Moonbound: The Alpha's Chosen

Emily felt strangely vulnerable without her pendant. The wolf head necklace had been a constant presence since her mother's death, and its absence left a phantom weight against her chest. Yet the pounding headache that had plagued her that morning had subsided somewhat, reinforcing her suspicion that the artifact was somehow affecting her physically.

The coffee shop Jason had suggested was tucked away in a quiet corner of downtown. She arrived early, securing a booth at the back where they wouldn't be overheard. The flash drive he'd given her burned like a hot coal in her pocket, but she'd resisted viewing its contents alone. Something told her she'd need Jason's context to understand what she was seeing.

He arrived precisely on time, sliding into the booth with the efficient movements she remembered from childhood. Without her pendant, Emily noticed, Jason seemed... sharper somehow. Less the awkward IT guy, more focused and deliberate.

"You're not wearing it," he observed immediately, eyes going to her bare neck.

Emily's hand instinctively rose to the empty space. "How did you—"

"You've never taken it off before. Not once in all the years I've known you." Jason's gaze was assessing. "How do you feel?"

"Better, actually. The headaches are less intense." She leaned forward. "Jason, what's going on? How are you involved in all this?"

Instead of answering directly, he pulled out a laptop. "First, let me show you what I found. A Group's security systems are sophisticated, but they have... blind spots if you know where to look."

He inserted the flash drive, typing in a complex password before turning the screen toward her. Security footage appeared, showing what looked like standard laboratory procedures at first glance.

"This is from three levels below what's shown on the official building plans," Jason explained. "A Group maintains an extensive underground facility where they conduct their real research."

The footage shifted to show scientists working with what appeared to be tissue samples, but as the camera angle changed, Emily gasped. In reinforced containment units along the back wall, she could see human subjects undergoing disturbing physical changes—elongated limbs, facial structures morphing, in one case what appeared to be fur sprouting from exposed skin.

"They're experimenting on people?" Emily whispered, horror blooming in her chest.

"Not exactly people," Jason's voice dropped even lower. "At least, not entirely human anymore. They're testing genetic manipulation techniques, attempting to control transformation processes."

"Transformation into what?"

Jason met her eyes directly. "You've already guessed, Emily. The same creatures responsible for the attacks in the forest. A Group is trying to create controllable versions through genetic engineering."

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "This is insane. We're talking about—"

"Werewolves," Jason finished. "Yes. And the company's research isn't limited to the main campus. They have a secondary facility deep in the forest where they conduct field tests. That's why the attacks started escalating—some of their test subjects escaped containment."

Emily struggled to process this information, her journalistic skepticism warring with the evidence before her eyes. "How did you access all this? Even with IT clearance, this seems beyond normal security protocols."

Jason shifted uncomfortably. "I've been... monitoring A Group for a while. I developed some specialized software to bypass their security." He hesitated. "But that's not the most important thing I found, Emily. I accessed their secure archives, and there's a whole section dedicated to genetic lineage research. Your mother's file was there."

"My mother?" Emily froze. "What does she have to do with A Group's experiments?"

"Everything, potentially." Jason pulled out a folder. "According to their records, your mother wasn't born Helena Grey. Her birth name was Helena Wind."

"Wind? That can't be right. My grandparents were the Greys."

"Those were her adoptive parents," Jason explained. "The Wind family is... notorious in certain circles. They control most of the city's underground economy—drug trafficking, illegal gambling, weapons. But according to A Group's research files, they're also something else." He paused. "They're one of the oldest werewolf bloodlines in North America."

Emily laughed, the sound brittle even to her own ears. "This is ridiculous. My mother wasn't some criminal werewolf. She was an accountant who drove her car off a cliff in the rain."

"Was it raining that night, Emily? Really?" Jason challenged gently. "Check the weather records. It was clear. And the police report—the original one, not the sanitized version your father was given—indicated evidence of an attack before the crash. Your mother was running from something, or someone."

