Page 71 of Anders
Etta’s hand went to the back of her neck, where the device sat embedded in her flesh like a parasite.The doctor hadn’t been lying.Without the chemical suppression to stabilize it, the interface was breaking down—and taking her with it.
She had to keep moving, had to get away before the deterioration progressed too far.But with three trained operatives between her and escape, options were limited.
The mate bond fluttered weakly in her chest, struggling to reestablish itself despite the device’s interference.Etta focused on it, drawing strength from even this tenuous connection.
One of the operatives approached her position, his gaze sweeping past her hiding place.Etta held her breath, pressing impossibly closer to the tree, praying her scent wouldn’t give her away.
He paused, head tilting in a way that reminded her painfully of Anders.Then he turned directly toward her, hand moving to the weapon at his hip.
I have movement,he said quietly.Possible visual on E5.
Etta didn’t wait for the others to respond.She burst from her hiding place, barreling directly into the unprepared operative.Her partially shifted form gave her enough strength to knock him backward, his weapon discharging harmlessly into the air as they tumbled to the ground.
Somewhere in her mind, Asset E5’s training activated, guiding her movements with cold precision.
She struck the operative’s wrist against a rock, forcing him to drop the weapon, then delivered a precise blow to his solar plexus that left him gasping for air.
Shouts from the other operatives spurred her into motion.Etta snatched up the fallen weapon—a specialized tranquilizer gun loaded with darts designed for enhanced subjects—and ran, zigzagging through the trees to make herself a harder target.
A dart whizzed past her ear, embedding itself in a tree trunk.Another grazed her arm, tearing the fabric of her sleeve but failing to penetrate skin.The pain in her neck intensified with each step, the device seemingly responding to her proximity to Chimera personnel.
Operatives will apprehend and secure Asset E5, the cold voice in her mind commanded.Compliance required.
No,Etta gasped, forcing herself to keep running even as part of her mind urged her to stop, to surrender.
The third operative appeared suddenly in her path, his tranquilizer gun aimed directly at her chest.Etta reacted without thinking, her own stolen weapon coming up as she pulled the trigger.
The operative dropped with a strangled cry, the dart meant for her now protruding from his shoulder.The drug designed for shifter physiology would work even faster on a human.
Horror washed through Etta as she stared at the fallen man.She’d never hurt anyone before—not that she could remember.The violence of her action, necessary as it had been, left her shaking.
If she’d been holding a rifle that shot bullets rather than tranquilizer darts, would she have acted as swiftly?
She knew the answer to that question was yes.
What am I becoming?she wondered, the thought tinged with fear.What if there’s nothing left of me when this is over?
The sound of pursuit pushed her onward, away from the incapacitated operative.
Asset E5’s analytical training rapidly calculated the most efficient escape route, while Eliana’s wolf instincts sought shelter, safety, pack.
As she continued moving, Etta found herself stumbling more frequently, her coordination deteriorating as the device continued its damage.Her vision blurred at the edges, and her heart beat with a disturbing irregularity.Dr.Mercer’s warning echoed in her mind: system failure.Death.
A canyon appeared before her unexpectedly—a jagged wound in the earth, its depths cast in shadow.Along its rim, Etta spotted a small natural cave formed by overhanging rock and years of erosion.
Defensible.Hidden.
Perfect.
She crawled inside, her body finally surrendering to exhaustion.The small space reminded her of something—a memory hovering just beyond reach.Something important about caves and safety and wolves.
As Etta curled into herself, shivers racked her body despite the lingering warmth of the day.Fever, probably.Another sign of her body’s rebellion against years of chemical control.
The mate bond flickered like a faltering candle flame, sometimes burning bright enough for her to feel Anders searching for her, sometimes disappearing completely.
As much as she’d originally intended to evade him, to protect the Sunburst Pack by running, Etta now clung to the mate bond desperately when it appeared, trying to project her location through their connection, unsure if anything was getting through.
Dreams came in violent bursts, more memory than fantasy.Her parents’ deaths.The laboratory.Children crying in sterile rooms, their natural wolves suppressed until they forgot what they were.Scientists with cold eyes and colder hands, molding her into something new, something obedient.
