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“Where exactly are we?” I scanned our surroundings. The sterile white walls and the metallic scent in the air were chilly and uninviting. Were there cameras on us? Was Tomas watching us now?
“We're in the clinic, in one of the experiment rooms,” he said, his eyes darting around the room. “But it looks like they’ve upgraded it.” He grimaced, clearly disgusted by the thought. “We're on Hawthorne clan land, love.”
My heart thudded at the revelation. We were in the heart of enemy territory. If Evan came here without permission or reason, it’d be considered an open challenge to Tomas’s authority.
“Do you think Evan will try to come here?” Of course, I already knew the answer. Evan would rip the world apart in order to find me.
Jax stared at me for a long moment, then shook his head and sighed. “If he does, he’ll be walking into a trap. I can guarantee Tomas is banking on him coming to the rescue.”
The fear that’d been simmering inside since waking up in this place nearly boiled over. I tried to swallow it down, but it lodged in my throat, making it difficult to breathe.
“I’m scared, Jax,” I said. “I don't know what's going to happen to us.”
“Everything is going to be fine,” he promised, his eyes flashing. “We'll find a way out of here, Mariah. Don’t lose hope. You have to stay strong. My father wants to break you. Show him just how tough you are, love.”
I swallowed, trying to believe in myself the way Jax did, but as time slowly ticked away and I paced the perimeter of my cage, I couldn’t be so sure. How would Evan even find us?
I traced my fingers along the edges of the cold glass, searching for any weakness or latch, but I found nothing. The glass felt impossibly solid and unyielding. I groaned.
“Jax, is there any way to break this glass?” Desperation crept into my voice.
He shook his head. “It's shatterproof. The only thing that could break it is extreme pressure or heat.” He gestured to the collar around his neck. "That's why Tomas put this on me. To keep me from shifting and breaking us out of here.”
I stared at the collar, my mind racing. If we could just get it off of him…
But Tomas said it would shock Jax if he shifted. The reality was we were trapped, and I couldn't see any way out.
No matter how hard I racked my brain for ideas, I couldn't think clearly. Thoughts of Evan and Sofia made their way in, distracting me as I realized I could lose them, might never see them again, and that was enough for the tears to overflow. Still, even as I let my emotions go, I knew I couldn't give in—not without a fight.
My frustration bubbled over as I paced the small cage. “Why is he so obsessed with me?” I screamed, throwing my hands in the air. “I’m just a human!”
“Ah, but you're so much more than that, my dear.” Tomas’s voice slithered into the room first before he abruptly reappeared. Now a sinister grin was plastered across his face.
My blood ran cold at the sight. “No,” Jax said, growling, his eyes locked on Tomas. “I won’t let you do this.”
“Mariah Bailey, the perfect test subject,” Tomas said, completely ignoring Jax's outburst. “You see, my dear, I did a little digging on you after our last encounter. It turns out you have no family to speak of—no one who’d miss you if you disappeared. Well, no one other than Evan and his pathetic little clan, which makes this all the more perfect.”
His words struck me like a blow to the gut. No one to miss me…so he really didn’t care if I died in one of his twisted little experiments. But his words also ignited a spark of anger within me. I wouldn't let Tomas destroy the life I'd built with Evan and Sofia. I refused to be his pawn.
“Whatever twisted plan you have in mind, it won't work,” I said with a hiss, clenching my fists at my sides. “Evan will come for me, and when he does, you'll pay for what you've done.”
Tomas chuckled darkly. “Oh, I have no doubt that Evan will try to rescue his precious little human nanny. But you see, my dear, you underestimate just how valuable you are to my plans.”
“Valuable? How?” I didn’t want to think about what else his words meant for Evan.
Tomas leaned in closer, and his eyes gleamed with malice. “You may be human, but your blood carries a secret that could change the world of shifters forever.”
I glanced at Jax, but he looked equally confused by the revelation. What could possibly be in my blood that was so important to Tomas?
Then Jax was pounding on the glass. “Don't do it, Tomas,” he said. “You don't have to go through with this.”
“Shut up!” Tomas said, his eyes narrowing into slits as he glared at Jax. “I’ll deal with your insubordination and betrayal later.”
He turned his attention back to me. “As I was saying, we've been working on perfecting our serum. It seems that humans aren't well equipped to handle the genetic mutations of shifter DNA…unless they already contain a strain of it.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Ah, Mariah,” he said, smirking, clearly relishing my confusion. “It's such a shame that your family lied to you all these years.”
