Page 6 of Designation Prey

“What about his fetishes?” It sounds like a nightmare. The poor bastard.

“Ah. That’s another problem. We don’t even know if he has any. We did a brainwave test to check for his arousal response to various stimuli and it remained flat. He was in such a panicked state that nothing registered. There were a few things that registered as highly negative, but that’s all. It’s in his file. I’ve been seeing him off and on for a few months now. We’ve put him through three diagnostic videos with scenes of male Dominants in just about every fetish and sexual play one can imagine, and the only one he could get through was a Daddy/boy dynamic. He watched it. He didn’t become aroused, but he updated his needs to indicate an interest in aftercare. That was three weeks ago. His father determined he was well enough to return to duty and he was sent back out on training missions.”

Training missions are not real. They’re for Dominants and submissives who are trying to reintegrate back into active duty. “Pseudo or not, how is that not a disaster? A submissive this unstable shouldn’t be out on missions. And no one took advantage of him?”

“Submissive only. He was at Camp Poquete.”

Camp Poquete is a base filled with submissives. It isn’t a prison but Liam thinks it sounds like one. The submissives there are so unstable they can’t be allowed near Dominants.

Correctly interpreting the disgust on Liam’s face, Dr. Chang says, “I agree with you. That’s off the table now. They just shipped him over to me two weeks ago because he collapsed. I thought I had him evened out but I didn't. However, I’ve received word that his father is in an induced coma, which means Daniel is currently under my complete jurisdiction, so I want to act on it while I can.”

“How long would I have with him?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. A week? Two? It depends upon how long it takes General Burrows to recover enough to yank Daniel from us.”

“What about his cycle? Does he have one?” Liam is just close enough to his that he’ll have to take suppressants if they’re drawn to each other. “Mine’s due in a week.”

“You’ll need to check him. I’ve been doing blood tests only, and there’s enough hormonal change that it’s hard to tell. We’ve never been able to get the ultrasound inside him.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I’m under orders that didn’t allow it. No penetration of any kind.”

“That is insane. This is like those countries that don’t allow vaginal examinations because they think it takes away one’s virginity or something,” Liam argues. It’s sad. And enraging.

Submissives need penetration to settle. Hormones released during mating allow a submissive to get rid of stress toxins, leaving them emotionally stable and happy.

“He has only responded to Daddy/boy? Isn’t that too gentle? Perhaps if it was supplemented with humiliation or maybe denial it would be okay. There was a lot of blood in that exam room. Is he self-harming?”

Dr. Chang takes a moment to think about it. “No. Well, I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be intentional. But he is worse every time he comes in—more injured when he gets to us and he waits longer to call. I honestly think that without serious intervention he won’t last another month. But that’s not something anyone wants to hear.”

“Okay. Let’s go see him,” he says, and wonders what exactly he’s getting himself into.

3

The submissive is on his side, facing away from Liam, just a shock of light brown hair and his giant body in a twin-size hospital bed. Well, giant shoulders. Liam has to give it to the government on that one, soldiers come out with the broadest shoulders after being genetically altered. Liam had to go up a shirt size as soon as his transformation was complete.

Liam goes around the bed, wanting to see his face. The scent of blood and misery makes his eyes water as he gets close. There are bandages all along his side and his arm. His skin is pale and smooth, body packed with muscle as all enhanced soldiers are.

“He was in his quarters and he fell on a glass coffee table. He was on his way to medical. I should have sent a team to get him. He told me he could make it, but I should have known better. He pushes himself and is not an accurate self-reporter.”

Who is?

The man is breathing evenly and his eyes are closed, but Liam is almost certain he isn’t asleep. Pretending. Perhaps because he doesn’t feel well, perhaps because he wants to ignore the reality of his situation. Or maybe because he just doesn’t want to have to meet someone at four in the morning.

Liam’s body is already responding to the younger man in the bed. It isn’t a reaction he can help. As a high-level Dominant, he is always going to be aware of a submissive. But when a submissive is clearly in distress and needing, it’s like his body comes alive.

Is Daniel really frightened of Dominants? He’d expect Daniel to open his eyes and look at him if he were afraid.

Daniel is unconscious and pale, almost waxy looking.

“I can’t check him at all?” Liam asks, voice soft. His hand hovers over the submissive’s sheet-covered hip, wanting to touch and comfort him. But he has to remember that Daniel is apparently frightened.

“Well, I was waiting for you to get here before I did anything. One of us will do it. Ideally, he’d wake up and tell us what he’d prefer. Daniel does know me,” Dr. Chang says.

“That’s true,” Liam concedes.

But this is a submissive who should be craving a Dominant’s touch, not preferring a normal human man. This is what Liam’s trained in, what he’s good at. He helps submissives. Comforts them. Trauma is something he’s dealt with frequently. Submissives respond to him. And he’s very careful not to let his personal preferences get in the way of doing his job.

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