Chapter 22 #2
He didn’t want to know how they had drawn Summer’s blood.
His, they’d drawn again later the same day or was it the next?
Filling vials with the liquid containing his very essence while he lay motionless on the silver-burned table.
Every extraction weakened him, but also gave him crucial information about their operation, their timing, their weaknesses.
Guard rotations every four hours. Electronic locks requiring two-person authorization.
Security cameras, they had blind spots near the ceiling ventilation systems. Most importantly, Halloween night staffing would be reduced to skeleton crews while the senior hunters focused on whatever final ritual they had planned.
Rowan waited for the right moment to act, conserving what strength remained while the silver chains slowly poisoned his system.
He counted days by the pattern of experiments, tracked time by the lunar pull as it grew stronger each night.
The Blood Moon was rising, and with it, his opportunity for escape.
But now, through the haze of silver sickness and artificial sedation, he caught a scent which made his heart race despite his weakened condition.
Summer. “You came.”
“Rowan, please.” Summer’s voice was desperate, her hands hovering over his face. Was she touching him would cause more pain? “I know you’re in there. I know you can hear me.”
His eyelids felt weighted down by drugs and weeks of torture. Was her voice real? Or just another hallucination brought on by silver poisoning? It felt real. She felt real Summer was here, in the Vatican facility, putting herself in mortal danger to reach him.
“The mate bond has been muted,” she continued, in her doctor’s voice as she checked his pulse and examined the IV lines. “They severed it somehow, but it doesn’t mean you’re gone. All it needs is for you to come back to me, Rowan.”
He tried to speak, to move, to give a sign he’d heard her. But his body was a prison of weakness and chemical suppression, his supernatural healing overwhelmed by continuous silver exposure.
Then Summer’s hands found his chest, pressing against the burn marks where silver shackles had rested for weeks. Her touch was warm, electric, carrying power that made his damaged nervous system spark with recognition.
“The Blood Moon is rising,” she whispered. “It’s pulling at me, just like before. Let me try to wake you up. Let me try to heal what they’ve broken.”
Power flowed from her hands into his chest—not the gentle warmth of enhanced human healing, but something vast and primal resonated with cosmic forces. The Blood Moon’s energy, channeled through Summer’s desperate love and growing supernatural abilities.
Rowan’s eyes snapped open.
“There you are,” Summer breathed, relief flooding her face as she met his gaze. “I was so afraid you were lost.”
He tried to speak, but his voice came out as barely a whisper. “Summer… how?”
“Vincent helped me find you. We broke into the facility.” Her hands continued working, disconnecting the IV lines and monitoring equipment. “Can you sit up? We need to get out of here before?—”
“You shouldn’t have come.” His throat was raw. “Too dangerous. They want you alive, but if you interfere with their plans…”
“I don’t care about their plans.” Summer’s voice carried authority, new power since he’d last heard her. “I only care about getting you home.”
Rowan struggled to push himself upright, his arms shaking with the effort. The silver burns were healing slowly under Summer’s touch, but weeks of systematic torture had left him dangerously weak. “The bond… I felt it break. Thought you were…”
“Dead? No. They severed our bond artificially, but I’m very much alive. And so are you.” Summer slipped her arm around his waist, supporting his weight as he swayed on the examination table. “What have they been doing to you?”
“Blood harvesting. Genetic sampling. Trying to understand how alpha bonds form and break.” Rowan leaned heavily against her, drawing strength from her presence even without their supernatural connection. “They want to create controllable supernatural soldiers. More hybrids…”
“Using your blood as the base template,” Summer realized. “And mine to enhance the process.”
“Yes. But Summer, they’re planning something bigger for tonight. All the research, all the experiments—it’s building toward a massive operation during the Blood Moon’s peak.”
Summer helped him stand. Around them, the facility hummed, but Rowan sensed the supernatural energy building throughout the underground complex. Other prisoners stirred in their cells, power responding to the lunar influence despite artificial suppression.
“Vincent said there were dozens of supernatural beings held here,” Summer said as she gathered medical supplies from the nearby cabinet. “We can’t just save you and leave the others.”
“We can’t save anyone if we’re captured.” But even as Rowan spoke, his alpha instincts responded to the knowledge of supernaturals in danger. His escape meant nothing if others were imprisoned.
“The Blood Moon affects us all,” Summer said, her hands glowing faintly. “What if we could use it? Amplify everyone’s abilities enough to break the silver containment?”
“The risk?—”
“Is worth it.” Summer’s eyes blazed. “These people are here because of monsters like Fabian who pretend to offer sanctuary while planning betrayal. I won’t leave them to suffer what we’ve suffered.”
Rowan studied her face. He saw the woman he’d fallen in love with but also something more—power, purpose, and a supernatural strength that could reshape the world around her.
Whatever heritage Summer carried, whatever abilities she’d inherited, the Blood Moon was awakening them with unprecedented force.
“We won’t have the Trinity bond we had with Fabian,” he said, reaching for her hand despite his weakness. “It’s just us, so if we’re doing this, we’re doing it together.”
Their fingers intertwined, and for a moment Rowan felt an echo of their mate bond. Their love transcended supernatural mechanics, choosing each other persisted beyond magical compulsion.
Summer’s power flowed between them, creating a new bond. A partnership forged in shared purpose rather than mystical destiny.
“How many exits?” Summer asked, helping him toward the cell door.
“Three that I know of. But they’ll be heavily guarded, especially with the lunar event reaching peak power.” Rowan tested his balance, finding his legs stronger with each step. “Vincent knows the facility layout?”
“He’s waiting with extraction routes. But Rowan, there’s something else.” Summer’s voice carried new weight. “This isn’t just a Vatican facility. Fabian’s been working with them all along. Everything—the sanctuary, the research—it was all designed to capture both of us for their experiments.”
The betrayal was complete but not surprising. Rowan sensed the vampire’s deception from their first meeting and warned Summer about trusting apparent allies. But knowing she’d been manipulated while he was tortured filled him with rage. Adrenaline overcame his temporary weakness.
“He’s here?” Rowan’s voice carried alpha authority despite his condition.
“Probably. Along with however many Vatican hunters are running tonight’s operation.” Summer checked the corridor beyond their cell, alert for threats. “Ready?”
Rowan nodded, drawing on reserves of strength he’d been hoarding for weeks. The silver poisoning rendered every movement excruciatingly painful, but his supernatural resilience was winning the battle for now.
They stepped into the corridor together, Summer’s silver flames casting faint light in the sterile darkness. Around them, the facility hummed as the Blood Moon reached toward its peak. Other prisoners were stirring, testing containments which grew weaker with each passing moment.
The rescue was a rebellion; above them, their enemies were about to discover their most valuable specimens had slipped the leash.
Rowan barely made it three steps before the alarms began to wail.