“What’s happening?”
“Your body is creating an environment which will increase the chances of pregnancy.”
Jizette rubbed her eyes and tried not to lash out. “Kash and I can’t have children. We are from different genetic families.”
Hillard smiled patiently and folded her hands on her desktop. “How much do you know about Alpha Colony? Are you part of the resistance?”
“I’m new to it, but I’m aware of DOMA’s lies.”
“Good. I’ll spare you the in-depth history lesson. Suffice it to say DOMA’s ambitions progressed in stages. Hybrids came first, then morphs, then morphs with paranormal abilities. You, my dear, are part of this third and final stage. I believe you’re a universal breeder.”
“What in gods’ name is a universal breeder?”
Jizette snapped her head toward the doorway and found Kash standing there, arms crossed over his chest.
“A female whose reproductive system is able to morph,” Hillard explained. “She can produce offspring with any male.”
“Any male, or any male to which she’s bonded?” Dread chilled Jizette’s blood, making her lungs sluggish and her chest tight. She already knew the answer. She just needed to hear the words.
“If you are truly a universal breeder, which is what my scans indicate, a bond isn’t necessary.”
“Oh gods.” She pressed a hand over her chest as lights danced before her eyes. “If this gets out, I’ll never be safe. Rogues will come from all over the colony.”
Kash knelt beside her chair and swung her around to face him. “No one will ever know. No one. Do you hear me?”
“How will we explain it if I give birth to a wolf?”
“We’ll claim you were a surrogate, or whatever. I don’t care. This information never leaves this room.” He stood and glared at the doctor. “If you endanger my mate with --”
“There’s no need for threats, Kash. You don’t know me, but you know Milo. And Milo trusts me implicitly.” A moment of tense silence stretched between them before Kash accepted her assurance and moved behind Jizette’s chair. “I need to inform Director Darman of my findings, but I’ll leave her name out of it. We were aware of the program, but we didn’t realize they’d succeeded.”
“There could be more than one like me out there.” Jizette’s head was still spinning from the revelation.
“It’s more than likely that there are.” Hillard didn’t try to soften the blow. Candor was more her style. “Darman will find them. Now that we know they exist.”
“DOMA has to be watching them, watching her.” The realization set Kash in motion again.
Hillard took out a note pad and wrote a series of numbers, then pushed back from her desk and stood. “Which is why you can’t go back. I know your father is pack alpha, but apparently fate has something else in store for you.”
“What are you talking about?” With all the anxious energy surrounding her Jizette could no longer sit. She stood as well and turned around to lean against the desk. “We don’t even know if I’m pregnant yet.”
“You will be. That’s what you were designed for.”
Jizette suddenly went still. “You said DOMA worked in stages. Was fertility engineered into my bloodline?”
“Of course, and then they took it one step further with you.”
“How do I protect her?”
Hillard tore the top sheet off the note pad and handed it to Kash. “GPS coordinates. It’s a sanctuary for DOMA’s castoffs, hybrids and morphs like yourselves. Very secluded, very primitive, very cold. But you’ll be free of DOMA and your children will be safe.”
“Then nothing else matters.”
“What about Enya’s murder? What about my brother?” Jizette objected. “He still thinks I’m a hostage, and your people still blame our pride.”
Hillard winked at her, and then smiled. “Leave Maddox to me. I’ll notify your families, then help Maddox unravel this mystery.”
“He has a mate now,” Kash warned.
“My interest is purely professional. I have some nifty toys that will make finding out what really happened child’s play. Besides, it’s been far too long since Director Darman and I spent any time together.”
Darman was old enough to be her grandfather, so Jizette wasn’t sure she wanted to imagine the exact nature of their attraction.
Hillard shook her head. “Don’t look so scandalized. Jack was my mentor before we both fell out of favor with DOMA.” She shifted her gaze to Kash and added, “Milo can provide what you’ll need for the trip. He’s outfitted refugees before. Just keep the truck. It will be perfect for where you’re going.”
“Thank you.”
She chuckled. “You might not feel like thanking me for long. It’s a hard trip and the encampment is rustic to say the least.”
“You haven’t spent much time at Alpha Colony, have you?” Jizette held out her hand toward Kash. “We’re not afraid of hardship.”
“What about the collar?”
