Chapter 73 AN ARMY OF THE DEAD
“That’s impossible.” My voice came out strangled. Wrong. “Clara is dead. We buried her. I saw her body.”
Lycian took my phone. Watched the video. His expression darkened. “It looks real. Recent. She’s breathing. Alive.”
“It’s a trick. Manipulation. They’re using old footage. Editing. Something.” But my hands were shaking. Because deep down, I knew. The Collective didn’t bluff. Didn’t fake. Every psychological weapon they used was real.
Elena leaned over. Watched the video loop. “The time stamp is from yesterday. And that facility. I recognize it. That’s the main research center. Where they keep their most valuable assets.”
“She died from poison. In the hospital. We all saw it.” I grabbed the phone back. Stared at Clara’s face on the screen. Pale. Peaceful. Tubes running into her arms. “How could she be alive?”
“Induced death.” Dr. Rivera appeared in the doorway, her expression grim. “It’s a technique the Collective developed. Slows the heart to almost nothing. Stops brain activity to minimal levels. Appears like death. But the person is alive. Suspended. Waiting for reversal drugs.”
“You knew about this?” Lycian’s voice was low. Controlled rage.
“I knew it existed. I didn’t know they’d used it on Clara. I didn’t know she was still alive.” Her hands twisted together. “If I had, I would have told you.”
“Why fake her death?” Damien asked. “She already gave Elowen everything she knew.”
“Because her death motivated me,” I said. “Made me reckless.” I laughed, bitter. “And it worked. I walked into Thornheart’s trap. Nearly got everyone killed.”
“That was the goal,” Elena said. “Clara’s death. Tessa’s kidnapping. The warehouse. All designed to make you emotional. Easy to manipulate.”
“Then why reveal she’s alive now?” I checked my phone again.
It buzzed. Another message.
Aunt Clara lives for now. Come alone. Trade yourself for her freedom. You have 24 hours. Or we start the experiments.
Coordinates followed. Deep in the mountains.
“Another trap,” Lycian said.
“They know I’ll go,” I replied. “I can’t leave her.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“If I bring the pack, they’ll kill her.” I pulled free. “This is my choice.”
“Our risk,” he said. “We’re bonded. I’m not losing you.”
“Then we compromise,” I said softly. “I go in first. Alone. You stay close. Hidden.”
“I hate this plan.”
“Me too.” I turned to the group. “Elena, get blueprints. Damien, Cade, prepare the pack. We leave in three hours.” I looked at Dr. Rivera. “You’re coming. We’ll need you to reverse the suspension.”
“Of course.” She hesitated. “The programming takes weeks. You’ll have time to resist.”
The thought still made my skin crawl.
We won’t let them take us, my wolf promised.
What if fighting isn’t enough?
Then we make it enough.
Lycian wrapped his arms around me. “Stop spiraling. I can feel it.”
“What if I end up like my mother?” I whispered.
“Then I’ll remind you who you are,” he said. “Every day. You’re Elowen Hale. Luna of Valor. Moonsilver Alpha. My mate. The woman who died and came back.” His hands framed my face. “You’re stronger than you think.”
“I love you,” I whispered.
“Good,” he said. “Love should be a little scary.”
He kissed me, slow and grounding, reminding me why I was still fighting. Why the Collective would never break me.
Because I had this. Had him. Had us.
The kiss ended. We stayed close. Breathing the same air. Hearts beating in sync through the bond.
“Three hours,” he said quietly. “Then we get Clara back. End this facility. Take one more piece off the Collective’s board.”
“And if Nightshade is there? If we find the second leader?”
“Then we take them down. Together. No mercy. No hesitation.” His eyes blazed gold. Wolf surface close. “They’ve hurt enough people. Destroyed enough lives. It ends. Today.”
The next three hours passed in controlled chaos. Pack members preparing. Weapons loaded. Vehicles packed. Everyone is moving with purpose. With focus. With determination.
Tessa found me in my room. I was changing. Trading the blanket for actual clothes. Combat boots. Jeans. Dark shirt. Nothing that would slow me down.
