by Alana Hart
Liam shuddered to think what would happen to them when they grew too big for those people.
In order to be kept off the auction block, Liam had been acting out, barking, snapping at the handlers, peeing on them, running if he got the chance; whatever he needed to do in order to stay in the facility. He knew they would keep trying. He had overheard a couple of them talking when he first started acting out.
“Can’t we just drown that one? He’s a pain in the ass.” This was from one of the handlers who were supposed to be training the pups. He had a nose ring and long hair.
The woman with him shook her head, her red hair cut close to her chin. “Dr. Anderson wants him ready before the year is up. Says he’s too pretty to let go.”
After that Liam had felt safer, knowing he wouldn’t be killed for acting out, but sick knowing that some pups were.
He needed to find a way to get out of here. Though he had little intel, he thought he had enough to get the pack and end this place. But he had to get out first. And figure out where he was.
The lights came on, signaling morning in the kennel. Nose Ring and Redhead rolled their carts in. They slid bowls of dog food through the bars and refilled water bottles. If Liam had to choke down one more bowl of dog food he was going to drown himself.
He waited by the cage, and as Redhead slid his food dish in, he barked and nipped at her hand. She swore and fell back, landing hard on her ass. He growled and stepped on his dish, spilling his mush all over the floor.
Nose Ring laughed. Redhead glared at Liam, clutching her hand. He hadn’t gotten her hard. “Fine. Starve, you little shit.”
They finished the feeding and then began training. Liam waited his turn, pacing in his cage. They saved him for last, maybe hoping he would tire himself out. They gave each other a look, standing outside Liam’s cage, and then she opened the door as Nose Ring reached for him.
Liam barked and latched his jaws onto Nose Ring’s gloved hand. He howled, trying to shake the pup off of him, but Liam bit harder, feeling his fangs pierce through the glove and into skin.
Nose Ring shrieked louder. There was a slight buzzing sound. Liam let go before Redhead could jab him with a rod. Landing with an ungraceful flop, Liam got to his feet and ran for the door they had left open.
“God damn it, Greg! Get him!”
Slipping and sliding over the polished floors, Liam bounded out of the kennel and into a long hallway. It was brightly lit with doors all over. People in white coats passed him, some screaming when he nipped at their ankles as he ran by.
Putting this moment of chaos to good use, Liam glanced into the open doors and saw more kennels, laboratory-like rooms, rooms with computers and monitors, and a staircase leading to an exit.
A staircase and an exit! Liam skidded to a stop and ran for that door. Was it going to be this easy?
Nope. Before he had even made it a few paces back toward the exit, someone grabbed him by the scruff and lifted him. Growling and squirming, Liam had no choice but to let himself be turned around. Finally he faced the bald man with cold, dark eyes. Liam hadn’t seen this man since he was picked up months ago. His lab coat read, Dr. Anderson.
The doctor stared into Liam’s eyes. From behind him, Nose Ring and Redhead had finally caught up, panting and sweating. Both stared at Dr. Anderson, fear in their eyes.
“What happened?” Anderson asked casually, as if this were a simple case of a misplaced pen.
Nose Ring-Greg swallowed, his breathing labored. “That thing is a menace. He bit Ashley when she was feeding him, and then he bit me. Broke the skin.” His face paled suddenly. “Am I going to turn?”
Anderson blinked slowly, as if annoyed with his employees. “No,” he sighed.
Redhead-Ashley spoke now. “Sir, I know you want to sell him, but I really don’t think he’s tamable. Maybe he’s too old?”
Greg and Ashley stood behind Anderson, breath held. People around them had stopped what they were doing to watch what the doctor would do.
Finally, Anderson turned and faced his employees, Liam still held by the scruff. “Perhaps you’re right,” he said.
Ashley sighed.
“Go care for the other pups,” Anderson said. He turned and walked away, as he did he spoke over his shoulder. “You will be reprimanded for your incompetence.”
