Page 53 of Anders
I’m no doctor—and of course, Victor fired Dr.Torres when he took over the pack, but here’s what I think I’m seeing.The device has nanoscale filaments embedded throughout her central nervous system, probably concentrated around the areas that control shifting.Anders struggled to keep his voice clinical, detached.Whoever created this has intimate knowledge of shifter physiology.
Malcolm leaned closer, his expression darkening as he studied the image.Can it be removed?
Not without potentially catastrophic damage to her nervous system.At least, not until we understand it better.Anders closed the file, unable to look at the evidence of Etta’s violation any longer.There’s more.The surveillance we’ve found—it’s not focused only on general pack dynamics.They’re specifically monitoring Etta…and me.As her mate.
Malcolm simply nodded.You think they know about the mate bond?
Anders’s hands clenched involuntarily.I know they do.We found files indicating her placement here was deliberate.They knew we were potentially compatible.
Malcolm straightened, his presence filling the small room.This goes beyond simple intelligence gathering.This is a coordinated operation targeting specific pack members.
Targeting all of us,Anders corrected.But using Etta—and by extension, me—as the entry point.
The admission cost him.As head guardian, his primary duty was to protect the pack from threats.Instead, he’d become the vulnerability that put them all at risk.
Stop it, Anders.Malcolm’s voice cut through his spiral of self-recrimination.This isn’t your fault.
It is my responsibility,Anders said.I let her in.I let my instincts override my training.
You responded to a mate bond.That’s not a failure, it’s—
A sharp knock interrupted them.The door opened to reveal Conall, his usually cheerful expression replaced by tight-lipped concern.
Sorry to interrupt,the twin said,but we’ve got a situation at the north ridge.Some of the younger wolves on patrol spotted strangers setting up equipment near one of the old hunting cabins.
Anders was already pulling up the feeds for that sector.What kind of equipment?
Looked like monitoring gear to Quinton.
Anders’s fingers flew across the keyboard, adjusting camera angles.The feeds showed three individuals in civilian clothing setting up what appeared to be standard wildlife monitoring equipment.But Anders immediately recognized the distinctive housing of government-level signal tapping devices disguised as ordinary field equipment.
They’re not just watching,he muttered.They’re listening.
To what?Conall asked, moving closer to see the screens.
Everything.Pack communications, movements, possibly even attempting to intercept our security feeds.Anders’s mind raced through implications, countermeasures.We need to—
The shrill beep of a proximity alert cut him off.Anders’s gaze snapped to another monitor, his body tensing as he recognized the location—Etta’s rental house.
The feed showed two unmarked black SUVs parked nearby.
That’s government too,he said sharply, zooming in on the vehicles’ license plates—standard-issue.Undercover.They’re moving on Etta.
Malcolm’s head snapped up.Is she there?
Of course not.Anders wasn’t an idiot.I left her napping at a safe house.
On the screen, four men in plain clothes exited the vehicles.They moved as if they had military training despite their civilian appearance.They approached the house, positioning themselves at entrance points.
Then something else caught his attention—a flicker of movement at the back of the house.Etta, slipping out through the kitchen door, staying low and out of sight of the approaching men.
Anders let out a low curse.What was she doing at the rental?
She’s spotted them,he said, relief coloring his voice.She’s—
The words died in his throat as a fifth figure emerged from behind a shed, directly in Etta’s path.She froze, trapped between the newcomer and the house.
On the screen, the man raised something that looked like a standard phone.Etta’s body suddenly convulsed, her hands flying to the back of her neck.Even without audio, Anders could see her mouth open in a scream of pain.
