Chapter 7 #3
Brisk wind and cool darkness allowed his mind to calm.
The conflict surrounding the wolves wasn’t going to resolve overnight.
Hostilities had been brewing for months and more bloodshed was inevitable.
Alex seemed more reasonable than his predecessor.
Still, Patrick didn’t trust him. Alex’s actions tonight proved that he was ruthless and self-serving.
The deeper the eagles were drawn into this conflict, the more Patrick agreed with Raphael.
An alliance with the cats made more sense than interaction with the wolves.
Patrick eased his attention away from politics and a tantalizing image formed within his mind.
Silky blonde hair, vivid blue eyes, and delicate features.
Heather, his mate and sometimes enemy. They had abandoned themselves completely to passion ever since returning to Eagle Village.
He was actively courting her, yet twinges of frustration and pain still intruded from time to time.
He wanted a mate, had spent endless nights in captivity fantasizing about a life with Heather.
But her abrupt departure had torn him apart.
He felt abandoned and betrayed by her apparent desertion.
He now knew that his memories weren’t accurate, but that didn’t make the emotions any less real.
Learning about her sisters and all Heather had risked exposing the abuse at Nuevo Biotech helped Patrick understand her actions.
Holding on to the bitterness wasn’t hurting anyone but himself.
Still, Heather had been the personification of his pain for a very long time.
He wanted to release the past and focus on the future, but that sort of pain took time to heal.
He sent a telepathic ping to the guards as he approached Eagle Village. Everyone was jumpy after the standoff with the wolves.
The lead guard offered him a distracted wave as Patrick flew past. They’re still in Raphael’s cabin, the guard advised.
Understood.
Smoke curled from the chimney of the cabin Raphael shared with his mates and light filtered through the shutters.
Patrick released his shift and came to rest in the yard in front of the cabin.
He hustled up the stairs and knocked firmly on the door.
The night felt significantly colder against bare skin than through the thickness of feathers.
Victor opened the door and Patrick rushed inside.
“Your clothes are right there.” He motioned toward the garments draped over the back of a chair.
Patrick snatched his jeans off the pile and pulled them on.
“Did Zion agree to the meeting?” Gabriel asked as Patrick finished dressing.
Patrick looked at the table where most of the people sat.
Gabriel and Heather faced him. Raphael sat at the head of the table, Claire on his right.
A female Patrick had never seen before sat beside her.
Was she the mystery visitor? She must be.
Patrick knew everybody else. They all seemed relaxed and comfortable as they sipped steaming beverages out of pottery mugs.
The scene was so shockingly domestic that it took Patrick a moment to register Gabriel’s question. “Zion will see you in the morning, but he made it clear that he’s not interested in neutrality. If you’re not ready to commit to the alliance, don’t bother flying down there.”
“After the shit Alex pulled tonight, I have no interest in assisting him.” Gabriel pushed back his chair and crossed his legs. “You don’t spit in the face of your allies. Alex needs to figure that out.”
“I honestly hoped Alex would lead the wolves in a new direction,” Patrick said as he crossed to the table. “Obviously, that’s not going to happen.” He looked at the newcomer, wondering when someone was going to explain who the hell she was and where she’d come from.
“Now that everyone is here,” the stranger said with a tentative smile, “would you like to hear my proposal?”
“Who are you?” Patrick asked. “Did you arrive with the wolves or hike all the way up here from the feline village?”
“My name is Natalie Morgan and I’m an emissary from Earth.”
“She’s responsible for all the spy bots,” Gabriel explained.
“This planet has been targeted as a test site for a variety of correctional facilities,” Natalie said, her tone calm, non-confrontational.
“You want to turn Rydaria into a prison planet?” Victor loitered in the background several steps away from the table.
“Rydaria is already a prison,” Gabriel stressed, his thumb tapping out his anxiety. “Where do you intend to build these facilities?”
They were planning to bring violent criminals to Rydaria? Patrick folded his hands into fists, fighting to keep his claws from extending. As if the wolves weren’t trouble enough.
