34. Thirty-four

thirty-four

I felt nothing but the cold concrete floor of the cell they locked me in. I still feigned sleep, but that trick wouldn't work much longer. It was hard enough to stay limp while the guards manhandled me into this building.

I sat up and shook like I was just waking up from the drug. We had done a good job of destroying the lab when we escaped, but they'd managed to build a new one faster than we anticipated.

There was no creativity in the layout. I was in the second to most left-hand cell of six. Two cameras positioned inside the cell, and another dozen scattered around the exterior area, kept their unblinking eyes pinned on me.

There was a large observation window that spanned across the room opposite the cells. It appeared to be a mirror, but was one-way glass. I wondered if the director stood there now, watching me.

My cell was empty. No bed, no sink, no toilet. I hadn't expected any. We only got such luxuries after a good mission. They were often taken away soon after for some imagined infraction.

I sank on my haunches and put my back against the wall. I rested my head on my crossed arms and stared at the line of shifting pinpoints of light. They were strong and steady. I had no fresh pain in my body.

Kendal was safe.

I'm sure by now my brothers had told her the plan for if I was captured. She would be mad as hell. I was glad we couldn't feel each other's emotions.

As calm as I seemed on the outside, I couldn't deny that being back under the thumb of scientists scared the shit out of me. It was worse now. I knew what they were capable of, and instead of believing that's how everything was, I had experienced freedom. Kindness. Hope.

Love.

I'm not sure when I fell in love with Kendal, but I was pretty sure it was soon after she fell into my legs that first night. The confusion I felt when such a small thing caused such big emotions to riot through me should have given me a clue. The aggression and need to keep her safe—even from my brothers—was another sign.

I held myself back, not wanting to pressure her into a lifetime of being with a monster. Especially after reading Bacon's information that shifter bonds are for life.

When she ran from me, her sparkling eyes and squeals of laughter when I caught her made it undeniable. My heart was hers. My body hers to command. My soul hers to do with as she wished.

I loved my brothers, but the depth of feeling I had for Kendal went far beyond that.

I had to get out of here.

And I could only do that when I had the information we needed. The concrete proof a fae was working with a human on illegal experiments against the council's wishes. That they planned to stage a coup.

I didn't know how I was going to get it, but I knew I only had a week. That was the time we'd agreed on. They would give me one week to find what I could, and then my brothers and the entirety of Superhuman Security were coming for me.

The single door to the outer lab slid open. A scientist clipped into the room. Her heels beat a staccato rhythm on the concrete floor. She stopped so close to the front of my cell that when she turned to the side, her clipboard banged into it. Her long, straight brown hair pulled at her face from the severe bun at the nape of her neck, giving her a stretched look.

My jaw fell open before I snapped it shut. The last person I imagined seeing here, dressed in a white lab coat, with credentials snapped to the breast pocket, was Isabelle Blackwell.

She should be in hiding. She helped us escape, after all.

My ears popped and I shook. She spoke quickly. The glamour she'd put over the two of us wouldn't last long.

"I'm sorry. I pretended to be a victim. I never imagined they'd capture one of you." Her eyes darted to the cameras at the corners of my cell. "I had to stay with BioSynth. I knew they'd continue their research, with or without you. I've been searching for proof, the identities of the major stakeholders—anything I can expose them with."

"Have you found it?"

"No. Not yet."

"We will search together."

She nodded and I could feel the pressure in my ears lessening.

Before her spell faded completely, she blurted, "Roul?"

"As well as expected."

She cringed, so I knew she understood. No, he wasn't doing well at all. He saw her refusal to come with us as a betrayal, but it wasn't. It would be good to see them reunited.

Her voice changed, her tone clipped and professional as she barked commands. "Stand and turn."

I was slow to follow her directions, but I followed them.

To the room at large she cataloged me like a prize possession.

"Subject two appears in good health and condition. No obvious wounds. Scales and fur bright and shiny. Eyes glowing appropriately." She tapped her pen against the side of the clipboard. "Open your mouth."

I dropped my jaw, adding a growl to my performance for those who watched.

"Teeth intact."

Without another word, she left. It was deathly silent. I was the only living thing inside this soundproofed room. My heart pined for Kendal. I focused on our bond; the lights pulsing at my attention. I hope she saw them flicker. I hope she knew I was sending her love and comfort.

I felt neither of those things. For the first time in my life, I was alone. Loneliness was a miserable emotion.