📎A/N. So it looks like you were more than happy that Joshua found his mate.

Things have been quite hectic so I do apologize for not replying to your comments. I will get to it but I am a little behind.

Thanks so very much for your continued support ;-)

Take care,

❤ ℳ

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Hans winced. "Keep away from that, you imbecile."

The man grunted and, instead of placing the sterile glass vile down where he found it, he picked it up and dumped it on the stainless steel benchtop. With a sneer, Hans's minder of the day, stalked off and headed towards the door.

"Let's go, Alpha Lauzon wants you there on time," he said before disappearing through it.

Hans, unable to help himself, rushed over to the tray that contained the vials and quickly rearranged them. After cleaning the contaminated glass the imbecile dirtied with his unclean hands, he set it back down and rearranged the content of the tray, so they were perfectly aligned. Satisfied everything was in order, Hans, architect of the wildfire virus and Elise's chief scientist, followed the path taken by the werewolf he had a sudden burning desire to maim.

Why Alpha Elise still had him watched every waking hour was beyond him. He had lost count of the times he had apologized for getting caught by the Alliance. To this day, he had no idea how they knew he was in New York, or where to find him.

Hans smiled to himself. I would have loved to see those traitors faces when they discovered I was gone.

His alpha hadn't abandoned him; of that, there was never any doubt. That stupid Alpha Commander and his even dumber henchman had no idea of his importance. His work wasn't yet finished, and it wasn't a surprise when Alpha Elise found where they had taken him, and returned him to his rightful place; by her side.

Once out the door, he picked up pace and headed down the corridor to the receiving bay. A new batch of recruits were due, and he needed to be there when his alpha greeted them. The moment he walked into the room his steps faltered.

What's he doing here?

The American alpha, whom Alpha Elise had in her arsenal of information sources, stood by his beloved alpha. Why she still tolerated him was beyond him. The Werewolf was insipid and weak, despite his pure heritage that could be traced back a millennia.

Hans approached Alpha Elise and bowed his head in respect. He ignored the other alpha. Elise would dispense of him once she got whatever it was she was after.

"But how do you intend to deal with it. This is a game changer. They are aware you are coming for them," said the American alpha, returning to the conversation Hans had interrupted.

From the miniscule muscle twitch in her jaw, Elise was not thrilled at the conversation. "As usual, you are overreacting. Something I have no time for."

"They are arming all the packs, how is that overreacting? We don't have enough soldiers as it is. I demand you tell me what you are going to do about it."

Hans cringed at the American alpha's outburst. Did he not see how livid she was with him?

It wasn't unexpected when, in an instant, Alpha Elise had the American alpha hard up against the wall; a hand around his neck as her manicured nails sunk into his skin drawing blood as they cut through the top layers.

A cold smile graced her blood red lips, which matched to the nails now sinking further into the man's neck. "How dare you presume to make demands of me. Take heed you don't wear out your usefulness, or I will be inclined to rip that weak-willed head off your shoulders and feed it to the rejects."

Hans hid a smile. Not only did he want front row seats for that moment, he also needed fresh meat for the mistakes they kept in the Vault. It was such a delight to throw in a dead body and see the deadly skirmish for the food.

"I meant no disrespect," said the American Alpha, his voice choaked and barely audible.

Elise let out a low growl and let him go. Not expecting it, the alpha sunk to the floor, quickly bringing up his hands to his throat to curb the flow of blood.

She turned her back to the Alpha and watched as a group of new recruits were lead into the room. "You are so pathetic," she said, "my army is no match for their trifling bullets. And, with each new batch of initiates into our cause, we become all the more indestructible. Watch and learn."

Hans counted twelve new recruits and studied each, in turn, wondering which ones would survive the procedure. Not that he really cared. The thirty percent failure rate was more than acceptable in his eyes.

Elise stepped forward, and a hush fell over the room.

"I am so very humbled at how many of you are brave enough to stand up and fight for what you know is right. Our very survival rests on us. We must take back our destiny and rid the earth of those that would stand between us and our rightful place as it's rulers. No longer will we be content to stay in the dark. No longer will we allow our race to be sullied by the mongrels. Either we rise up as a pure race or die, one by one, muddied and diluted, till we are no more. This blight will end with us. Have no doubt, we are the just, the rightful heirs, and nothing will stand in our way in our climb from darkness, one victory at a time."

Elise nodded to one of her most trusted betas, and he stood from his leaning position against the wall. They'd been through this enough times to know the drill. Hans stepped back and glanced at the American alpha. He was sure the man would not have a stomach for what was to come next.

The beta pulled of his shirt and, after tossing it on the nearest table, took up a position well away from the others. He then took a deep breath, closed his eyes and slowly let it out again. At first, the change was subtle. The skin across his forehead shimmered as if a wave rolled across it. Next, the crack of bones as they broke and readjusted pushing the beta's body in all directions. As if one, the volunteers took a step back and hauled in a sharp breath. Course hair sprouted through the man's skin and grew like weeds until there was no exposed skin across his body. Lumps grew and moved across the man's body as it disfigured and rearranged every part of his body. Talons grew from his grotesquely formed hands as a tortured howl echoed throughout the room.

