Chapter 2

“The signal grows stronger,” she said, her voice low over the comm. “It’s coming from a settlement called Dustfall. A real hive of scum and outcasts. We’ll need to be careful—this moon has no laws, only the Syndicate’s iron grip.”

Xander’s jaw tightened. “Good. Let them come. I want to see the faces of those who took my sister.”

The shuttle landed on a strip of cracked ferrocrete, kicking up clouds of red dust. As the ramp lowered, the stench hit them first: a mix of burnt fuel, rotting waste, and the metallic tang of fear. Dustfall sprawled before them, a jumble of prefab structures and rusted domes connected by narrow alleys. Neon signs flickered in the dim light, advertising everything from cheap pleasures to illegal genetic modifications.

“Stay close,” Xander ordered, shifting into his human form. His pack followed suit, their wolf instincts barely leashed. They moved through the streets in a tight formation, drawing wary glances from the locals. A few hooded figures melted into shadows; others openly sneered, their eyes glinting with malice.

Lena consulted a handheld tracker, her brow furrowed. “The signature is intermittent, but it’s coming from a structure near the old refineries. An abandoned processing plant—or so the maps say.”

They reached the plant an hour later, its skeletal towers looming against the crimson sky. The main entrance was sealed with a heavy blast door, but Xander found a maintenance hatch around the side. He pried it open with a grunt, and they slipped inside.

Darkness enveloped them. The air was stale, thick with the smell of rust and something else—something organic and wrong. Xander’s nose twitched. Blood. Old blood, and the faint chemical tang of cryo-preservatives. His heart hammered. He was close.

“Alpha,” Lena whispered, pointing ahead. A dim light flickered at the end of a corridor, spilling from a partially open doorway. They advanced silently, claws unsheathed.

Xander pushed the door open and froze. The room was a makeshift lab, filled with rows of cages. Most were empty, but a few held the remains of creatures—shifters like them, twisted and dissected. His stomach lurched. In the center of the room, a holographic terminal projected a star map with dozens of marked locations. One blinked with a familiar signature.

He strode to the terminal, ignoring the revulsion. The data was encrypted, but a few keystrokes broke the basic security. A file popped up: “Subject K-9: Empathic Shifter. Acquired: 10 cycles ago. Sale: pending transfer to Biological Asset Division, Omega-7 Research Station.”

Ten cycles. Kylie. Omega-7.

Before he could process the revelation, alarms blared. The blast door slammed shut behind them, and a synthetic voice echoed through the room. “Intruders detected. Security measures active.”

“Trap!” Lena shouted.

The walls slid open, revealing panels that dropped to form barriers. Dozens of armed droids rolled into the corridors, their sensors locking onto the pack. Xander snarled and shifted, his wolf bursting forth. “Fight your way out! Protect the data at all costs!”

Chaos erupted. Lena led a defensive line, her claws tearing through the first wave of droids. Sparks flew, and the acrid smell of burnt circuitry filled the air. Xander grabbed the terminal’s core drive, ripping it free with a wrench. A droid lunged at him, but he dodged, slamming his shoulder into its chassis and crushing it against the wall.

“To the exit!” he roared over the din.

The pack fought their way back through the plant, leaving a trail of wreckage. Xander’s mind was a storm of fury and hope. Omega-7. A name he knew—a secret research facility rumored to conduct horrific experiments on shifters. Kylie was there. She was alive. He had to reach her before the Syndicate moved her again.

They burst out into the open air, dust and smoke billowing around them. More droids were converging from the streets, and behind them, a heavy transport ship descended, its landing lights blazing.

“Xander, we can’t hold much longer!” Lena yelled, blood matting her fur.

He scanned the chaos. There—a narrow alley between two domes. “This way!”

They fled into the maze of Dustfall, using their shifter agility to leap across rooftops and squeeze through tight gaps. The droids pursued, but the pack’s raw speed and cunning gave them the edge. After a brutal ten-minute chase, they lost the mechanical hunters in the labyrinth of the refuse sector.

Breathing hard, Xander doubled over in human form, clutching the data drive. His pack collapsed around him, wounds visible. Two of his warriors were missing—left behind or captured. He bit back a curse.

“We have what we came for,” he said, holding up the drive. “This tells us exactly where she is. But Veridia is lost to us now. The Syndicate will have eyes everywhere. We need a new ship, and we need to move fast.”

Lena nodded wearily. “I know a contact. A smuggler who owes me a favor. But it will cost us.”

“Whatever it takes,” Xander said, his gaze hardening. “I will not lose her again.”

As the twin moons of Veridia rose overhead, the pack limped toward the spaceport, shadows among shadows. Xander’s thoughts clung to a single image: Kylie’s smile. He would find her, no matter the cost. The stakes had never been higher—but neither had his resolve.