Chapter 73: Doctors back

“Everyone, stay close. Whatever took them is still out there.”

Lyra’s voice was low but steady as she stood in the middle of Maya’s living room. The house was quiet, too quiet, and the silence made her chest feel tight. Damien and Cole were still missing. No trace. No clue. Just empty space where they should have been.

Jack paced near the window, rubbing his hands together. He had not slept all night. None of them had. Every sound outside made him turn fast, ready to fight something he could not see.

“They wouldn’t just disappear,” Jack said. “Damien would never leave without telling us. Not after everything.”

Maya sat on the couch, her face pale, dark circles under her eyes. She had checked every spell, every protection mark, and every ancient book she owned. Nothing explained what happened.

“Whatever took them is strong,” she said. “And smart. This was planned.”

Bryce leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “So what now? We just sit and wait?”

“No,” Lyra said at once. “We look for them.”

A soft knock came at the door.

Everyone froze.

Jack moved first, stepping in front of Lyra. Maya raised her hand, whispering a short spell under her breath. The air around them shifted, light and tense.

The knock came again, louder this time.

Maya walked to the door and opened it slowly.

A girl stood outside.

She looked about their age, maybe a little younger. Her long dark hair was tied in a loose braid, and her eyes were sharp and alert. There was dried blood on the sleeve of her jacket.

“I need help,” the girl said. Her voice was calm, but her hands shook. “And I think you do too.”

Jack frowned. “Who are you?”

“My name is Aria,” she said. “And I know what took your friends.”

The room went still.

Lyra stepped forward. “How do you know about Damien and Cole?”

Aria hesitated, then took a breath. “Because I’ve been tracking the same people for months. They are doctors, but not normal ones. They experiment on supernatural beings. They create hybrids, forced ones. Wolf and vampire, wolf and mermaid, things that should never exist.”

Maya’s face drained of color. “That’s impossible.”

“It shouldn’t be possible,” Aria said. “But they found a way.”

Jack clenched his jaw. “Why are you telling us this?”

“Because your friends are alive,” Aria said. “For now. And because if we don’t act fast, they won’t be.”

The words hit hard.

Lyra felt her knees weaken, but she forced herself to stay standing. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know the exact place,” Aria admitted. “But I know the area. And I know how the doctors move their captives.”

Maya looked at Jack, then at Lyra. “We have to trust her.”

Jack nodded slowly. “We don’t have another choice.”

They gathered supplies fast. Maya packed herbs, spells, and protective charms. Jack grabbed weapons and extra clothes. Lyra tied her hair back, her heart pounding with fear and hope.

As they stepped outside, the wind picked up, cold and sharp.

Aria led them deep into the forest, far past the old trails. The trees grew thick, blocking out the light. The air smelled damp and heavy.

After almost an hour, Aria stopped.

“From here, we go slow,” she said. “They use traps.”

They moved carefully, watching the ground and the shadows. More than once, Maya stopped them just in time to avoid hidden symbols carved into the earth.

Then Lyra heard it.

A faint sound. A low groan.

Her heart jumped. “That’s Damien.”

She broke into a run before anyone could stop her.

They reached a small clearing where an old concrete building stood, half-covered in vines. The windows were boarded up. The door hung slightly open.

Inside, the air was cold and smelled of metal and chemicals.

They followed the sound down a narrow hallway to a locked room.

Jack kicked the door open.

Damien lay on the floor, chained at the wrists and ankles. His face was pale, his breathing shallow. Beside him, Cole was slumped against the wall, blood on his shirt but still conscious.

“Damien,” Lyra cried, dropping to her knees beside him.

His eyes fluttered open. “Lyra,” he whispered. “I knew you’d come.”

Maya rushed to Cole, checking his wounds. “They experimented on him,” she said, anger shaking her voice. “They tried to change his blood.”

Before anyone could say more, slow clapping echoed through the room.

Two men stepped out of the shadows.

They were tall, both with hard eyes and cold smiles.

“Well done,” one of them said. “You found them.”

Jack stood, placing himself between them and the others. “Who are you?”

“We are the alphas of the eastern packs,” the other man said. “And we need your help.”

Lyra stared at them in disbelief. “You kidnap our friends and now you ask for help?”

The first man raised a hand. “We didn’t take them. The doctors did. But we know who they work for. And we know how dangerous this is becoming.”

Maya’s voice was sharp. “Then start talking.”

The men exchanged a look.

“There is a group,” the alpha said. “They believe the future belongs to hybrids. They want to erase the lines between species. They want control.”

Jack’s fists clenched. “Where are they?”

“They move constantly,” the other alpha said. “No base. No fixed location. That is why they cannot be caught.”

A heavy silence filled the room.

Damien shifted weakly. “So what are you saying?”

“We are saying this war is bigger than any pack,” the first alpha replied. “And if we don’t stand together, we will all lose.”

Lyra looked at her friends. At Damien, pale but alive. At Cole, injured but breathing. At Jack, tense and ready to fight.

She took a deep breath.

“Then we stand together,” she said. “Because we’re not running anymore.”

The alphas nodded.

But deep inside, Lyra felt the cold grip of fear.

Because if the doctors could do this, if they could take Damien and Cole so easily, then no one was truly safe.

And this was only the beginning.