'll die.
Then I die getting you back. Better than living without you.
The bond settled slightly, but I could feel him moving. Getting closer.
Walking straight into the Circle's trap.
And there was nothing I could do to stop him.