تسجيل الدخول*The Eastern Access Point*Team Two breached the eastern maintenance tunnel at exactly the same moment Team One hit the north entrance.This entrance was smaller than the primary access. More confined. Less defended.But no less important.The warriors moved through the tunnel. Their weapons were ready but held low, they were trying to apprehend, not slaughter. Alaric's orders had been clear. Capture when possible. Kill only when necessary.They encountered guards stationed at the interior checkpoint almost immediately.Three operatives in full tactical gear, positioned behind reinforced barriers designed to stop an assault.The first operative opened fire without hesitation.The bullets came fast, spraying across the tunnel entrance. But the warriors had the advantage of supernatural speed and durability. They moved through the gunfire, advancing rather than retreating, taking cover behind the tunnel structure rather than trying to dodge.One warrior took a bullet to the shoulder. An
Alaric's POVThe mountain air was cold and sharp, cutting through the darkness like a blade.Alaric stood on the ridge overlooking the facility, his silver eyes tracking every entrance, every guard position, every defensive measure the Vigil had constructed. The warriors were positioned across the mountainous terrain.Through his earpiece, he could hear the soft communications of the tactical teams confirming their positions. Each team was in place. Each warrior was ready. Each one understood that Melina was somewhere beneath this mountain, and they were going to get her out.Alaric looked at his brothers standing beside him.Aiden was monitoring the tactical display on a portable screen, his dark eyes analyzing every variable, every potential complication, every contingency. His analytical mind had been working non-stop since they'd confirmed the facility location. He'd memorized every corridor. Every entrance. Every path through the underground structure.Archer was standing complet
Melina's POV She woke to the sound of the door opening.Her body immediately tensed.She knew what this meant. Knew what time it was. Knew that the extraction team was arriving.Day three.Third bleed.Twenty-seven more to go.Melina had stopped counting the hours. Had stopped tracking time in any meaningful way. The days had blurred together into a cycle of extraction and sedation and brief moments of consciousness where she was allowed to exist before being drained again.Dr. Wells entered with her two medical assistants."Good morning, Melina," Wells said cheerfully. Like she was greeting a friend rather than a captive. "How are we feeling today?"Melina didn't answer.She'd learned that speaking was pointless. That begging didn't work. That pleading had no effect on people who saw her as a resource rather than a person.So she just stared at the ceiling and waited for the needle."Your vitals look excellent," Wells said, checking the monitoring equipment. "Heart rate is strong. B
He fell to his knees.Edmund moved to him. Put a hand on his shoulder."I know," Edmund said quietly. "I know how much this hurts. I know how desperate it feels. But Archer, listen to me. In six hours, the reconnaissance team is going to confirm the location. In six hours, we're going to know exactly where she is. In six hours, we move.""Six hours," Archer repeated. "That's another extraction. That's another session of her lying on that medical bed while they drain her. That's another...""I know," Edmund interrupted gently. "But six hours of waiting beats a month of searching blind. Six hours of waiting beats her being moved to a different facility. Six hours of waiting beats us losing her forever."He helped Archer to his feet."Go clean yourself up," Edmund said. "Go rest. When you wake up, we'll have confirmation. And then we go to war."***He showered in scalding water.Watched his blood wash down the drain. Watched the injuries on his knuckles begin to heal as his supernatural
Archer's POV - The Training Room The training room was empty.Good.Archer didn't want witnesses. Didn't want anyone seeing what was about to happen. Didn't want anyone watching as the youngest Alpha King lost his mind completely.He stood in the center of the sparring ring, his entire body vibrating with power barely contained.His black eyes were completely feral now. Completely devoid of human rationality. Just pure predatory rage looking for an outlet.He could feel her.Through the bond, he could feel Melina lying in a dark room somewhere in eastern Oregon. Could feel her consciousness drifting in and out of sedation. Could feel the Strain responding inside her as her body tried to compensate for the blood loss.Could feel her terror.And he was powerless to help her.Archer roared.The sound tore from his throat with such intensity that it shook the walls of the training room. Made the windows rattle. Made the entire foundation of the estate vibrate with the force of his rage.
He didn't wait for an answer."They're extracting her blood," Archer continued, his voice breaking slightly. "Daily extractions. She told us about the test with Father. One drop made him scream. Three drops would kill him. And they're extracting milliliters. That's approximately infinity drops of her blood. Per session. Per day till she dies."He was pacing now. Moving like a caged predator. Like a man on the very edge of sanity."She's terrified," Archer said. His voice was barely a whisper now. "I can feel it through the bond. She's lying in the dark in some facility and she's terrified and she's thinking about us and she's wondering if we're coming and we're just...we're just looking at maps."Aiden stood up."Archer," he said, his voice cutting through the rage. "I understand what you're feeling. I feel it too. But losing control doesn't help her. Rushing doesn't help her. The only thing that helps her is us being clear-headed enough to plan an extraction that actually works.""Ho
"I know that.""If she'd done it deliberately....if she knew how to do it....that would be one thing. A weapon she was using. But she didn't know. Which means she pulled three Alpha wolves into her subconscious without any training, without any intention, without any awareness that it was even poss
She woke up at six.Not because of the alarm. Her body just stopped sleeping, the way it did when something was wrong. Eyes open. Ceiling. Six oh three.She lay there.Everything hurt.Not badly. Not like injury. More like the specific ache of muscles that had been working all night. Her thighs. He
She found out at noon.Petra grabbed her arm in the staff corridor, eyes wide, voice down to a whisper."Was that you this morning? In the east garden? Talking to the woman in the blue robe?""Yes." Melina frowned. "Why?"Petra stared at her."Melina." She said it slowly. "That was Queen Lillith."M
She needed air.That was the only thought in her head when she slipped out of the staff corridor at six forty-five in the morning, before her shift started, before the estate fully woke up. She needed air and open sky and something that wasn't stone walls and corridors that smelled like them.The g







