The moonlight cast eerie silhouettes as Carter and his team approached the facility, the imposing building looming ominously in the darkness. The fence was their first obstacle, but with a pair of heavy-duty cutters, they made short work of it, easily creating a gap large enough for them all to slip through.
“Keep your heads down,” Toby whispered, the coyote’s instincts making him especially attuned to the surroundings. “Cameras at two o’clock.”
Carter nodded in acknowledgment, directing the team asthey deftly navigated around the facility’s surveillance, using the building’s shadows to their advantage. Logan pointed to a side entrance. With the keycard in hand, Carter swiped it. A soft beep, and they were in.
Inside, the stillness was disconcerting. The sterile hallway seemed to stretch endlessly, lit only by dim overhead lights that buzzed occasionally.
“This is too quiet,” Max muttered, voicing everyone’s unease. His fingers twitched, sensing the vibrations of any nearby movement.
Following Emily’s directions and what they had learned from the building blueprints, they made their way to the basement floor, each step echoing with tension. But as they approached the cells where the shifters were supposed to be held, they were met with a sight that made Carter’s heart drop—empty rooms.
“No,” Carter muttered, rushing to the next room, and the next, and the next. All were vacant. “They’ve moved them.”
Seb growled in frustration, the bear in him showing his discontent. “How did they know we were coming?”
A tense silence followed before Arlo, always one to voice the unsettling thoughts, spoke up. “Do you think Emily might’ve tipped them off?”
Carter’s gaze hardened, the mountain lion in him bristling defensively. “My mate would never double-cross us,” he snapped.
Ezra nodded calmly. “Then they must have another mole in their ranks, or some other way of knowing.”
“Perhaps she told someone here,” Max said. “Someone she thought she could trust.”
Carter shook his head. “She doesn’t have friends here. She trusts no one.”
Seb sighed. “We need to regroup and re-strategize.”
Nods of agreement filled the room, but Carter’s mind was a whirl of emotions—anger, worry, and an overwhelming urge to protect. He would find the traitor, and more importantly, he would find his sister—even if it killed him.
As the team hurriedly searched the vacant rooms, Ezra’s voice pierced the tension, “Carter, how well do you really know Emily?”
“I trust her, Ezra,” Carter responded, an edge to his voice, but Ezra persisted, the tenacity and hard-headedness of his inner animal showing through.
“Think about it. They could’ve found out she was aiding you, threatened her family again. She might’ve had no choice.”
Carter’s jaw tightened, and the cold walls of the facility seemed to close in on him even more. “Emily wouldn’t—”
But he was cut off when Sebastian suddenly shouted, “Heads up!”
Before they could react, the doors slammed shut behind them, sealing them in the last room of the basement. The realization slammed through Carter’s chest—they were trapped.
Logan growled, his wolf’s instincts on high alert. “Damn it! It was a setup!”
Max, frustration evident in his eyes, kicked at the unyielding door. “We walked right into their trap.”
Toby, darting to one of the room’s small windows, tried to gauge the surroundings outside. “There’s movement out there.Looks like they’ve been expecting us.”
Arlo, always analytical, tried the door’s panel, but it was unresponsive. “They’ve overridden the system. We’re locked in tight.”
A heavy silence descended, only broken by Sebastian’s gruff voice. “Ezra might be onto something. Someone had to tip them off.”
Carter felt a pang of doubt and betrayal that gnawed at his insides. Emily’s face flashed before his eyes—the trust, the connection they’d shared. Was it all a ruse? A play?
Ezra’s voice, softer now, pierced the silence. “It’s not about blame, Carter. If Emily did tip them off, she might’ve had her reasons.”
When Seb began to undress, Carter turned to him, frowning. “What are you doing?”
“We might not be able to get through that door in our human forms, but let’s see how it holds up to the strength of my bear.”
