The doctor had fallen backward, Carter landing on top of him, still unconscious, his weight pinning him to the ground. I left him on top of him while I sat there and caught my breath, dragging in deep gulps of fresh air. Above my head, black smoke billowed from the broken window, and although it was dark outside, it wouldn't be long before the blaze was spotted and the authorities arrived. I hoped.

My throat hurt and my eyes burned and I was as weak as a newborn, yet I found enough energy to form a snare around the doctor's ankle and tether him to the ground when he wriggled out from beneath Carter. He pulled at the invisible binding holding him captive, but he was stuck fast.

"Check on him." I coughed, voice raw. He looked at me, then nodded, his face blackened by soot, and I imagined I looked the same. Rolling Carter onto his back, he pressed his fingers against his neck, checking his pulse. His face was relatively clean and I suspected having his face pressed against my back protected his airways significantly.

"He's fine. Still sedated. Pulse strong, breathing okay." He tugged at his ankle again and my magic stretched and twanged from pulling taut. I couldn't hold him for much longer, I was spent, but there was no need for him to know that.

"Sit down and stop struggling, or I'll freeze all of you, not just your foot," I grumbled. Surprisingly, he did, settling onto his backside and drawing his knees up, resting his arms and head on top of them.

Leaning back against the warehouse I was pondering my next move when a vehicle tore in and skidded to a halt, its headlights briefly flashing over us before being extinguished. The light momentarily blinded me and I raised a hand to shield my eyes, but by then it was dark again and now I couldn't see a thing.

"Raven?" Footsteps running toward me.

"Nate?" What was he doing here?

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He slid onto his knees by my side, a puff of dust kicking up around us.

"I'm okay. Tired. Can you take this guy?" I nodded at the doctor who had raised his head and was now eyeing Nate with trepidation.

"I've got him." Nate was dressed all in black, almost invisible against the inky blackness of the night. He grabbed the doctor by the scruff of the neck and hauled him to his feet.

"You have an SIA vehicle?" I coughed.

"Stole Carter’s when I got your call."

"I called you?"

"Initially I thought you were drunk, that you butt dialed me, didn't think much of it. Then heard on the news of your demise in a car explosion. And Carter had apparently disappeared off the face of the earth at the same time. Didn't take a genius to figure the two of you had been taken. By Vince I assumed."

"There's a cage in the back of the car. Put the doctor in it. I'll explain the rest after." I didn't want the doctor privy to our conversation. I released my hold on the doctor's ankle, grateful not to have to maintain the connection any longer. Nate hauled him to the car before returning to me seconds later.

"How did you know I was here?" I was dog-tired, my head was pounding, my knees were scraped from tumbling headfirst out of the window, and I'd never been happier to see anyone in my life.

"Let me see, one big ass explosion in an abandoned warehouse? Had your name all over it." He chuckled. "And I did not buy for one second that you'd been blown up in that car bomb. It stank like a cover up, to stop anyone from looking for you. I've been systematically searching every abandoned warehouse on my list. I figured you were being held in one of them."

"Your list?"

"Carter had given a sample of the brick dust to Ethan. He came up with a list."

"I thought the SIA was working on that?"

"Carter said something about a backlog."

"More of Ridgeway’s lies! She's behind all of this." Struggling to my feet, I clenched his shirtfront in my fists to hold myself upright. I shivered in the cool night air, suddenly self-conscious in the thin cotton hospital gown I was wearing.

"Let's get you to the car." Scooping me up in his arms, ignoring my protest, Nate had me deposited in the passenger seat of Carter's car within seconds before disappearing again.

"Are there any survivors?" Nate was back, this time carrying Carter, whom he laid on the back seat.

"I think we were the only ones inside when the blast went off, but I can't be sure. A group of guards had just arrived. They entered after the fire started. I'm not sure if they're still in there or if they got out."

He turned his gaze on me. "Have you seen Vince?"

"He was here earlier. He's the one who caught us. I think he was shot."

"Injured then. Probably hiding somewhere while he heals." Nate shot away and I didn't protest at being left alone in the car with an unconscious Carter and the doctor under lock and key.

"Tell me what happened." Carter's groggy voice made me jump and I swiveled in my seat to look at him.

"You're awake! Are you okay?"

"Now that I don't have them constantly pumping sedatives into my blood stream." Grabbing my headrest, he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"More importantly, what about you?" He cupped my cheek in his palm, his warmth soothing. "Vince beat you so badly. I thought he'd killed you."

"Nah." I tried to shrug it off, not wanting to relive the horror. "I'm okay. See?" I waved a hand at myself, indicating I was still in one piece. A little bruised and sore, but not suffering any long-term ill effects.

“Raven, what did they do? How did they heal you? And don’t lie to me, I know they did something because I heard your bones breaking each time Vince swung that fucking bat.”

"They didn’t do anything. While I was out...I healed myself."

"What? How?" Carter was aware I had the healing capabilities of a human. Slow and limited.

