Page 5 of Ruled By The Alpha

General Thompson arcs one eyebrow a millimeter higher at my insolent tone, but finally deigns to look at me. “He was a soldier long before you came across him, my dear. He’s got that look about him.”

I bare my teeth at the inappropriate moniker, the heat in my cheeks deepening. “Either way, he doesn’t need to besocializedto be capable of more complex missions. Tell me what you need him to do and I’ll make sure he’s ready. I don’t need your help to do my job.”

He sighs and pats my shoulder. “I know you’re a brilliant scientist, Addie, but some things you can’t learn from a book. What I need is for him and the others to be ready for full social integration so they can complete any mission the Agency requires. The Russians are becoming increasingly, ah,problematic.The AX class could prove an invaluable asset—they are miles ahead of any technology our enemy has on their hands, so far as intelligence can discern. But we need them to be more than machines.Youneed to make them into more than that. Understood?”

And if the AX class happens to be the solution to this Russian problem, he as the general in charge of this project will be lauded. There are only so many opportunities left for a three-stargeneral to climb in the ranks, but I suspect he has ambitions for the next step. He always has.

“Understood.Sir,”I bite out.

The general shakes his head, but doesn’t reprimand me. My father is many things, but he is not a hypocrite.

He nods at AX2 and crosses the floor to the exit. Before he leaves, he turns to say, “Your mother wants you to come by for dinner tonight. Can I tell her you’ll be there?”

“I will.” I dig my nails into my palms as the door swings shut behind him. It’s not his fault. He’s an alpha—he’s never known what it is to have to fight for respect. To know that any glimpse of softness will ruin everything you’ve worked for.

I glance at AX2, who is still standing perfectly still, gaze trained on a spot on the far wall. There is not so much as a flicker in his expression to suggest he’s noted the unprofessional exchange between the general and myself.

But then, there shouldn’t be. He knows better than most that I have no softness to be exploited.

Chapter 3

AX2

There are five AX models in existence.

AX2 stares at the four men-that-aren’t in the training room.

The ever-present stench of bleach doesn’t hide the cocktail of alpha scent in the air, but even without it, he’d know what they are—or at least what the biological part of them is. They are all wide with muscle, and there’s a sharpness in their eyes as they watch one another, reading every movement to determine whether they are surrounded by enemies or allies.Alphas.

He suspects that if any of them had been given a choice, they would have opted to socialize with betas and women. He feels it too—the biological urge to assert his dominance over four powerful rivals—butfuck,it doesn’t matter. They’re here, he’s not alone, and the space in his gut he thought held nothing but despair is now tight with a tinglingawarenessthat reaches all the way around to his tailbone.

Without a word, he crosses the floor to the nearest alpha—a young man with short, white-blond hair and ice-blue eyes first widening in surprise at his approach, then narrowing as he doesn’t stop. AX2 ignores the unspoken threat and reaches out, grabs the man by the shoulder, and pulls him to his chest with enough force to send a shockwave through him at the impact.

A growl escapes the other alpha at the uninvited touch, but quiets to a huff of surprised laughter when AX2 wraps both arms around him and hugs him tight.

Touch.

He’s touching another living, breathing being. Someone like him.

He’s not alone, after all.

Something he didn’t know still existed clicks into place in his brain, but he is too numb to do more than grunt as the sensation of humanity slowly filters through his consciousness.

Too late, he remembers why he can’t letthemsee this—the white-clad doctors no doubt observing them like the lab-rats they are—what will happen ifshelearns of the weakness he has kept hidden for so long. Swallowing a curse, he releases his hold on the other alpha, but before he can step back, the blond man mutters, “Oh, fuck it,” and wraps his own arms around AX2.

A bouquet of sensation slams through him: warmth, comfort, and relief drown out his momentary anger at another alpha constricting him. The fear of whatshewill do to him at this display of weakness lingers, but he can’t find the willpower to break away. For this one moment, he'll take whatever punishment she inflicts to erase his remaining shred of humanity.

Kinship.The word echoes in his mind, trickling through his veins and into his organs still made of flesh. Expanding until it hurts. These strangers are his kin; he is not alone.

Warm, solid muscle presses against his back as the others join them one by one. No one speaks for several long moments. The only sound is the slow, deep breathing of five sets of lungs, artificial and not.

“I’d still trade every single one of you for half an hour with a whore,” someone mutters from behind him, finally breaking the peaceful silence.

The young blond who has his arms around AX2 lets out a laugh. It rings in his ears and pierces his brain, alien in its genuineness.

“Half an hour? It’d take you twenty-eight minutes to find the hole? Shit, how long’s it been that you’d forgetthat?I haven’t been thinking about much else for the past six months.”

A guffaw. “See how muchyouremember after nearly two years, you little twat.”

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