The Red Circle

Ronan

“Ready for our next trip?”

Caleb appeared from the hallway, carrying his usual little cross-bag in one hand. He walked past me and headed for the front door.

For some reason, my eyes drifted toward the hallway.

Adalia… She was probably still asleep.

After what she'd told us a few days ago, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about everything. There were still too many unanswered questions surrounding her that I still needed to figure out, but this trip needed to come first.

I walked toward the guest room. My hand had barely lifted to knock when the door opened from the inside.

Adalia stood there.

She looked almost startled to see me, but her expression quickly softened. Her eyes dropped to the floor, just as they always seemed to do whenever I was around.

“Good morning,” she said quietly.

“Morning.”

Her voice was still so soft that sometimes I wondered if she was afraid of being heard.

“Did you sleep well?”

She nodded. “Yes, Ronan.”

Something about hearing my name from her lips again made me pause for half a second. I quickly brushed the thought aside.

“Caleb and I are heading out of town for a few days.”

Her eyes immediately lifted, filled with worry and concern.

“Don't worry. You'll be fine here. Stay indoors while we're gone. Everything you need is already in the house. There's food, water, and anything else you might need.”

She nodded silently. “Yes.”

“And don't open the door for anyone.”

“Anyone?”

“Anyone.” My voice hardened. “I don't care who they claim to be. Don't open it until Caleb and I get back. Do you understand?”

She nodded quickly. “Yes, I understand.”

Something about the way she immediately obeyed made me uncomfortable. Not because she'd done anything wrong, but because she seemed almost too accustomed to obeying.

I'd seen that kind of behavior before in people who had spent too long under someone else's control.

My jaw tightened. “Good.”

I turned toward the hallway, but after a few steps, I stopped. Looking back at her, I found her still standing in the doorway.

“Make sure you take care of yourself.”

Her eyes widened slightly before she gave me a small nod. “I will. Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks.”

The door closed quietly behind me. For a moment, I remained standing there.

Something about leaving her alone didn't sit right with me. The house was hidden. The security around it was good. Nobody should be able to find her here without knowing exactly where to look.

Still…

Unfortunately, the lead we'd received was too important to ignore, and I couldn't afford to miss it.

With one final glance toward the house, I stepped outside.

Caleb was already waiting beside the car. I climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door. As the engine roared to life, my head fell against the seat, and I closed my eyes.

“Worried about your quiet little mate?”

My eyes opened to see Caleb glancing at me with a knowing smile.

“Shut up and drive.”

He chuckled. “Touchy.”

***

“Ronan, watch out!”

Caleb's shout came barely a second before something lunged at me.

I turned sharply… Too late.

A feral crashed into me, its claws scraping against my clothes as its jaws clamped down on my arm. Its thick fangs sank deep into my flesh. A sharp burst of pain shot through my arm, forcing a grunt from my throat.

“Fuck!”

The creature snarled against my skin. With my free hand, my claws shot out. I grabbed its neck and slashed.

The feral's body jerked. A thick spray of black blood burst from its throat and splattered across my face. Some of it landed on my lips.

“Fucking bastards.”

The feral collapsed at my feet. For a moment, I simply stood there, breathing heavily. The clearing had finally gone quiet, and every feral that had ambushed us was down.

Just as I took a step, a strange wave of dizziness suddenly washed over me. My vision blurred, and the ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

What the hell?

I blinked several times and steadied myself.

“Ronan?” Caleb's voice came from behind me. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.”

Caleb walked toward the edge of the clearing. A few moments later, he returned, dragging the male Omega servant we'd captured earlier. His hands were tied behind his back, and Caleb shoved him forward.

The man stumbled before landing at my feet.

I looked down at him. “You're going to tell us everything.”

The servant raised his head, and a strange smile appeared on his face. Before I could say anything else, another wave of dizziness struck, harder this time.

My hand instinctively pressed against my temple.

What was happening to me?

The servant noticed, and his smile widened.

“Oh… you felt it, didn't you?”

My eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

His expression turned smug. “Nothing… just that this new batch of ferals is different.”

My gaze hardened. “Different how?”

“They've been modified.”

My claws slowly extended. “Stop wasting my time.”

The servant chuckled proudly. “There is an advanced form of wolfsbane in their saliva. A refined version. Strong enough to fight its way through the body of anyone they bite.”

