*Alice's POV*I looked at Joan in horror."What did you make me do?" I asked. My voice and hands trembled, and the needle fell to the ground with a crash."What do you mean?" Victoria asked, that smile still planted on her face. I wanted to smack it off. "I did you both a favor. She couldn't live in your world as a human anymore with your evolution into your true wolf. And she didn't want to be left behind, so she came to me and asked me to change her. She knew that with your help we could both help her. Just like we could help all of the other experiments."My eyes took in Victoria and her mannerisms. She seemed collected and natural like she was telling me the truth. And she wasn't displaying the common tells that I had learned over the years, such as avoiding eye contact or under-explaining.I wasn't sure what to think.But I wanted to believe her, especially as I stood there and looked at Joan's body lying limp in the bed.At this point, what matt
*Alice's POV*I lunged for Victoria, intent on killing her.Before I could reach her, the rogues emerged from behind her and grabbed me by my arms, pinning them back. I growled again, feeling my fangs grow out. I pulled and yanked, but I couldn't pull myself out of the strong grip of the rogues around me."I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this and that you could work with me," Victoria stated angrily. "But it looks like you are just as dumb as your mother."I snapped my teeth at Victoria, and she sighed. Then she gestured to the rogues."Lock her up with him." She looked back at me. "Maybe we'll still get some use out of you yet."The rogues dragged me off of my feet and out of the room. I didn't stop kicking and fighting the entire way to the new location. One of the humans in a lab coat led the way, opening another large steel door that was similar to the other one. This one had another ID badge lock that the human had to get us through.On t
*Alice's POV*My stomach burned as I took an especially deep breath in. I looked down to see a deep gash wound on my stomach from where Mike had slashed at me. It took a while for me to notice it. The adrenaline had stopped me from feeling it any longer. But once the little girl retreated into her cell and I was alone again, it came at me, full force.I lifted my head slightly and moved my hands, but all I could see was blood. Lifting my head required me to use my abs too much, so I dropped my head back down and tried to apply more pressure to the wound.I was getting messy. The claws had torn cleanly through my clothing and my skin.I had managed to hold on long enough to subdue the madman, but now I could feel my vision fading as I lay on the floor, bleeding out. In some ways, it brought me peace. If I were to go now, then nobody else would be used in the future, and I could join Joan and my mother in the afterlife.But I wouldn't be able to save the people a
*Alice's POV*"No, we have to move her into the lab where I can keep an eye on her." I heard Victoria's voice say.Her voice flooded into my subconscious as I awoke. However, I kept my eyes shut. If they thought I was still sleeping, they were more likely to speak freely."How is she?" she asked. Did Victoria sound almost…fearful? "Will her wounds heal?""It's hard to tell at this time. Being in heat has really affected her healing abilities. It's consuming a lot of her energy. She is weaker than normal," a deep, male voice noted.Victoria huffed. "If only she'd mated with Mike like planned, this wouldn't have happened. She'd be strong enough."I tried to keep my body as still as possible. The longer I held out, the more time I was buying Simon. He was coming for me. He had said so himself. Soon enough, I found myself struggling to stay conscious. Sleep was overtaking me again.No. I couldn't let that happen. I needed to stay alert. Every time I fell
*Alice's POV*Victoria and I stood still as the alarm blared around us, stuck in a battle of wills. There was noise growing in the outside hall. Voices were rising louder and louder.A voice came out over the radio on Victoria's hip."Victoria! The experiments have been released! There is a riot in the building!" The voice sounded frantic. "What should we do? There are too many!"Victoria bent to grab the radio, and then walked out of the door, watching me the whole time."I'm on my way." She shut the door behind herself and I heard the lock click.Not that it mattered, the door didn't lock from the inside, so I could easily get out of the room. Without a second thought, I walked up to the door and swung it open.And there stood Simon.And man did he look good. Dream Simon had nothing on him.He was right in front of the door, with his hand up as if he was just about to try and open it himself. When he saw me, his face lit up and he surged f
