these sensors.” He tapped the spot behind his ear. “Can control when we shift and for how long. Stimulate hunger when we try to starve ourselves. Push us into…” His eyes flicked up to Jai. “Push us into heat when required. It’s all part of his ‘control shifters’ agenda, as far as I can tell. We’re the test subjects, the proof of concept. He’s played with more than that with pretty horrible consequences. One of us, a cheetah…”
The wolf’s eyes strayed to across the room, and when I looked around, I saw a solemn mood had fallen over all shifters, not just him.
“Killed him?” Jai asked.
“Yep. Bleeding from the nose and eyes…” He shook his head. “Hollingsworth gave it a few more goes and then…”
“We’re hard to get and expensive to transport,” Nero said. “Shifters like Gaden especially so.” The man himself paused his eating, putting the rough sandwich he’d created down on his plate. “He gave up on that and changed his plan, to focus on you.”
“What science can’t provide, nature can,” Kazimir said, trying for a smile and failing. “This place… In my culture, when two tigers wish to form a bond, they are locked away, no distractions, no outside influence, until the two walk out as one or none. It replicates this.”
“So…if I take a mate, we walk out of here? Why all the sperm samples then?”
“They’ve already inspected your reproductive system,” Caleb said, looking up at me through dark brows. “What’s to stop them from slipping some samples in there? They’re the insurance policy if this doesn’t work.”
I felt like a bucket of ice water had been dropped over me, something only slightly alleviated by the warmth of Jai’s body. He rolled off the bed, grabbing me in his arms and tucking me against his chest before carrying me back to our bed. The blankets were yanked back, and I shivered underneath them, then he joined me moments later.
“They're gonna come for us, love,” he said, smoothing my hair back from my face. “Just hang on. They won’t leave us to rot here. Just hang on.”
Chapter 26
There was a singular pleasure to be had in curling up against Jai’s chest. His musky scent flooded my nose, forcing my muscles to relax, my heartbeat to slow, my body warming, starting to—
I glanced warily around, wondering how much the other shifters could detect. Jai always said he could smell my arousal, could they?
He stared down at me, obviously getting a whiff of me and liking what he got, a slow smile spreading across his face. He leaned in, ready to push that warm, soft mouth against mine when…
I slammed my hand on his chest, holding him back. “Jai!” I hissed when he kept the pressure up. “Everyone will see!”
“Mmm… Not a big deal.” He changed course, running kisses down the side of my neck. “Shifters have sex in front of other adult shifters when the women go into season. They won’t care.”
“Really? You’re OK with them watching me get naked?” He went stock still at that. “Watching me as you wedge your…knot in?”
He paused for a moment, then went back to kissing my neck, his hand sliding south only for me to grab him around the wrist.
“Jai!”
“No one can see,” he whispered, rubbing his nose against my cheek. “You need me, and I’m your mate. Your scent is clawing at me to make you feel good.”
“Jai…”
He paused at my tone, pulling back and looking into my eyes. Tears rushed forward at the soft, concerned look in his eyes. His big hand went to my face, smoothing my hair back, then brushing the tears away when they spilled.
I felt like a weepy idiot. I hadn’t even remembered Hollingsworth’s men inspecting my body, yet I felt a flush of horror every time I thought about it.
“Love, it’s—”
“They were the last ones who touched me,” I said, the words barely audible.
I watched them hit Jai like a slap to the face, but he didn’t pull away or stop his slow strokes of my hair, not until he rolled out of bed, picked me up, and carried me to our bathroom.
The tiles felt cold on my feet, the air as well when Jai grabbed the hem of my ‘gown’ and pulled it off over my head. He didn’t pause before turning the water on, testing it for the right temperature, then shucking his own pants off.
He was ignoring my nakedness, grabbing my hand and pulling me under the water to join him,