The metallic tang of ozone and chaos replaced the scent of pine. Kaelan Vex was gone, his boots pounding down the hallway toward Sector 4. Anya, still reeling from the bond's punishing feedback, knew she had mere minutes.
Alpha Command: Do not leave this room.
The order echoed faintly in her mind, a relentless drumbeat of compliance. She fought it down, focusing on the new, desperate reality: Kaelan had a weakness (the bond's range) and an immediate enemy (the Hybrids).
She pulled her laptop back onto the desk. Her Ghost Security tech had a passive sensor suite designed to map encrypted traffic—perfect for listening in on the Lycan network without being detected.
She initiated a silent scan, targeting the comms hub the Hybrids were hitting. The Lycan network was a chaotic mess of distressed voices, adrenaline, and tactical confusion. Anya quickly filtered the noise, identifying the specific frequencies Zara and Kaelan were using.
Suddenly, she realized the main external security door—the one leading out of the office—was still technically sealed, but Kaelan had disengaged the biometrics when he left in a rush. She could now open it manually.
She stood at the door, her hand hovering over the release pad. The Alpha Command screamed in protest, but her desire for freedom was louder. She would not leave the room yet, but she needed to see the battlefield. She carefully cracked the door open a few inches, peering into the dark, empty hall.