Broken

by Monica Rossi

  Demon wasn’t so sure that was the truth. The truth was his father was a sad excuse for a human. Leading a double life for three years while making Glory and Red and Demon and his mother all think that they were his only family, his whole world. His mother, of course being what she was, had found out. She’d forced him to stop living a lie and she’d moved to Three Rivers so that Demon could have a relationship with his father and the older brother he hadn’t known existed. And Demon had grown to love them. His father, Red, Glory, Three Rivers, The Club. They’d become his life and then they’d been snatched away from him. He’d been cut off from everything he’d come to think of as home.

  Red, Glory, and his father had chosen not to tell the Club about his true nature because they thought the Dogs might hold it against hi. They didn’t care how it effected Demon, he was sure if that had been the only concern the news would have been out in an instant, but they didn’t want it to cause harm to their position or standing in the Club or community. So he’d kept the lie for them just as much as for himself.

  The last couple of years had been hell for him and he’d escaped to his spot of refuge often, trying to get away from the turmoil in his daily life, and then when the fall out with Logan had happened, he just couldn’t handle it anymore. As soon as he’d been patched in after graduating, he’d gone Loner and he hadn’t looked back.

  It had been hard, at first, not in the ways he’d thought it would be. He’d thought he’d be lonely, but he’d found a comfort in solitude that he hadn’t been able to find surrounded by the people who ‘loved’ him. No, the hard part had been learning not to get attached. Not to people, not to places, and not to things, because they were all just temporary. He’d met good people everywhere he’d gone. People with open hearts and willing hands, ready to reach out and hold on to him, embrace him as one of their own. But each and every time he’d let them go, and that’s what he was going to have to continue to do.

  Including with Sidney.

  He couldn’t leave town for good, but he needed a break. He needed some time to get his head together and comes to terms with the reality of life. He’d told Sidney that there would come a time when she’d want him, and maybe that was true, but what was also true was that she would never be able to hold on to him even if she did want him. He was born an outcast and that’s how it was going to stay, and no amount of wishing it were different was going to change that.

  It was time for him to go visit his mother, time to remember who and what he was and why he could never be a part of the bustling life that surrounded him.

  He took the handlebars of his bike and rolled it over behind a tree, then he took off his cut and his shirt and laid them across the seat, so they’d be there for him when he got back. He pulled out the lightweight brown tarp he kept in his saddle bags for days when he needed to sleep rough but still didn’t want to get rained on and he covered the motorcycle, tucking the sheet around the wheels carefully.

  He thought about grabbing a few things out of his bags but decided against it and walked to the edge of the cliff, he really didn’t need anything where he was going.

  Demon looked out at the twinkling lights of the town he loved and took a deep breath, summoning the part of himself he could never let anyone see. He felt them materialize behind him and once again he felt whole. A sigh of relief escaped him and a smile swept across his face, sometimes he forgot how much effort it was just to keep himself hidden. He stretched and extended himself to his full size, letting every part of him feel the wind and the space around him, feel the excitement of just being.

  With joy surging through his body at the release he flapped his black feathered wings once, twice, and he launched himself off the cliff and into the air. And in that moment, riding the air currants and looking down at the town that had at once cradled and ostracized him, he felt free.

  The new facility was already up and running. There were no lack of old buildings to rent and after finding one in a sufficiently secluded location, the only issue was moving things from one place to the other. The council decided that even though the shifters could be handled, a new unknown location would be the wisest choice for interruption free testing. He had agreed, though the building wasn’t up to his standards, it would do for the time being.

  “So John, how is everything going?”

  John stopped in his tracks, clipboard in hand, glasses perched on the edge of his nose. “Sir, it’s actually going better than expected.”

  “Really? How so?”

  “As you know, the lab decided to start completely over with the formula, considering that the last formula and all of its derivatives were faulty and not producing the required results and – ”

  “Wait, I was not aware of this change in direction. Why wasn’t I consulted?”

  “Sir, I was unaware that you had not been kept in the loop, or I would have rectified the situation,” John’s voice quivered slightly, “And I can’t say for sure why you weren’t informed but I can tell you that they just started a few days ago and have already produced a very effective solution. I was just about to begin testing on our first subject.”

  “Ah, well I don’t like being kept in the dark, but I guess experimentation is somewhat like art, perhaps they got too caught up in their own momentum to follow the proper reporting procedures.”

  John looked doubtful, “Perhaps.”

  “Yes, well someone will be reminding them of the correct way these matters are handled.” And it would be something they’d remember from now on, no matter how caught up they got in their work, Frederick would make sure of that. “In any instance, I’d like to see what this new formula can do. Lead the way John.”

