Snake


    Snake


    (Olivia’s POV)


    It was Annelise Moonstone, Ethan’s mother and Fan Moonstone’s mate. Her face was gentle, almost motherly, but something in her eyes made me hesitate.


    I turned away from her and got into my own car. Matthew’s warning echoed in my <i>mind</i>: Fan Moonstone was plotting against him. I couldn’t risk getting involved.


    Annelise quickly got out of her SUV and hurried over to my window. “Ethan is injured. <i>Don’t </i>you want to go see him?”


    I nced at her several times, studying her face for deception, before pulling my car door shut. However, Annelise grabbed the handle before I could lock it.


    “Miss ckwood, Ethan is very badly hurt, he might be dying.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “Are <i>you </i>sure you don’t want to see him? He mentioned you to me.”


    Annelise’s expression remained calm, but her eyes were filled with genuine sorrow. “He said you look a lot like an old acquaintance. Perhaps, before he dies, he would want to see you onest time.”


    I forcefully pulled the door shut. I knew I shouldn’t go. I definitely shouldn’t hide this from Matthew. But neither of us had been able to find Ethan. This might be my only chance to learn the truth about my mother.


    After a moment’s hesitation, I rolled down the window. “Get in. Ride in my car and tell me the address.”


    Annelise, who had been waiting patiently, opened the back door and slid in<i>. </i>


    The car sped away from the Sovereign’s Citadel, heading into the mountains. In my rearview mirror, I noticed three other cars following at a distance. Were they Moonstone enforcers? Or Matthew’s men?


    My phone lost its signal as we ventured deeper into the wilderness, but I discreetly activated the GPS tracking system in my car. It would continuously transmit my geographical location to the Shadow Syndicate’s securework. <fn2d11> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? FindN0vel</fn2d11>


    When we finally arrived, I was stunned. Before me stood a massive fortress hidden deep in the mountains, its stone walls rising imposingly against the darkening sky.


    “What is this ce?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.


    “A researchboratory,” Annelise replied calmly, leading me through the entrance.


    +25 Ponts


    The fortress was more like a medical facility, though eerily empty of patients. The hallways echoed with our footsteps as we made our way to the third floor of the medical wing.


    Annelise pushed open a door, and I saw him. Ethany on the bed, tubes inserted all over his body, a heart monitor beeping steadily beside him, and an oxygen mask covering his face. He looked peaceful, almost as if he were merely sleeping.


    “What happened to him?” I asked, approaching the bed cautiously.


    “An ident,” Annelise murmured, her voice barely audible. “Can you talk to him for a bit?”


    An ident? Then why lie and say he was abroad on business?


    As I sat by the bed, I caught sight of Fan Moonstone appearing outside the room. His face was contorted with rage. Annelise quickly excused herself, and I watched as she followed an enraged Fan into the healer’s office across the hall.


    (Third–person’s POV)


    Fan struck his mate hard across the face, his eyes zing with fury. “Are you insane? Bringing her here?”


    The usually gentle she–wolf clutched her reddening cheek, but her eyes matched his intensity. “I am insane! I went insane the day you brought Lyra ckwood back to the Moonstone Pack!”


    She stepped closer to him, tears streaming down her face. “When I was also young <i>and </i>beautiful, you didn’t even nce at me. Moreover, you made love to her right under my nose every night! How could I not go mad?”


    She shoved him hard, her voice breaking. “You made me raise Ethan! That was yourpensation! He is my son! What right do you have toy a hand on him!”


    Fan’s face darkened. “Your ‘good son‘ was trying to destroy me and the Moonstone Pack. He was digging into things that should stay buried!”


    “Because he knows the truth about his mother!” Annelise spat. “And now his sister is <i>here</i>. He’ll never love you, Fan, <i>just </i>as his mother never <i>did</i>.”


    Enraged by her taunts, Fan grabbed his mate by the throat and mmed her against the desk. “Send her away! Or I’ll kill you.”


    In the quiet hospital room, I carefully opened Ethan’s hospital gown and gasped at what i saw. A fresh surgical scar ran down the center of his chest.


    “A heart surgery?” I whispered, my hands trembling as I held his limp one. “You have a heart problem too?”


    I hoped desperately that he would wake up and tell me the truth about my mother. About our shared past.


    Suddenly, I felt his fingers twitch slightly in my palm. My heart raced as I quickly checked his eyes, but saw no signs of consciousness.


    “Ethan, it’s me, Olivia,” I said softly, leaning closer. “I need to know about my mother… or about our mother.”


    I continued speaking to him, recounting the painful memory of my own mother’s final surgery. “She never came back from that operating room,” I whispered. “I was too young to understand then. But now I need to know the truth.”


    As I spoke, I noticed Ethan’s eyshes flutter slightly. Was he hearing me?


    Just then, Annelise re–entered the room,“He didn’t wake up?”


    I reluctantly let go of his hand. “No.”


    Annelise nodded, offering to drive me back. “We should go. Visiting hours are ending.”


    On our way out, we stepped into the elevator. As the doors opened and closed at various floors, a tormented she–wolf in a hospital gown suddenly lunged in, her eyes wild with fear.


    She grabbed my arm with surprising strength, her nails digging into my <i>skin</i>. “Save me… save me…” she screamed before two pack enforcers rushed in and dragged her away.


    “High–security ward,” Annelise exined calmly, pulling me back into the elevator. “For wolves whose minds have been shattered by trauma.”


    The doors closed on the woman’s desperate face, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just glimpsed my potential future if I stayed in this ce too long.


    I said my goodbyes to Annelise <i>and </i>drove onto the main <i>road</i>. My mind was racing with questions about Ethan, about my mother, about this strange facility.


    Suddenly, a seven–seater van sped towards me from a side <i>street</i>. Before I could react, it rammed into my car with tremendous force, sending my car flipping off the road.


    The airbag deployed with a deafening bang, trapping me against the seat. Pain shot through my body as I struggled to move.


    Through the shattered window, I saw several rogue wolves jump out of the van and approach my overturned car. I tried to transform into my wolf form, but <i>one </i>of them was faster, shooting me with a tranquilizer dart.


    The wolf form suppressant spread through my system like ice in my veins. I feltpletely immobilized, helpless as they dragged me out of the wreckage and threw me into their vehicle.


    As they sped away, I caught sight of a car in the distance approaching with shingw enforcement lights. Hope red briefly, but the van executed a sharp turn and lost them.


    I fell into a semi–conscious state, aware only of being carried into what seemed <i>like </i>a warehouse. Rough hands threw me into arge water tank, the cold shock momentarily clearing my mind.


    “Are you crazy? She’ll die like this!” one of the men screamed, his voice echoing in the cavernous space.


    “These venomous snakes have no effect on werewolves,” another responded dismissively.


    Horror washed over me as I felt the cold, slimy bodies of snakes writhing against my skin. I tried to scream, but my voice wouldn’te.


    Then I felt a sharp pain in my neck, and darkness imed me.