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She had been sired by a monster. A creature so evil, so immoral, that even she couldn’t make sense of it.
Breeds were animals, he always said. Creations. They had no souls and therefore they felt nothing but topical pain. They were weapons, tools, and as such had no rights, not even that of a peaceful death.
“However you define it. ” Ely shrugged. “It took an incredible amount of courage. And we thank you for it. ”
And that made Scheme highly uncomfortable. They were thanking her for what? For the Breeds that had died because she wasn’t fast enough, smart enough or deceptive enough to save them? She didn’t need thanks for what she had done, because there was much much more that she had been unable to do.
But rather than arguing the point, she only nodded tightly before moving behind the privacy screens to remove the hospital gown and dress. She pulled on the light gray sweats emblazoned with Breeds Rule across the front of the shirt and pushed the sleeves up on her arm impatiently.
Rather than focusing on Cyrus Tallant and what she couldn’t change, Scheme chose to focus instead on the irritation rising inside her. She began with the clothes Tanner had brought in for her. If she didn’t focus on something mundane, then she would lose the last shreds of her control over the worry and fear that somehow she was going to fail in saving David Lyons, just as she had failed in saving her own child.
So she thought about the sweats. Something she never, ever wore. She hated scratchy materials. Sweats were just scratchy. She pulled the ultra-soft velvety socks over her feet and hoped she could find some decent clothes today.
Soft materials soothed her. They caressed her with comfort. They endured and gave her joy.
“I want to go shopping. ” She stepped from the curtained area and faced Tanner and Cabal. “I need clothes. ”
Ely’s gaze raked over her as she stepped from behind the screen. “The sweats look fine. ”
“The sweats don’t feel fine. ” She pulled at the snug, scratchy material. “I need something soft. Where are my clothes?” She looked at Tanner.
He grimaced. “Cabal didn’t bring them. ”
Cabal wiped his hand down his face, obviously hiding a smile as he glanced away from her.
She leveled a dark look on Cabal.
“My little striped kitty,” she crooned. “You are dead meat. ”
His brow arched.
She wasn’t comfortable with Cabal playing her mate as well, but as long as he was, she could at least have some fun with it. Her chances at light entertainment were rapidly dwindling.
She caught Ely’s surprised look. “You haven’t seen the stripes?” She opened her eyes wide. Obviously, Ely hadn’t seen Cabal without his shirt on. “They’re amazingly erotic. ”
And if she wasn’t mistaken, the lightest of blushes was tinting Cabal’s cheeks. Interesting. After all it was reported he and Tanner had done with their women, he could still blush.
“I’ve seen the stripes,” Ely sighed. “I just hoped Jonas was wrong and these two hellions hadn’t mated the same woman. Sharing is all well and good, but this just takes it to the extreme. ”
“You seem disapproving, Ely. ” Scheme frowned. “This mating heat stuff is biological, right? It’s not like they could help it. Or can they?” She gave both men a suspicious gaze, though her gaze lingered longest on Tanner and promised the most retribution.
“The Breeds have no control over the mating heat, Scheme,” Ely agreed as she crossed her arms over the front of her white lab coat and watched the three of them with a frown. “This was just something I had hoped wouldn’t happen. Especially in light of the fact that I knew neither of them would allow me to examine them, or to take their blood. ”
Cabal’s expression became closed, Tanner’s resigned.
Now, this was interesting. “Why?” she asked both of them.
“I don’t like needles. ” They both answered at the same time. A very well-rehearsed answer.
“Hmm,” she murmured disbelievingly. “You can explain that one in the room. While I’m ordering my clothes. ”
If she was going to take the chance of dying by an assassin’s hand, she was going to do it in silk, not in scratchy sweats. A person needed a little style, even in death.
“Ely, I hope you don’t need to do this again,” Tanner remarked as Scheme headed for the door. His voice didn’t sound comforting.
“One week,” Ely announced. “But by then, it will be easier for her.
Tanner grimaced. “It better be. ”
