by Jana Leigh
“One of the doctors referred to Patient A as the made Chosen,” Calix said.
“Made?” Cherri whispered.
“Oh my gods,” Declan said. “Cloned.”
Storm and Rayne answered the knock on the door and Sadie stepped up behind him when she heard Calli at the door.
“We need to talk to Sadie,” Calli said and the guys shook their head.
“About what?” Sadie whispered and they all looked at her.
“Experimentation,” Calli said grimly.
Sadie closed her eyes, she knew they were going to find out. This was not going to go well, none of it. They were going to find out she had been forced to help Rebekka and what exactly that entailed. They would lock her up, she was sure of it. Nodding slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at her mates with what she hoped showed how sorry she was.
Chapter Eleven
They were back down on the main floor and Sadie was freaking out with so many people. They were all staring at her like she was a bug under a microscope. She understood why when they explained what they had discovered. Sadie was silent, but her mates were both extremely tense, they knew a bombshell was coming.
It had only been twenty-four hours and everything was gonna fall apart, she knew it. Sadie cleared her throat and then began.
“I don’t remember a lot of stuff. But what I do, um, is not good,” she whispered. “When I first woke up, I didn’t remember how I got to where I was. The doctor said I was natural, that they had given me something to help because I had been in some kind of trauma. I knew it was a lie, but I just couldn’t figure out what happened. I was in some kind of hospital, at first it was kinda normal, I had a room, they took care of me. You know like in a normal hospital. I started getting stronger and then one day the doctor said they needed to give me a treatment, it was going to make me sick, be unpleasant. Like the torture they did was natural or something. It was crazy. They took me to another room, strapped me down and hooked up IVs, they gave me medication. It hurt so fucking bad, like my insides were on fire. I screamed so much I was hoarse, but it was something more, like they had a part of me and killed it. I didn’t know then it was my bear. She was in so much pain, they killed her slowly. I passed out from the internal pain, and when I woke up, it was like I was empty. The doctors, they had me strapped down still but they really hadn’t needed to, I was too weak to even move. I just laid there and waited to die, I was sure I would, you know? I was sure of it. So when they cut me to see how long it took for me to heal, I didn’t care. For days they experimented. Truthfully, I just waited to die. Then the doctor came back in and said they were giving me another treatment. I figured this was it, they killed my bear so they were gonna kill me now. But they didn’t. This time, they gave me the drugs and suddenly I was full of power, my skin, it stretched around me almost, gods it was almost worse than the first one treatment. Have you ever felt like you had so much energy that you felt like you were gonna burst. It was a little like that, but like amplified. They just sat and took notes while I was screaming. It seemed to last forever, I really didn’t think I was going to survive but then suddenly it was done.”
The room was silent; Sadie didn’t look up because she couldn’t. She didn’t want to see the look on their faces. She could already feel the pity, and she could not deal with it. Sadie was certain it would break her.
Rayne leaned close and whispered, “Deep breath, baby, you can do his.”
Sadie closed her eyes, gods she was pathetic, she couldn’t even tell them her story without falling apart but they needed to know the extent to what she went through. It would help them; they could save someone else who wasn’t so damaged.
Storm gripped her hand and said, “Like a Band-Aid, rip it off, we will heal you, this, I promise, once you expose the wound, it will heal.”
Sadie nodded and then continued, “They took me back to my room, I could barely move, everything hurt so bad. The nurses, they were sympathetic, I knew they felt bad but they didn’t stop it. I think one of them would have, but she was scared. Anyways, the doctor came in, he was cheerful, like nothing had happened and seemed excited about something. I didn’t get why, then it was a few days later I think, I was sleeping and I felt her, my bear, but she wasn’t the same. She was, I don’t know how to explain it, frenzied. She fought her way out, I shifted so fast I thought I was changing into my bear forever. She was more powerful, but she wasn’t responding to me at all. It was like she was someone else. She was angry, so angry, filled with hate. I think that was the worst thing to deal with. I knew in my head it was wrong, the way she was but I was just so happy she was there you know, I just ignored it. The doctor came in, he was practically jumping for joy because he brought her back to life, enhanced her somehow. They put a collar on her, I tried to let her allow me to shift but she refused, she wanted revenge. They brought her down to the same room they had initially killed her in. I was so scared, the room was different this time, built to contain an animal. My bear paced the room, and the techs came in, they had people in handcuffs. I was terrified for them, thinking they were going to do the same thing to them, but then the techs pushed them at my bear, she was confused, disoriented. She sniffed and the air went electric. I knew the scent; it was strange I knew it but I didn’t know it. The people were terrified, the techs, they gave them weapons and then turned and locked the door on their way out. I could hear someone over a speaker, but my bear couldn’t concentrate, she was worried about the scent, it was wrong, made her think we were in danger.”
Sadie paused again and looked up. Everyone was listening intently, but they needed to know what happened next, it wasn’t her bear’s fault, it wasn’t. They made her do it, she was feral by the time they were done with her, instructing the captives to protect themselves.