*Victoria's POV*"Ahhh!" I screamed out in frustration and shoved over the last remaining office chair.The men around me shrank back in fear. After years of working with me, everyone in this lab knew better than to mess with me. I picked up the smashed monitor and chucked it across the room as well.By the time I had gotten back to the lab, it was completely trashed. The rogues had finished off what I was sure Alice and Simon had started. The smashed computer was definitely compliments of them since they were the only ones smart enough to actually destroy the tower as well."Fuck!" I cursed out loud, causing the others to shrink back even further.All of my experimental records were destroyed. Twenty years of research and experiments, and I had nothing to show for it. The only hope I had left now was Alice and her blood.I would have to get her back somehow."Bring me a camera now, we are going to send a message to the shifter packs," I ordered no on
*Alice's POV*I lay on the bed waiting for the knock that always came at this time of day.After I had told Simon to leave, I locked myself in the room next to his. I knew he would argue with me, but I wanted him to know that I was serious. If he got used to not seeing or having around now, then it wouldn't be so hard when he left.Days had passed. Despite my solitude and lack of communication, Simon still knocked on my door at least a couple of times every day and called out to me. Eventually, he would give up and just leave food by the door, but you had to give the guy credit for trying.He also hadn't forced his way in, which I knew he was capable of, and I appreciated that as well. Forcing his way in would get him nowhere, and maybe he realized that.I continued to lay there waiting for his knock.And waiting. Regardless of it all, I still waited.My belly growled and I sat up. Simon never went this long without bringing me food or attempting to k
*Alice's POV*Simon leaned in a closed the space between us. His lips brushed against mine, and I instantly responded.My body arched into his as I pushed back into the kiss, making it deeper. Simon's hand moved from my chin to the back of my neck and he pulled me in passionately. The other hand drifted to the small of my back as if he wanted me as close as possible. We both seemed excited to finally be kissing and didn't want to part. By the time we did, we were both completely breathless.Much better kiss than the first."Is that your answer then?" Simon asked between breaths with a smile that matched mine.I knew I should pull away. Knew that I was bad news for Simon. But at that moment, I couldn't even force myself to do it.The ferris wheel car jerked, bringing us back to reality as we had to get off and I was spared the embarrassment of answering. The operator opened our door for us and we walked out hand in hand.All of the people around the fe
*Simon's POV*I was twelve years old, and I was staring down at my dead father at my feet. My older brother stood next to me, and when he reached out, I smacked his hand away."That's our father; why did you kill him?!" I yelled at him.Everything dissolved and zoomed by as another scene developed around me. It was now the day I left my homeland. Standing beside my brother was my now-dead uncle. It pained me to see him again.I, on the other hand, was fuming."This is all your fault," I sneered at my brother, hiding the hurt that I was feeling inside. "You are an evil man who murdered his own father. I will never forgive you for this and make sure the world knows the truth."My brother was speechless as I hurled my accusations. He was always seen as gentle and trustworthy and was hurt by my words. My sister howled in the middle of it all, trying to make us both see reason.I rushed out of the house, with my sister still crying and calling for me to co
*Alice's POV*Victoria stood in the doorway and watched as the giant beast stepped closer and closer to me. The fact that she had created a mutated rogue to look like Simon with the intention of upsetting me really pissed me off, and I cracked my neck from side to side.I wouldn't let this thing give Simon a bad name.I jumped in, letting my claws extend even farther as I went to slash its throat. But unlike the other rogues, it moved quickly and evaded the attack, countering with one of its own.My eyes widened, and I barely managed to avoid him by stepping back to reassess. This mutant seemed more cruel and delirious than I had ever seen.He charged back at me before I could make a plan, and I stumbled back, staying on the defensive. I dodged and dodged, falling further and further behind. My breathing started to get more and more ragged. I couldn't find a single opening, and I didn't have time to think about going on the offensive. My wolf whined in my head.
