KAEL'S POV
"Luna." Aria's voice broke on her friend's name as she stared at the photo of Luna tied to a chair. "No, no, no—"
I grabbed the phone, studying the image. Luna was unconscious, blood trickling from her temple. Behind her, I could see concrete walls and exposed pipes—just like the basement where they'd held Asher.
"When was this taken?" Marcus demanded, looking over my shoulder.
I checked the metadata. "Twenty minutes ago. While we were chasing Cross, someone grabbed Luna."
"Kane," Asher said weakly, leaning against Aria for support. "Professor Roman Kane. He's the one who really runs the Legacy Program. Cross was just the public face. Kane does the actual experiments."
"How do you know?" I asked.
Asher touched his arm, and I saw track marks—injection sites. "Because Kane's been injecting me with something for three months. Testing different formulas. Trying to 'correct my genetic deficiencies,' he called it. He's obsessed with creating perfect Alphas through chemistry and genetics."
Rage burned through me. They'd been using Asher as a lab rat.
"Did he say where his laboratory is?" Aria asked, her voice steady despite the tears on her face.
"Underground. Somewhere old. He mentioned the original Academy building—the one they demolished thirty years ago." Asher's eyes were unfocused, probably from whatever drugs they'd given him. "The foundation is still there. They built the new campus on top of it."
"The old foundation," I said slowly. "That's what the tunnel system connects to. Not just between buildings—it goes deeper. To the original structure underneath."
Marcus pulled up a map on his phone. "According to this, the original Academy was twice as large as the current campus. If the foundation is still intact..."
"That's hundreds of rooms," Aria said desperately. "We'll never find Luna in time!"
My phone buzzed. Another text from RK:
"Since you ruined my partnership with Cross, I'll offer you a new deal. Come to my laboratory alone, Kael Ashford. Trade yourself for the girl. You have one hour. Come with anyone, and she dies. The entrance is where your sister took her last breath. You know the place. —RK"
My blood turned to ice. Where Lily died. The combat training room.
"It's a trap," Marcus said immediately. "He's baiting you specifically."
"I know." But even knowing it was a trap, I was already making plans. Kane wanted me for a reason. Maybe the same reason he'd wanted Lily.
"You're not going alone," Aria said fiercely. "We're partners, remember?"
"Aria—"
"Don't you dare 'Aria' me!" She stepped closer, eyes blazing. "Luna is my best friend. She risked everything to help us. I'm not abandoning her, and I'm not letting you walk into a death trap by yourself!"
"Kane specifically said alone—"
"Kane is a psychopath who's been murdering students for years," Aria interrupted. "Why would we follow his rules?"
She had a point.
Asher groaned, and we both turned to him. He was swaying on his feet, eyes rolling back.
"The drugs," he mumbled. "Kane said they'd... metabolize slowly... but the effects..."
He collapsed. Aria and I caught him before he hit the ground.
"We need to get him to a hospital," Marcus said. "Whatever Kane injected him with—"
"No hospitals," Asher forced out. "Kane has people everywhere. Doctors. Nurses. If I go to a hospital, I'll disappear again. Just... need to sleep it off."
"That's insane," I argued. "You could be dying—"
"I've been dying for three months," Asher said with a weak laugh. "Little late to worry now. Go save Luna. I'll be fine here with Marcus's team."
Aria looked torn between staying with her brother and saving her best friend. I knew that feeling—the impossible choice between two people you loved.
"I'll stay with him," Marcus said gently. "Take two of my team with you as backup. Kane said come alone, but he didn't say anything about people following at a distance."
It was a compromise. Not a good one, but the only option we had.
"One hour," I said. "That's not much time."
"Then we move now," Aria said, determination replacing her fear. "Where's the combat training room?"
The combat training facility was closed for investigation after the fire alarm incident. Perfect—no witnesses.
I led Aria through the main doors and down the hallway to Training Room 7. The place where my sister had died three years ago. I'd avoided this room ever since, unable to face the memories.
Now I had to go back.
"Kael," Aria said softly, touching my arm. "Are you okay?"
"No." I pushed open the door. "But I will be. After we save Luna and destroy Kane."
