Abandoned and Unseen (Branded Packs #2)(8)

Without the virus, the shifters wouldn’t have come out of hiding. And thanks to their sacrifice in helping to find a “cure,” he had been able to study the beasts. At one point, he’d even gone as far as using his own body to procreate with one of them. It had been disturbing but like he said, all strides took sacrifice.

The SAU had kicked him out when his goal for the ultimate perfections—his own brand of shifters—had crossed their lines. What a crock. The SAU was the fourth branch of the government and didn’t have the checks and balances the others had. They could do whatever they wanted to the shifters in the name of saving the human race. And Frank’s experiments weren’t outside their norm. But those above him had lost a few shifters and needed a scapegoat.

Weak.

Now he was on his own to find a way to create shifters. Just a few months ago, one of the beasts had let it slip that it took the bite of an Alpha or a mate to create a shifter. Before that, he’d thought—along with the rest of humanity—that shifters were born and not made.

The SAU was now trying to force matings, and coerce different Alphas to make shifters. Frank had no idea if it was truly working since he’d been cut off, but he had his own plans. He didn’t want to rely on adult matings or Alphas who could rip his throat out. He didn’t want to deal with mature shifters at all; they were f*cking animals.

Instead, he’d go younger.

He needed shifter children. If he could code their DNA at a young age, he would be able to find the bridge between humans and shifters and make an army of his own. Or rather, one he could sell to the highest bidder. He’d have the glory, and the ability to retire on a sunny island.

Of course, he knew that going younger with his experiments would take a certain…finesse. It wasn’t just the idea of a younger shifter to dissect and study. No, he needed a shifter with the perfect genetic makeup to be the bridge. One that held part shifter and part human DNA.

It just so happened he knew of a child with that makeup…and that child had a twin. Frank would have a spare, in case the first didn’t survive.

He grinned as he shut himself away in his warehouse. All those times of forcing himself to copulate with that female bear would now be worth it.

He’d have his live samples. And then the glory.

Perfection.





Chapter 3


Anya’s temples hurt, but she didn’t dare rub them. Not when that damn cat kept sneaking peeks at her. Oh, the man didn’t do it obviously, but she could tell when his gaze was on her. Every hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she swore her skin broke out in goose bumps from the touch of his stare alone.

She ignored him. Or at least tried to. Her brother needed her in case he had a vision, and she couldn’t be distracted by Cole. Plus, she wanted to know what these leaders were saying. They held the future of the Packs in their hands.

“We’ve had patrols going on for twenty-five years,” Holden said. “We have our paths and what we’ve done in the past to protect our own. When the cats came, we included them in the routine, and even added more routes so the humans can’t figure out when we will be in certain places.” He met Andrew’s gaze, and Anya stood up straighter. “You’ve only been here for two weeks. I know you’re trying to settle in, and f*ck, we’re all trying to settle into our new homes since they uprooted us from the homes you’re now living in, but are you ready to join in on the patrols?”

Andrew ran a hand over his beard and frowned. He was a big man, a huge grizzly—even bigger than Oliver. There was a reason he was her Alpha. “Why do we need to join your patrols? Why can’t we have patrols of our own?”

Holden lifted his lip in a snarl, but Ariel patted his knee. He calmed at his mate’s influence, and Anya felt a stab of jealousy. She’d never had that kind of connection with someone, and as time moved on, she was afraid she’d never be able to.

The wolf Alpha let out a heated breath. “Because we might be three different Packs, three different Alphas, but this is our f*cking compound now. And bitching about the circumstances we’re in, instead of trying to find a way out of captivity, isn’t going to help anyone.”

Andrew studied Holden for a moment then turned to Jonah. “What say you, cat? You enjoy working with the wolves?”

Jonah glanced at his daughter and her wolf mate sprawled over her lap then looked back at Andrew. “I say we adapt or perish. We all lost too much when the Verona Virus hit and we came into the public eye. It’s not one against another in here. We can’t afford that. So I think it’s time we put aside our differences and actually work together. Things are rumbling out there, the humans are afraid. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be punishing us at every turn. We need to find a way to work as one and find our freedom.”

Anya let out a breath, and Andrew smiled. Her damn Alpha was too cunning for a bear. He’d probably been thinking along similar lines the entire time, but this way, he got their true opinions rather than blindly agreeing to something he wasn’t quite sure of. Damn bear.

“I say we have a deal,” her Alpha said smoothly. Megan snorted beside Andrew, and Anya held back a laugh of her own. “I’m not in the mood to lose another Pack member because the humans think they own us.” He ran his hands along the metal collar he wore around his neck. They all wore one, a symbol to the humans that the shifters were animals, collared pets.