Dex opened his mouth for another smartass remark when a huge Therian in black tactical uniform appeared from somewhere behind Dex, walked past him, and wheeled over a strange-looking machine with dozens of thin long wires attached to small pads.
“What are you doing?” Dex demanded, watching in horror as the guy moved the machine to Sloane. “Get the fuck away from him!”
The lion Therian leaned over and tore Sloane’s dress shirt open, the buttons popping and pinging as they hit the floor and the aluminum walls. He tore at Sloane’s white undershirt and rolled up Sloane’s sleeves before he began taking the pads one by one, removing the backing, and sticking them all over Sloane, at his temples, his arms, his chest. Dex fought fiercely against the chains holding him, screaming as the Therian flicked switches, then pressed a red button.
Electricity crackled, and the lights flickered. A guttural cry shook Dex to his core just as a jolt of pain sparked through him. He gasped, his back arching and tears filling his eyes. No. Please God. No, no, no. Another jolt was accompanied by a scream that had Dex crying out. The lights flickered once again, and another surge of high voltage shocked his system. His body trembled involuntarily as Winters held up a hand.
Sloane’s chest heaved with panting breaths, his eyes wide as he struggled to figure out what the hell was going on. He turned his head, the heartbreak on his face tearing at Dex’s insides. “Dex….”
“You son of a bitch!” Angry tears welled in Dex’s eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to tear Winters apart. The man had listened to Dex pour his heart out. He’d given Dex advice on dealing with the heartache he’d faced over the years, and now he stood there as if none of it had happened? It had all been a lie. The sympathy, the gentleness, the kindness had all been bullshit. A façade to hide the disturbing truth.
Sweat dripped down Sloane’s face, and Dex could tell his soon-to-be-husband—because screw these assholes, they were getting out of here and getting married—was trying hard to keep it together. The lion Therian reached for the red button again.
“No! Back the fuck off!” Dex jerked at the chain to no avail. Sharp pain shot through his arms and wrists. “Don’t you fucking touch him!”
The guy pressed the button, and Dex’s scream joined Sloane’s as the current surged through Sloane. Dex’s body convulsed, and Winters hovered near Dex.
“Fascinating. Make a note that the hybrid feels his mate’s pain.”
The hybrid.
Another jolt, and Dex gritted his teeth against the nauseating agony. His insides felt like they were on fire, the smell of burning flesh stung his nostrils, and he almost gagged. He struggled to draw in air, his muscles straining as if being torn from his bones. Whatever suffering Dex was experiencing, it was far worse for Sloane, who was receiving the shocks directly. As bonded mates, they felt each other’s pain if it was significant enough, and holy fuck was this significant. Dex had never, ever felt anything like this. Not even when he’d been tortured by Wolf. He turned his head to look at Sloane, a lump forming in his throat at the tear that escaped Sloane’s beautiful amber eyes. His chest rose and fell in rapid pants, and his body shook so badly the chair rattled.
“Baby,” Dex pleaded. “Stay with me.”
Sloane nodded. “I… love… you.”
“Disgusting,” Winters said with a sneer. “Do you know how painful it was to watch you two? Every time I thought one of you was going to do the right thing and walk away, you didn’t. Then I had to listen to you both babbling on about each other and your unholy affections.” Winters nodded at his companion. “Hit him again.”
“No!” Dex jerked at his restraints over and over, putting all his strength into the movements, but nothing budged. “I’m going to tear you motherfuckers apart!”
“You won’t.” Winters pointed up to the chain securing Dex to the ceiling. “No zip ties this time. You won’t be getting out of that.”
“Why?”
Winters put a hand up to pause the next shock, and Dex didn’t dare show his relief.
“Why?” Winters leaned in, repulsion and hatred burning in his eyes. “Because you’re an abomination. It wasn’t enough to copulate with one of our kind, but to be marked, bonded, and then have the audacity to steal DNA from him? How dare you try to be like us.” He punched Dex in the gut, and Dex gasped. He coughed and wheezed as the breath left his lungs. His body swung, and Dex gritted his teeth against the jolt to his shoulders.
Winters smoothed a hand over his hair, calm as can be. He nodded, and another bolt of lightning crackled through Dex’s body. He shut his eyes tight to Sloane’s scream, his heart beating in his ears. Sweat dripped down Dex’s face, blood trickled from his nose, and he shivered violently. The lights in the room flickered, or it could have been his vision. They had to find a way out of this. Sloane wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.
“We can’t allow Sloane to live and infect another Human. Once he’s dead and you’re left a bereaved, weak mess of a thing, we’re going to take you apart piece by piece. Then we’ll use what we’ve learned from your tainted carcass to destroy every other abomination out there.”
Sparks had been right. There were more like him. The shock must have shown on his face, because Winters laughed.
“Did you think you were the only one of your kind? My, but we have quite the ego. There are more out there, hiding, foolishly believing we won’t find them. We found those that came before you. We’ll find the rest of the mistakes.”
Mistakes.
As if reading his thoughts, Winters shrugged. “That’s what you are. Nothing more than a mistake. A freak of nature.”
“Kind of hypocritical, don’t you think? Calling me an abomination, a freak of nature, a mistake. Everything you’ve been called since the virus made you.”
“Only the Pre-First Gens were made. The time will come for them to be exterminated as well, leaving only the pure to inherit the earth.” Winters strolled over to Sloane and petted his head. He let out a heavy sigh. “It’s a shame we have to destroy him. I always admired him. Never understood his attraction to Humans, but that could have easily been remedied. He’d have made a fine soldier. If it weren’t for the anomalies in his blood, we could have used him. We need strong Therian specimens like Sloane to help us create a better world, a world run by Therians. Those Humans who don’t fall in line will know what it’s like to live in zoos. To live in fear, hiding in crumbling hovels like Greenpoint, fighting for scraps of food like savage beasts.” Winters ran his finger absently over the classification tattoo on Sloane’s neck. “We’ll see how Humans like being branded.”
“Why would you kill Therians? You’re a Pre-First Gen.” The guy was older than Sloane. That made him a Pre-First Gen. Dex understood Winters’s hatred for Humans, and he’d never agreed with the marking. Hell, he’d lost his shit the day they marked Cael. The Human race, and the world’s governments, had a lot to answer for where Therians were concerned, but what the Makhai wanted to do was insane, and it sure as hell didn’t explain the genocide they had planned for their own race.
“Pre-First Gens aren’t pure Therians. They’re diseased, sickly remnants of our Therian origins. As for me and my associates, someone needs to oversee the new world.”