Emily's hands trembled as she leafed through the documents Jason had brought—copies of internal A Group files about her mother, including what appeared to be genetic sequencing charts with sections highlighted and annotated.

"Why would A Group have files on my mother?"

"Because Lucas Stone's family and the Wind family have been rivals for generations. The Stones control legitimate corporate interests, while the Winds run the shadows. Both families are... different. Special. And both have been trying to solidify their power through genetic research."

A photo slipped from the folder—her mother standing beside a man Emily didn't recognize, both wearing pendants identical to hers. The man's posture suggested intimacy, his arm protectively around Helena's shoulders.

"Who is this?" Emily demanded.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," Jason admitted. "The file only refers to him as 'K.' He appears to be a high-ranking member of the Wind family. The notes suggest he was very protective of your mother."

Emily studied the photo, searching for some resemblance to herself in the stranger's features. "This is... a lot to process."

"I know," Jason reached across the table, covering her hand with his. "And you should know that I've probably put us both in danger by accessing these files. The system registered an intrusion alert right as I was downloading your mother's records."

"So both Lucas and Alexander might know you showed me this?"

"And Catherine," Jason added significantly.

Emily's head snapped up. "Catherine? My editor? What does she have to do with this?"

Jason's expression grew grim. "I found communications between her and top A Group executives going back years. She's deeply involved, Emily. The story she's pushing you to write—it's manufactured. Designed to trigger specific responses in the power struggle between these families."

"But why involve me? I'm just—"

"You're Helena Wind's daughter," Jason interrupted. "That makes you valuable to all parties involved. Your bloodline connects you to both families in ways I don't fully understand yet." He squeezed her hand. "Emily, you can't trust any of them—not Lucas, not Alexander, and definitely not Catherine. They're all using you for their own agendas."

"And you?" Emily challenged, suddenly wary. "Why are you helping me? How do you know so much about werewolves and these families?"

Jason looked away briefly. "I've been researching them for... personal reasons. But that's not important right now." He refocused on her with unexpected intensity. "What matters is keeping you safe. Without your pendant, you're vulnerable in ways you don't understand."

"The pendant was making me sick," Emily protested.

"No, it was protecting you," Jason corrected. "It's been suppressing certain aspects of your genetics, just as your mother intended. Without it, especially with the full moon approaching..." He trailed off, looking genuinely worried.

"You can't seriously believe I'm going to transform into a werewolf," Emily said incredulously.

"I don't know what will happen," Jason admitted. "But right now, you need to be careful. Don't trust Lucas, don't trust Alexander, don't trust Catherine. Until we understand exactly what's happening and why everyone is so interested in you specifically, I'm the only one you can rely on."

The absolute certainty in his voice sent a chill down Emily's spine. Jason seemed to know far too much about this hidden world for someone who had stumbled onto it by accident.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked quietly.

"Because I've never tried to use you or manipulate you," Jason replied simply. "I could have... I mean, others would have handled this differently. I'm just trying to keep you safe, Emily."

Before she could press further, her phone chimed with a message from Catherine: "Where are you? Important development on the Stone story. Come to the office immediately."

Emily showed Jason the screen. His face hardened.

"Don't go," he warned. "Whatever she's planning, it's not in your best interest."

Emily stared at the message, then back at the evidence of her mother's secret life spread across the table. Everything she thought she knew about herself, about her family, seemed to be unraveling. The only constant was the childhood friend sitting across from her—a friend who seemed to know more than he was saying, but who had never, in all their years together, steered her wrong.

"Okay," she decided. "But you need to tell me everything, Jason. No more holding back. If I'm going to navigate whatever this is, I need the complete truth."

His relief was palpable. "I'll tell you what I can. But first, we need to get your pendant back. Without it, you're broadcasting your presence to everyone who knows what to look for."

Outside the coffee shop, neither of them noticed the sleek black car parked across the street, its driver watching their meeting with predatory interest, a phone to his ear as he reported their location to his employer.