Chapter 149: Fractures in the Pack
No one left the war room that night.
Not even when the storm outside quieted into a soft, endless rain.
The map on Ethan’s laptop still glowed on the center of the table, casting pale blue light across everyone’s faces. Dozens of hidden facilities dotted the country like infected wounds. Research sites. Testing grounds. Training compounds.
Places where the Creed had been trying—over and over again—to recreate what they had made in me.
The silence in the room wasn’t peaceful.
It was the kind of silence that comes when people realize the war they thought they were fighting is only the surface of something much bigger.
Elena leaned against the table, arms folded.
“So let me get this straight,” she said slowly. “We’ve been trying to stop a secret cult with creepy science experiments…”
She pointed at the map.
“But actually they’re building an entire hybrid army.”
Ethan nodded grimly.
“That’s what the data suggests.”
Callum rubbed his face.
“Well that’s comforting.”
Rhea closed her journal carefully.
“There’s something worse.”
Everyone looked at her.
She flipped the book open again and traced a line of faded writing.
“This journal describes the earliest Creed experiments. It mentions something called the Ascension Protocol.”
Aidan frowned.
“What’s that?”
Rhea hesitated.
“I think it’s their endgame.”
My chest tightened.
“What kind of endgame?”
Rhea met my eyes.
“The creation of a perfect hybrid leader.”
The room went very still.
Elena slowly pointed at me again.
“Oh come on.”
Dominic nodded quietly.
“That’s Roxanne.”
\---
The words hung in the air like a loaded weapon.
I didn’t react immediately.
Not because I didn’t care.
But because I felt strangely numb.
For years I had believed I was part of some ancient prophecy.
A destined protector.
Now I was learning that half of that story might have been engineered by people who wanted to control me.
It was like discovering your entire life had been built on someone else’s blueprint.
Aidan finally broke the silence.
“No.”
Everyone turned toward him.
“They don’t control her,” he said firmly.
His eyes locked onto Dominic.
“And they never will.”
Dominic didn’t argue.
But he didn’t look convinced either.
\---
Ethan zoomed the map out further.
“Here’s the real problem,” he said.
The screen shifted to show a much wider area.
“There are at least twenty-seven operational facilities connected to the Creed.”
Elena choked.
“Twenty-seven?”
Callum stared at the screen.
“That’s not a secret organization anymore.”
Ethan nodded.
“That’s an empire.”
Echo crossed her arms.
“And we just attacked one of their most important laboratories.”
Aidan sighed quietly.
“So they’re going to hit back.”
Dominic looked up.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“They’re going to escalate.”
\---
Elena rubbed her temples.
“Okay, I officially hate this timeline.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“You don’t understand how the Creed thinks.”
His voice had grown more serious.
“They believe humanity is weak. Temporary. Flawed.”
He gestured toward the map.
“They see hybrids as the next step in evolution.”
Rhea whispered, “Replacement.”
Dominic nodded.
“They’re not trying to rule the world.”
He paused.
“They’re trying to remake it.”
My stomach turned.
“And I’m supposed to lead that future?”
Dominic looked at me carefully.
“That’s what they designed you for.”
Aidan’s voice hardened.
“Well they designed wrong.”
\---
The tension in the room slowly began shifting.
Because another uncomfortable truth was sitting right in front of us.
Dominic.
Elena was the first one to say it.
“So… what do we do about him?”
Dominic didn’t react.
Aidan looked between us.
“What do you mean?”
Elena gestured toward Dominic.
“He spent years spying on Roxanne.”
“That was before—” Dominic began.
Elena cut him off.
“Before what? Before you started feeling guilty?”
Callum shifted awkwardly.
Echo remained silent but watchful.
The room had suddenly split into two sides.
And Dominic stood in the middle of it.
I spoke quietly.
“Did you ever lie to me about anything else?”
Dominic met my eyes.
“No.”
The answer came without hesitation.
But Elena wasn’t convinced.
“Convenient answer.”
Dominic sighed.
“I understand why you don’t trust me.”
