The secondary lab on the outskirts of Lagos was supposed to be the easier target — a smaller facility where the Architect was storing the suppressor serum. Instead, it became a nightmare of steel corridors and armed guards the moment Logan's team breached the perimeter.
Logan moved like the predator he was, claws fully extended, tearing through the first wave of mercenaries with savage efficiency. Blood sprayed across white walls as his healing factor knit bullet wounds closed almost instantly. Behind him, the four loyal pack members fanned out, providing cover fire while Elara directed the assault from the armored van half a kilometer away, her fingers flying over a laptop.
"Third corridor on your left," she said through the comms, voice steady despite the fear clawing at her chest. "The serum storage is two floors down. But Logan — heat signatures show at least thirty guards converging on your position."
"Copy," he growled, voice rough with the beast. "Stay safe, baby. If anything feels wrong, you drive and don't look back."
"Like hell I will," she shot back, a fierce smile in her voice. The romantic conflict between them had never been sharper — his instinct to protect her at all costs versus her refusal to be sidelined while he risked everything.
The fight intensified. Logan ripped open a reinforced door, claws screeching against metal. Inside the storage room, rows of glowing vials waited — the Architect's promised "cure." He smashed the first rack, glass shattering as the serum spilled across the floor.
But the victory was short-lived.
Alarms blared. Hidden panels slid open and more enhanced soldiers poured in — men and women whose eyes glowed with the same feral gold as Logan's. They were faster, stronger, clearly dosed with an early version of Voss's work.
"Ambush!" Kemi shouted over comms.
Logan roared, the beast surging forward. He tore through two attackers, but a third managed to jam a suppressor dart into his shoulder. The effect was immediate — his healing slowed, pain lingering longer than usual. Blood trickled from a deep gash on his side that refused to close quickly.
"Logan!" Elara's voice crackled in his ear, panic edging her words. "Your vitals are dropping. Get out of there!"
He could hear her fighting her own battle — the van was under fire from a separate squad. The thought of her in danger snapped something primal inside him. Ignoring the burning in his shoulder, he fought with renewed fury, claws slashing in wide arcs that left bodies crumpled behind him.
They destroyed the remaining serum and fought their way back to the extraction point. Elara met them at the rendezvous, jumping from the van to help drag a wounded pack member inside. The moment Logan climbed in beside her, she pressed her hands to his bleeding side, eyes wide with fear and love.
"You're hurt," she whispered, voice breaking as the van sped away into the night.
He cupped her face with bloodied fingers, golden eyes softening for her alone. "I'd take a hundred darts if it kept you safe."
The kiss they shared in the back of the speeding van was desperate and messy, tasting of blood and relief. The mate bond pulsed between them, stronger than the pain, stronger than the fear. For a few precious minutes the world narrowed to just the two of them — his rough hands in her hair, her soft gasps against his mouth.
But reality crashed back when they reached the lagoon villa.
The place was trashed. Furniture overturned, walls sprayed with bullet holes. A single note pinned to the bedroom door with a knife waited for them.
You struck first. Cute. Now come to the main site alone, Wolverine. Bring the girl. Her brother is waiting. Full moon rises in twenty-four hours. Refuse, and I start the experiments without you.
Logan crushed the note in his fist, claws piercing the paper. The beast howled inside him, demanding blood.
Elara stepped forward, placing her hand over his heart. "We're not going alone. We're not playing his game. But we are going — together."
The remaining loyal pack members gathered around them, faces grim but determined. The romantic tension between Logan and Elara had shifted into something unbreakable. In the middle of the wreckage, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead with surprising gentleness.
"Tomorrow night we end this," he vowed. "And when it's over, I'm marrying you for real. No contract. No deals. Just you and me."
She smiled through the fear, eyes shining. "I'm holding you to that."
As the team began planning their final assault on the original black-site lab, both of them felt the full moon's pull growing stronger. The Architect was waiting. The pack was fracturing. And the mate bond that had started as a fake marriage was now the only thing keeping Logan from losing himself completely.