Chapter 71 The Impossible Choice
I stared at Tessa’s terrified face on my phone screen. Her eyes were red. Swollen from crying. A bruise darkened her left cheek.
My best friend. The girl who’d helped me move into my dorm. Who’d listen to me panic about meeting Lycian’s family? Who’d been there for every moment of my old life.
Now tied to a chair. Bleeding. Scared. Because of me.
“What’s wrong?” Lycian’s voice cut through my spiral. He sat up. Eyes finding mine in the darkness. “I feel your panic through the bond. Talk to me.”
I couldn’t speak. Just handed him the phone.
His expression went from confusion to rage in seconds. Gold flared in his eyes. His hands clenched. “When did this come?”
“Just now.”
“We call the pack. Trace the location. Go in with full force.”
“They said come alone. Tell no one. Or they start sending pieces.” My voice cracked. “I can’t risk her. Can’t let her die because I told someone.”
“It’s a trap. Obviously. They want you isolated. Vulnerable. Easy to capture.” He stood. Started pacing. “We’re not playing their game.”
“Then Tessa dies.”
“Then we save Tessa without handing you over.” He grabbed his phone. “I’m calling Cade. Damien. We’ll surround the warehouse. Extract her before they know we’re there.”
“What if they’re watching? What if they see the pack mobilizing and kill her immediately?” I grabbed his wrist. “She’s human. Defenseless. One bullet and she’s gone.”
“And if you go alone? If you surrender? You think they’ll just let her walk away?” His hand cupped my face. “They’ll take you both. This isn’t a rescue. It’s a recruitment.”
He was right. Logically. Tactically.
“I have to try.” I pulled away. Started getting dressed. “Maybe I can negotiate. Trade myself for her freedom.”
“The Collective doesn’t negotiate.” He blocked the door. “I’m not letting you walk into certain death.”
“You don’t get to decide that. This is my choice. My friend. My life is at risk.”
“It’s our life now. We’re bonded. Mated.” His voice broke. “If they take you, I lose half my soul.”
Through the bond, I felt his terror.
“I’m scared too,” I said softly. “But Tessa is innocent.”
“Neither are you.” He held me tight. “Please. Let me help.”
I wanted to agree.
But the message was clear. Come alone. Tell no one. Any deviation and Tessa died.
I couldn’t risk it.
“I love you,” I whispered against his chest. “More than anything. But I have to do this. Have to at least try.”
“Then I’m coming with you. Hidden. Watching. The second thing goes wrong, I’m there.” His hand tilted my chin up. “Non-negotiable. You go, I follow. That’s the deal.”
It wasn’t ideal. Not what the Collective demanded. But better than going alone. Better than no backup.
“Okay. You can follow. Stay hidden. Don’t intervene unless necessary.”
“Define necessary.”
“They’re about to kill me. Or her. Or both.” I grabbed my jacket. “Anything less, stay back. Let me handle it.”
“I hate this plan.”
“Me too.” I kissed him. Hard. Desperate. “But it’s the only one we have.”
We left through the back. Quiet. Careful. No one saw us.
The warehouse district was thirty minutes away. Industrial area. Abandoned factories. Perfect for illegal activities, hiding hostages, trapping Moonsilver wolves.
I parked three blocks away. Lycian shifted. His gray wolf melted into the shadows. Following at a distance. Close enough to reach me. Far enough not to be seen.
The address led to a massive building. Rusted metal. Broken windows. Graffiti everywhere. Empty. Forgotten.
But I smelled wolves inside. Multiple. At least six scents. And fear. Tessa’s fear. Sharp. Acidic. From the second floor.
I walked to the main entrance. The door hung crooked. Half off its hinges. Easy access. Too easy.
Trap, my wolf whispered. Obviously a trap.
I know. But what choice do we have?
We could run. Let the human die. Survive to fight another day.
That’s not who we are.
Then we die heroically. How noble. But she didn’t argue further. Just settled into watchful silence.
Inside, the warehouse was dark. Moonlight filtered through broken windows. My wolf vision adjusted. Everything is coming into focus.
The first floor was empty. Just debris and old machinery. The scent trail led upstairs. Metal stairs creaking under my weight.
The second floor opened into a vast space. Support columns every twenty feet. Old offices along one wall. And in the center, under a single hanging lightbulb, Tessa.
She looked worse in person. The bruise on her face is darker. Her lip split. Blood crusted on her chin. Hands tied behind her back. Ankles bound.
