Chapter 84 Face to Face with Nightshade
My parents looked exactly as I remembered. Frozen in time. Mom’s dark hair streaked with silver. Dad’s strong jaw. Both are peaceful. Like they were sleeping instead of trapped.
“They’re really alive.” My voice came out strangled. Wrong. “You weren’t lying.”
“I never lie. I manipulate. I misdirect. I strategize. But I don’t lie.” Tessa circled the chambers. Fingers trailing along the glass. “Your parents have been here for twenty-two years. Suspended. Waiting. Perfect subjects for our experiments.”
“Subjects.” The word tasted like ash. “They’re people. My parents. Not your lab rats.”
“They’re both. That’s what makes them so valuable.” She stopped at my mother’s chamber. Studied her face. “Your mother was brilliant. Created half the formulas we still use. Your father perfected the suspended animation process. They gave us everything. Willingly. Before they got cold feet and tried to run.”
“You’re lying. They would never help you. Never willingly hurt people.”
“Wouldn’t they? Everyone has a price. Everyone breaks eventually. Your parents were no different.” She pulled up files on a nearby screen. “Look. See for yourself. Years of willing collaboration. Years of research. Years of making the Collective stronger.”
The screen showed videos. My mother is in a lab coat. Explaining formulas. My father demonstrates procedures. Both are calm. Professional. Cooperative.
But their eyes. Something was wrong with their eyes. Flat. Empty. Like someone had scooped out everything that made them human.
“You programmed them. Made them compliant. This wasn’t willing. This was torture.”
“Semantics. The results are what matter.” Tessa turned off the screen. “And the results created you. The perfect Moonsilver wolf. Enhanced genetics. Dormant power. Everything we needed to complete our work.”
“I’m not your creation. I’m their daughter. Their legacy. Not yours.” I moved closer to the chambers. “Let them go. That was the deal. I surrender. You release them.”
“The deal was you come alone, which you did. Impressively.” She smiled. “But no. You actually came alone. Actually trusted me to keep my word. How naive. How beautifully, stupidly naive.”
Guards appeared from hidden doors. Six of them. All armed. All surrounding me.
“I kept my word,” I said. Hands steady. Voice calm. “Your turn. Release my parents. Let them go free.”
“Oh, I will. Eventually. After they serve their purpose. After Project Genesis launches. After they wake up as perfectly programmed weapons.” Her smile widened. “That’s so much better than just releasing them. Don’t you think?”
Rage burned through me. Hot. Consuming.
Pain exploded in my neck. Sharp. Suddenly. A tranquilizer dart.
The room spun. My legs gave out. Guards caught me before I hit the floor.
“Did you really think I’d let you use your power? I’ve studied you for four years. Know exactly what you can do. Know exactly how to counter it. This drug doesn’t just sedate. It suppresses Moon Silver’s abilities. Makes you human. Powerless. Mine.”
Darkness pulled at my edges. Consciousness fading. But through the bond, I felt Lycian. Felt his panic. His rage. His desperate need to reach me.
Stay back, I thought at him. Desperate. Not yet. Wait for the signal. Trust me.
You’re dying. I feel you fading. His voice filled my head. Anguished. I’m coming. Now.
No. Please. Trust me. I have a plan.
What plan? You’re captured. Drugged. Surrounded. What plan could work?
But I couldn’t answer. The darkness was too strong. Pulling me under and taking everything.
The last thing I heard was Tessa’s voice. “Put her in the chamber. Prep her for programming. We begin in one hour.”
I woke strapped to a table. White room. Medical equipment. The smell of antiseptic and fear.
My head pounded. My mouth tasted like copper. Every muscle ached like I’d been beaten.
Through the bond, I felt Lycian. Closer now. Moving. Probably tearing through guards to reach me.
Stop, I thought desperately. You’re walking into her trap. She wants you here. Wants to capture you too.
I don’t care. I’m not leaving you. His presence burned through the bond. Fierce. Absolute. Where are you? What room?
I don’t know. Everything looks the same. White walls. Medical equipment. I tested the restraints. No give. Professional. Designed for wolves. But Lycian. Listen. The children. Did they get in? Did they disable security?
A pause. Yes. Thirty minutes ago. All systems are compromised. But we can’t find you. Can’t locate your signal.
Because I’m shielded. Underground maybe. Or a lead-lined room. I closed my eyes. Focused on the bond. Follow the connection between us. Follow the bond. It’ll lead you to me.
Already tried. It’s being blocked somehow. Scrambled. Tessa planned for everything.
Then we adapt. We become what she can’t predict. I pulled against the restraints. “Testing limits. Can you contact the children? Tell them to look for underground levels. For shielded rooms. For areas where signals can’t reach.”
