He howled in pain, dropping the syringe he’d been holding.
Chaos erupted in the room. Alarms began to blare, red lights flashing along the walls. I fought my way toward the door, biting and clawing at anyone who tried to stop .
Once in the hallway, I shifted back to human form. Staying a wolf made it more difficult to weave in and out without getting spotted.
The shift back was even more painful, and I nearly collapsed from the effort. My vision spotted, and I had to lean against the wall to stay upright.
On my way out, I pried a t-shirt and a lab coat off of one of the unconscious technicians to cover myself. Then, I grabbed my shoes, hopping on one foot to put them on before I let the door slam closed behind .
The hallway split into two directions. I chose left, staggering as fast as I could. Every step sent waves of pain through my stomach. I clenched my jaw, my hand reaching down to brace my lower belly.
Sothing was wrong with my pregnancy. With such a high dose of wolfsbane in , I wasn’t even sure how I hadn’t already collapsed dead. Thankfully, there wasn’t any blood for now. But I didn’t dare linger for too long in fear that it would start.
I could hear shouting behind , footsteps pounding against the floor.
Damn it. They probably had half the building looking for .
I ducked into the first room I ca across, slamming the door shut behind .
The room was dark except for the glow of computer screens. And standing in front of one of those screens was Esther.
My eyes widened with horror when I realized that out of all the rooms, I had chosen one of the worst options.
“Well,” she said, her eyes barely even leaving the screen, “this is awkward.”
I instantly turned to try to open the door, only to realize that she had remotely locked it from her desk. I turned back, glaring at her as I braced myself for an incoming fight.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing sothing quickly before she turned to face fully.
“I see you managed to escape.” Her tone was eerily casual, as if we were discussing the weather. “Impressive. That was quite a dose of wolfsbane they gave you.”
“Where’s the exit?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “You’ve already gotten the data you wanted. Let go.”
“I’ve not even nearly begun to scratch the surface,” Esther said with a laugh. “Your baby is still intact, isn’t it? That ans the research has not started.”
“No thanks to you!” I growled. Pain pulsed through my stomach at the sa ti. “Let go or I’ll tear this place apart!”
My change in tone seed to have worn down the last bit of Esther’s patience.
She clicked her tongue and frowned. “You’re just like your mother—a pain in the ass. I should have sent you down to et your parents the mont they died.”
The words felt like a slap across my face. “You... what?”
“Don’t look so shocked, dear. It wasn’t personal. Just business.” She turned back to her computer, tapping a few more keys. “Your parents were in the way. Unfortunately, you are following in their footsteps.”
Rage built inside . “You had sothing to do with their deaths? Did you kill my parents?”
“Well,” she said with a shrug, “not directly, no.”
My legs nearly gave out beneath . All these years, wondering where my parents had gone, whether they had died or if they had left behind purposely, only to find out they had been murdered.
“Why?” I managed to ask, my voice breaking. “My mother... I thought you were her best friend?!”
“Friendships should be mutually beneficial,” Esther coldly retorted. “I have given your mother what she wanted. In return, she should pay the price for it.”
“With her life?” I squawked. “What could you have possibly offered her that would cost so much?!”
“My ti,” Esther replied smoothly, ignoring the way my jaw was practically grazing the floor at her sheer audacity. “A researcher’s ti is very precious, don’t you know?”
My lips trembled with fury. This was bullshit! With every word Esther used to rile my anger, the wider her smile beca.
Esther, seeing infuriated, rely smirked and continued, “She outlived her usefulness. Her death was killing two birds with one stone.”
“And what were the birds?” I asked, my curiosity acting as the sole thing pinning to the ground to listen.
“She lucked out with her mate and, as such, hated the fact that I was researching it. Quite like you, actually. Only...” Esther huffed angrily, “I didn’t expect her mate to die with her. I thought he would consider the fact that he had young children to take care of.”
My ears prickled at her choice of words. She said ‘children’.
“You knew my sister?” I asked.
“I have not t her personally, if that’s what you an,” Esther said. “But Leo has ntioned her a few tis.”
No. This wasn’t the only ti she had heard about Helena. Esther’s smile was wide. Her words clearly implied that she knew long ago that my parents had twins instead of just . Esther Perez would’ve already known about Helena’s existence before Leo ca into the picture.
“Don’t lie,” I sneered. “You knew her before Leo told you about her!”
I stepped forward. Perhaps because of the anger that I was radiating, Esther surprisingly cowered back a little when I got near her. Her expression smile faltered.
“Why are you so obsessed with mate bonds?” I asked, trying to keep her talking while I looked for a way out. “How did you know my sister? What happened to make you hate my mother so much?”
Esther’s face shed her previous amusent and contorted back into annoyance. “That’s none of your business.”
“I think it is if you’re using as a guinea pig,” I retorted. “You can’t experint on without telling why.”
“I don’t owe you explanations!” She suddenly shouted, losing her cool. “You are just like your mother—always questioning, never knowing when to stop! If I had known, I would’ve sent the rogues after you instead of your brat of a twin!”
My heart instantly felt like it dropped. Even Esther’s eyes widened slightly when she realized what she had said.
Helena was killed by rogues. And not just any rogue—rogues that Esther had sent to kill her.
Just then, my ears pricked to attention. At the sa ti, both Esther’s and my eyes fell on the door handle behind . Soone was outside!
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