Fiona put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, half-expecting her to strike him for his idiocy. She let out a sigh, her expression softening. “Go report to the hospital. We’re going to keep you under constant medical observation until we know for sure whether or not this hormone imbalance is the reason you’ve been acting the way you have been.”
“It’s not,” Liam grumbled. “I don’t need to be under observation.”
“Captain.” Colonel Sheen folded his arms and glared at him. “You slept with the enemy and a prisoner. You know it’s not just about what danger you put the Academy in. It’s about the ethics of what you did, too. Do you know what trouble you’ll be in if she says you threatened her?”
Liam flinched. “She won’t.”
“I don’t care. The fact is, either you go for medical supervision or you get locked in your apartment and I have guards outside your door.”
There really wasn’t any reason for him not to do that. Liam grimaced but nodded. “I will put myself under medical supervision.”
“Good.” Colonel Sheen let out a heavy, disappointed sigh. “Now get out of here.”
***
Being under medical supervision, apparently, included being forbidden from using any electronics. Liam had only a book to read, but he really didn’t feel like struggling to keep his mind focused on words. So instead, he ended up standing at the window, staring outside as he listened to the noises coming from the other side of the door.
There was a knock and he turned, expecting Clementine or Erica or a nurse to draw more blood. Instead, when the door opened, the rest of his team came in. Evan gave him a strained smile, Adam scowled, Stephen crossed his arms and Eugene seemed to be the only one who actually seemed happy to be there. Patrick wasn’t there, but Liam hadn’t expected him to be.
“What can I do for you gentlemen?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even.
“Just wanted to see if you were doing okay,” Eugene said, actual concern in his voice. “I saw Fiona not long ago and was worried she might have slit you open.”
“Not that you don’t deserve it,” Stephen muttered under his breath. He leaned against the door, his frown deepening into a scowl. “If you need to fuck, why don’t you fuck one of the plentiful women around here who aren’t Utopia Tennet?”
Liam rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I wouldn’t either,” Stephen continued, and Evan elbowed him in the side.
Adam snorted. “At least you didn’t have to see it.”
Liam’s flames rose hotter. “Hey, maybe you should learn not to go into people’s homes without their permission, and you won’t see things you don’t want to see.”
A defiant glare responded to him. Adam shook his head and stepped to the door. “I don’t even know why I’m here. I just hope she was worth it, Captain Young.”
“Utopia is worth everything,” Liam roared, unable to stop himself. It was only after he’d said it that he realized what he had said. That brought him up short, gazing in shock at his teammates’ equally shocked expressions. “I mean… She’s not the enemy that we thought she was. There are other circumstances—”
“Worth everything?” Stephen straightened. “You make it sound like she’s your mate.”
Shock rippled through him. Liam shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean, then?” Stephen pressed.
“I meant… I meant… She has a kid.”
“She has a kid and that means you sleep with her?” Evan blurted. He looked just as doubtful as the others.
Eugene turned to their teammates. “Okay, maybe this wasn’t a good idea—"
“No, I want to hear what the Captain has to say,” Adam insisted. “So, you meet a woman, she tortures and experiments on you, and you decide that she’s your mate?”
“She is not my mate.”
“Then why are you being such an idiot about this?”
Liam glared at Adam. “She is not my mate.”
“Well…” Evan hesitated. “You did sleep with her.”
“That’s enough,” Eugene snapped. “I thought we could all get together to try to get a little closure on this. Not throw around stupid arguments. If sleeping with a woman makes her your mate, then how many mates do you have, Evan?”
The specialist scowled. “Enough.”
“All of you get out,” Eugene said. He pushed them toward the door. “Until things are calmed down at least.”
Liam watched them go, not arguing. Not protesting. A leaden weight sunk into his stomach. So, this was what he had done. Even more than being reckless and putting himself in danger… he’d put a strain on the team. Who was that going to help? Nobody.
He turned back to the window and pressed his forehead to the glass. Utopia is not my mate. He breathed out, fogging the glass. But that doesn’t mean I can’t protect her.
Chapter Sixteen
If Utopia didn’t have the memories of Liam to fall back on and cling to, she was certain being back in the hospital with Clementine glowering at her would drive her crazy. Apparently, nearly getting killed wasn’t a good enough reason to want some sort of distraction. Apparently, nearly getting her killed by leaving her with Cooper wasn’t enough for Clementine to feel bad.
Apparently, Clementine thought that Utopia had purposefully caused a hormonal imbalance to seduce Liam.
Utopia was so spitting mad at that she refused to work with her at all. After two hours arguing about it, Clementine had backed off, and Dr. Erica Bennet had been called in. She wasn’t as hostile toward Utopia. She was also much quieter, though, which left Utopia trying to navigate her own thoughts.
Liam, of course, was at the forefront. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d done and how it could utterly destroy his career with the Blaze Ops. The hormonal imbalance that Clementine had found wasn’t enough to make him act out this way; it was so slight, it probably just came from a night of not sleeping properly. Utopia had worried over it for quite a while before she was satisfied that his actions were not because of that.
