Chapter 17 · Mom Has a Twin

I'm staring at the cracked phone screen when Cole says it.

"Your mom's still down there."

I look up. He's wiping blood off his knuckles with the edge of his jacket. Dennis is zip-tied to the coffee shop counter, face down, breathing hard. Leah's rifle is leaning against the espresso machine. She's standing by the door, arms crossed, watching the street.

"What do you mean still down there?" I say.

Cole doesn't look at me. "The Moonwell. Under the old Gray Protocol site. Your mom didn't die. They put her under."

My chest goes tight. "Put her under."

"Induced coma. Silver drip. Keeps the wolf locked but the body alive." He finally meets my eyes. "She's been down there twenty years."

I can't breathe.

Leah turns around. "He's not lying."

I look at her. My half-sister. The one who put a scope on me an hour ago. The one who said little sister like it meant something.

"You knew," I say.

She nods. "I've known for three years. Since I made field lead."

"And you didn't—"

"What was I supposed to do?" Her voice is flat. "Wake her up? She'd rip through six civilians before we put her back down.