CHAPTER 3

brOMM

‘W hat? That’s not Arty,’ I protested but was quickly silenced by Foryk’s meaty hand on my shoulder. I wanted to shrug him off and keep protesting but something in the way he eyed our guard stopped me. The two of them had been particularly hostile with one another so I was keeping my distance from the mysterious male. Obviously, I was missing something if my best friend was so adamant in his distaste towards him, but neither one was eager to open up to the rest of us.

The guard in question stepped forward, what little skin we could see peeking out from beneath his mask as sickly pale as the rest of us. ‘What did they do to her?’ His voice came out shaky and weak.

‘You would know more about that,’ Foryk spat, and the other man flinched like it was a physical attack.

‘This is nothing like what I’ve seen,’ he argued. ‘This is… I don’t know what this is.’

‘You know her?’ I asked, panic raising the pitch of my voice.

‘He more than knows her,’ Foryk said venomously.

‘What does that mean?’ I asked him, then turned to the guard. ‘What does he mean, T?’

T sighed. ‘I’m the one who helped her escape the first time,’ he admitted.

‘Escape…?’

‘This is irrelevant. We don’t have time,’ Markus interrupted.

‘What’s going on, Mark?’ Xander asked. ‘Why show us this?’

‘I have it on good authority that Subject A-1… sorry, Artemis, has an invested interest in the incoming shipment.’

‘What are you saying?’ Addy asked with an uncharacteristic quietness, especially directed toward Markus. Foryk and T weren’t the only ones here with bad blood between them.

‘It means she’ll be on her way here soon, if she isn’t already.’

‘She’s our way out,’ Xander surmised for him.

‘She’s our way out,’ he confirmed.

‘When?’

‘This footage was recorded about a week ago. It could be any day now. We need to be prepared.’

‘What about Reece?’ asked Foryk, and I was glad he spoke up about our other missing friend because I didn’t think I would be able to get any words past the large lump in my throat.

‘Let me deal with that,’ Xander told him. I could see the start of a plan forming behind his fiery yellow eyes.

I couldn’t think about anything else but what I had just seen. It wasn’t connecting for me. Arty was a male… right? But it made a lot of sense now that I was thinking about it. The biggest clue was how he didn’t want anyone to see him unclothed. I had assumed that was due to his undercover status somehow, but now I was rethinking that approach. If he was actually a she…

It was as if a puzzle piece suddenly slotted into place and everything came together perfectly for once. I hated that fucking puzzle. Especially now as I stared disbelievingly at the frozen image of the hologram still in front of us. It had reverted back to the beginning when it ended, the starting image clear to see as the footage waited to be replayed. It was even clearer now that my perspective had shifted that I was staring at a still of Arty.

My Arty was right there, out of reach but still alive. The protective stance she took over her friend was all Arty. She’s stood over me like that before, though that was a memory I never wanted to relive. The fear of losing her combined with the sheer terror of believing we were going to die.

I shoved the memory away and focused on her image. She was wearing a skin-tight jumpsuit the moulded to her every curve. And fuck me, did she have them. Her breasts were perky and on full display beneath her jumpsuit, and her ass was as deliciously round and tight as I remembered. Her hair was shaved, which pissed me off because I doubted that were her decision, but I noticed a strange line outlining her form on her skin.

Despite the visible difference, this was still the person I fell in love with. I just needed to merge the Arty I knew to the Artemis I was seeing now into the same person. It would be an adjustment, particularly after seeing the way she’d slaughtered all those guards and scientists: brutally and with ease. Yet at the same time I was glad for it. She had butchered every last one of the sick fucks that had caused her pain. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the suffering she had endured at their hands.

T was the only who one could get close to understanding that, but he didn’t talk much about his time with The Program. I would need to change that if I wanted a better idea of what my woman had been through.

My woman. That would take some getting used to, but that was exactly what she was. I knew before that she was hiding something, and this didn’t change how I felt about her in the slightest. If anything, I was proud and beyond stunned at her strength and perseverance. I just hoped she would still want me after all of this.

