Saved By The Alpha
Chapter 24

I put my phone back down and leaned back into my chair, sighing heavily. The building felt like it was bustling when I arrived. At least it was quieter in the holding room Remus had quickly converted into makeshift storage for all the files recovered from Project Night Moon’s facility. Agent Foxrun was already working through some of them. I’d initially been surprised to see her, but it made sense.

She’d been involved with this case for quite a while now, if not remotely. I wasn’t sure if that meant the government was going to get involved now, but Remus didn’t appear to be concerned about it. It was his territory all this was going down on, so I assumed he had something worked out. Worrying about it more than that would be a waste of energy.

As I sighed, Foxrun glanced up and tipped her head. “Everything okay, Iris? Are they coming?”

I shrugged a shoulder, glancing back at the file still sitting on my lap. Subject 203. I didn’t dare open it again, lest I set off the cascade of sickening rage and outright disgust all over again.

Eight months. I cannot believe Bella and her parents were in that horrid place for eight whole months, and no one came for them.

Maybe there was no one else. Remus still hadn’t found any relatives or packmates, even with his friend Seff’s technological wizardry. Maybe Project Night Moon was just that good at hiding. After all—

“Earth to Iris?”

I jumped and shook my head, offering Agent Foxrun a wry smile. “Sorry. I know I was hoping to replace more information about Bella, but…” I trailed off and looked down at the file in my lap again, my smile fading.

The woman set down the file she was reading and stood up, walking over to me. “It’s always hard when kids are involved,” she said quietly, squeezing my shoulder. “I wish I could say this was the first time I had a case that involved juveniles, but…” She shook her head.

I looked up, studying her expression. “How long have you been doing this, Agent—”

“Please, call me Lexi,” she said, cutting me off. “At least while we’re in person.”

“I… Okay,” I agreed. “How long have you been doing this, Lexi?”

She snorted. “Long enough to know better than to answer that question,” she replied, winking. “I’m sure the others will get here soon, and we can decide what to do next. Why don’t I keep looking through the subject files, and you start combing over the financial records for anything suspect?”

I frowned, looking over at the laptop we’d recovered. It sat on the makeshift desk untouched. “That’s not really my jam,” I admitted. “Eli’s the one who’s been looking into the financial stuff. The numbers stuff.”

He never spoke much about his career, but he was so damn efficient at it. I wasn’t sure if it was his passion, but his skill was obvious even to me, and I had no expertise in the world of money, stocks, and investments. My wolf stirred, and I felt a swell of satisfaction, even though I had nothing to do with Eli’s skill in the matter. It just made me proud to know him.

Lexi gave my shoulder another squeeze before returning to her pile of files. “It will get your mind off things until we can actually get some answers,” she said, flipping through a few papers.

I didn’t move from my chair, staring at the computer like it might spring to life and bite me. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t dug my way through bills or phony records before — you’d be shocked how many people tried to disguise infidelity or credit card debt — but this was an organization that had been active for years. Quite covertly, I might add, which likely meant their digital forgery was good.

“Does it matter?” I said, my eyes falling back to the folder containing information on Bella’s family. “I doubt anything is going to be earmarked as ‘Project Nevermore’.” We’d uncovered the ‘special project’ earlier while I was frantically searching for any information on Bella and her family. I still didn’t entirely understand what it was, but it was clearly a project within a project. How it differed from Project Night Moon, I wasn’t sure.

Personally, I thought the special program’s name was a bit on the nose, but then again, so was ‘Project Night Moon’. It wouldn’t surprise me if the naming scheme was as simple as Dr. Brenner having a flair for the dramatic. He certainly had the ego for it.

Lexi set a paper down and glanced back over. “Yes,” she said gently. “It does. It’s not as interesting, maybe, but it will help build a case if this goes down a legal route. The movement of money is a very important part, and it can also help us determine who’s involved, especially if there are hidden players we haven’t uncovered yet.” She frowned and wrinkled her nose. “Remember, Iris, a lot of these people involved are humans. We’re probably going to need to turn them over to the authorities. Remus can’t pass judgment on this many people without humans noticing that something weird is going on.”