When it stopped, the recruit's faces grew red with the lack of oxygen to their brain. Each one having forgot how to breathe.

The beta, now in his Lycan form, let out a low growl and spittle flew from his mouth. Hans smiled as his nose detected urine. One of the recruits had been so scared at the transformation he had wet himself.

Elise stepped forward and stood next to her beta.

The American alpha leaned towards Hans and whispered, "Why would she get so close knowing those claws are poison?"

Hans ignored him. There were some secrets their guest didn't need to be privy to. He, Alpha Elise and the rest of her inner circle were immune to the effects of the Lycan secretion. He had developed a vaccine and dispensed it to only those Alpha Elise deemed worthy. So far, the American alpha wasn't part of that group.

"But how does she control them? I thought when they were in that form there too primal the understand."

Another thing the American alpha didn't need to know. Hans hid a smirk. Not only did they control the hybrids, they controlled whether thy lived or died.

Elise continued to regard the new recruits and in a cold voice said, "Send him in."

A moment later two guards pushed through a bound and gagged man. From the fear in the prisoner's eyes, he knew what was about to happen. As they drew closer to the Lycan hybrid, Elise moved away, the click of her heals the only thing that could be heard over the muffled screams. She stopped a distance away and picked up a cloth to wipe her hands.

"While I am a loving and benevolent alpha, there are limits to what I will tolerate," she said without looking up. "This is what happens to traitors."

With that, the Lycan snarled and snapped his razor-sharp teeth at the bound prisoner. His guards quickly pushed him forward and moved as far away as possible. Before the surprised onlookers knew what had happened, the Lycan raised a powerful arm and swiped his talons across the other man's back as he attempted to flee. This was quickly followed by another. The prisoner fell to his knees and buckled towards the floor. Before his body reached it, the Lycan reached over and tore the man's arm from his shoulder in a single motion. Another swipe cut through the man's back like butter, and he hit the ground with a dull thud.

Hans crinkled his nose. Another one had wet himself. Where were these weaklings coming from?

Silence descended across the room as a chilling howl boomed from the Lycan who stood over the dead body in victory. He threw the arm down and stepped back. Saliva dripped from his barred teeth as he gnashed them towards the group.

Elise stepped in front of the recruits and passed each one of them in turn. "You are here because I believe you are our future. I have hand-picked each of you to receive the greatest gift. You are about to begin your journey to enlightenment, where you and your wolf exist as one. You will no longer be separate from each other. Instead, my gift to you is the ability to exist in our purest form. Together we will show the world that we are its true rulers."

Not one of the recruits took their eyes of Alpha Elise as she spoke. After the initial shock had worn off, they embraced the future she promised. It was the same thing with each batch. There was nothing they would not do for her. Each one would gladly give their lives for her, and their cause. Something a third of them were about to do within the next week.

Hans did a mental calculation. If they continued at this rate, he would need a way to increase the number of eggs released during ovulation for the dire wolf females they held. He had already increased it to twenty. However, this would not be enough if his alpha continued at the rate she was going. Transforming a Werewolf in to a Lycan hybrid took time and precision. There was only so much science could do and, growing enough embryos to extract the required number of stem cells to use in the serum, didn't happen overnight. And as each converted Lycan needed a regular supply, he needed to come up with a faster method.

"Who of you is ready to fight for our future?"

Without hesitation, all twelve stepped forward. Elise turned to the nearest volunteer. "And who would you be, my brave soldier?"

The man lifted his chin and stood at attention. "Bradley, my Alpha. Bradley Dickson. I saw you speak in Philadelphia."

Elise stared at him for a good long while before she said, "I have no doubt you will be a hero to our people."

In a single graceful, and fluid motion, Elise spun on her heal and headed to the door. Not prepared for her sudden departure, the American alpha looked around in surprise. He quickly recovered and raced after her.

As soon as he left, Hans addressed the group.

"I'm Dr. Fredericks. If you follow me, we will get you all situated and start the procedure."

From their jubilant expressions, Elise had certainly primed and pumped this new batch into a frenzy. "And whatever you do, do not touch a thing. Alpha Elise will be most displeased."

Hans led the way to the adjoining room to begin the first of a series of injections. Provided things went well, they would be Lycan hybrids within the fortnight. If, however, they were part of the thirty percent that rejected the alteration to their change in DNA, they would be put down, or fed to the ones they kept in the Vault. Either way, it didn't concern him how they disposed of their failures. All he was focused on, was how to get their numbers high enough to proceed with the next phase in their plan.

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📎A/N. Woah... It looks like Elise is up her old tricks..

And why do I feel like even if those poor sods survive the change they will still be at her mercy? However, Bradley is a right moron, so I'm not worried if he's part of the 30% (he's the bully from Joe's bar in Philly)

I am still wondering who this American Alpha is? Any guesses??

More importantly, what's down in that Vault??

Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed the chapter. :-)

Till next week, take care

❤ ℳ