by L. L. Raand
Most of the other rooms along the corridor were dark, the technicians and scientists having left hours previously. She glanced at her watch. Precisely 1900. Early yet. Her office at the end of the hall was the largest on the floor, but seemed smaller due to the overflowing bookcases and the huge partner’s desk crowded with folders, journals, and stacks of printouts. She walked to the window and watched the headlights streak by on the distant highway to the west. The mountains surrounding the sprawling complex rose like forbidding shadows against the horizon.
Somewhere out there right now, hundreds of Weres hunted, mated, and bred. They’d been doing it for centuries. How had the human race let that happen? How could they have been blind to the presence of soulless predators in their midst? In their arrogance, the Praeterns had made a fatal mistake. In attempting to secure the future of their species by negotiating for the same rights as humans, by declaring their right to exist simply by existing, they had surrendered their greatest weapon. Invisibility. Now she and others like her around the world could right the wrong that had gone unattended for millennia.
The Weres were the greatest danger to human civilization of all the Ptaeterns—largest in number, well organized, and with a charismatic and intelligent leader. Sylvan Mir was a formidable adversary, but ultimately, she was still just an animal. The newspaper photograph of her losing control in a hospital ER showed just how different she really was. Ultimately, no one would complain about containing and controlling—or eliminating—a dangerous predator, any more than they complained about shooting rabid dogs. Oh, the other Praeterns were of concern, but their numbers were smaller and their reproductive capabilities even more limited.
She laughed, tracing a line through the condensation left by her breath on the window. Evolutionary mistakes happened all the time. As a result, some species were destined for extinction, and rightly so. The Praeterns had escaped the natural order of things through a perversion of biology.
Their unique adaptive reproductive capabilities had allowed the Praeterns to survive, but the limitations of the process would also be their downfall. Come to think of it, considering that some of them were actually dead already, reproduction might be a scientifically inaccurate term. The idea that Vampires could actually have offspring was ludicrous, but somehow they managed to find humans willing to provide biological material. The idea disgusted her. Any human male or female who squandered their genetic legacy to enable a Vampire to pass on their affliction should be imprisoned. That Vampires could somehow compel humans to host for them was reason enough to destroy them, but to seduce humans into creating more monsters? She had no doubt other humans would ultimately agree and exterminate the Vampires. If not, the armed divisions of her organization would see to their eradication.
The Weres, though, they offered a far greater challenge. Unlike the Vampires, who were usually solitary or loosely organized into families and ruled by a Clan sovereign, the Weres were well organized, well armed, and ferociously aggressive. Those traits combined with their longevity made them very, very dangerous. They needed to be subjugated, but they wouldn’t be easy to control or eradicate.
Hence Project Apex. Her master plan. The first order of business in controlling any species in danger of becoming a major evolutionary threat was to understand how they bred and then to neutralize their reproductive capability. Sterilize the females first, then contain the remaining population, and if control wasn’t possible, exterminate them. A logical algorithm for dealing with aberrant species that threatened the natural order.
A knock sounded behind her followed by a male voice. “Dr. Standish? You wanted to see me?”
Veronica turned from the window and studied the sandy-haired man in a maroon scrub suit standing in the doorway of her office. He had been one of her first recruits when she’d accepted the position as head of Project Apex shortly after the Exodus had informed the world of the presence of mutant species. Recruiting scientists to study new species at a biochemical and subcellular level hadn’t been difficult. She hadn’t told them of the ultimate goal, and she was careful that none of her project heads worked on anything other than a small piece of the project. None of them knew enough to jeopardize the project if they defected or were compromised.
“Adam,” she said, indicating a visitor’s chair in front of the wide desk. She casually moved away from the window and rested her hip against the edge of the desk. With him sitting, she was looking down on him. Gold stubble glinted on his jaw and purplish shadows deepened the hollow crescents beneath his eyes, making him look older than the thirty-six years listed on his résumé. They were the same age, but her olive skin and dark hair and eyes, compliments of her Greek mother, hid the ordinary signs of fatigue. Or would have, if she was tired. But she wasn’t. Work invigorated her. The cause filled her life with purpose. And right now, she needed more ammunition for the coming fight. “I just looked at the cell cultures. Everything is dead. The cell membranes are disintegrating. We’ve got to have better preparations.”
“I don’t think it’s the preparations.” Adam scrubbed a hand over his face. “None of the standard culture mediums support growth, and we haven’t been able to determine exactly what is missing.”
“How much difference can there be?”
He laughed bitterly. “Far more than we anticipated, and we’re picking up more variations at a subcellular level every day. We need more subjects.”
“With their muscle mass, you should have plenty of tissue for biopsy.” She wasn’t about to tell him she’d been demanding more test subjects for months to no avail. She accepted that procuring live specimens was difficult, considering how treacherous the Weres were and how difficult it was to separate them from the Pack. She’d argued that capturing grizzly bears and killer whales was also risky and difficult, but big-game hunters managed it. Surely trained soldiers could do it. She’d been promised two more females in reproductive prime for her selective breeding experiments. She was still waiting. “How are you doing with sequencing the motor protein in the ejaculate?”