I frowned, but she had a point. Shifter justice would prevail for the traitors who’d sold their own kind out. After all, they’d mostly withdrawn from human contact at that point, but as for the doctors and other scientists? Remus couldn’t dole out sentences for all of them. Eventually, someone would catch on, and that would spell danger for the entire shifter community.

Eventually, I set Bella’s family’s file down and made my way over to the computer. Lexi had used some secret government agent tool to unlock the password earlier. She’d said it wasn’t encrypted at all, so it wasn’t difficult, but I was convinced that she was some sort of James Bond — or Jamie Bond, anyway. A federal agent was practically a spy, right?

Maybe once this case is done, she can teach me how to do that if it’s not some super-secret tool like she keeps claiming. That would be useful for my career going forward after all of this. I wouldn’t have Eli’s or Remus’ resources to rely on if I left the area, and…

An uncomfortable feeling settled in my ch3st at the notion. It wasn’t as if I wanted to be reliant on someone else, but there had been something really nice about having another person around to bounce ideas off. If I got too discouraged, Eli kept me going.

That’s what partners do.

The thought came unbidden. Eli wasn’t my partner or…or anything else. He had brought up London, and I couldn’t ignore that, but London was so far away, and our time there…

I let the thought trail off before shaking the rest of it away. The idea of settling down made me squirm, but the idea of never seeing Eli after this was even worse. I didn’t want to face either possibility. Sure, I knew putting it off wasn’t going to make it go away or even get easier, but for now, I could busy myself combing over these records.

Eli and Remusarrived as quickly as possible. It was no doubt they’d broken each and every speed limit on the way over, but I didn’t comment as we all stood around the little card table.

Agent Foxrun laid out the Nova family’s file, which was largely redacted. Several black strips were punctuated with a few words here or there.

Eli made a face. “This doesn’t seem particularly helpful at all,” he grumbled.

“It’s not entirely a lost cause,” I noted, pointing to the markings Lexi and I had noticed earlier. “Apparently, Bella and her parents were part of another experiment called Project Nevermore. We found a few other files with the same earmarking, but none of those wolves were among those you rescued. I think they…” I swallowed hard, imagining Bella in the same position. “I don’t think they lived.”

“This is largely the reason we want to speak with Dr. Brenner again,” Agent Foxrun added, pointing to all the redacted text. “We need to fill in the blanks. If, ancestors forbid, he was running experiments on Bella, we need to know about it.”

I could feel my body growing cold at the very idea. I looked over at Eli as he went still. He stared hard at the papers for a few moments before looking up at the agent. “Is this why she seemed so different from other wolf pups?” he asked.

“Different how?” She tipped her head to one side. Remus glanced over at his half-brother.

Eli took a step back. “She was quite large for her age when she shifted. Like so.” He held a hand up to his mid-thigh. “Like a yearling wolf or a ten-year-old shifter. Far too big for a three-year-old or even four. I know alphas are generally a bit larger, but that’s rather absurd.”

“Huh.” Agent Foxrun made a face and began leafing through the pages again.

“She also had a very high prey drive,” Eli added. “And at first I assumed it was because she was a young alpha and she hadn’t shifted very often. She alluded to the fact her mother didn’t want her to shift, and I’m assuming that’s because her mother was trying to protect her from Dr. Brenner…but if she was part of an experiment, could that be why?”

I hadn’t even thought of that possibility. My stomach dropped a little further. I hated the idea, but I was grateful Eli remembered that detail.

After a moment, Lexi shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t see anything in here that would indicate anything either way. I think we have to go to the source himself.”

“I agree,” Remus said after a moment, rubbing his chin. “I’ve met plenty of pups, both alphas and not, and I’ve never met one as large as you describe at her age. Never even heard of it, and I’m sure a neighboring alpha would brag about such a case.”

Eli frowned and looked back down at the file spread over the table. “Maybe it is connected to whatever Project Nevermore is, after all.”

I scowled, hating the idea from start to finish — but I knew Lexi and the others were right. We had to talk to Dr. Brenner, no matter how repulsive I found the man. Even if I could live without the answers, Bella shouldn’t have to. She deserved to know when she was old enough to ask.

