No way

Around me lies an insanely advanced compound. Marbled floors and tiled walls spiral out in all directions. Fluorescent lights glare down and make the place feel alive and thriving. People bustle all over the place purposefully, as if at a station hub.

"What is this place?"

"This is Rogue headquarters," Isaiah says, surveying the hubbub around us.

"C'mon," Zeke says grabbing my arm, "we need to get you to Calfur."

"Who is..." I am whisked away before I can finish my question, all of us diving into the crowd of people. I see women, children, and men all purposefully going places.

Zeke continues to lead us forward down the vast hallways, eventually bringing us to a stop in front of a desk.

"My god" The guy at the desk stands up, staring in shock at everyone, "You guys are still alive?"

"Living and breathing, Derek," Isaiah says chuckling.

Derek appears to be in his mid 30's and is dressed as a security guard. His dark beard and big self gives him a joyous appearance, like a young Santa Claus. On one side of him, I notice he has holstered a gun as well as other gadgets.

"I don't believe it, I haven't seen you guys since..." His eyes land on me, "Who is this, Isaiah?"

"That's why we're here Derek," Zeke says glancing down at me, "We need to see Calfur."

A look of confusion crosses Derek's face, "I'll send you guys in."

We continue down the hallway after Derek calls this guy Calfur. I have no idea who we're meeting or what his job is, but whoever he is he must be important.

"We're here," Zeke says, stopping me. We stand in front of a normal looking door with some electrical sensors around it.

"How did you guys get this technology to work without power," I say, staring in awe of the technicality involved.

"We've had some sponsors"

Before I can continue to ask more questions, Isaiah pushes the buzzer next to the door, making it swing open.

"Come in"

Behind the door lies an office-like room. At the far end sits a man with greying hair and an aura of authority.

"Welcome back to the compound. I am surprised to hear you all returned so soon, but Derek said you have found something that might interest me." He peers down at me from his desk, "would I be correct in assuming that is you?"

"Ummm, yes sir."

"Theodora," Calfur says to a tall women who I didn't notice before, "Would you be so kind as to show these gentlemen to our spare rooms? Except for Isaiah and this young lady, of course, as we need to discuss some pressing matters."

The woman nods silently before gesturing for the guys to follow her. Finley, Zeke, and James are all ushered out of the room, leaving just me, Isaiah, and this Calfur guy.

"As much as I'm dying to hear exactly why you were brought here, I think it is first appropriate for me to introduce myself. My name is Calfur and I run the operations here at Rogue."

"He's in charge of all of this," Isaiah says, surveying the room.

"Which means it is also my job to understand why you're here." He stands up from his chair, "Am I correct in assuming you understand our purpose?"

"Not entirely," I say hesitantly, "but the guys kind-of told me."

Calfur nods, "that's good, it will be easier to explain things later then." He turns to Isaiah, "Is she the mate of some powerful werewolf? An outcast? What made you bring her here?"

"Well, this girl has been with us for the last two years after I found her abandoned. We never told her about Rogue or our mission. She thought we were just other humans," Isaiah says this last part looking at me.

"She helped us a lot in our missions even if she didn't know what they were for." Isaiah removes an object wrapped in cloth from his pocket, placing it on Calfur's desk.

Calfur stares in shock,"Is that...?"

"Yes"

I look between the two of them, "What is it?"

"It's something that's going to help Rogue thrive," Calfur says smiling, not taking his eyes off of Isaiah, "how did you manage to find it?"

"With her help," Isaiah gestures at me.

My help?

"I don't understand, I don't even know what it is," I say

"That's beside the point. Eden has been indirectly been helping us for these last two years, meaning she's been helping Rogue," Isaiah says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"As much as I appreciate her assistance in helping our organization, I still don't understand why I should let her join," Calfur states, "you know our members have to have connections to werewolves."

"Eden, you know what to do," Isaiah says, turning back to me.

Do what?

It takes me a minute to catch on to what he's saying, but then I realize he wants me to shift. I close my eyes and soon enough, I am standing as a wolf.

"No way!" Calfur walks over to me, "how long has she been able to do this?"

"That's the thing, she not only is a female werewolf but also the mate of Alpha Baylor."

Calfur's mouth drops and he looks back at Isaiah. "She escaped from him?"

Isaiah nods.

I am about to shift back and tell them exactly what happened when suddenly my body begins to spasm.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

I shake violently as images begin to dance in my vision. The angered face of Baylor snarling becomes imprinted into my mind as more and more snapshots appear.

Blood rushes into my ears and I can barely hear the sound of Isaiah yelling. The noises and commotion around me begin to fade along with the feeling in my body. All that's left is the very angry face of Baylor.

He smiles cruelly, approaching me slowly.

"Hello again, Eden."

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