The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 208: Three lives, one way out

Theo’s eyes flicked from Ava to the reinforced glass, then to the faintly glowing panel embedded beside the cell.

The cell has no hinges, seams or visible locks.

Of course.

Her fingers hovered near the surface, then pulled back. Even if she had the strength, this wasn’t something brute force would fix.

The glass hummed faintly, layered with suppressive runes she didn’t fully understand, but she could feel them pressing down on her chest as she touched them, making Seraphina cry.

"This isn’t normal glass," Theo whispered to herself, thinking of what to do next.

There had to be some kind of way to open it.

Instinctively, her gaze moved to the laboratory.

To the sleeping man. He must have some kind of key with him.

She tiptoed closer to him, standing behind the glass she looked around. His hands were empty, and she considered looking through his pocket as carefully as she could when she saw it.

A slim device lay on the edge of his desk, half-hidden beneath a stack of papers. It pulsed faintly with the same dull blue light as the glass.

Her breath caught.

That’s it!

Theo glanced back at Ava, then at the scientist again. He hadn’t stirred. From everything she could see, he wasn’t just fast asleep, he was exhausted.

Good.

She moved forward, making sure every step carried calculation and silence.

Theo stayed close to the walls, avoiding the brighter patches of light. The closer she got, the stronger the scent of chemicals became. She refused to look at the entirety of the lab, afraid she would trigger the trauma of what she saw in Zeke.

Theo then reached the desk and stopped.

Up close, the man looked older than she’d first thought. And he wasn’t entirely bald, with grey hair lining the sides of his head.

And he was wearing glasses.

Medicated glasses.

Wolves don’t get sick. Does that mean...he wasn’t a wolf? She would have been able to tell instantly if Seraphina was active.

Taking her eyes off him, she reached for the device.

The moment her fingers brushed it, the light flared.

Theo froze, her heart roaring in her chest. She couldn’t even breathe at this point.

The scientist shifted in his sleep, letting out a low grunt.

Don’t wake up. Don’t wake up.

Seconds stretched, and finally, his breathing evened out again.

Theo exhaled shakily and snatched the device, slipping it into her palm.

Only then did her eyes drop to the papers beneath where it had been resting.

She hadn’t meant to look. But she did.

It was mostly filled with sketches. Diagrams.

So many of them.

Wolves dissected into layers. Diagrams of vials containing their blood and labels. Notes scrawled in tight, obsessive handwriting filling every margin.

"SUBJECT STABILITY DETERIORATING."

"WOLF SUPPRESSION SUCCESSFUL—HOST RESISTANCE WEAKENING,"

"PROCEDURE PHASE III REQUIRES COMPLETE HOST COMPLIANCE,"

Theo’s stomach churned.

Then she saw her name.

THEODORA BLACKTHORN — PRIMARY VESSEL

Her vision swam, but she forced herself to keep reading.

"SINCLAIR HEIR—UNCOOPERATIVE. WOLF STRONG. BLOODLINE POTENT,"

"WOLF SUPPRESSION SUCCESSFUL—HOST RESISTANCE WEAKENING,"

Theo’s fingers curled around the paper. Sinclair heir...? Liam! What was he doing here?!

Her head snapped toward the adjacent cell. She hadn’t looked closely before, but she did now.

The wolf in the next cell was chained similarly to Ava, his body trembling faintly. His scent was muted and buried beneath suppressants, but beneath it...

There was power.

And she felt a slight... just a little...recoil.

Fire and water.

Definitely a Sinclair.

Theo’s pulse thundered.

She backed away from the desk slowly, clutching the device, and hurried back to Ava’s cell.

"Ava," she whispered urgently, "I can open it,"

Ava’s eyes widened, "Theo, be careful."

Theo slowly pressed the device against the panel, and the glass hummed louder this time. The Runes flared, then flickered.

Theo snapped her eyes back at the scientist. To not wake up from that sound was confirmation enough that he was human. It was absurd that Cain was working with a human!

Then, Click.

The glass slid aside with a low hiss, and Theo lunged forward, grabbing Ava before she could collapse. Ava sagged against her immediately, her legs trembling, and her body heavy with exhaustion.

Her skin was so hot, almost burning.

She looked terrible.

"I’ve got you," Theo murmured, wrapping an arm around her, "You’re safe now,"

Ava let out a shaky sob.

As Theo began unfastening the silver cuffs, Ava’s gaze drifted weakly to the cell beside hers.

"Theo..." she whispered.

Theo followed her line of sight.

"Don’t leave him," Ava whispered. "That’s... that’s Liam’s older brother,"

Liam had an older brother? She thought he was the heir. Hell! Everyone thought he was the heir.

Theo’s chest tightened painfully.

"He’s been here longer than me," Ava continued hoarsely, "They keep draining him. Testing him. Breaking him."

Theo stared at the wolf.

At the rage barely contained beneath layers of suppression. At the living proof of everything Cain had stolen.

She wondered if this was how Thaddeus would have turned out if Cain had gotten his hands on him. Speaking of Thaddeus, she was worried about him. With Sylas gone, it was only a matter of time before Cain found him.

Her jaw clenched. She couldn’t carry two of them at the same time, and she was scared of leaving one and coming back later. She didn’t have that kind of time on her hands.

What the hell was she supposed to do?!

"I won’t," she said quietly. "I swear,"

In a short while, Theo was carrying Ava on her back while the Sinclair Heir was in her arms. The weight of both of them was slightly overwhelming, but she could manage.

Training every morning had paid off.

She stepped back onto the platform, and it closed again. From the periphery of her eyes, the scientist stirred.

She wasn’t sure if he had woken up, but if he did, that would be terrible.

It wasn’t up to five seconds, they began going up, she heard an aggravated cry from below, and her eyes widened.

Shit!

He had awoken.

Which means...

She looked up as they approached their destination.

He was going to contact Cain.

And Cain would be waiting for them.

Theo’s hand tightened into fists. No matter what, she wouldn’t let Cain get his hands on them again. Tonight, they would be free.