AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why not? Change the focus of her learning schedule, prime her with the hormones, and she could be ready for impregnation by her early teens. We’ve considered linebreeding in the past, and if there was ever a specimen to test my theory on, she’s it. Look at her. She’ll breed stock with looks that could access any military or political platform.”
“Where are you taking her intelligence into consideration? Your theory is that the male donor contributes the majority of the genetic data required for growth on all levels, and that the bond between father and child can be cultivated into something more. All you see when you look at her is blonde hair, green eyes, and a pretty, generic smile. There is no drive to learn, Dom, no razor-sharp intelligence to pass on down the line. Breeding back to her…it’s too risky, and the results would be a waste of time and resources, just like she is.”
“Rita, there’s nothing wrong with her, she’s just—”
“Innocent. The little bitch is innocent and no matter what we do to break it, to destroy her down to a level where we can rebuild her in our image, she maintains that innocence. If you want to fuck her so badly, get it over with. Take her out of here, out of my goddamn sight so I can work, and do whatever you want to her. Just make sure she’s fucking dead before she leaves this house.”
The memory faded, the conversation dying down to mumbles as it slipped away.
Caera pressed her fingers to her eyes and sucked in a nauseous breath. She still couldn’t see faces in the flashbacks, she could only hear the derision in the woman’s voice, the unspoken hatred for a child that Caera couldn’t understand.
What woman in her right mind actively encouraged a man—her husband, who just happened to be said child’s father—to engage in a sexual relationship with his distressingly underage daughter?
It was becoming increasingly evident that her family tree was poisoned from the roots up, spreading its toxicity throughout the roots and the branches, leaving very few unscathed.
Incest and breeding, for the love of God.
Rebuilding in their image.
It was pure insanity.
Someone picked her up and cradled her against a big, strong chest. Not Saul—the feel, the smell, the aura was all wrong. Blinking back tears, Caera peered up into Thane’s somber face, watching his lips move as he spoke without words. Then her gaze slipped across to Jasper.
“Did they fuck you, too?” she blurted.
“No. They just used me as the weapon to inflict pain on others, and for the intel they could gather.” He tilted his head. “What did you remember?
“I think she wanted me dead, regardless of whether I was a reject or not, and she was sick enough to relish the idea of me dying in a world of hurt. She wanted me dead,” Caera repeated numbly. “He was…the guy…they…”
Jasper rose, walking across to lift her off Thane’s lap. “Go wake Saul.”
“It’s bad?”
“It’s going to be,” Jasper said grimly, carrying Caera back to the armchair as Thane pushed himself to standing and hobbled away. “Okay, Caera. This is the time to spit it out, as much as you can remember. Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed—that burden falls on them, not you.”
“She’s insane,” she whispered. “The woman, she’s…there’s something wrong with her.”
“Rita. The bitch has a name, darling. The more you use it, the less power she’ll hold over you. But yes, she’s as insane as Dominic, probably more in some respects.”
Caera studied his face. “How are you okay?”
“I wasn’t, not for a long time. I found ways of dealing with the memories, and coping with what I was taught to do from a young age, but I wasn’t okay. It was more like subsisting on a pathetic level. The lifestyle helped, sadism certainly gave me an outlet, but more because it was coded into me from a very young age. And then Anarchy came along and decimated everything I thought I knew about myself.” His eyes warmed, his lips curving. “She is…well, she lives up to her name sometimes. She brings her own brand of chaos and that chaos settles the dark parts of me. When she submits, she willingly hands control over to the half of me who craves it. When she laughs, she is my light. Archie’s the reason I’m okay, Caera.”
“Did they…did they want to breed you, too?”
“Yeah, that was on the cards. When I was younger, before I ran away from that hellhole, they drugged me and forced me to have sex with a girl. A sweet, harmless girl whose only crime was trying to be friends with me when interaction with others wasn’t allowed.” The warmth in his eyes slowly chilled back to that cold, cold blue. “Earlier this year, Dominic sent two of my—our—half-brothers to kidnap me and Anarchy so he could use us in his breeding program. The brothers died in their attempt, and Dominic and Rita fled the country, using decoys to throw us off their scent.”
“He—Dominic,” she said quietly, implementing Jasper’s advice, “wanted to keep me around even though I was a dud. At least until I was old enough to pump full of hormones so he could impregnate me. Linebreeding, he called it. Rita was angry, inferring that I was stupid, and that breeding from me would go against what they were trying to achieve. She said that if fucking me was what he wanted, to take me elsewhere and do what he liked to me, as long as I was dead before I left the house.”
“Yes, that’s my mother. Cold, calloused, and an absolute cunt,” Jasper muttered bitterly. “Do not let her get into your head, Caera. She will undermine everything you desire out of spite. Her world revolves around science and potions, drugging innocent children without thought for their health or wellbeing. There’s nothing and no one she cares about, except for herself and her work.”
Twisting her fingers together, Caera dropped her gaze. “I was going to kill myself.”
“So I understand. Fucking stupid idea, if you ask me.”
His tone was so nonchalant, she couldn’t make sense of it. “You’re not angry?”
Jasper snorted and covered her hands with one of his. “It’s easy to be angry when you haven’t stood on that ledge looking down at death and weighing up what strength you’ve got left to make it through the next day. Suicide is complex, Caera. For everyone who reaches that point of despair, their journey is different to the person standing next to them, contemplating that same leap. Some jump, some don’t. Some find their way home on that winding path and live a happy life. Others…well, life takes too heavy a toll on them.”
