Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 68: Captivity and Revelation

POV: Thelma

Cold. That was the first thing I registered. Cold metal against my bare arms, cold air circulating through unseen vents, cold terror settling into my bones like ice.

My eyes snapped open to blinding white light. I tried to move, to shift, to call on my Alpha power, but nothing happened. Panic clawed at my throat as I realized I was straining against restraints that wouldn't budge. Thick metal bands circled my wrists, ankles, and waist, bolting me to what felt like an examination table.

And around my neck, I felt it. A collar. Smooth, cold, humming with energy that felt wrong against my skin. The moment my consciousness brushed against it, trying to access my wolf, pain lanced through my skull so sharp I gasped.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a calm voice said from somewhere beyond the lights. "The neural inhibitor collar responds to attempts at supernatural ability usage with increasingly severe pain. The third attempt usually causes temporary paralysis. The fifth can cause permanent brain damage."

The lights dimmed slightly, and I could finally see my surroundings. The room was massive, sterile, all white walls and gleaming equipment that looked like it belonged in a hospital and a torture chamber simultaneously. Monitors beeped softly, displaying readouts I couldn't understand.

Dr. Cassandra Vex stepped into view, holding a tablet. She wore a white lab coat over dark clothing, her blonde hair pulled back in a severe bun. Up close, I could see the lines around her eyes, the hardness in her expression that spoke of years of single-minded purpose.

"Where are they?" My voice came out hoarse. "Xavier, Theo, Luna, where are my people?"

"Safe. Separated. Also wearing collars." Vex tapped something on her tablet without looking at me. "We've learned that supernatural creatures are significantly easier to manage when isolated from their pack bonds, mate bonds, or coven connections. You're currently 400 feet underground in Sub-Level Seven. Your brother is on Sub-Level Three. Your mate is on Sub-Level Nine."

Sub-Level Nine. The way she said it made my blood run cold.

"What are you doing to him?"

"Nothing yet. Though I must admit, True Alphas are exceptionally rare. The last one we encountered was in 1987, and he didn't survive the initial capture." She finally looked at me, her blue eyes analytical. "You, however, are even more interesting. An Alpha twin who died and came back. Do you have any idea how medically impossible that should be?"

I yanked against the restraints, ignoring the way the collar sent warning tingles down my spine. "Let me go. Let all of us go. You have no right to do this."

"Rights?" Vex's laugh was bitter. "Tell me about rights, Thelma. Tell me about the right my eight-year-old sister had to live. She was killed by a rogue werewolf when I was twelve. Torn apart in our backyard while I watched from the window, too terrified to move. Tell me about my parents' right to justice. The pack claimed it was an 'unfortunate incident' and offered compensation like my sister was a broken vase."

Her voice remained clinical, but I saw the flash of old pain in her eyes.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I said quietly. "I truly am. But that doesn't justify this. Not all supernatural creatures are murderers any more than all humans are."

"Perhaps." She moved closer, studying my face like I was a particularly interesting specimen. "But all supernatural creatures are potentially dangerous. A human in a rage might throw a punch. A werewolf in a rage can kill a dozen people before anyone stops them. We're just evening the odds."

She gestured around the room. "Welcome to the Prometheus Complex. We've been operational for 52 years. Currently housing 347 supernatural prisoners across 12 sub-levels. Our mission is simple: understand, replicate, and neutralize supernatural threats to humanity."

347 prisoners. The number hit me like a physical blow.

"That's not research," I said. "That's genocide."

"It's survival." Vex returned to her tablet, swiping through screens. "Do you know how many humans have died in supernatural conflicts in the last century? Conservative estimates put it at 50,000. That's more than most wars. And those are just the documented cases. How many disappeared without a trace? How many were ruled by animal attacks or accidents?"

I wanted to argue, to rage against her justifications, but something made me hesitate. Because she wasn't entirely wrong. I'd seen the damage supernatural conflicts caused. The innocent humans caught in crossfire between pack wars, vampire territory disputes, witch feuds.

But this wasn't the answer.

"You can't fight violence with more violence," I said. "It never ends. You take us prisoner, our people come for us. You hurt them, they hurt you back. It's an endless cycle."

"Which is why we're working on a permanent solution." Vex pulled up an image on her tablet, turning it so I could see. It showed a strand of DNA, except portions of it glowed different colors. "Genetic modification. Imagine human soldiers with werewolf strength and healing, but without the loss of control. Without the vulnerability to silver or the forced transformations during full moons. We take the best parts of what you are and leave the weaknesses behind."

Horror crawled up my spine. "You're trying to create hybrids."

"I'm trying to save my species from extinction." She zoomed in on the DNA strand. "Supernaturals are faster, stronger, longer-lived. In a few generations, pure humans will be obsolete. Unless we adapt. Unless we evolve."

