Zolkos had identified in me the same unique shifter DNA sequence found in Patient Zero. Whether he knew that Isabel and I were related was unclear, but it was only a matter of time before he did. How long until Zolkos realized I was Isabel’s daughter, long presumed dead?
The answer didn’t matter.
What mattered was this.
I was no longer safe within New Arca.
At any moment, Cade could receive an order to surrender me to Zolkos for research, indefinitely. And knowing Cade’s open hostility toward him, I doubted they would even bother to notify our unit. They would more likely storm our dorm in the dead of night and drag me out by force.
My alphas kept assuring me they would never let that happen, but it didn’t matter how strong they were. Arca had endless resources, endless soldiers, endless ways to make people disappear. If Command ordered me removed from the unit, none of us would stand a chance of stopping it.
My life had become impossibly complicated.
I thought back to when I was first taken, to how resentful I had been toward the alphas for facilitating my capture. All I had wanted was to return to my old life. Playing gigs at Rosie’s with Cherry Voltage. Hanging out with Alex and the rest of the band. Painting, reading, existing on my own terms.
I had blamed them for losing my freedom.
But what would have happened once I inevitably ran out of my suppressants? I had already been rationing pills, running out of people willing or able to procure the ingredients for me. It was only a matter of time before I had no options left.
Without the medication, I would have gone into heat. I would have shifted without warning, with no one to help me, no one to guide me through it. I could have ended up anywhere. In anyone’s hands.
I might not have survived it.
Who knows where I would be without these men.
My resentment toward them had shifted into somethingdifferent now, something closer to gratitude.
So much had changed in such a short time.
I had gone from wanting to escape these men at any cost, to feeling terrified of being separated from them.
"That won't happen, Pet," Talon whispered in my ear as he grabbed my wrists and lifted them higher into position. I eyed Ryker across from me on the mat.
"You don't know that," I muttered.
"I do. We have a plan. Now, if you don’t want to end up pinned under Ryker again, I suggest you concentrate."
Ryker surged forward, powerful and sure, cocky as always. Our daily defense training had helped me anticipate his moves, to read the way his weight shifted and predict when he’d lunge. I had also learned to use what I had in my favor, stealth, speed, and the fact I was smaller than my opponent.
After killing a wraith, I naively assumed I would suddenly be a badass capable of taking any alpha down whenever I wanted. Reality said otherwise. They still overpowered me almost every time we sparred.
Almost.
There had been a few moments, a few clean wins, where I’d gotten the upper hand. And I didn’t need Talon’s praise to know it wasn’t luck.
I was actually improving.
Ryker shifted, and I read the movement as him being about to lunge right, so I ducked left. But just as I was learning his moves, he was learning mine. I realized too late that he had tricked me. He switched direction at the last second, arms snapping around my waist, and slammed me onto the mat with a hard thud.
“Tricky, tricky, Kitty. You've got to be quicker than that,” Ryker taunted, pressing his weight down on me.
I could feel his hard dick grinding into my thigh, and a helpless sound escaped me before I could stop it.
“Ryker. Get off her. Now. Not here. Her scent,” Talon warned, his voice sharp.
Ryker hopped off me immediately, and I actually pouted at the loss of his body against mine. Lately, I had been such a horny bitch.
“I thought my scent dulled when the packmate-bond completed,” I said, sitting up. “Am I still a target for other alphas?”