No one saw the moms sneak into the back room so they could listen, they had been there since the start. Vivi, Brenda, and Shelly were just standing there with tears streaming down their faces. One of their children had been hurt this bad, they were failures. Cami, the others, they had trusted them to protect their children through this, all the way through but they had been unable to. Three years after their plan had started was when it happened, the wars, everyone was scattered, they tried to keep track, to make sure the children were safe. Dammit, they were supposed to be safe, all of them. Right now, this second, they knew where the others were, they had kept track, made contacts with shifters they knew they could trust, all but Sadie. Somehow the Prentiss had found her, tricked them, and sent someone else in.
Vivi turned to Victor and said, “I didn’t know, I couldn’t feel her, I would have told you. I…”
Victor put his arms around her and said, “Baby, none of us did.”
Sadie looked right into Calli’s eyes and said, “If I could take this back, I swear I would, I swear.”
Calli nodded slowly but she didn’t answer, she couldn’t, too much emotion filled her. Sadie nodded back and then looked back down, it was the only way to get through this.
“They ordered the people to do things to the bear that pissed her off. Poking her with the sticks, hitting her. My bear was just done with it all and she attacked. So much blood. I didn’t think she even realized what she was doing, she was focused on their scents and the pain. In the end, she killed them all. The techs came back in, took her, she was sleeping, I was watching over her, I had finally reached her and convinced her to calm down, I still don’t know how, I just did. They injected her before I could warn her, and suddenly she faded and I was able to come back. They took me back to my room and they cleaned me up, and took care of me, well the nurses did.”
She could hear sniffs, and she knew, Sadie knew someone was crying but she had to block it out, they wouldn’t care in the end, the pity they were feeling for her right now was going to end when they heard the whole story.
“Three days later, it started over again. The same thing, they took me down, killed my bear, cut me, watched me heal, and then brought her back.
Each time it was worse, my bear, in the end was completely feral. I tried to help her, so hard I tried. Over and over again, for months, she killed, she died, they cut me, they took blood. They watched me every second of every day to see how I was changing. One time, they brought another bear shifter in. She had been tortured as well, they pitted the bears against each other to see who was more powerful. I know they were looking for something because I heard them talk about something in my blood. I begged them to kill me so many times you don’t know. I wanted to die, I knew in my head that if I died, it was giving up but it didn’t keep me from wishing for death. It was the only way I thought was left for me to protect my bear from the suffering.” Sadie took a deep breath and then paused.
She had to say it, she knew she had to, she knew why she had to as well. Once it was over and done with, so would she be, and it was okay. Sadie had long ago accepted her fate, she hated it, not because she would need to die, but because someone who was close to her was going to need to do it, they had to, she couldn’t.
Rayne put his hand on her neck and rubbed. “Almost done.”
Storm whispered, “Come on, baby get it out.”
“I can’t take this,” Vivi cried quietly.
“So much pain,” Shelly said.
“It wasn’t just you,” Brenda whispered sadly. “It wasn’t, it was all of us, we were all picked because we could protect them. We just underestimated the evil we were facing.”
“But,” Vivi whispered. “How do we fix it?”
Victor took her hand and said, “We don’t, we trust our kids to do it.”
Sabrina felt the weight of everything that had happened to Sadie as she listened, they had left the door opened, oh gods it was her fault, all of this. She was living a life that didn’t belong to her, it never did. None of this was hers and yet she was still here. Nothing, not one damn thing made her feel better, how could it, she had been made to do what? Fuck with people’s lives, she was unnatural, unworthy. Everything was a lie, how was she going to fix this?
Sadie closed her eyes, the pain in the room was palpable. She was the cause. She felt the people in the room move as one, all of them. They came to her, surrounded her, gave her strength, why? Because they thought she was one of them but she wasn’t, dammit, she wasn’t. She was broken, not whole, nothing. They had to see, and she had to show them. Sadie was selfishly going to use their strength one more time to finish this. Then it would be time to face her destiny.
She raised her head, looked at their faces and saw the sorrow, the agony in their eyes. They all knew that they had gotten off lucky, she hadn’t, and it was okay. Sadie realized, if she was the only one they got a hold of and did this to, then she had saved her childhood friends. Sadie, her and her alone had endured their torture for her friends, no, her family. They reached out, all of them putting their hands on her, touching her, sharing their strength. She took a deep breath and sealed her fate.