“I’ll explain it all later,” I told him “I heard a gunshot, did she shoot him? I assume it was Ridgeway?”

“Yes, she shot him. In the head. Pity it didn’t kill him,” Carter grumbled.

"What about you? What did they do to you?" I ran my hands over his face to assure myself he was in one piece.

"Shot me with another tranq dart when I went ballistic trying to get to you. I came to strapped on that bed. They were just shoving the IV needle in. Fast acting, whatever it was they used. I didn't wake up again until now."

"Specifically designed for wolves," the doctor said from his cage in the back. "You burn off tranquilizers so fast we had to develop a strong dose to bring you down initially, then keep it pumping into you intravenously to keep you down."

"Who's this guy?" Carter jerked his head to indicate the doctor in the back.

"He's the hired brains. He's been combining vampire venom and werewolf venom and injecting victims to try and make a super species."

"And they wanted you because?"

"They think because my species is undetermined that I'm the—I'm not sure, catalyst maybe? That my DNA mixed with the vampires and the werewolves is the key."

"So they took more from you?"

I nodded. "Spinal fluid and blood. Which is why I'm a little wobbly right now. They knew they could push me to the brink and I'd survive. Heal."

"Shit.” He cursed, “how did you get away?"

"I'll tell you later." I cocked my head to indicate the doctor who, although he was trying to look like he wasn't listening, was obviously listening intently.

"I managed to get free, start a fire to destroy all of their samples and equipment, and I rescued him because he's my witness that Ridgeway is behind this."

I'd just finished telling my story when the driver's side door opened and Nate slid in.

"No survivors. No Vince. Let's go." Nate wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, cleaning away the drop of blood that clung to his lip. I suspected he'd drained the guards dry.

Nate started the SUV and we headed out. I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, focusing on healing myself. I'd already learned that I couldn't heal as fast as a vampire or werewolf, but definitely faster than a human. In my mind's eye I pictured the blood they'd drained from me, only this time it was flowing back into my veins, the fluid they'd drained from my spine being replaced. I felt a sting in my back and winced, but then it settled and I started to feel...better. The headache eased, my back stopped aching, and I no longer felt woozy and weak.

"Why are we stopping here?" We'd been driving in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts so that when Nate suddenly pulled over and spoke, I jumped. We were almost at HQ.

"This is where I leave you."

"You should come in with us," I protested, swiveling to catch Nate's eyes. "We'll clear your name, I promise."

"Oh, my name will be cleared, don't you worry." Nate's face was cold, expressionless, and I shivered. He was a man you did not want to make an enemy of. "I'm going to get Vince. He's pivotal in this whole thing. He's setting me up and he can also dish the dirt on your director. This guy with the needles?" He jerked his head to indicate the doctor. "He can only give you so much. Enough to implicate Ridgeway, sure, but she's not behind the human auctions. She just bought produce from him. Bring Vince in and you close two cases." Suddenly he smiled, a dimple flashing. "I see promotions in your futures." He chuckled, then let himself out of the car, the door closing almost silently.

"He's right." Carter climbed from the back of the car to the driver's seat. "It's not just Ridgeway we should be focusing on. Humans are still being taken, and the victims, were they part of an auction or specifically procured?"

"We need to order a team up to Wolf Hill, there may be a hunt in progress," I said. Carter was right. If the victims were bought at auction, and Ridgeway had me under her control, she'd procure more humans, keen to accelerate her experiments.

A movement in the back of the vehicle caught my attention and I looked at the doctor, who was looking out the window.

"What do you know?" I asked. His eyes darted to me, then away again. A shoulder hunched.

"Don't question him yet," Carter muttered.

"Why not?" I needed answers and I needed them now. If there was another auction taking place, we needed to stop it. Or at least try and save the humans already sold.

"We need it on record." He kept his voice low. He was right. If we wanted any of this to stick, it had to be done through the appropriate channels; we had to record everything. I wondered if the director was at HQ if we'd run into her, and what would happen if we did. Was she aware of the fire at the warehouse? Doubtful, unless one of the guards had alerted her before Nate took care of them.

Carter took the doctor to an interview room while I retrieved a spare uniform from my locker and took a quick shower. I stood for several seconds staring at myself in the mirror. I looked the same. Nothing had changed and yet, fundamentally, everything had. My thoughts touched briefly on the Druid's realm and how I felt about them evicting me as a baby. I couldn't wrap my head around how they could have done that to a defenseless child. Hurt warred with anger and my skin prickled at the conflicting emotions surging through me. I knew for my own peace of mind I'd have to return and have it out with Enna, the Elder who'd greeted me on my first visit. What they'd done was wrong, and they needed to understand that. Did I want to get to know them? Learn about my race and my heritage? Right now, the answer was no. I'd lived my whole life not knowing. They'd abandoned me. They didn't get to show up now and act like everything was okay.

