~ SASHA ~

Walking into the building, Sasha was reminded more and more of barn. The floors were cement where they entered and continued forward in a long, very wide corridor. But both sides were lined not by walls and doors, but by what Nick referred to as stables. Which was just a pretty name for cages, Sasha realized, her stomach dropping.

The bottom half of the wall was solid, a flat, slick material that Sasha couldn't identify. The top half were bars made of the same, slick material—its surface looked almost oily. The bars ran a good fifteen feet into the air where they met with a ceiling, too high to reach for anyone other than Yhet. There was a weight to it, though, as if the space above was a loft or some kind of room. Looking up from in front of the cages, Sasha couldn't see anything above it.

Nick led her straight to the nearest stable and leaned on the half-door. Sasha was wary, afraid of what she might see. But as she peered over the door it was with horror at what this all meant, but relief that there was no living thing within it.

The stable was a cell. Some kind of spongy pad lined the floor. There was a bed, a sink, and a toilet. The interior walls and bars were still the same material she'd observed from the outside.

Nick caught her examining it and smiled.

"You won't have seen that before. It's an alloy we developed—half metal, half plastic. Zero friction. It literally sheds… everything. Dust won't stick to it. Insects can't land on it. If you grab it, you won't be able to get any purchase. Helps us keep everything clean and… contained.

Sasha's stomach twisted.

She put a hand up to one of the bars to feel it and wanted to shudder. It was so slick under her palm it felt wet—yet when she took her hand away, there was nothing. She tried grabbing the bar and pulling on it, but her hand just slid down its surface as if she'd yanked on air.

"See?

" Nick said, sounding pleased with himself.

"It's still in patent, so we haven't made it available to the public yet. But trust me, it's going to make us a fortune when we do.

"

"To what purpose?

" Sasha asked faintly, certain she didn't want to hear the answer.

"Anything you want to keep sure. Fencing, doors, cages—you name it. The prison system alone…

" he trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished. But Sasha could see it in her mind.

She'd never felt comfortable with the imprisonment of human beings for anything less than violent behavior. Looking at this cell, she found herself in the strange, dual position of finding comfort in the idea that certain people would never free themselves. And utter terror that it would be used against the innocent.

Correction, was being used against the innocent.

Sasha turned away suddenly.

"I don't want to be here.

"

"None of us want to be here, Sasha,

" Nick said darkly, but he stepped away from the cell and started back down the wide corridor.

"Sometimes we have to do things we don't like to achieve ends that are worth the hassle.

"

Sasha didn't answer. Inside she wanted to scream at this man that no ends were worth imprisoning innocent people against their wills! But she remembered the cameras and the listening devices, and the purpose she had and stayed silent as if she were considering what he said.

They continued walking, Nick describing when and how the stables were used.

"When there's a medical need, obviously. Or reason for observation. We can separate a Chimeran out and bring them here. And when we're mating. We isolate the females here in the days prior to their ovus, so there's no chance of them being mated by the wrong male, or at the wrong time.

"

Sasha's stomach rolled over and for a moment she thought she might be sick.

"You're… you're housing the females with males?

"

Nick shook his head.

"We have only a small male population here in our world, Sasha. And mostly children. There's only a few adult males we've made who exhibit attributes we want to exploit in the bloodlines. There's a very small number that we brought out of Thana more recently. But the sexually mature males are all housed completely separately from the females. There's no mixing between them.

"

"Then… what would you be keep females away from, to stop them having sex?

" She couldn't believe those words were even coming out of her mouth.

Nick gave her a look like she was being naïve again.

"I told you, Sasha, the men I work for are ruthless. If they want something, they take it. And they have a habit of hiring others who think similarly. But these men are also very practical. The females are incredibly valuable. All I had to demonstrate to them was that if we didn't keep the females under surveillance, when their breeding instincts kicked in, they would allow human males to display for them. Chimera can't bond with humans, so the females who'd sought this union were dying left and right, their instincts seeking the bond, but their bodies incapable of it—yet they'd desire no one beyond the male who'd taken them. It was a ** show. I got it stopped. I thought you'd approve.

"

Sasha's head spun.

"I don't understand—Chimera can bond with humans. Zev and I—

"

"Wake up, Sasha! Zev is different! Why aren't you listening?

" He turned on her and Sasha braced, standing to face him, her hands clenched to fists.

"With the exception of Zev, Chimera have sex with only one male or female their entire lives. When they begin a sexual relationship, they're bonded. For life. We were able to… adjust that gene in Zev, so his brain and body didn't respond the way the others did.

"

"Adjust it? Remove it, you mean. You changed him. He's… unnatural!

" it was just coming home to her that Zev was always supposed to be hers, but they'd almost stolen this. From both of them.

But Nick just huffed as if he was losing his patience.

"Zev is nothing but unnatural, Sasha. I know you love him—and believe me, he adores you. But no matter which way you slice it, he's only here because of me, because of this team of people. And without us, the two of you would never have met.. So whether you like the choices we made or not doesn't even factor in.

"