Chapter 37

THIRTY-SEVEN

T he emergency medical facility next to the annex lab in the city buzzed with quiet efficiency as healers moved around Lucas’s bedside. Emma stood nearby, her crystal pendant resting heavily against her chest, its once-blinding glow reduced to a faint shimmer.

Lucas’s wounds had been stitched and bandaged, his feline resilience aiding his recovery, but his eyes were sharp and restless. He hated being confined, and it showed in the tension rolling off him.

Emma ignored his grumbles as she sifted through the tablet in her hands, her mind focused on the data Victor had sent to her before the fight at the safe house.

The encrypted files contained fragments of genetic research, snippets of suppressed records, and ominous references to projects that shouldn’t have existed. Even some notes of her grandmother’s findings. It was like peering into a Pandora’s box of horrors tied to the pride’s survival—and to her grandmother’s legacy.

“Emma.” Lucas’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. His tone was softer now, threaded with concern. “You haven’t stopped since we got here. You need to rest.”

She looked up, meeting his golden gaze. “I can’t rest. Not yet. There’s too much to figure out.” Her voice wavered with frustration. “Malcolm didn’t just attack us, Lucas. He’s been orchestrating this for years. Maybe decades.”

Lucas leaned forward, wincing slightly as his stitches pulled. “We’ll stop him. Together.”

Emma shook her head, a rueful smile touching her lips. “You’re so sure of us. Of me .”

“I’ve never doubted us,” Lucas said firmly. “Not for a second.”

His words wrapped around her like a protective shield, but the weight of responsibility pressed harder on her shoulders. She turned back to the data. “Victor should’ve sent over the last batch of files by now. We’re close, Lucas. I can feel it.”

Lucas sighed but didn’t press further. Instead, he reached for her free hand, his thumb brushing against her knuckles. The warmth of his touch grounded her, calming the storm raging in her mind. “Emma,” he said gently, “you’re not in this alone. Stop carrying everything on your own shoulders.”

For a moment, she let herself relax into his touch, the mate bond between them humming faintly. “I know,” she murmured. “It’s just... everything is connected. The pride, my grandmother, the crystal—it feels like I was meant to fix this, Lucas. Like I’m the only one who can.”

“You’re not.” His voice was steady, unyielding. “We’re in this together. Always.”

The door opened, and Victor strode in, followed by Zayne. Both men carried the gravity of battle on their faces. Victor handed Emma a data drive without preamble. “This is everything we pulled from the archives.”

Zayne added, “It wasn’t easy. The encryption on these files is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Someone didn’t want anyone getting their hands on this.”

Emma’s fingers danced over her tablet as she plugged in the drive. “Then it’s even more important we crack it. If Malcolm’s been tampering with fertility rates or manipulating genetics, this could be the proof we need.”

The files opened in a chaotic jumble of numbers and symbols. Emma’s brow furrowed as she deciphered the coding. Line by line, the pieces began falling into place: DNA sequences, reports of selective pairings, and chilling references to terminated bloodlines.

“This... this is horrific,” Emma whispered. Her heart clenched as she stumbled upon references to her grandmother’s work—altered and annotated with notations that screamed of coercion. “They didn’t just manipulate genes. They destroyed lives.”

Victor’s jaw tightened. “What do you mean?”

Emma pointed to a file. “These notes reference terminated ‘non-viable bloodlines.’ That’s just a sanitized way of saying they wiped out families that didn’t meet their standards. Malcolm wasn’t just breeding for strength. He was erasing what he saw as weaknesses.”

The room fell silent, the weight of the revelation suffocating. Lucas’s hand closed over hers, steady and warm. “We’ll make this right, Emma. Whatever it takes.”

Her crystal pulsed faintly in response to his touch, a flicker of light that reminded her of the bond they shared. She drew strength from it, her resolve hardening. “There’s more here. I can see references to a hidden lab—probably where they conducted these experiments.”

Zayne frowned. “We need to locate it. If Malcolm’s still using that lab, it could be where he’s hiding his most dangerous secrets.”

Emma nodded, her fingers flying over the screen. “I just need a little more time to decrypt?—”

Lucas interrupted gently. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“Carrying this weight alone,” he said. “You’re strong, Emma, but this isn’t just your fight. Trust us to share the burden.”

Her heart softened at his words, and she managed a small, grateful smile. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”

The door burst open, and Zayne’s enforcers skidded to a halt, his face pale. “We have a problem.”

Zayne straightened. “What is it?”

“Malcolm’s forces are advancing on the annex lab next door. They know we have the files, and they’re coming to take them back.”

Emma’s stomach dropped. “How did they find us so quickly?”

Victor exchanged a grim look with Zayne. “Malcolm has eyes everywhere. He probably had a contingency plan in place the moment we accessed his files.”

Lucas swung his legs off the bed, ignoring the sharp protest of his injuries. “We need to move. Now.”

“Lucas, you’re not fully healed!” Emma protested.

He stood, his towering frame radiating determination. “I’m not letting Malcolm’s men get their hands on this data—or you.”

Emma hesitated, torn between her concern for Lucas and the urgency of their situation. Her crystal warmed against her chest as if urging her forward. She squared her shoulders. “Fine. But we do this together.”

Zayne nodded sharply. “We’ll split up. Victor and I will hold them off as long as we can. Emma, you and Lucas need to get those files to a secure location.”

Emma swallowed hard, her heart pounding as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the hall. “We don’t have much time.”

Lucas reached for her hand, his grip solid and reassuring. “Let’s go.”

As they slipped out through a side exit, Emma glanced over her shoulder, her heart heavy with the knowledge of what they were leaving behind. The files in her possession held the truth that could shatter Malcolm’s grip on the pride—but only if they survived long enough to use it.

Outside, the distant roar of an engine shattered the silence, and Emma’s pulse quickened. Malcolm’s forces were closer than they thought.