Liam was rewarded with the looks of sheer terror on their faces before he was walked into an elevator. Anderson kept him by the scruff. Liam wriggled, uncomfortable. The good doctor ignored him, quiet as the elevator eased downward. They got off and walked down another hall much like the one above. It was quieter here and there weren’t as many doors.
Anderson walked through a door into what looked like a vet’s office, and set Liam down on the metal table. There was a sink and cabinets along with a large mirror. Liam guessed it was a two-way. Curious, Liam sat and licked his lips.
“Good boy,” said the doctor.
A moment later a large woman in a lab coat and several men came in. They looked like the muscle.
“Remove the collar,” Anderson ordered.
The nurse reached under the collar and flicked a clasp. It fell into her hands. Knowing what they wanted him to do, and wondering where this was going, Liam shivered and shifted into the little boy. It felt good to be human, but he needed to shift into himself, into his wolf. He needed to run.
The men stood behind the doctor and nurse who both looked over Liam.
“How old is he?” Anderson asked.
“About eight, we guess.” How did she know anything about him? Liam had never even seen her before.
Anderson sighed. “Can’t put him up for auction. Won’t be tamed.”
The woman cocked an eyebrow. “What’ll you do with him?” She glanced at Liam, and spoke as if he couldn’t understand words. “Seems a shame to put down one that looks like him.” She grabbed a fistful of Liam’s hair, which was getting long, and yanked his head back. “Pretty eyes on this one,” she said and released him.
Anderson was nodding. He leaned against the sink, scratching his jaw. “How long before he can be studded?”
Studded? What the hell was that?
But the nurse’s eyes lit up. “Three years, maybe four. Depends when he matures.”
Matures? Studded? Liam didn’t think he liked where this was going.
Anderson nodded. “Find him a room. Keep him healthy.”
The nurse looked over a chart. “Says he refuses to eat.”
The doctor sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Stick a tube down his throat and pump his food into him.” He pushed away from the counter. “I don’t care how you do it. Just keep him healthy enough to be studded when he matures.”
And then the doctor left.
The nurse turned to Liam, handing the chart to one of the men behind her. A sneer spread over her ugly face. “I know you understood every word we said.” She rolled up her sleeves. Behind her, the men got ready. “Few years you’ll be old enough to start pumping some females full of babies. We’re going all purebred here. No more snatching hybrids off the street. You’re going to make us richer than we imagined.”
She smiled, the grin like a slit in putty.
That was it. Liam had had enough. He glared at the woman, readied himself to shift, and then felt the sharp prick against his neck. Behind him, a man pulled the thin needle from his skin, and then Liam blacked out.
Chapter Four
It had been hours before someone came and called Dimple-chin, or as Lyss came to learn, Warren, back to work. Lyss had remained strapped to the table, her body aching, for days. She wouldn’t become pregnant; Nurse Greta had come in and assured her that the serum would destroy anything that even tried to become a baby; she seemed depressed by the thought. That was some comfort, though. Who would want to bring a baby into this place?
And what would it be with all the shit running through her body?
She was better off without.
Warren had been the first to rape
her while she couldn’t move, but he wasn’t the last. And on the third day strapped to the table, as her limbs screamed and her nerves felt like they were being poked with needles, Greta came to visit Lyss.
She grinned at the shaking mess that was Alyssa Grey, and glanced over her charts. “This might be the one,” she sang. “You survive the serum and change into a hybrid the way Dr. Anderson believes you will, and oh my, things will change!” She checked Lyss’s pulse. “Sounds good.”
Lyss could move her eyes now and watched Greta scribble on her chart.
“Everything is changing. We’ve got a stud. He’s a little untamed than we’d like, but he is a pretty one. And we have plenty of docile females for him to put babies into. And you, my wreck of a human, you are going to open up the market on hybrids.” She winked, but didn’t explain.
Unable to work her throat to speak, Lyss remained silent, glaring as best she could until Greta left.