Dr. Brenner was being keptin a small cell away from the others. We’d all agreed he couldn’t be trusted not to influence fellow prisoners in an attempt to escape. He was clearly brilliant, even if he used those smarts for nothing but nefarious purposes.

When Remus opened the door, I couldn’t help but snort. The man sat on a tiny cot, looking absolutely miserable.

“What’s wrong?” I asked before I could stop myself. “The accommodations here are better than anything you were offering. Can’t take what you dish out, huh?”

Eli reached out and squeezed one of my wrists, but I didn’t have it in me to feel bad. Dr. Brenner deserved it for everything he had done to me, to Bella, and every other unfortunate soul who’d ever been bound and chained in those stark white cells.

The doctor grunted, his gaze sliding slowly toward me. “I should have allowed Victor to go through with his proposal,” he muttered, eyes narrowing. “If I had known you’d become such trouble…”

“Shut the hell up,” Eli snapped. I could practically hear him bristling as he stepped forward. It was my turn to reach for him, sliding my hand forward to gently hold his arm. We still needed answers from Dr. Brenner, and much as I hated to admit it, that meant we couldn’t lose our tempers.

His eyes turned to Maverick, who’d joined us on the way to Dr. Brenner’s cell as he finished interrogating one of the other guards. The doctor clicked his tongue against his teeth. “You aren’t much better,” he complained. “Betraying the organization like that. And for what? Did they promise you money? Power? You’re a fool to believe they have any more to offer you.”

The man snorted and folded his arms over his ch3st. “There’s no more organization, Brenner. The jig is up. Once we’re through with you, you’re going over to Interpol, and you’re never going to see the light of day again.”

I had no idea if that was the case, but Dr. Brenner’s face went a shade paler. True or not, I liked the effect the idea had on him.

Agent Foxrun cleared her throat. “What happens next is up to you,” she said. Her voice had shifted a bit, cooler and calmer. I realized she must have shifted back into ‘agent mode’, something I often found myself doing when working with clients I didn’t particularly like. “If you cooperate, we can arrange a maximum-security facility. If not, then we’ll leave you in the hands of Interpol and make no effort to arrange anything at all. You’ll be completely at their mercy.”

Frankly, I figured that’s exactly what he deserved. But Bella needed answers far more than I needed petty revenge.

I held up Bella’s file. “What is this?” I asked. I clarified before he could give me any smartass remark. “What is Project Nevermore?”

The man stared at me for a while as if debating exactly what he wanted to do next. His tongue flashed over his chapped l!ps. He chewed the inside of his cheek. His nostrils flared, but he never looked away. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

“I did not design Project Nevermore,” he said slowly. I couldn’t decide if that particular fact was disappointing to him or if he was just displeased to have been outplayed. “One of my predecessors was responsible for it, but I was debriefed when I joined the organization.”

I frowned. “So you didn’t redact the files?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The general was the one who did that.”

My frown deepened. “I thought the Raven Brothers weren’t part of Project Night Moon. Why would he care about your projects?” And who the hell is this man?

“They aren’t.” Dr. Brenner wrinkled his nose. “Well, allow me to correct myself. They are not of our creation. They govern themselves. But they’ve been working with Project Night Moon the entire time, even when it operated under a different name in the 1940s.”

“In Nazi Germany,” Agent Foxrun added, clarifying.

The man nodded. “Yes, in Germany.”

I rolled my eyes as he conveniently left out the ‘Nazi’ bit, but that wasn’t the hill I was willing to die on just now. “Tell us what you know about Project Nevermore.”

“It was one of the first projects,” Dr. Brenner explained. “After the first World War, having a brand of super soldiers would sound practical to any world leader, wouldn’t it?” I had my doubts, but I let him continue. “Project Nevermore was commissioned to accomplish just that: produce a breed of super soldiers from wolf shifters that could serve in the German army should a global war ever come again. And it did.”

“How did the government ever replace out wolf shifters existed in the first place?” Remus asked, interrupting the doctor.

The man shrugged. “They didn’t give me a history lesson,” he replied. “Frankly, I do not care. That was not important to me. Through the process of their experimentation, they realized some shifters had more of the traits they were looking for in an obedient, strong soldier.” He flapped a hand. “There was likely a shifter who saw the sense in coming forward, unlike you lot.”

