9. Vivianna
VIVIANNA
By the time we filled the latecomers in on what we learned—Orion’s vision, and our rough plan—Darius had re-joined us. He had the phone in question, along with his laptop, but his face told me nothing about what he’d found.
“So?” I ventured.
“It’s a good-news bad-news type situation,” Darius started as he took the spot at the table where Christian just got up from.
“The bad news is, they’ve cloned her phone so they can see all text, calls, search history, and things like that.
The good news is, I don’t think they know where we are, but I’m still checking a few things to make sure they don’t have some trap hidden for her to give them that access. ”
Finally, I was able to release the breath I didn’t know I was holding, waiting for him to tell us our fate. “Can we use the phone to text the contact, so we don’t risk giving away too much information?” I asked, not knowing a damn thing about how any of this works.
“I want to see if Jason’s men will reach out to her once they can’t find them. It would make sense for them to want to check out what happened since the shop is gone,” Darius said, as he typed away at his computer. “The more we force them to show their hand, the better, in this situation.”
“So, what now?” Tim asked, speaking for the first time since he sat at the table.
What now, indeed. Do we ask him about the research facilities?
To me, it makes sense to get all the information we can from him, just in case something happens, and we no longer have that option.
Get to it, sister. They won’t stop you once you ask the question.
“Tim, what can you tell us about the other facilities in the US that were doing the same research as you?” I questioned.
All my guys looked at me with various expressions of confusion and irritation, mainly from Darius. My wolf was right though. Even if they didn’t feel like this was where we should have our focus, we needed to know. What if Vadik was hiding out at one like Jason was?
“I know that there are about five in the US, some in Russia, and maybe a few more scattered around the eastern continent. They started out overseas, but once Jason joined the picture, he took over things here. His control of powerful people made it easier to keep people from looking too closely. Not all centers worked with live subjects. Some worked more on the research level with genetics. They would take the failed fetuses and try to discover where things went wrong—”
Hearing this, I shot to my feet and snarled. “What did you just say?”
Tim blinked at me, not at all understanding my reaction. “Ah, some research was done on those that didn’t make it to full term. It was the best way to see why it failed and how we could do better the next time.”
No, they wouldn’t.
We have no idea what they did with Violet once she was taken from us. I was too lost in grief to even think about the fact they might use her for something.
Seems we have a change of plans, because there is no way in hell our baby is going to be dissected for research.
“Where?” I demanded. “Where is the closest facility to Wyoming?”
Snarls echoed around me from my mates, as understanding rippled through the room.
“South Dakota… near the Deadwood area,” Tim shared hesitantly.
Turning to Darius I opened my mouth, but he was already on the phone. “Chad, I need one of our jets ASAP. We need to fly to Rapid City, South Dakota. No, it will just be the eight of us, so the small one is fine. Alright, we’ll meet them in two hours at the regional airport.”
Part of me bristled at having to wait two hours on top of how long the flight would take, but I knew he was trying to make things happen as quickly as possible. Someone came up behind me and the scent of fresh rain told me it was Orion, as he turned me and pulled me into a hug.
“Breathe, my dearest, we will get there as fast as we can,” he whispered in my ear.
“No matter what we find when we get there, I will never let them use our child in any way, even if it means I need to blow the whole town off the face of this earth. There will be retribution, have no doubt about that.”
“Christian, do you have a car we can use?” Tav asked. “I think it’s best if we do this one on our own. They won’t be expecting us to come back and attack them. It might give us more time to make a plan with a random attack like this.”
“Of course, we have an SUV that you can use. Just let us know if there is anything else we can help with,” Christian answered, leaving the room and coming back with a set of keys. “We check them over once a week to make sure there are no trackers, and none of them have GPS either.”
Tav stepped in and gave him a bro hug before turning to the rest of us. “Come on, let’s head out and we can stop to get Viv some clothes along the way.”
This caught me off guard because the last thing I was thinking of was my own wellbeing.
Everyone else seemed to agree with him though, and Orion escorted me out with an arm around my shoulders.
Maria stepped in our way, bringing Orion and I to a halt.
She then reached out and cupped my face, leaning in to touch my forehead to hers.
I was suddenly being flooded with images of a brick building that looked unremarkable.
Then, as if I was entering it myself, I found that it was a medical facility with a sitting room, but past that was a series of labs with people working diligently over various microscopes, computers, or working with other equipment.
Moving past them down a long hall, I came to a door that you needed to have a keycard to access.
When the card was swiped, I saw it had Tim’s face and a different name on it.
Maria was showing me memories from a visit Tim had made to this place.
Behind the door was another lab, but this one held specimen jars of babies in various stages of life.
I wanted to vomit upon seeing them, my mind refusing to accept that this could be real.
“I’m so sorry you had to see that, but I wasn’t going to let you walk in there without knowing,” Maria murmured, her lips pressing to my forehead. “Make sure all those motherfuckers burn.”
Meeting her gaze, I nodded, feeling the cold steely resolve of vengeance fill my veins. “You have my word. They will pay for what they’ve done. Each and every one of them.”
Now that I was armed with knowledge of the layout, and what we were in store for, we grabbed a few things from the room and piled into the car.
Trusting the guys to take me where we needed to go, I closed my eyes and ran through what Maria showed me, without going past the locked doors.
It didn’t seem that there were guards stationed but they could have been hidden in a security room.
I did spot a series of cameras in the lobby, hallway, and each of the labs that Tim had walked passed.
Darius would need to investigate the building and find out if he could locate a blueprint or hack into the system before we got here.
Otherwise, we would find another way to take over removing their surveillance.
