THE UNIQUE LUNA

CHAPTER 4: EXPERIMENTS

The metallic door slammed open with a deafening clang. Alexei stepped inside, wearing a pristine white laboratory coat that made him look even more monstrous. That sickening smile stretched across his face, and a chill ran down my spine.

His footsteps echoed through the sterile room, deliberate and slow, as if he was savoring every second of our fear. Donna and Drake tensed instantly, growling low and sharp, ready to attack. But Alexei merely chuckled, that cruel, unshakable grin widening.

“Good,” he said softly. “It seems you’ve regained some strength.”

Donna lunged at him with clawed hands, but he sidestepped effortlessly. A flash, a gunshot—and she slumped to the floor, her body trembling violently. Wolfbane bullets, I realized, making even the strongest werewolf weak.

“A-Asshole!” Donna gasped, struggling to rise. “Y-You—son of a—b-b***h! F-Fight me in a f-fair fight!”

“I thought I taught you yesterday,” Alexei said, voice smooth as ice, “that you cannot defeat me.” He raised the gun again, then kicked her mercilessly in the side. Pain ripped through me at the sight; I screamed in shock, but no sound could reach the monster in front of us.

And then his golden eyes turned toward me. That smile grew wider.

“Ah… almost forgot,” he said, voice dripping with mock gentleness. “It’s time for your checkup, Freya.”

I stumbled backward until my back met the cold wall. “No! Leave me alone! I won’t go with you!” My panic clawed at my chest.

Drake moved in front of me, bare fangs bared, growling. “She’s not coming with you, Alexei. Leave her alone.”

Alexei’s gaze hardened, sharp and terrifying. “Do you think you can stop me too?” He pressed a button on a small remote, and harsh, searing lights flooded the room. Drake screamed, writhing as the lights burned his skin.

“Drake!” I cried, rushing forward, tears blinding me. I tried to shield him. “Stop! Stop! Just stop!”

Alexei paused, amused, then turned off the lights. Both were on the floor, weakened and trembling. I knelt beside them. “Donna… Drake…” My hands shook as I tried to comfort them.

But Alexei didn’t hesitate. He grabbed me, dragging me away from my friends. “Freya, let’s go. Time’s wasted here,” he said, his voice sickeningly cheerful.

I planted my feet, struggling, screaming. “Let me go! I won’t come with you!”

Donna screamed my name, tugging at my blouse. Drake clung to Alexei’s legs in desperation. Kicks and growls flew, but in their weakened state, they couldn’t save me. Alexei’s grip was unyielding. He carried me like a sack of rice, his laughter ringing in my ears.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered mockingly, caressing my chin. “I won’t kill you. You’re my favorite specimen.”

I slapped his hands away, glaring. “You’re insane!”

“Fighting me? Oh, I love it,” he said, amusement dripping from every word—before delivering a punch to my stomach. I collapsed to my knees, coughing.

He hoisted me over his shoulder again and carried me through dim corridors, farther from Donna and Drake’s reach. My chest burned with helplessness.

“I’ll be okay,” I whispered to myself, staring back at my friends’ weakened forms through the doorway. “I’ll survive. Please… be safe.”

Finally, he shoved me into a room at the farthest end of the facility. Cabinets lined the walls, filled with surgical instruments, scalpels gleaming under harsh fluorescent light. My stomach churned as I imagined what he planned.

“These,” he said, gesturing proudly, “are my collection. And you, lovely Freya, will be the star.” He licked his lips as he picked up a scalpel. “I can’t wait to hear you scream.”

I stumbled backward, pressing against a large glass tube. Inside, frozen in some grotesque experiment, was a half-transformed human—wolf-like limbs, twisted faces. My stomach turned.

“They were my trial subjects,” Alexei explained. “Died before the transformation could complete.”

I froze. And then my eyes fell on two more tubes. My heart nearly stopped.

“Nina… Bella…” I whispered, tears blurring my vision. I pounded the glass with my fists, desperate, helpless. “No! This can’t be!”

Alexei watched, amused. “Impossible to break,” he said, voice smooth and cold. “Special reinforced glass—one of my greatest creations.”

“You! You’re insane! You killed them!” I screamed, voice raw and hoarse.

“Insane?” he laughed, a sound that curdled my blood. “Thank you. I take that as a compliment.”

Before I could protest further, he dragged me toward the center of the room. The bed awaited. I fought, screamed, flailed—but it was useless. Both my hands and feet were bound. Then a sharp prick—he injected me in the wrist. Weakness crawled through my limbs like icy fire.

Days passed—or maybe weeks. Time lost all meaning. Pain became a constant companion, seared into every nerve, every muscle. Each day, he dissected, sliced, injected, stitched. My body was a canvas of suffering; my mind a haze of terror and exhaustion.

I wished for death. Every day, I prayed for it. But Alexei always kept me alive, a cruel promise. Alive to suffer, alive to scream. My soul ached, my body was numb, my spirit nearly broken.

Then… one day, he called my name with ecstatic joy. “Freya! Freya! Freya!” His voice was unhinged with excitement. “We’ve finished the serum! You, my dear, will be the first human with the abilities of a werewolf!”

I couldn’t comprehend his words. My mind, fogged with pain, barely processed the meaning.

“Serum?” I whispered.

“Yes! You’re special! Our hard work is not wasted!” He grinned, injecting it into me. Pain unlike any before tore through my veins. My muscles burned, my heart raced, my senses exploded. And yet… it was different from any torment he had inflicted before.

Then explosions shook the facility. The walls quaked; alarms blared. Alexei’s face twisted in panic. “The werewolves are here!” he shouted, before fleeing through a hidden door, leaving me in chaos.

The room crumbled around me. Glass tubes shattered; Nina and Bella’s corpses tumbled free. Bricks and debris rained down. I closed my eyes, expecting death—and welcomed it.

But before the falling debris could crush me, a massive brown wolf slammed against the rubble, shielding me. The ties binding my hands snapped. Someone—human, wolf, or both—lifted me from the wreckage.

“My goodness!” a girl screamed, wide-eyed at my condition. “We need to get her out! She needs medical attention—now!”

As I was carried away, I dared to open my eyes. A howl pierced the air—raw, full of grief and fury. It was a sound that promised vengeance. That promise gave me a flicker of hope.

I wasn’t dead.

Not yet.

And maybe… just maybe, survival—and revenge—was possible.