Page 2 of Designation Prey

He can feel Logan looking at him, shocked at his display of disobedience.

“Your brother Aaron will be the head of this family. You two are meant for the military. I will not be shamed by you, Daniel. If you don’t have the courage to do your duty?—”

“He does. Of course he does,” Logan cuts in, getting to his feet.

“First thing tomorrow, then,” their father says before he strides from the room. Their time is up. His father is a busy man, probably has to talk to someone from the Department of Defense or Homeland Security. Someone more important than his two sons.

Daniel stays seated, stunned at Logan’s betrayal, the destiny that is yawning open in front of him.

“You’ve fucked me. Do you understand? I don’t want to do it. You shouldn’t want to do it! It isn’t going to go well. I can feel it. This is a mistake. And do you know what we will get for this sacrifice? Nothing. He won’t love us more. He won’t give us approval. I can’t believe you,” he whispers. His brother’s betrayal is the worst part. His father has always been an asshole. Of course he doesn’t give a shit what Daniel wants. However, Logan is not just blood but his best friend in all the world.

He hadn’t expected this from his brother.

“Daniel. You’ve heard the odds. What can we do? Do you want to be disowned? Disinherited? You know he’ll turn his back on us for dishonoring the family name if we say no.”

I’ll walk away if you will.That’s what Daniel wants to say. Because Logan is his twin. If they walk away together, then Daniel can survive anything. But what if Logan says no? He can’t stand the possibility of such a rejection.

For all his life, he’s had one person on his side. What if Logan doesn’t choose him?

“We’re still his sons. He couldn’t stand to have submissive sons. He says the odds are good and I believe him,” Logan continues. “We’ll have the best doctors. He’ll make sure of it. He’ll use his connections and we’ll be fine.”

“That man has never given us special treatment. Why the hell would he start now?”

“Because he doesn’t want to have submissive sons. His pride won’t allow it.”

Daniel wants to howl and throw something. Run away. What if he just walked out and never came back? Got a job at a fast-food place or bussing tables? Anything. He looks at his twin and the look of determination on his face.Seeing the mask covering up the fear on Logan’s face that he also feels is enough for Daniel to make his decision. How could he let his brother undergo such a thing on his own?

He sighs heavily. “Shit. I guess there’s no other choice,” Daniel says, voice rough. “You’ve both decided.”

Logan sighs as well and sits back down in the chair. “If you want to leave, I’ll support you.”

“But you won’t go with me?”

“I can’t,” he admits, wincing. “And hell, my odds are worse than yours.” Logan manages an insincere chuckle at the end.

Daniel leans forward, waiting until Logan is looking him in the eyes. “Aren’t you worried that we won’t be ourselves anymore? How can they change so much of us and say we’re the same? Do you want to suck dick, or get fucked? Because I don’t. But apparently, we’re going to be okay with it when this is all over. I’ll have the urge to fight or get on my knees, I’ll be drawn to men and need things that….” His breath stalls in his chest. It’s impossible to say. To even think. “How could we want those things? What if we don’t even want them, but do them anyway? I don’t understand why we’re letting it happen. Are you really not afraid? Not fucking terrified?”

The problem is they’re brothers. They’ve been best friends their entire lives. Daniel knows Logan better than he knows himself, and if Logan is going to go through with this, then somehow, Daniel is too.

“No, I’m not worried. And you shouldn’t be either,” Logan says, and Daniel knows he’s fucking lying.

For some damn reason that makes it easy. Everyone is scared and they do it anyway. Surely his great-grandfather who fought in World War One was terrified to leave the trenches and go over the top, but he did it anyway. His grandfather was on Normandy Beach and raced out of the water while his brothers were gunned down around him. The seas were red with blood and those men still got out of their boats and did what they had to do.

This is easy by comparison. All Daniel has to do is walk through a door and lie down. When he wakes up it will be over, and he will be a hero. The odds are he’ll be Dominant. If he has urges to be with men, if he “needs” that, then so be it. There will be benefits which outweigh that possible side effect.

All he has to do is have faith. And maybe his father will finally be proud of him.

1

Three Years Later

Daniel wakes up nauseous in the middle of the night and barely makes it to the bathroom to throw up nothing but bile. He forgot to eat. Again. He calls medical like he’s been ordered to and gets patched through to Dr. Chang, the doctor who’s been put in charge of his case. He’s probably sick of hearing from Daniel. Lord knows Daniel’s damn sick of calling him.

“Daniel, what’s wrong?” he asks, trying to sound awake.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I think I’m dropping again.” That’s an understatement. He feels terrible. He’s shaky and his ears are ringing. He shivers. Oh good, he also has the chills. Which means he probably has a fever, too. It just doesn’t seem fair to feel like he’s freezing to death while burning up from the inside out.

“Okay. Can you get to medical or should we send transport?”

---