When they finish, Viktor turns to me. “You have the floor.”
I stand and move to the display. Call up the map I prepared.
“The facility is here.” I highlight coordinates. “One hundred sixty miles southwest of Aurora headquarters. Built into an abandoned timber plant. Vex chose the location for three reasons: remote, close enough to Aurora territory for access to research subjects, structurally sound for conversion.”
My dragon keeps pushing at my control. Nadia is fifteen feet away. I can smell her—wolf and woman and the faintest hint of our pairing. She must have stood in a hot shower for an hour, considering how coated we were in each other’s body fluids. I know I did.
Fuck, she felt so good.
I force focus. The hybrids matter more than whatever this is between us.
“The original infrastructure had five levels. Vex uses three. Ground level is processing and administration. Thirty to forty personnel rotating on two-week shifts.” I pull up schematics. “Level one is laboratories.”
I try not to think about how Nadia’s breathing has changed. Try not to notice the way her scent intensifies when I speak. Try not to remember how she sounded when—
Stop it, goddammit.
Caleb leans forward. “Defenses?”
“Perimeter security includes motion sensors, thermal imaging, patrol patterns. Two guards on surface rotation. Four more at subsurface checkpoints.” I highlight access points. “Entry is biometrically controlled. Retinal scan and DNA verification.”
“How do we breach?” Viktor asks.
“Two options. Fast assault—overwhelm security before lockdown. High casualty risk for both teams and prisoners. Or infiltration—someone gets inside first, disables security, then tactical assault follows.”
“Who infiltrates?” This from Tabitha.
“Someone with Syndicate credentials still active. Someone security won’t question.” I pause. “Me.”
The room erupts. Multiple voices objecting simultaneously.
Viktor raises a hand. Silence falls. “Explain.”
“My credentials aren’t revoked yet. Defection was six days ago. I arrive with proper authorization codes that are still active, security grants access pending verification. Twenty minutes before someone checks with command and realizes I’ve defected.”
“The Syndicate is hunting you,” Kieran says. Sharp. Hostile. “They want you dead. How are you going to walk into their facility?”
Valid question. Expected it.
“Research facilities operate semi-independently from main Syndicate operations. Security briefings focus on perimeter defense, not personnel tracking. This particular outpost wouldn’t be included in general alerts about defectors unless central command considers it high-priority enough to warrant facility-wide notification.” I pull up an organizational structure. “Vex reports directly to Ivory League leadership. His staff are insulated from standard Syndicate intelligence. They’re unlikely to know about my defection yet.”
Vanya studies me. “You’re certain?”
“Reasonably. Leadership doesn’t like to broadcast its failures; they won’t have spread word of my defection. Yes, there’s risk. But infiltration gives us better odds than a frontal assault.”
“What about the… patients?” Nadia’s voice. It’s the first time she’s spoken.
I don’t look at her. Can’t. My dragon is already fighting too hard. If I meet her eyes now, I’ll lose what’s left of my control.
“Level two. Research wing. Twenty-three subjects as of six days ago, when I left.” I pull up files. “I retrieved the documentation I promised the Council. Full personnel rosters, facility schematics, security protocols. Everything is here.”
Names and faces fill the screen.
“Kaylin Foster. Twenty-two. Wolf-witch hybrid. Taken from the Oregon borderlands eight months ago. Forced transformation protocols. Developed complications. Might not survive another procedure.”
I continue through the list. Each person. Each horror. Making them real instead of statistics.
“Devon Cross. Nineteen. Dragon-wolf. Taken fourteen months ago. Genetic manipulation for combat enhancement. Permanent nerve damage.” I pause. “Notes indicate he asks for death regularly. Vex denies the request because the subject remains viable for testing.”
