Page 16 of Forced to Mate By the Mad Scientist

“Every night one of us has to go service one of the treetures. Barbie mixes and matches us, hoping that one of us will getpregnant by his plant-based monstrosities. So far two of us have but both times we miscarried.”

“It happened to me,” Lorna said in a small voice. “The thing in me…it didn’t look humanoid atall. It was just a ball of bloody roots!”

Sylvie had been about to force herself to take another bite of the protein mush but she put her spoon back down in her bowl and winced.

“I’m so sorry—that’shorrible.”

“He keeps tweaking their DNA, trying to make changes so they can get us pregnant,” Shredda whispered. “He wants a plant-humanoid baby he can experiment on.”

“That’s why he went out of his way to captureme,” Clemina spoke up for the first time, sounding more subdued than usual. “My people already have plant DNA in us,” she added, nodding at the tiny clusters of flowers growing from her knees. “But I don’t think I’m compatible with the treetures at all—my people’s heritage has been millennia in the making. His tree-men are artificially constructed—the two of us just don’t mix.” She sighed unhappily. “But that doesn’t stop him from trying.”

“I think he’s onto something new lately,” Hersha said darkly. “Maybe something even worse. I heard him saying something about a ‘personalized aphrodisiac’ last time he had me in the lab room. Something that would make a woman ‘unable to resist a male’s advances.’”

Sylvie couldn’t think of many things worse than being raped by a tree-man in order to make a half-plant/half-humanoid baby but there were other things she was worried about.

“What…what do you think he’ll do to Kross? To my protector?” she asked in a small voice. She’d told the other women about Kross and how the two of them had both been captured, but that the big Kindred had been dragged away to a separate room.

“Dunno.” Hersha shrugged.

“I hate to make you feel bad, but Barbarous killed Grolla’s fiancé,” Lorna said apologetically. “He said he had ‘no use for male specimens.’ Whatever that means.”

Sylvie felt her stomach clench. Surely the mad scientist wouldn’t just kill Kross out of hand, would he? Then she remembered what Barbarous had said.

“Wait—but he told his two uh, tree-men to lock Kross in the ‘new specimen room,’” she said. “He said he wanted to start working on him immediately.”

“Huh—well then, at least he’s probably still alive,” Hersha said. “Though I wouldn’t want to guess what’s happening to him.”

Sylvie wanted to cry.

“This is all my fault,” she whispered. Looking down, she stirred her protein mush aimlessly with her spoon. “I’m the one who insisted on coming to this horrible planet to look for thetangelinevine! Kross tried to warn me it was dangerous but I wouldn’t listen to him! If he is still alive, he probably hates me right now and I don’t blame him!”

“Oh now, you can’t—” Lorna began but just then the door to their prison opened once more.

There was a collective gasp and all the women shrank away as Manlow shouldered his way into the small, dim tree trunk room.

“You.” he pointed one stick-like finger at Lorna. “Come.”

“Me?” the goat-woman shrank back against the wall. “Please, no—it’s not even my turn!”

“You come now!” Manlow insisted. Charging forward, he gripped her by the arm and dragged her out the door.

The last thing Sylvie heard before it slammed shut was the sound of the other woman crying pitifully. The sound made her heart ache and her stomach clench.

Oh God, what was she going to do? How could she possibly get out of here?

10

KROSS

Kross didn’t eat the fucking mush they gave him. It tasted as bland as paper and he couldn’t stomach it—not when he was so worried about Sylvia. Several more times he’d tried getting through the pain barrier, but it was no use. He finally had to admit to himself that he was exhausting and hurting himself for no reason. There was just no way to get past it—not without passing out from the pain.

Shortly after his last attempt, a hole appeared in the wall of his jail and a round silver droid floated into the room. It ordered Kross to extend his arm for “specimen collection.”

In answer, Kross kicked the fucking thing as hard as he could. It ricocheted off the wall, making a mechanical wailing sound like a siren. At once, the screen on the far wall turned on and Barbarous appeared, frowning.

“I suggest you cease abusing my droid and allow it to take your blood and any other specimens it asks for,” he said, glowering at Kross.

“Like hell I will, you fucker!” Kross growled. “You can have my blood when you tie me down and take it!”

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