My eyes dropped to the wound on my arm. Red marks were already beginning to spread around it. The servant continued.

“That dizziness you're feeling? That's just the toxin fighting your body. Eventually, when the experiment is perfected, anyone bitten by one of them will turn feral.”

Caleb's face darkened while the servant's eyes gleamed. “And when that happens, everything will finally be complete.”

Rage surged through me. My body moved before I could think, and a kick sent the servant crashing backward. He curled over his stomach, coughing violently. A smear of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Who is responsible for these experiments?” I grabbed him by the collar and hauled him closer.

“Who's conducting them?”

He looked at me. Instead of fear, amusement filled his face. “You'll find out… When the experiment is complete. But if you keep trying to interfere with such a spectacular creation… the Red Circle will come for you.”

“Not just you.” His eyes gleamed. “They'll come for the people you love. The ones you hold closest to your heart. And lastly… your mate.”

Everything inside me went still.

“If you have one.”

A growl ripped through my chest as Leo’s fury slammed into my senses. My claws lengthened.

For one terrifying second, all I could think about was tearing the man's throat out.

“Ronan!” Caleb grabbed my arm. “Calm down! We need him alive. We still need information about the Red Circle.”

I forced myself to look away from the servant.

The Red Circle.

They were the more advanced organization connected to most of Jacob's previous projects.

I'd never known much about them until a year ago, mostly because Jacob had never trusted me enough to reveal everything he was planning.

He'd used my blood for one of his projects, but that was all he'd allowed me to know.

The Red Circle was different. Even the Central Council feared them. Nobody knew who they were or who was actually behind the organization.

But fear didn't mean they were untouchable. If anything, it meant I had another reason to find them.

Just then, we heard a wet, choking gurgle.

Caleb's head snapped toward the servant.

“What the—?”

The servant's body suddenly jerked violently. His eyes rolled back. White foam began bubbling from the corners of his mouth as his entire body convulsed against the ground.

“Shit!”

Caleb rushed toward him. I followed, but there was nothing either of us could do. Within seconds, the struggling stopped, and his body went completely still.

Caleb checked for a pulse. “He's dead. The bastard killed himself rather than tell us anything.”

He stood slowly and looked at me. “Ronan, the Red Circle is much bigger than we thought.”

My gaze dropped to my arm. The red bite mark had spread farther now into thick lines of long veins creeping under my skin.

Sweat gathered across my forehead, and the dizziness returned. This time, I couldn't hide it.

“We need to go back now.”

The rushing wind hit my face as soon as we were back inside the vehicle. Normally, the cold air would have been refreshing, but it barely registered.

My arm throbbed. My head felt heavy. Every few minutes, another wave of dizziness came over me, but none of that mattered.

The only thing I could think about was what that servant had said. My mind immediately went to Adalia.

“Drive faster, Caleb.”

Caleb glanced at me. “We're already going as fast as we safely can.” His eyes moved briefly toward my arm. “Should we stop at a hospital?”

“No.”

“Ronan—”

“It'll expose my identity. Once we get home, we'll contact Dr. Festus. He can check me there.”

Caleb looked worried, but didn't argue again. The vehicle sped down the road. My eyes drifted shut for a moment as the dizziness came in spasms now. Soon, my legs began feeling numb. Whatever was in that feral's saliva was working faster than I'd expected.

I didn't know how many minutes or hours passed, but eventually, the vehicle came to a stop.

We were finally back.

I pushed myself out of the car, ignoring the dizziness that nearly sent me stumbling.

Caleb hurried after me. The security panel came into view. I entered the numbers with shaking fingers, and the lock clicked.

“Adalia?”

No answer.

My blood ran cold as I stepped inside.

“Adalia?”

Silence.

A strange feeling suddenly crawled through my chest.

“Adalia!”

I rushed toward the guest room and pushed the door open… empty.

“Fuck!”

She was gone. Leo surged forward. For one terrifying second, I considered shifting and tearing through the surrounding area until I found her.

Then—

“Ronan?”

The soft voice came from behind me. I quickly turned around.

Adalia stood on the balcony beside the rocking chair, staring at me with a confused and surprised expression.

The breath I'd been holding finally escaped my lungs.

But then the dizziness hit hard again, and my vision blurred. But this time, I barely cared.

She was safe, alive, and right there. And somehow… that was all that mattered.