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“Well, that’s not very helpful,” I sighed, swirling my coffee around my mug.
Eli shrugged one shoulder. “He did suggest that some humans were…fed up with this protocol and wanted to become shifters themselves. That the higher-ups agreed and took them to the facility. Billy — the human in the hideout — indicated that they never came back, so I can only assume they haven’t found the secret of turning a man into a shifter just yet. But…” He grimaced and shook his head. “If Dr. Brenner were to actuallysucceedin that ludicrous proposition?”
I shivered at the idea. “Just one more reason to track them down as fast as possible,” I muttered, shooting a glance back at Bella. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be listening. “Do you think they could really do it? I mean, they were running all kinds of tests on me…”
Eli shrugged, making a face. “Your guess is as good as mine,” he sighed, shaking his head. “When Fiona was describing how the first shifters came to be, there were witches involved, and that was…what? Hundreds of years ago? Thousands? Either way, they certainly weren’t using the same sort of science. And she said the families who became shifters went mad.”
The idea made my mouth go dry. I swallowed, but it didn’t help. I took a sip of my coffee instead, but it no longer held the same comforting flavor as before. “What if they have witches helping them now?”
Eli shook his head. “I don’t know how many witches are left. If any are, they’re far fewer in number. Witch trials, and all that.” He sighed, rubbing his chin. “My father told me he’d heard of one once — hadn’t met her in person, mind — and she was supposed to be over one-hundred at that point. I’ve never heard a credible rumor of a witch. Besides, if anyone could avoid the military, surely it’d be a solitary witch.”
“Hm. Good point.” I hadn’t heard of any witches in all my travels, either, and being alone would be a boon for them. If no one knew they possessed any power, no one could rat them out. No one could look for them. The military might not even know such beings existed.We can only hope it stays that way…
“They could probably skip all the experimenting if they had a cooperative witch, too,” Eli pointed out. I nodded thoughtfully.
His phone chimed a moment later and we both jumped. Eli cursed softly as he looked at the screen. “Shoot. I lost track of time. You ready to meet with Lexi? She said she’s logging in.”
“Oh crap,” I said. I had almost forgotten we were having a conference call with Seff’s FBI contact today. “Well, no time like the present!”
I briefly checked in on Bella while Eli got his computer plugged in and set up the VPN before accessing the secure link Lexi provided. The little girl barely looked up from her coloring, so I assumed she’d be alright, at least for a little bit.
When I sat back down next to Eli at the kitchen table, I realized Remus and Nic were also on the call, but I supposed that made sense. They were in as deep as we were at this point.
“Is this everyone?” Lexi asked. I couldn’t make out much — the screen cropped her at the bust — but even if we hadn’t been told she was a governmental agent, I’d have guessed within a moment. She was probably my age or a little older, and she was dressed the way you’d imagine someone in the FBI or CIA or another spy agency to look. Her blond hair was bound in a tight bun on top of her head and her green eyes had a keen look to them, even if she was smiling.
“Yes,” Eli confirmed, nodding once.
“Lexi, sitting next to me is my father, Nic Archer. On the other screen is my half-brother, Eli Archer,” Remus rumbled, “and Iris Walker. She’s the one who uncovered the case in the first place.”
I felt a small flicker of pride at being acknowledged in such a way, but squashed it down a moment later.Remus isn’t your alpha, Iris. Besides, he should acknowledge you for that because that’s exactly what happened!
“It’s nice to meet you all,” Lexi said, nodding. “I am Agent Alexis Foxrun, but please, call me Lexi.”
I raised my brows. “I thought you worked with Seff.”
The woman gave a rueful chuckle. “I do. I am a member of the Red Paw Pack,” she said quirking a brow back at me. “Someone somewhere in my family tree decided Foxrun would be an excellent, if not confusing, name. It’s stuck.”
“Ah.” I shook my head, finding myself smiling a little.Hiding in plain sight.
“I’m afraid I don’t have too much time, so I’ll make this as concise as possible. I assume nothing has changed since I spoke to you last night, Remus?” When the alpha shook his head, she continued. “I can confirm that Project Night Moon has been on the Fed’s radar for some time, but they remain a very…elusivetarget. They have records going back a decade, when the project appeared to be smaller and more homegrown, for lack of a better word, but each witness or lead they have seems to mysteriously wind up dead — or vanish altogether.”
She paused for a moment, looking at her screen. “It does seem that their activity has fluctuated over the past ten years — I assume to reflect when they have funding and when they don’t. This project isn’t on the books, so they aren’t benefiting from military spending. Occasionally, the bureau is able to get a lock on where their money is coming from…and then the source dries up again.” She huffed.
“I’m not sure about before, but recently, a man named Ryan Sanders was managing their finances for them. He was able to secure funding for them through some…effective trading,” Eli said, scowling. “They killed him, though, so either he made them enough that they haven’t needed to stop, or they have another source of income entirely.”
Lexi nodded, typing as Eli spoke. “Good to know.”
“They also kidnapped his daughter, Ashley,” I added, raising a brow. “Though no ransom attempts were ever made.”
“And where is Ashley now?” Lexi asked.
I shrugged, feeling a bit helpless. “I don’t know. I didn’t see her when I was at the facility, but it wasn’t as if I was given a tour and introduced to everyone being kept there. Pretty sure they actually meant to keep each of us isolated.”
Except for Cyn. They definitely wanted me to see Cyn and see her…see her suffer.
The memory made me shudder. Eli squeezed my knee beneath the table.
“Could you draw a map of the facility?” Lexi added, looking back up at the camera. “The parts of it you’re familiar with at least? It will probably help the rest of us visualize the place.”
