Page 50 of Their Mate
CHAPTER 18
Sera
Edward walked slightly ahead, his shoulders tense beneath his jacket. Logan stayed close to me, as did Jamie and Aidan. But even their presence couldn’t dispel the lingering dread closing my throat.
These corridors felt alive, haunted by whispers and ghostly shadows, echoes of past horrors trapped eternally in the darkness. My training screamed at me to stay alert, but the eerie silence wore at the edges of my senses. I strained to maintain my composure, my grip white-knuckled around the handle of my blade.
Then, from the silence, a soft click echoed suddenly through the corridor.
My heart stopped. Logan halted instantly, eyes scanning rapidly. Edward raised a cautious hand, signaling us to freeze.
The faint click was followed by a hiss of static. It sounded old and distorted.
Was it another trap?
A voice crackled abruptly over ancient speakers embedded high above in the corridor ceiling. It was distorted, rough, and guttural, and it set every nerve ending on edge. Yet even through the distortion, I recognized it instantly.
Dr. Connor Reilly.
The Elder Lycan himself.
“Ah… you’ve found my home,”he rasped slowly, a tone of dark amusement chilling the air. Static buzzed softly beneath his words, the faintly metallic timbre adding to the sense of unnatural menace.“I’ve been watching you, of course. Every move. Every step.”
I glanced at Logan, whose expression had darkened. Jamie had gone rigid, his breathing shallow. Edward held perfectly still, eyes narrowed as he silently assessed the threat. Aidan’s expression remained grimly resolute, but even he looked shaken by the sudden intrusion of Reilly’s warped voice.
The Elder Lycan continued, the speakers crackling with his barely contained venom.“You’ve all come so very far—but you don’t yet realize how hopeless your journey truly is. All your fighting, your struggles… All of it… meaningless.”
I tried to gulp down my fear as he spoke with quiet confidence, deadly certainty, each word dripping like poison all around us.
“You’ve uncovered pieces of my past, but you understand nothing. I once believed humanity worth saving while wolves were just to be exterminated. I was wrong. Humanity is weak and corrupted, no better than the wolves. Now there is only me, the last true intelligence left.”
Logan stepped carefully closer to me, voice just above a whisper. “He’s playing with us. Trying to break us down psychologically.”
Edward nodded in agreement, his eyes still narrowed. “Stay focused. Don’t let him get inside your head.”
But Reilly’s voice rose in pitch, as if he’d heard Edward’s quiet words through his surveillance system.“Oh, it’s far too late for that, soldier. I’m already inside your heads, deep enough to know every weakness, every regret. You especially, Sera Moore.”
I flinched at the sudden direct address, heart stuttering painfully. How did he know me?
He chuckled softly, the mutant sound echoing chillingly through the corridor.“Yes, Sera. I know you very well. You’re like me. Believing you’re protecting humanity. But your precious Watch was born from betrayal, founded on lies. You’re no protector. You’re a weapon. A tool. You’re disposable.”
I stepped back involuntarily. How could he know so much about me, about the Watch?
Logan moved closer, holding my eyes with his, and took hold of my upper arms. “Don’t listen to him, Sera. He wants to unsettle you.”
Reilly’s rasp grew colder still, cutting directly into my thoughts.“You believe these wolves around you are your allies, your pack? How easily you’ve been deceived. They’ll abandon you, betray you, just like everyone else. Loyalty, trust—nothing but weaknesses waiting to be exploited.”
Dread tightened painfully around my throat. I knew it was psychological warfare, yet his words burrowed dangerously deep, stoking fears I was struggling to overcome.
“There is no loyalty in survival. No love, no trust. Only strength and strategy. That is how I’ve survived. By discarding humanity along with weakness and empathy. By embracing the monster within.”
His voice lowered abruptly, darkening further.“You will too, eventually. Or you’ll die here, beneath the earth, forgotten and lost, just like all of the others.”
The speaker crackled harshly, then fell abruptly silent, plunging us back into oppressive, uneasy quiet. I stood frozen, pulse racing wildly, stomach churning with sick. My entire world felt dangerously uncertain, shaken to its very foundations.
Logan stepped forward carefully, his voice strong and steady, cutting through the lingering tension. “He’s trying to break us down, nothing more.”
Edward exhaled sharply, jaw set grimly. “He knows exactly how to get under our skin. Be ready for more games.”
