Dalton moved closer to Emma, but didn’t want to upset her. He wanted, no needed to offer her strength. He was also a selfish man, he needed to feel close to her, to protect her, even if it was only from her memories. He longed to take her in his arms and assure her that nothing would ever harm her again, but he knew that he couldn’t. The pain he felt from what she already revealed hit him square in the chest, and he tried to rub the ache away.
“The next couple of months or what I thought were months, I wasn’t given any drugs again, but was kept strapped in that bed. I had to call for a bedpan, and if they felt like it, they came. I was fed exclusively on a feeding tube in my nose and whatever they were placing in my IV. The people who came into the room didn’t speak to me, except for one. He was the one who liked to delay getting the bed pan the most.”
Emma had to swallow hard to get rid of the bile which had been creeping up her throat; she didn’t want to remember this part or that man, but knew she needed to tell these people everything. Feeling the wetness on her cheek, she wiped the tears she didn’t even know she shed from her face. Sensing the warmth of Dalton's body on her back gave her the courage she needed to continue. She didn’t know him, but felt he would protect her, at least she hoped so. Her mind wasn’t in the best place, but she felt his goodness to her soul.
“I would hold it for a long as I could; ultimately, it never worked and he would come in to clean the bed and me. The lights were kept on in the room at all times and there were no windows, so I had absolutely no concept of time.”
A shiver ran up her spine at the memory. Being a foster kid, Emma had often felt vulnerable in her life, but being kept in that room, tied to a bed, having absolutely no control over her circumstances, proved she hadn’t even known the meaning of the word.
“The Tech was getting bolder with his touches, stripping me naked and washing my body more with his hands than the washcloth,” Emma shivered remembering his touch and choked out that last bit of her humiliation, “he never wore gloves. I knew he was going to do more and was testing the waters to see how much he could get away with. But as humiliating as it was, the man like to talk.”
“He told me that I was part of a group of babies who were created by some man, Dr. Franklin, who were lost in the system. He kept mentioning animal DNA; all I could think was, these people are nuts; I’m normal. But after all the time I spent there, I started to believe his stories.” Emma looked down to her hands in her lap; she needed a couple of minutes to collect her thoughts and emotions. No way could she continue right away.
Chapter 15
Ryleigh gasped, her pink complexion going pale, but didn’t say anything else. Emma wasn’t sure if she was upset because of the situation Emma had been in or because of the information she revealed. She didn’t want to look at her too closely, saying these things was hard enough. She didn’t like making people uncomfortable and the very last thing she wanted was pity from anyone, but Emma knew she needed to finish her story, not only for her own wellbeing, but it seemed, Ryleigh’s as well. Gripping the robe tighter, cocooning herself in the only warmth and protection she would allow, Emma continued to tell these strangers what happened to her.
“The tech liked to tell me I was only an animal and that no one would care what happened to me; it got him off, excited him. He would say I was created to be an experiment; it was truly creepy. That my baby was the only thing which mattered and once I had it, he would be able to do whatever he wanted to me until another child was needed.”
Emma was never going to tell anyone how much detail the psycho went into about his plans for her. She’d placed those things in a box buried deep within her psyche, and she hoped they never saw the light of day again.
Ryleigh reached for Emma, but she couldn’t stand the thought of anyone touching her right at the moment. She needed to get through the next couple of minutes. She needed to tell her story and Emma was afraid that if she allowed Ryleigh to touch and try to comfort her, she would finally break.
“He was the first person to confirm that I was pregnant,” Emma said, taking a deep breath, but unable to look the woman in the eyes.
Sucked into an abyss of sorts, Emma started to remember the vile man, his cold hard touch and his nasty smell. Emma didn’t think she would ever be able to be around whiskey in the future; he always reeked of the drink. It seeped from his pores, a sickly-sweet odor, mixed with the odor of his unwashed body, imprinted in her mind, making her gag from the memory. Emma wanted nothing more than to get up from the table and move away from the memories which were assaulting her, but knew she was too weak physically as well as mentally. Trying her best to dislodge the memory, Emma took a couple of deep breaths and after a couple of unsuccessful tries, she was finally able to dislodge the huge lump in her throat and continued.
“The entire time I was held at the facility, people were constantly coming in and out to run tests and take vitals. Something must have happened about a month-and-a-half ago because that creepy bastard became my only caregiver. He became much more openly bold with his abuse and more violent. I knew I needed to do something, so I’m ashamed to say I started encouraging him,” Emma expressed in a sob. “It was my only chance to escape.”
Dalton had been standing at Emma’s back while she revealed what had happened to her, but when she sobbed, he couldn’t help his reaction He wanted to hold her, take her into his arms, and make everything better, but he knew that was a bad idea. Sitting down on the exam table, he offered her what little he could with his presences, warmth and security. He needed a physical attachment, so he brought his hands up and rubbed her arms. She flinched at the initial contact, but eventually her posture loosened.