  Frederick followed John down the old tiled hallways of the former nursing home, mentally ticking off boxes on his to-do list. He’d already talked to the head of Security, the premises of this new facility were as close to impenetrable as was humanly possible, though he wasn’t worried about humans any way. He needed to find a way to make the grounds and building impregnable to the inhuman as well. But that was something to work on. If everything already had an answer, he wouldn’t have a job.

  He’d talked to his head of security about the Dogs of War as well, he really liked the name of that little biker gang, it had a poetry to it, especially considering what they were. He had been assured that they would come around to their cause or be dealt with accordingly. Plans were underway to mitigate any more interference from the witch population, which had been what had caused such an upset at the old facility, and one of the reasons he wanted to use the Dogs against other unnatural beings instead of his own men. The fact that they’d had a witch with them was unsettling, the council’s whole plan of annihilation hinged on the fact that these groups didn’t work together or mingle. If there was any indication that cooperation between the species was becoming a trend then that would cause problems.

  He could enhance the chosen ones strength, their senses, their natural talents, but he couldn’t give them the capability to withstand magic. Thankfully the only magic the shifters had was their ability to change form and their own heightened strengths and senses, they weren’t really a threat to the chosen. And the other inhuman species didn’t see them as a threat either, which is why they were the perfect candidates to seed disease and destruction in their midst. Then when the all the other unnatural creatures were taken care of, they could decide what to do with the shifters, it wasn’t as if they needed to keep them around for any purpose. The whole ‘second on the food chain’ line was just something to offer them to take the bait, the council didn’t intend to actually allow the filthy things to rule above humans, who were, after all, their brothers, no matter how weak and insignificant.

  But even if the Dogs of War did not accept their gracious invitation there were others that would jump at the chance. He’d just wanted to work with the Dogs because they seemed a little bit more honorable than most of the other packs he’d encountered. A little less prone to base villain
y anyway. Though they all seemed to run towards an almost Neanderthalic mindset, fighting for the barest of scraps while the whole world could have been their oysters, if they’d only had the drive or intelligence to use their strengths to overcome. But he guessed it was lucky that they didn’t seem to have either. Neither did any of the other perversions of nature that inhabited the planet, they all seemed content to hide their great powers and let the humans rule the world. He wasn’t going to complain, if one of these groups had decided to take what they could, power, privilege, position, then his group would have never been born. He’d never have had the opportunity to have joined the chosen, to work for the greatest organization the world would ever encounter. No, it was better for everyone involved that they stay hidden, that way no one would miss them when they were gone.

  “This is our first subject,” John held his clipboard up, flipping a page to get the information he wanted. “A twenty three year old fae female, found in a parking lot outside of a mall. She put up quite a fight, but was finally restrained with the help of the new ropes that just came out of development.”

  Frederick nodded, they’d come to a stop in front of an old wooden door with only a slit for a window. He was going to have to get new windows installed in all of the doors, he didn’t actually like being in the room with the test subjects, he liked watching from a respectable distance. Anything closer felt a little messy.

  John opened the door and indicated that Frederick should go in. Buckled to a gurney in the middle of the room was a girl, her body uncovered, her sparkling big blue eyes wide with fright. Frederick surveyed her and found himself a little saddened that she was going to be used in such a way. She really was quite lovely with her honey blonde hair and perfectly tanned flawless skin, even strapped down she somehow managed to look alluring from the rosy tips of her breasts to the graceful curve of her pubic mound. But then the fae were noted for their physical perfection, humans in particular found them almost irresistible.

  Standing beside the subject was another research assistant, who gave a small nod when they’d walked in, still intent on her task of taking the fae’s vitals and recording them on the rolling computer station.

  “Mr. Hawthorn, this is Latisha, she’s only been here since we’ve moved to this facility,” John said.

  “Nice to meet you Latisha, I hope that you’re enjoying your position here?”

  Latisha didn’t smile or take her eyes away from her work, “No, Sir, I don’t. But I find it fascinating, which makes up for the grotesque nature of the job.”

  Frederick couldn’t help but smile, this was a girl after his own heart, “Good, I’m sure you’ll do well here.”

  John, looking nervous at Latisha’s candid response, asked, “Are we ready to begin?”

  “Yes, the formula in six variations of strength are here,” she indicated the small labeled bottles sitting on the side of the station, “the subject has been prepped, her vitals taken, she’s in perfect health and not experiencing any outside trauma.”

  “Good, will you begin?” John said, making notes on his clipboard.

  “Yes, we’ll start with the weakest formula and work our way up,” Latisha unscrewed the tiny black lid on one of the bottles and pulled out a dropper, “We’re going to apply it in random body areas, the effect should be the same no matter where it is applied.”

