Chapter 9: "The Serum's Price"

POV: Maya

The pain hit me in waves, like someone was ripping me apart from the inside out.

I'd been unconscious for what felt like days, drifting in and out of nightmares where my body was on fire and my wolf was screaming. But now I was awake, and the pain was real. So real that I couldn't even scream anymore.

My muscles felt like they were being rebuilt, torn down and put back together stronger. My bones ached like they were growing. Even my teeth hurt, sharp and too big for my mouth.

"Fascinating," Marcus's voice came from somewhere nearby. "Your body is adapting faster than I expected."

I tried to open my eyes, but the light was too bright. Everything was too bright, too loud, too much. I could hear heartbeats from rooms away, smell fear and sweat and something metallic that made my stomach turn.

"What..." My voice came out as a rasp. "What did you do to me?"

"I gave you a gift," Marcus said, and I heard the squeak of his chair as he leaned closer. "Alpha essence. Pure, concentrated wolf power extracted from some of the strongest alphas I could find."

The words hit me like ice water. "That should kill me."

"It should," he agreed cheerfully. "Regular wolves can't handle that much power. It would burn them out from the inside, destroy their minds, turn them into mindless beasts. But you... you're not regular, are you Maya?"

I forced my eyes open, squinting against the harsh white light. Marcus was sitting in the same metal chair, but now there were other people in the room too. Men in white coats with clipboards, watching me like I was a science experiment.

"The mate bond," I whispered, understanding flooding through me. "It's making me stronger."

"Exactly." Marcus smiled like a proud teacher. "Four alpha mates means your body is already conditioned to handle massive amounts of power. The bond has been preparing you for this your whole life."

I tried to sit up, and the movement was too fast, too smooth. I was on my feet before I realized I'd moved, standing perfectly balanced despite feeling like my body was completely different.

"How do you feel?" one of the white coats asked, making notes on his clipboard.

How did I feel? Like I could tear through steel with my bare hands. Like I could run for days without getting tired. Like I could hear every conversation happening in the building at once.

But underneath all that power, something else was missing. Something important.

"Stronger," I said, and my voice sounded different. Colder. "Much stronger."

"Show me," Marcus said, standing up. "Break the chair."

I looked at the metal chair he'd been sitting in. It was solid steel, the kind that would take serious effort for even a strong alpha to bend.

I reached out and grabbed one of the legs. The metal crumpled in my hand like paper.

The white coats scribbled furiously on their clipboards, but Marcus just smiled wider.

"Excellent. And how's your emotional state? Any guilt about what you just did? Any fear about what you're becoming?"

I thought about it. Really thought about it. A few days ago, the idea of having this much power would have terrified me. The thought of being turned into a weapon would have made me cry.

Now? Now I felt... nothing.

"No," I said, and the lack of emotion in my own voice should have scared me. Should have made me worried about what I was losing.

Instead, it just felt practical.

"Perfect." Marcus clapped his hands together. "Phase one is complete. Time for phase two."

Two guards came into the room, both heavily muscled men who moved like trained soldiers. They didn't have guns or weapons, but I could smell the fear on them as they approached me.

"Where are we going?" I asked, not because I was afraid, but because I was curious.

"To see how well your new abilities work in practice," Marcus said. "You're going to have some sparring partners."

They led me through a maze of white corridors, past rooms filled with medical equipment and others that held cages. The smell of fear and pain was everywhere, but it didn't bother me the way it should have.

We stopped at an elevator that went down, deeper underground. When the doors opened, I could hear screaming.

The elevator let us out into what looked like a basement level, but bigger. Much bigger. The walls were concrete, stained with things I didn't want to identify. The air was thick with the scent of blood and terror.

"Welcome to the arena," Marcus said, gesturing toward a set of metal doors.

Beyond those doors was a circular room with concrete floors and walls that went up at least twenty feet. There were bleachers filled with people I didn't recognize, all watching a pit in the center where two wolves were fighting.

Not playing. Not sparring. One of them was bleeding badly, whimpering as the other circled for the killing blow.

"What is this place?" I asked, but again, the question came out flat. Clinical.

"Training," Marcus said simply. "You need to learn what you're capable of. And the only way to do that is through combat."

A gate opened on the far side of the arena, and the losing wolf was dragged out, leaving a trail of blood behind. The winner raised his head and howled, and the crowd cheered.

"That's going to be you," Marcus said, nodding toward the pit. "Your first opponent is waiting."

"I don't want to fight," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I realized they weren't true. Part of me, a growing part, wanted to see what I could do with all this new power.

"Yes, you do," Marcus said. "The essence has changed more than just your body, Maya. It's changed who you are. What you want. What you need."

A gate opened near where we were standing, and a guard pushed me toward it. I should have resisted. Should have fought back. Should have refused to be part of whatever sick game this was. Instead, I walked into the arena.

The crowd fell silent as I entered the pit. I could hear their heartbeats, smell their excitement and bloodlust. But mostly, I could smell my opponent.

Another wolf, bigger than me, scarred from previous fights. His eyes were wild with fear and rage, and I could tell he'd been in this arena many times before.

He didn't want to fight me any more than I should have wanted to fight him. But as we circled each other, I felt something wake up inside me. Something hungry and violent that the old Maya would have been horrified by.

The new Maya just smiled.

He lunged first, going for my throat. Fast, but not fast enough.

I caught him mid-air, my enhanced strength making him feel light as a feather. The shock on his face would have been funny if I'd been capable of finding things funny anymore.

I threw him across the arena, and he hit the concrete wall with a crack that echoed through the room.

He got back up, shaking his head to clear it, but I was already moving. Faster than anyone expected, including myself.

The fight was over in minutes. Maybe less.

When it was done, he wasn't getting back up.

The crowd was cheering, screaming my name even though they didn't know it. Marcus was applauding from his seat in the stands, looking proud.

And I was standing over the body of someone who had been alive just moments before, someone who had probably been kidnapped and brought here against his will just like me.

I should have felt sick. Should have felt guilty or horrified or something human.

Instead, I felt... satisfied.

The realization hit me like a physical blow, but even that didn't bring the emotion it should have. I was becoming exactly what Marcus wanted me to be. And I didn't care..