Chapter 70 Aftermath
Heat. Pressure. The sound was so loud it stopped being sound and became a force. The world turned white. Then red. Then nothing.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Just existed in a moment of pure destruction.
Then arms wrapped around me. Lycian. His body covers mine. Shielding me from debris raining down like hail. Sharp. Heavy. Deadly.
The explosion vented upward. Just like Elena planned. The roof tore away. Support beams groaning. Twisting. But the walls held. Barely.
Dust filled the air. Thick. Choking. I coughed. Tasted blood and concrete. My ears rang. High-pitched whine drowning out everything else.
Lycian moved. Shifted off me. His hands are checking. Searching for injuries. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t hear the words. Just that awful ringing.
I sat up. The world spun. Nausea rolled through me. I swallowed it down. Focused on breathing. On staying conscious.
The platform was gone. Just a crater where it had been. The thing wearing Thaddeus’s face was gone too. Vaporized. Nothing left but scorched concrete.
Around the room, people were moving. Groaning. Some were crying. But alive. Most were alive.
Elena dropped from a beam overhead. Landed cat-like despite her human form. Blood streaked her face. Her arm hung wrong. Broken. But she was standing.
“Damage report,” she called. Voice hoarse. Commanding. “Sound off if you can move.”
Voices answered. Weak but present. People pulling themselves up. Helping each other. Pack instinct overrides individual pain.
Damien limped over. His leg was bleeding. Deep gash. But he was grinning. “That was insane. Completely insane. You’re insane.”
“Did it work? Is everyone okay?”
“Mostly. Some broken bones. Burns. Cuts.” He looked around. “Could have been so much worse.”
The ringing in my ears started fading. Other sounds are filtering through. Sirens outside. People shouting. The crackle of small fires.
Lycian’s face came into focus. Soot-covered. Bleeding from a cut above his eye. But whole. Alive. He pulled me into his arms. Held tight enough to hurt.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he said against my hair. “Don’t ever make me watch you press a detonator. My heart can’t take it.”
“We didn’t have a choice.”
“I know. Doesn’t make it easier.” He pulled back. Checked me over again. “You’re hurt. Your shoulder. Your leg. We need to get you to Dr. Rivera.”
“I’m fine. Check on the pack first.”
“The pack is fine. You’re not.” He tried to lift me. I pushed his hands away.
“I said I’m fine. People need help. Real help. Not their Luna falling apart.” I stood. Wobbled. Steadied. “Come on. Let’s do a headcount. Make sure no one’s trapped.”
We moved through the wreckage. Checking on people. Helping the injured. Looking for anyone who couldn’t call out.
We found three bodies. Crushed by falling debris. Dead before they hit the ground. Quick. Painless. Small mercy.
But three deaths. Three pack members who’d trusted me. Followed me. Died because of the choices I made.
The weight settled on my chest. Heavy. Suffocating.
“Not your fault,” Elena said quietly. Appearing beside me. Reading my expression. “They died because the Collective set a trap. Not because you sprang it.”
“I pressed the button.”
“To save two hundred others. That’s what Alphas do. Make impossible choices. Live with the consequences.” She touched my arm. Gentle. “You did well. Better than good. You saved almost everyone.”
Almost. Such a small word. Such enormous weight.
Emergency crews arrived. Paramedics. Firefighters. Police. They swarmed the building. Treating injuries. Documenting damage. Asking questions we couldn’t fully answer.
A gas leak. That’s what we told them. Old building. Faulty pipes. Tragic accident. They didn’t need to know about the Collective. About enhanced wolves. About the war happening in the shadows.
Dr. Rivera appeared an hour later. Frantic. She’d been at the hospital when the explosion hit. Raced here immediately.
“Where’s Thaddeus?” She looked around. Eyes searching. “I heard he called the meeting. Is he okay?”
Lycian’s face went blank. Empty. “He’s dead. Killed in the explosion.”
“Oh god.” She covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I know you two had your differences but he was still your father.”
“He wasn’t.” Lycian’s voice was flat. Dead. “The real Thaddeus died thirty years ago. What we knew was something else. Something the Collective made.”
Dr. Rivera’s eyes widened. “That’s not possible. I’ve known him for decades. Treated him. He was a wolf. Not some construct.”
“He was both. They took a volunteer. Rebuilt him. Made him their puppet.” Lycian looked at the crater. “And I never knew. Never suspected. My whole life, I thought he was my father. But he was just wearing my father’s face.”
