Page 53 of Rescued By Four Alphas
"Patience, Evan," Hammond chides. "Context is important. You need to understand what you're dealing with. Reid isn't like me." He leans forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "I'm a scientist who's willing to bend ethical constraints to furtherhuman knowledge. Reid... Reid doesn't recognize those ethical constraints at all."
"The difference seems academic from where I'm sitting."
Hammond laughs at a dry, humorless sound. "That's because you lack vision. The public thinks I was the mastermind behind the Omega experiments. Let me tell you something that will shock you. I was merely the face, or maybe I should say the fundraiser. The one who secured government contracts and private investments. Reid was always the true architect."
A chill runs through me. If Hammond is to be believed, we've been underestimating Reid from the beginning.
"Why didn't you expose him during your trial?" I ask. "Why take the fall alone?"
"Because Reid protected me," Hammond says simply. "He made sure certain evidence disappeared. He testified that I had gone rogue, that he did not know the more... extreme aspects of my research. In exchange, I kept quiet about his involvement. It was meant to be temporary… he was supposed to arrange my release once the public outrage died down."
"But he didn't."
"No," Hammond's face darkens. "He abandoned me to rot in this hellhole while he continued our work with government funding and protection. That's the man who has your Omega, Evan.A man who betrays even his most loyal associates when they become inconvenient."
I file this information away for later. Hammond's bitterness might work to my advantage.
"Where would he take her?" I press.
"Reid has been building a network of facilities across the country," Hammond says, picking at a loose thread on his jumpsuit. "Each one more sophisticated than the last. With his shell companies, government grants, private donors, he's amassed quite the research empire."
"And, do you know the locations?" I demand.
"There's a facility in New Mexico disguised as a remote wellness retreat. There's another in northern Michigan that operates as a private psychiatric hospital. A research station in Alaska that supposedly studies climate change." Hammond ticks them off on his fingers. "But none of those would be suitable for his plans for Dr. Baldwin."
"Where then?"
"Ahhh, yes… he's a masterpiece," Hammond says with something like pride in his voice. "It's a fully equipped medical research center in Montana, built on an abandoned military base that the government claims doesn't exist. Three levels above ground, and five below. It has specialized medical equipment forwhat Reid euphemistically calls 'enhanced interrogation,' and holding cells designed specifically for shifters."
My stomach drops. "How do you know all this if you've been imprisoned?"
"Reid used to visit me," Hammond says. "For the first few months, he came regularly. He kept me updated on his progress and assured me he was working on my release. He liked to boast about his achievements, and he showed me pictures of his facilities. I think he enjoyed having an audience who truly appreciated the magnitude of his work."
"When did he stop visiting?"
"About four months ago," Hammond's face sours. "Right after he secured full government backing for Project Resonance."
"Project Resonance?"
"It's what we call Reid's grand vision," Hammond explains. "The weaponization of the Alpha-Omega bond. He theorized that an Omega in a controlled environment could be used to manipulate multiple Alphas simultaneously. Imagine an army of enhanced Alpha soldiers, their aggression and physical abilities amplified beyond normal limitations, all controlled through a single Omega."
"That's insane," I say, but even as the words leave my mouth, I know it's not impossible. I've experienced firsthand howDahlia's presence affects me and how her distress can trigger my most primal instincts.
"Is it?" Hammond's eyes gleam. "Think about it. How strong is your bond with Dr. Baldwin? What would you do if she were in pain? How far would you go to protect her? Now multiply that by hundreds, thousands of bonded pairs... and give someone the power to control those bonds. That's what Reid is after."
"And Dahlia?" I force myself to ask, dreading the answer. "Why her specifically?"
"Because she's unique," Hammond says. "An Omega who can sustain multiple bonds with different Alphas? Who's carrying children with combined Alpha genetics? She's the breakthrough Reid has been searching for."
My hands clench into fists beneath the table. "Has he done this before?"
A slow, cruel smile spread across Hammond's face. "Oh yes. There's no science without trial, is there? He's taken several. Reid has been collecting them for months. But none survived the experimental procedures."
The room seems to drop several degrees. "What procedures?"
"First, he isolates them from their Alphas…studies how the separation affects both parties. Then he introduces synthetic hormones to manipulate the bond and tests its limits. Then finally, he induces early labor."
"Why?"