Emma was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep. Revealing these things to these people had been harder than she’d expected. She was in a room with people, but she was still utterly alone. Once she gained the courage to begin again, she felt Dalton’s warm touch. She flinched at first, whether it was because of the tingling sensation of his touch or because she hadn’t had gentleness in so long, she wasn’t sure and certainly wasn’t ready, to exam it; maybe she wasn’t so alone after all? What she did know was that simple act of kindness gave her the courage to continue.
On a choked sob, she was still unable to make eye contact with any of them. This part would be the hardest to get through. She was ashamed of things she’d done, said to that man to get him to do what she needed.
“I convinced him to free my legs and loosen the bonds on my hands. When he got on the bed and was undoing his pants, it was my only chance. I knew I didn’t have much time, so I hit him with the heel of my foot as hard as I could. I’m think I broke his nose, but him being knocked off the bed backward was what helped me.”
Emma could still remember the sound of his head hitting the cabinet and knew she would always remember that thud. She couldn’t easily describe it, but if she had to, it was like what a ripened melon sounded like hitting the floor. Struggling to keep the bile from escaping the confines of her throat she gave the group the PG version.
“The back of his head hit a low cabinet behind him, knocking him out; at least that was what I thought at the time. Before he got on the bed, he had placed a knife on the bed and let me know he planned to use it if I didn’t do what I had promised.
Dalton was fuming and from the looks on Cash and Ryleigh’s faces, they weren’t fairing any better. When Cash made eye contact with him, Dalton could see his fury. Emma changed in the next couple of seconds; where before she was struggling to get the words out, now she was robotic, repeating what happened next without any emotion or feeling. Dalton wanted to scream.
“I had enough slack to reach the knife and maneuver it into my hand. I started working on the restraints. I knew I didn’t have the luxury of time, so I was less than careful with the knife; that’s where all the cuts came from on my right hand.” Emma looked down at her hands as if remembering what she’d done to save herself and her
baby.
Dalton’s hands had tightened on her arms when she revealed what had happened, not painfully, but enough so Emma knew her story was getting to him, and she felt sorry for him. She didn’t want to cause him any discomfort, he’d been so kind to her, and it wasn’t in her nature to cause pain. She secretly wished they would tell her that what she’d already told them was enough, but knew deep down that wouldn’t happen. She decided she needed to get through the rest quickly; Emma didn’t want to distress Dalton any more than she already had. he’d shown her so much kindness and she didn’t want him to feel pity or pain for her. She was strong, she would deal with everything that happened, and she would move on. For some farfetched reason, she kind of hoped Dalton would be there to help her deal.
Shaking her head, she continued; she knew her next statement would change the feelings of the people in the room, and in turn, might change how they felt about her. It was a risk she had to take. Emma didn’t think she was a bad person. She only did what she had to do to survive and prayed these people would understand that. Dislodging the ever-present lump in her throat she continued.
“After I got free, I knew I needed to tie up the tech, so I started looking around for more restraints. Having been in the room for so long, I knew right where they were kept, but it turned out I didn’t need them. The hit the tech took to the back of his head killed him, and I’m sorry, but I don’t feel a bit of shame about it. I knew what he was planning to do to me.”
Emma didn’t get the response she was sure would come after that statement. None of these people looked disgusted by her actions, and it surprised her. Shouldn’t they be a little repulsed that she admitted to killing a man, regardless of what he was about to do to her?
“Honey, no one here blames you for that creep’s death,” Dalton tried to console her, but she needed to finish the story.
“He always wore scrubs, so he didn’t have any pockets. I took his badge and went out the door only to find another lab, but this one had lockers in it. I searched the cabinets and found what I assumed were his car keys and wallet. I also found my purse in another locker, but not my clothes. Using his badge, the rest was actually pretty easy. I wasn’t at Davis Defense, but some other office building, which surprised me. Using the techs keycard, I got out of the building. There was only one car in the parking area so it was pretty easy to figure out which one was his. I found the clothes I was wearing in his car.”
“I knew I couldn’t go home because these people had my address. But one of the foster families I had when I was very young went to their Uncle Frank’s cottage for vacation. It was one of the few happy places I had, so I still remembered where it was, and decided I would go there to hide out.”
“That brings me to now,” Emma said, looking Ryleigh in the face for the first time in quite a while. “Six months pregnant with someone’s baby, maybe mine, maybe not. I promise, I mean you no harm,” she pleaded. “When Dalton asked me if I had heard of The Holly Group and mentioned you, I knew I needed to take the chance and warn you, even if you couldn’t help me. I couldn’t let those bastards at Davis Defense hurt another person if it was in my power to stop it. Please, you need to understand, I had no idea where you were, only who.”
Dalton was still rubbing her arm, Cash and Ryleigh looked stunned.
“Emma,” Ryleigh was the first to speak, “I’m so sorry for what has happened to you and I believe every word you’ve said. Davis Defense and Pandora are after me and the members of my group. What I’m about to tell you is going to be hard for you to accept; there are people in this world, in this very room, in fact, who have the ability to change their physical form, Shifters as we refer to them. Turns out the legends and folklore hold more truth than fiction. Davis Defense and Pandora have been experimenting with Shifter DNA, impregnating human women with the hopes of creating Shifter children of their own, to either exploit as a novelty child or pet or in other ways. If my hunches are correct, the tech was telling you the truth, you do have animal DNA and that baby you are carrying could be a Shifter, one that’s actually able to change into an animal like Cash and Dalton. We won’t know anything until we can run some tests.”
