Chapter 13 The Serum's Price
KAEL'S POV
The needle burned like liquid fire in my veins.
I collapsed, every muscle seizing at once. My vision blurred—shapes and colors bleeding together like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.
"Kael!" Aria's scream sounded distant, underwater.
Through the pain, I felt her hands on my face. Felt the mate bond thrashing between us like a trapped animal.
Dr. Kane's laugh echoed somewhere above me. "Fascinating. The bond is trying to fight the serum. This will make excellent data."
"What did you give him?" Aria's voice shook with rage and terror.
"The same enhancement formula we gave her brother," Kane said cheerfully. "Except Kael gets the accelerated version. He'll either become the perfect predator in the next hour... or his body will reject it and he'll die screaming. Fifty-fifty chance. Science is so exciting!"
My back arched as another wave of agony crashed through me. It felt like my bones were breaking and reforming, my muscles tearing and rebuilding, my blood turning to acid.
"Make it stop!" Aria begged. "Please, he's dying—"
"He's evolving," Kane corrected. "And you get to watch. Consider it a preview of what's waiting for you at the facility."
I wanted to tell Aria to run. Wanted to tell her I was sorry for dragging her into this. Wanted to tell her so many things.
But all that came out was a scream.
The guards grabbed Aria, pulling her away from me. She fought like a wildcat—kicking, biting, clawing—but there were too many of them.
"Containment Room Seven," Cross ordered. "Lock her in until Dr. Kane is ready for her procedure."
"No!" Aria's voice cracked. "Kael, please get up! Please!"
But I couldn't move. Couldn't do anything except feel my body tear itself apart from the inside.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was Aria being dragged away, tears streaming down her face, screaming my name.
I woke up in a cell.
My first thought: I'm alive.
My second thought: Something's wrong.
Everything was too sharp. Too clear. I could hear heartbeats in the next room—three people, one scared, two bored. Could smell blood and fear and disinfectant from fifty feet away. Could feel the mate bond like a compass pointing me toward Aria, telling me exactly where she was.
And I was hungry. Not for food. For something else. Something darker.
The cell door opened. Dr. Kane walked in, that cruel smile still on her face.
"Welcome back, Kael. How do you feel?"
"Like I want to rip your throat out," I said. My voice sounded different. Deeper. Dangerous.
"Perfect!" Kane clapped her hands like I'd just done a trick. "The serum worked. You're now enhanced—stronger, faster, more aggressive. Just like Asher."
Asher. Aria's brother. The friend I'd failed to save.
"Where is he?" I demanded. "Where's Asher?"
"Close by. Would you like to see him?" Kane's smile widened. "I think it's time for a reunion. After all, you two have so much in common now."
She led me through hallways that smelled like fear and chemicals. Guards flanked us, hands on their weapons, watching me like I might explode at any second.
They weren't wrong.
The serum made me want to fight. To hunt. To hurt anyone who stood between me and Aria.
But I forced myself to stay calm. To think. If Kane was taking me to Asher, maybe I could free him. Maybe together we could—
Kane stopped at a door marked "Subject A-1: Enhanced Alpha Prime."
"He's in here," she said, punching in a code. "But I should warn you—the Asher you knew doesn't exist anymore. The enhancement process requires... adjustments. We had to remove certain memories and emotions that interfered with his performance."
"You erased his memory?" Horror flooded through me.
"Only the unnecessary parts. Family attachments. Personal relationships. Anything that might make him hesitate in combat." Kane opened the door. "He's a perfect weapon now. And soon, you will be too."
The room beyond was white and sterile. In the center stood a man who looked like Asher—same face, same build—but moved like a stranger.
His eyes were empty. Cold. Like looking at a robot wearing Asher's skin.
"Subject A-1," Kane said. "Say hello to your old roommate."
Asher looked at me without any recognition. "Target identified. Awaiting orders."
My chest ached. This wasn't Asher. This was what they'd made him.
"Kael will be your training partner," Kane continued. "You'll help him adjust to the enhancement. Teach him to embrace his new nature."
"Understood," Asher said flatly.
"I won't become that," I said through clenched teeth. "I won't let you erase who I am."
Kane laughed. "You don't have a choice. The serum is already changing your brain chemistry. In seventy-two hours, you'll be just as compliant as A-1 here. Just as perfect."
"Where's Aria?" I demanded. "What are you doing to her?"
"Oh, she's being prepared for her role. You see, enhanced Alphas need compatible Omega mates to stabilize their aggression. Aria's genetic match with Asher makes her ideal for breeding the next generation of enhanced specimens." Kane checked her tablet. "Her procedure starts in two hours. By tonight, she'll be just as empty as her brother. A perfect matched set."
Rage exploded through me. The serum amplified it—made it huge and terrible and impossible to control.
I lunged at Kane.
Asher moved faster.
He caught me mid-leap, slammed me against the wall hard enough to crack concrete. His hand closed around my throat, cutting off my air.
"Stand down," Asher said without emotion. "Do not threaten Dr. Kane."
"Asher," I choked out. "It's me. Kael. Your friend. Your roommate. Remember?"
Nothing. Not even a flicker of recognition.
"Excellent response time, A-1," Kane praised. "You can release him now."
Asher dropped me. I gasped for air, my enhanced healing already working on my bruised throat.
"Take him to Training Room Three," Kane ordered Asher. "Begin his combat conditioning. I want him ready for memory modification by tomorrow."
"Wait," I said desperately. "If you erase my memories, the mate bond with Aria will break. You said you need compatible pairs—"
"The bond will reform after modification," Kane interrupted. "Stronger than before, actually. Without all those messy emotions interfering." She turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and Kael? Don't try to escape. We have Aria in a locked room, surrounded by guards, wearing a collar that will electrocute her if she moves too much. Any rescue attempt means she dies instantly."
She left, the door sealing behind her with a hiss of pressurized air.
I was alone with Asher. Or what was left of him.
"Training begins now," Asher said, moving into a fighting stance.
I had seventy-two hours before they erased my mind. Two hours before they started erasing Aria's. And the only person who could help me was my best friend who'd been turned into an emotionless weapon.
"Asher, please," I tried one more time. "I know you're still in there somewhere. Your sister needs you. Aria needs you. She came here to find you. She risked everything—"
Asher's fist crashed into my jaw before I could finish.
"Training begins now," he repeated.
I wiped blood from my mouth and raised my fists. If I couldn't reach Asher with words, maybe I could reach him another way.
We fought. Fast and brutal, enhanced strength against enhanced strength, the room echoing with the sound of our impacts.
And through it all, I talked.
Told him about the pranks he used to play on our floor. The late-night study sessions. The time he'd stayed up with me when nightmares about my sister kept me awake. Every memory I had of him.
Asher's attacks never slowed. Never hesitated.
Until I said: "Aria makes terrible jokes when she's nervous. Just like you did."
His next punch missed by inches.
"She has your smile. Your determination. Your stubbornness."
Asher froze mid-strike, confusion flickering across his empty face.
"She's your twin," I pressed. "Your family. The person you loved most in the world. And they're going to erase her too unless you help me stop them."
For one heartbeat, Asher's eyes cleared. Looked human again.
"Aria?" he whispered.
Then alarms started blaring throughout the facility.
Red lights flashed. A computerized voice announced: "Security breach. Subject O-Prime has escaped containment. All personnel initiate lockdown procedures."
Subject O-Prime. Aria.
She'd escaped.
But before I could feel relief, the voice continued: "Subject O-Prime heading toward restricted area. Lethal force authorized."
They were going to kill her.