“It took me a long time to kinda figure out what they were doing. You know, I could say I was young and stupid but really it was because they chose the weak link to do their bidding. For three years they experimented on me, and I knew in the back of my mind in the end, they would finally take the one thing that made me whole. My bear, you see, the scents they put on the people she killed were yours, our parents, anyone they thought was a threat. Over and over they killed her, brought her back, taught her to hate, to be feral, to kill the enemy, you. When Rebekka came in the first time I thought I was going nuts, you know, because I swear she smelled like someone I knew in my head was evil, but I couldn’t hate her, I couldn’t, she had a power over my bear that I never got, I still don’t get, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”
Sadie held out her arms, they all touched her raised scars and she smiled sadly. “These I got the last time they experimented. Before then, I healed, slower and slower I healed though. But the last time, I knew it was going to have to stop. I had to protect you, see, I still knew deep down who I was, it was, is just still buried, that part of me, is gone. Taken with my bear. They killed her, brought her back, and then put her in a room with people who smelled like you. I hated you all so much, I blamed you, each one of you, but still, I loved you and I wanted to protect you. So I did, my bear was ready to attack, I heard the doctors that day, they explained how they got your scents, see the ones I killed, they were experiments too, they were pawns in the Prentiss’ chess game, they were reinventing the Chosen so they could do what they wanted to do. The ones I killed though were the rejects, the failures from years of experiments. They planned to complete the prophecy on their own terms, in control, and in charge. They could get the outcome they wanted this time. They would rule everything, they would have the most powerful, and I was the one who helped them. I was also the one who had to stop them. So, shifted as my bear I did what they wanted and killed, but when my bear usually passed out I forced her to remain awake. When the techs came they weren’t prepared, they had become complacent, and I used that to do what I had to do. I killed the techs, escaped into the hallway, knowing they would have to do something. Then, I ran to rooms that were open, I used all the strength I had and forced the shift, I grabbed the syringe they had used on me so many times and I shot it into me. I had heard them time and time again, the Drekinn had to be reunited to complete the prophecy, and I still did what I had to do. I killed my bear, making sure that she was out of pain, knowing that because of that, I was dooming us all to the inevitable. I killed her to end her suffering, and in doing so, I ended the chances of you all winning this war,” Sadie said, letting her tears finally fall. One for each of the Chosen, the Senate, and the Drekinn, drowning in their sorrow, Sadie finally told them the truth.
She looked at them, all of them and smiled and then looked at her mates. She leaned over and kissed them both gently on the lips knowing it was the only time she would feel their lips. Sucking in her breath, she said, “And the consequences of doing so, killing my bear, in stopping your ability to defeat the Prentiss and the Rogues, I know you need to do what you have to. Do not feel bad, just end it quickly, no matter how many times I tried to convince myself there was something to be done, I was fooling myself. I know it, but I can’t tie Rayne and Storm to a broken shell, and I can’t survive forever without my animal.”
They were silent, all of them crying, feeling their friend’s pain, none of the words penetrating really, leaving them raw and exposed. Rayne was the one who looked around the room and said, “Like hell you will leave us. Someone gimme a solution because right now, I am about ready to blow.”
Chapter Twelve
Nothing, that is what they had, a big fat zero. The Drekinn Council had worked diligently for the last four days and there was nothing to show for it, but a trail of empty soda cans, bags of stale chips, and candy bar wrappers, which were now littering the large pack house room. Rayne picked his way across the room, still full of sleeping or working Drekinn.
They had all been at it since Sadie had told her story. By the end they were all too emotional to actually talk. Storm and Rayne had announced they were going to take Sadie back up to their suite so she could get herself together, sleep and essentially relax. The whole story took its toll on her, she had been exhausted.
All of the girls had gone and gathered extra clothing for Sadie, which had shocked her. It took an hour to convince Sadie that no one in the Drekinn blamed her for anything, they were not angry or upset, but the woman had still been jittery, as if they would come and pronounce judgment on her at any moment. However, it had finally been Stephan who convinced her, much to her mates’ displeasure. The man had shown up at their door worried, and they had allowed him in.
No matter, they could tell the duo were friends more than lovers, it had still irked them, they wanted their mate to turn to them for comfort, but so far, that wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t trust them, hell, she didn’t trust anyone, even Stephan, but she did remember him first.
Since that time, Sadie had done three t
hings: sleep, eat, and stare out the window. She was damaged, not broken, Rayne and Storm just wanted her to realize that. It was frustrating. They had talked to her until they were blue in the face, trying to get to know her but she had just answered in a flat tone and small smile. The only thing good that had come out of the situation was Sadie had begun to relax with them as they told her about their lives and everything they could remember, but it was like she was waiting to die.
Hell, all of them told her it wasn’t her fault, they would never be upset because she did what she had to do, but still, Sadie hadn’t really believed it. She really thought that Calli and Kade were going to order her execution because of the choices she made. It was just frustrating. Something had to be done.
So here he was, after making sure Sadie was sound asleep upstairs, and Storm quietly searching the net with Simon in their suite, Rayne had come down to find Kade and Calli. The Alphas were going to need to do something, Storm’s and his cats were riding them hard. They wanted their mate fixed and happy and they were willing to do anything to make that happen.
He saw the duo in the corner with Rissa and Cherri, they were talking intently but that didn’t stop him. Something had to be done, he wanted answers. As he approached he heard them talking about the other woman Sabrina, although he wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.
“She wants to leave, she said she will go far away so we won’t have to worry about her interfering,” Cherri said. “I talked to her until I was blue in the face and nothing was changing her mind.”
Calli snorted, “Yeah, not happening, she can suck it up.”
Rissa looked at Rayne and her eyes narrowed when she noticed him. “I have more questions for you.”
Rayne rolled his eyes, one thing he did remember, was these three girls had been inseparable when they were young, and they were full of piss and vinegar, obviously not much had changed. He couldn’t wait until Nova and Mariah got here, that would be a show they’d needed to sell tickets for. The shoe scandal was totally coming back.
