The Red Room
469 Words
Chapter Six: The Red Room
Location: Vane Industries Black Site (Sub-Level 2), sss Basin
Time: 18:00
The facility wasn't just a lab; it was a butcher shop.
The air inside was freezing, pumped in by massive industrial AC units to keep the "specimens" viable. It smelled of bleach and copper.
Amara and Jax moved through the corridors like ghosts. They had found the holding cells—cages filled with the missing villagers. They were sedated, hooked up to IVs draining their blood and replacing it with a neon-green fluid.
"We have to get them out," Jax growled. His voice was vibrating, his eyes flashing a dangerous, unstable gold. The smell of his own kind—wolf shifters—being tortured was pushing his wolf to the surface. He was losing the battle for control.
"We will," Amara whispered, gripping his arm. "But if we trip the alarm now, they die. We need to cut the power to the locks."
They reached the central observation deck. Below them, in a massive circular chamber known as 'The Red Room', was the heart of the operation.
In the center of the room stood a man. He wasn't a scientist. He was a Warlord. He wore armor made from the bones of shifters.
"Increase the dosage on Subject 4," the Warlord commanded. "His wolf is resisting the serum. Break him."
Jax let out a sound that wasn't human. It was a snarl so deep it rattled Amara’s teeth.
"Jax, stay with me," Amara hissed, pulling him back into the shadows. She pinned him against the cold metal wall. "I need you to focus. You are an Alpha. Don't let them turn you into an animal."
Jax looked down at her. He was shaking. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
"I can feel them, Amara," he rasped, his hands gripping her waist, bruisingly tight. "I can feel their fear. It’s... it’s drowning me."
"Then look at me," Amara commanded. She reached up, cupping his face, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Anchor to me. I’m right here."
The proximity was electric. The danger, the adrenaline, the primal scent of a powerful Alpha on the edge of breaking... it sparked something in Amara’s blood that she had suppressed for years.
"Princess..." Jax breathed, leaning in. He inhaled her scent at the curve of her neck. "You smell like rain. Like peace."
"We survive first," Amara whispered, her heart hammering. "Then... we figure this out."
She pulled away, breathless. "The power grid is down the hall. I’ll blow it. You get the cages open."
Jax stared at her for a second, his pupils blown wide. Then he nodded, the clarity returning.
"Go," he said. "I’ll cover you."
- Writer
