The darkness was absolute. The sudden change from the faint light to total blackness felt like a physical blow. The only sound was the incessant, roaring thunder of the Black River Falls outside the thick stone walls.
Lila was on the floor, flat on her stomach, her chest heaving. She had to move now. Being trapped in a pitch-black room with a silent, skilled assassin was the definition of an unsustainable situation.
She focused entirely on her sense of hearing. The operative was moving, but their footsteps made no noise, muffled either by training or specialized gear. The assassin was circling the room, likely securing the entrance and assessing the newly trapped bait.
Lila slid her hand out, searching desperately for the only weapon she had—the sharpened tent pole. Her fingers brushed against cold metal, and she silently gripped the pole.
She needed light, and she needed to know where the operative was.
Think, Lila. What is the one thing I have that no one else does?
The answer was immediate, The Cyan Tingle.
She closed her eyes and focused on the scar on her palm, the site of the Sentinel Stone wound. The magic was no longer agonizing, it was a constant, low thrum, reacting to the raw energy of the Falls and the humming machine in the center of the room.
Lila pressed her palm to the cold stone floor, reaching out with her mind. She didn't try to summon the devastating Blue Flash, she tried to summon a tracer—a tiny burst of pure, focused light, enough to give her a fleeting moment of clarity.
It worked.
A small, blinding cyan flare erupted silently from her palm, lasting less than half a second. It was enough.
In that flash, Lila saw
The Operative: Standing by the iron door, securing the rusted locking mechanism with a small, complex tool.
The Array: The old communications machine was still humming, and the stolen Sentinel Stone was pulsing faintly with a blue light—a beacon, waiting to lure Adrian.
Chloe: Still bound, staring at Lila with wide, terrified eyes, shaking her head—a desperate, muffled warning.
The operative snapped their head up immediately, alerted by the sudden, intense light.
"Elementary, Omega," the cold voice hissed, closing the heavy lock. "You possess raw energy. But light is useless when I know your position."
The assassin started moving again, quickly crossing the room. Lila knew she couldn't outrun or outfight this person. She had to use distraction.
Lila didn't use the tent pole against the operative. Instead, as the assassin neared, she scrambled sideways and plunged the sharpened end of the pole into the nearest, most complex-looking part of the communications array.
A shower of sparks erupted. The humming machine shrieked, then died. The Sentinel Stone beacon went dark.
The operative froze, letting out a rare, sharp noise of frustration. "Fool! You have disrupted the signal!"
"Good," Lila retorted, scrambling to put the large, dead machine between herself and the assassin. "Now your boss will never know where to find us. Happy hunting!"
The operative ignored the chaos and lunged over the console, clearly intending to subdue Lila immediately.
Lila threw herself backward, rolling under the console. The operative was faster, however, and grabbed Lila's ankle, yanking her out from under the wires.
Lila kicked out desperately, connecting with the operative's knee. The figure barely flinched, but the pause was all Lila needed.
She grabbed the nearest object—a coil of dusty copper wire—and hurled it toward the corner of the room where Chloe was tied up.
"Chloe, catch!" Lila yelled, knowing the Omega couldn't catch anything, but wanting the assassin to look away.
The operative hesitated, glancing toward the bound Chloe—a split-second distraction.
Lila used that moment. She didn't fight back, she did the one thing that made Adrian Wolfhart a terrifying tyrant, she went for the data.
She grabbed a fistful of the assassin's gray cowl, yanking the fabric down. The mask held firm, but the aggressive movement exposed a crucial detail, the assassin's neck and jawline.
Lila didn't see a Shadow Council operative or a Gamma null. She saw familiar, pale skin and a small, distinct scar above the collarbone.
A name flashed through her mind, completely illogical, completely terrifying.
Before Lila could process the identity, the operative slammed her head against the floor, a controlled, stunning blow that left her dizzy but conscious.
"You should not have seen that," the assassin hissed, the voice losing its mechanical calm for a sliver of genuine, cold anger.
The operative grabbed Lila's shirt, hoisting her half-conscious body against the stone wall. They quickly pulled out a roll of duct tape and began securing Lila's wrists, working with swift, terrifying efficiency.