She didn’t know what to say. No one did. How do you comfort someone who just learned their parent was replaced before they were born? That's every memory. Every moment. Every piece of advice was from an imposter?
I took his hand. Squeezed. “We’ll process later. Together. Right now, the pack needs its Alpha.”
He nodded. Pushed the grief down. Locked it away. Became what the pack needed. Strong. Steady. Unshakeable.
Over the next few hours, we coordinated. Got the injured to the hospitals. Got the dead to the morgue. Got everyone else to temporary housing while the meeting hall was investigated.
The pack looked to Lycian for guidance. For direction. He gave it. Clear. Calm. Natural leadership that had nothing to do with who raised him and everything to do with who he was.
By midnight, things had stabilized. The immediate crisis was managed. But the larger questions remained.
Two more Collective leaders. Still hidden. Still planning. Still dangerous.
We gathered in what was left of the Valor estate. The explosion had been miles away but the psychological damage was everywhere. Pack members jumped at sounds. Checked exits compulsively. Didn’t trust anyone who couldn’t verify.
Elena. Damien. Cade. Dr. Rivera. Lycian. And me. Six people are trying to figure out how to fight an enemy that could be anyone. Could be anywhere.
“We need to assume everyone is compromised,” Elena said. “Until proven otherwise. The Collective plants deep. Waits years. Decades. Anyone could be theirs.”
“That’s paranoia,” Cade argued. “We can’t function if we trust no one.”
“We can’t survive if we trust the wrong person.” She pulled out a tablet. “I’ve been going through my recovered memories. Making a list of people I saw at Collective facilities. People who might be leaders or assets.”
She turned the screen. Showed us names. Faces. Some I recognized. Some I didn’t.
One name jumped out. Made my blood run cold.
“No,” I breathed. “Not her. Anyone but her.”
Lycian read over my shoulder. His expression darkened. “Dr. Rivera. You’re on the list.”
Dr. Rivera looked up. Confused. Then scared. “What? No. I’m not Collective. I’ve been helping you. Fighting them.”
“Or pretending to help while reporting everything back to your handlers.” Elena’s voice was hard. “I remember seeing you at the main facility. Consulting on genetic modifications. On how to make the programming permanent.”
“I was forced.” Dr. Rivera backed toward the door. “They threatened my family. Made me consult or they’d kill my daughter. I never wanted to hurt anyone.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us?” I asked.
“Because I was ashamed. I thought if no one knew, I could pretend it never happened.” Tears streaked her face. “I made terrible choices to protect the people I love.”
“Prove it,” Lycian said. “Give us something.”
She hesitated, then pulled out her phone. “The two remaining leaders. I don’t know their identities. But I know their codenames. Nightshade and Thornheart.”
She showed us encrypted messages. Orders. Plans.
“Nightshade handles operations. Thornheart handles recruitment.” She scrolled. “They’re planning something called Project Genesis. Launching in three months.”
“What is it?”
“Mass activation. Triggering every sleeper asset at once. Thousands of wolves. All loyal to the Collective.” She met my eyes. “They’re planning a coup.”
Silence fell.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Damien asked.
“You don’t,” she said. “But you can’t risk ignoring this.”
“We’ll verify everything,” Lycian decided. “Until then, you’re confined to the estate.”
“I understand.”
After she was escorted out, Elena turned to me. “Could your power work on her?”
“I don’t know. It worked on you. But if her programming is deeper…” I rubbed my face. “I can try.”
“Not tonight,” Lycian said. “Tonight you rest.”
Exhaustion crashed over me. We went to our room. I collapsed on the bed. Lycian lay beside me. Neither of us spoke.
Through the bond, I felt his grief. The loss of his father. Twenty-six years of believing in someone who never existed.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Not your fault,” he said.
But it felt like it was. Every death. Every injury. All because I existed. Because my mother had been an experiment. Because the Collective wanted me.
My phone buzzed. Unknown number. I almost ignored it. But something made me check.
One message. One photo.
It showed Tessa. My best friend. Tied to a chair. Gagged. Terror in her eyes.
The text below read:
You have 48 hours. Surrender yourself to us, or she dies. Come alone. Tell no one. Or we start sending pieces.
An address followed. Abandoned warehouse district. Of course.
I stared at the screen. Heart pounding. Mind racing.
They had Tessa. My best friend. The one person from my old life who’d stayed constant. Who’d supported me through everything.
And they were going to kill her unless I gave myself up.