“I couldn’t,” she protested. “I was watched twenty-four/seven. Every word I uttered was recorded and reviewed. I didn’t dare step out of line.”
Gabriel made an impatient sound, drawing her attention back to him. “I’ll give you the benefit of a doubt. For the first two years you believed we were criminals who had volunteered for the Griffin Project. What about the second two years? How could you continue to work for Nuevo when you knew they were holding us against our will and conducting illegal experiments?”
Their transformation had been complete long before she arrived. There was nothing she could do to restore what Nuevo had takenfrom them. She started to defend herself, to explain that her sister had been in danger and jobs on Earth were incredibly hard to secure. Yes, she had stayed longer than she should have, but she never intentionally harmed any of the hybrids. Her words turned to ashes in her mouth. They weren’t interested in her justifications. They wanted to lash out at the people who had hurt them, and she was a convenient target.
Instead of a detailed explanation, she simply said, “I’m sorry. I should have done something sooner. I should have done more.”
Gabriel just stared at her, letting the tension build. “It was my understanding that anyone who had direct contact with a hybrid was precluded from the alliance. Why did the cats allow you to participate?”
“They didn’t. I was in a primitive building outside the village walls when the wolves captured me,” she told them.
“And my brother stole you from the wolves.”
It wasn’t a question, but Heather nodded.
Patrick moved in front of her, eyes narrowed and gleaming. “Were the cats allowed to court you?”
“There were two groups of females who were not eligible for the alliance,” Heather explained. “The first were directly involved in the transformations, so they were not allowed in the village for any reason. At least that’s the way it started.”
“What does that mean?” Patrick asked impatiently.
“Some of the women chose to open a brothel rather than participating in the alliance.” Seeing their disbelieving expressions, she rushed on, “It’s not a choice I would have made, but some women find submission intolerable. They preferredto retain control over who has access to their bodies. At least that’s what they said. Anyway, the ones who were ineligible for the alliance asked if they could join the brothel. The alternative was being at the mercy of the elements and living on dehydrated food. Zion agreed, so another handful of women were allowed inside the village walls.”
“As pleasure givers?” Patrick and Gabriel exchanged communicative looks. “And the females suggested this?”
“The alternative was likely death. We realize we can’t survive here without assistance.” Heather swallowed past the sudden tightening in her throat. Had she just defined her own punishment? Would he make her body available to anyone who wanted to use it? Females had only two uses on Rydaria, pleasure and procreation. She shook her head as her heart thudded and her lungs struggled to pull in air. Patrick stared at her silently, then one corner of his mouth tipped upward, confirming her deepest fear.
“You were in the second group,” Gabriel mused, drawing her attention back to him. “So the brothel was not your only option.”
She nodded and quickly took a breath. “I was part of the recovery team. My role came at the end of missions or after adjustments were made to?—”
“Adjustments?” Patrick sneered. “We weren’t skimmers. Our thrusters required no calibration.”
“I stitched up lacerations and set broken bones,” she insisted. She was willing to accept responsibility for the wrong she’d done, but his attitude was getting old. “My purpose was to ease pain, not cause it. I never created wounds or intentionally harmed anyone.”
“You harmed me,” Patrick insisted angrily. “You might not be as guilty as some, but you are certainly not innocent.”
“I never claimed to be,” she replied, frustration sharpening her tone.
“The second group,” Gabriel digressed. “How did the cats deal with you?”
She took a breath and refocused her mind. Patrick wanted to use her as a whipping girl for the entire Griffin Project. His resentment was understandable, but she refused to surrender without a fight. Gabriel was assessing the situation. She wasn’t naive enough to consider him an ally, but he was the only one who had any interest in her side of the story.
“Despite what we’d done at Nuevo Biotech, some of the cats still wanted to court us. Zion would not change the stipulations in the alliance, but he wanted as many of his males as possible to claim a human mate.”
“How did they court you if you were not allowed inside the village?” Gabriel wanted to know.
“Courting took place outside the village. We were only allowed insideafterwe’d been claimed.”
“Were you courted by a feline coalition?” Patrick’s nostrils flared and myriad emotions gleamed within his eyes. The raptors and the lions were allies, yet Patrick was clearly bothered by the idea.
“I met with two coalition leaders, but didn’t feel a connection with either one.” Truth be told, they made her intensely uncomfortable, and she was thrilled when neither chose to call on her again.
“So, you remained in the primitive shelter outside the village walls?” Gabriel asked.
“I had no choice. Well, none I found tolerable.”
“Yet that is why the wolves were able to capture you,” Gabriel concluded.
