Chapter 25

25

EMMA

The beeping is comforting; it sounds like my clinic. For a brief moment, I thought Hunter saved me and took me to my clinic. I'm probably in the room next to my office with the window that faces the mountains. My eyes open, and the blurry room easily confuses me for my clinic.

My ears are fuzzy as I start to wake up. The sedative is still working through my system. A chill runs down my spine as I hear a man speaking.

Oh God . I attempt to slow my breathing even when the heart monitor speeds up. I pinch my eyes shut because whoever is in this room knows I'm awake now.

Then I hear a second monitor. It's beating much faster than my own. I peek my eyes open, curious to see what has a heart rate that quick.

I follow the line of monitor cords attached to my abdomen. The sight causes my nose to tickle as tears fill my eyes.

It's a baby's heartbeat.

It's our baby.

The joy is replaced by fear as I try to slide my hand to my stomach, but it doesn't move. It's tied to the bed. Tears spill over my lashes. A whimper escapes as I swallow hard. My breathing is shallow.

"Good. You're awake. Dr. Fawnsbeck, congratulations are in order. You're the first patient to successfully be impregnated by one of those beasts. Your contributions to science will change the future."

Shaking my head, I thrash against the restraints. No fucking way. Anger floods my body. I begin banging my head on the chair. I would rather die than let them experiment on me and my baby.

Someone shouts from behind me while I continue thrashing. "Fucking subdue her, or she's going to hurt herself."

A cool liquid seems to slide along my skin, and the last thing I hear is Cole's voice, "She'll be out for a few hours. I want her awake when we run the scans so she can give us feedback. Also, no one is to fucking touch her. After all of this, she's mine. " The words are a possessive bark. They are the last thing I hear as the room fades to black.

Buzzing wakes me. It sounds like bees have taken residence in my head. I attempt to move, but my body isn't responding. I blink away the blur of the lights.

"Finally. You're awake. We are going to do a transvaginal ultrasound—it may hurt. But we'd like to get a scan of the fetus. It's too early to see through the abdomen."

"Please don't do this. Please." My pleading is weak—my body is still too heavy from whatever drug they gave me—I can't seem to move even though I'm very aware.

"Ha. I never thought you would be into monsters, Emma." Cole's voice is smooth, and I feel the pressure from his hand as he slides down my bare stomach.

"Just let me, us, leave. Please, don't do this." His fingers lock into my panties, sliding them down my legs; a soft sob fills my throat as I'm left exposed. The drugs in my system don' t allow me to fight or move or shift away from his gaze as he slowly places both my legs in metal stirrups. Then, secures them with a leather strap.

His gruff voice calls out to someone else, "Leave us; I'll handle this myself." I try to turn my head to see who he is talking to but can't see anyone before the door shuts.

God, no , I can't handle this. I fight with everything I have to move my limbs and just get met with pain, a complex, jarring pain. It flashes through my body so acutely I cry out. My limbs burn as if lit on fire as I try to save myself.

"Tsk, Emma." Cole's cold hands sweep up the side of my naked torso. "You all tied down isn't as fun, but I promise I'll make this as enjoyable for you as it will be for me."

I try to shake my head no or beg, but I'm met with a broken sound as I watch him pull a large probe out, smearing it with ultrasound gel.

His other hand presses on my stomach, "Now you're going to feel some pressure." He places the wand at my core and presses in slowly. "We need to look at the little beast you're brewing."

The pressure is so jarring that my scream spills out and echoes off the walls. I feel something inside me cracking as Cole continues to press in.

Cole keeps talking as if what he is doing is appropriate. "We learned early on that shifters were only created through reproduction or genetics." He shifts the probe deeper. Unable to move my body, the feeling pulls another scream from my throat.

Annoyance threads Cole's voice, "You were never this loud with me; maybe we can change that once this exam is over." I try to muffle another noise as he pushes in again to search for the fetus. "We realized that the reproduction only seemed to work within wolf pairs. Ah, there we are." He says, completely ignoring my agony. He begins taking measurements on the computer. "Our tests ended poorly; we could not artificially inseminate a beast. Then I realized we needed to catch a female that was already pregnant. That blonde bitch seemed promising, except we never did get her to leave that fortress."

My throat is raw now, and I whimper again at the unwelcome feeling.

"I hacked your system at that shit clinic you set up and saw your tests. I realized you found out about the beast. Then we watched. After the mark appeared on your neck, I knew you would be the perfect candidate. We've learned that after mating, the odds of impregnation are almost ninety-nine percent. So, we waited a few weeks. And low and behold. You really are going to change the future."

He pulls the probe out of my center quickly, and I bite my lip through the jolting sensation. There's blood coating the end. I let out another cry, wondering if he hurt my baby. Cole ignores me and moves to clean the probe off as he says, "You were always such a fucking crybaby. Emma, you will make us all very wealthy; you should be excited about your role in this."

My throat is raw as I say, "I don't want to change the future. I don't want any of this. I don't want you to touch me or my baby again."

He mocks with deranged laughter, "Oh, Emma, this baby is just the start. See, we now realize as a human, you can carry a specimen like this. We will use this little body of yours to make more shifters. Then, we'll weaponize and sell the beasts. Imagine an army of men who are also giant deadly wolves." His gloved hand slides up my stomach and softly grazes my chin as he tilts my head to meet his eyes. A few tears spill over my lashes as he smiles at me.

A knock at the door has Cole grabbing my chin and jerking my head to the side so he can whisper in my ear. "You see, I get to have my fill of you every time you're pregnant. You just became the perfect fuck toy. I told you this isn't over, and now I will make sure of it."

Unable to move, he pushes my head to the side as someone says, "Dr. Peterson, we'd like an update on the fetus." I hear the door click shut.

The monitors are the only sound in the room—my core throbs from the assault. A shiver runs through my exposed body. My only hope is that Hunter finds me. I push every feeling towards the bond.

Save us. Take us away from here. I feel that small fire in my stomach, breathing into my only hope. "Please, please save me," I whisper.

Time doesn't move at all. No one enters my room, and I can't hear anyone in the hallway. That small fire in my stomach has been the only warmth I've felt, and it quickly vanishes as I hear the door click open.

I say, "Please. You don't need to do this. I can be helpful, and I don't want to be restrained." My voice is so hoarse that it cracks at the end.

Unable to even turn to see who is there, I shut my eyes, willing my mind to take me away from this place.