Hey!

Sorry for the long wait! It's a little short! I hope it isn't rushed! Lol!

Thank you all for the support! It means a lot to me and the fact that you are all being patient with my slow updates!! :)

~Lissa

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When Amanda arrived at the facility, somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, she confronted me about my 'procrastination'. Honestly, I didn't think I was procrastinating, but I wasn't in the position to argue with her. Knowing that Temp had filled her in on recent news, probably exaggerating and making me seem like an awful worker, I didn't speak long with her. For some reason, a part of me thought she was becoming irritated with me, possibly doubting me. But, I was confident enough to know that she needed me and I wasn't going to be fired any time soon.

After numerous cups of coffee and millions of papers, I dramatically collapsed forward onto my desk. Just when I was about to fall asleep, there was a soft tap on my shoulder. Slowly, I sat upright, peering over my shoulder into the familiar eyes of Archer. He grabbed the nearest chair from the desk opposite of mine and flopped down next to me, his cologne shooting up my nose. He was dressed in his uniform, cheeks reddening. "Don't say anything, but I'm getting frustrated with Temp."

I frowned. "Why?"

"He's acting as if he's in charge of me," he responded, quietly. "Like, I understand out on our assignments, but not at the facility." His complaint surprised me since he looked at Temp as a role model.

"Put him in his place," I told him, shrugging. "He's not as cool as he thinks." I winked and he chuckled, lightly punching my shoulder. His eyes skimmed the hundreds of papers scattered among my desk, widening slightly. As he opened his mouth to speak, I answered the obvious question, "These are reports on Subject 106. I'm supposed to read through these and basically, study him. Apparently, Amanda thinks I'm quite good at understanding the mind of a werewolf."

He grinned. "Are you?"

"Of course not," I laughed, shaking my head. "Especially not one this old." I flipped to the next page, squinting at the small words. "He's very complicated, that's for sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's definitely a threat," I started, nibbling on my lower lip. "All werewolves are, but Subject 106 has strong protective instincts. He won't hesitate to protect his family or himself. He'll kill everyone in this facility if it means keeping his brothers safe and actually, I don't think he would enjoy it. He doesn't seem to be the kind of werewolf to crave blood and. . . start violence. He's independent and lonely."

Archer rubbed his jaw. "Lonely?"

"Yeah, he's lonely," I said, forcing a grin. "I don't think it's something he enjoys talking about."

"But, he talked about it with you."

My heart pounded in my chest. "Yeah, I guess he did."

"He's complicated," he agreed, his chair squeaking. "And, extremely dangerous - it's a good thing Amanda ordered his execution." Suddenly, the world froze and I found my hands trembling on my desk. My heart skipped a beat and the butterflies in my stomach stopped fluttering. The sickening feeling inside of me made me feel dead. In disbelief, I looked at him, eyes wide. I was lost with words and started sputtering, shaking my head. "Wait, you didn't know? Amanda ordered his execution this morning."

I gulped loudly. "Uh, w-why?"

"He's extremely dangerous," he reminded me, frowning. "If he starts rebelling, we'll lose. As of right now, our systems and provided barriers won't keep him here. Last time, a bunch of werewolves escaped, including him and his brothers, remember? We're still weak from that attack." His words were floating inside of my head, pounding on my skull. "Amanda just wanted to study him a bit more, get some answers."

"I-I didn't sign up for this."

"We execute several werewolves a day, Blue," he responded, appearing confused. "It's how things are."

"But, I didn't sign up to question him, then have him killed."

He shook his head. "What did you think was going to happen to him? We'd let him go? Keep him locked up here forever?" I replayed his questions in my head, suddenly realizing where he was coming from. Archer stared at me for a minute, before quietly saying, "His execution is tomorrow afternoon. She was going to wait until she received some news back from you, probably your opinion on those papers."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Tell me you're lying."

"I can't."

Pinching my lips together, I leaped up from my chair and scurried around Archer. He shouted after me, resulting in a few curious stares, but I ignored him. I stomped throughout the facility, suddenly wide awake and determined. I passed several guards and whispering scientists, eventually coming across Temp. He was talking with a guard, gesturing with his hands as he spoke, and angrily, I approached him. Noticing me, the guard walked away, leaving me alone with Temp in the hallway. His eyes looked down at me and he tilted his head back, groaning. "What do you want now?"