“You’re going after her. Your aunt.” Tessa sat on the bed. Watching me. “Even though it’s probably a trap.”
“Yes.”
“I should talk you out of it. Be the logical friend who says don’t be stupid.” She smiled. Sad. “But I know you. Know you won’t listen. Know you have to do this.”
“I’m sorry. For dragging you into this. For getting you kidnapped. For all of it.” I sat beside her. Took her hand. “You didn’t sign up for wolf politics. For conspiracies. For any of this.”
“No. I signed up to be your friend. Which means I’m here for the good and the bad and the completely insane.” She squeezed my hand. “Just promise me you’ll come back. That I won’t lose my best friend to some evil organization.”
“I promise. Lycian won’t let me die. It’s like his personal mission or something.”
“Good. I like him. Even if he is way too intense and protective and basically a walking romance novel cliche.” She grinned. “But seriously. Come back. We still have to do normal friend things. Movies. Shopping. Complaining about stuff. All the things we haven’t done since you went full Luna mode.”
“Deal. When this is over. When the Collective is destroyed. We’ll have a girls’ weekend. Do all the normal things.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
We hugged. Long. Tight. The kind of hug that says everything words can’t. That says I love you and be safe and please don’t die.
When I pulled back, Elena was in the doorway. “Blueprints are ready. We need to go over the plan.”
I followed her downstairs. The whole team gathered around a table. Blueprints spread out. Marked with entry points. Guard stations. Likely locations for holding areas.
“The facility is underground,” Elena explained. “Three levels. Security is heavy but not impossible. Main entrance here.” She pointed. “But there are two service entrances. Less guarded. Easier access.”
“I’ll go through the main entrance. Make a lot of noise. Draw attention.” I traced the route. “You all come through the service entrances. Get to Clara. Extract her while I distract.”
“What if they lock down? Seal the levels?” Cade asked.
“Then we blow the doors. Fight our way through. Whatever it takes.” Lycian’s voice was firm. Final. “No one gets left behind. Not Clara. Not Elowen. Not anyone.”
The plan wasn’t perfect. Had too many variables. Too many ways it could go wrong. But it was what we had. What we could do with three hours and limited intel.
“One more thing.” Elena pulled up another file. “I’ve been analyzing the Project Genesis data. The people in those chambers. I recognize some of them.”
She showed pictures. Faces. Names. Some I knew. Some I didn’t.
“That’s Marcus Blackthorn,” Damien said. Pointing. “I thought he was dead. Killed by Shadowfang remnants.”
“Apparently not.” Elena scrolled. “And that’s Vincent Cross. And Madison Blackthorn. And at least twenty other wolves we thought were dead. All in suspended animation. All waiting for Project Genesis.”
My stomach dropped. “They’re not creating new weapons. They’re resurrecting old ones. People we thought were gone. People who have reasons to hate us.”
“An army of the dead.” Lycian’s jaw clenched. “All programmed. All enhanced. All activated simultaneously.”
“In eighty-nine days.” I looked at the team. At the people willing to risk everything. “We can’t let that happen. Can’t let them unleash that on the wolf world.”
“Then we destroy the facility,” Cade said. “Tonight. While we’re there. Plant explosives. Bring the whole thing down.”
“With Clara inside? With all those people in chambers?” I shook my head. “We save who we can. Extract Clara. Then we destroy it.”
“That’s a lot to do in one mission,” Damien pointed out. “Maybe too much.”
“Then we better work fast.” I stood. Grabbed weapons from the table. “Load up. We leave in ten minutes.”
The drive to the mountains took three hours. Sun setting behind us. Darkness spreading like a promise. Or a threat.
I sat beside Lycian. Our hands intertwined. Not speaking. Just existing together. Drawing strength from the bond. From each other.
My phone buzzed. Another message. Another video.
This one showed Clara waking up. Confused. Scared. Calling my name. Then scientists entering. Injecting something. Her screams filling the audio before it cut off.
Below the video, one line of text.
Time’s up. We’re starting the experiments. Come now or lose her forever.