Page 54 of Rescued By Four Alphas
"Don't be so dumb, Evan, to study the fetus while they're still developing, of course." Hammond watches my reaction with obvious enjoyment. "Their unique genetic structures, their responses to stimuli, their potential for enhancement. Reid believes the key to his research lies in the partially formed bond markers present in fetal tissue."
My vision blurs red. "What about the mothers?"
Hammond shrugs. "Once they've delivered, they're still valuable. Their bodies can be used for breeding more subjects. Reid has developed a procedure to reset an Omega's reproductive cycle. Theoretically, a single Omega could produce multiple experimental subjects per year."
The casual way Hammond describes this horror breaks something loose inside me. Up until now, I've maintained control, focused on extracting information. But the image of Dahlia strapped to a table, our children cut off from her body, and her body used as nothing more than a breeding vessel pissed me off.
I lunge across the table, my hands slipping past the barrier before the guards can react. My fingers close around Hammond's throat, squeezing with all the rage of an Alpha whose mate is threatened.
"You sick fuck," I snarl, tightening my grip.
Hammond laughs even as I choke him, his eyes bulging but still gleaming with delight. "K-killing me w-won't... save her," he wheezes.
Guards rush in, shouting orders I barely hear. Hands grab my shoulders, pulling me back. I resist as much as I can. Every instinct demands that I crush this threat, end this man who speaks so calmly about torturing my mate.
"Mr. Blackthorn! Release the prisoner immediately!" A guard shouts in my ear.
With supreme effort, I loosen my grip. Hammond gasps, coughing as he slumps back. The guards drag me away from the table, pinning my arms behind my back.
"Get him out of here," one of them orders.
"Wait," I snap, straining against their hold. "I need the exact location of the Montana facility."
Hammond rubs his throat, that infuriating smile still on his face despite the red marks my fingers left. "Northwest Montana," he rasps. Near the Canadian border. An old nuclear missile silo complex was decommissioned in the eighties. The government officially sold it to a private agricultural research company, but that's just a front for Reid's operation."
"What are the coordinates?" I demand.
"I don't have them memorized," Hammond admits. "But it's within fifty miles of Kalispell. Reid called it 'Site R.' That's all I know."
The guards start pulling me toward the door.
"One more thing," I call over my shoulder. "How extensive is his security?"
"What do you expect?" Hammond answers. "There will be armed guards, surveillance systems, and biometric access controls. And he has government backing now, so if you go in guns blazing, you'll be facing federal charges. Not that it matters… you'll never get past the outer perimeter."
"We'll see about that," I mutter.
As the guards escort me through the doorway, Hammond calls after me. "I hope Reid lets me watch when they dissect your babies, Blackthorn! I've always wondered if Alpha traits are observable in the second trimester!"
Chapter 16- Dahlia
Iwake with a gasp, my eyes flying open to dazzling brightness that makes my head pound even harder. The light sears, and I squeeze my eyes shut again, a small whimper escaping my lips.
My mouth tastes like I've been sucking on pennies, metallic and vile. I try to move my hand to shield my eyes, but leather straps dig into my wrists when I pull. The same happens when I try to move my legs.
I force my eyes open again, squinting against the harsh fluorescent lights that hang overhead. Slowly, the room comes into focus. White walls. White floor. White ceiling. The sterility of it makes me shiver.
I'm lying on a hospital bed, but this is no regular hospital. The leather restraints holding my limbs aren't standard medicalequipment. An IV line snakes into my left arm, and a clear liquid drips from a bag suspended above me.
I try to take deep breaths, fighting the panic rising in my chest. I need to think. I need to remember how I got here.
Dr. Marianna. The appointment. The ultrasound. My babies. Oh, God. My babies.
"Hello?" I call out, my voice cracking. "Is anyone there?"
Only silence answers me.
I turn my head as much as the restraints allow, to look around the room. Monitors are beeping softly, and some other machines I can't identify, and...
