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n~ SASHA ~

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"I will not submit my people,

" Vayl added more softly,

"But I will share a meal with you. You will not take power here, but we can live in peace.

"

nOne of the three females behind her huffed in obvious disapproval, but Sasha and Vayl both ignored her.

nSasha blew out the breath she'd been holding, glad she wasn't going to be expected to fight this woman. Because she would lose, she knew. And in that case, she'd also lose all hope at gaining their respect.

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"Thank you,

" Sasha said quickly.

"I'm grateful. I don't expect you to… to shift the hierarchy for me. You have to sustain what you have here. I don't know how long you'll have to remain here after I leave. I just want to understand. To gain your insight if you have any.

"

nVayl looked at her with sympathy.

"Sasha, you won't be leaving this place. No one who comes here leaves, except in death. I pray for Zev's sake that that isn't the end for you. But I hold little hope. There was one or two females very early on sent back. But they didn't survive, so now we are all to remain.

"

nSasha thanked her faintly, praying that her instincts weren't wrong, that she wasn't a fool to believe that the men hadn't been lying to her outright. That this really was a different situation than they'd seen before. But there was no way to know until she walked it out.

n

"I have… a different relationship with them, because I'm human,

" she said slowly.

"I can't be certain, of course… but I pray that won't be my fate too. Or yours,

" she added, then scanned the rest of the females, including the crowd in the trees behind them.

"I'll keep working towards gaining you your freedom, no matter what it takes.

"

nVayl sighed, her shoulders rising and falling slowly, as if she were sad for Sasha, but she didn't respond.

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"If you'll share a meal with us, we'll take you to our… village.

"

nSasha nodded eagerly. But then Vayl looked at Nick over her shoulder.

"He is not invited. We have no males among us. No reason for him to be there, except to do harm.

"

nSasha turned to find Nick standing with his hands in his pockets, watching them, his brow furrowed.

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"They're going to show me the village,

" she said.

"You have to stay here.

"

nNick sighed, but nodded.

"I'll wait here.

"

nSurprised by how easily he agreed, Sasha just turned back to the other females. Nick's response made her fear there were close watches kept on these places that perhaps even the Chimera didn't know about. But she didn't want to create further stress for them, so she didn't say anything.

n

"He trusts his technology to warn him if we step out of line,

" Vayl said quietly as they all turned and began to walk, Sasha hurrying to keep up with their long strides.

"But he won't reach you in time if we should choose to kill you. You walk in on your own feet, Sasha. It's up to you if you walk back out.

"

nSasha laughed nervously, but didn't break stride. Zev's words about power and strength echoing in her head.

nThe truth was, she felt like she didn't have any choice but to simply walk this journey out. Killed by Chimera seemed preferable to becoming a slave in a science lab, which was the other most likely outcome of being here. So as the females parted ahead of them, sinking deeper between the trees and underbrush to leave room for the Alphas to pass, all their eyes flicking between Sasha and Vayl, Sasha just prayed.

nWhat else could she do?

n*****

nSasha understood why Vayl had hesitated when she referred to the village. In truth, the space where the females lived was more of an encampment. They passed a dozen different fires, each surrounded by tables and stools—usually made from tree stumps, or stones—and a few tents, or tarps thrown over tree branches. But it was clear that these were work spaces. Not where the women lived.

nAs the darkness under the trees deepened and the ground rose ahead of them, Sasha was shown two or three caves clustered in the steep rise of the land. This, she was told, was where the females gathered in poor weather, and where they slept.

nEach cave mouth was just a little too perfect, a little too round. Sasha's skin prickled. Had the humans created this space for the Chimera? Literally formed it? The ground was rocky and solid, covered in undergrowth and vines beneath the trees. There was no hint of anything synthetic. And yet, something about the place lacked the true rugged, unpredictable nature of Thana.

nVayl caught her eyeing the caves and grunted.

"We don't know if they were already here, or if they were made for us,

" she said quietly.

"But they have served our purposes and kept us as safe as we can be here.

"

nThose words sounded very ominous to Sasha, but she didn't push, allowing the woman to show her into the center cave, the widest one. Inside she found the most comforts she'd seen so far—dozens of alcoves and hollows in the sides of the cave filled with furs and small personal items. Wide fireplaces actually carved into the rock and dirt of the wall, with chimney tunnels to the open air outside. There was a lot more furniture here—long tables and even a few chairs, a massive carpet unrolled at the cave's widest point and scattered in pillows, and shelves and cupboards for storage here and there.

nIn many ways it looked like a children's fort—as if the furniture had been selected for its sturdy nature and base function, rather than its appearance or ability to create convenience.

nSasha felt like she'd walked onto the movie set of some strange world that combined cavemen with modern-day amenities.

nShe saw a full sink bolted to the wall with a narrow gutter carved out of the ground beneath it, leading all the way back to the mouth of the cave. Yet it was surrounded by metal pails of water, and the faucets looked rusted in place.

nShe was shown the Alpha sleeping quarters—little more than a shallow sub-cave at the end, with three different sets of furs laying on its floor. Then they walked back to the center of the cave where the crowd of females had gathered, some sitting cross-legged on the carpet, while others lined the walls and took stools and chairs at its edge.

nSasha was led to the lip of the rug where Vayl stopped walking and looked at the females, waiting for them to quiet. Sasha was about to ask what they would do there, but Vayl cleared her throat and raised her chin.

nHer words pierced Sasha's skull like pennies dropped into a fresh pool of water, plunk, plunk, plunk, until she was left stunned.

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"Well, you all saw and heard our exchange, and saw the response of Piss Pants.. What do you think?

" Vayl said without looking at Sasha, her voice raised to reach all the way through the cave.

"Are the prophecies true? Has the human come to save us? Or have we been deceived again? Will Sasha-don lead us home? Or is this only another ploy to drink our blood?

"

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