Dr. Brenner shot us a glare.

Eli growled beside me, and my wolf bristled as if she were standing right next to Eli’s wolf: a united front. It would have been a warming thought under different circumstances.

“The obedience was the issue, though. They thought they would create their own breed of wolf. They tried extracting DNA from living wolf species around the globe. They even tried dogs. Nothing worked. The transference either failed completely, or the subjects got ill shortly after the procedure and died within days, if not weeks.”

“And then what?”

Dr. Brenner shot me a dirty look. “Has no one taught you any patience?” He scoffed as if this were his story hour and we were just graced with his presence rather than a prisoner negotiating his eventual treatment. “I’m getting to that. Eventually, someone suggested using the DNA from extinct wolf species. After all, these are the wolves that were, in theory, anyway, domesticated to create modern-day dogs. Or their relatives. I’m not sure. I’m not an evolutionary biologist. Those details aren’t important. Government funding was cut, and the project was put to bed.

“For a time.

“About thirty years ago, my predecessor decided to pick it back up. Science has advanced in leaps and bounds over the decades, including genetic technology. This time, his subjects lived longer. Less failed transferences. But it still wasn’t enough.

“I inherited his notes. I could see the issues in his plans. He thought that if you simply spliced the—”

“Enough science babble,” Eli cut in, scowling. “Get to the point. No one cares about the slicing and dicing.” Dr. Brenner looked positively put out.

“It’s splicing, young man, and it’s not—”

“Get to the point.”

The doctor swallowed and cleared his throat. “I succeeded,” he said simply. “I was able to combine DNA extracted from the bones of a dire wolf with that found in one of my subject’s eggs. After they were successfully fertilized, they were implanted in her womb. Unfortunately, Subjects 201 and 202 briefly escaped, and the Raven Brothers failed to track them back down.” He sniffed. “But all was not lost. We recovered the assets, including Subject 203.”

Eli stared the doctor down, disbelief and disgust warring on his face. “Are you trying to tell me that little girl is a dire wolf?”

“A dire wolf hybrid, yes,” Dr. Brenner said, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “She will be an excellent asset. We have no idea, of course, if she will be able to reproduce herself, as hybrids are usually sterile — just look at ligers, for example — but she is proof of concept and—”

“Enough,” I growled. I couldn’t stand listening to him discuss Bella and her parents as if they were just things and not people. People who’d lost their lives trying to protect their daughter. A child who was going to have to grow up without her family because of this selfish man and his ego.

What am I going to tell Bella? Should I tell her? She’s going to notice she’s different eventually. Hell, other wolves will notice, too, and children can be so cruel…

I took in a sharp breath, forcing myself not to go down that rabbit hole. I could confront those things later…if I even still had Bella. I hadn’t even told Remus I wanted to adopt her. It wasn’t my place to say.

“What about the feral wolf?” Maverick asked, breaking the silence. “Is he part of your dire wolf experiment, too?”

“Hm?” Dr. Brenner looked briefly confused before he shook his head. “Oh, no. No, no. We only use the best specimens for Project Night Moon. That one had been rather…altered, shall we say, by his time spent participating in humans’ wars. We were attempting to treat him so the wolf psyche would handle these things — a super soldier is useless if he gets traumatized — but something went wrong, and he appeared to get stuck in wolf form.” He shrugged as if this was of no great consequence. “There’s no such thing as a failure in science, you see. We can learn something even when experiments don’t go as planned. When it was clear I could not do anything else, Victor asked for custody of him, and I agreed.”

Maverick bristled, and the knot in my stomach tightened. This man just views us like playthings. Dolls. Like he’s a god, and he gets to decide what happens to who, and who matters and who doesn’t. What a despicable being.

“I hope you rot,” I snapped, turning before he could see any more emotion on my face. I yanked my arm free from Eli’s and hurried toward the door. I just— I needed space. I needed air. I thought I’d met monsters before, but Dr. Brenner…

Keep your cool, Iris. You can’t change the past, but you can help the victims get justice now.

I took a deep breath and let myself out of the room. This was bigger than me, and I wasn’t going to let any of the other wolves down.