Which meant he wanted to. He had put being with her, giving her what she needed at that moment, over his own career. Why? What sort of man did that?
The big question was, did she regret it? And she had to say—no. She regretted the timing. She regretted that she had these questions from it. She regretted that she couldn’t ask Liam outright, because they were not permitted anywhere near each other. But actually sleeping with him, holding him in her arms, feeling the strength of him as he finished into her?
No regret.
The door burst open, making her jump. Clementine stalked in, scowling at her before stopping near Erica. They started to talk to each other in low voices that Utopia ignored.
Because the door had been left open. Because there were no guards in sight. Because across the hall was an open window.
Her heart started to pound. She still had heard nothing more about Aiden. She still didn’t know if they were going to try to rescue him.
Utopia acted without thinking. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had shifted. In a single bound, she left her clothes behind and slashed open the screen. Behind her, Erica let out a shout. Utopia squirmed through the opening and sprang from the window ledge. She twisted mid-air to land on the trunk of a tree and jumped off it to the ground.
She dashed over the ground toward the walls that surrounded the Academy property. Her ears flattened against her skull as she ran. Liam was going to be punished for what he did. Nobody else believed her when she said she didn’t want what was happening; nobody else believed her when she said she needed Aiden back. Nobody else was even trying to help her.
If the Academy wouldn’t help her, then there was only one thing to do. If she got back to the Pack, then she could beg the Alpha for mercy.
At the very least, going back meant she would no longer have to fear what he’d do to Aiden. He’d see that she put Aiden first above ev
erything else; he’d realize that she knew now there was no escape, not for her…
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground behind her made Utopia turn. Tawny fur on a huge cat made her put on a burst of speed. Her heart leapt to her throat as she pushed her muscles harder. Cooper’s pounding pawfalls drew nearer; he was fresher, bigger. If he caught her, she was dead. Liam wasn’t here to save her this time.
A plaintive cry burst from her throat as she sensed him charging in. She dodged to the left, turned on a dime, and slashed across his face. He howled, reaching to crush her. She had already jumped; using his head as a springboard, she clawed her way through the air and up a tree. The lion turned, standing on his hind legs to swipe at her. The whole tree shook with the force of his strength.
Gathering herself, Utopia sprang for the wall. Her claws scraped uselessly at the stone, but her back paws hit a ledge. Using that, she jumped onto a small sill on a nearby building. From there, she was able to leap over the fence entirely. She rolled on impact when she hit the ground. Something in her back paw twisted, sending pain shooting up her leg.
She ignored the pain and dashed as fast as she could into the forest surrounding the Academy. Shouts and cries came from behind her, but she didn’t stop. When her chest heaved and she could no longer keep going, she shifted into human form. Her ankle hurt something awful, but she told herself that humans were endurance animals and pushed herself onward.
Minutes later, she emerged from the trees; her heart sank as she saw a parking lot stretched out before her. Of course. The Academy walls wouldn’t encompass the entire grounds. She crouched among the bushes, listening as the not-too-distant sounds of shouting came from behind her. They were going to get her again. They were going to drag her back and lock her up for good.
Aiden was going to be left at the Alpha’s mercy. If he was allowed to grow up, he’d grow up with the Alpha’s twisted ideas of what was right and wrong… he’d grow up thinking he was superior to everyone else… he’d grow up to be a solider with no choice in the matter.
A young woman parked her car in a stall not far from where Utopia hid. As soon as she stepped out of her car, Utopia charged. The young woman shouted in shock, trying to run. Utopia tackled her to the ground. The asphalt scraped along Utopia’s legs, taking off a layer of skin. Bits of gravel stuck into the abrasions, but Utopia snatched the woman’s keys out of her hand.
“Sorry,” she panted and scrambled back to her feet.
The young woman jumped up and ran for the trees and the Academy on the other side.
Utopia’s hands shook as she yanked open the car door. She slid in, turned the engine, and stomped on the gas. She nearly hit two students as she peeled out of the parking lot.
What am I doing? Where am I even going to go?
Utopia shoved those thoughts from her mind as she drove as fast as she could. She’d get away from the Academy. Everything else would come later.
***
The young woman had left her purse in the trunk, along with a gym bag of clothes far too small for Utopia. She still managed to squeeze herself into the sports bra and yoga pants. She looked terrible, she knew, and it was very uncomfortable, but she didn’t care about that right now. Utopia quickly found a bus terminal and bought a dozen ticket to various locations using the woman’s credit card, and then walked into the city.
The first second-hand shop she got to, she bought herself new clothes. Baggy clothes that would hide her curves and make her look bigger. Then she kept walking, only twenty dollars left in her hand from the young woman’s purse.
But Utopia knew exactly where she was going. The Academy was located near the city where she had done her own studying. Including the volunteer work she had done while she was getting her medical license.
