“I estimate there were thirty in confinement, though I didn’t see them all for myself.”
“That would track,” Mai agrees. “And Simon has noticed a higher draw of power here?” she asks, pointing to one of the three operating theaters.
I nod. “That has to be where he carries out his experiments, though I hesitate to call them experiments any longer. My father has succeeded. Though his success rate isn’t one hundred percent yet, he has given at least twenty-one alphas omega affinities. That could mean as many as fifty dead omega test subjects. We’ve got to act quickly.”
“So, the ice attacker had an affinity? Do you know any others?”
“The omega he was attempting to operate on when I was held hostage had a fire affinity. I don’t imagine she’s still alive. My father will be giving that affinity to an alpha, if he hasn’t already. I’m not sure how he transfers the affinity, but I don’t believe any alphas have died while receiving an affinity. We have to act quickly, if not for the hostages, then for the test subjects. My heartbleedsfor them, but they all also pose an inherent risk: my father’s success in removing their maginaluses means more alphas getting affinities. We’ve already seen the damage one was capable of. I learned from my father that Baphomet’s Prince will begin mobilizingtroops once he has fifty affinitied alphas. With these alphas leading his armies, Baphomet’s Prince will surely reign. If his plans proceed much further, it’ll be a question of when, not if.”
Jack paces the front of the room. “We still don’t have all the data we need. There are guards to contend with, and we only know the extent that you’ve seen. If there are ten rooms of hostages, that’s two guards a piece. You saw another three in the operating theater, but that can’t account for all of them. You said about a hundred were part of the attack?”
“It was pandemonium, but that’s my best estimate.”
“I back her up on that,” Marcus says. “I was on the periphery when it happened.”
“So where are the rest of them, Juniper?” Jack asks, looking as weary as he does wired.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
“Then this would be a suicide mission,” Graeme surmises. “We don’t have the numbers.”
“We don’t,” I hedge. “But we have forty omegas who want to help fight back against the Soldiers. It doesn’t even the odds, but it closes them significantly.”
“But they’re untrained,” a resistance member I’m not familiar with says from the gathered group.
“Ah,” Ian says. “That’s where you’re wrong. Juniper, Cassian and I have been training them in magic for months now. They’re strong in their affinities, sufficiently capable at casting, and Cassian has been teaching them the basics of combat magic. They’re not an army by any stretch, but they’re impassioned and willing to give their lives to free the test subjects.”
“He’s right,” Graeme sighs. “Despite my reservations, we do have a fighting force of omegas who are willing and able to fight. I worry for their safety in an engagement like this,but they’ve spent too long being controlled by others. It’s ultimately their decision to fight.”
“We still need more information if this operation is to be successful,” Jack says. “Even with the help of the omegas.”
I ball my hands in frustration, but I know he’s right.
Graeme calls the meeting to a close and asks me to hang back. When it’s just him, Jack and my pack, Graeme approaches me. “I want to take the fight to the Soldiers of Saint Aldous, Juniper. I truly do. But we need more information. Can you glean any more from your father?”
I nod. “I believe so. I’ve been training in my affinity. The next time I’m in class with him, I’ll do some deeper digging than I’ve been able to so far.”
“Good,” Jack says. “Hopefully that gives us more to work from.”
“A lot of what I know comes from visions and my father. I wouldn’t know about the number of affinitied alphas if not for my digging, but I’ll do more. I swear it.”
“Don’t put yourself in too much danger.”
“Danger?” I laugh. “I’ve got three of my mates attending every class I have with my father with me.”
“Ah, that’s right,” Graeme says, smiling now. “I believe congratulations are in order once more. Is Pack Rose complete?”
I return his smile. “It is.”
“One of these days, we must celebrate,” he says as we head toward the door to leave.
I feel a niggling presence just beyond the doorway to the room. Cora. She’s gone just as fast as I felt her, racing away from the lodge.
My phone ringsjust as I’m getting ready for bed, and I look at the screen with a frown.
I pick up the call quickly. “Jack? What is it?”
“Actually, it’s Cora,” the omega says. “But I didn’t steal his phone.”
