Gray (The Boundarylands #10) - Callie Rhodes Page 0,1

we will provide you. These pictures will be instantly uploaded to a secure satellite, so once you are picked up on the morning of the eighth day and safely delivered home, there will be no need for further contact. I shouldn't have to tell you that every aspect of this mission is strictly confidential."

Olivia interpreted that last part as "you talk, you die"—especially once he showed her pictures of the military-grade camouflage gear designed specifically for the Boundarylands.

"No other nation has this technology," he told her. He explained that everything she touched had to be doused in a special military-grade scent-blocker because of the alphas' extraordinarily developed senses, from the fibers in her special suit to the packaging on the scent- and taste-free protein bars that would serve as her only food.

Olivia listened in a daze, overwhelmed by all the planning and research that had gone into this expedition. But there was one part of the plan that made no sense at all.

"Why send me?" she asked. "You must have someone in your organization who is qualified for this sort of work."

"If we did, I wouldn't be here talking to you. Our agents aren't used to cramped conditions like the blind you will be using."

"What about snipers?" Olivia had risked asking. She might not know exactly which agency the man worked for, but she was willing to bet it had paid assassins on the payroll. "The job's not that different. Just substitute a camera for a rifle—then wait patiently for your shot."

The guy's mouth flattened, the only sign he experienced any emotion at all. "Their talents are needed on more important missions. Besides, alphas are animals. You photograph animals. End of story."

"That's ridiculous!" Olivia blurted. "They might have a different nature, but they're born to beta parents. Surely that makes them human."

The government suit regarded her impassively. "I take it you've never met one of these creatures face to face."

Olivia could only shake her head. Of course she hadn't—hardly any betas traveled to the Boundarylands. Especially not women.

"Consider yourself lucky," the suit said coldly. "If you'd ever witnessed one killing a man with his bare hands, you'd never mistake them for human again."

Olivia had backed down after that. Not because she believed him—she knew better than most that just because someone was dangerous, it didn't make them a monster—but because arguing with someone who could kill your family and make it look like an accident was a really bad idea.

So instead, Olivia kept her mouth shut for the rest of the drive as well as the flight on a private jet that followed.

Once they'd landed, Olivia was taken to a sterile-looking room with florescent lights where a woman in white scrubs gave her an injection she said would temporarily reduce her sweat production.

The shot hurt like hell—and it also put her out. When she woke up, she was in a black SUV with tinted windows, headed for the Boundarylands.

That was three days ago.

Now, Olivia was sitting on the same stool she'd been perched on since waking up at six o'clock in the morning, hunkered down in a cramped hunting blind. Her only movements had been to focus her telephoto lens with her thumb when the alpha came into view. Olivia wasn't thrilled with the quality of the photos, but she supposed that the agency she was working for wasn't looking to hang her work in a gallery.

At least all of the agency's precautions had worked...so far. It was a good thing, too. Because while a kilometer might be too great a distance to take a decent photo, it was too close for a beta to comfortably sleep knowing an alpha was nearby.

Even though the suit and the team that had brought her out here had repeatedly assured her she was technically on neutral territory, her proximity to the alpha's wood-sided cabin felt uncomfortably intimate.

Based on what Olivia had learned from random news stories and documentaries, alphas really didn't like anyone poking a nose in their business.

Olivia didn't even want to think about it, so she forced herself to focus on her work.

Over the years, she'd trained herself to deal with the stresses of her profession by practicing breathing exercises and mindfulness. Her most frequent challenge was boredom, but working with lions, wolves, cobras, and grizzlies meant she'd had to learn to cope with fear as well.

Three days in, however, Olivia was beginning to think that her initial fears had been an overreaction. Not only had the alpha given no indication