A glance around the room determined I wasn’t the only one staring intently at the picture of her standing over her friend.

‘So that’s Libby,’ Addy spoke. I didn’t think she realised she said it out loud, but my blood froze in my veins before igniting with a fiery fury at all the implications inside that one comment.

‘You knew?’ I swung my accusing gaze onto her.

She didn’t flinch like I would have expected her to, however. Instead, she met my eyes without any hint of remorse, simply a compassionate understanding that I appreciated and loathed at the same time. ‘I knew she was a woman. I knew she left her best friend behind. I knew she came from a harsh background that left its scars. I didn’t know she was one of The Program’s subjects or the extent of her trauma.’

‘Trauma? Is that what you’re calling it? It seemed like a fuck tonne more than trauma… ’ I argued. I wasn’t really angry at the wording. I was angry at her for keeping this secret from me, but her argument was valid. I just couldn’t help snapping at her.

‘Are you saying you no longer like her because of her past? Because she’s one of their subjects?’ asked Addy, a dangerous hint to her tone.

I growled, a deep sound that had only ever come out of me when Arty was involved. ‘Don’t you dare ,’ I warned.

‘Dare to what?’ she challenged.

‘Are you questioning the integrity of my feelings? Do you think my love is conditional? Do you believe me so blind that I didn’t see that there was something else going on? Do you honestly think so little of me that I would abandon someone I love because I learned they had a troubled past?’

She hesitated before responding. ‘You knew.’

‘I knew she was undercover, but that’s it. And yes, I believed she was a male, but her gender wasn’t why I fell for her. That changes nothing,’ I admitted. My voice was strong and firm, full of confidence and determination.

She scrutinised me, taking in every shift of my muscles, every twitch, every breath. Then she nodded. ‘Good.’

‘Well, this has been fascinating and all, but we should get back to more important matters while we still have the time,’ Markus interrupted again. He seemed to be the one keeping us all on track during this meeting, and for that I was grateful. It was a reminder that while I still needed time to process everything I had just learned, now was not the time to do so.

‘What’s the plan?’ Urman asked. Sometimes that man was so quiet I forgot he was even in the room. It was a good skill for him to have, but I didn’t appreciate being on the receiving end as often as I was.

Or perhaps that was just a result of my slacking observation skills.

‘Reece’s trial is being moved up,’ Markus informed us. He seemed to be the one with most of the information today, and I wondered where he was getting it. Maybe Adara was right not to trust him…

‘When?’ asked Xander.

‘It’s happening this week. They need to empty out the cells in preparation for the shipment.’

‘Wait, does that mean the shipment is people? ’ I blurted, reading between the lines.

‘Subjects, most likely, though we don’t have confirmation yet.’

‘What the fuck?’ Cadmus asked quietly from across the table. Ever since the take-over he hadn’t been his usual stuck-up self. Sure, he still had his moments, but he was a lot more introspective lately than before. He actually thought his words through before using them so there was less of his entitled rich-boy stories. I was just as rich, if not wealthier, than him and you didn’t see me going around flaunting it. If anything, I actively hid my wealth and status. I wanted people to like me for who I was, not my money or title.

When I’d first met him he gave the impression that he bought his friendships, but the longer I knew him and the more we’d been through together, the more I realised he was a good guy under all that flashiness. He simply didn’t understand how to build a friendship without money involved because that was all he had been exposed to before joining the military. I respected him and his growth as a person. He had been humbled fast and hard, but he took it in stride and adapted to become a better person.

I had started to genuinely like the guy.

‘Yeah,’ I agreed with him sullenly. ‘What the fuck, indeed.’

A beep sounded from the holo-table which then promptly shut down. Our time was up.

‘All right, folks. Let’s wrap it up,’ said Xander. ‘There’s a lot to think about and process but we don’t have enough time. Pack light or pack nothing. Artemis’s arrival will be the perfect cover for our own escape, and I’ll sort out Reece. You have your orders, listen out for any more instructions. We’ve obtained multiple paths out of here so escaping should be a breeze.’

Yeah, right.

