Not that I was much of a sleeper anyway, but my wolf, Black, had been restless all night. Eamon’s scent was driving him crazy, and me too.
It had taken all my willpower not to cave in to my wolf’s demands and cross the room to intoxicate myself in his scent that called out to every fibre of my being.
Every time I thought I’d figured out something about Eamon, another door opened, revealing deeper mysteries.
The document the messenger had given me yesterday, when I was meeting up with my Master, had contained nothing, absolutely nothing, because Eamon Riggs didn’t exist.
The more I thought about it, the more it puzzled me.
How could there be no information about Eamon? Our resources were the best in the world so far, which could track even the tiniest details about anyone. But just like Headmistress Vale’s sketchy information, nothing had come up for Eamon.
The only solution to ease the immoral thoughts in my head was to remove myself from him, and somehow, I’d travelled nearly two hours in my wolf form and had arrived at the summer camp.
And now, I was standing in front of the outer perimeter of the hidden lab, which I’d discovered the last time we were here.
Even though Master had wanted me to lie low until things cleared up, risks always cleared my head and improved my mood, and I needed adrenaline to help my brain stop thinking about Eamon.
Quietly, I scaled the fence, careful not to make a sound. The entire place was crawling with three times the security than it had last time. After making it past the outer fence, I continued creeping in the shadow until I came to the next wall.
I paused in shock as I stared at the fully activated advanced security laser fence. This hadn’t been here the last time.
Letting out a small, amused smile, I studied the patterns, thankful for my years of training by my Master, I understood the pattern in a few seconds. I slipped through it and within two minutes, I’d crossed over to the inner fence.
Now in the facility, I pressed myself against the wall, assessing the situation. The facility stretched before me like a fortress; multiple levels, rotating searchlights and guards patrolling every corner.
They didn’t have this sort of security the last time I was here. What were they protecting?
A beam of white light swept past, missing me by inches. I held my breath, counted to fifteen seconds until it passed and then twenty-three seconds of darkness before the next sweep—more than enough time.
I sprinted across the exposed courtyard, diving behind a maintenance shed just as the white light completed its rotation. I slipped on my mask, noting that most of the men doing the patrolling were not just guards but warriors.
And they were fully quipped.
Two warriors were patrolling the eastern corridor, which had fewer warriors, and they were also patrolling in opposite directions from each other. I waited, timing their movement, before slipping past them like a ghost.
The service entrance I’d identified a week ago remained my best option. I pulled out a small electronic device from my pocket, connecting it to the door’s security panel. The lock disengaged with a soft click after thirty seconds.
I also noticed that inside the facility, there were no patrols. I moved through the corridor quietly, making sure I had my back to the security cameras at all times.
I set my timer for ten minutes; any longer and it becomes a problem. Master also says that if you cannot figure out a problem within ten minutes, you’ll be caught.
I started moving past each door, noting that most of them were offices or just storage rooms. I couldn’t seem to find the lab where I’d stolen the sample of the drugs from last week.
I came to a corridor that had a motion sensor camera, meaning it wouldn’t just capture my back; I had to move in super stillness, allowing it to sweep past me before I continued my advance.
Eight minutes later, and I was still looking for the lab.
I saw more closed doors and storage rooms than I’d seen last time, even though I couldn’t remember if they’d been here. I was in such a hurry to get back to the students.
Nine minutes later, and still nothing. Deciding to start heading back, I started towards the direction I’d come from before when I heard voices coming towards me. Quickly, I darted to the nearest corridor to my right. It was a long stretch of white walls and nothing.
No doors, no windows. The voices were coming closer.
I hurried down the corridor until I got to its end. Luckily, there was a door marked only with the number 17 on its frame.
Without thinking, I reached for the handle and unlocked it carefully, slipping inside the room. I crouched in a corner, readying myself for a fight when I heard footsteps coming towards me.
Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and began to move in the opposite direction.
I let out a breath of relief, sprawling onto the floor and turning to inspect the room I’d entered. What I saw next made my eyes widen with shock.
The room was a ward filled with pregnant women, no, pregnant teenagers. There were about twenty of them. Most were heavily pregnant, and they all lay on the bed, sleeping.
Each of the beds was arranged in neat rows connected to various monitoring equipment.
I stared at the beds and the women, wondering with horror what kind of sick experiment this place was conducting. And why were they targeting teen girls?
I got over my initial shock and quickly brought out my phone to snap a picture. The camera shutter echoed like thunder in the quiet ward.
One of the pregnant girls, a girl with blonde hair, maybe nineteen or younger, raised her head at the sound.
For a moment that stretched like eternity, we stared at each other. Her eyes were wide with fear.
Then I watched in growing alarm as she reached for a red button at the side of her bed and clicked on it.
Instantly, alarms blared from every direction of the facility, bouncing off the walls. I took quick snaps of the room before turning back to the door. Red lights flashed in the corridor, and I could hear boots pounding against the floor that seemed to be rushing in my direction.