Emma was floored. She’d hoped these people would alleviate her fears. All those months she refused to believe what the tech had been telling her, thinking he was a psychopath, but now Ryleigh was confirming her worst fears.
Chapter 16
“What do you mean shift, like Shifters in romance novels or werewolves? People don’t shift that’s fantasy.” Emma tried to get up off the exam table but Dalton stopped her.
“Yes, honey people do shift, very unique people. I’m one of them, so is Cash.”
Dalton looked heartbroken or distraught, Emma wasn’t exactly sure, but he was telling her that Shifters existed. Did she jump from one psycho to another? What the hell was going on! She didn’t want to believe any of this. What kind of rabbit hole did she fall into? Shit, wasn’t Ryleigh supposed to be a genius or something? Well fudge, people say there was a fine line between insanity and genius. Did she change one prison for another? Emma knew it was time to go, no matter how friendly these people were or how drawn she felt to Dalton. No way was she going to believe Shifters actually existed, these people were crazy. She needed to get the hell out of crazy town. If she could get her body to cooperate, she would run.
Cash must have seen what she planned because right before her eyes, his face started to transform. No longer was he bald and clean-shaven; hair began to sprout and his eye took on an eerie glow, his nose was lengthening and turning into a snout, and his blunt, human teeth turned into fangs.
That was it; Emma had had enough. So, she did what any rational women would do in her situation, she passed out. Her last thought was oblivion was way better than reality.
Dalton was able to catch Emma as she fell back on the table, struggling against the protective instinct to go after Cash for causing Emma distress. His anger was raging within him, not to mention that of his bear. What surprised him was that, before he was able to act on any of his heightened emotions, Ryleigh beat him to it.
“Damn it, Cash you could’ve killed her scaring her that bad! Can’t you see how fragile she is? I didn’t even get to tell her about Dr. Franklin,” Ryleigh said as she rushed to the bed.
Ryleigh rushed around checking Emma’s vitals. Emma’s vitals were still all over the place because of her condition, but no further physical damage had been done. Before she got the smelling salts, she wanted to give the guys an update.
“Listen, she’s in bad shape. She’s suffering from malnutrition as well as dehydration. Her blood pressure is slightly high, and I’m worried about not only her kidneys, but also the baby. She needs a real doctor.”
Ryleigh wasn’t ashamed to admit that Emma needed more than she could provide. She knew where her strengths lied, and right now, Emma needed so much more.
Dalton wanted to kill something! Emma had been through so much, more than he ever could have imagined. He wanted to rip the room apart and bleed Cash for causing her more pain. He knew he needed to help her, but had absolutely no clue on what his next step should be. If what Emma said was true, she was carrying a Shifter baby. Things were about to get a whole lot worse for her. She would be hunted relentlessly. Shifter births were random; if someone had figured out how to regulate them, then Emma and her baby both were in grave danger. She and her child would be the first. Then he had an even more freighting thought he couldn’t keep to himself.
“She said it was a girl,” Dalton blurted out.
.
“Okay, if she knows that, maybe she has had some prenatal care,” Ryleigh started talking, not really knowing what was going on. “Now, in her condition, she couldn’t hurt a fly, so no more scaring her. Got it? We need to keep her as calm as possible until we can get a professional here to take care of her. If she was taken to be a breeder and not because of the file she read, we need to find that out, right now. That seems like the most logical con
clusion, but shit, none of us really knows what Davis is up to.”
Cash and Dalton shared a look. If what Emma said was true and she was carrying a Shifter female, they were all in danger. Shifter females didn’t exist, period. Well not technically, Dalton surmised because they were finding out that females with Shifter DNA did exist. But the possibilities this child represented were staggering to his people. If this child could shift, unlike the other women Franklin had created, the child was in grave danger because of her genetics. If all the theories followed, this baby would grow up and be able to produce Shifter children without the uncertainty and unpredictability their race had seen in the last hundred plus years. A female who was able to shift would be sought after, not only by the sick freaks who created her, but also by his clansmen, because that tiny little being in Emma’s stomach could represent their future. With the other women, there was still a ‘maybe’ or ‘what if’ scenario going on, they may be able to produce Shifter children. If this baby had the right genetics, ‘maybe’ or ‘what if’ didn’t exist; she would definitely produce the next generation of Shifters. That scared the hell out of Dalton.
Cash must have realized during this time what was at stake because his next words confirmed what Dalton had been thinking.
“We need to protect her and this baby until we have more definitive answers. I know it doesn’t need to be said, but Davis Defense and Pandora can’t get their hands-on Shifter children, especially females. If Emma is correct and this baby is a girl, we need to run tests to determine if Emma is one of the children Dr. Franklin created. Then we need to find out if the baby has Shifter DNA and how many strands because if it’s only one and the breeding program was successful, Emma’s baby could be the first of her kind. And that places Emma and the baby at even more risk.”
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 37