Six days she had lain on that table, and when her body started functioning again they left her to piss herself. When it was time to bring her back to her room, the serum having been absorbed by her body, and not killing her, Greta made a fuss about how gross Lyss was. She had assured her that there was no way anyone would fuck her to help make more hybrids.
“Really?” Lyss had said, stretching and fighting not to wince as her muscles screamed. “Your men didn’t seem too picky about fucking me.”
Greta’s eyes flicked to the men standing by, waiting for her orders. All four of them had been in to visit Lyss. The indifference on their faces made Lyss want to scream. Warren watched her, his eyes cold. She could feel the strength in her muscles, but she was still too weak and in too much pain to fight.
A sharp jab inside her elbow told Lyss Greta had stuck a needle in her arm.
“Need to test your blood,” Greta spat.
Lyss cocked her head, a fake pout barely concealing her smile. “Aw, what’s the matter, Nurse Greta? Jealous?”
Maybe if they thought she enjoyed it, they wouldn’t do it again.
Or maybe Greta was jealous for some crazy reason, and would slap Lyss hard across the face. Stars popped in front of her eyes and she tasted blood.
Greta glared at Lyss. She pointed a thick finger in her face. “If you weren’t getting your strength back soon, I’d have them all take turns on you right now, you little slut.”
Lyss smiled. “Once I have my strength back, I’m going to rip your throat out with my teeth.”
As punishment, Lyss was dragged to the baths and repeatedly dunked in ice water until she nearly drowned. Soaked and shaking, the men dumped her in her room and locked the door.
A small window let in a square of sunlight that shone bright on the tile floor. She used to share her room with others being injected with the serum, but they had all died. Bad reactions to the serum. Their deaths usually happened in the room, while Lyss screamed for help. Messy deaths. Scary deaths.
Eventually Lyss was the only one left, the only one who could survive the serum, even though it felt as though it were killing her every time they injected her. Every month for the last twenty-eight months. And she had been alone in this room for sixteen of those months.
Until now.
The room held four beds. Lyss lay on one, and on another, across the room from her, lay a small boy. He was sprawled out, his face turned to the wall. Dark hair stuck up all over his head, tanned skin, and he wore a gray jumpsuit and, oh great, a collar. They had stuck her with a hybrid.
Was this part of the process of turning her into one? Was she supposed to learn from this kid? Feel motherly toward him? What the hell was he in here for?
And then she remembered the stud Greta mentioned. Was this boy the stud? Was she supposed to sleep with a little boy? These people were sick, but surely they couldn’t expect her, or anyone old enough to carry babies to do that.
Lyss remained in her bed, shivering until she was warm, and then she stood on shaky legs. She pulled clean, dry clothes from a trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled on the pale, gray jumpsuit and socks. When she turned, she saw the boy was awake and watching her get dressed.
This had to be the boy Greta was talking about; he was pretty. Too pretty to be a boy. He was going to be gorgeous when he grew up, Lyss thought.
He frowned and sat up. Lyss sat on her bed, and the boy’s eyes followed her, wary. Did he think she was one of them?
“I’m Lyss,” she said. “They can’t hear you in here.” She gestured to the room. “They have cameras in the halls and outside, but not in the rooms.” She shrugged. “What’s your name?”
He rubbed a spot on his neck under his collar, and then he ran a finger under the collar. Not finding what he was looking for, he dropped his hand to his lap and glared at Lyss.
“Liam,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Where am I?”
“Long term housing,” she joked. When he only stared at her she said, “This is where they keep the ones they don’t plan to auction. We’re either experiments or, now from what I understand, breeders.”
He stared at her, a look of disgust on his face. “I’m supposed to fuck you? You’re a human.”
“No, probably not me. They have some pups who are aging up I guess.”
He frowned. “Fuck that.”
Lyss’s eyebrows shot up. For a kid, he had a dirty mouth. “How old are you?”
“Old enough to know what breeding is, and I ain’t fucking you or anyone.” He turned away mumbling about dirty, human cunts.
“Well,” Lyss said, pulling her legs up onto the bed. “This is going to be fun.”