Jizette shook her head. “I can’t believe I forgot about it.” She looked at the doctor. “Can any of your fancy toys slice through this?”
“A lazar scalpel should do the trick.”
Kash cringed. “We don’t want you to cut her head off.”
“Such confidence you have in me.”
It took a matter of seconds for Hillard to remove the collar. She performed the task with such calm, Jizette wondered why she hadn’t thought to ask her about it before. “Again, thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll let everyone know what’s going on.”
With a mixture of excitement and sadness, Jizette left the clinic. She was thrilled at the possibility of having children with Kash, but the price was her other family, her pride. It didn’t seem fair.
He slipped his hand into hers, entwining their fingers. “You okay with all this? We could return long enough to have Darman confirm the diagnosis.”
“She has no reason to lie.”
“Well, you’re more trusting than I am. Milo has ways of contacting Darman. I’m not heading off on some blind adventure without some sort of confirmation.”
Remembering how easily Lane tricked her she gave Kash’s hand a squeeze. “You’re right. We should make sure we’re not being toyed with.”
Kash turned suddenly and pressed her up against the corridor wall. “The only one I want toying with you is me.”
“You still haven’t made me beg for mercy.” Before she finished the sentence his hand was under her shirt and his knee pressed between her legs. Her lids drooped and her senses burned. Gods, how she loved this man!
“Would you like to beg now, or shall I wait until we’re alone in the truck on some North Country road?”
She looked up and down the corridor, her heart beginning to pound. “We better wait. Milo already thinks we’re perverts.”
He cupped the side of her face and smiled into her eyes. “Milo thinks we love each other so much we can’t keep our hands to ourselves. Do you have a problem with that assessment?”
“Hell no.”
Their kiss was long and lingering. They both sensed the changes hovering on the horizon. “We better go,” he said with an encouraging smile. “Apparently, there’s a bright new future waiting in the snowy north.”
She laced her fingers through his and smiled. “I’m ready if you are.”
Epilogue
Canada: Two Months Later
Kash took the heavy buckets from Jizette so quickly water splashed onto the floor of their small, rustic cabin. “I told you I would do this as soon as I finished chopping wood.” He kicked the door shut with the heel of his boot, his expression thunderous.
“And I told you to stop treating me like an invalid. We’re in for a serious storm. Neither of us needs to be out there once it gets going.” She planted her fists on her hips and glared into his eyes. This fight had been brewing for days. Ever since he’d detected three hearts beating inside her instead of two. Th
e thought was almost enough to melt her aggravation. They were having twins! “Barbary females frequently deliver more than one cub. Why are you being so weird about this?”
“We are in the middle of the wilderness, and I’m the closest thing you’ve got to a doctor. In the blink of an eye, the pressure doubled.”
Unable to maintain her anger in the face of his concern, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms loosely around his waist. “I’m strong and healthy, and according to Dr. Hillard, I was engineered for this.”
“That’s not funny.” His arms came around her and he pulled her tight against his chest. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to any of you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to us. There will be a few hours of pain, a rather gory delivery, and then years and years of happily ever after.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“So do I.” She tilted her head back so she could look into his eyes. “Now we need to come to an agreement about the next seven months. Do you believe I love our children?”
“Of course.”
“Then why won’t you trust me to take care of them?”
He tensed, obviously uncomfortable with her line of reasoning. “It’s my job to protect you and --”
“I carried water in from the pump, you ass. You’d have me flat on my back in bed until the babies are born if you had your way.”
A wicked smile parted his lips. “A rather unimaginative position, but I can work with it.”
She laughed and slapped him on the arm. “If I’m as fragile as you presume, how the hell am I going to survive delivering twins?”
“All right, all right, I get it. Pregnancy does not equate to helplessness.”
“And you better not forget it.” She punched him in the arm. “Besides, I would never do anything to harm our pups.”
“Our pups?” He stilled, looking deep into her eyes. “Was that just a passing phrase, or…”
She smiled. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but you’ve been so exasperating.”
“Tell me now,” he growled.
Laughter bubbled from the depths of her soul. This would make him so happy. “I can sense them a little better each day. I have no idea if they’ll be able to morph, but they both possess their father’s spirit.”
