The gags fall off our two prisoners, and they’ve barely left their mouths before apologies and blubbering ass-kissing starts spilling from their lips.
“Please, Prometheus, we didn’t mean—”
“Shut up,” Xavier snaps, taking a stumbling step forward. “Tell me why, Henry. Why did you abandon our cause? Why did you leave me floundering like an idiot with no way to continue our research? And then you turn Isaac against me? How did you convince him to let you hide here?”
Whitmore’s face freezes for a moment, and it’s like a million different emotions flicker across his face before he seemingly reaches a decision, and his expression turns stony. Like all of the panic and blubbering had been an act.
“Because, Xavier, you think too small.”
My brows shoot up at his words, and I can feel the rest of my pack’s surprise through the bond.
Doctor Whitmore smiles.
A deranged, disturbing smile.
“You sought to merely eradicate designations. But what we should have been doing is elevating the original betas—the pure, undiluted bloodlines—to levels beyond what even an alpha would be capable of. Like Paige Lawson and Peter Carson. Alphas and omegas would be gone, but we would always know who wasreallythe superior designation.”
Holy shit.
Right before we killed Banesworth and I was forced into the fighting ring, I went against Paige, and something had seemed…off. She had been wild, bloodthirsty. A little unhinged. Was that Whitmore’s doing the entire time?
Whitmore is still talking, his eyes growing more maniacal by the second. “We’rethe ones who have kept our heads on straight. We’re the reason the world runs properly. We deserve retribution after being deemed second-class for so long! I’vedone it!Beendoing it! For the last year I’ve been perfecting a serum that will give pure betas the biological edge without any of those barbaric instincts!”
Xavier’s head falls back.
Helaughs. Long, and loud, he laughs. He’s so caught up in his laughter that I glance at Sam, motioning to Adela. Maybe we can make a move to grab her. He shakes his head, tilting his chin back toward Bowen, who is now calming down.
“You idiot.” He briefly removes the gun from Adela’s head to wipe a tear from his eye. “Do Ilooklike I’m a second-class citizen? The car I drive is worth more than your entire house. You’re telling me you betrayed me because…what? You wanted to create alphas out of betas after getting rid of them?”
Whitmore sputters. “You don’t understand—”
“Oh, I understand plenty,” Xavier says coldly, before looking at Kinsley. “And what of you, huh? What reason could you have for following this traitor?”
Kinsley starts to shake his head, already a blubbering mess. This one isnotan act.
“He was blackmailing me.” Kinsley’s eyes are wet with tears. “He was making me pay for everything and forcing me to stay in the lab. I swear, I never wanted to go against you.”
“Prove it.” Xavier’s voice is steely, and Kinsley blanches.
“H…how?”
“Kill him.” He nods at Whitmore, who looks like he might shit himself. “The crime for treason against your leader is death, and you have both committed the ultimate betrayal. Kill Henry Whitmore, and I may consider sparing your life.” He looks at Sam. “Untie him.”
My alpha bristles at being ordered around by the likes of Xavier Bowen, but he obeys just the same.
It’s all part of the plan.
“Wait!” Whitmore sputters as Sam pulls at Kinsley’s ties.
Kinsley stands on shaky legs, looking back and forth between Whitmore and Xavier. He doesn’t dare even glance in our direction. We won’t be of any help to him.
“How…how am I supposed to kill him?” His voice is shaky and his face is pale. A bead of sweat runs down his forehead as he swallows.
“Figure it out,” Xavier says coldly.
Kinsley looks helplessly around the courtyard, his hands twitching at his sides. “I don’t…”
“You could strangle him,” Xavier offers. “Are you sorry enough to strangle him, Kinsley?”
