The entire scene baffled him. This wasn’t any sort of abduction—there was something more intricate and enigmatic at play. The facility, the security, with guards armed to the teeth, her apparent familiarity with the procedures, her keycard—all these elements coalesced into a puzzle that Carter was determined to solve. His sister’s sudden disappearance, and now this. Two mysteries that seemed to orbit the same unnerving space in his mind.
And now, with a connection as instinctual as the one he felt to this woman, he knew he couldn’t just walk away. Whatever was unfolding within those walls was significant, and he was inexplicably tied to it. The sense of urgency was now twofold—finding his sister and ensuring the safety of the woman who he was entirely sure was his destined mate.
Drawing in a deep breath, he looked at the imposing structure. He would need a strategy, allies, and information. Carter made a silent vow then. He would unearth the secrets of this place, and nothing would stand in his way.
The moonlight cast a silvery glow on the compound, making it appear even more mysterious and forbidding. As the weight of his tasks bore down on him, Carter went back to his car. Now that he knew his mate worked in this place he could leave, safe in the knowledge that he had a way to find her again. He turned the car around and started his descent back down the mountain into town. The night was just beginning, and he had much to do.
Chapter Two
Emily
As the front door to the facility closed behind her, Emily immediately felt like the caged animal that she was. She might not be chained up, but she was under no illusions, she was still a prisoner. And her little escort in today was just their way of reminding her. As if she needed one.
The overhead fluorescent lights in the facility buzzed slightly, casting an unnatural, sterile glow that did nothing to soothe her jangled nerves. Every evening, as she swiped her key card, a pit of dread settled in her stomach, and tonight was no different. The menacing presence of her two ‘escorts’—large, burly men with a perpetual scowl etched into their features—served as a constant reminder of the threat that loomed over her and her family.
Rory and Jude, the men assigned to bring her to and from the facility, rarely uttered a single word. They didn’t need to. Their very presence was a suffocating vice, a dark cloud that shadowed Emily’s every move. It was as if they enjoyed reminding her of her entrapment, flaunting their power and control over her.
As she made her way down the familiar sterile corridors, her mind inadvertently wandered back to earlier that evening. The man at her condo complex. There was something about his eyes. She had only glimpsed them for a moment, but in that split second, she had seen a depth of emotion she had never experienced before—admiration, longing, and...something more. When his eyes had flashed amber for the briefest of moments, her heart had raced with realization. He was a shifter.
She shook her head, pushing away the memory, even as apang of concern twinged in her chest. It was dangerous for a shifter to be in this town, so close to her and the facility. She could only hope that he hadn’t attracted the attention of the scouts or anyone else from the facility. The last thing she wanted was another innocent soul held prisoner in this sinister place.
Her workstation awaited, a sterile desk cluttered with vials, syringes, and an array of equipment she used daily. The shifters she studied were more than mere experiments to her—they were kindred spirits, caged and trapped like her, only in far more brutal ways. For now, she had to focus on doing her job and protecting her family, but as she went about her duties, that man’s gaze haunted her, a glimmer of something positive in a world that felt increasingly cold and isolating.
Emily settled into her workstation, pulling up the notes on the computer and reviewing the latest data. Every test, every experiment, and every finding felt like a weight on her soul, but she couldn’t afford the luxury of an emotional breakdown. Her family’s safety depended on her compliance.
As she perused the numbers and charts, her mind wandered back to the time when she had first applied for the position. Fresh out of grad school, bright-eyed and brimming with ambition, she had thought she’d landed her dream job. It was supposed to be groundbreaking stem cell research that could change the course of medical history. The facility, on the outskirts of town, was a state-of-the-art laboratory that upon her first visit she thought was shrouded in an aura of prestige. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, after all.
But the façade cracked all too soon. Underneath the polished exterior, the true, sinister objective of the facility became evident. The screams from the sealed rooms, the coded reports, and the shifty-eyed glances from her superiors all pointed to theawful truth: they were experimenting on shifters—people who could turn into animals.People.