He pressed his hand against the side of her face, tracing her lower lip with his thumb. “Are you disappointed? This means you have conformed to meet my needs. That doesn’t seem fair.”
“I had resigned myself to a childless marriage. This is a miracle.”
He knelt in front of her and pressed his hand against her belly. His eyes closed and her abdomen tingled. “Their heartbeats are so strong. I will never tire of the sound.”
“When those heartbeats are replaced with demanding screams at two-thirty in the morning, I’ll remind you of those words.” She chuckled and pushed him away. “Now, are you going to gush over our pups all day, or are you going to kiss their mother?”
With laughter rumbling in his chest, he pushed to his feet. “Their mother has a sassy mouth today. I might have to find something better for you to do with it.”
“Promises, promises.” She grinned.
He lowered his lips to hers and claimed her with a demanding kiss. She opened to him without hesitation, her tongue just as bold as his. He carefully separated their mouths and turned her toward the fireplace. “Stay close to the fire. I don’t want you catching cold.”
She shook her head with a frustrated sigh. “That didn’t take long.”
“I wasn’t being overprotective,” he stressed. “The temperature is dropping fast.”
A chill was crawling across her skin and the fire’s warmth was inviting. She moved closer to the hearth and he pressed against her back, absently stroking her hair.
“I wonder if they’ve caught Izak yet.” She shivered, more from the unsavory thought than the cabin’s sudden chill. “Hillard seemed pretty confident that she could break the case.”
“She has technology on her side. If she works with the morphs rather than blazing a trail through them, she should be fine.”
“That’s the hardest part of this.” She glanced back at him. “I hate that we can’t make direct contact.”
“It’s too dangerous. We can’t risk DOMA finding out where you are. Milo promised to send updates from time to time, and he’ll pass on our important news to the ones we love.”
Turning into his embrace, she stroked the side of his face and smiled. “It will get easier, I know. But I still miss them.”
“So do I.” He leaned down and kissed her lips, his gaze warm and caressing. “But I’d do it all again in a minute. I have no regrets.”
Rather than respond with words, she pulled his mouth back down to hers and poured all her love and devotion into one lingering kiss.
Alpha Colony 4: Uninhibited Fire
Cyndi Friberg
After a lifetime of trading passion for ambition, Doctor Emily Hillard is determined to catch a killer. Instead of being awed by her technology, the morphs pair her with the most exasperating man she has ever encountered. He’s barbaric, domineering, and unapologetically savage. She should be frightened, or at least repelled by his lack of sophistication. Instead, she finds him refreshing, and pictures herself crushed beneath his strong body as he skillfully peels away her civility.
Cruz, a panther-shifter with pyrokinetic abilities, spent eleven years as an assassin before being allowed a reprieve. He is finally enjoying some down time when a murderous rogue chooses his territory for a hideout. Now half of Alpha Colony is searching for the rogue, and Cruz’s handlers are desperate to get their hands on Emily’s prototype. Ordinarily Cruz would have ignored their threats and ultimatums, but he’s intrigued by the delectable doctor. So, he decides to show the hothouse flower what life in the wild is all about.
Available Jun 2nd 2016
About the Author
Anything-but-Ordinary is Cyndi's creed and her writing reflects her dedication to the concept. She writes in a variety of genres, but seems happiest in outer space. Her books frequently appear on Best Seller lists, and Taken by Storm was named Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Romance of the year by Romance Reviews Today.
She lives in Colorado with her high school sweetheart turned husband of many years. With a pampered cat curled on the corner of her desk, she dreams of fascinating words and larger than life adventures -- and wouldn't have it any other way!
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Other Titles by
Cyndi Friberg
Beyond Ontariese:
Taken by Storm
Operation Hydra
City of Tears
Mystic Flame
Fire Pearl
Consort
Shadow Assassins:
Royal Obsession
Mystic Militia
Alpha Hunter
Fallen Star
Unique Ink
Rebel Heat
Battle Born:
Crusader
Forsaken
Zealot
Defender
Harbinger
Undaunted (June 23)
Rebel Angels:
Rage and Redemption
Echoes and Embers
Splendor and Darkness
Non-series:
Tears of the Dragon
Tainted Hearts
Scorchers:
Alpha Colony:
Untamed Hunger
United Passion
Unwanted Desire
Uninhibited Fire (Jun 2)
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