She saw me. Eyes widening. Shaking her head frantically. Warning me.
Too late.
Figures emerged from the shadows. Six wolves. Human form. All armed with guns. Silver bullets. The only thing that could kill a wolf permanently.
A woman stepped forward. Older. Silver threaded through dark hair. Eyes cold. Calculating.
“Elowen Hale. The Moonsilver herself. Thank you for coming.” Her smile was professional. Empty. “I’m Thornheart. One of the two remaining Collective leaders.”
“Let her go.” I kept my voice steady. “That was the deal.”
“Oh, we will. Eventually. After you cooperate.” Thornheart circled me slowly. Assessing. “You’re smaller than I expected. Almost fragile-looking.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“Indeed. Your power is impressive. Purifying our enhanced wolves. Breaking years of programming in seconds.” She stopped in front of me. “That’s why we want you.”
“I’m not property.”
“Everything can be acquired. For the right leverage.” She gestured at Tessa. “Your friend is a leverage. Your mate hiding outside is a leverage. Your pack’s survival is leverage.”
My blood went cold. “You know Lycian is here.”
“Of course. We’ve been tracking you both since you left the estate. Did you really think we wouldn’t notice an Alpha wolf following his mate?” She laughed. Soft. Cruel. “We allowed it. His presence gives us more control. More pressure when you refuse our first offer.”
“What offer?”
“Join us. Willingly. Use your power for the Collective. Help us create a new world order. Wolves rule. Humans serve. The strong survive. The weak are removed.” Her eyes gleamed. “We could transform every pack. Enhance every wolf. Create perfection.”
“That’s not perfection. That’s mass killing.”
“That’s evolution. Accelerated. Guided. Controlled.” She moved closer. “Your mother understood. She fought at first. But we broke her. Made her see reason.”
Rage burned through me. Hot. Consuming. “My mother died fighting you. She never gave in.”
“Is that what you think?” Thornheart pulled out a tablet. “Watch.”
The screen showed my mother. A white room. White walls. A gray jumpsuit. Exhausted. Defeated. A voice asked questions. She answered. Listing project details. Experiment results. Subject names. Everything they wanted.
She was cooperating. Completely.
“That’s from two weeks before she escaped.” Thornheart smiled. “She was ours. The escape was part of the plan. We needed subjects raised outside. She was delivering you to us.”
“You’re lying.” My voice shook. The video looked real.
“Why would I lie? I have you. I have leverage.” She took the tablet back. “Your mother served us. Your aunt served us. Dr. Rivera serves us. Thaddeus served us for thirty years. Everyone you trust has betrayed you. Everyone you love has lied.”
“Not Lycian,” I said it with absolute certainty. “He’s not yours. Never will be.”
“No? Are you sure? His father raised him. Molded him. Trained him to be the perfect Alpha. The perfect tool.” Her smile widened. “What if everything he feels for you was programmed? What if the mate bond itself was engineered? What if his love is just another Collective experiment?”
The words hit like bullets. Tearing through certainty. Through trust.
What if she was right? What if nothing was real? What if I’d been following programming, thinking I had choices?
Don’t listen, my wolf urged. She’s manipulating.
But what if it’s true?
Then we fight anyway. Real or not, our feelings matter. Our choices matter.
I straightened. Met Thornheart’s eyes. “You’re wrong. Lycian loves me because he chooses to. And I’m not joining you. Ever.”
“Unfortunate.” Thornheart nodded. “Kill the human. Slowly.”
A wolf moved toward Tessa. Knife gleaming.
I shifted. Fast. Violent. My silver wolf launched.
Five silver bullets hit me. Shoulder. Leg. Side. Chest. Stomach.
I went down hard. Pain exploded. Silver poisoning spread. Burning. Killing.
Through the bond, I felt Lycian’s rage. He was coming. Seconds away.
Thornheart stood over me. Smiling. “We’ll take you. Repair you. Program you. And your mate. Perfect symmetry.”
The world faded. I couldn’t shift. Couldn’t heal. The silver was too deep.
This was it.
Then light exploded through the warehouse.
Elena crashed through a window. Her black wolf took down two wolves. Damien. Cade. Twenty pack warriors followed. All attacking with precision.
Lycian’s gray wolf tore through the entrance. Reached me. Stood over me.
“You brought the pack,” Thornheart said. Amused. “Did you really think we didn’t prepare?”
She pressed a button.
The floor beneath us exploded.