Chapter 27 Eve of Trial (Declan POV)
My dorm room looked like a war zone at 3:14 a.m. Papers covered every flat surface, Project Chimera files fanned across the desk, Elena’s journal open to the frantic December entries, Tyler’s black notebook propped against a half-empty coffee mug, Vivian’s printed DNA chromatograms taped to the wall in a jagged timeline. Highlighters bled yellow and pink across every page I’d touched tonight. My laptop screen glowed blue-white, cursor blinking on a document titled “Evidence Timeline – Final.”
I rubbed my eyes, gritty, burning, and leaned back in the chair. The springs creaked. I’d been at this since Vivian left the chapel basement five hours ago. No sleep. No food. Just black coffee and the ticking clock.
I dragged the cursor down the screen, reading aloud to myself to force the pieces into order.
“October 2008: Project Chimera launches. Goal, create autonomous wolves. No pack bonds. No territorial markers. Suppressed from infancy. Fourteen documented subjects placed in academies. Monthly injections disguised as vitamins.”
I tapped the next bullet.
“2009: Dr. James Cross discovers the program. Tries to expose it. Murdered, staged car accident. Elena Hale continues his work in secret. Becomes pregnant with his child. Hides the pregnancy. Gives birth to a daughter. Arranges with Professor Winters to suppress and relocate the baby. Makes it look like the child died with her when she’s executed for going rogue.”
My throat tightened. I swallowed hard and kept going.
“December 2009: Elena’s execution. Project Chimera continues underground. Subjects remain suppressed. No one questions the missing kids, transfers scrubbed from records.”
I scrolled.
“2025: Tyler Morrison, Concordance Committee member, starts digging. Finds transfer anomalies. Connects them to Chimera. Threatens exposure. Murdered, throat torn out. Framed on Rowan Ashford, the suppressed daughter of Elena and James. Incomplete Turning initiated to make her appear feral and guilty.”
Next line.
“Professor Hendricks, Rowan’s original faculty advisor. Handled her admission paperwork seventeen years ago. Would have seen the anonymous scholarship, the medical notes, the instructions to continue suppression. Knew too much. Murdered last night, same MO. Rowan’s scent and hair planted again.”
I leaned forward. Typed one more bullet.
“Pattern clear: victims were threats to the conspiracy. Tyler uncovered the suppressed students. Hendricks knew Rowan’s true identity. Killer is eliminating loose ends. Next targets, anyone else who could expose the truth.”
I created a new subheading: POTENTIAL TARGETS.
Typed fast.
Professor Winters: arranged Rowan’s suppression and relocation. Knows Elena’s final wishes. Knows the daughter survived.
Headmaster Vance: oversaw admissions. Approved Rowan’s scholarship. May have seen the sealed files.
Declan Hale: investigating, defying Garrett Hale, in possession of Elena’s journals and archive files. Publicly supporting Rowan.
I stared at my own name on the screen.
The cursor blinked.
I saved the document. Closed the laptop. Stood.
My legs cramped from sitting too long. I paced, five steps to the window, five back. Moonlight poured through the glass. Almost full. Tomorrow night it would rise fat and silver, pulling at Rowan’s Turning whether she was ready or not.
I stopped at the desk. Picked up Elena’s journal. Flipped to the last page again, her handwriting shaky, ink smudged.
The baby, I have to protect the baby.
I traced the words with my thumb.
“I’m trying,” I said aloud to the empty room. “I’m trying, Elena.”
No answer.
Just the hum of the dorm heater and the distant howl of wind through the campus trees.
I set the journal down. Grabbed my phone. Texted Vivian the burner number.
Evidence compiled. Timeline complete. Potential next targets: Winters, Vance, me. Meet tonight, chapel basement, 11 p.m. Bring Meredith if she’s ready. We go to Rowan at dawn.
I hit send.
The message whooshed away.
I walked to the window. Pressed my forehead against the cold glass.
The campus spread below, dark buildings, empty paths, the faint glow of security lights. Somewhere out there Julian Cross was moving. Planning. Waiting for the full moon to force Rowan’s memories wide open, to trigger the other suppressed students, to shatter the Concordance before it could renew.
I clenched my fist against the pane.
“Not on my watch,” I muttered.
I turned back to the desk. Started gathering the papers, stacking files, folding printouts, sliding Elena’s journal into an inner pocket of my jacket. Every page felt heavier than it should have.
A knock, soft, three taps, on the door.
I froze.
“Declan?” Vivian’s voice, low, urgent. “It’s me.”
I crossed the room in three strides. Opened the door.
She slipped inside, hood still up, eyes bright with adrenaline. Meredith stood behind her, face pale but determined.
“You said dawn,” Vivian whispered. “But we couldn’t wait.”
I stepped aside. Closed the door. Locked it.
Meredith looked at the mess on my desk, papers everywhere, timeline glowing on the laptop screen.
“Is that… everything?” she asked.
I nodded. “Everything we have. Proof of Chimera. Proof of the murders. Proof the killer is eliminating witnesses.”
Meredith walked to the desk. Touched the list of potential targets. Her finger stopped on her own name, third from the top.
“Winters,” she said quietly. “He’s been giving me the shots since I was a kid. He knew.”
I met her eyes. “He knew. But he also helped Elena hide Rowan. He’s conflicted. Might be an ally, or might be scared.”
Vivian stepped closer. “We need to move faster. The trial’s tomorrow. If Rowan goes in without this evidence...”
“She’ll be executed,” I finished.
Meredith’s voice cracked. “We can’t let that happen.”
“We won’t.” I picked up the stack of files. “We take this to her at first light. Before the chamber opens. Before the Alphas convene. We show her everything, then we show the court.”
Vivian nodded. “And if they try to stop us?”
I looked at both of them, Vivian’s fierce determination, Meredith’s quiet resolve.
“Then we fight,” I said. “All of us. Together.”
Meredith swallowed. “I’m ready to shift. If it comes to that. I’m done hiding.”
Vivian touched her arm. “We’ll be there. All three packs. All three heirs. They can’t ignore us.”
I zipped the files into my bag.
“Get some rest,” I told them. “Dawn’s in four hours. We move then.”