Chapter 64

Mira

The dust kicked up behind us as we ran to the car, no need to be stealthy anymore. The camera had recorded us at least in the front of the building, neither of us could remember whether or not there were other cameras throughout the building.

Neither of us wanted to think about the creepiest part: the missing van.

Has someone been inside with us? Had they watched us searching around, taking pictures and speculating what the place was used for? Were they on their way to report us back to their leaders, and were more agents on their way?

Lucian drove swiftly back down the dirt road, the motion-sensor lights in the trees now seeming sinister where before they had seemed mystical. Were there cameras in the woods too? Were they still watching us?

I thought of Dominic, wondering if I should call him even if I had no idea what I might say to him. I took my phone from my pocket, and cursed under my breath to see I still didn’t have any service. Regret clouded my brow as I wished I had told him where I was, or had brought him along with me.

Lucian was strong and surely would protect me if he needed to, but I had never felt safe with anyone before I met Dominic.

Neither of us spoke for the better part of an hour as we drove towards home, as if even our whispers could be used against us. Lucian’s foot was heavy on the gas, his knuckles almost white as he gripped the steering wheel.

Taking out a small notepad from my medical kit, I tried to write down some of the things I had seen. I looked back over the few photos I had taken, confused that most of them were more blurry than I would’ve expected. I wrote down equipment information, layout of rooms by which I could guess at function.

My heart flipped when I scrolled to the photos of the rooms in the basement.

“There must be more like it,” I said out loud, my voice sounding strange after so much time in silence. “This can’t be their only facility.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Lucian said. “Most Rogue groups are inherently nomadic, constantly moving between various outposts so as to confuse trackers.”

“Do you think your friend knows of others in the area?”

“I can ask,” he said reluctantly, “though he may not have any intel on what is accurate and what is just speculation. He’s really just into the research, not the reality.”

“How nice to be able to disassociate,” I said with mild contempt.

Lucian didn’t respond immediately, but took his eyes off the road briefly to look over at me.

“I’m sorry we didn’t find what you were looking for,” he said finally. “Whatever that is.”

I let out a long exhale.

“I’m not even sure myself,” I admitted. “I feel in my bones that this is connected to what happened to me, when I was kidnapped by Rogues. It seems crazy, but I believe it’s true.”

“It’s not crazy,” he said sincerely. “Go on.”

“Maybe I thought I’d get here and someone would offer an apology and a cure and I would immediately get my wolf back and then I could help Dominic deal with his.”

I blurted out the words before I knew what I was saying.

“Dominic? What does this have to do with him?”

“Nothing, no, just… he’s been trying to track down these Rogues and disband them for good, after all the attacks and all.”

Lucian looked suspicious but accepted my explanation. In my heightened state I had let my guard down, forgetting that Lucian’s mother wanted Dominic dead. Had I trusted him too quickly?

“I still don’t have service,” I said, holding up my phone to change the subject. “I wish I could call him, just let him know I’m coming home, hear his voice…”

I trailed off, observing the change in Lucian’s body as I spoke of Dominic. It was subtle, but I saw the wolf surge within him just enough to tremor on the surface of his skin. He quickly pushed down that power and cracked his knuckles on the steering wheel.

“We should be back in under two hours.”

He closed his lips so tightly that I didn’t question whether there would be more to the conversation.

I looked back to the map in my lap, and scratched a few notes onto my already busy page. Closing my eyes, I tried to document every detail I could remember about the facility in hopes that it might reveal more to me later. Minutes went by as I retraced my steps through our tour of the building frozen in time. The visions were fresh, but still felt like it had happened years ago. Time was fickle with me.

My mind kept bringing me back to the dried blood on the chairs, the sterile feeling of that hidden chamber.

With a sharp intake of breath my eyes burst open, taking in the waking world once more. I hadn’t realized how dark it had gotten, the sun disappearing quicker here among the tall trees.

“How long has that car been following us?”

Lucian perked up, his eyes glinting as they focused in the rear-view mirror. He took a long breath in through his nostrils.

“Stay calm,” was all he said.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye, unsure what story my silhouette would tell the driver behind us. Lucian checked all of the “vitals” of his driving, one being the tire iron under the seat. His foot pressed the gas expertly to keep us just floating above the speed limit— not extreme enough to warrant attention.

“We’ll just have to see it through, keep our eyes on the prize,” he said to me without turning. “Any cell service yet?”

I almost screamed as I looked at my phone. “Yes!” I said, already trying to connect to Dominic. It rang through and went to voicemail.

“Dominic, hi it’s me,” I took a breath, trying not to sound too freaked out. “I’m with Lucian, on our way home, were way out of service most of the day, sorry if you tried to call me…”

I looked to Lucian who was staring at me with eyes that said “tell him!”

“And, also, nothing to worry about, but there’s a creepy car following us, so that’s super fun when you’re driving in the middle of nowhere!”

I glanced back, the car was still there. Was it closer to us now, or was I imagining it?

“I’ll text you the plate number if I get a chance, and ya know, need you…”

I choked on the last words, and felt tears in my eyes.

“I do need you though, I hope you know that, so much…”

A sharp cough from Lucian brought me back to the moment.

“Okay, see you soon, I hope.”

I closed the phone, wishing I could have stayed in that voicemail-box-limbo for longer.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying to slowly change pace but they change with me, not wanting to pass me or anything,” he said, his voice tight. “I’m going to pull off at the next rest stop. If they follow us, I dangle the bait then punch the gas and we drive like hell to get back towards civilization.”

I didn’t say anything, knowing it was our best option. We needed to know what we were up against, or if it was all in our heads.

It was only another half mile before we saw a pull off on the side of the road, just wide enough for a few cars to park before next to the tree line.

Lucian idled on an awkward diagonal, not quite parking himself in but not obstructing an exit. Less than one minute later, our pursuers pulled in behind us.

The vehicle had barely come to a stop before a door opened and someone was running towards us.