Chapter 13 Cade #2
Rowan made a small, broken sound behind us.
“He required confirmation,” Zolkos continued, unbothered, “that she was biologically viable for breeding.”
Killian’s teeth bared fully. The air around him vibrated with rage.
“You touched her,” he growled.
“The procedure was conducted by a female researcher. Command authorized it.”
I felt my temper growing thin. “And you think you are taking more?”
“Yes. A significantly larger sample is necessary for ongoing research,” Zolkos said. “Another will also be required as her heat approaches peak.”
"No,” Killian snapped, stepping forward, his voice a promise of violence.
Zolkos finally lifted his gaze to us. “General Green has already approved all necessary procedures. I am informing you out of courtesy. Should I note your resistance in my report?”
"Not touching her. Ours. Mine," Killian roared.
"I do not need to touch her. I am happy to let you both collect the sample from her, as long as you do it in one of our sterile rooms, without contaminating it with any of our own DNA."
Inside, my temper clawed at the edges of my control. The idea of Rowan being touched, examined, or analyzed again made something protective coil tight in my chest. But I couldn't jeopardize her safety by defying a direct order from my father. Not yet.
Zolkos had revealed enough to make it clear the General was the true puppet master behind the curtain, but what he wanted still was uncertain. The explanation about her carrying shifter DNA would mean nothing to him if she never presented or could not be weaponized.
He was not a man of science. He was a man of war.
I signed to Killian. Stand down. We have to let this happen. No one will touch her but us.
No way, Cade. Crane doesn't want to do this. She's scared.
That's your job, brother. Keep her calm. She's strong and will be okay with us. We're going to challenge the General. But it can't be now; it can't be this. Compliance is how we keep her safe and hidden, for now.
Killian growled, but shook his head in begrudging agreement.
"I will authorize the procedure," I said, each syllable clipped and commanding.
"However, in the future, there will be absolutely no unnecessary procedures.
No tests you cannot justify to me directly.
And no one touches her except us. You upset her, frighten her, or lay a hand on her, and I promise you we will have a problem that will not end in your favor. "
I did not break eye contact. I wanted him to feel exactly how thin my patience had become.
His head tilted slightly, his expression unreadable. "Agreed," he said simply. "Let us begin. Follow me."
Rowan shot me a look that said she intended to make this difficult, but followed anyway. She had the good sense to know that it wasn't the time or place to argue.
The doctor led us down the hall into a small room with a padded examination table in the center. There was a counter with a sink and a cabinet, but otherwise the room was bare and smelled strongly of antiseptic.
"You will need to collect larger samples.
I have left three collection containers on the counter and marked where they need to be filled.
Wear gloves. Do not touch her directly with your skin, or it will contaminate the sample and we will need to repeat the process.
There are… tools in the cabinet to assist with the collection.
When you finish, leave the samples on the counter. Do you have questions?"
"No, leave," I told him sharply.
As he passed, my brother released a low, guttural warning growl that echoed through the room. Killian did not like Zolkos, and the aggression rolling off him was impossible to miss.
The moment the door clicked shut, Rowan exhaled a shaky breath. She parted her lips to speak, but I lifted a finger to mine and motioned around the room.
I signed, Be careful what you say. Someone might be listening.
"Cade, I don’t want to do this. Not here. It feels wrong."
"I know. Shh… it’s okay. We’ve got you. Just pretend we’re home and it’s just us. Okay? Can you do that, baby?"
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath and nodding.
"Come here, Little Bird," Killian murmured, tapping the exam table in a gentle command.
She begrudgingly lifted herself onto the table, and with her back turned to me, I signed to my brother, Distract her.
Killian moved without hesitation, tipping his head down and kissing her slowly. Through the bond, I felt her nerves melt. When his big palm slid beneath her shirt, her emotions shifted in a wave, softening into lust. Good. It would make this easier for her.
While her attention was on my brother, I went to the cabinet and opened it, searching for whatever tools Zolkos had mentioned.
The collection containers needed a fair amount of slick, and there was no way that would happen unless Rowan orgasmed several times.
Without touching her directly, that was going to be a challenge.
As her body crept closer to her heat, she needed more and more stimulation just to climax. We all noticed how hungry she had become.
I was grateful my brother distracted Rowan, because the tools Zolkos stocked the cabinet with would have sent her spiraling.
Lining the shelves were several silicone devices, long, thick, and flexible, each one shaped with a pronounced bulge where an alpha’s knot would be.
A small button at the base caught my eye.
When I pressed it, the faux knot vibrated with a low, steady hum.
Every device was massive, with a hollow center that allowed slick to flow through and collect.
The threaded base connected directly to a sample container.
I groaned. If Rowan saw this thing, she would absolutely fight me on it.
Killian made eye contact with me over Rowan’s shoulder as he kissed along her neck. His eyebrows shot up at the size of it.
I signed to him, Don't let her see it, while I prepped the device.
Snapping on a pair of gloves, I grabbed a set for Killian as well.
Using a bottle of clear lubricant, I generously coated the length of the silicone, then screwed one of the collection containers into place.
I lined the remaining containers and lids neatly along the counter so everything would be ready.
I nodded to my brother. He eased Rowan’s pants and underwear down her legs while she panted, too worked up to notice what I was doing. When she turned her head toward me, he shifted her quickly, spinning and pulling her onto his lap as he sat on the table. She ended up straddling him perfectly.
"Open your eyes, Little Bird," Killian murmured. "Look at me. Only me."
