Page 60 of Anders
I am Eliana Thornwood, she told herself fiercely.Daughter of the Silverleaf Pack.Mate to Anders Hamilton.
And I will not be erased again.
The device at her neck sparked in response to her resistance, sending a jolt of electricity through her nervous system.
Etta arched in agony, another scream tearing from her throat.
But the pain triggered a physiological response the device couldn’t contain.Her muscles tensed and spasmed as her wolf fought for control, fur sprouting along her forearms only to recede again, her teeth lengthening, then shortening in painful cycles.
Full suppression!Dr.Mercer barked, genuine alarm in his voice for the first time.She’s fighting the interface!
The female assistant rushed to a control panel, adjusting settings with quick, precise movements.
Neural suppression at maximum capacity,she reported.Interface showing signs of rejection.
Impossible,Dr.Mercer snapped.The interface is integrated directly with her central nervous system.She can’t reject it.
But Etta could feel it happening—the mark burning at her neck as her body fought against the foreign technology.The mate bond pulsed stronger with each moment, fueling her resistance, lending her strength beyond her own.
Anders’s presence filled her mind, his wolf calling to hers across the distance.Keep fighting.
The restraints around her wrists, designed for human strength, creaked as her muscles swelled with the partial shift.Her vision sharpened, colors intensifying as her eyes shifted.
Sedate her!Dr.Mercer ordered, backing away as Etta’s transformation accelerated.Full spectrum antishifter protocol!
The female assistant moved toward a cabinet, but Etta was done waiting.With a final surge of strength, she wrenched her right arm free of its restraint, the metal cuff tearing away from the table with a screech of protest.
In one fluid motion, she ripped free the restraint on her left wrist, then reached down to release her ankles.The lab technicians froze in shock at the display of strength, giving Etta the precious seconds she needed.
She launched herself from the table, her body caught in a partial shift—too human to be wolf, too wolf to be human.Her lips pulled back in a snarl, exposing elongated canines as she faced the people who had violated her mind and body for so many years.
Asset E5, stand down,Dr.Mercer commanded, his voice carrying that same note of authority that had always compelled her obedience before.
This time, however, the mate bond burned inside her like a star, illuminating the chains of her programming and giving her the strength to break them.
My name,she growled,is Eliana Thornwood.
She lunged forward, seizing Dr.Mercer by the throat and slamming him against the wall with a force that knocked the air from his lungs.Her claws pricked his skin, drawing small beads of blood.
You took everything from me,she snarled, her face hovering inches from his.My parents.My pack.My identity.Her grip tightened fractionally.Give me one reason why I shouldn’t return the favor.
Fear flooded his scent, sharp and acrid.You’re not a killer,he gasped.Your psychological profile—
Is obsolete,she finished for him.You have no idea what I am now.
Her wolf howled for retribution, for blood to answer blood.The memory of years of torture, of having her very self stripped away, demanded justice.
But beneath the rage, another voice spoke—quieter but no less insistent.This isn’t who you want to be.
Anders’s voice through the bond, or her own conscience?
It didn’t matter.The truth of the words resonated within her.
She released Dr.Mercer, shoving him aside as she turned toward the door.I’m leaving,she said, her voice steadier now.And you’re going to let me walk out of here, or the next time we meet, I won’t be so merciful.
The female assistant had reached the cabinet and was fumbling with a hypodermic.With preternatural speed, Etta crossed the room to grab the woman’s wrist before the needle could be prepared.
Don’t,she warned, squeezing just enough to make the woman wince and drop the syringe.Where are my clothes?