The collar around my neck suddenly felt heavier. "And you need us for experiments."

"I need your blood, specifically. Alpha blood is remarkably potent. The genetic markers are unlike anything we've seen before." She set down the tablet and met my eyes. "I've been monitoring you for years, Thelma. Since before your first death. Your resurrection wasn't divine intervention or mate bond magic. It was a neurological event, a preservation of consciousness we don't fully understand yet. But once we do..." Her eyes gleamed. "Imagine soldiers who can't truly die. Who come back again and again."

"I'm not helping you create an army of monsters."

"You don't have a choice. But I'm not cruel." Vex moved toward the door. "I'll give you time to adjust. The complex is vast, you'll have limited freedom once we're certain you won't cause problems. Some prisoners here have been remarkably cooperative once they understood we're not their enemies."

"You kidn*pped us. You're experimenting on us. How are you not our enemy?"

Vex paused at the door, her hand on the frame. For a moment, something almost human flickered across her face.

"Because unlike your kind, we don't have centuries to find another solution. Humans live 80 years if we're lucky. We're running out of time to save ourselves." She straightened. "I'll have Marcus brought to speak with you. He's been here 30 years. Perhaps he can help you understand."

The door sealed behind her with a pneumatic hiss.

I was alone. The silence pressed in on me, broken only by the steady beep of monitors and the hum of the collar around my neck. I closed my eyes, reaching desperately for the bonds that defined me. The twin bond with Theo. The mate bonds with Xavier.

Nothing. Just emptiness where they should be.

No, wait. There. So faint I almost missed it. A whisper of warmth, a distant pulse that felt like Xavier's heartbeat. The collar couldn't completely suppress the mate bond. It was buried, muffled, but not gone.

I clung to it like a lifeline.

"Xavier," I whispered into the void between us. "I don't know if you can hear me. But I'm alive. I'm here. And I'm coming back to you. I promised forever, and I meant it."

The warmth flickered, and for just a second, I could have sworn I felt something. A response. A pulse of emotion that tasted like relief and desperation.

Then it was gone. Hours passed. Or maybe minutes. Time felt strange here, underground, under the collar's influence. The door finally opened again. A man shuffled in, escorted by two guards in tactical gear carrying strange weapons. He was tall but hunched, probably in his fifties with gray-streaked brown hair and scars covering his visible skin. His eyes were the saddest thing I'd ever seen, empty and hollow.

The guards secured him to a chair bolted to the floor, then left without a word.

We stared at each other across the sterile room.

"Marcus Blackwood," he said finally, his voice rough from disuse. "Former Beta of the Midnight pack. I've been here 30 years, two months, and 17 days."

"Thelma Reed. Alpha of, well, I'm not sure anymore. I've been here for about six hours."

Something flickered in his dead eyes. Not quite hope, but close. "You're the one who came in with the True Alpha. The vampire lord. The twins. I heard the guards talking. You caused quite a stir upstairs."

"We didn't exactly come willingly."

"No one ever does." He leaned back in his chair, the metal restraints clinking. "Dr. Vex asked me to talk to you. To help you understand that resistance is futile. That cooperation leads to better treatment. That some of us have found peace here."

The way he said 'peace' was so hollow it hurt.

"And have you?" I asked quietly. "Found peace?"

Marcus was silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was different. Sharper. More alive.

"No," he said. "I've found rage. Three decades of it, burning in my chest every single day. But I've learned to hide it. To pretend. To let them think they broke me."

I sat up straighter, as much as the restraints allowed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're going to cause trouble. I can see it in your eyes. The same fire I once had before they taught me to hide it." He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "And because my daughter is three floors down, and I've spent 30 years learning every weakness in this place. You want to escape? I'll help you. But you have to help me free her first."

Before I could respond, the door burst open. Dr. Vex strode in, flanked by guards and followed by technicians wheeling equipment.

"I've decided on my first major experiment," she announced, her clinical detachment back in place. "I'm going to use your Alpha blood to create human-werewolf hybrids. Soldiers with supernatural strength but human loyalty." She snapped on sterile gloves. "Don't worry, the extraction won't kill you. Probably. But it will be extraordinarily painful. We begin in one hour."

She left, and I frantically pulled against my restraints, the collar sending shocks through my system that made my vision blur.

"Stop." Marcus's voice cut through my panic. "You'll only hurt yourself. I know because I tried for thirty years."

I slumped back, breathing hard, tears of frustration burning my eyes.

"But I'll tell you a secret, young Alpha," Marcus continued, his hollow eyes suddenly burning with something fierce and alive. "They can suppress our powers, but they can't suppress our will. And I've been pretending to be broken while slowly learning every weakness in this place."

Our eyes met across the sterile room.

"You want to escape?" A ghost of a smile crossed his scarred face. "Then let's burn this place to the ground."