Page 83 of Anders
She looked directly at Malcolm and Larissa, refusing to hide from the consequences of the actions she couldn’t remember committing.I betrayed you without knowing it.I understand if you can’t trust me because of that.
A tense silence filled the room.Etta could feel Anders’s protective instincts flooding their bond, his body coiled with readiness should anyone move against her.But it was Sarah who spoke first, her voice surprisingly gentle.
The surveillance equipment we found in the basement of the newspaper office—you planted it?
Etta nodded, shame burning in her chest.Much of it, yes.Apparently during blackouts I can’t remember.The programming would activate, and I would…follow orders.The words tasted bitter on her tongue.
But you broke through the programming,Una observed, her sharp eyes studying Etta with an unsettling intensity.How?
Anders answered before Etta could.The mate bond.It accelerated the breakdown of the chemical suppression, which in turn weakened the neural programming.When the Chimera operatives activated the Epsilon Protocol—their kill switch—Etta’s wolf responded with a complete shift, burning out most of the interface’s control circuits.
Most,Raymond noted.Not all.
The diagnostic monitoring systems were still functional,Etta swallowed hard.They could track my location, possibly my vital signs, but they could no longer control my actions.
And now?Una asked.
Now the device has been removed,Anders said.We believe it’s been neutralized.But if it hasn’t, we’ll have to deal with it.
Removed with the help of doctors from other packs, right?Raymond asked.
Nick leaned forward, elbows on the table as he leaned around to look at the older shifter a few seats down from him.I brought in the Moonstone Pack’s doctor, Greg Weiss.I can absolutely vouch for him.
Larissa nodded.And after discussing it with Malcolm and me, Dr.Weiss brought in Dr.Trujillo, the doctor from the Stardust Pack—one of the other packs affected by what we’ve learned.
The question before this council,Malcolm said,is not whether Etta was used against us—the evidence is clear that she was.The question is what we do with that knowledge now.
Anders’s hand found hers beneath the table, and Etta gripped it tightly.Everyone went silent as they considered the implications of everything they had learned.
I want to help,Etta finally said, directing her words to Malcolm and Larissa but including the entire council in her gaze.There are at least four other assets like me out there, their true natures suppressed, their packs being monitored without their knowledge.I know where they are.I can help you warn them—helpthem—before Chimera activates the Epsilon Protocol on them too.
Stephanie Gonzales spoke for the first time, her silver hair gleaming in the chamber’s light.And why should we trust your information?How do we know this isn’t another layer of programming?
The question hurt, but it was fair.Etta acknowledged as much with a nod.You shouldn’t trust me blindly.That’s why I’m willing to submit to whatever verification methods you deem necessary.Truth serum, mind-linking with an alpha—whatever will prove I’m telling the truth.
A ripple of surprise moved through the council.Mind-linking was an intimate, vulnerable process, rarely offered and even more rarely accepted.It would lay bare not just her conscious thoughts but her deepest fears, her most private memories.Larissa andMalcolm glanced at each other, coming to some unspoken agreement after a moment of consideration.
That won’t be necessary,Malcolm said.Anders vouches for you, and the mate bond between you is evident to anyone with shifter senses.But more importantly—his gaze settled on her with unexpected kindness—no Chimera asset would volunteer for mind-linking.The offer itself is proof of sincerity.
Relief washed through Etta.Then let me help.Let me use what they put in my head against them.
For the next hour, they pieced together everything Etta could remember about the other assets and the territories where they’d been placed.Anders documented each detail methodically, cross-referencing with the files they’d recovered, building a comprehensive picture of Chimera’s operation.
The Stardust Pack in Colorado,Etta indicated on the map Anders had brought up.Asset D3 was placed there approximately six months before I was sent to Sunburst.The Blackthorn Pack in Texas received Asset B9 almost a year ago.The Cross Timbers Pack in Oklahoma and the Ironwood Pack in Arizona both have assets in place as well.
Five major territories,Larissa said.Strategic points that would allow monitoring of virtually all shifter activity in the Western states.
Exactly,Anders confirmed, having already considered the implications.With these five packs compromised, Chimera would have access to potentially hundreds of shifters.Intelligence that could be used for containment, experimentation, or worse.
Malcolm gestured at the map.And as Anders, Larissa, and I have already discussed, it seems likely this is only the beginning—Chimera could be planning operations like this all over the country.
Nick frowned, studying the map.We need to warn all the compromised packs.Immediately.
Carefully,Anders cautioned.If Chimera suspects their operation has been exposed, they might activate the Epsilon Protocol on the remaining assets.We need to approacheach pack discreetly, secure the assets, then coordinate a simultaneous removal of the interfaces.
You make it sound like a military operation,Sarah observed.
Anders’s expression hardened.That’s exactly what it is.We’re dealing with a black ops program with government backing and military resources.This isn’t a time for half measures.