Already on it. They’re searching. But Elowen, we’re running out of time.
The door opened. Tessa entered in a lab coat. All business. Two scientists followed, both carrying syringes.
“Awake. Good. I was worried the dose was too strong. The last thing I want is for you to be unconscious for the fun parts.” She checked the monitors. “Moonsilver suppression is holding. You’re as human as you’ve ever been. How does it feel? Being powerless again?”
“Like college. Before I knew what I was.” I met her eyes. “Was any of it real? Our friendship?”
“Does it matter? It got me your trust. Got me everything I needed.” She sat. “But some of it was real. I did like you. Your stubborn hope was almost admirable.”
“We could have been real friends. If you’d chosen differently.”
“But I didn’t. I’m Vincent Cross’s daughter. Raised to lead the Collective.” She leaned closer. “Once I control your Moonsilver power, I can create an army loyal only to me.”
“It won’t work. My wolf protected me before.”
“Will she now? Even drugged? Even when I have leverage?” She gestured to a screen showing my parents’ chambers. “Every time you resist, they suffer.”
My stomach dropped. “You’re a monster.”
“I’m the future of our species. And you’re the key.” She nodded to the scientists as they approached with syringes. “Any last words?”
“Yes. You forgot one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I didn’t come alone. I brought my mate. My pack. My family. And they’re tearing your facility apart right now.”
Her expression flickered. Then hardened. “You’re bluffing. I know where everyone is.”
“Haven’t I? Then why are the alarms going off? Why is smoke filling the upper levels? Why are your guards abandoning their posts?” I listened to the distant chaos. “You were so focused on breaking me, you missed what’s really happening. The prisoners you tortured are finally fighting back.”
Tessa went pale, checking her tablet. “What did you do?”
“I gave them access codes. Layouts. Everything they needed. Then I walked in here and let you think you’d won.”
She slapped me. Hard. My head snapped sideways. Blood filled my mouth.
“You’re lying. This is a trick. A bluff. You don’t have the resources. Don’t have the numbers. Don’t have—”
An explosion rocked the facility. Lights flickered. Alarms screamed. Tessa stumbled. The scientists ran, abandoning everything.
“That was the main power generator,” I said calmly. “In about five minutes, backup power kicks in. But for those five minutes, every door unlocks. Every chamber opens. Every prisoner wakes up. And they’re all going to be very angry.”
“You’re insane. You’ll kill everyone. Including your parents.”
“My parents have been dead for twenty-two years. What’s in those chambers might have their faces, their DNA. But it’s not them anymore.” Tears burned my eyes. “If they die, at least they’ll die free.”
Tessa raised her gun. Aimed at my head. Hand shaking. “Then you die too. Right now.”
“Go ahead. Pull the trigger. The second I die, Lycian feels it through the bond. And nothing will stop him from burning this facility to the ground with you inside.”
Her finger hovered on the trigger. Hesitating. Calculating.
The lights went out. Complete darkness. Emergency power hadn’t kicked in yet. Five minutes. Just like I’d said.
I heard movement. Tessa running. Fleeing.
Then hands on my restraints. Warm. Familiar. Lycian.
“Found you,” he whispered. “Finally found you.”
“Took you long enough,” I managed. “I was starting to think you forgot about me.”
“Never.” The restraints clicked open. He lifted me. “Can you walk?”
“Don’t know.” I tested my legs. Weak. Shaky. But working. “Where are my parents?”
“Level B2. Elena’s already there. But you need to prepare. They’ve been programmed. They might not recognize you.”
“I know. But they’re still my parents. Still worth saving.” I leaned on him. “Let’s get everyone out. Then we burn this place to the ground.”
“Agreed.”
We ran through dark corridors as emergency lights flickered. Chaos surrounded us. Freed prisoners attacking guards. Scientists fleeing. The facility tearing itself apart.
We reached B2. Elena stood between two chambers. My parents. Both are awake now. Eyes open. Looking around with confusion and fear.
“They’re alive,” Elena said. “Stable. But Elowen, their programming is deep. I don’t know if they can be saved.”
“Then we try. We purify them. We give them a chance.” I approached the chambers. Pressed my hand against the glass. “Mom? Dad? Can you hear me?”
My mother’s eyes found mine. Focused. For just a second, recognition flickered. Then it was gone. Replaced by programming. By orders. By everything the Collective had made them.
“Target acquired,” she said. Voice flat. Mechanical. “Eliminate the Moonsilver threat.”
The chamber door opened. My mother stepped out. Followed by my father. Both are moving toward me. Both are ready to kill me on Collective orders.
Both are completely under Nightshade’s control.