by Tia Didmon
“I don't understand what that means.”
“He made a version that was more potent but would die out in the subject’s bloodstream within a few hours.”
“What advantage would that have on any shifter species?” he asked.
“It wasn’t designed for the shifter species. It was targeted to work on humans.”
“Why would he want humans to experience the mating side effects?”
“It was originally designed for Sarah. So, she would feel the need to mate with Gerry despite her aversion to him.”
Hunter rubbed his face. “Fuck me. Devon will have a shit fit when he finds out.”
“Do you have to tell him?” she asked.
“Yes. We don’t keep secrets from our family. Our lair,” he said.
Racheal thought about the secrets she kept from Sarah. “Even if they would hurt the ones you love?”
Hunter crossed his arms. “Especially if they would hurt them. Lies always come out Racheal. The longer their hidden the more damage they do.”
She bit her upper lip. It was a nervous habit she had never been able to break.
“Is there something you lied about?”
“No,” she said too quickly.
Hunter cleared his throat. “You do know we sense lies.”
She took a deep breath. “I didn’t lie to you, and if you want the rest of this story you will drop it.”
Hunter raised his eyebrow. “Alright. I'll drop it...for now. Go on with your story.”
Kallan spent millions on the serum variations. He asked Jordan to see if there could be other applications for their use. I don't know the extent of his experiments but he decided to try it on himself."
Hunter’s voice held a hint of threat. “What did he want exactly?”
“Jordan has an IQ of one-eighty-five. He doesn’t fit in with society. His experiments are the only things that truly matter to him. While he’s had sex, he did it more for research than personal interest.”
Hunter looked confused. “I still don’t follow.”
“I told you we had sex and that it wasn’t good. He wanted to see if he could pair us. Make us both want each other in the way you desire your mates.”
“What the Fuck? He wanted to simulate a mating because he has no libido?” he snarled.
“No, because I had no libido. He said I was the problem. I was the first woman that he was attracted to. You know, because my IQ is almost as high as his.”
Hunter’s fingers flexed. “What did he do to you?”
“He injected both of us with the serum.”
“Did it work? Did you want him?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“No. It had an adverse effect on me. It hurt when he touched me,” she said.
“Mates cannot be near any man other than her mate or immediate family during transformation.”
She shivered. “It was excruciating. I screamed and screamed.”
“What effect did it have on him?”
“He wanted me. He was insane with lust,” she said.
Hunter’s eyes glowed. “What happened?”
“Jordan attacked me.”
Hunter’s cat went berserk. He felt his claws pierce his fingers before halting the transformation. He had to remind his cat that hunting Jordan down now would leave his mate unprotected. Racheal looked weary. “I’m sorry, Racheal. I promise I will track that disgusting motherfucker down and kill him.”
Racheal's eyes widened. “NO! He’s too protected. No one gets near Kevin, Gerald, or Jordan without going up against an army. Besides he didn't rape me. Kevin had Gerald present for the experiment. Gerald tranqued him before it could go too far.”
“I don’t care that he was stopped. He put his hands on you.” Hunter put his arms around her. He needed to comfort her, admitting he wanted to feel her body close to his when he told her about Jordan’s brother. “Racheal. Gerald is Dead.”
She pulled back, looking up at him. “What? When?”
“The day you were released. Devon ripped his throat out. He was attempting to break the mating bond between him and Sarah. No shifter will allow another to take his mate.”
“I know about that research but wasn’t aware of any trials. Was Sarah harmed? What effect did it have?” He saw the interest in her eyes despite her attempt to hide it.
“Devon was shot with the serum. Sarah is fine. It did have a side-effect to their bond but they are as strong as ever.” He waited for her to ask questions. He wanted her engaged. Wanted her helping his family. The lair. He silently cursed when she looked away.
“Was it on the news?" she asked quietly.
Hunter’s cat hated her retreat as much as he did. “No. We've been wondering why he’s keeping it a secret.”
She turned back, her eyes speculative. “How long was Devon with the body?”
“We were there to get Sarah and get out. So, less than a minute. Why?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Gerald may not be dead.”
“Cougar claws do irreversible damage to the jugular. He’s dead.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
Hunter wasn’t amused by her evasiveness. “Racheal.”
“I wasn't part of that project,” she said hastily.
“Then how do you know about it?”
“Jordan... needed someone to talk to. His father despises him. Gerald doesn't understand most of what he says. So, he would tell me about some of the things he was working on. I didn't add input. I just listened.”
“He loves you, doesn't he?” Hunter growled.
She shook her head. “Jordan is a sociopath. He’s incapable of love. He recognizes my intelligence. He wants it for the children he will breed.”
“Why does he want children if he is incapable of loving them?”
“I don't think Jordan wants them for himself. He’s obsessed with gaining Kevin’s respect.”
Hunter decided Jordan's daddy issues were less important than this new research. “What’s the project that may have helped Gerald?”
Racheal cleared her throat. “The Kallans’ are involved in regenerative testing using shifter DNA. It's still in the experimental stage.”
