Mira stood outside a dark alley, staring at the red, blinking light on her stolen access card. It took hours of sifting through deleted hospital records to identify a pattern, and now she was standing outside an old warehouse in the center of Luna Heights, which, for all intents and purposes, was abandoned. Her gut told her something different. She was far too certain that she had to make the decision on finding the best possible reason behind the disappearance.
The door clicked open.
With a deep breath, she pressed the card against the rusted door's scanner. A flickering green light came on, so Mira stepped through the door.
She was met with the smell of something sterile, metallic, and off, and without uttering a word, she went down the illuminated, yet dim, staircase leading underground. Every heartbeat felt like a step, and every step tightened her chest with overflowing excitement. She reached the base, where the thick steel door awaited her arrival. This was it, her one stop shop for all the missing people that she had heard vanishing into thin air. The place everyone was too afraid to talk about.
She looked closely at herself and felt the urge to dig deeper, but she realized she couldn't even recognize herself anymore with the recent occurrence, and now it's more personal for her to find the truth than just investigating missing people within the society. Her instincts and urge were now more sensitive and accurate.
Trying to catch her breath, she inserted the access card again.
The door opened gradually as if the time had seized, it became open with a small sound.
Inside, rows of glass containment cells filled the walls; it became endless, and it went all the way into the darkness. Mira's breath caught in her throat. People were inside them. The cells were filled with people looking like experimental figures.
Some remained unconscious on the white, sterile beds while others weakly thrashed against sinewy restraints, their bodies bent at impossible angles. Then she noticed it... hair growing from their skin, sharp claws extending from their fingers, and their eyes transforming into something bestial. They were transforming.
Mira staggered back, her mind reeling. This was beyond anything she had imagined. People weren't just being kidnapped—they were being experimented on. Turned into wolves. But why? And who was behind this? This looks really bad and scary. She looked around the place herself and felt there was so much she could have done, but right now, she felt powerless and clueless.
A slow clap echoed through the room.
Mira turned around, her pulse spiking. From the shadows, a man stepped forward, his smirk sharp enough to cut.
Lucian Holt.
Dane's trusted Beta. The man who had always stayed just out of focus, always watching, always calculating. But now, there was no mistaking it. He was expecting her.
"You've finally found the truth," Lucian said smoothly, folding his arms. "But can you handle it?"
Mira's hands curled into fists. "What is this place? You know, with this discovery, I already have uncountable questions growing deep inside me that I will have to find answers to."
Lucian tilted his head, studying her. "A necessary step in evolution."
Mira's stomach turned. "You're doing this to them. To people. Against their will."
Lucian exhaled, almost as if he pitied her. "You see a tragedy. I see a future where we control our kind's destiny."
Her mind raced. How deep did this go? Who else was involved? Was Dane blind to this, or was he part of it, too?
A sharp click sounded behind her. Mira whirled around to see armed guards entering the facility, their weapons trained on her. Her pulse spiked.
Lucian sighed. "I had hoped you would see reason, but you were always stubborn. I actually want you on our side but now I don't know your choice. I can't trust your decision or you based on trust of how we met."
Mira's muscles tensed. Fight or flight. She had seconds to decide.
The guards lunged.
Moving with superhuman speed, she evaded the first blow, retrieved the gun one man was aimed at her with, and slipped away from another man. The problem was that their numbers were far too much for her to handle. She felt a sudden pain out of nowhere. she had been attacked with a tranquilizer, unaware.
Her vision blurred. Her limbs grew heavy.
Lucian's voice was the last thing she heard before darkness swallowed her whole.
"Welcome to the experiment, Mira."
Mira is trapped in the facility, her fate uncertain.