Page 42 of Hunted By the Wolves
“That’s the fucker who tormented Riley, right?”Kamon asked.
“Yeah, and they have him classified in these files as a failed alpha-hybrid,” Malik said.
Silence, heavy and sharp.
Rune frowned.“Define failed.”
Malik exhaled slowly.“He’s an alpha wolf shifter who was part of Chimera’s early hybrid program.The attempt to create hybrid alphas—made, not born.But he didn’t stabilize the way they expected.His physiology adapted.His cognition ...diverged.He became stronger than projected, more autonomous.And completely uncontrollable.”
“Which is why they flagged him as a failed attempt,” Jamal added.“Further through the data he is listed as an asset terminated.Or so they thought.”
Dorian folded his arms, mind racing.“So, Chimera lost him ...but he didn’t go away.”
“No,” Malik said.“He went independent.”
Klarissa’s smile had vanished.“Meaning he’s not a tool.He’s a zealot.”
“Worse,” Malik said quietly.“He’s convinced he’s the next step in shifter evolution.”
Images scrolled across the screen—medical schematics, behavioral analyses, fragments of psychological profiling pulled from the encrypted data.
“Christian’s obsession with mate bonds isn’t instinct,” Malik continued.“It’s pathology.Control fixation.He doesn’t experience attachment the way shifters do.He reinterprets the concept of a mate as ownership, entitlement, destiny imposed by power rather than choice.”
He felt his mate tense between him and Rafe and Dorian’s jaw tightened.
“Every bond he references in the data is framed as conquest,” Malik said.“Acquisition.He doesn’t want a partner.He wants a singular point of focus that proves his superiority over every system that ever tried to contain him.”
“Which means Riley was never a woman to him,” Dorian said quietly.“She was a symbol.”
Malik met his gaze.“Yes.”
Rafe shifted beside him, a low, dangerous tension rolling off him that Dorian knew better than to interrupt.
“There’s more,” Malik said.“Genetic desirability markers.Traits flagged for future acquisition.”He enlarged one data set.“And this is where it gets ...interesting.”
A broader classification lit up across the screen.
Lion genetics.
Strength.Pack cohesion.Loyalty under pressure.
For half a second the room simply stared.Then one of the Lions—Jackson—lifted his chin a fraction, a slow, amused smile spreading across his face.“Well,” he drawled.“We always knew we were superior.”
His brothers mirrored the posture, shoulders rolling back, expressions identical.“Maybe we should be running this whole operation,” Wyatt added lightly.
The room crackled.
Victor didn’t raise his voice.He didn’t need to.The dominance in it rolled outward, sharp and absolute.“Enough.”
All three Lions stiffened.
Then, almost in unison, they grimaced—and bared their throats.
“Just kidding,” Jackson said quickly.
A ripple of dark amusement moved through the room, tension bleeding off without ever truly leaving.
“Christian isn’t building an army for Chimera,” Malik said.“He’s building something for himself.And Riley is the focal point.”