  She hovered the dropper over one of the girl’s perfectly toned thighs and carefully let exactly one drop onto the sun-kissed skin.

  The effect was instantaneous, the body writhing under it’s bounds, muscles and veins straining against the skin, her face pulled into a rictus of muted agony.

  Frederick watched as the serum soaked into the skin, turning the girl’s bronzed coloring into a dull grey circle that spread ever wider before his eyes, until one entire leg was discolored. Slowly the color faded from the abdomen, then the other leg, across her perfect breasts, and down her arms, until the only thing left was her neck and face and then even that was the ash grey of a overcast winter’s day.

  Her body jerked and her heart slowed and then finally stopped altogether.

  “Fourteen minutes and twenty seven seconds,” Latisha said as she recorded the number on her computer.

  Frederick was impressed, “Does it work on anything other than fae?”

  “So far we’ve tried it on shifters, fae, witches, and vampires, all of the most populous super natural element.”

  “Unnatural elements Latisha, unnatural. There’s nothing super about them,” Frederick corrected gently.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And were the results similar on all of those species?” he asked.

  “The only difference is the time frame in which it worked. We haven’t begun testing the stronger formulas yet, as the diluted version has been working so well.”

  “Good, good, this is progress. Keep me appraised of the results.”

  “Yes, sir,” Latisha and John said in unison.

  Frederick left the new facility with a bounce in his step, if things kept moving ahead at such a pace he had high hopes for his ambitions within the council, and for the future of all of the chosen. If testing on this particular formula proved it affective against most of the undesirables and they could send it into mass production, that would set their plan ahead by months, if not years.

  Frederick decided to whistle, he wasn’t usually one for outward displays of emotion but this was indeed an occasion. Yes, things were going splendidly.

  More Dogs of War MC coming soon!

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  Turn the page to enjoy a preview of Heart’s Folly, the first in The McLachlan Brothers, a heart felt new adult romance also by Monica Rossi.

  Heart’s Folly

  Chapter One

  Her profile was perfect. The setting sun framed her face, softening her features, causing her skin to glow. Long chestnut brown hair fell in waves, turning a fiery red where the light touched it. Her eyes, turned out towards the ocean, were full beyond their years. Something was troubling her. A boyfriend? Problems at home with her family? School? She looked young, possibly a college student, maybe she was taking summer classes and wished she hadn’t.

  He didn’t really care, though. He just knew that he needed her. Needed that face.

  She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked towards him, eyes gliding over him as if he didn’t exist, she was lost in her own world, unmindful of the people or the beauty surrounding her. He watched her as she walked further down the pier, ignoring the gull that landed with perfect grace on the handrail near her.

  Should he follow? Her figure was getting further away, he’d have to run if he didn’t decide soon. Sliding his sketchbook under his arm and closing the box where he stored his pencils he got up from the low stoop he’d been sitting on. He’d walk behind her a while and watched, she wouldn’t mind, she wouldn’t even notice him.

  Dressed like any other girl on the shore, she wore denim shorts and a bright tank top but there was something that clung to her and set her apart. Maybe it was her absolute obliviousness to everything around her, maybe it was the deepness he’d seen in her face, maybe it was her eccentric features that combined into something a little more exquisite than what most people would call beautiful. Her eyebrows might be considered a little too full, her nose wasn’t pert and perky, her lips were full with youth but the top one was a little larger than the bot
tom, and she was small. Tiny and delicate by anyone’s measure, she was probably just over five feet tall, yet that wasn’t something you noticed right away. She carried herself as if she were the tallest girl in the crowd, proud and erect, shoulders back, it wasn’t her self confidence that was causing her trouble, he’d almost bet on that.

  She paused again on the steps that led off of the beach and towards the public access parking lot, eyes searching the distance again, over sea grass and sand dunes, as if she’d lost something and was looking for it to come home. He stopped too, watching her.

  He wanted to capture that look, make it shine out of his canvas and into the viewer’s soul. It was so human, so… true. Everyone who saw it would wonder what this girl could be yearning for at such a young age. What tragedy could have happened that would provoke such pining in her eyes.

  Love. That was it every time. Some guy had broken her heart and here she was staring down the shoreline with unshed tears in her eyes. He’d bet money on it.

  And he thought again that it didn’t matter what it was that caused it, he just wanted to encapsulate it, to make it his on canvas. The girl’s breath hitched and he could tell she was close to crying, she blinked fast and looked up at the sky, trying to contain the emotion, before continuing over the bleached white wood of the steps.

  He hurried, he had to catch her before she drove away. There was no way he was letting her go without at least the promise of seeing that face again.