‘I’ll see you all bright and early. Dismissed.’

T exited first to watch over us as we trickled out. We did so leisurely, no one really wanting to go back to their dorms or suites. Unfortunately, Foryk and I were sharing with our two new teammates, neither of which we were particularly happy about having around. We wanted Reece and Arty back, and though I wished we could rescue everyone here from our imprisonment I wasn’t too cut up about leaving them behind.

They seemed like nice enough guys until they opened their mouths and started spewing shit directly from Tarren’s ass. They were a part of his merry band of mindless followers, which meant we were subject to his baseless vitriol on a daily basis. Especially during lunch since we had to eat in our teams.

We bid Dorian, Cadmus, Henrik and Urman a tense, sombre farewell as we exited the elevator. Our dorms were no longer beside one another, the higher-ups choosing to separate us after learning of our connections. I hated how they did everything in their power to inhibit any form of social bonding. I couldn’t even rub myself out to memories of Arty’s touch without them getting an eyeful. Normally I wouldn’t have cared much who saw me in a sexual act, but with Arty it was different. She meant more than that, even when she wasn’t around. My body was now hers, just as my heart was.

I wondered if she’d even let me call her Arty anymore once we were reunited.

I was still trying to merge the two images of the Arty I knew and the woman on the screen when we entered our dorm. Our other roommates were still unconscious, snoring away in blissful ignorance. It wouldn’t have surprised me if The Program were able to manipulate them onto their side without much effort. They weren’t the types to think for themselves.

I tried not to sneer at them as I walked past to the bunk I shared with Foryk. He’d picked the bottom bunk this time, much to my dismay. Something about being my first line of defence if someone tried to attack us in our sleep. I wanted to argue, especially knowing how he preferred the tighter spaces, but I saw that look in his eyes, the panic and the vicious need to protect, so I let him.

We climbed into bed after stripping down to our underclothes, keeping on just enough layers in case of an emergency. That was a hint we’d received from Xander.

It was still so strange calling him that when he was our superior officer, but the lines blurred under current circumstances. We were no longer merely superior and subordinates, we were a team and, dare I say it, friends. He had supported us through the whole ordeal of losing two of our teammates during the take-over. He was still supporting us today, though he was limited in his abilities at the moment. I knew that as soon as we were out of here things would probably change – no, they would change, without a doubt – but for now I was just thankful for him and how much of a pillar he had become to the group.

Foryk tapped the slats under my bed, his silent goodnight, and soon dropped off himself. His snores mingled with the others and created a backdrop of noise that I struggled to sleep through. That was okay, though. I found other ways to occupy my time at night.

Planning. Daydreaming of reuniting with Arty. More planning. Reliving the way her hot mouth felt encompassing my cock…

I stiffened fully at the thought, my cock aching for her just as fiercely as my heart.

I didn’t dare touch myself, fully aware of the surveillance directed at my bed. At all of our beds. There was no such thing as privacy at Nova Academy under the thumb of The Program, and it made my skin itch. My reproductive tentacles didn’t quite get the memo, easing their way along my shaft before I forced them back down to their curled state at my base.

I took the time instead to try to connect the two versions of Arty and forge them into one being. My Arty and The Program’s Artemis were one in the same. I knew that. I saw as much from the surveillance footage from their facility. What I was truly struggling with was the concept of her being, well, a her.

It helped that I had yet to see her naked, but I had spent our entire time together plus this past solar imagining a flat chest, lean muscles, a V leading to a rigid cock. Now, her curves were branded into my brain from a blue-hued hologram, but her slim, fit, undisputably feminine figure was on full display for us all to see.

I didn’t get to see her face, just snippets from odd angles as she destroyed all the bad guys like a stars-damned badass. My heart skipped a beat with a hitch of my breath before going pitter-patter in my chest. That woman was beyond anything I could have ever imagined for myself.

My mother used to tell me that someone would have to be extraordinary for me to fall in love, and she was right. Artemis was the most stunning creature I had ever met. And I couldn’t wait to fully make her mine, but this time the right way.