The women’s shelter Utopia had worked with for several years was in the same place it had always been, looking as it always had looked. It wouldn’t take long for the Academy to figure out where she had gone; they were probably already looking into her past and would find this place soon enough. She had nowhere else to go, though, not until she figured out how she was going to contact the Alpha. He didn’t believe in cellphones and they moved around so much… not that she’d ever had a phone number for them in the first place.
Polly, whose black hair now had streaks of grey, took in Utopia’s appearance with wide eyes. “What’s happened to you?”
“Long story,” Utopia murmured, glancing anxiously around her. “I have a favor I need to ask you. It’s not going to be easy, and it might not even be legal.”
Polly ushered her into the back room. “What’s this about?”
“I’m being hunted,” Utopia whispered. “For the past few years, I’ve been held prisoner by a group… they’re a terrorist group. They made me work for them, threatening my son if I didn’t…” Her breath caught in her throat. Should she even be saying this? Polly looked horrified, but Utopia plunged onward. “Listen. I know this sounds crazy. But a black-ops military group went in and got me. Only they left my son. I just got away from them. I don’t know what I’m doing, I just know I have to get my boy back. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but they’re going to be hunting me. They’re going to figure out I came here but I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”
Everything caved in on her. She collapsed into sobs, wrapping her arms around herself.
Polly shook her head, looking dazed, but her expression hardened soon enough. “Listen. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I have this place so that I can help women who need help. Don’t think I haven’t broken the law before. How many cops’ wives have taken shelter here? The law doesn’t always help the people who need it most.”
“But if you take me in, you could lose funding. You could lose your license or even go to jail.”
Polly waved a hand. “I’ve been threatened with it all before. Come on. We have a few places in this old joint even you don’t know about. Places where women who really need to disappear can disappear.”
Tears still ran down Utopia’s cheeks as Polly led her through the familiar rooms, down into the basement. There, a few crates were moved, and a secret room opened up. Inside was a small bed, a toilet, a sink. Even a little fridge and a hotplate.
“You’ll find lots of food in the cupboard there,” Polly said, gesturing. “Don’t worry. We’ve been searched dozens of times when we refused to hand over women accused of kidnapping their children from their abusive partners. You’ll be safe here.”
Utopia hugged Polly tightly. How long had it been since someone had been so wholly committed to protecting her?
Liam, she thought but shook it off. He couldn’t help her now.
Polly sealed her in again, and Utopia collapsed onto the small bed. Now that she was off her adrenaline, her ankle throbbed something terrible and all the scrapes and small cuts she’d sustained screamed at her for attention. She wasn’t hungry but drank greedily from the tap. Then she got a cloth and wiped up her injuries. Bits of gravel stuck under the skin on her shins.
“Focus,” she told herself as fear started to well inside of her. “The Pack has a leak inside the Academy. That means they’ll learn that I got out. The Alpha will find a way to contact me. I’m still useful to him, he’ll want me back. And he’ll know. He’ll know everything I did was to keep myself alive at the Academy.”
The Academy. Now that she was away, now that she had once again proven that they couldn’t trust her, she realized just how stupid she had been. She couldn’t keep going back and forth on this. Either she needed to put her trust in the Academy, or she needed to trust that the Alpha would show mercy. To her. To Aiden.
If only Liam was here. When he looked in her eyes, she felt like maybe she did have a chance. Now? The only future she saw was to be torn apart. Whether by a wolf or a lion, it didn’t matter.
She curled on the bed and wept, wishing more than anything Liam could be with her right then.
Chapter Seventeen
He knew it wasn’t going to be good for him, of course. He’d always known that. But as soon as he heard that Utopia had escaped, he had left the hospital and took to the air. Even though Eugene had tried to chase him, Liam had flown in every direction, dropping into trees and even heading out over the ocean to lose him.
Lose him he did, and then Liam had turned around and went straight for the city. He knew a lot from his extensive research on Utopia (back when he was determined the only way to stop her experiments was to kill her), and he already had a fairly good idea of where she would have gone. Now he stood before the brick building of the women’s shelter, uncomfortably aware of just how stressful the women taking refuge here would find his presence.
A little woman with black and white hair strode from the building, a deep frown on her face. “Hey, you. What are you doing?”
Liam attempted to keep himself as small as possible, so he didn’t appear to be a threat. “I’m looking for Utopia.”
The woman scowled at him. “You’ll have to look somewhere else for paradise, buddy. We have enough problems without—”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude,” Liam interrupted, “but I know that she’s here. It’s the only place she could come with any reasonable expectations of being safe. I don’t need you to confirm or deny,” he added as the woman opened her mouth. “And I’m not sticking around. I just wanted her to know that I was here. Liam Young. You can take a picture if you want.”
The woman put her hands on her hips. “Look, I don’t know what you are playing at but there is no woman named Utopia here. If you’re thinking about Dr. Tennet, she hasn’t volunteered here for years. The last I heard from her, she was going to Africa or some such thing. We don’t like men loitering around.”
Liam backed up a step, to show that he really didn’t mean to be threatening. “Okay, but here’s the thing—”
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