by Nora Ash
Obsession
Feral 1
Nora Ash
Copyright © 2018 by Nora Ash
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any and all likeness to trademarks, corporations or persons, dead or alive, is purely coincidental.
Contents
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Also by Nora Ash
Summary
I never wanted a mate.
Until I was put in chains.
Strapped down.
And claimed.
I always believed I could analyze any situation until I found a solution. Solve any problem if I just applied my brain.
I went to university, studied science and told myself my academic cocoon would protect me from the alphas dominating our society.
I was wrong.
No textbook prepared me for my meeting with test subject 351.
The biggest, scariest alpha on death row, hauled into my lab to uncover how to control the beast of a man. How to make him submit.
Mold him into a weapon.
But there is no controlling the feral alpha, and no logic strong enough to save my mind once he unleashes his fury on my body.
Once he claims me.
Obsession is the first book in Nora Ash’s second suspense-filled Omegaverse serial, Feral.
Please note: This series gets dark, and it gets dirty. If you don’t enjoy your romance scorching and your alphas rough & dominant, give this book a pass.
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1
“Welcome, Miss Dorne. I am Dr. Simon Axell, and I will be your mentor these first few weeks.”
I couldn’t contain my beaming smile at the approaching alpha as I got to my feet. He was broad like his biology dictated, but for an alpha, he didn’t make too intimidating a figure. The lab coat also helped.
“Thank you, Dr. Axell. It’s such an honor to join your team. I’ve been following your work since I was a grad student.”
It was true. I’d been quietly and nerdily fangirling over Dr. Axell’s work in bio-research for years. When my old advisor had notified me of a position on his team, I’d leapt at the chance. He might be working with “biological defense” these days, rather than disease control as I’d majored in, but for Dr. Axell, I’d work in sewage disposal if I had to.
He returned my smile, albeit a bit more measured, and clasped my hand in a brief shake. “You come highly recommended—Professor Remmer is an old acquaintance of mine. He promised me you were one of the best bioanalysts in the country.”
I did my best not to blush bright red at the praise—an unfortunate flaw of mine. Judging from the heat in my cheeks, I didn’t luck out. Damn it. Not the most professional image to portray on my very first day.
At least if Dr Axell noticed, he graciously pretended he didn’t.
“Professor Remmer has been very kind.”
“I trust you’ve been granted a temporary access pass?” he asked, brushing off my bashfulness.
I nodded and held up the pass I’d been given by the receptionist upon arrival.
“Good. HR should have a permanent badge made out for you before the end of the week.” Dr. Axell led me through the sliding doors behind reception, swiping his own badge to unlock them. “I’ll get you introduced to a couple of key members of the team, and then we can go over the project itself. We are only two lead researchers with three support staffers, not counting the guards.”
I nodded enthusiastically at him as we walked down long, white-painted corridors lined with metal on all surfaces and a strip of fluorescent lights guiding the way. I hadn’t been informed of what exactly I’d be working on, except that it was “biodefense,” highly classified and sanctioned by the Ministry of Defense, even if it was run by a private corporation—SilverCorp.
I’d done as much research as I could on my new employer, but nowhere had there been any records of what exactly they worked with, so I was more than a little curious. Especially after I’d been sworn in by government agents in black suits and stern faces to keep a strict non-disclosure agreement. Suffice it to say, I was pretty much expecting to walk into a Men in Black situation when I arrived at the heavily guarded compound earlier this morning.
The long hallway we were following didn’t do much to dissuade my overactive imagination, with the way our shoes made the metal flooring echo ominously and the smell of disinfectants in the air, but when Dr. Axell finally opened a door and ushered me into a small staff room, I was utterly disappointed.
It smelled like coffee and looked exactly like any break room you’d see in millions of companies across the country. No extraterrestrials in sight—only a lone beta male in a lab coat eating a sandwich by the large, white table in the middle of the room. A newspaper lay sprawled next to his sandwich wrapper, opened to an article about the stock market, as far as I could tell.
“Dr. Urwin,” Dr. Axell began, “I want you to meet our new bioanalyst, Miss Lillian Dorne. Miss Dorne, this is Dr. Dave Urwin. You will mainly be running tests on my data, but occasionally you’ll also need to help Dr. Urwin—he’s responsible for the female subjects.”
The beta got to his feet and extended a hand toward me. “A pleasure, Miss Dorne.”
“Likewise.” I smiled and shook it as I looked around the small break room, doing my best not to pinch myself. This high spec research facility, so important it was under government protection and unsearchable on the web—was now my actual workplace. I wasn’t even thirty yet and I’d already reached the pinnacle of my dreams.
Since I’d left high school with a 4.0 GPA, I’d dreamt of working in a place like this, under a man like Simon Axell, and here I was.