*Alice's POV*The first step of our plan was already underway. We were on our way into the palace with the cover of William to infiltrate and weaken the Alpha King.We had both agreed that the easiest way to take down the human lab was to install William as Alpha King. Then we could have the support of all the packs to find Simon and destroy the lab for good.William was outside, gathering all of the other Alpha to storm the palace, while I was sneaking in to weaken the Alpha King and prove him incompetent. The needles that held my gene fusion agent in them jingled in my bag.It was later in the day, but I decided to check the one place where I could usually find the Alpha King. I opened the door and was greeted immediately. "Hello, Alice," the Alpha King said as I walked into his office.My stomach flipped. Guess the surprise element was gone then."Hello, father…or should I even call you that?" I made a fake frown face. "Though you already knew tha
*Simon's POV*I lay in our bed stroking Alice's hair with my fingers as I admired her gorgeous naked body next to me. She slept peacefully, and I felt my heart swell inside my chest. I never had any idea that I would feel like this with her, or ever in my life.If I had known, I probably would have made a move sooner.Suddenly, there was a noise from outside, and I stopped moving for a minute, trying to hear as well as possible. I must be imagining things. Alice's nightmares must be getting to me now as well.Except this nightmare was real.I heard a sound again and heard my phone vibrate on the table next to the bed. I grabbed it and felt my blood run cold.The message was from James and read: 'We found you.' It was followed by a picture of the front of the estate. Then another came through as I sat there staring at the screen. 'Come out alone, and we can make a deal.'I knew that I had to at least try.Carefully, making sure not to
*Alice's POV*I woke up with a start, still laying against Simon's chest. My breathing was fast, and I tried to slow it down along with my heart rate. But Simon had already felt my movement and was fully alert."What is it?" he asked, sitting up so that he could examine me. "What's wrong?""Nothing," I sighed, pulling him back down onto the bed and on top of me. The warmth of his body soothed me. "It was just a bad dream.""What was it?" he still asked, but I felt his body relax somewhat against my own as he realized there was nothing seriously wrong. He kept most of his weight off of me though."Just something stupid," I played it off. "Olivia and James showed up to drag me back to the palace.""That is stupid," Simon smiled. I felt his soft lips press against my neck as he cuddled in closer. My heart fluttered nervously. "I would never let that happen."I chuckled at his confidence and began to rub my hand through his hair. The room was still dark,
*William's POV*The shifter world was falling apart.Ever since Alice had escaped from the human lab, everything came burning down. The Victoria lady that had taken me hostage in the lab had come out with a press release video of sorts not long after Alice went missing. The video served as a call to action and a threat all at once.And most surprising of all, it also led to the discrediting of the Alpha King. It was clear that he had something to do with the mutated rogues and people were not happy. Most of the packs even chose to no longer be subject to his jurisdiction.So here I was, on my way back to my own pack.With the fall of the Alpha King's popularity, my father, and the Opal Moon pack were more popular than ever. Our pack was well known for having helped multiple others fend off the mutated rogues in the past, and that was a good show of faith for the people now when so much was uncertain concerning this new breed."Ah, William, you are here!" m
*Alice's POV*Simon leaned in a closed the space between us. His lips brushed against mine, and I instantly responded.My body arched into his as I pushed back into the kiss, making it deeper. Simon's hand moved from my chin to the back of my neck and he pulled me in passionately. The other hand drifted to the small of my back as if he wanted me as close as possible. We both seemed excited to finally be kissing and didn't want to part. By the time we did, we were both completely breathless.Much better kiss than the first."Is that your answer then?" Simon asked between breaths with a smile that matched mine.I knew I should pull away. Knew that I was bad news for Simon. But at that moment, I couldn't even force myself to do it.The ferris wheel car jerked, bringing us back to reality as we had to get off and I was spared the embarrassment of answering. The operator opened our door for us and we walked out hand in hand.All of the people around the fe
*Alice's POV*I lay on the bed waiting for the knock that always came at this time of day.After I had told Simon to leave, I locked myself in the room next to his. I knew he would argue with me, but I wanted him to know that I was serious. If he got used to not seeing or having around now, then it wouldn't be so hard when he left.Days had passed. Despite my solitude and lack of communication, Simon still knocked on my door at least a couple of times every day and called out to me. Eventually, he would give up and just leave food by the door, but you had to give the guy credit for trying.He also hadn't forced his way in, which I knew he was capable of, and I appreciated that as well. Forcing his way in would get him nowhere, and maybe he realized that.I continued to lay there waiting for his knock.And waiting. Regardless of it all, I still waited.My belly growled and I sat up. Simon never went this long without bringing me food or attempting to k
*Victoria's POV*"Ahhh!" I screamed out in frustration and shoved over the last remaining office chair.The men around me shrank back in fear. After years of working with me, everyone in this lab knew better than to mess with me. I picked up the smashed monitor and chucked it across the room as well.By the time I had gotten back to the lab, it was completely trashed. The rogues had finished off what I was sure Alice and Simon had started. The smashed computer was definitely compliments of them since they were the only ones smart enough to actually destroy the tower as well."Fuck!" I cursed out loud, causing the others to shrink back even further.All of my experimental records were destroyed. Twenty years of research and experiments, and I had nothing to show for it. The only hope I had left now was Alice and her blood.I would have to get her back somehow."Bring me a camera now, we are going to send a message to the shifter packs," I ordered no on