“Good,” Elena replied.
“Because I don’t.”
Aidan finally stepped forward.
“That’s enough.”
Everyone went quiet.
“He saved Roxanne,” Aidan said.
“He risked everything to keep the Creed off her trail.”
Elena crossed her arms.
“Or maybe he just realized she was too powerful to control.”
Dominic didn’t respond.
And that silence didn’t help.
\---
Rhea closed her journal again.
“Arguing won’t help us.”
She pointed to the map.
“We have a much bigger problem.”
Ethan nodded.
“She’s right.”
He zoomed into one of the facilities near the center of the map.
“This one has been extremely active.”
Dominic leaned forward immediately.
“That’s a training compound.”
“How do you know?” Aidan asked.
Dominic’s expression darkened.
“Because that’s where they take new hybrid subjects.”
My stomach dropped.
“You mean like prisoners?”
Dominic shook his head slowly.
“No.”
His voice turned grim.
“They take children.”
The room erupted again.
“You’re kidding me,” Elena whispered.
Dominic shook his head.
“They search for specific genetic markers. People who might survive hybridization.”
Rhea looked horrified.
“And if they don’t survive?”
Dominic didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
\---
My hands clenched tightly on the table.
“They’re experimenting on kids.”
Rage burned in my chest.
Aidan noticed.
“Roxanne—”
“No,” I said quietly.
Everyone looked at me.
“We’re not sitting here while they do that.”
Dominic studied my face carefully.
“You want to attack the training compound.”
“Yes.”
Elena blinked.
“Wait… like right now?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
Callum whistled softly.
“That’s bold.”
Echo tilted her head slightly.
“Or reckless.”
Aidan rubbed his jaw.
“It’s also dangerous.”
I met his eyes.
“So was tonight.”
He didn’t argue with that.
\---
The storm outside had finally ended.
But the air around the estate still felt heavy.
Like the calm before something worse.
Ethan turned his laptop toward the group.
“If we’re going after the compound, we need a plan.”
Dominic pointed at the screen.
“The facility is built like a fortress.”
“How many guards?” Echo asked.
“At least fifty,” Dominic replied.
Elena blinked.
“Fifty?”
Dominic continued calmly.
“And hybrids.”
Callum groaned.
“Of course.”
Ethan zoomed into the blueprint layout.
“There’s a security flaw,” he said slowly.
“Where?”
Ethan pointed to the western side of the compound.
“Underground maintenance tunnels.”
Dominic’s eyes widened slightly.
“That’s new.”
Ethan shrugged.
“Apparently the Creed doesn’t update their infrastructure records very well.”
Elena smirked.
“Love that for them.”
Aidan looked around the table.
“If we do this…”
His voice was serious.
“We’re crossing a line.”
Rhea frowned.
“What line?”
Aidan answered quietly.
“The Creed will know we’re not just defending ourselves anymore.”
He looked at me.
“We’ll be declaring war.”
I didn’t hesitate.
“They declared it first.”
\---
The decision settled across the room slowly.
One by one, everyone nodded.
Callum cracked his knuckles.
“Well.”
Echo adjusted the blade at her side.
“This should be interesting.”
Elena grabbed another magazine of ammunition.
“I hate that I’m excited about this.”
Ethan closed the laptop.
“I’ll prepare the infiltration route.”
Aidan looked at me one last time.
“You’re sure about this?”
I thought about the children Dominic mentioned.
The experiments.
The laboratories.
The army the Creed was building.
Then I nodded.
“Yes.”
Aidan sighed.
“Then we move at dawn.”
Dominic leaned back in his chair quietly.
But something about his expression had changed.
Something thoughtful.
Almost troubled.
Because while everyone else was preparing for the next battle…
Dominic was staring at me like he had just realized something.
Something dangerous.
Something he hadn’t expected.
And deep inside my chest…
That strange energy began to stir again.
Stronger than before.
Like something inside me was waking up.
Something the Creed had tried very hard to create.
And something I still didn’t fully understand.
But whatever it was…
It was coming.