“There are three targets on Rydaria itself,” Natalie told them. “All three are intended for nonviolent inmates. The maximum-security complexes will be on habitable moons or neighboring planets.”
Patrick didn’t believe her. For all he knew she could work for Nuevo Biotech, and they were frantically working to reestablish their transformation program.
“You said you have a proposal,” Raphael reminded her. “That indicates choice. Are we allowed to reject your offer or are you here to inform us of what you will do with or without our permission?”
“Your concern is justified. You’ve been betrayed at every turn.
My proposal is genuine and it’s simple. I currently have fifty-eight human females on my ship.
They have all agreed to stay on Rydaria for one year and participate in whatever courting rituals your village is utilizing.
These females are highly motivated to find a mate because the alternative is returning to a conventional prison.
There are two stipulations, however. First, the females will be divided evenly between the three villages.
Well, let’s be specific. Two villages will receive nineteen females, and one will receive twenty.
That’s nonnegotiable. And two, all three villages must stop fighting immediately.
” Everyone at the table just stared at Natalie as she finished her explanation.
“Do you have any questions?” She looked around, clearly confused by their stunned reactions.
Patrick sat quietly like the others, unable to decide how he felt. When something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. So he waited for more information before he allowed himself to react.
“I want to see your ship,” Victor said after a long, tense pause. “How do we know any of this is real?”
Damn good idea. Patrick agreed.
Natalie pulled a comm pad out of her pocket and activated the handheld device.
“This is the Azrithal.” The image of a midsize passenger transport was displayed on the screen.
“This is an image of your village from the ship’s primary camera array.
” The second image was harder to decipher.
Irregular clusters of lights were scattered among the shadowy impression of trees, but the area was encircled by a familiar wooden barricade.
“And this is the officers’ mess where the females like to gather.
” The final image displayed a compact room crowded with rectangular tables.
The accompanying chairs were filled with young women.
Some were playing holo-games. Others were just talking, but the scene seemed to support Natalie’s claims.
“That proves nothing,” Raphael insisted. “Those images could be from anywhere.”
Natalie smiled patiently. “Are you always so distrusting?”
“No, I’m the difficult brother,” Gabriel told her. “Raph is the nice one.”
“Well, I would think that my sudden appearance would be proof enough, but this conversation doesn’t mean much if you all think I’m full of shit.” She held up the comm pad again and said, “Please teleport Avery to my location. Wait exactly thirty seconds and then return her to the ship.”
Tension crackled in the air around Patrick as everyone in the room waited for Avery to appear. It didn’t take long. A lovely blonde woman faded into view a few moments later, looking confused and slightly ruffled.
Her dark gaze immediately focused on Natalie and she said, “I thought I was staying on the ship until tomorrow.”
“You are,” Natalie said with a chuckle. “I’m proving a point.”
Avery looked around curiously then waved. “Hello.” That was as far as she got before she was transported back to the ship. And clearly there was a ship.
“Why now?” Raphael wanted to know. “We’ve spent the past four years on Rydaria. Why reveal your supervision now?”
“Judge Cleveland changed the dynamics of this world. Introducing females into the environment altered the paradigm completely. For there to be value in our testing—”
“Stop right there,” Claire cut in. Hostility flashed in her green eyes. “My mates are not test subjects. And neither am I.”
Natalie paused and took a deep breath, then continued with more care. “That was an unfortunate choice of words. Up to this point we have passively observed the three communities on Rydaria. We chose not to interfere because we wanted the situations to be as similar as possible.”
“As similar to the prisons you intend to build in this star system?” Gabriel grumbled. His gaze was nearly as hostile as Claire’s.
Natalie lifted her chin and her tone took on a steely firmness.
“The prisons will be built either way. If you choose to participate in the study—and it is your choice—you will be rewarded in a variety of ways. The first and most impactful reward is the females. The ones currently aboard the ship are the first of many if you assist me.”
Patrick couldn’t get past his this-is-too-damn-good-to-be-true suspicions. “Where did you get these females and what happens if we choose not to participate in the study?”
“The females are volunteers from minimum security facilities,” Natalie admitted.
“They’re criminals?” Claire challenged with a shake of her head.