This job needed to go off without anyone knowing who did it or what was taken from the place.
This attack alone could cause the chaos we needed to rattle their cage.
These two men had been in power for too long without really being challenged.
“Viv, we’re here,” Bentley shared, pulling me out of my inner thoughts.
They’d brought us to a big-box clothing store, confusing me for a moment before I remembered they wanted me to get some new clothes.
It was a silent walk into the store as we were all lost in our own thoughts, but they must have come up with some plan because Koit and Darius stayed with me while the others went off on their own.
I cocked a questioning brow at them as we wandered into the woman’s section of the store.
“Tristan made the comment that all of us dressing the same would make it harder for them to guess who we are, so they are looking for all-black clothing,” Darius informed me.
“Don’t worry, they’re getting you a set of whatever they pick out, so they don’t notice you’re a woman.
All you need to do is think about yourself and get what you need. ”
“Why are you all making this such a big deal? I can just grab a few pairs of pants and use your shirts. It makes me feel safe to have your scent on me.” I sighed, running my hand along a row of hanging shirts. “Getting to South Dakota and preparing for what we need to do there should be the focus.”
Koit stopped so abruptly that I crashed into his back with a muffled yelp.
Quickly turning on his heel, he grabbed my shoulders to steady me, before gripping my chin to look him in the eye.
“Babe, the reason this is so important to us is because you don’t take care of yourself well when you are on a mission.
You forget to eat, sleep, or do anything else in regard for your wellbeing.
This isn’t going to be a sprint to the finish line.
You need to think of it more like a marathon, with obstacles in it that we have to work around.
Since you can’t do this for yourself, we, as your mates, are going to force you to do it.
We can’t afford for you to push yourself to the limit.
If you don’t have your head in the game one thousand percent, then we’ll fail. ”
I scoffed at him, rolling my eyes. “Why would we fail when there are seven of you, plus Christian’s rebels? I’m one person, not a whole army.”
“See, that’s where you are missing the vital detail…
you’re not just another person in this fight.
You, Vivianna Beck, Dama of the werewolves, are our queen, whether you want to admit it or not,” Koit declared.
He watched my face as I took that information in, gaping at him like a fish.
“Do you think Christian would step aside for just anyone to take over the rebellion he’s been building for decades?
You are more of a threat to everything Jason and Vadik are trying to achieve than you realize. ”
“There’s no way,” I blurted. “Even if that was remotely true, in what world would all the werewolves become united under one ruler? Even when Damas were prevalent, they each ruled over their own area, not as a whole unit.”
Darius rested his hands on my hips and pulled me back against him.
“Our people are dying out. There are far fewer of us, even if we are spread out across the world. Like you said, when those two are taken out, a void will open, leaving a perfect space for you to step into. Once the rest of the werewolves get to know you and see the heart you have for them, how could they not want to follow you?”
“Over time, as our numbers grow and the children we have, along with others that we discover, will supply worthy females that you can nurture and teach to be amazing leaders,” Koit added.
“Think of it as creating a whole new world for Hope. The world you want our daughter to thrive in. You won’t be doing this alone.
We’ll be alongside you every step of the way.
What you don’t see is that you’re already building your council.
Maria, Neveah, and Kate are all strong women who you trust to speak into your life.
Each of them has life experience in knowing what it is to be a part of the world we want to banish. ”
I have to admit, they aren’t wrong. You knew right away that Maria was someone we could trust, and she has seen the rise and fall of how many civilizations?
Kate didn’t even bother to wait for us to know each other before she pushed you to face what you’ve been running from.
Yeah, we’ve got a ways to go, but it’s more than I could even do for you.
Neveah is a diamond in the rough. She’ll need a little training and work, but that woman understands loss in such a real way.
They all have a fighting spirit that we need right now.
This won’t always be the case, but for the rebirth of this world of ours, it’s perfect.
So, you think we can do this? Get the werewolves under one rule?
Hate to break it to you, we already are. In taking down the brothers, we will absolutely put ourselves in that position.
What if all I want is to live a quiet life with my daughter and her fathers?
The only chance of that being able to happen is by making a world where it’s possible. Right now, we would be living on the run, hidden away, always looking over our shoulders, wondering when the next shoe is going to drop. What life is that for Hope? Fuck it, for any of us?
You know I hate to admit when you’re right.
Yeah, well, get over it, buttercup. We have a war to win and an empire to rule. Now let these men help you pick out some motherfucking clothes already. We have a plane to catch.
“Okay, so I hate shopping. Tell me where to start,” I said, determination setting in my shoulders and straightening my back.
Koit grinned at me before giving me a swift kiss. “Don’t you worry, my queen, we’ll make sure you have everything you need… and something we need you to have.”
“Hey, that’s my name for her. Don’t even think about using it, you bastard,” Darius growled as Koit tugged me out of his hold.
“Get used to it, asshole. Soon, everyone is going to be calling her that. Might as well accept it now,” Koit called over his shoulder, giving me a wink. “Now, where is the underwear section in this place? Gotta start with the most important things first.”
“Oh, this is the real reason you all wanted to take me shopping, isn’t it? Well, if you stop ripping off all the things I’d been given to use, that might help,” I grumbled.
“Now what’s the fun in that? Am I right, D-man, or am I right?”
“Don’t call me that,” Darius growled.
Koit glowered at him. “Could you turn off being a prick for just a half hour while we take our mate shopping? Just think, we get to pick out everything she’s going to be wearing from now on.”
“That isn’t what I said.” I argued.
At this, Darius smiled. “Nope, pretty sure the village idiot is right, you asked. Now, where is the formal wear?”