Page 51 of Their Mate
Jamie’s voice was unusually serious. “Bloody unsettling is what it is.”
Aidan shifted carefully, his voice still somehow calm. “We keep moving forward. No matter what he says, he’s not invincible. He has to have some sort of weakness.”
“Let’s move,” I whispered, heart still racing, but voice steadying again. “The longer we wait, the more danger Declan’s in.”
We moved deeper into the winding passages beneath the city. The silence between us had returned, broken only by our tensebreathing and soft footsteps echoing through the oppressive darkness.
The corridor stretched onward, the walls growing rougher, older, constructed hastily long ago and now crumbling into disrepair. Rusted pipes protruded from cracked concrete; cables hung loosely, their insulation frayed and rotten. The air grew colder, staler, tinged with a harsh, metallic scent I couldn’t quite place.
Edward paused suddenly, raising a cautious hand to halt us.
“What is it?” Logan asked.
“Look,” Edward said softly, pointing ahead.
Up ahead, the corridor ended abruptly in a huge steel door, corroded yet clearly still formidable, marked with faded warnings in peeling yellow paint:
Restricted Area—Authorized Personnel Only
Beneath it, there was a barely visible emblem, partially obscured by decades of grime: an old military insignia etched in the metal.
“This must be it,” I breathed, stepping closer to examine the heavy barrier. “Where the original experiments happened.”
Edward nodded slowly, examining the door’s sealed edges. “Looks Cold War-era. Hardened steel. Built to withstand any attack. A secure bunker facility, likely designed for biological containment.”
Jamie raised an eyebrow skeptically, approaching the imposing door carefully. “And we’re just… willingly walking into this place? Feels like entering hell itself.”
Logan spoke up next. “We don’t have a choice. If Declan’s still alive, he’s here somewhere—and the Elder Lycan too.”
Aidan moved carefully forward, tense with barely restrained urgency. “Then we breach this door, fast. Every second counts.”
I stepped closer, examining an old security panel near the door’s edge, cracked and partially rusted. Carefully prying off the corroded metal cover, I stared at the ancient keypad, its tiny indicator lights flickering weakly, powered only by residual energy from the facility’s backup solar generators.
“I might be able to override this,” I mused, reaching into my jacket pocket and pulling out a small, portable device I’d carried since joining the Watch. It was standard issue for hacking locks and breaching secure areas. “Give me a minute.”
Edward moved closer, impressed. “You have tech for this?”
I nodded, connecting the device carefully. “Standard Watch equipment. In case of the need for infiltration.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed slightly, assessing me. “Remind me not to underestimate you again.”
I met his gaze briefly, my pulse quickening slightly at the solemn respect behind his eyes. Pushing down the distracting thought, I turned back toward the panel, keeping my hands steady even as my heart pulsed wildly.
The device flickered briefly to life, cycling through ancient codes, searching for vulnerabilities in the bunker’s security. Seconds dragged by agonizingly slow, tension thickening around us, every shadow feeling heavy, oppressive, and alive with hidden threats.
Finally, with a faint click and a hiss, the massive steel door shuddered, shifting slowly on corroded hinges. It scraped open roughly, revealing a corridor stretching deep into darkness, dim emergency lights flickering sporadically along the cracked concrete walls.
Edward stepped forward cautiously, scanning the revealed corridor quickly. “Looks clear. But we move slowly. Stay alert.”
Logan nodded once. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us down there.”
Together, we moved through the doorway, stepping carefully into the heart of the hidden facility.
I looked around. This was undoubtedly where Reilly had conducted his twisted experiments. Medical equipment, covered in dust and cobwebs, lined the walls. There were rusted gurneys, shattered test tubes, and plenty of cracked glass cabinets. Deeper down the hallway stood heavy doors, sealed shut, marked ominously:
Experimentation Rooms—Biohazard Containment
I shivered as the full horror of this place settled over me. Reilly had intended this to be humanity’s salvation, but it had become humanity’s nightmare instead.
