Chapter 43

FORTY-THREE

M arcus reached the lab level, crashing through the emergency door. The corridor ahead swarmed with enhanced soldiers, but they were on the floor recovering.

“Stand down,” Marcus commanded, letting alpha power fill his voice. “Tomlinson’s enhancement is killing you. We’re helping you with antigen.”

Several soldiers lowered their weapons. Others convulsed, the formula burning through their systems. But the path to Natalie cleared.

Marcus sprinted toward the main lab. The mate bond pulled him forward, every instinct screaming to protect.

The scene that greeted him stopped him cold. Tomlinson stood in the shattered lab doorway, impeccable in his tailored suit despite the carnage. His enhanced guards held Delta team at gunpoint while his fearless mate faced Tomlinson directly.

“Amazing,” his mate said, studying the shifter guards that hadn’t succumbed to the air-delivered cure. “What did you do to these poor men to where my treatment doesn’t help them?”

“Yes, fascinating advancements, Dr. Grant.” Tomlinson’s cultured voice dripped condescension. “But ultimately futile. As you see, these are my newest samples. I’ve completely rewired their neural pathways. Your ‘cure’ is useless. Now, your formula and treatment, if you please.”

“You mean my cure showing how your enhancement kills everyone who takes it? I’m sure your newest samples have even shorter lifespans.”

Marcus edged closer, cataloging threats. Six enhanced guards, all showing late-stage symptoms. Tomlinson himself remained unenhanced - too smart to take his own poison. But something in his stance set off Marcus’s predator instincts.

“The formula can be refined.” Tomlinson stepped forward. “With your expertise?—“

“The cellular degradation is inevitable.” Natalie’s voice carried pure steel. “You turned your own men into dying weapons.”

“Acceptable losses.”

“Not to me.” She met Marcus’s eyes across the room. Ready?

Always.

Natalie slammed her hand down on the emergency controls. Chaos erupted as the lab’s siren system went super-ultrasonic - Natalie’s special modifications transforming sound into weapons.

Marcus burst into motion as the enhanced guards staggered, overwhelmed by the high-frequency pulse Natalie had engineered. His mate had designed it specifically to target enhanced shifter ears.

Tomlinson’s calm facade cracked. “Kill them all!”

But his guards dropped, blood streaming from their ears. The enhancement made them stronger, but it also made them vulnerable to Natalie’s countermeasures.

Marcus reached his mate’s side as Tomlinson pulled a gun. “This facility’s rigged to blow.” Tomlinson’s finger tightened on the trigger. “I won’t leave without that formula.”

“About that.” Natalie’s tablet chimed. “Emily?”

“Bombs disarmed.” Emily’s satisfied voice filled the lab. “Amazing what a good hacker can do with access to your systems. Oh, and Tomlinson? The SEC is very interested in some files I found.”

Tomlinson’s mask shattered. He fired wild shots as he bolted for the exit, but Marcus’s wolves had already sealed his escape routes. The pack surrounded him, led by Jax’s massive black form.

“It’s finished.” Marcus grabbed Tomlinson. “Your weapon failed. Your army’s cured. And you threatened my mate.”

Pack law demanded death for such betrayal. But as Marcus met Natalie’s gaze, he saw a better way.

“You have a choice.” Marcus forced Tomlinson to face the soldiers he’d betrayed. “Submit to pack justice and help rehabilitate your victims, or...”

He left the threat unspoken. Tomlinson’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Sir.” Jax approached, sporting fresh battle wounds. “The facility’s secure. Emily’s got medical teams incoming with injections for those needing them.”

Marcus pulled Natalie close as their victory sank in. Around them, pack members helped the recovering soldiers while Emily coordinated cleanup. Science and strength. Strategy and power. The perfect partnership.

Their bond hummed with shared triumph, love, and possibility. They’d faced betrayal, enhancement, and death - emerging stronger together. Now they could focus on the future.

A future where science and shifters created something extraordinary.

The lab buzzed with controlled chaos as medical teams treated the former enhanced soldiers. Natalie moved between patients, monitoring their cellular recovery while her tablet collected vital data.

“Remarkable,” she said. “The enhancement’s completely neutralized, and without the organ damage I expected.”

Through their bond, she sensed Marcus coordinating with his pack, dealing with Tomlinson’s containment and facility security. His alpha presence steadied her even from across the room, their connection stronger than ever after the battle.

“Dr. Grant.” A young soldier approached, still shaky from the treatment. “We wanted to thank you. Tomlinson told us the enhancement would make us heroes, but you—you actually saved us.”

Natalie squeezed his shoulder. “You’re not the first person to be deceived by someone promising power. What matters is what you choose to do now.”

“The pack’s offering rehabilitation.” Marcus’s deep voice carried across the lab as he joined them. “A chance to use your training to protect instead of destroy.”

The soldier straightened. “You’d trust us? After everything?”

“My mate believes in second chances.” Marcus’s hand settled on Natalie’s lower back. “And she’s usually right.”

Their eyes met, sharing volumes through their bond. They’d both grown - Marcus learning to temper justice with mercy, Natalie discovering her inner warrior while keeping her scientific heart.

He couldn’t do anything but kiss her, earning whistles from the recovering soldiers and a dramatic groan from Jax and Emily.