Her discovery had spiraled Emily into a world of deceit and moral compromise. Initially they bombarded her with flattery and promises of accolades in her field, but she was soon made aware of the lengths the organization would go to keep their operations a secret. They had evidence, they said, of every corner of her life. Her family, their routines, the places they frequented—all documented meticulously, with subtle and not-so-subtle threats of the consequences of her non-compliance.
It was horrifying how swiftly the dream had turned into a nightmare. The ever-watchful eyes of Rory and Jude became her chains, a daily reminder of her compromised freedom. The experiments became darker, the objectives more twisted. Instead of pioneering stem cell advancements, she found herself delving into the secrets of shifter genetics, seeking ways to harness their unique abilities for the creation of a super soldier.
Her conscience gnawed at her with every step she took in the facility. The faces of the shifters, their pain and their anguish, haunted her dreams. She wanted out, but the threats against her family kept her tethered, unable to break free. For now, Emily had her part to play. She had to toe the line, and protect her family at all costs, but she prayed for the day when her situation would change, when the owner of this horrible place got brought to justice for his crimes and all the shifters he had kidnapped and hurt would finally be set free and get their retribution.
Emily made her way to the facility’s main laboratory, a sanitized, sterile space that belied the horrors that took place within its walls. She could hear the soft muffled sounds of distress echoing from a few of the cells down the hallway. Each whimper and cry was like a dagger to her heart. As much as shetried to steel herself against the raw emotion, the walls she built crumbled easily under the weight of guilt and empathy.
Today was one of the more distressing days. As she passed by an observation window, she caught sight of a scene that tore at her very soul. A young shifter, no older than seven or eight, was being pulled away from his hysterical mother. The boy’s cries echoed in the hall, his pleas of “Mommy! Mommy!” growing fainter as he was taken to a different wing of the facility.
Emily pressed her hand against the cold glass, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The mother’s grief was palpable, her desperate cries resonating with the very fibers of Emily’s being. The guards seemed unfazed, going about their cruel task with a callous indifference that chilled Emily to the bone.
Pushing forward, she tried to focus on her immediate task, but the anguish and turmoil of the facility seemed to engulf her at every turn. Another observation chamber showcased the result of the latest drug trial. A male shifter, strong and formidable in stature, was writhing in pain on the cold floor. His once-lustrous fur had patches of raw skin, and foam gathered at the corners of his mouth. The drug’s side-effects were clear and brutal.
She had to pause, gripping the edge of a table for support. Every fiber of her being screamed in protest, every rational thought urging her to intervene. But she was helpless, trapped in this nightmare by threats more potent than any cage.
Deep down, Emily vowed to find a way out for them all—for the mother separated from her child, for the shifter suffering the cruelties of experimentation, and for herself. They deserved freedom, and she would do everything in her power to ensure it. But for now, she had to play the game, treading the fineline between complicity and rebellion, all the while carrying the heavy weight of the secrets that she bore witness to.
Walking past the sterile corridors, Emily glanced over at the caged shifters, their desperate eyes tracking every passerby, hoping for a hint of humanity. She’d managed to discreetly connect with some of them, earning a sliver of their trust. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Tonight, she had secured extra bread rolls and a few pieces of fruit—contraband in this bleak place. As she neared one cell, a soft voice called out, “What do you want now, human?”
“It’s Emily,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady, “I’ve brought something for you.”
The shifter, a young woman called Megan who had fierce hazel eyes, looked at her with a mix of hope and skepticism. “Why should we trust you? You’re one of them.”
“I didn’t choose this,” Emily responded, her voice tinged with pain. “I would never willingly be a part of all this. I’m trying to help. Here,” she murmured, sliding a small bag through the bars.
Just as the shifter was reaching out, the echoing footsteps of guards resonated through the corridor. “Quick, hide it!” Emily urged, panic lacing her voice.
