Kasia stepped out of the doorway into the blinding sunlight, blinking as her eyes adjusted from the dim interior. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. The sight before her made no sense.
Her childhood home sat nestled in the center of a sprawling compound, surrounded by high fences topped with barbed wire. Guard towers loomed at the corners, armed sentries visible in their perches. The compound bustled with activity - hunters in dark tactical gear moving between buildings.
This had to be one of the main headquarters, based on the sheer size of it. But why was her house here, of all places?
Kasia's mind reeled as she tried to process all of this. The hunters were notoriously secretive about the locations of their bases. And yet, they had apparently repaired and built an entire compound around her family home. The home where her parents were murdered by werewolves when she was just a child.
As if sensing her thoughts, Nadia glanced over her shoulder, frowning. "Keep moving. I am not getting reprimanded because we kept Victor waiting."
Kasia didn't budge. "What is this place? Why is my house here?"
"You can't be serious. I shouldn't be surprised. You always were a bit slow to catch on sometimes," Nadia stated. "This isn't your childhood home. It burned down years ago. This is a replica."
"Why? Why would you do this?" Kasia asked.
"To replicate results. Now come on or I'll reconsider that collar," Nadia responded.
Kasia gritted her teeth, biting back a sharp retort. She needed to stay calm if she wanted to get information out of Nadia. "What did you mean by replicating results?"
Nadia paused in front of a set of heavy metal doors, her hand resting on the keypad. "You and Lana were the only ones to survive the attack in your town all those years ago. The only ones to make it out of that house and the town alive." She punched in a code, and the doors slid open with a hiss. "We wanted to know why."
"No, wait a minute, you, you specifically told me that no one knew about the attack until after the fact. You wouldn't have known which house was ours because we never went back, we didn't even tell you our parents name," Kasia rambled.
Nadia stepped through the doorway, motioning for Kasia to follow. "You'll get your answers soon enough. Victor's waiting for you."
But Kasia stood her ground, heart pounding in her chest. "No. I'm not going anywhere until you explain yourself."
Nadia's eyes flashed with annoyance. "I don't have time for your questions, Thorne. You'll speak with Victor, and then maybe you'll finally understand your place in all of this."
"My place?" Kasia's voice rose, echoing off the walls. "I have listened enough to your bullshit, Nadia. I trusted you and I shouldn't have. I am not going anywhere until you answer my damn questions."
Nadia frowned at Kasia's outburst, her eyes glinting with disdain. "You think you're so important, don't you? The higher ups may believe it, but I know better. You're nothing but a mutant mongrel, and there are plenty of others like me who would be happy to put you down."
Kasia tensed, her heart pounding as she realized the gravity of her situation. Even without her abilities, Kasia had been able to best Nadia in a fight. She knew she could do it again. "I'd like to see you try, you arrogant…" Before Kasia could finish her sentence, Nadia unholster her gun and pointed it at Kasia.
"I'm not the only one pointing a gun at you," Nadia said. Kasia was acutely aware of the multiple guns pointed at her from every direction. Nadia leaned in closer, her voice low and threatening. "I suggest you behave, unless you want to be filled with holes."
Kasia clenched her jaw. She could feel Kenneth trying to speak with her through the forced mind link. Kasia put up a block before raising her hands to show she was not a threat. "Lead the way then," she said, her voice tight with barely contained anger.
Nadia smirked, satisfied with Kasia's compliance, and turned on her heel, leading the way out of the testing room. Once, she would have been greeted with nods of respect, recognized as one of their most skilled and dedicated hunters. Now she was an outsider, regarded with distrust. All because she dared to go against the code to save her sister and ultimately turn into what they hated the most. What they thought didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was finding a way out of here.
As they walked, Kasia couldn't help but notice the prisoners housed in the various rooms they passed. Some were human, their faces gaunt and haunted, while others were clearly supernatural, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. Kasia's heart twisted with a mixture of regret and pity, knowing that she had once captured and imprisoned so many like them.
Nadia paused before a heavy metal door, her hand resting on the handle. "Ready to face the consequences of your actions?" she asked, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
Kasia met her gaze unflinchingly. "Just open the door," she growled, her patience wearing thin.
Nadia pushed the door open and ushered Kasia inside. The room was brightly lit, with a large desk dominating the center of the space. Victor sat behind it, his back turned to them as he took a long drag from a cigar.
"It is good seeing you again, Kasia Thorne," he said slowly, his voice a low rumble. He swiveled his chair to face them. "Have a seat." Victor looked exactly like the old, stoic man that she met when she first arrived except he was fully gray now with more lines on his forehead. He was still built like a tank even at his old age and fierce black eyes that felt like they were not only peering but ripping through your soul when he was angry.
Kasia hesitated, her instincts screaming at her to run as she could not read Victor's expression. 'They would've killed me by now if they meant to. Calm down,' Kasia thought before slowly lowering herself into the chair opposite Victor. The moment she did, metal handcuffs shot out from the armrests, trapping her arms, while clamps locked around her ankles, securing her to the chair.
"What are you doing?" Kasia exclaimed, panic rising in her throat as she struggled against her restraints.
"Taking the necessary precautions," Victor answered calmly, taking another pull from his cigar.
"You already poisoned me. I am human," Kasia countered.
"For now," Victor stated, his eyes boring into hers.
Nadia stepped forward, her hand twitching towards her holstered gun. "You should let me shoot her. She doesn't need to be alive to get what we want," she said, her voice cold and hard.
Victor's gaze snapped to Nadia, his expression stern. "You may leave now, Nadia," he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Nadia's jaw clenched, but she nodded stiffly and left the room without another word, the door slamming shut behind her with a resounding clang.
Victor sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I apologize for Nadia's behavior," he said, his tone almost conversational. "She took your defection hard."
Kasia's mind reeled, trying to make sense of his words. "Understandable," she said slowly, "I broke the code and should've been executed."
"Normally, yes," Victor agreed, "but it would have been a total waste of a hunter of your caliber."
Kasia looked at him curiously. "I am no longer human. I am a lycan. A lycan cannot be a hunter," she said.
Victor took another puff of his cigar before saying,"That, my dear Kasia, is not entirely true."