The only thing that could have made today any better was if this did in fact turn out to be a secret government department for intergalactic diplomacy.
“Female test subjects?” I asked, turning from Dr. Urwin to my mentor. “Am I to understand that the research is in human trials, at this stage?”
“Very observant, Lillian.” Dr. Axell smiled as he handed me my coffee. “That will do you well here. And yes, indeed it does. Are you keen to learn about the project?”
So no aliens, then. I nodded nevertheless. “Very.”
“Well, since it looks like our support staff are working through lunch today, why don’t I take you down to my department and I’ll give you an introduction to the project as a whole and what I’m working with right now? Bring a cup of coffee—there are no biohazards.” Another smile as he nodded toward the coffee machine in the corner of the room. “I know you come from disease control.”
I grimaced at the thought of what bringing a cup of coffee into the lab could have done at my previous job and quickly poured myself a mug. As much as I’d loved my former field, being able to keep caffeinated while working would be a nice and unexpected bonus.
Dr. Axell poured himself a cup as well, and then led me out the door with a nod to the beta doctor by the table.
“We’ve been working on developing a way for our most specialized troops to gain an edge in combat,” Dr. Axell explained as we walked further down the corridor. When he came to a thick door, h
e swiped it with his card and pressed in a code before it opened with a heavy clonk. On the other side, a spiral staircase led underground.
“It’s undeniable that our very best troops are alphas, which has given us a unique angle from which to approach the problem of improvement. My team and I are working on using the biological imperative that separates alpha males from the rest of society to enhance our subjects’ combat skills. Bluntly put, we found a way to purify the alpha instincts within the males. The results have been very promising so far, but not without their drawbacks.”
I frowned as I followed the doctor down the stairs and through another set of password protected doors. I’d been quite shielded in my academic cocoon—most alphas who advanced in academia had learned to control their more animalistic impulses early on, to be able to excel within a dynamic that cherished mind over physique.
That didn’t mean I hadn’t seen the other side of them. No woman could live in ignorance of the latent aggression within the part of the male species we knew as alphas. These large men, whose biology had marked them as the leaders of society, the warriors and protectors, were known for their dominance and ruthless aggression toward anyone who didn’t bend to their will. It was a predicament largely ignored by polite society—something no one spoke of, but quietly accepted. We craved their leadership at an instinctive level, but many alphas abused their superior strength and the benefits it got them.
I may have been shielded from the worst of them—the ones who terrorized the city streets at night and took whatever and whoever they pleased—but that certainly didn’t mean the idea of enhancing their alpha instincts didn’t fill me with dread.
“Forgive me—what do you mean by purifying their instincts?” I asked as I stepped through the final door after Dr. Axell. I was going to elaborate, but just as the door slid closed behind me with an audible click, my eyes adjusted to the bright light in the room spread out below us and I stopped cold.
“It was a quite simple process, once we perfected the formula,” Dr. Axell said, that easy smile still on his face as he turned to look at me. “In its essence, we’ve created a serum that will turn any alpha injected with enough of it feral.”
I stared mutely into the room below. We were up a few steps from the main room, which gave me a perfect view of the lab and every person in it.
Two young men in white lab coats were walking from one subject to another, noting down numbers on charts.
And all along both walls and curved around a big, glass-paned room in the center, was cage after cage of imprisoned alphas.
2
“They’re… they’re all in cages?” I asked, not quite believing my own eyes.
“Well, cells. Trust me, things would go south rather quickly if they weren’t safely detained. Have you ever seen a feral alpha?”
I shook my head, mutely watching the nearest caged and buck naked man pace restlessly behind the bars of his prison, his muscles flexing as he stared at the nearby lab-coated staff member scribbling notes on his chart. He looked like a wild animal searching for a way to get at his captor.
“And they agreed to this… this arrangement?”
Dr. Axell glanced at me, for a moment appearing startled. Then his trademark smile spread across his face once more. “Oh, of course. Forgive me, I didn’t consider how this would look to a newcomer. These test subjects were all imprisoned on death row—their lives were forfeit. Instead of getting the needle, they come here and help the society they turned their backs on learn how to better defend our borders. I’m sure you agree that this is far the better option for these wretched souls?”
Hesitantly, I nodded. If the only other option for these men was death, there wasn’t much of a choice.
“Come, I want to show you our most promising subject.” Dr. Axell walked down the few steps to the concrete floor below, leaving me to follow. “He was a Navy SEAL before he came here, and his physical tests are off the charts. They all become superior fighters once they’re feral, but Subject 351 is something else entirely. We’ve shown his results to the Minister of Defense, and they are very hopeful he will be the key to improving the armed forces.”
We walked to the far end of the large room, past cell after cell of naked and pacing alphas. Each and every one of them snarled when Dr. Axell passed, the sound and overwhelming scent of them making every hair on my body stand on end as I fought back my own primal instincts to show my throat in submission.
