“Then you’re going crazy.”
“That’s a possibility, given all that’s happened.”
“How’s your neck?” I ask.
“Seen better days if I’m honest.”
“Has Kyle been trying to talk to you anymore? And do you have any idea how it’s happening?”
“He has, and I don’t. He’s still telling me he’s underneath the Council building. He’s talking to me all the time now that he knows the connection’s in place. What I can’t figure out is why. If anything, shouldn’t he be connecting with Clarissa like this?”
“You would think,” I say. “Do you talk back?”
“No. Not until my body’s healed. If we establish that connection again and he morphs, he’ll kill me.”
“Wouldn't be the worst thing,” I murmur.
“I heard that.”
“Do you believe what Joel’s told Clarissa?”
“About the experimentation?” he asks.
“Yeah. Especially Chief’s role in it.”
“Unfortunately, yes. It lines up with all of Chief’s moves thus far. If he believes this experimentation could help us, then he wouldn't want Clarissa dead. Hence why he warned us when we were last here. It shows his acceptance of her in the community as well as his possible desire to create more of her.”
“Is it possible Chief’s the one that injected Kyle?” I ask.
“If that’s the running theory, then it’s the one that makes sense. But that would mean Chief was working with Igo, and I’ll never believe that. Chief is honorable. Even in the belief of experimentation, he doesn’t want anyone harmed. Joel even said that.”
“Then who injected Kyle? If that’s what we’re working with.”
“Igo. Him and those warriors. Kyle told me he’s in a secret chamber of Igo’s. Those files we found while chasing down Merti, they had things in them about Project Eden. For all we know, Igo’s the one that headed up the experiments from the beginning. We won’t ever know because of their deaths, but that seems more plausible, given where Kyle says he is.”
“Do you think they’re preparing for war?” I ask.
Theo pans his gaze over to me before he gets up. I rise with him, and we remove the conversation from within earshot of Clarissa. And I agree. This isn’t something she needs to be hearing. We sneak off down the hallway as the sun begins to set on our fourth day in the Russian woods, and the look in Theo’s eye tells me that, for once, we’re on the same page.
“Turning the females makes sense,” Theo says. “Having more of them means reviving the Primal races. But the only point of a male Primal, besides mating—”
“Is fighting,” I say.
“What if the successful turning of Kyle was all Igo needed to build an army of his own? You saw how easy those warriors went down.”
“You think the serum is to make stronger Primal men.”
“To take out humans, yes. If Joel’s right and part of the Council is gunning for war against humans, then creating a stronger, more bloodthirsty Primal that isn’t aware of our want to cohabitate with humans would be the army Igo needs. The army the Council needs.”
“We’re working with a lot of ‘ifs,’” I say.
“A lot of ‘ifs’ that fall into place, Sebastian.”
I don’t like this. The Council had been the head of the Primals for centuries. Thousands of them. And now I am supposed to believe they’re gunning to wipe out the human race? After establishing of their own order that we needed to live in peace with them? It’s a concept that’s hard for me to digest. But with Clarissa and Kyle and every single betrayal and deception that has surfaced in our quest for answers, the outlandish becomes more plausible with every passing day.
“So, what do you we about Kyle?” I ask.
I want to know where Theo stands because I’m not sure where I stand. I don’t know if I can keep the agreement I made with Clarissa. Watching her eyes light up with hope at the idea that he’s alive makes my heart hurt. I have a bond with her. According to all rules and customs within a Wolf pack, she’s mine. My mate. My forever bond. And here she is, drooling at the teeth and nipping at our heels to go get him.