Chapter Five
Liam glared at the woman sitting across from him. She smelled funny, like there was something wrong with her or she was sick, but she was definitely human.
Eighteen or nineteen. If he were into humans he might have found her attractive. Long, black hair that hung to a very round ass. He had watched her get dressed, and she had big tits that swayed nicely when free, a body that looked as though they hadn’t been feeding her properly, but she was still fit. And, sitting across from him, she stared at him with the most piercingly bright blue eyes he had ever seen.
But, he didn’t like humans. They were the reason he was here. They were evil creatures who hurt kids. No. His brothers might have fallen for humans, but Liam would be damned if it was going to happen to him, too.
He had to play it safe. Now was not the time to reveal his true self and let these damn doctors know he actually was mature enough to impregnate a woman. He also needed to get out of here soon because this shift, the boy, wouldn’t mature, and sooner or later they would catch on to that.
He frowned at the woman, Lyss. “Do you get real food?”
“It’s not a five star restaurant, but the food’s not terrible.”
Good, he thought, no dog food. And if they tried to feed him the mush, he could just take hers.
For a while they just sat on their beds, watching dust float through the ceiling light. Finally Lyss stood.
“Do you play chess?”
He eyed her wondering if this was a trick, if she was a pawn to get him to reveal something.
“I’m bored,” she said. “We’re going to be stuck in here together. Might as well do something.”
It couldn’t hurt to just play, keep her busy, maybe get some intel from her. So, they sat on her bed, and Lyss set up the battered wood chess set. Closer now, Liam could smell her. It was a pungent mix of sweet milk and tangy wine, warm blood and hot skin.
“What’s wrong with you?” he blurted.
She cocked an eyebrow.
“Your smell is different from most humans, like really different.”
Smirking, she lifted her shirt and showed him the purple and black bruise on her sternum. And then the smell was stronger. Liam rubbed his nose. Lyss nodded and dropped her shirt.
“They’re injecting me with a serum, trying to turn me into a hybrid.”
“Hybrid?”
“Yeah,
you know, one of you.”
He did not like that term. Liam watched Lyss make the first move.
“We aren’t hybrids, though.”
She moved a pawn. “Oh no?”
“No. We’re shifters. Not human and shifter. Just shifter. You would be a hybrid. Worse than a human,” he said, shaking his head.
She shrugged, unaffected. “Your move.” There was a light in her bright eyes, as if she was actually having fun.
Liam made his move, mirroring hers. “How long have you been here?”
“Why I’m two years into a lifetime lease on this room,” she winked at him.
Two years. Jesus…
They played for a while in silence, though once in a while Lyss would comment on a move he made or tsk if she thought she had him pinned. Dinner came – no dog food. They ate fish stew, crusty bread, though Liam thought that was from being stale and not intentional, and tap water. It wasn’t terrible, and it was a hell of a lot better than dog food.
Night fell outside the window before the game finally came to an end. Lyss shook her head, her grin wide.
“You little shit,” she knocked her king over. “Played me like a fiddle, didn’t you? Acting all innocent.”
Liam couldn’t help smirking.
“I see. Well, next time I won’t go so easy on you.” She winked. Lyss glanced out the window. “Tired?”
Liam shook his head. He really wasn’t.
“Me either. Want to play again?”
This time Lyss destroyed him. Apparently his cute boyishness had made her treat him like the child she thought he was at first, but not this round. She took him in half the time, causing him to demand another game.
They played well into the night, talking more easily as they took turns destroying each other in chess.
Liam couldn’t imagine how she had stayed in here two years, most of it alone.
“And I knew she wasn’t lying about the babies,” she said as Liam reset a game, having been obliterated the previous round. “That bitch Greta loves to gloat. She took me for a walk after an injection. Showed me the kennels where they keep the babies.” Lyss looked down at her the pawns in her hands, her eyes hidden by her hair. “It was worse than an animal shelter. All of them all sad and crying. But,” she said a little more brightly, “That walk did give me a nice layout of the place, for when I escape.”
