Chapter 78 Moonsilver Fury
The first soldier through the door didn’t see me move. Just felt my fist connect with his jaw. Heard the crack. Dropped before his brain registered what happened.
The second was smarter. Raised his gun. Aimed center mass. Finger on the trigger.
I shifted. My silver wolf is faster than bullets. Faster than thought. His shot went wide. Embedded in the wall where I’d been standing.
My jaw found his arm. Clenched. Bone snapped. He screamed. Dropped the gun. I released him. Moved past. Didn’t kill. Didn’t need to. Just needed them down. Out of my way.
Where is he? I thought about the bond. Reaching for Lycian. Tell me where you are.
Basement level. Cell block C. His voice was weak. Strained. Don’t come. It’s too dangerous. They’re waiting for you.
Let them wait.
I ran through the corridors. Following the bond. Following the pull that led me to my mate. My other half. My everything.
More soldiers appeared. I didn’t slow down. Just tore through them. Claws and teeth. Pure wolf instinct is taking over. No mercy. No hesitation.
They shot me. Silver bullets finding flesh. Burning. Hurting. But not stopping me. Because pain was temporary. Losing Lycian was permanent.
I reached the stairs. Descended three levels. Smelled his blood before I saw him. Familiar. Mine. Mixed with silver and infection and suffering.
The cell block was locked. Heavy door. Biometric scanner. Designed to keep prisoners in. Rescuers out.
I pressed my paw against the scanner. Let silver light flow through it. Through the circuits. Through the programming. Burning away the locks. The security. Everything is keeping me from him.
The door opened with a groan. Inside, cells lined both walls. Most empty. Some holding wolves I didn’t recognize. Collective prisoners. Test subjects. Victims.
And at the end. Cell C-7. Lycian.
He was on the floor. Curled around his injuries. Silver burns covered every inch of exposed skin. His breathing is shallow. Labored. Dying.
“No.” I shifted back to human. Grabbed the cell bars. “No no no. You don’t get to die. Not after everything. Not after I just got my memories back.”
His eyes opened. Gold. Fading. But still him. Still present. “You remember?”
“Everything. I remember everything.” I reached through the bars. Touched his face. “I remember loving you. Marrying you. Choosing you every single day.”
“Good.” He smiled. Weak but real. “Wanted you to remember that. Before the end.”
“This isn’t the end. I’m getting you out. Getting you home. You’re going to heal.” I looked at the lock. Another scanner. More security. “Just hold on. Please hold on.”
“The estate. Did they really attack? Is the pack okay?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t felt anything through the pack bond. Which means either they’re fine or.” I couldn’t finish. Couldn’t say what the alternative meant.
I pressed my hand to the scanner. Let the silver light burn again. The lock resisted. Fought back. Some kind of failsafe designed to withstand Moonsilver's power.
Of course. Because Thornheart knew what I could do. Knew how to prepare. How to counter.
“There’s another way,” Lycian said. Voice barely a whisper. “The control room. Third floor. You can unlock all the cells from there. Free everyone at once.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to. More soldiers are coming. I can hear them.” His hand found mine through the bars. Squeezed. Weak. “Go. Free everyone. Then come back for me.”
“Promise me you’ll be alive when I return. Promise me you won’t give up.”
“I promise.” His eyes met mine. Love. Determination. Truth. “I’ll wait forever if that’s what it takes. Just come back to me.”
I kissed him through the bars. Tasting blood and silver and goodbye. “I love you. I’ll be back. Five minutes. That’s all I need.”
“Take ten. Be careful. Come back safe.” He pulled away. “Now go. Before I change my mind and beg you to stay.”
I shifted. Ran back toward the stairs. Toward the third floor. Toward the control room that would free everyone.
Soldiers flooded the stairwell. At least twenty. All armed. All ready.
I didn’t slow down. Just charged straight through. Taking hits. Taking bullets. But not stopping. Never stopping.
The third floor was chaos. Scientists fleeing. Alarms screaming. The facility is destroying itself trying to stop me.
But they couldn’t stop what they’d created. Couldn’t contain what they’d designed to be unstoppable.
The control room door was reinforced steel. No scanner. Just a keypad. Numbers. Some combination I didn’t know.
I let silver light explode from my body. Not careful. Not controlled. Just raw power. Pure Moonsilver energy is burning through everything.
The door melted. Dripped like water. Revealed the room beyond. Monitors. Controls. Everything needed to run the facility.
And standing in the center. Waiting. Thornheart.
“Impressive.” She didn’t look scared. Didn’t look surprised. Just calculating. “You broke the memory suppression. Resisted the programming. Freed yourself from restraints specifically designed to hold Moonsilver wolves.” She pulled out a gun. Not silver bullets. Something else. “But did you really think I wouldn’t have a backup plan?”
