The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 134

Alaric

Dawn paints the sky blood-red as we depart, a small force of my most trusted warriors moving north with practiced stealth. Beside me, Sage rides in focused silence, her evolved senses already reaching ahead, searching for traces of corruption.

"Three hours to the facility coordinates," Garrett reports, studying the map one final time before we split up. "Based on patrol reports, they've been moving equipment for at least two days."

"Which means anything critical is already gone." I scan the northern horizon, frustration simmering beneath my calm exterior. "But they always leave something behind."

Through our bond, Sage's agreement flows clear as mountain water. Her powers have been cataloging everything we know about these facilities, finding patterns I would have missed.

"The main research would be evacuated first," she says, eyes distant as she accesses her mental library. "Transport vehicles described by the patrol are consistent with biological containment."

"The mutants," I conclude. "They're moving their specimens."

"But they can't move everything," she adds. "Infrastructure. Records. Some materials too hazardous for hasty transport."

Garrett nods grimly before turning his horse back toward the packhouse. "I'll continue preparing for the council meeting. The evidence we've already gathered might be enough—"

"It won't be." My certainty stems from generations of political maneuvering. "Without irrefutable proof, the council members involved will deny everything. Claim the labs were rogue operations. Sacrificial pawns in a larger game."

"Then find me something they can't deny." Garrett's eyes reflect the determination we all feel. "Something that names names."

As he departs to handle the political front, our strike force continues north. Through our bond, I feel Sage's powers stretching further with each mile, her abilities evolved beyond anything I witnessed before the poisoning.

"There." She stiffens suddenly, hours into our journey. "Corruption. Faint, but distinct."

She leads us off the main path, following something only she can sense. The trail winds through dense forest before emerging near a nondescript industrial building nestled against rocky foothills. Without her abilities, we might have passed within a mile and never noticed it.

"Guards." I signal our warriors to hold position as I assess the perimeter. "Minimal presence. They're not expecting company."

"Look at this." She approaches a workstation, screens still displaying complex data. Her evolved powers catalog information faster than I can process it, connections forming automatically. "These aren't just protocols for containing healing abilities..."

Her voice trails off as understanding dawns. Through our bond, her shock hits me like a physical blow.

"They're extraction procedures." Her fingers trace equations with trembling precision. "Methodologies for removing powers from one subject and... transferring them to another."

Ice slides down my spine as pieces click together – Cassius's obsession with Sage, the targeted nature of the poison, the specialized equipment surrounding us.

"He doesn't just want to eliminate healing abilities." The realization tastes like ash. "He wants to take them for himself."

Through our bond, Sage's mind races through implications, through possibilities we hadn't considered. "That's why the poison evolved my powers instead of destroying them. It wasn't a failure – it was preparation."

Before I can respond, movement at the periphery snaps us to attention. A researcher emerges from a hidden alcove, making a desperate break for an exit. My warriors intercept him instantly, his struggle brief and futile.