“What reason?”
“They poison every operative before sending them out.” My voice is tired even to my own ears, but at least I am able to speak without searing pain. “It’s a control mechanism. We need an antidote every four months or we die. Slowly. Painfully.”
Darius purses his lips. “And you’re due for the antidote.”
“Past due.” I smile bitterly. “They refused to give it to me unless I delivered Violet. So, either way, I’m dead. I just ask one thing of you. Tell Anne I never meant to hurt her. I never lied about how I felt toward her. That part was real.”
Darius is quiet for a long time. I see him struggling inwardly; his eyes glow gold then return to normal, as though he is warring with his wolf.
Then, his shoulders drop slightly, and I see his hands clench into fists at his sides before relaxing deliberately. His jaw works like he’s biting back words—or maybe a growl.
“We’ll figure out the antidote,” he says finally, the words sounding like they cost him dearly.
I stare at him, not understanding. “What?”
His eyes flash gold again for just a second before he controls them. “You heard me.”
“You would try to save me after what I…” I trail off, surprised.
“Don’t mistake this for forgiveness.” Darius’s voice is hard, clipped, making sure I know this choice did not come easily for him. “Or charity. My wolf is screaming at me to tear you apart for threatening my mate.”
He takes a step closer, and I can see the tension in every line of his body. The Alpha is fighting against his most primal instincts.
“But Anne is Violet’s friend, and she asked me to spare you both if I could.”
My heart twists in my already hollow chest. “Can I see her? Anne?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“That depends on what you do from now on,” he says, then he pauses, looking me in the eye. “If you’re lying to me about any of this, if this is some elaborate ploy, I will make what you’ve experienced so far look like mercy. Understood?”
“Understood.”
I take a shaky breath and begin.
“As you know, the organization calls itself the Covenant.” My voice is hoarse, but I push through. “I don’t know how far it reaches or who funds it. We were never told. They compartmentalize everything; each operative only knows what they need to know for their specific mission.”
Darius listens, his expression unreadable.
“I was eighteen when I was taken.” Painful memories come flooding back. “For the first year, it was nothing but torture. Breaking us down, making us compliant. They used wolfsbane, silver, sensory deprivation. Whatever worked to strip away our resistance until we were fully trained to be operatives.”
I pause, the phantom agony of those early days making my current injuries feel almost insignificant.
Darius asks, “How many operatives were there?”
“I don’t know. We were kept isolated from each other except during training exercises. I’ve seen maybe twenty others over the years, but there could be hundreds.” I shift against the chains, and the silver burns deeper. “Each operative has a handler. Mine is called Rick. He’s the one who gave me this mission, the one who refused the antidote.”
“Where is the Covenant based?”
“Multiple locations. I’m aware of three safe houses—two in human territories, one near the border of neutral land—but there must be more. And they move constantly. By now, they’ve probably already evacuated the ones I know about.”
I tell him everything else I can think of. Communication protocols. Training methods. The way they select targets—always hybrids, always those with rare or powerful abilities. How they’ve been studying Violet for months, tracking her movements, analyzing her magic.
“They want to replicate her abilities,” I explain. “Create enhanced soldiers who can wield both wolf shifter and witch powers. That’s why they need her alive.”
By the time I finish, my voice is barely above a whisper. The effort of talking combined with the poison is too much.
Darius is silent as he processes everything I’ve told him. Finally, he says, “Come with me.”
Two guards unlock my chains and pull me to my feet. My legs nearly give out, but the men keep a firm grip on my arms as we leave the cell.