Hunter’s eyes flickered. “Are you saying Kevin already has what he needs from us? He can cure any disease?”
“Not at all. It’s extremely volatile. It kills over half the subjects, and the ones who live are left with severe side effects.”
“What kind of side-effects?” he asked.
“They are stronger, faster for a couple of years, then they start to rot from the inside out,” she said looking down.
Hunter tipped her head back, cradling her chin in his fingers. “The same thing that happened to Cyril?”
“On the outside, it would look similar but the genetic differences are massive. Humans dissolve from the inside out. The fact that Cyril is still alive means there is something the Kallans’ are missing.”
Hunter released her and grabbed his phone. “I have to update Talen. Liam and Luca will be here soon...”
Racheal backed up quickly, bumping her leg on the coffee table. “No! They can’t come here. I have to leave.”
Hunter dropped the phone. “You’re not going anywhere,” he snapped.
“You don't understand!” Racheal cried out, terrified.
The stench of her fear had his cougar backing down. “Enlighten me.”
“The hormone was designed to effect a shifter male. They’ll attack me.”
“My brothers would never hurt you. Ever,” he said.
“It wouldn't be their fault. You would fight them. I would be responsible for ripping your family apart. Please let me go. I've done enough damage,” she sobbed.
The degradation in her voice was his undoing. Her pain went far past guilt. He strode up to her. “I’ll make the report but I’ll ask my brothers to stay back until we figure this out. Okay?”
She calmed, slipping her arms around his waist. “Thank you.”
&nbs
p; It was the first time she had sought comfort from him. He rubbed her back, allowing her tension to drain away. “Devon said he wasn't affected by you when you ran into him.”
Racheal looked up at him. “I was surprised about that myself. I think something happens during mating that changes your chemistry. It didn't occur to me until after Devon showed no interest in me.”
“My family won't hurt you,” he repeated.
Racheal tensed in his arms. She looked lost. A broken bird that had its wings clipped too many times. He needed her. She had to understand what she meant to him.
His lips descended on hers.
Chapter 3
He nibbled her bottom lip before his tongue swept masterfully into her mouth. Her body wanted everything he had to offer. Her brain fought back, knowing the consequences of her actions.
She pulled herself away. “I'm sorry I can't,” she gasped.
He groaned. “I didn't mean to push you. I’ve waited a long time for you and my cat is eager. I know we have to wait until we’re sure it's safe but I want you.”
She heard the honesty in his voice. She knew, for him, this was normal. One found their mate and started a life together. It killed her that she was going to destroy him. That this choice had been made without her consent. She would never be able to choose him. She needed to tell him that it was over. He should move on. Though her mind knew the truth, her body would not cooperate. “I know. I wish I could be what you want me to be.”
Hunter tilted her head back. “You’re everything I want you to be. Smart. Strong. Brave. What more could I want?”
His misunderstanding undid her. “That isn't me. You don't know ME,” she said in distress.
He kissed her temple. “You were held captive for four years. Forced to do unspeakable things. You survived. The moment you got out you tried to find a way to sabotage the Kallans' work.”
She was surprised. “Why would you say that? Maybe my research is just to rid myself of the compound I was injected with.”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “And you need something from one of Kallans’ facilities in order to do that?”
Her heart stuttered. She hadn't let him read her research. “What are you talking about?”
“When you gathered your papers back at your makeshift lab, you had plans for a research facility on your desk. It didn't have a name or a location but I assume it's a Kallan Corp. facility.”
“It's subsidized by Kallan Corp. but operates under a different name.”
“And?”
“I considered breaking in to get something I needed,” she admitted.
His hand wrapped loosely around her neck. She didn't miss the possessive gesture nor the angry undertone in his voice. “You’ll not do anything to put yourself in danger. If my family feels there’s something at the Kallans' facility we need, we will infiltrate it, not you.”
She would never be sure if it was her long incarceration or her looming transformation but her emotions burst loose. She poked a finger in his chest. “I'm sick of people telling me what to do. I may not have much time left on this earth but I’m going to do what I want, when I want, and there is nothing you or anyone else can say or do about it,” she snapped.
Hunter wrapped a hand around the finger pressed firmly into his chest. He brought it to his lips. “Is that so?” he whispered before sucking it into his mouth.
She expected her outburst to anger him. She watched his eyes turn gold. “You can't...” She couldn't remember what she was about to say. Her mind blanked out when her body began to heat.
Hunter released her finger. “I have a mate that does not want to acknowledge me. I can and will do anything to ensure her safety... as well as her pleasure.” He kissed her wrist, caressing the soft skin with his lips as he traveled up her arm.
He crested her shoulder, continuing his erotic torture, to the base of her neck. She knew she should stop him. Every synapse in her brain screamed. Her body, however, was melting into a pliable creature at his touch, inadvertently pressing closer to his warmth as he made his way to her ear.
“Let me have you. I know you're not ready to give me your heart but trust me with your body,” his seductive voice whispered in her ear, causing her legs to clamp together to ease the tension.