"The objective remains," the operative said, their breath close to Lila's ear. "We lure the Alpha, but now we must rely on a secondary signal."
Lila struggled, trying to talk, but the assassin slapped a strip of tape across her mouth, sealing her protests.
Bound and gagged, Lila stared at the dark figure. The room was silent again, save for the muffled sobs of Chloe.
No. I know who that is. I read the plot. This can't be happening.
The identity of the assassin was a shocking deviation from the novel's original plot, but it made perfect, terrifying sense in the context of the Shadow Council's subtle manipulation.
The operative finished binding Lila's ankles, securing her next to the whimpering Chloe. They both lay slumped against the damp stone wall, two terrified Omegas awaiting their fate.
The operative returned to the damaged console. Instead of repairing the array, he removed the stolen Sentinel Stone and pulled out a small, sleek device that looked like a modern Academy tracking chip.
The assassin then looked back at Chloe. They reached into their vest and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear, shimmering fluid.
Lila struggled violently, her muffled protests lost beneath the roar of the Falls.
"Relax, Omega," the operative said, checking the dosage clinically. "This isn't lethal. It's simply a highly concentrated dose of Omega Fear Pheromone. It's tasteless, odorless, and perfectly mimics a primal fear response."
The assassin injected the fluid into Chloe's neck. Chloe stiffened, her eyes rolling back slightly. She didn't scream, but her body began to shake uncontrollably, and a sudden, thick wave of pure, raw terror scent began to radiate from her.
The operative quickly rubbed the Academy tracking chip on Chloe's neck, soaking it in the synthetic, high-grade fear pheromone.
"Alpha Wolfhart's sensitivity to his Asset's distress is well-documented," the operative explained, speaking the clinical logic aloud for Lila's benefit. "We are using a synthetic signal that he will mistake for yours. He invested his entire reputation in you, Omega Blackwood, and your unique toxicity."
The operative then clipped the pheromone-soaked tracking chip to the collar of a frightened little tracking bird hidden in a cage. He opened the high window and tossed the bird into the swirling mist above the Falls.
"The lure is set," the operative announced, satisfaction lacing their cold voice. "The Shadow Council needs Alpha Wolfhart at the Black River Falls, precisely where his power will be neutralized."
The assassin turned to Lila and leaned in, their unmasked jaw close enough for Lila to feel the coldness of their breath.
"The Shadow Council will eliminate the True Blood Alpha," the operative whispered. "And you, Omega Blackwood, will get what you wanted, freedom from Adrian Wolfhart. Now you must only survive the Alpha's fury when he discovers he has been led to a trap."
Lila, bound and silenced, could only stare at the assassin. She wasn't just bait, she was the architect of Adrian's downfall, whether she wanted it or not. The feeling was terrifying, but one thing was suddenly clear, if Adrian died, she was next. She had to escape, not just for herself, but to stop the death of the only monster who understood her data.
The operative smiled—a thin, cruel twist of their lips—and pulled the cowl back fully over their face, obscuring the revealing scar. They then moved toward the only working window, preparing their own exit.
As the operative climbed onto the narrow window ledge, Lila heard her muffled rival, Chloe, making a frantic noise. She was pointing desperately with her bound hands toward the floor near the communications console.
Lila followed Chloe's gaze. Hidden beneath a tangle of severed wires, glinting faintly in the gloom, was the discarded Sentinel Stone pendant.
The operative had ripped it from Chloe's neck and used its power, but they had left the most powerful piece of tracking magic in the room—a direct link to the True Blood Alpha—right within their reach.
The assassin was nearly out the window. Lila, bound to the wall, had only seconds.
She was the bait, but now she had the beacon. Could she reach the Sentinel Stone and send a warning to her terrifying tyrant before the assassin vanished and the trap sprang shut?
Authors message:
Guys I won't be able to update for the next week because of my lab exams and project presentations, I am super nervous and scared because of these and I am constantly thinking of these, I don't know what to do😭 wish me luck for my survival.