ARIA POV
I woke up to cold water splashing on my face. My eyes snapped open as I gasped for air. tal cuffs bit into my wrists. I was strapped to a table in a bright white room that slled of chemicals.
"The Luna is awake," a man in a white coat said, writing sothing on a clipboard. "Inform Commander Hayes."
Panic rose in my chest. The Shadow Division had caught . I pulled against the restraints, but they didn’t move.
"Don’t waste your energy," the man said without looking up. "Those cuffs are made from silver-infused steel. No monster can break them."
My mind raced. Where was my pack? My mates? The last thing I rembered was collapsing in the cave opening after being hit with so kind of dart.
The door slid open, and a tall woman with short gray hair walked in. Her outfit was covered in dals.
"So you’re the famous Luna," she said, studying like I was a bug under a microscope. "I’m Commander Hayes. Welco to Shadow Division headquarters."
"Where’s my pack?" I asked.
She smiled coldly. "Most fled into the caves. We have teams tracking them down as we speak."
Relief flooded through . They were still free. Then I rembered sothing else - my link to my mates. I closed my eyes and reached out through our bond.
Lucien? Kael? Jaxon?
Nothing. Complete silence where their presence should be.
"Your mate bonds won’t work here," Commander Hayes said, noticing my focus. "The walls are lined with a special material that blocks supernatural connections."
She picked up a needle filled with glowing blue liquid.
"We’ve been watching you for months, Aria. Your abilities are... amazing. Especially your new healing skills. Imagine what we could do if we could harness that power."
As she moved toward with the needle, the lights suddenly flickered. A faraway boom shook the building.
Commander Hayes froze, then grabbed her radio. "Report!"
"We’re under attack!" a panicked voice replied. "It’s the werewolves, but they have... guns. Military-grade guns!"
My heart leaped. My pack was coming for !
Commander Hayes swore and ran from the room, locking the door behind her. The man in the white coat looked frightened. He grabbed his clipboard and hurried after her.
I was alone. Another explosion rocked the building, closer this ti. The lights went out totally before ergency red lights kicked on.
I pulled furiously at my restraints, but they still wouldn’t budge. Then I rembered my new golden healing power. I closed my eyes and looked inside myself for that warm spark.
There it was, dim but present. I focused on it, willing it to grow. Slowly, painfully, the warmth spread through my blood. My hands began to glow faintly.
Another blast, even closer. Dust fell from the roof.
I focused the golden energy into the tal cuffs. Instead of healing, I tried sothing new - I imagined the power eating away at the silver in the cuffs like it had drawn the silver poison from Liam’s wound.
The cuffs grew hot. The tal started to bubble and lt where it touched my skin. With one final pull, I broke free.
Just as I sat up, the door burst open. Through the smoke, I saw a familiar figure.
"Jaxon!" I cried out.
He rushed to my side, a strange-looking gun in his hands. "Are you hurt?"
"No, but how did you find ?"
He grinned, that wild look I knew so well dancing in his eyes. "Elder Malin had a vision. And I have so old friends who know their way around human weapons."
He helped stand, then gave a small pistol. "Do you know how to use this?"
I shook my head.
"Point and pull the gun. Only if you have to." He checked the hallway. "Kael and Lucien are leading two teams as a distraction. We need to move fast."
We slipped into the hallway, which was filled with smoke and bright red lights. Alarms blared everywhere. Jaxon moved like he’d been in places like this before, checking corners before motioning forward.
"How do you know so much about human weapons and tactics?" I whispered as we crept down a stairwell.
Jaxon’s face got serious. "Rember when I left for those three months last year? I wasn’t just ’finding myself’ like I told everyone. I was joining a human military group that was hunting werewolves."
This was a side of Jaxon I’d never seen before - focused, serious, skilled. " That’s how I knew what the Shadow Division was capable of," he continued. "I’ve been preparing for this day. I just didn’t think it would co so soon."
We reached a lower level where the fighting sounds were louder. Suddenly, three guards appeared at the end of the hall. Jaxon pushed behind him and fired his weapon. It made almost no sound, but the troops dropped to the ground.
"Tranquilizer darts," he explained. "Sa ones they used on you."
We continued through the maze-like building. Each ti we t humans, Jaxon handled them with shocking efficiency.
"There’s the exit," he said, pointing to a door marked with a bright sign. "Once we’re outside, Lucien will sense you again through the bond. He and Kael will et us at the eting point."
Just as we reached the door, a familiar voice called out, "Stop right there."
We turned to see Commander Hayes, her uniform torn and dirty, blocking our way. She held a weapon unlike any I’d seen before - sleek and glowing with blue energy.
"This ends now," she said, pointing at us.
Jaxon pushed behind him. "Run when I tell you."
"I’m not leaving you," I maintained.
"So touching," Commander Hayes sneered. "But neither of you is leaving."
She fired. The weapon made a high-pitched whine as a bolt of blue energy shot toward us. Jaxon shoved aside and took the hit straight in the chest. He flew backward, his body slamming against the wall.
"Jaxon!" I scread.
The golden light exploded from without notice, filling the entire hallway. Commander Hayes shielded her eyes, briefly blinded.
I ran to Jaxon, who wasn’t moving. His chest was burned where the weapon had hit him, and he wasn’t breathing.
"No, no, no," I sobbed, putting my glowing hands on his wound. "Co back to ."
The golden light poured into him, stronger than ever before. I could feel it working, connecting tissue, healing burns, restarting his heart.
Jaxon gasped suddenly, his eyes flying open. "Aria?"
Relief flooded through . But just as quickly as it ca, it disappeared. Sothing sharp hit my back. My legs gave out as numbness spread through my body.
"Did you really think I ca alone?" Commander Hayes laughed behind .
Jaxon tried to reach for , but more troops appeared, holding him down despite his struggles.
As my vision blurred, I saw Commander Hayes leaning over , smiling.
"Your healing powers are even stronger than we thought," she said, sounding impressed. "Perfect. Phase two can begin."
"What’s phase two?" I managed to ask as darkness crept in.
She leaned closer, whispered in my ear, "We already have your blood samples. Now we just need the cubs you’re carrying."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"Oh, you didn’t know?" Her smile widened. "You’re pregnant, Luna. With triplets. Just imagine what we can make with their DNA."
The world went black as her words repeated in my mind. Pregnant. With triplets. My babies were in danger.
And I couldn’t protect them.
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