Chapter 70: Get Up: Part 4

“A frequency?” I turn to him, startled. A memory from before tingles in my brain, and I don’t know why that’s important, but I feel it should be.

My moment of fear dissipates when suspicion starts hiking up inside me.

“Yes, years of research have shown that certain frequencies alone are some of the biggest weapons against your kind’s gifts. Truly fascinating.

“We stumbled upon it when looking at the ability of some to emit ultrasonic sounds as a weapon.”

That’s it—the weapon. The one the vampires used to attack the home was frequency-based, too. I blink at him, not sure if I am piecing it together right or if I’m way off.

The doc is off on a nervous tangent, babbling away like a runaway cart as a reaction to stress, I guess.

I have to butt in on the meticulous details of frequency being used to detain and disable my species.

“Did Juan ever use this facility to make any sort of small portable isolation tank that throws out the frequency instead of putting it in the walls?”

I don’t know how that would work, seeing as they almost killed me too and, in turn, would have killed Colton, but it seems a little too coincidental that this is how an isolation tank is made.

I’m clutching at straws as I try to fit the puzzle pieces I’m sure belong together.

“No, my dear. However, he sold the research a few years ago, claiming it was a profitable but harmless discovery.” He casts me a confused look, and I can tell he has no idea what I’m talking about.

“Harmless? The vampires attacked our mountain using a frequency to disable us all from turning. I almost died because of that stupid black box, and if Colton hadn’t…”

I shudder at the memories, warmed slightly by the notion that Colton is where I’m heading once more, and even though it’s stupid, and I should hate him, there’s a tiny ray of hope inside me, an aching to go back to him.

My foolish weakness is kicking in, and finally, after weeks of being heavy and hurt, it’s raising a tiny little beam of sunshine in my dark days.

“It was turned into a weapon… by vampires? I thought their kind were driven underground long ago and no longer a threat. Forgive me, my dear. We don’t get any kind of news here.”

He seems clueless, and the shock is evident on his face, eyes wide, mouth gaping slightly as he takes that in and looks out of the window in front of us as he wraps his head around it.

He is resting his hands on the wheel of the truck and shaking his head so very slightly.

“A month back, give or take, maybe longer now. I don’t know. I lost track. They attacked out of the blue and sent the mountain into chaos.

“A war is coming, and the wolves are all being dragged back to the mountain for Juan to control,” I say as I sink back in my seat and watch as we climb the last few feet.

Climbing the darkness while surrounded by eerie tones of groaning and grinding, I try not to overthink how high we are on this rickety-sounding platform.

The roof begins to open, and the dull gray of an ending day shows through the cracks and makes me aware I’m about to taste fresh air once more.

The urge to leap out and feel it on my skin distracts me, and I turn to face the now-silent doctor instead.

“Using a device not too dissimilar to what we created? And they attacked Juan’s mountain and~ his~ people,” he mumbles more to himself than to me, and it seems he did not know.

I can almost taste the suspicion in his tone as he concludes as I did, but I realize it’s stupid, and I’m letting paranoia and hate cloud my judgment.

“Yeah, but if you think Juan had something to do with it, then, one, we hate vampires, so no. It’s unlikely he would conspire with them, and two, Colton saved me when I was almost toast.

“If I died, then Juan would have lost his son and heir, and no, that’s just no. I don’t care what kind of monster he is. He puts Colton on a pedestal and always talks about his ruling one day.

“He wouldn’t let his son die. No matter what. I believe his legacy is the most important thing next to being king of all he sees. He only has one son.”

“But hear me out. If Colton died, then Juan would have had reason to tie up the people in his control and use the attack to rally the wolves to unite as a pack.

“If he fabricated a war or even gave them the means to start one, it all plays into what he wants to be—the prophecy.

“Uniting the packs against war and thus forcing his position to fulfill what the prophecy wanted. A wolf to reign over the people. He’s still so obsessed that it should be him!”

My blood runs cold, and, as crazy as it sounds, it starts to fall into place. He has a point, and yes, Colton dying would push those loyal to Colton to rally with Juan in avenging his death.

A common enemy is a great way to instill fear and make the people look to a leader to save them. Something doesn’t sit right with it, though, and I’m trying to decipher it.

“You think he enabled the vampires and prompted them to hit the orphanage, hoping Colton would die when I did? As a catalyst to get the people under control and mount an arsenal?” I ask.

I’m instantly nauseous, my skin prickling with goosebumps, and my breathing shallow as I try to swallow all this down.

Even for Juan, it seems insane, but then he culled an entire bloodline for his chance at taking a crown.

The doc nods his head, looking up as our freedom comes into view with an increase in grinding and crunching in the mechanics, and he starts the engine with the turn of a key.

The truck roars to life and vibrates through the seat under me as I reach around and pull on my seat belt. I’m so eager to get out of here that I’m almost bouncing in my chair with nerves.

“He sedated his mate and left her to rot. You tell me if killing his son to manipulate an outcome is something he would do.”

“He went to war against them and lost so many of his people. He hates the vampires with a passion,” I say. It makes no sense.

He wouldn’t willingly negotiate with them, but it does make sense that he didn’t care who he sold the research to, and maybe it came their way via another avenue.

Perhaps the vampires took it or bought it from whomever Juan sold it to.

