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I swallowed back the lump in my throat and fished inside the belt Daphne had given me with the infinite compartment for my phone so I could take pictures of the contents, despite the shaking of my hands. Julian set a palm over the top of it and guided me back to the belt.

“I will send these directly to you. I have the general’s access code.”

Just when I thought I knew all his secrets, he surprised me with more. But that, we’d have to discuss later. For now, I asked, “What’s Pendulum?”

“The Russian parapsychological program,” Julian explained. “It’s been mostly deactivated since funding was needed elsewhere. That’s why we don’t deal with them as much as MorningStar.”

So, Pendulum was the counterpart to America’s MorningStar, whom Julian helped create, then spied on when their ethics had gone out the window.

When Julian finished sending the files over, I clicked on Genetic Mutation Trials. A scan of the contents made me want to vomit.

“What is it?” Sam asked as Julian put a hand on my shoulder.

“He’s been experimenting on supes,” I said, unable to believe my own words. “Using RNA infused with magic as a vehicle to mutate the DNA of various people.”

“To what end?” Sam moved closer, and Julian’s grip on my shoulder tightened protectively. But it wasn’t Sam he needed to worry about.

I steadied myself with another breath. “It looks like Orpheus is trying to give the abilities of one type of supe to others, but he seems to be most interested in creating and boosting psychic powers.”

Now that I’d said it out loud, it felt oddly permanent.

“Wait.” I reached for the computer again and selected the folder labeled Subject Pool Generation.

“No.” I shook my head as I scanned the details. “My gods. They wanted fresh subjects.”

“The children?” Sam asked, voice breaking even as his gaze turned to liquid mercury.

I nodded. “But it goes beyond the kids. They’ve been not only keeping track of pregnancies on the island, but…” I stopped, recalling the argument Sam had with one of the murder victims in my last investigation. She’d told him her birth control pills had been moved from their usual spot on her counter. He’d assumed it was her way of letting him know she was on them since she’d been trying to seduce him, but what if someone really had messed with her medication?

“What is it?” Sam pressed.

I turned and buried my face in Julian’s chest so I could speak just to him. They’ve been impregnating women intentionally so they could harvest fetuses.

“Tell me!” Sam growled, and I clutched Julian’s waist to prevent him from responding physically.

He needs to know. At least half of the women are labeled shifters, including both our recent victims, Maryanne and Lauren.

I felt like a coward for being unable to tell him myself. But Julian did it for me. He spoke gently, gazing at the screen as though he’d gotten the information from it instead of me.

A thump made me release the comfort of Julian’s embrace, and I turned to find Sam sitting in the middle of the floor, hands embedded in his hair.

“This is horrific,” I said. Worse than I could have ever imagined.

“It stops now,” Julian said in his quiet yet deadly voice that made the hair on my arms stand on end.

“Does it say where they are? The kids?” Sam asked.

I scrolled, searching.

“Somewhere called The Nest,” I spoke through the bile in my throat. “Where Orpheus has daily access to give them injections and runs tests.”

“Then they’re here somewhere,” Sam said, rising. His wolf was barely contained, judging by the unnatural rippling beneath his muscles and the claws elongating on his fingers. “And if we don’t find them in the next few minutes, I will rip through every wall of this building until we do.”

Chapter Four

The Letter M

“Hold on, I think I know a better way.” I spoke as I typed on my phone. In less than a minute, the elevator reappeared, and Daphne leaped off in her black armored bodysuit with her long blond hair tied up in a bun on her head.