Chapter 77 LOGAN'S SECRET MISSION
Logan's POV
I am going to die, and everyone in this room knows it.
The maps spread across Elara's table show The Veritas headquarters in brutal detail. Three layers of security. Corrupted wolves patrolling every entrance. Human soldiers armed with supernatural killing weapons. And somewhere deep in the complex, Morrison's blood stored in vials for experiments I do not want to imagine.
"This is suicide. You will never make it past the first checkpoint."
"I have to try." I point to the section marked as the medical wing. "According to the intelligence Elara gathered, they keep samples of Morrison's blood in refrigerated storage here. If I can get in and out fast enough, I might have a chance."
"Might is not good enough." Marcus crosses his arms. "We cannot afford to lose you on a mission that has maybe a ten per cent success rate."
"We cannot afford not to try either." I meet his eyes. "Monty is deteriorating. Kai found texts that say he has weeks at most before the corruption takes over completely. Morrison's blood is the only thing that can stabilise him, and it only exists in one place."
Alicia stands near the back of the room, holding Luna and looking like she might be sick. Her face is pale, and her hands shake where they grip our daughter. "There has to be another way."
"There is not." I soften my voice. "I read every source, and this is the only option that gives Monty a chance at survival."
"Then send someone else." She moves closer. "Anyone else. Not you."
"It has to be me." I show her the section of text I translated last night. "The blood needs to be handled by someone who understands magical theory. One wrong move and the sample could be contaminated or destroyed. I am the only one here qualified to extract and preserve it properly."
"Logan, please." Her voice breaks on my name, and it cuts deep. "I cannot lose you. Not like this."
"You will not lose me." The lie came out heavy in my mouth. "I will get in, get the blood, and get out. Simple extraction."
Ray makes a sound that might be a laugh or a curse. "Nothing about infiltrating The Veritas headquarters is simple."
"I know." I roll up the maps and tuck them into my pack. "But Monty saved my life three times since I joined this pack. I owe him this chance even if the odds are terrible."
Elara has been quiet throughout the entire planning session, but now she speaks up. "When do you leave?"
"Tonight." I check my weapons and supplies. "The shift change happens at midnight. That gives me a four-minute window to bypass the first security checkpoint before the new guards arrive."
"Four minutes is not enough time."
"It will have to be." I shoulder my pack. "I have the route memorised. All I need now is luck."
"Luck does not exist in Veritas facilities." Elara's tone is grim. "Only surveillance and death."
"Then I will be fast." I turn to Alicia. "Can I talk to you, alone?"
She nods and passes Luna to Ray before following me to one of the small sleeping chambers in the back.
"You are really going to do this." It is not a question.
"Yes."
"Even though you might die."
"Especially because I might die." I cup her face in my hands. "If there is a chance to save Monty, I have to take it. You would do the same."
"I would." Tears build in her eyes. "But I do not want to lose you, Logan."
"Nothing about this situation is fair." I wipe away tears with my thumbs. "But we do not get to choose when life demands sacrifice. We just get to choose whether we make it count."
She grabs my wrists. "Promise me you will come back."
"I promise I will try."
"That is not good enough." Her fingers tighten. "Promise me. Say the words."
I cannot promise something I do not control, but Alicia needs to hear it anyway, so I lie with everything I have.
"I promise I will come back to you."
She pulls me down into a kiss. Her hands fist in my shirt, and the connection pulses with emotion.
"Stay with me tonight." She whispers against my lips. "Please. I need you."
"Okay."
She kisses me again, harder this time. Her mouth opens under mine, and her body trembles with fear.
I back her toward the bedroll. My hands find her waist and pull her closer until there is no space left between us.
"Logan… I need you. All of you. Right now."
"Are you sure?" I pull back enough to search her face. "We do not have to do this."
"I know." She starts unbuttoning my shirt with shaking fingers. "But I want to. I need to feel you one more time before you leave."
The vulnerability in her voice destroys any remaining hesitation. I help her remove my shirt and then reach for hers.
I lay her down on the bedroll and cover her body with mine. She arches into the contact and gasps when I kiss her throat.
"I love you." The words come out without permission. "I need you to know that. Whatever happens tomorrow, you need to know I love you."
"I love you too." Tears stream down her temples. "So much it terrifies me."
I kiss her again
We move together. Her hands grip my shoulders hard enough to leave marks, and I welcome the pain. I need the reminder that we exist in this moment, even if tomorrow tears us apart.
I feel Alicia in my mind and my soul and my bones.
She cries out my name when release takes her, and the sound imprints on my memory. I follow moments later, and the world goes white with sensation too intense to process.
We collapse together, breathing hard and tangled in each other. ot even air can get between us.
We lay together in silence, listening to each other breathe. Outside the chamber, I hear the pack preparing for Morrison's inevitable assault. Weapons being distributed. Positions being assigned. All the sounds of people preparing to fight and possibly die.
"What time do you leave?" Alicia asks, finally.
"Two hours before midnight." I check my watch. "That gives me time to reach the infiltration point before the shift change."
"So we have maybe four hours left."
"Yes."
"Then do not waste them talking about death." She rolls to face me fully. "Make love to me again. Give me something good to remember when you are gone."
I do not argue. I pull her close and lose myself in her touch.
We make love twice more before we finally got too tired. I hold Alicia while she sleeps and memorise every detail. The way her hair fans across my chest. How her hand rests over my heart. The small sounds she makes when she dreams.
This moment is perfect, and I want it to last forever. But time does not stop for anyone, and eventually, my watch alarm sounds.
Midnight approaches.
I stood up and dress in silence. She stirs but does not wake fully, and I am grateful, because I cannot handle another goodbye when this one already feels like dying.
My pack is ready. Weapons checked. Route memorised. Extraction plan reviewed a dozen times. I am as prepared as I can be for a mission that will probably kill me.
I pause at the door and look back at Alicia sleeping. She looks peaceful for the first time in days, and it breaks my heart.
"I will come back," I whisper the promise. "I swear I will find a way back to you."
Then I slip out before courage can fail me.
The pack is quiet as I move through the main chamber. Most wolves are asleep or on watch.
Elara waits near the exit. She hands me a small vial without speaking.
"What is this?" I examine the clear liquid inside.
"Poison." Her voice is flat. "If you are captured and cannot escape, drink it. Death will be faster than what The Veritas does to prisoners."
The weight of the vial is heavier than it should be. "Thank you."
"Do not thank me." She meets my eyes. "Just do not get caught. Alicia will not survive losing you."
"I know."
I tuck the vial into my inner pocket.
The exit tunnel leads to a hidden opening three miles from The Veritas headquarters. I run the distance in wolf form, pushing my body to speeds that would be reckless under normal circumstances.
The headquarters appears through the trees. A massive complex of buildings surrounded by fences and guard towers.
I shift back to human form and pull on the stolen Veritas uniform Elara acquired through contacts I do not want to know about.
Two minutes until shift change.
I approach the first checkpoint with forged credentials in hand. The guard barely glances at my face before waving me through. So far, so good.