Page 185 of Taken By the Fae

Dr. Collins’s eyes are blank as she stares at him. “A backup database is kept in my off-site lab, so that in the event the facility is compromised, our work isn’t lost.”

“Good,” Tristan murmurs. “What else is kept off-site?”

“Blood and DNA samples, old Experiment files, and the transition formula.”

“Excellent. Where is this lab?”

“In the basement of an abandoned warehouse on the other side of the city.”

“Does anyone else know about this place?”

She shakes her head in his grasp. “Only one member from each facility knows the location of the off-site lab for that facility.”

“We’re going to need an address.”

She spews off an address in the warehouse district across the city, her eyes filling with tears as she betrays her precious organization.

Tristan lets go of his control on her mind and steps back. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

She whimpers, slumping in the chair. Her chest rises and falls as she exhales a heavy breath. “You… you said there were two things. What’s the second?”

The corner of Tristan’s mouth curls. “You should enjoy this part,” he tells her, giving her a second to look confused. “I want you to make me human.”

Her eyes widen as she stares at him. “Y-you do?” She shakes her head, glancing toward me before looking back at Tristan.

He nods. “Have you successfully performed the procedure on someone who was born fae?”

After a moment of hesitation, she nods.

“How many?” I cut in.

She casts me a glance. “I can’t give you an exact number, but at least one third of the fae we’ve successfully made human were born fae.”

“How many fae in general have you made human?”

“Again, I don’t have an exact nu—”

“Ballpark it,” I snap, my pulse ticking faster as my patience for this woman runs thinner.

She has the sense to look nervous. “Over the last year, over a hundred.”

“What’s your success rate?” I fire back. I’m asking more questions, considering the procedure is a choice for Tristan. If the risk is too high, I won’t let him do it.

Pride flickers in her otherwise tired gaze. “Eighty-seven percent. We haven’t lost one in nearly ten months.” My eyes shift toward Tristan. Before I can say anything to him, Dr. Collins says, “So I make you human, and then you let me go?”

Tristan drags his gaze away from me, looking at the doctor again, and nods. “Once I’m human, we’ll erase your memories of the fae. I may not be fae after this is over, but I’m going to protect those who are.”

“No!” she shouts. “You can’t do that.”

“You’re right. I won’t be able to, but I have plenty of friends who can.”

“I won’t do it. I’ve given my life to this organization for the last six years.”

I scowl, stepping forward. “Haven’t you given enough?”

“I promised my daughter I wouldn’t stop until humans were safe from the fae.”

“Would Amber want you to die for the Experiment?”

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