Endangered Species

I had difficulty telling the difference between sleep and awake, between dreams and reality. The sex dreams involving Cole continued in the darkness, and I couldn’t help my body as it responded. Ignoring it made it worse. I tried frequent masturbation sessions, hoping my body would get over it. They provided only temporary relief. My little closet smelled like a whorehouse during Fleet Week.

I worked on my plan for when my punishment ended in between sessions. I was smaller, weaker, my senses weren’t as good, and escape was impossible. I only had one weapon in this fight.

I could offer Cole my neck or reject him.

If I rejected him, Melanie said I’d be tossed back in with the Breeder population. He would do to me what he and his males would do to the other humans; inject their seed and use us for breeding the next generation of wolves. Cole would waste away and die, but Melanie didn’t say how long that would take. She implied I could have multiple offspring with him before his death; it could take years, even decades. Meanwhile, the other three hundred women would suffer in slavery. I would lose leverage over his decisions, and our treatment could suffer as his wolf raged against fate.

The second option would be to accept him as my mate but refuse the bite to become a werewolf. I would gain some influence over him and his decisions, but I would remain weak and outside the Pack structure. He’d likely keep me in his room, breeding me and keeping me safe. A human was helpless and fragile in comparison.

The third option was to accept the mating and make the turn. If rejecting Cole was the stick, my consent was the carrot. I’d give up my freedom for the power and influence I’d gain as Pack Luna.

The change wasn’t without risk, of course. Melanie had warned me how painful it would be and how not all humans survived the transition. On the bright side, I’d gain the advantages of the werewolves in terms of strength, senses, and healing. If I planned to survive the end of the world and escape, having a wolf would help.

I was fine-tuning my demands when I heard footsteps approaching. I sat up, ignoring the pain as a group stopped before my door. I scrambled to my feet as a key worked the lock.

The door opened, and the light blinded me. I closed my eyes, but even that was too much. I covered my eyes with one hand while the other covered my swollen sex. If there were males out there, they were getting a visual and olfactory show.

“Put your hand down,” Melanie said softly. I covered my breasts, and she slipped a pair of sunglasses on my face. “Try opening your eyes now.”

The dark tinting helped, and my eyes adjusted. Melanie was there with two female guards, one with a cattle prod while the other brandished a baton. “The other woman?”

“She's in Medical for treatment,” the Luna replied. “The Alpha wants to see you.”

I stared at her. “The wolf or Alpha Cole fucking Chapman? One wants me, while the other is disappointed with Luna’s choice,” I scoffed. “I’ve been here for three days, and he didn’t have the BALLS to show up and release me from his punishment HE ordered. Just like Alpha Cole didn’t have the guts to stick around and watch my lashing.” Yep, I was pissed. I think they expected it, hence the guards. I could tell by Melanie’s expression that she agreed with my assessment. “I’m not ready to see Cole. I need to see that my people are all right before I go anywhere else. I can’t trust your word, so I must verify their conditions for myself.”

Melanie held out a hand, but I shook it off. “I told you what the mating pull would do to you, even as a human. I’ve never lied to you, Angela.”

“You did. You told me my mate would protect me and never hurt me. Look at my ass and tell me that wasn’t a lie,” I snarled. I held onto the door frame, my shaking legs moving me forward. My body was stiff and cramped after three days in the hole. It took me thirty seconds to stand in the hallway without holding onto something. “I need a shower and some clothes first. I would frighten the other women away if I arrive like this.” My hair was tangled, my body stank, and my bruises were frightful.

“We can go back to your room.”

I nodded. “Keep Cole far away. There’s no telling how he will react to seeing and smelling me like this. If he loses control of his wolf and bites me, he’s dead. He’ll be a victim of the same laws he used to hurt me.”

Melanie held out her hand, but I rebuffed it. I reached instead for one of the guards, taking the arm of the one with the baton. Better the unknown woman than the one who ordered the lashing of a woman for telling the truth. Melanie was hurt but tried not to show it as we moved slowly through the halls.

We didn’t see anyone else before we reached Cole’s quarters. I suspect Melanie ordered them away, not wanting to add to the shame. I wasn’t sure if she was saving me from judgment or herself.

As soon as the door opened, I could see Cole’s wolf had not taken it well. The bed sheets and pillows had been pulled off and shredded. They were in a pile on the ground with a depression in the center where he slept. I felt sorry for his wolf; it was a simple creature that wanted his mate. He was probably as mad at Cole as I was.

“Let’s get you in the shower,” Melanie said. “I’ll help you clean up.”

“No.” She froze. “I don’t want someone at my back who might stab me. One of these ladies can help.”

Melanie was talking over the bond; the one with the cattle prod set it down and began to disrobe. I walked into the bathroom with the other woman, letting her go when I reached the shower. I let the hot water flow over my head and body, washing the filth off me. The second guard joined me. “I need to remove these bandages and clean your wounds. It will hurt,” she said.

