Shane pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head. “I think the room they kept me in is this way. It’s all a blur, but I’m getting fragments when I walk around and try to place things.”
She followed him, praying all of this hadn’t been a waste of time and energy. Not only did their Packs need a boost, but she figured Shane did, as well. If people were afraid of what his existence meant within the Pack, not knowing if there were more like him would only put more of a target on Shane’s back. Those people who were at wit’s end needed a place to put their anger and frustration, their fears and uncertainties. It seemed like Shane was the easy choice for now, and Charlotte didn’t want him hurt in the melee.
She followed Shane with Bram at her side, her senses on alert. The place had been empty a few days, it felt like, but there had been guards outside. Just what were they protecting?
When Shane stopped in front of a door and put his hand on the butt of his gun, Charlotte tensed. One day soon, he’d learn to use his claws, not the weapon first. During a fight, wolves were usually faster than the bullets that came at them. And if they were hit, they could still move through the pain and heal, even if it wasn’t easy.
“This is it,” Shane said in a low voice. “This is where they kept me and where I last saw the vials. The computer is in here, too, and Montag said it wasn’t connected to a network so others wouldn’t be able to steal the formula.”
“If it’s still here, then we at least have something,” Bram added. “Do you want me to go in first?”
Charlotte looked between the two men, a charged spark of silence blooming between them.
Shane shook his head. “I can do it.”
He opened the door, and they followed him. When he let out a relieved sigh, Charlotte’s wolf pushed at her, wanting to be closer.
Not yet, she reminded her wolf. Maybe not ever.
Gideon followed her into the room with a frown on his face. “Is it here?” he asked, his voice a growl, but she could tell his wolf wasn’t up front yet. He was just that dominant.
Shane nodded and pointed toward a large box on a counter. “That’s the case where the vials were I think.” He tilted his head toward another counter. “And the computer is still here.”
Charlotte moved past all of them and inhaled, using her senses to see if anything was amiss. She couldn’t scent any traps or extra security measures, but she would be careful when she opened the case anyway.
She slowly lifted the lid and swallowed hard. “They’re still here.”
Nineteen vials of poison neatly tucked away with one empty place where someone had used one. The one that had changed Shane’s life forever.
Bram came to her side and looked down. “So much power in one tiny vial.”
“So much hate,” she added in a whisper.
“It doesn’t work, though,” Shane added in from behind them. “I needed Gideon’s help, remember?”
Charlotte looked over her shoulder at him. “You’re right, but since there is a way still…”
“Destroy it,” Shane bit out. “It’s dangerous in any hands, even ours.”
Gideon nodded. “That’s the plan. We’re not even going to take one to study. That’s how bad decisions are made, and things end up in the wrong hands.”
“I’m looking over the computer now, and the formula is still here, and it looks like it’s still not connected to a network,” Max said from behind them. Charlotte had been aware others had entered the room, but she’d been focused on the vials at the time.
“We’re destroying that, too,” Gideon ordered. “We want no evidence of what they did here.”
Kameron rolled his shoulders and met Charlotte’s gaze for a moment before turning to his brother, their Alpha. “We’ll set the majority of the charges here and put the rest at key places to ensure the explosion doesn’t harm any of the outlying areas. If you guys want to get out and give me and my people some space to work, we’ll be ready shortly.”
Charlotte suppressed a shiver. Kameron was always so cool, remote, in all of his deals. At first, she had thought it was because he was the Enforcer and that was his role, but now she wasn’t so sure. There was something lurking beneath the surface she didn’t quite understand.
In the end, though, she ignored it, knowing he was loyal and dedicated to his Pack, even if he scared her. She made her way outside the building. She was still on alert since anyone could be watching, but they had other wolves around the perimeter for that reason. The world wasn’t that large anymore with so many people looking in on what shifters were doing at all times, but for now, she felt as if in the darkness here, she could be alone…or at least hidden amongst the shadows.
“You think it’ll be over once the building is gone?” Shane asked after a few minutes of silence.
She stood once again between Bram and Shane. Bram, she knew, always tried to protect her, even if it was the simple task of standing near, but now Shane seemed to be doing it instinctually, as well. Soon, she’d have to teach Bram once more and Shane for the first time just how strong of a wolf she was. But for now, she let them work their protection gig.