She obeyed, pupils blown wide, lips parted as he kissed her again. Her hips rocked instinctively against him, desperate for friction. Her scent sweetened sharply, and the bond shimmered with a rising heat that tightened low in my stomach.
I moved behind her, passing Killian the gloves, which he slid on. My presence must have pulled her partly out of the haze because she stiffened and tried to turn, attempting to see what I was keeping hidden behind my back.
"What is that, Cade?" she demanded, her voice sharp with suspicion.
"Rowan. Just listen to Killian. Turn around and focus on him. We will be quick, and I promise it will feel good."
"Not until you show me what's behind your back, Cade," she said stubbornly, her chin lifting in defiance.
"You do not want to see it," I said, voice low. "I thought we agreed we were going to trust each other."
She narrowed her eyes at me, that familiar spark of attitude flashing hard.
"You pull that ‘trust me’ line every time you’re about to do something I won’t like,” she snapped.
Killian chuckled as he kissed her throat, slow and deliberate. Her breath hitched, and her resolve wavered just enough for me to step closer. Putting a gloved hand on her shoulder, I leaned her forward, so she braced over Killian, who was now lying on the examination table.
"Rowan," I said calmly. "Let us take care of you. You will not like it if you see it. I'm trying to make this easier on you. Don't fight me on this."
She glared at me for a long second, stubborn to the bone… but her body was already melting against Killian, her scent thick with need.
"Fine," she muttered, rolling her eyes dramatically. "But if this sucks, I’m blaming both of you."
"Deal," I said, already positioning myself behind her.
She huffed, still bratty, but didn’t turn around again.
"Good girl."
Killian's gloved hands drifted between her legs, moving in circles against her sensitive bundle of nerves as moans left her lips.
I lined the silicone device up with her entrance and started pushing it in slowly. Her body tensed and then she let out a shaky exhale, signaling her quiet surrender. I paused when it was halfway inside her, but continued when I noticed her grind down on its length.
"Just like that." I reassured her, "You're doing so well, baby."
The combination of being stretched with the silicone device, and Killian rubbing her sensitive bundle of nerves made her orgasm quickly, and within only a few minutes she had already filled two of the containers.
"Almost done, one more to go. Cum for us one more time, Rowan."
She ground herself against the bulge, which I had kept just outside of her entrance.
"I can't, Cade!" she snapped, frustration giving way. "My body won't orgasm again. I need more."
"Okay, I'm going to put this further in. It's wide, like a knot. Tell me if it's too much, okay?"
I pressed the faux knot against her entrance and turned on the vibrations. She responded instantly, choking on a noise that was half moan, half plea. Her words were no longer coherent as the knot entered her, and she orgasmed for the last time, filling the final container with slick.
She sagged in Killian's arms, drained and overstimulated as I carefully removed the device from her body, trying not to hurt her. My brother kissed her temple, wrapping his arms around her.
"You okay, Crane?" he whispered softly to her.
"Yeah, I am… I just… I want to go home," she responded, leaning against him as he stood upright.
When Rowan called the dormitory home, the word landed warm and solid in my chest. Then reality followed close behind it. She had just come out of a situation I could not control, one that proved how exposed she still was within New Arca. The satisfaction faded into something heavier.
Home was supposed to be more than walls and a bed. For an omega, it was a place to nest, to settle comfortably without fear, and to one day raise pups within the safety of a pack. A place where instincts were not a liability.
New Arca could never be that. Not when its rules and surveillance leashed all of us. It was only a matter of time before this place stopped feeling like home. Her safety was fragile and depended on secrets staying buried.
If Command found out, they would take her from our unit.
From the small, fragile sense of belonging she had just started to claim.
There would be no arguing rank or protocol, no quiet favors pulled behind closed doors.
Command would reclassify and reduce Rowan to a clearance level and a file number.
An experiment to be contained and studied.
There would be no freedom after that, no life that was truly her own.
I would not let anyone take that from her.
"Get her dressed and take her back to the dorm," I instructed him. "Fuck the other samples. Just leave, don't talk to anyone else. I'll handle the rest."
Killian nodded, helping her to pull her clothes on gently before cradling her in his arms and whisking her away.
The door clicked shut behind me, and the moment she was out of earshot, the control I had been clinging to all morning thinned into something brittle.
I took a slow breath, steady but sharp, and carried the sealed containers to the counter where Zolkos had instructed us to leave them.
He was already returning, clipboard in hand, expression unreadable as always. He paused in the doorway when he saw only me still there.
"Captain Cade, where is Omega Mills?" he said evenly. "Are the samples complete?"
"The slick samples, yes," I said. "And I hope you got exactly what you needed."
I stepped closer.
"Because she will not be doing that again."
Zolkos blinked once, mechanically processing. "If additional data is required—"
"It will not be," I said, voice dropping low. "You pushed your boundaries today. Do not test them again."
His head tilted, an eerie, almost inhuman curiosity flickering behind his eyes.
"I am following protocol, General Green has instructed—"
I cut him off. "I am following the instructions from General Green," I replied. "But do not mistake compliance for permission. This crossed a line. You will not put her in a situation like that again."
A pause. A flicker of something cold in his expression.
"Noted," he said.
I clenched my jaw to keep from saying what I really wanted to. Not yet. Not here.
I stepped past him, brushing his shoulder just enough to make it clear the conversation was over.
But inside, I was already making my own promises.
Rowan would not be coming back here.
My father would not force my hand again.
And if he tried, if either of them tried.
I would kill them both.
I opened the exam room door and headed down the hall to my omega and brother, leaving Zolkos staring after me in silence.