“We’re still running samples through the high-pressure liquid chromatograph. The problem is, the chemical mix changes all the time. We can’t isolate a predominant neurotransmitter.” He passed her the histograms of the most recent gel filtration runs and shook his head. “Besides the complex chemical mix, degradation is extremely rapid. That’s probably one reason why their reproductive rates are low.”
“Which is offset by their excessive sex drive and unusual potency.” Veronica took a slow breath, suppressing the swell of rage that simmered between her breasts and tightened her nipples. “You have two prime subjects. Surely you have enough test material. How often are you collecting?”
“Every three days on average. The process is physiologically traumatic—”
“Adam—no one dies from forced ejaculation. Animal breeders do it every day.”
“It’s possible the hormonal stimulants we’re using to induce production of the specimen are altering the chemical balance of the ejaculate. We know that not every sexual encounter between Weres results in glandular secretions capable of inducing reproduction. Maybe something else triggers the appropriate chemical dispersion.”
“Then induce intercourse. Let me repeat—animal breeders do it all the time when artificial insemination is unsatisfactory or they aren’t able to collect appropriate specimens. Get them stimulated, and get them to fuck.”
He sighed and shifted in his chair. “We’ve tried that. They’re very resistant—”
“I don’t want to hear excuses, Adam. I want results. Step up the collections, and run the HPLC continuously until you isolate the primary initiator. I want the reproductive cascade sequenced.” What she didn’t tell him was that she couldn’t begin to produce an immunoglobulin that would act as a chemical sterilizer in the Weres until she had a specific protein to use as a template. She could try a shotgun approach with a mixed antibody, but the chance of killing the Were and not just sterilizing her wa
s higher. Of course, if she had a ready supply of subjects, she wouldn’t be as concerned about that. “I’ll expect you to deliver something usable within the next week. Don’t disappoint me.”
“I’ll do everything I can to see that I don’t.”
She smiled, eased off the desk, and braced her hands on the arms of his chair. “I’m sure you will more than satisfy.”
His green eyes glazed as she kissed him. Nothing blunted her frustration and restored clarity of thinking like a quick, hard orgasm, and after she judged him more than ready to provide one, she straightened and opened the button on her pants. “You can start now.”
The gold wedding band on his left hand glinted as he opened his fly and drew himself out. She’d already pushed her pants off and straddled him quickly, taking him all the way inside with one long slide. He groaned, and she kissed him again, mostly to silence him. She had one purpose, to come. She wasn’t concerned with his pleasure, although her very disinterest seemed to be what kept him always available. She couldn’t be bothered analyzing why that might be. She rode him in fast hard strokes, one hand braced on his shoulder, the other manipulating her clitoris. She jerked back as the first intense contraction jolted through her pelvis and her vision blurred. Ah God.
A wave of heat followed the first crush of pleasure and she bit her lip to stifle a groan. She peaked again, her thighs trembling, and distantly registered Adam had climaxed. She worked herself on his erection until the spasms inside her subsided and then she pushed off him, using the tail of his scrub shirt to blot herself dry.
“Schedule your next simulation for tomorrow at eleven. I want to observe.” She pulled on her pants, tucked in her shirt, and tidied herself. “I’d like fresh coffee too.”
She didn’t wait for him to fumble himself together and let himself out, but left her office through the rear door into the utility hallway that circled the core of the building. She punched in the security code on the pad next to the windowless metal doors, noting her hands were steady. She smiled, doubting Adam’s were. The overhead lights cast a thin, sickly yellow glow over the flat gray walls as her footsteps echoed hollowly on the dingy tile floor. She stopped in front of the first cell and regarded the subject chained against the wall.
“If you care about your Packmate, you’ll cooperate with us tomorrow. We’re more likely to get what we need if you provide the samples voluntarily, and then we can let you both go.” Veronica ran her finger up and down the silver-impregnated steel bar. Her clitoris still throbbed pleasantly. “After all, it’s just sex, and there’s nothing special about that for you, is there?”
“You can open the windows,” Jody said. “The sun is low enough now.”
Niki didn’t answer but pushed up the glass and released the outside shutters. She leaned against the window frame and breathed deeply, her back to the room.
“Stay with Lara.” Jody rose and buttoned her shirt. “I want to check on Marissa.”
“Won’t Lara wake soon?” Niki asked without turning around. “You’re up already.”
Jody walked over to the window. “She won’t respond instantly to the change in UV levels until she has adjusted to her turning. I will feel her when she begins to wake and return before she is fully aware. Until then, I don’t want to leave her unguarded.”
“She is safe in the Compound.”
“I’m not worried about anyone attacking her. When she emerges, she won’t be lucid. She won’t know where she is. All she’ll know is hunger. Your blood is strong. She is still sated, but she will need replenishment soon.”
“How long is this going to last?” Niki said. “This mindless hunger you’ve created in her?”
“I don’t know.”
Niki snarled. “How can you not know? You must have seen hundreds of turned humans and Weres.”
Jody laughed. “Not nearly as many as you think, Wolf. First of all, I’m not that old. Secondly, we turn far fewer than legend suggests. Our food supplies are not endless, and we live…” She laughed again, the bitterness welling in her chest. “Let’s just say we live a long time. There are reasons, I suppose, it is so difficult for us to create offspring.”