It was a ridiculous urge, of course, a leftover defense from before civilization made us all rein in our animal instincts and substitute them with rules and manners. I’d felt the brush of those instincts before—of course I had. Every man, woman, and child who’d ever been around an alpha had, but I’d never experienced anything as strong as this. The sheer density of testosterone in the air made my heart pick up speed, preparing my body to flee.
“It’s a bit overwhelming in the beginning,” Dr. Axell said, undoubtedly when he picked up on my scent of fear. “Every beta male on the team has been through it. It gets easier. Just remember they’re behind bars—there’s nothing they can do to you. You’re the one in charge.”
I gave him a grateful, but fleeting smile in acknowledgement, yet didn’t manage to keep my eyes off the predators we passed. That’s what they were, I realized. Predators. No longer fully human.
“What have you done to them to… to turn them feral?” I asked, aware my voice was squeaky with pent-up anxiety. Dr. Axell was polite enough to ignore it.
“Once a day, we give them a serum we’ve developed specifically for this purpose. It increases the activity in the medulla oblongata, forcing their primal instincts to the forefront. It doesn’t fully erase their humanity—they’re still capable of using tools, and to some degree, solving puzzles and performing simple tasks like showering and opening doors. We’ve yet to have anyone speak while the serum is still strong in their veins, but toward nighttime when it begins to wear off, most are capable of expressing basic needs and wants using some language.” He stopped in front of the last cell on the left side of the room, smiling broadly at its occupant. “Ah, and here he is. Our most prized specimen. Miss Dorne, this is Subject 351. He’s twenty-six, and a former Navy SEAL at six foot ten and two-hundred ninety-one pounds.”
I peeked in the cell from my hiding-spot behind Dr. Axell’s shoulder, and bit my lip at the sight of the man inside. All alphas were larger than beta males, but it was quite obvious even from a quick glance that the nearly three hundred pounds on this one was pure muscle. His body looked like it’d been carved from granite, with bulging muscles from his shoulders down his arms and pecs leading down to two hard rows of stacked abs and a prominent “V.” I quickly averted my gaze when my eyes caught sight of what hung below his hips, forcing back my immediate blush.
Instead of pacing like the other alphas, he was sitting at the far concrete wall of his cell, his head leaned back and his eyes closed. When I looked closer, I could see several scars crisscrossing his skin. A few of them looked fresh.
“What’s happened to him?” I asked, indicating the scars.
The moment I spoke, the alpha’s eyes snapped open. His icy, blue-green eyes swept from me to Dr. Axell, and his lip curled up in a snarl that had me retreating a step before I caught myself.
“We have to test their fighting prowess on a regular basis,” Dr. Axell explained. “Sometimes they sustain injuries, but they are of course treated instantly.”
“Oh.” That sounded plausible enough. I forced my eyes away from the scars and pressed down the sense of discomfort churning in my gut. He wasn’t a good man, I reminded myself. And a few scars were a far better option than getting the needle, even for a former soldier of his obvious ability.
“You said the serum has drawbacks?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the alpha as he slowly got to his feet. His gaze was locked on Dr. Axell, and his stance was obviously defensive. How the alpha researcher reined in his own instincts was a mystery to me, but apart from a s
light scent of aggression emanating from the man by my side, he didn’t seem to be fazed in the slightest.
“Yes. As much as it purifies their alpha nature, it obviously also enhances their dominance and disregard for following orders. Not exactly prized qualities in what we hope will be the nation’s most elite soldiers.” Dr. Axell took a step closer to the cage and the alpha within reacted instantly. His snarl grew to a roar as he launched himself at the bars, barging against them with his shoulder so hard they shook. When unsuccessful, he started pacing instead, as close to the bars as he could without touching them, a look of absolute murder in his eyes as he stared Dr. Axell down.
“W-what are you working on to pacify them?” I asked, doing my best not to let on how hard my heart was pounding after the feral alpha’s display of aggression.
“It’s more about control than pacification,” Dr. Axell said. He cocked his head while he watched the alpha pace, still seemingly unfazed by the threat of violence emanating from the man. “We’ve worked on a lot of solutions, but when it comes right down to it, there is only one thing that can be used to control any alpha on the planet. Even a feral one. A mate.”
I blinked and finally wrested my gaze from the feral alpha to stare dumbfounded at Dr. Axell. “W-what? He has a mate? There are rules for mated pairings, even in cases of violent crime.” Only in the most extreme cases was a criminal sentenced to death row if he’d taken a mate, because it was deemed too cruel a punishment for the—often innocent—surviving spouse to lose her mate before his time. There’d only been three cases in the past decade where a mated alpha had been sentenced to death, as far as I could recall, and that’d made waves across the country because in all three cases, their mates had been accomplices.