<h4>Chapter 214: A Horrible Idea</h4>


    <strong><i>(Third Person).</i></strong>


    After finishing their meal, Dennis and Jeffery pushed their tes aside and stood from the small table.


    The thick scent of roasted goat and spiced stew still hung in the air as they made their way through the lively restaurant, nodding curtly at the staff who bowed in gratitude after receiving their payment.


    Once outside, the afternoon sun beamed down from a clear sky, casting long shadows across the parking lot.


    They crossed to the far end, where their ck SUV sat tucked away in the car park area.


    Dennis unlocked the doors, and the two men climbed inside, shutting out the ambient city noise as the doors thudded closed.


    Inside, silence settled between them as they watched the entrance of the restaurant through their side mirrors and rearview.


    Jeffery leaned his elbow against the window and muttered, "Do we wait or follow?"


    "We will wait," Dennis replied, his tone casual but sharp. "If we follow her now, she will think we are another set of abductors, and that title wouldn’t look good on us."


    Jeffery grunted in agreement.


    Dennis and Jeffery waited as minutes ticked by.


    Then Dennis let out a breath and said, "You know, you should be the one to talk to her. You are the serious type."


    Jeffery shot him a dry look. "That’s exactly why it shouldn’t be me. One look at me and she will think I’m here to abduct her all over again."


    Dennis chuckled. "You do have that terrifying uncle-at-the-funeral look."


    "I will wear it proudly if it keeps idiots in line."


    A momentter, the restaurant door opened. The woman stepped out alone, clutching her purse and walking slowly, as though the world had be a tightrope.


    Her eyes flicked side to side, clearly on edge. The trauma from thest few days still wrapped around her like a second skin.


    Dennis pushed open the door and stepped out.


    He moved calmly, hands away from his body, his posture non-threatening. "Excuse me," he called softly.


    The woman flinched and turned, her eyes widening with fear when she saw him.


    "I’m not here to hurt you," Dennis said gently, his voice smooth and disarming. "I just... I overheard your story inside. I’m sorry for your loss."


    Her fingers tightened around her purse strap. She didn’t respond, but she didn’t run either.


    Dennis took that as permission to continue. "I’m part of the Duskmoor Security Unit. We are trying to understand what’s been happening to people like you—those who’ve been taken."


    The woman blinked, her shoulders slowly lowering. "You... you’re a werewolf."


    "Yes," he admitted readily. "But I’m also someone who gives a damn about what’s happening in this city. And about people like you."


    She bit her lip, then gave a small nod. "What do you want to know?"


    Dennis’s gaze remained steady. "Do you remember where they took you? Anything about the location?"


    The woman shook her head. "No. I was unconscious when they moved me. Both times. I never saw anything outside the cell."


    "What about inside? Sounds, voices?"


    She hesitated. "Sometimes... I heard people talking behind the metal walls. They used weird words. I couldn’t make sense of most of it. But I remember... ’termination,’ ’phase three,’ and someone said something about ’specimens.’"


    Dennis’s jaw tightened, but his expression didn’t change. "Did your car have a ck box or tracking system that night?"


    She shook her head again. "No. It’s an old model. Just basic systems."


    Dennis nodded. "Alright. Thank you. That helps more than you know."


    The woman looked at him, unsure. "Will this stop them? Will you find them?"


    He didn’t lie. "We are trying."


    Then he turned and walked calmly back to the SUV. Jeffery was still waiting, his eyes fixed on the woman through the windshield.


    As Dennis buckled his seatbelt and started the engine, Jeffery asked without turning, "Well?"


    "Nothing useful," Dennis replied, cing his hand on the gear shift. "Not for a location."


    Jeffery grunted. "But?"


    Dennis exhaled and recounted what the woman had told him — about theck of visual cues, the injections, the confusing words, the missing child.


    When he mentioned "termination" and "phase three," Jeffery finally reacted.


    "That confirms it," Jeffery said grimly. "They are running human trials, using our biology to experiment or extract something."


    "Yeah," Dennis murmured, his knuckles tightening around the wheel. "They are so inhumane to be considered humans. Who knows the level of progress they’ve made to warrant them harvesting newborns straight from the womb?"


    Just then, Dennis remembered something as he pulled the car out of the parking lot.


    "I forgot to ask for the location she was dumped," he said, ncing at Jeffery. "We would have gone to check the area."


    Almost immediately, Jeffery shook his head. "That sounds like a horrible idea. Believe me."


    "Why?" Dennis lifted a brow briefly before turning his attention to the road.


    "There is no saying that there couldn’t be a CCTV mounted on that spot. And if there is one, those beats could be watching, then they would catch on that we know something. And we don’t want that."


    Dennis slowly nodded, clearly agreeing with Jeffery’s statement. "Our mission would have suffered a great loss."


    If Brackham learned that Draven and his team had full knowledge of what he was up to, he would change strategy and even add more barricades to the secretb.


    ---


    The ck SUV rolled smoothly through the towering iron gates of Draven’s estate, the security post giving a brief nod as the vehicle passed.


    As the vehicle curved around the driveway and came to a halt before the grand front entrance, Jeffery’s phone began to ring.


    He took his phone out of his pants pocket and nced at the screen.


    "The Alpha is calling," Jeffery said to Jeffery.


    Dennis nodded. "He sure knows the right time to call."


    Without hesitation, Jeffery slid his finger across the screen to take the call. "Alpha."


    "Where are you?" Draven’s voice came through, calm and firm.


    Jeffery exchanged a nce with Dennis. "We just arrived at the estate, Alpha. Dennis and I have a small report to make."


    There was a brief pause, then Draven said, "Meet me in my study."


    "Yes, Alpha."


    The line went dead almost immediately.


    Jeffery lowered the phone and turned to Dennis. "He wants us in his study."


    Dennis nodded and shut off the engine. "Let’s not keep him waiting, then."