Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael stiffen.
“What?” Sawyer frowned, looking up from the notes he was reviewing that Leon had handed him.
“I’m asking how the process for changing into a Lycan happens.” Grace clarified, her eyes darting around as everyone stared at her.
“You don’t have to die,” Michael spoke up after a long moment, his voice quiet. “Some do though. Sometimes, leadership finds it easier to convince prople to their cause if death was the reason they turned. They say they were doing a favor to whoever they changed. But theoretically, it should only take a bite by the Alpha Lycan to change anyone. But I’ve never seen them use that method either.”
“How do they typically change them then?” Grace asked with bated breath.
“Well lately…” Michael swallowed hard before continuing, “Lately they have been experimenting to see what creates the strongest creatures.”
“Experimenting how?” My voice was cold as ice, but if what he was saying was true, then we were in deeper shit than any of us thought.
“They want to know the differences between born Lycans, made Lycans and… Hybrid Lycans.”
“Hybrid?” Grace breathed.
“Yes.” Michael answered, looking sick as hell by what he was divulging. “They’ve been partnering with witches and vampires, and they are using all sorts of methods… Such as draining them then biting. Infusing them with magic at the same time. Several people have been burned alive with that method. Simultaneous attacks. If they think they can create something… They try.”
It was sickening. The whole thing was sickening.
“Who gets to be the test subjects for these things?” Sawyer asked, also looking pale and clammy, and I wasn’t sure if it was what we were learning or if he was pushing himself too hard right now.
“It depends, but usually the kids… The younger the better in their minds… It’s easier to try things on kids. But if they can’t use kids, they use humans… Since they have no abilities to fight back.”
“No.” Grace gasped in horror.
“Well, what do you expect?” Michael snapped at her. “They go for the weakest available, like any good villain.”
“It’s not that we don’t believe you,” I said firmly, locking eyes with Grace who nodded, “It’s just that it’s too horrible to think about it….
“Well, try living it.” Michael snapped again.-
“Look, drop the attitude. Thank you for sharing, but this is heavy shit. You as a child shouldn’t have to carry that weight. But you do and are. And that fucking sucks. But stop being mad at us for not knowing. That’s why we allow you to sit in on this and help us research. We want you to know that we are trying, but we expect you to not give us shit when we learn things because this isn’t the world we grew up in. We were raised to be Warriors. Grace was raised to obey and be used. We don’t know about the programs, so give us time to process, and stop being rude about how we do it.”
Michael crossed his arms angrily, leaning back against the wall, He was unpredictable at best. But it made sense given all the shit he had been through.
“You got chosen for this mission because you tried to protect them, didn’t you?” Grace asked after a long moment.
His resolve fell away, and his face paled slightly before he said, “There is no protection from them. We are on the los about 3 months ago.”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