“All predators have small litters.”
Jody didn’t see the distaste in Niki’s eyes she was used to whenever the subject of Vampires reproducing arose. “You don’t find it unnatural for us to want what every other species has? Progeny to carry on our species? Offspring to carry on our heritage?”
Niki turned away, her face feral and hard. “I don’t usually concern myself with Vampires. I only care about the Pack.”
“Not necessarily a bad thing,” Jody said softly. “Although I’m afraid we must all become concerned about other species than our own, or we may find ourselves standing alone.”
Niki shot her a surprised look. “You believe the humans will rise against us?”
“I think they may have already. Maybe not just the humans.” Jody sighed. “I’m not sure. But I’m uneasy about the attempt on your Alpha. If she had died—”
Niki’s face morphed and her canines dropped. She snarled, her eyes wide and wild.
“Easy, Wolf.” Jody brushed her palm over Niki’s chest, Niki shuddered, and sanity returned to her eyes.
“How do you do that?” Niki demanded. “How can you do that to me when we have no bond?”
“We have a bond, little Wolf. For a while, your blood fills my body and my essence runs in yours. It’s not the mate bond you experience with another Were, but a blood bond nearly as powerful.”
“I don’t want it, I never asked for it,” Niki roared.
Jody shrugged. “There is no way to stop it from happening when I feed. I could draw blood, yes, without creating any kind of bond. But once I feed? Then we are joined.”
“Even now, I hunger for you,” Niki said, sounding desolate.
“I know.” Jody was careful who she chose for blood servants and how frequently she used them. Some hosts came to desire more than just the erotic satisfaction induced by feeding, developing such an acute addiction to the erotostimulants Vampires secreted that they would literally go insane without it. She didn’t know where on the spectrum Niki fell, and she wasn’t going to find out. “I don’t plan on feeding from you again. As the hormones in your system dissipate, the bond will diminish.”
“What about Lara?” Niki asked.
“She’ll need to feed as soon as she awakens. If Marissa can’t host, we should find another Were who is willing.”
“I will feed her.” Niki thumped her chest. “She will not suffer.”
“No, she won’t. Once I get her into the city, she will have ample opportunity to feed. I have blood servants who will see to her needs later tonight. Tomorrow, when she is not quite so mindless, I will teach her to hunt.”
Niki scraped her claws down the wall, leaving gouges in the roughhewn wood. “She knows how to hunt. She is centuri. One of our strongest, one of our best.”
“I know what she was. But now she is Vampire, and she must learn another kind of hunt or I will be forced to destroy her.”
“Harm her, and I will kill you,” Niki said.
“You could try, little Wolf. You could try.” Jody ached for Niki’s blood with the same relentless fervor that drove the Were to give it to her. But she would wait. She had to wait. She couldn’t risk Niki becoming a thrall.
And now, her senses registered another reason to wait, one even more compelling.
She let her mind stretch out beyond the confines of the Compound. The beat of a human heart pulsed in her head and echoed through her body. Bloodlust burned in her core. She would be forced to feed soon, but first, she would see Becca.
Chapter Fourteen
Becca sighed inwardly as the tall stockade gates closed behind them. Dasha parked the vehicle in a turnaround in front of the central building. The Compound was even more crowded than it had been before dawn that morning. Pairs and groups of uniformed sentries crisscrossed the courtyard between the build
ings. In the flat white light cast by the security lights, everyone looked youthful and in fighting form. Becca doubted they were all as young as they appeared, but she’d never actually seen a Were who appeared even middle-aged, let alone elderly. It really wasn’t fair for a species to have both longevity and beauty, and now that she thought of it, all the Praeterns had those qualities. Maybe humans were just jealous.
“Sylvan is here, isn’t she?” Becca asked. She’d made it through the door. One hurdle down, about ten to go. Relaying the information she’d gotten from her anonymous caller was only part of her agenda. She didn’t intend to be used as a go-between—a passive conduit to funnel information that someone wanted Sylvan or someone else to know. She wanted to be part of the investigation. She was going to have to bargain, and she had probably sixty seconds to figure out how to bargain with a Were. And not just any Were. The Alpha.
“A word of advice,” Dasha said.
Becca grasped the handle of the door, waiting. “I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”
“If you want to see the Alpha, come as a friend. Not as a reporter.”
“I am a reporter, but if I wasn’t also a friend I would have run with the story I already have. Believe me, it’s big news.”
Dasha studied her for so long, Becca wondered if the lieutenant could read her mind. She didn’t think Weres had that capability, but the more she was around the Praeterns, the more she realized she didn’t know. And boy, that really frustrated her. A trickle of sweat dripped down her neck, but she waited while Dasha sat with such stillness she might have been a statue.
“Wait for me,” Dasha said, jumping out of the truck. She skirted quickly around the front, opened Becca’s door, and cupped Becca’s elbow. “I’ll take you inside. Stay close.”
They hadn’t even reached the stairs when Callan appeared on the porch, blocking their way with his legs spread and his thick arms crossed over his broad chest.
