Chapter 67 Sister vs Sister
Elena’s black wolf lunged before I could react.
Lycian shifted mid-step. His gray wolf slammed into her, deflecting the attack. They hit the wall hard enough to crack the reinforced padding. Claws scrabbling. Teeth snapping.
“Run,” Lycian’s voice filled my head through the bond. “Get out. I’ll hold her off.”
I’m not leaving you.
“She’s programmed to kill you. I can’t fight her and protect you.” He dodged Elena’s jaws by inches. “Please. Run.”
Elena was faster than any wolf I’d seen. Stronger. The Collective had enhanced her just like they’d enhanced the students we’d rescued. But this was permanent. Built into her genetics.
She threw Lycian aside like he weighed nothing. Turned those blank silver eyes back to me.
Shift, my wolf urged. Fight or die. Choose.
I shifted. Bones are breaking and reforming in seconds. The pain barely registered. My silver wolf stood where Elowen had been.
Elena charged.
I dodged. Barely. Her teeth grazed my shoulder. Hot pain lanced through me.
She’s trained, my wolf observed. We’re not. This is bad.
Any helpful suggestions?
Don’t die?
Elena circled. Predator assessing prey. Her movements were mechanical. Precise. No wasted motion. Pure efficiency.
This wasn’t the Elena I knew. The one who’d helped me navigate pack politics. Who’d cried when I got married. This was the weapon the Collective had created. Finally activated.
Lycian recovered. Launched himself at Elena’s flank. She spun. Caught him mid-air. Slammed him down. His head cracked against concrete. He went limp.
Terror flooded through the bond. Then nothing. He was unconscious.
Elena turned back to me. Advanced slowly. Deliberately.
“Elena.” I tried to speak. A whine came out instead. Wrong vocal cords. “Fight it. You’re stronger than their programming.”
She didn’t respond. Couldn’t. The failsafe had complete control.
She lunged again. I rolled. Her teeth closed on empty air. She pivoted. Faster than should be possible. Caught my hind leg.
Agony exploded as her jaws clenched. Bone cracked. I yelped. Tried to pull free. She held on. Dragging me across the floor.
Do something, I screamed at my wolf. Use our power. Whatever Moonsilver wolves can do.
I don’t know how. You’re the one in control, remember?
Then help me. Please.
The wolf hesitated. Then surged forward. Taking partial control. Not complete. Just enough.
Silver light erupted from my body. Blinding. Pure.
Elena released my leg. Stumbled back. The light seemed to hurt her. Burn her somehow.
I pressed the advantage. Let the light grow brighter. Focused it toward her. Purify whatever the Collective had put in her.
The light touched her. She howled. Not pain. Resistance. The failsafe is fighting back.
For a moment, her eyes flickered. Brown showing through the silver. Elena was in there. Still fighting.
“Elowen.” Her voice. Strained. Desperate. Coming from the wolf. “Can’t stop it. Kill me. Before I kill you.”
No. I pushed more power at her. I’m not killing my sister.
Sister? Confusion colored her voice. Then the silver consumed her eyes again. The failsafe regains control. “Target must be eliminated. Protocol absolute.”
She shook off the light. Charged through it like it was nothing. Hit me full force. We rolled. Claws and teeth. Fur and blood.
She was bigger. Stronger. Trained. I was fast but inexperienced. Barely knew how to fight as a wolf. My human instincts kept interfering. Hesitating. Pulling punches.
Elena had no such problems. She fought to kill. Every strike calculated. Every bite is precise.
My shoulder opened. Deep gashes. Blood matted my silver fur. My leg still throbbed from where she’d crushed it. I was losing. Badly.
Let me have full control, my wolf urged. I can fight her. You can’t.
I don’t trust you.
You don’t have a choice. We die or I fight. Decide.
Elena’s jaws closed on my throat. Not hard enough to kill. Yet. A warning. A promise.
I surrendered. Let the wolf take over completely. Felt myself slide into the passenger seat. Watching. Aware. But not controlling.
My wolf was brutal. No hesitation. No mercy. Pure predator.
She twisted. Broke Elena’s grip. Used teeth and claws with vicious efficiency. Fighting dirty. Going for eyes. Throat. Vulnerable spots.
Elena reeled. Surprised. This wasn’t the scared half-trained wolf anymore. This was something else.
They fought like nightmares. Fast. Violent. The training room was demolished around them. Padding torn. Concrete cracked. Blood everywhere.
But Elena was still enhanced. Still programmed. She adapted. Matched the aggression. Escalated.
My wolf started losing ground again.
We need the power, she admitted. The silver light. But I don’t know how to access it. That’s your domain.
How am I supposed to use power when I’m not in control?
Figure it out. Fast.
I tried. Reached for that place where the light lived. Found it buried deep. Connected to emotions. To desperation. To love.
I thought of Clara. Dead because she tried to protect me. Thought of Lycian. Unconscious on the floor. Maybe dying. Thought of Elena. My sister. Trapped inside her own body. Forced to kill against her will.
The light answered. Surged through me. Through the wolf. Silver brilliance exploding outward.
Elena screamed. The light wrapped around her like chains. Holding her. Burning away the failsafe’s control.
“Fight it,” I begged. My voice. Coming from the wolf. “You’re stronger than them. Stronger than their programming.”
Elena thrashed. Fighting the light. Fighting the programming. Fighting herself.
Her eyes flickered. Brown. Silver. Brown. Silver. A war is happening inside her head.
Then she went still. Eyes locked on mine. Fully brown. Fully aware.
“Elowen.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Couldn’t stop it.”
“I know. It’s not your fault.”
“Clara. She told you?” Elena’s voice was weak. Strained. “About us? About what are we?”
“Yes. You’re my sister. We were both experiments.”
“I remember now. The light. It broke something. Brought back the memories they erased.” More tears. “I’ve been their weapon for years. Hurt so many people. All while thinking I was helping.”
“You were helping. You chose to rebel. Chose to give evidence. That was you. Not them.”
“Was it? Or was that part of their plan too?” She slumped. Exhausted. “I don’t know what’s real anymore. What’s me and what’s programming?”
The light faded. Elena shifted back to human. Collapsed on the floor. Naked. Shaking. Blood and tears mixed on her skin.
I shifted too. Crawled to her. Pulled her into my arms despite my injuries. “You’re real. This is real. We’ll figure out the rest.”
Lycian groaned. Starting to wake. His eyes found us. Confusion. Then relief.
“You stopped her.”
“She stopped herself.” I held Elena tighter. “The light just helped.”
Elena pulled back. Met my eyes. “There are more. More failsafes. More weapons. The Collective has them everywhere. In every major pack. Waiting to activate.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know. They compartmentalized. I only knew about myself.” She wiped her face. “But the real leaders. I saw them once. Before the memory wipe. Three people. Running everything.”
“Who?”
“I don’t remember faces. But I remember one voice.” Her expression darkened. “It was familiar. Someone I’d heard before. Someone close.”
“Who?” Lycian pressed. Moving closer. “Think. Elena. This is important.”
She closed her eyes. Concentrating. Digging through broken memories. “The voice. It was. Oh god.”
“What? Who is it?”
Elena’s eyes opened. Horror written across her face. “It was Thaddeus.“