There’s something just not there that I feel I should see, and it’s leaving a hole big enough to cast serious doubt, as much as I want to tar him with that brush.

“A war against people that should never have happened. Lycans and vampires used to dwell in peace not so long ago.” He confuses me with a ludicrous statement.

I frown his way, half snorting at his gross misinformation. “No, they didn’t. I don’t know who told you that story, but I can assure you, we’ve been mortal enemies since the dawn of creation.

“We were never peaceful allies.” They taught us that in school and in my life, I have never heard any other version.

It’s ludicrous to imagine our two species living on the same lands and not tearing their throats out.

“No, my dear, that’s not true. Sierra was very good at her history and very vivid in her telling. Her people, the witches, as her mother was, predate the first of your kind. They tell the stories among their own.”

He lifts his brows in a paternal manner, nodding toward me as though he is 100 percent certain in this, and I can’t grasp it. It’s all they ever taught us; vampires are the enemy and always have been.

“So, what are you telling me? We used to be friends? Had morning coffee and bake sales together?” I ask. I almost laugh at that, sarcasm kicking in.

As we finally hit the upper ground, he throws the truck in gear, reverses at top speed, right off the platform, and then backs us into a clearing in the middle of the dusky forest we find ourselves back in.

We’re already outside the compound, farther than the dirt road that came up to the fence, and I realize we are a fair bit from that completely.

Underground must spread wider than I figured it did, and he hits the makeshift road and puts his foot to the gas, heading out and switching on headlights to illuminate where we’re going.

The sun has not yet set, but the forest is gray and shadowy, and I have to cling onto my seat as I bounce around on the rough terrain, trees hitting the windshield and roof as we skim under low branches.

I cast a glance behind us to check on Sierra, and although the interior of the truck is rocking and bouncing around like mad, she is secured, and her machines are still beeping away, all the tubes swinging wildly.

She seems okay.

“The lycans were the daylight guardians of the vampires, and, in turn, the vampires protected wolf lairs in the darkest hours. They were created to complement and protect each other, not for war and fighting.

“It’s why you’re almost matched in power and gift. Each with a special, unique gift, of course, but neither meant to be used against one another.

“A peaceable arrangement born at conception, between light walkers and dark, both with different needs and not even a shared food source, so there is no reason to feud.

“Your kind was from the same lands, and some even procreated. A bite from either side can kill the other, so it’s not exactly smart to rage fights with an enemy who only hints at your demise every time.”

I return to facing his profile as he watches the road closely and maneuvers around fallen logs and debris, focusing all my disbelief on the side of his head.

“Procreated? Now I know you’re insane, and you need to up your meds, Doc. A vampire and a wolf… had babies? Nah, now I know you’re high.

“That’s not a thing. There is no such thing. We’re enemies and always have been.” I half laugh, shaking my head in humor and disbelief as I turn in my seat to face the fast flyby of the forest.

I’m entirely convinced he has a screw loose somewhere.

He throws me an alarmed look that I catch from the corner of my eye, frowning and screwing up his face like I’m the crazy one.

He almost swerves us into a tree before looking back and saving us from the near-death impact.

That makes me jump, and I snap my eyes at him fiercely as if to say, “Watch where you’re driving,” while gasping and panting for breath after that near miss.

My stomach is now lodged in my throat, and I brace my legs against the dash and push myself back in the seat, trying to calm down.

My wolf hasn’t yet figured out she can come out to play now we are free of the facility, but another fright like that, and she won’t hesitate.

I’m so tired of shredding and losing clothes, and sitting naked with this man would be awkward.

“Yes, Alora. It’s hard to digest, and as I pointed out in Colton’s case, crossbreeding is not always successful given your masterful DNA and its ability to heal, much like the vampires can.

“But how can you disbelieve when you are sitting here, the very proof of that union? Your own genetics are waving their hands at you and saying, ‘Here I am.’”

He looks at me as though I’m being completely preposterous, and his words are like a punch in the gut, spinning me to him, eyes gawking wide at what he said.

“What?!” That’s not the response I expected from him, and I blink at him, open my mouth, and frown intensely.

“I thought you said I was witch and wolf.” I let it out slowly, precisely, as I remind him of how ridiculous what he’s saying is.

“No, my dear. I said you were a hybrid, assuming your mother was a perfect half-and-half without knowing her history, of course, but it was very clear from your turning what you are.

“You’re white. I guess that witches generally make black wolves, like a kind of racial thing.

“You know, like humans—where a dark-skinned Latino and white make mixed race, and then a white and white human makes white… add in a splash of color, and their baby’s shades are wonderfully diverse.

“Vampires, however, with their lack of sun and being the undead—fascinating in biology, by the way—make white.

“Interestingly, though, it’s always the prominent characteristic in all hybrids where wolf DNA is present. Amazing, strong genetics the wolves have.

“And in some rare instances, where the vampire gene is equally strong but still of no match to that powerful beast, the babies are lucky enough, gifted enough, down the generational tree, to have red eyes. Remarkable.”

He’s way too pleased with his storytelling, and the utter joy on his face only heightens my horror.

I don’t know if my mind leaves my body completely or if shock and numbness knock me for a loop, but I swear, I have an out-of-body experience.

I come close to passing out as I stare at him blankly, deadpan, not even remotely able to react to that little tidbit of information, that I say nothing.

I’m a vampire hybrid. No! Just NO!