* * *

The doctor's name was Wesley Keller and he was a bio-medical engineer. He didn't have anything new to tell us, not that we didn't already know. But now we had it on record that Director Keri Ridgeway had hired him to engineer a new super species, that she had provided him with humans to experiment on. He also recounted how I'd built a wall from nowhere, then a door, then sent a fireball barreling through the warehouse, destroying everything.

"We need to delete the part about what I did. My new skills," I told Carter once we'd delivered Keller to the holding cells. "I don't need any more attention, from anyone, about what I can and can't do."

"Something else happened, didn't it?" Lacing his fingers with mine, he fell into step beside me.

"I know what I am. While I was out of it, I visited my home realm. I met my...I'm not sure if family is the right word."

"You don't sound happy about it."

"They deliberately left me here as a baby, Carter. On purpose. Alone. And haven't contacted me since. I was a baby!"

"Hey!" He stopped, cupping my face in his hands. "I appreciate you had a tough childhood, it wasn't easy for you, and you feel damaged because of it. But know this—you grew up into a beautiful, talented, strong, woman."

"No thanks to them," I muttered, jerking my head out of his hands and continuing down the passageway.

"So…who are they? What are you?"

"Can I tell you later? Away from here? I don't want anyone to discover that I know. I'm not ready for things to change just yet."

"You think they will? Once your species is known?" He sounded surprised and I didn't blame him. I suspected nothing would actually change, but until the director was apprehended and anyone involved in her scheme dealt with, I couldn't trust word getting out. As it was, Keller hadn't been able to identify what I was. I was the only one who knew and I intended to keep it that way. For now at least.

"Until this case is closed and Ridgeway is apprehended, I say we keep it quiet."

"Fair enough."

We'd just reached the elevator when Carter's comms unit buzzed.

"Carter." He kept his eyes on me while he took the call and I took the opportunity to admire his handsome face, the stubble that was a little thicker than usual, the way his brows dipped down in a slight frown. Why was he frowning? I dragged my attention back to his call.

"Put Wilder in one interview room, Santiago in another. We'll be right there."

"Nate found him." I couldn't suppress the smile spreading across my face.

"We've got a problem." Carter’s somber words wiped the smile right off.

"What's that?"

"The director. We're closing in on her. We can't have her finding out we have her doctor or Santiago in custody. We also don't know if anyone here is working for her. It's risky."

"Do you think she'd send someone to silence them? Before they could talk? But we've already got everything we need from Keller, she's well and truly implicated."

"Yes, but if she's got someone on the inside, witnesses can be silenced and evidence destroyed. We need to move fast on this. She's in a position of power, and that could work against us. Word is going to spread quickly now that we've got Vince Santiago in custody."

Carter was right. Ridgeway had a lot of power in the SIA and she used it to her advantage.

"You question Vince,” I said. “Do you have your phone on you?" He nodded, pulling it out of his pocket. "Good. Call me. Keep the connection open. We need a backup in case Ridgeway does destroy any audio and video. Get Vince talking about her, screw as much as you can out of him."

I went to pull out my own phone only to realize I didn't have it. It had been smashed on a footpath out in front of my apartment and then planted in my bombed car. Shit! Then an idea hit me. Stepping into the elevator with Carter, I laid out my plan. I'd borrow Nate's phone, keep him isolated with instructions not to talk to anyone, to appear uncooperative. Carter would contact fellow enforcers McConnell, Richards, Augustine, and Darabi and tell them we'd apprehended Nate Wilder. One of them, if not all, would pass the word around and hopefully, the fuss over having Nate in custody would hide the fact that we also had Vince.

"What will you be doing?" Carter asked when we arrived at our destination. He stepped out of the lift while I remained inside, hand holding the doors open.

"Besides recording everything Vince says, I'm going to the Council. Ridgeway could swoop in here and cut Vince loose, destroy evidence, do whatever she wants. We need a higher power to issue an arrest warrant for her, to revoke all access. We don't have time to file reports and put in written requests."

"You think the Council will see you?"

"I have an in. George Kane has spoken with me before. I'm sure he will again. And he already knows that Ridgeway illegally ordered tests on me."

"Yeah, but he did nothing about that."

"That we know of. Things could have been happening behind the scenes." I wanted to give George the benefit of the doubt. He'd seemed surprised and concerned when I'd told him what had been happening. He'd said he'd be investigating the incident and I had to assume he would keep true to his word.

"Wait for my call,” I said. “I'm getting Nate's phone out of evidence. It'll take me a couple of minutes."

"I'll stop in to visit him first, let him in on our plan. And don't worry"—he held up his hand to silence me when I opened my mouth to interrupt—"I'll be discreet. The camera won't pick it up." Stepping up to me, he wrapped a hand around my nape and tugged me toward him, his lips landing on mine.

And just like every other time he kissed me, all thoughts left my head. That we were on a time crunch, most likely in danger, none of it mattered. All that mattered in this time and moment was his mouth on mine, the taste of him on my tongue. I growled and he chuckled, slowly backing away. Reluctantly I let him go. Dropping my hand from the elevator door, I kept my gaze locked on his until the door slid closed between us.