The room looked normal—padded floors, equipment racks, observation windows. But I could still see Lily falling, the rope snapping, her neck breaking. The image was burned into my brain forever.
"Where's the entrance?" Aria asked, pulling me back to the present.
I scanned the room. Kane said the entrance was where Lily died. I walked to the center, where the rope course equipment stood.
There. A seam in the floor, barely visible. I pressed it, and a section of padding lifted to reveal a metal hatch with a keypad.
"He gave you the code?" Aria asked.
"No. But I know what it is." I typed in Lily's birthday. The hatch clicked open.
Below was a ladder descending into darkness. And from that darkness came sounds—machinery humming, liquid bubbling, and something else. Moaning. Someone in pain.
"Luna," Aria whispered.
We climbed down. The ladder went deeper than I expected—at least forty feet underground. At the bottom was a corridor lit by dim emergency lights.
And at the end of that corridor, Professor Roman Kane waited with a smile.
He was younger than I expected—maybe early forties, with sharp features and cold eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. He wore a white lab coat splattered with something dark that I hoped wasn't blood.
"Kael Ashford," Kane said pleasantly. "Right on time. And you brought Aria Sinclair. How delightful. Two perfect specimens for my research."
"Where's Luna?" I demanded.
Kane gestured behind him. Through a glass window, I could see Luna strapped to an examination table, electrodes attached to her head. She was awake now, struggling against the restraints.
"Let her go," Aria said. "We came like you asked."
"You came, yes. But you didn't come alone." Kane pulled out a tablet, showing security footage of Marcus and his team positioning themselves outside the training facility. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"
Before I could react, the floor beneath us erupted. Tranquilizer darts shot up from hidden panels. I shoved Aria aside, taking three darts in my chest meant for both of us.
The world spun. My legs gave out.
"Kael!" Aria screamed, catching me as I fell.
Kane walked closer, his smile never wavering. "The Ashford bloodline—so strong, so dominant. But strength is useless if you can't think clearly." He looked at Aria. "And you, Miss Sinclair. An Omega pretending to be an Alpha. Fascinating biology. I simply must study you both."
"Touch her and I'll kill you," I slurred, fighting the drugs in my system.
"You're in no position to threaten anyone." Kane snapped his fingers.
Guards appeared from side corridors—at least ten of them. We were surrounded, outnumbered, and I could barely stand.
Aria helped me to my feet, her body trembling but her voice steady. "You won't get away with this. The evidence is public. Police are investigating—"
"Police investigate Cross, not me," Kane interrupted. "I'm just a biology professor. No connection to the Legacy Program in any official records. Cross took all the blame, and now he'll take all the punishment. I'm free to continue my work."
"Your work is murder," I growled.
"My work is evolution!" Kane's pleasant mask slipped, showing the madness underneath. "Humanity's next step! Creating perfect Alphas through selective breeding and genetic enhancement! Your sister understood—she volunteered for my experiments!"
"Liar," I snarled. "Lily would never—"
"She did," Kane said softly. "She wanted to be stronger. Better. I offered her a serum that would enhance her Alpha abilities. But her body rejected it. She had... complications. The fall was necessary to hide the evidence of my failed formula."
He'd murdered Lily because his experiment failed. Not even for ideology—just to cover up his mistake.
The rage that filled me burned through the tranquilizers. I lunged at Kane.
But I was too slow. The drugs had weakened me too much.
Kane's guards grabbed me, forcing me to my knees. More guards seized Aria, pulling her away from me despite her fierce struggles.
"Take them to the laboratory," Kane ordered. "Prepare the full genetic panel. I want to know everything about their biology before we begin testing."
"No!" Aria screamed, fighting with everything she had. "Let him go!"
But they were dragging us apart. Dragging us toward the laboratory where Luna was strapped to that table. Where Kane would experiment on us until we died just like Lily.
The last thing I saw before they drugged me unconscious was Aria's terrified face.
And the last thing I heard was Kane saying:
"Don't worry, Miss Sinclair. I'll start with your friend Luna. You can watch and learn what happens to those who interfere with progress. Then it'll be your turn."
Everything went black.