The Change: Episode one (12 page)

“
I’d still give you
freedom, Daniel. The close kind.”

He tensed against my cheek, teasing the need
into scenting the musky air, and I grimaced as the unsatisfied
flames flickered to life. So short a relief!

Daniel moved away from me slowly, and his
face was easy enough to read. He was worried he’d gone too far by
taking the lead and dealing out pleasure with no permission, that
it hadn’t been good enough. And there was confusion. Because he had
enjoyed it, too? Registered breeders could be had. Their
willingness didn’t matter.

He stood stiffly with his hands at his
sides, and I remembered my next question, distracted him with it.
“What is it the Network expects you to do?”

I could see he didn’t know.

“
They won’t tell
me!”

“
Who won’t tell
you?”

His face became distorted. “I can’t
see!”

I longed to be able to provide the answers
and ease his pain. Because I couldn’t yet, I distracted him from
that, too. “I’d finish eating now.”

I watched him start to head for the kitchen
and then stop, face reddening. He turned for the washroom to remove
my smells from his hands, and I hid my approval… my unease. When
the Network said trained to adapt and please, they weren’t kidding.
And the price paid for that obedience was too high.

I thought about how he’d
responded so quickly. Did maybe deep down, he recognize me? Was it
that self preservation instinct the renters had? I’d seen the
Network rooms where the act took place, watched the drugs turn the
reluctant bachelors into hard readiness in minutes. They were
trained to please us.
And, he’d done that
well,
I thought. The question, was
why?

I knew as soon as I
questioned what he could gain from it. If we were bonded before
leaving, I couldn’t return him for another prize. He was already
using the spark to manipulate me. My heart thumped. That was the
old Daniel…
my
Daniel, and I was ever so grateful to see it.

D

I’d just learned something
very valuable, and I held it close as I turned on the hot water. My
pleasure was not only allowed, she
liked
it. It would have been hard to
mistake. I’d shown her that I knew things she needed. All I had to
do was keep her needs taken care of and she would keep me close. In
time, maybe I really would have that loving owner.

It wouldn’t be as easy to satisfy her before
she flipped next time, though, and the slight fear hit me when I
stepped from the room to see her pink gaze. I knew from my training
that the temporary methods wore off quickly, and then the female
was constantly hungry for it to put out the fire. From now on, I
would have to get her near the bed so I could use the cuffs.

Aware of her flickering eyes and my own
surprising interest, I carefully tried to distract us both with
some of the thousands of questions I had.

C

“
How long will we be
here?”

I pushed my empty bowl away, shrugging.
“Would you stay a while?”

His look was all the answer I needed. He
couldn’t wait to go.

“
In the morning. Our
passage is booked.”

His eyes darkened at that
and I understood, but said nothing to comfort him. Transportation
of prizes was done like livestock, even down to the crates. It was
a Network rule, humiliating, but I wouldn’t break it. The Pruetts
were careful to
appear
loyal.

“
How long will it
take?”

“
Three days.”
Seventy two long hours where anything could
happen,
I thought. “I’ll be on the train
with you, one car away.”

Discounting the expensive
train ride we were about to take, by foot and horse were still the
most common forms of transportation. Even hunting still held more
lure than the odd stores that popped up. There had been very little
advancement, and I was sure it was due to the lack of ambitious men
with strong backs. The only people with access to the small bits of
technology left were the Network and their lackeys.
Also, their hired labor
,
I thought with a mental sneer. The Pruetts had been using their
Network connection to pad stocks for years.

“
What will I do
there?”

Daniel’s fears were endless, and some, a
surprise. The Network claimed the males had no real desire to be
freed, but I hadn’t believed it until now.

“
You’ll help my family
clear the old roads.”
And help me control
the Changeling inside.

He seemed satisfied with
that, and I wondered how deep into our mix he would fall. Would he
be at my side when we went out on a run, or left at our homestead
with the other mates? Would seeing his childhood home make him
remember me?
Us?

Needing space to avoid demanding a repeat
performance, I headed for the master bedroom that I hadn’t used
yet, still exhausted and extremely sore. “I’ll sleep in here
tonight. Do what you like, but don’t leave this apartment without
asking.”

Daniel seemed horrified at the thought, and
I settled into the large bed, filled with an emotion I almost
didn’t recognize. Happiness.

Chapter Eight

Day 6

C

Hours later, I tossed restlessly in the bed
alone, the nightmares not ugly, but still disturbing. Outside, a
lightning storm had begun.

Bang!

A loud strike rattled the complex. An
instant later, Daniel tapped on the door. “Can… Can I come in?”

I sat up with shadowy images of blood still
spilling behind my lids. “Yes.”

He had stripped down to just the trousers
I’d brought, a size too large, and my eyes went straight to that
bare chest. I wanted him, there was no denying it, and it wasn’t
all from the Change. His beautiful eyes were huge, full of fear
that was almost desperate. He didn’t like to be alone during
storms… or maybe at all. I cursed myself for not thinking of it.
During his… stay with the Network, he had probably been around
other males at all times.

“
I’d be where you
are.”

Hunger
. It took me by surprise so quickly I couldn’t breathe. I
forced a curt nod.