Should she take this one moment for herself? She scrunched her eyes. “You won't bite me?” she pleaded.
He nibbled her ear. “I won't mark you without your consent.”
It wasn't exactly the answer she was looking for but her body was in flames and her brain was shorting out. “Don't hurt me.”
Hunter looked at her with glowing yellow eyes. “I won't.”
The buttons from her blouse hit the wall when he ripped open her blouse.
Could she be selfish and take this one moment of happiness while keeping her walls in place? Her body wanted to with every fiber. Her mind feared she wouldn't be able to walk away. The irresistible man touching her was nibbling away at her defenses.
She felt a tingling wave ripple under her skin. She pulled back, looking at Hunter in alarm.
“What is it baby?” he asked concerned.
“I felt something,” she stuttered.
He smiled slyly. “I'm hoping you'll feel a lot of things.”
She blushed. “I don't mean that. I don't know what it was.” Her mind raced over unforeseen variables. He hadn't bit her. The hormone had to get into her bloodstream to take effect.
Hunter put his lips to her neck. “Hmm. I hope it's overwhelming arousal. I'm waiting very patiently for you to ravage your mate.”
She closed her eyes. He couldn't say things like that. He believed they had a future. She should stop this madness, now. “Hunter...”
He nibbled her earlobe, forcing every coherent thought from her brain. She had never been aroused. As a scientist, she knew all the mechanics. Nothing had prepared her for Hunter. She arched back as his hand went to her breast, massaging her through the thin material of her bra. When he slipped under the lace, pinching her nipple, she bit her lip to avoid calling out.
His fingers were magic, applying just enough pressure to inflame the lust mounting in her body. He slipped his other hand down her pants, cupping her heat, while his teeth nibbled and scraped her sensitive skin. She could feel the fire building, threatening to burn out of control. His finger slipped under the thin fabric of her underwear, causing her to moan.
His fingers circled the slick flesh of her pussy. She pushed against his hand in order to relieve the mounting pressure. Her breathing became uneven, her movements more forceful. She couldn't think through the glorious sensations. “Don't stop,” she said when he adjusted his stance.
“I'll never stop.” Two fingers entered her, causing her to cry out.
He moved them slowly in and out. She clutched his arms, holding back the tsunami threatening her.
His thumb rubbed over her engorged bud, pushing her over the edge. She shivered as she came, causing a ripple of fur to travel along her arm before retreating. She looked at her limb as if it was part of someone else, moving it left and right, trying to figure out if she had imagined it. “It can't be happening yet.” The horror in her voice was apparent.
Hunter pushed her arm back to her side. “Don't worry. I won't mark you or do anything to speed the transformation.”
Her jaw dropped. “Speed it up? It shouldn't be happening. You didn't bite me. The hormone needs to be introduced into the bloodstream.”
Hunter rubbed the back of his neck. “That's true but we found out from Lucy's experience with Cyril that once the hormone is in a mate’s body our proximity starts the transformation. We thought you knew that.”
“We thought you needed to bite your mate. How does the hormone get from your body into your mates if it isn't blood? It can't be sex.”
Hunter smiled. “No, it isn't sex. Talen hadn't even kissed Lucy when hers started.”
“How then?”
Hunter raised his eyebrows.
She purse
d her lips, thinking of the sensory glands used primarily by felines. “It’s scent isn't it?”
“Yes.”
“That explains why every male given the compound goes mental on me,” she said sarcastically.
Hunter stiffened. “Every male?”
Racheal cleared her throat, cursing her mistake. “Jordan wanted to see if the compound would react the same way with another subject. He injected a guard with the hormone. When the guard attacked me, he shot him.”
“Fuck. I'm sorry,” he said rubbing her arms.
“I'm infectious,” she laughed without humor.
“No, you're not, and I would like to prove it to you.”
“How?”
“I want you to allow one of my brothers to approach you.”
She shoved away from him. “No!”
“Racheal. I don't believe Devon was immune to you because he’s mated. I believe he’s immune because he’s my brother. We protect our own even within a larger lair.”
“They'll attack me,” she insisted.
“I'll have Luca come, over but will have Liam watching with a rifle. If Luca comes near you, Liam will shoot him.”
She huffed. “You’re never going to allow one of your brothers to shoot another under any circumstances.”
“These are regular bullets. They sting, sure, but we expel them in seconds.”
“There's no reason for me to meet your brothers,” she stammered.
Hunter’s eyes glittered. “You're my mate. There's every reason.”
Racheal sucked in a long breath. “I'm not your mate.” Racheal heard the lie in her voice, knowing he did as well.
Hunter squinted. “You are.”
She knew she was pissing him off. “I can't be your mate.”
He stood immobile. A sexy angry statue. “Why?”
She didn't want to reject him. Didn't want him to think this was her choice. “Because I'm going to die.”
Hunter’s cat roared in his head. “You aren't going to die. I won't allow it.” He kissed her neck, acknowledging his cat needed the reassurance as much as he did.
