Page 7 of Calico Descending

“No. She’s alive. When she’s fully recovered, we intend to try again.”

“You plan to put that poor girl through that again?”

His eyes narrow on me, and it’s then I remember that this is a man who can easily decide my fate with the snap of his fingers. If he’s so inclined, he could make me the experimental subject. “That poor girl has been given as many special treatments here as you, and I’m certain you’ve been here long enough to understand what a blessing that is.”

I do. I’ve seen plenty of girls in the recovery room, who were wheeled off after testing and never seen again. Others end up in yet another experimental wing, where they’re impregnated and forced to birth third-generation babies. Those are the ones my sister cares for, and from what I understand, many don’t make it past the second trimester. The ones who do might as well be dead, too.

“Once binding happens, what then?” This place doesn’t seem to be in the market for happily ever afters, and if it’s pregnancy they’re interested in, they’d have wheeled me to obstetrics with the others by now.

His lips stretch into a grin that leaves a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut. “That’s the most interesting part of all of this. Through happenstance, we found that Alphas can become very attached to a particular female. To the extent that they become far more agreeable.”

“How so?”

“History books are probably of no use to you, being illiterate, but well before your time, centuries ago, there were what were known as whipping boys. Are you familiar with that term?”

“It’s fairly obvious that they’re boys who were whipped, I think.”

“Yes, well, they were boys who were whipped for the transgressions of their prince. See, back in the times of royalty, no one wanted to punish the prince when he stepped out of line. So, a whipping boy was assigned. And this child grew up with the prince. They became quite close. Like brothers. But when the prince behaved poorly, it was his dear friend who suffered the consequences, which, in turn, helped keep him in line.”

“So, these Alphas … you’re using them to keep females in line?”

He tips his head, that mirthless smile wider than before. “No, my sweet girl. You will be used to keep him in line. To help train him. You see, Valdys, Cadmus, and Titus have all proven to be very efficient against the mutations. But when it comes to raiding hives, they’re less agreeable.” He shrugs his shoulders. “That’s the consequence of using men who were never trained nor born to be soldiers. We’ve had a number of them escape during raids. Some we’ve had to destroy on the spot. It becomes very costly. An inefficient use of resources.”

“Then, why use them to raid hives, if they’re so valuable?”

His eyes narrow, as if I’ve reached my question limit for the day, and he clears his throat. “Because the rebels have banded with a number of hives. Led by one of our stray Alphas. Legion officers are being picked off like ticks on a savage. We lose more with every raid.”

“So, you’re going to use me to keep him in line.” It’s not a question. It’s a ridiculous statement looping inside my head.

“Yes. Just doesn’t appear to be effective using them against each other. Seems it requires a new variable.”

A laugh bursts from my chest, and I glance over at Medusa. She doesn’t so much as smile, which makes me laugh harder. “I don’t know if you missed something in the video, but he wanted nothing to do with me. He tried to kill me.”

“And he could have. In fact, by all accounts, he probably should have. You broke nearly every rule. It was disastrous.” He leans forward, entwining his fingers again. “But he didn’t. He let you go.”

“Which I’m guessing was code for I hope to never see you again.”

“He doesn’t have a choice, I’m afraid. And neither do you. For the next few weeks, you will spend hours alone with him in his cell. You will talk to him. Provide companionship to him. You will make him look at you as something more valuable to him than his freedom.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Gaze sliding toward Medusa and back to me, he reclines back in his chair and kicks his feet up on his desk. “The chances of an Alpha mutating during transformation is about fifty percent, and of those, only half make it through training. Let me just impart that the Alpha is far more valuable than our female subjects. Why else would we have chosen you to keep him in line?”

Chapter 5

Four years ago

The muscles in my legs burn, my exposed skin red and swollen from the unforgiving sun. The throbbing inside my skull shoots through my eyeballs, and I have to squint so hard to block the blinding sunlight that my eyelashes flutter from the effort.

“Cali … I can’t.” Bryani stumbles behind me and falls to the dirt. She clambers back to her feet and stumbles after me again. “I’m so … tired. And thirsty.” Her voice has gone hoarse, proving the point.

Three hours of walking, and we’ve not come upon a single hive.

The heat stirs my irritation, while my head tells me I’ve failed my sister. Perhaps she was right to want to stay back in the abandonment, where we took shelter yesterday. At least we’d have shade there, and we could’ve searched for a source of water.

The Ragers would’ve eventually come back, though. They’re like dogs when it comes to sniffing out prey, and, I suspect, they’ll track us down eventually. Some have such keen senses, they can pick up scent, just like a bloodhound.

“Please. Just … let me rest. A couple seconds.”

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