“Do it.” She wasn’t lying. The cuts had scabbed over, but some came off with the bandages or her careful scrubbing. The welts had gone down, leaving painful bruises that striped my body. It took a long time to get clean, but I felt better when it was over.

I walked back into the room; Melanie and the other guard were sitting at the table. A woman I didn’t know held her right hand out, a medical bag in her left. “I’m Breeder forty-two,” she said with a smile. “I’m a nurse here to treat you.“

I took her hand. “Angela Summers, known here as Breeder 287.”

“Theresa Manning,” she whispered back. The bedding ‘nest’ was gone, and the bed remade. The guards stayed in the front room as she had me lie down to check me over. She applied antibiotic ointment to the open wounds and a pain-killing cream to the welts and bruises. She handed me a bottle of pills and a tube of antibiotic ointment. “The lack of medical care and food weakened your body, allowing some of your cuts to become infected. I need you to apply ointment twice a day to them until the skin heals. Take two of these antibiotic pills a day with food until they are gone. The bruises will be gone in ten days. The cuts will heal, but it’s too late to avoid scarring.”

“Good. Cole needs a permanent reminder of what he did to me.” I heard gasps from the other room, but I didn’t care. “How is the other woman?”

“Eighty-four? Physically she’s similar to you and will heal up. Mentally? What they did may have broken her. I fear for her sanity, Angela. She wants vengeance and doesn’t care if she dies getting it. These wolves will kill her if she can’t let it go.”

“They killed her family in front of her. I wouldn’t let it go, either.” She helped me get on my feet, then helped me with dressing in clean underwear and scrubs, plus new moccasins with rubber soles. “Thank you, Theresa.” She reported back to Melanie with what she’d certainly overheard, then one of the guards escorted her out.

I brushed out my hair and put it in a ponytail. I saw Melanie approaching in the mirror. “The Alpha wants to see you immediately,” she told me.

“Tell the Alpha that if I see him right now, the first words he hears will be my rejection,” I promised. “I will return to the barracks to see my people. I will not return to his room, and he can see me at breakfast tomorrow. I need to speak with the Alpha and the senior Pack leadership immediately after the meal.”

She didn’t like it, but I could see the conversation playing out on her face as she linked with her twin brother. “Alpha Cole is going out with the men again. He will speak to you in the morning,” she replied.

Good. I knew the threat of rejection would help me, as well as Melanie’s reports on my condition. I needed him to be desperate for my forgiveness if I was to make this deal. “I need to see Breeder 84 and get something to eat before I return to my duties.”

Melanie looked at my guard, now dressed and ready. “Escort her to Medical, then the kitchens. I have to get back to work.” She left before us, clearly frustrated at the turn of events. As my mate's sister, she wanted to be my friend, and her actions destroyed any trust she’d built. I didn’t help by insulting her honor.

We entered the underground medical clinic, where Theresa was assisting a woman in a white lab coat near one of the beds. The guard stayed at the door as I walked over. The woman was unconscious on her stomach, the wounds from the lashing on display. “How is she?”

“I had to give her a sedative before she hurt herself trying to get out of the restraints,” the new woman said. I recognized her voice; she had treated me after the lashing. She held out her hand to me. “A pleasure to meet you, Luna Angela. I’m the Pack Doctor, Laura Pine.”

I shook her hand. “I’m not Luna yet.”

“I have confidence in the power of the mating pull and its ability to get men to pull their heads out of their asses,” she said with a giggle. “I totally ship the two of you. He needs a mate who can stand her ground, and you’ve got that.”

I reached down, touching the wounded woman’s shoulder. “Will she be able to get past her trauma and function normally again?”

Doctor Laura let out a breath. “I think she’ll try to kill the first wolf she can get her hands on.”

“You need to let her go,” I told them. “She’ll never be a good pet for you, and she’ll poison the others with her hate. Better to set her free now.”

“She won’t survive out there,” Laura objected.

“She won’t survive in here, either,” I countered. “My read on the situation is that she would kill herself before bringing one of your pups into the world. Better to let her go now.” My stomach picked that moment to growl loudly; it hadn’t had food in three days.

“Don’t gorge yourself, Luna. Eat slowly, and stick to digestible stuff like fruits, oatmeal, and cereal.”

That was good advice. The kitchen staff had left a tray for me, and I got some of it down before the reversal came. I rinsed the vomit out of my mouth, then returned to my tray to keep eating. A few minutes later, Nurse Theresa came to check on me. “You ate too fast, didn’t you?”

“Academy habit,” I said. She looked upset. “What is going on?”

“The Alpha agreed with your assessment that Breeder 84 would never comply with us,” she said with a quivery voice.

“They are letting her go?”

“No,” she said as a tear escaped her eye. “They euthanized her. The doctor injected her with pentobarbital. I couldn’t stop it, Angela. She was gone a minute later.”

My fork dropped to the plate.

I’d killed her.