Chapter 54: Betrayal and Capture
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"The pack is with you," he whispered. "Stay strong."
Then he was past me, heading toward the forest where I knew Liam was waiting, and I was being led to a black SUV, my consciousness fading despite my efforts to stay alert.
The last thing I heard before darkness claimed me was Richard's voice: "Take her to the secondary facility. And make sure we're not followed."
I woke in a sterile white room, strapped to a hospital bed. My shoulder throbbed, and my mouth felt dry from whatever drug they had given me. As my vision cleared, I saw Richard sitting beside the bed, watching me with clinical interest.
"Welcome back," he said. "I apologize for the restraints, but they're necessary until we establish some ground rules."
"Where am I?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"Somewhere safe," he replied vaguely. "Somewhere your Alpha won't find you."
I tested the restraints subtly, finding them secure. "What do you want from me, Richard?"
"The same thing I wanted before," he said simply. "Your cooperation. Your expertise. Your acceptance of your true heritage."
"My true heritage includes both sides of my family," I reminded him. "Hayes and Grey."
Richard's expression hardened. "The werewolf taint can be overcome. With your help, we can develop treatments—ways to suppress the werewolf gene in those with mixed heritage."
"You mean eradicate half of what they are," I translated. "That's not healing, it's eugenics."
"It's salvation," he insisted. "Think of the children born to werewolf parents, cursed with transformations they never asked for. We could free them."