The bed dipped under his weight, and I lay
down, closing my eyes. A minute later, I was back under the edge of
sleep, certain it would be more restful with him closer. I didn’t
like having him out of my sight.

D

I waited until she was snoring softly and
slowly inched onto my side to stare. Like most Changelings, she
didn’t use a blanket. The heat inside was more than enough to keep
her warm, and I was able to run my male gaze over her exposed skin.
It kept me from waking her with my moans as the storm grew. I hated
loud noises, always had.

“
Stop...”

Thinking she meant me, I put my head down
quickly before realizing she was still asleep.

Fear of her was something I
couldn’t help. The lust in those black eyes said she liked blood,
spilling it and seeing it, and as the winner, she had complete
control. I’d known slaves who were taken from their owners, but
that was only when the male had connections to those high-up. I had
none. If I made a claim of abuse, it would be ignored, true or not.
The Network wanted Candice out of here, even
I
felt that. They wouldn’t keep her
around to investigate the claims of a bachelor. She was
dangerous.

Crack!

I jumped at the loud flash of lightning,
wondering briefly what it had hit. Not the Games complex, with its
rubber-like roof, but close enough for fire to be a concern. I told
myself those running this awful place were also aware of the
danger, and watching. After the incident last year when half a cell
of bachelors had burned to death, there was now 24-hour weather
monitoring by the Den Mothers. New Network City had lost a hundred
citizens to the blaze, but it was the rare males the public had
spoken up for.

Crash
!

I jumped again, and then stilled myself, not
wanting her to wake. I was attracted to Candice, this evening
proved that clearly, but I was still trying to figure out why. None
of the others had drawn a spark, let alone an uncontrolled reaction
that had me forgetting my place. They’d all been forced to use
drugs that removed my control. Even my first had plied me with
drinks and artificial help before she was able to make use of her
purchase.

With Candice, my body was eager. Was it
because she was so much more deadly than the others? Or was it just
the promise in her eyes, the one whispering that mating with her
would be unlike anything I’d ever known? Maybe it was that she was
my owner and not a renter who might be dead after the next battle.
It would be okay to get attached to this one, providing I pleased
her.

My body tightened at the hot memory of
holding her tattooed skin, showing her a bit of what I knew about
surviving a Changeling. Though the pleasure was sure to be
incredible when she took me, it was the danger that had my heart
thumping. I’d seen older, gentle females turn into blood-hungry
animals in the view cells. It was nothing to make light of, and I
stared at her for a long time, trying to judge.

C

My eyes snapped open in the darkness,
instantly alert. The shadow by the door froze. Close by, thunder
rumbled.

“
As you were.”

Daniel moved quickly to the washroom, but I
didn’t close my eyes yet. Light rain was drumming against the
complex, acid melt-off that slowly burned its way through just
about anything except rubber. Lightning flashed, the vivid blast
glaring off even the black-tinted window.

Something outside thumped against the
building as the wind gusted, and I watched Daniel scurry back into
the room as if he were being chased. It was the storm that had sent
him to me, not fear of being alone, I realized.

Crack!

We both jumped at the next blast, and my
lips curved upward. “Nature’s fury.”

His shadow nodded, hesitating as thunder
rolled out again. “I know.”

I wondered if he would have the courage to
rejoin me in the bed, but knew if he didn’t, I would insist. I
couldn’t leave him with only his fear for comfort.

Daniel moved toward me, and I studied him
without the usual violent need, but then his weight dipped the bed
again and sent a curl of want through my stomach. He settled onto
his side, and the storm, as if responding to my lust,
intensified.

Crack! Booomm!

He flinched backward at the brilliant burst,
and I shifted to be ready for the next hit. While I waited, I let
my pink eyes go over his body. Lean and hard, he was made to
survive in this harsh world… and to produce children. I grinned,
glad he was facing away. In time, I would have all he could
give.

Bam!

Daniel jumped again, and I caught him with
my palm before he could roll against me. He immediately froze.

I gently tugged on his arm.
“Come here.”
Willing the weather to
help.

Silence…

Crack!

He moved at the reminder, sliding his big
body along my hip, and I ducked under his arm to press myself
firmly against his side. My head went to his tense chest, and my
eyes closed in bliss as his scent filled my nose. I bid the usual
nightmares goodbye.

D

It took me a long time to realize she only
wanted to be held and even longer to slide my arms around that
black-clad waist. It made me lean against her and I wasn’t
surprised when her sharp intake of air sent blood rushing into
parts of my body. Her pleasure would be mine.

“
This is nice.”

Her breath whispered along my chest. I
wondered if she knew there were freckles on her nose from sun
exposure, or how her hair glinted with blue flashes in the
flickering storm. I wanted to embrace her warm body, give her the
relief she wasn’t asking for, but I was a coward. She only came to
my chin, but she towered over me with her muscular arms and her
careful control.

Crash! Bang!

I tensed and was surprised when she
comforted me again.

“
Easy, Daniel.” Her hand
rose up to stroke the bare skin of my arm, and I trembled under her
touch.

Lightning flashed, showing her hand on my
skin… then darkness. Heat radiated from her. What would she do now?
Was this the time? Fear blossomed in my throat, but I didn’t say
anything. It would be better to have the first time done than to
keep worrying over it.