“I think you’re desperate. Scared. Losing control.” I circled her. Matching her movement. “Your organization is falling apart. Your leaders are dead or captured. Your operations are exposed. You’ve already lost.”
“Have I? Project Genesis launches in eighty-three days. Every sleeper asset is activating simultaneously. Thousands of programmed wolves are taking over every major pack in North America.” She smiled. “You’ve delayed us. Destroyed some facilities. Killed some personnel. But you haven’t won. Not even close.”
“Then why are you here? Why not run? Why stand and fight a battle you might lose?”
“Because I don’t lose. Ever. That’s what forty years of Collective leadership teaches you.” She raised the gun. Aimed at my head. “This weapon doesn’t use silver. Uses pure Moonsilver. Extracted from wolves like you. Liquified. Weaponized. The only thing that can kill a Moonsilver wolf permanently.”
My blood went cold. “You’re lying. Moon silver power can’t be extracted. Can’t be weaponized.”
“Can’t it? We’ve had decades to experiment. To perfect the process. To create the one weapon you can’t heal from. Can’t purify. Can’t survive.” Her finger moved to the trigger. “Any last words?”
“Yes. Duck.”
She looked confused. Then Elena’s black wolf crashed through the window behind her. Glass exploded. Jaws closing on Thornheart’s arm. The gun is firing. Missing me by inches. The bullet is embedded in the wall behind me. Glowing silver. Wrong. Deadly.
Elena and Thornheart fought. Vicious. Desperate. Two apex predators with everything to lose.
I ran to the control panel. Found the cell block controls. Hit the release. All cells. All prisoners. Everyone is free simultaneously.
Alarms changed pitch. Warning. Containment breach. Prisoners escaping.
“You’ve doomed them,” Thornheart gasped. Elena’s jaws around her throat. “The facility is rigged. Explosives. Fifteen minutes until detonation. Not enough time to evacuate everyone.”
“Then I guess we die together.” I pulled the fire alarm. Manual override. Doors are unlocking throughout the facility. “But at least we die free.”
Elena released Thornheart. Shifted back. Blood covering her face. Her arms. “Lycian?”
“Basement. Cell C-7. Get him out. I’ll handle her.” I watched Thornheart struggle to breathe. Her throat is damaged. Bleeding. “Go. Now.”
Elena ran. Didn’t argue. Didn’t question. Just trusted me to handle it.
Thornheart laughed. Wet. Gurgling. “You think you’ve won. But even if you escape. Even if you survive. Project Genesis continues. Nightshade continues.” She coughed up blood. “You can’t stop what’s already in motion. Can’t save everyone. Can’t win.”
“Maybe not. But I can sure as hell try.” I shifted. My silver wolf is standing over her. “Where’s the detonator? How do I stop the explosives?”
“You don’t. They’re on a timer. Hardwired. Impossible to disarm.” She smiled through bloody teeth. “We all die in.” She checked her watch. “Twelve minutes. Hope you said your goodbyes.”
I grabbed her. Shifted back to human. Lifted her by her collar. “Tell me how to stop it. Or I leave you here to burn.”
“I’m staying either way. This is my facility. My life’s work. I’ll die with it.” Her eyes were calm. Accepting. “But you? You have people to save. A mate to rescue. A pack to protect. Twelve minutes. Better start running.”
I dropped her. Ran from the room. Down the stairs. Toward the basement. Toward Lycian. Toward everyone who needed saving.
The facility was in chaos. Prisoners fleeing. Scientists abandoned their posts. Soldiers fighting to contain the breach. Everything is falling apart.
I reached the basement. Found Elena carrying Lycian. Damien beside her. Alive. When had he gotten here?
“The pack,” I gasped. “You’re okay. The attack.”
“Was a lie. There was no attack. Thornheart lied to make you surrender.” Damien supported Lycian’s other side. “We’ve been tracking you. Waiting for the right moment. Elena called when you broke free.”
Relief and rage mixed. “How long until the facility explodes?”
“Eight minutes according to the alarms.” Elena moved faster. “We need to go. Now.”
We ran. All of us. Carrying wounded. Supporting the weak. Moving as fast as possible toward the exits.
But there were so many. So many prisoners. So many victims who couldn’t run. Couldn’t escape in eight minutes.
We’d never save them all. Never get everyone out.
Unless.
“Get everyone to the north exit,” I ordered. “I’ll buy us time.”
“How?” Lycian asked. His voice is stronger. Healing already now that he was free of the cell. “The explosives are hardwired. Can’t be disarmed.”
“But they can be contained. Directed.” I looked at him. At the man I’d fought so hard to remember. To save. To keep. “Trust me. Get everyone out. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Elowen. No. Whatever you’re planning. Don’t.”
“I love you. Remember that. No matter what happens next.” I kissed him. Hard. Fast. Final. “Now go.”
I ran deeper into the facility. Toward the explosives. Toward the bombs Thornheart had set to destroy everything.
Six minutes left.