"Is it true Ethen is going to be executed?"

"It's Subject 106," he corrected, scowling. "And, it was announced this morning."

Without thinking, I shoved at his chest. "Why didn't you freaking tell me, Temp? Why didn't anyone tell me until now?"

"Because, Amanda thought you were getting attached," he answered, calmly. He eyed me up and down, eyes narrowed. "And, it seems she was right." I opened my mouth to speak, but I was lost with words. "He needs to be executed, Blue. Let it go."

"No!" I blurted, glaring at him. "He's been cooperating, Temp. He hasn't caused too many p-problems."

"I suggest you keep quiet, Blue," Temp said, lowly.

"I-I need to fix this," I stuttered, walking around him. I was startled when his hand reached out, grabbing my upper arm. His fingers dug into my arm, surely going to cause bruising. I winced and whipped around, giving him the nastiest look. I was surprised when I noticed the concern and frustration in his eyes; clearly, he wasn't happy with the situation either. He looked around, before speaking softly, "Don't, Thea. You'll be killed with him if you interfere."

My eyes widened. "They wouldn't."

"They would," he responded, seriously. "They will kill you." What did I sign up for?

I hesitated. "I have to do something." With that, I ripped my arm out of his grasp and hurried down the hallway. When he started chasing after me, I began running, slipping around numerous people. There were a couple shouts from workers and a few guards debated whether or not to stop me. Temp was calling my name, nearly pleading for me to stop - I wasn't going to. I wasn't going to allow Ethen to die; I didn't know that I was that attached. There was just this feeling inside of me that was urging me to stop his execution.

I turned into the laboratory, breathing heavily. A few scientists glanced my direction and I noticed the single guard standing at the large door, blocking the entrance into Ethen's cell. Knowing Temp was right behind me, I hurried over and rambled off, "Uh, Amanda wants to see you out in the hallway."

He frowned. "For what?"

"I suggest you hurry," I told him, impatiently. "She sounded urgent."

The guard hesitated, before stumbling out of the laboratory. I punched at a few buttons until I heard the familiar door unlock. As I used my body weight to yank it open, Temp burst into the laboratory, his eyes flickering around. "Thea!" I scrambled through the door and pulled it shut behind me, trembling. I whirled around, not surprised to find a confused Ethen. He was lingering near the corner of the room, watching me with his emerald eyes.

"Thea?" he said, tilting his head one direction. "Are you alright?"

"You n-need to get out of here," I sputtered, shaking my head. "They're going to kill you."

He stared at me, confused. "I don't understand."

"I-I don't know," I mumbled, gulping loudly. "You need to break out, okay? You need to leave."

He exhaled loudly, shaking his head. "I'm assuming warning me will have consequences for you? You should've stayed out of it, Thea." I stared at him, wondering if I had made a mistake. He stepped towards me and for once, I didn't step away backwards in fear. "They'll kill you, won't they?" I hesitated, before nodding in response. "I knew my death was approaching and I was waiting, Thea - honestly, I was interested in how they were going to accomplish killing me."

"You want to die?"

"I've lived long enough," he responded, forcing a grin. "Eventually, life gets boring." He looked down at the floor, before looking at me through his eyelashes. "But, it seems it isn't my time, yet. I've got something new to fight for now."

I licked my bottom lip. "I know - "

Suddenly, the door opened and a swarm of guards came into the room. The nearest two grabbed my upper arms and started dragging me towards the door to leave. "No! Let go of me!" The other guards raised their weapons and started shooting paralyzing darts at Ethen. It wasn't surprising when he lifted his hands, palms facing forward, and the darts paused inches from his body. I thrashed around, screaming in protest, as the darts flipped around and shot forward. There were groans and yelps of pain when they penetrated the guards; I winced, relieved when none of them nailed me.

The two guards at my sides dropped to the floor, silently. Shaking, I looked at Ethen who was staring at me, his emerald eyes flashing a murderous red. Noticing the slight fear on my face, he nodded once and carefully, approached me. "You sure you want me to escape?"

My stomach twisted. "You don't belong here."

"I disagree," he responded, looking towards the door. "But, I'll do what you want."

"Why?"

He hesitated. "One day, I'll tell you." He glanced down at the paralyzed guards, before looking at me one last time. "But, for now, just know that I owe you everything, Thea."