Beast's Beauty: A Xeno Sapiens Novel (Genetically Altered Humans Book 4) Page 14

“But…they said they had her…”

  “We recovered Elsa Marlow a little less than a week ago. They’ve been lying to you.”

  Heather’s mouth dropped. “You knew? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “How could we trust you?” Renegade snapped. “Why didn’t you tell us what was going on? You signed a clause in your contract that was thoroughly explained to each and every human employee. You are to come to us with any threat against a Xeno Sapien.”

  Heather’s face turned white.

  Beast’s claws tightened in distress and the humans in his hold began to struggle before he released the tension slightly. He spoke for her. “She tried not to get Sunny involved. She wanted me because she was sure I’d be able to defeat my imprisonment.”

  “It doesn’t negate the fact that she poisoned you and willingly brought you here,” Pax said mildly.

  “Please,” Heather sobbed. “My grandmother is old—”

  “Your grandmother was half dead when we rescued her!” Renegade snarled. “She would have been dead by now. You would never have seen her again!”

  “I’m sorry. I am. Where is she?”

  “A better question would be: Where are you headed?” He nodded to one of the humans, who came up behind Heather and handcuffed her wrists together. She sobbed softly as she was taken into custody.

  The same human looked warily at Beast holding the two humans.

  “Uh…what about…” He didn’t finish the question. “We don’t have the immunity here we would on Xenia.”

  “No problem,” Beast said, pretending to misunderstand. “I didn’t want to haul them back anyway.” He squeezed his claws together, snapped his wrists, and the bodies released with a snap, the heads popping off and hitting in the floor in slow motion. The bodies jerked in shock, standing upright before they toppled over. Once they hit the ground, the temporarily sealed necks re-opened, and blood spurted in shots from the jugular.

  The men around them stepped back from the shooting squirts.

  Sam sighed. “I imagine Jason would command an Op Eight. Those are getting pretty common. We’ll take the challenge.”

  Renegade nodded.

  “I don’t know how he does that without getting a speck of blood on himself,” Pax said with a grin, reaching for Beast’s claw and studying the palm intently.

  “I think I have a speck. Let me wipe it.” Beast wrapped his arm around Pax’s neck and used his knuckle to lightly give him a noogy as he pretended to wipe it.

  Heather’s eyes bulged as she took in the surreal scene. It would have seemed comical, had he been in her position. They’d just murdered without hesitation, and everyone was okay with it. Because Beast knew no matter what, the humans on their side had his back. Immunity or not, they would do what was fair and just. Unlike her relatives who would just murder violently.

  But did she really think those humans weren’t going to do the same to him once she’d handed him over? Did she think they were going to let her go, knowing she was a witness and accomplice? She’d traded in one set of monsters for another. She was quiet as she stood in handcuffs with the humans, probably in a mild state of shock.

  Jason was gentle as he led her away.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sunny was waiting for him on the front porch. It was wonderful to have someone to come home to each day.

  “How was patrol on the gate today, beautiful?” he asked her. “I never did ask you how it went.”

  “Your hair!” She gasped, staring at him. “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “I needed a haircut.”

  “Beast!” she warned.

  He gave her the cocky grin she was used to, leaning down so she could run her fingers through the stubble.

  “It’s so dark like this,” she said. “It barely looks like you.”

  “It’s me, beautiful. I swear.”

  “What happened?”

  “Heather mistakenly thought it would make me weak. She was wrong.”

  “Why didn’t you stop it?”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to see how far she would go. I thought that would make up my mind as to her guilt.”

  “Did it?”

  “No. She cried the whole time she cut my hair, and now I’m back to feeling sorry for her.” He laughed. “Now, you forgot to tell me about your day.”

  “We had more important things going on than my day,” she laughed. “It’s not every day my mate comes home with a haircut! But the day was great. I hardly thought about the last time I patrolled and roasted a man. I was with Tempest the whole time, and I swear Shawn hardly took his eyes off her. And you know what? She feels the same way.”

  Beast snorted. “We all know that.”

  “Yes, but she’s admitting it,” Sunny said, rolling her eyes. “She called him by his name once. That’s huge for her.”

  “Not sure what he sees in the shrew,” Beast said.

  “Beast!” Sunny’s voice was tinged with laughter, instead of chiding. He pulled her into his arms, sitting down on the porch with his beautiful mate on his lap.

  “I love you,” he whispered. “I always have, and I always will.”

  “I love you just as much.” She squeezed her arms, wrapped around his midsection. Her ear was pressed against his chest, her delectable ass in his lap. “What will happen to Heather?”

  He shrugged. “The trial is delayed for a couple weeks. Mostly, to give her grandmother a chance to recover. But there is also another problem.”

  Sunny groaned. “Why? Why can’t things just go to normal?”

  “I know.” He soothed her with a huge hand rubbing over her back.

  “What’s going on now?”

  “Brax and Jett are so distressed over this, they’ve gone into a…phase, I guess you could say. They created giant, human-shaped cocoons and have immersed themselves. No one knows how long they’ll be hibernating.”

  This was the first time the twins had ever done this. It was worrisome to wonder why or how long it would take, or what the ramifications would be. He knew Sunny was especially sensitive since her own power had manifested after they left the island.

  “I hate that our records were destroyed. Robyn could uncover so much about our individual species if she had more to go on,” Sunny said.

  “Yes, but those same records could have been used to hurt us by the laboratories that created us.”

  “I know. She did the right thing. I just wish we were able to know more about ourselves instead of figuring it all out the hard way. I mean, who knew you’d be the only person in the world immune to me? None of this would have happened if we’d still been together, like we were on the island.”

  “We sorted through it. Xeno Sapiens are resilient that way. Jett and Brax will sort through theirs and they’ll figure this out with Heather.”

  “If they don’t?”

  “Then Heather will serve out her debt to society, and hopefully she’ll become a better person. Maybe someday, she’ll find someone to love.”

  “What if she’s sentenced to death?”

  “If it’s for the greater good of all, we have to go with that.”

  His mate was silent for a moment. “It makes me sick to think of that outcome.”

  “I know, baby.” Truly, he didn’t want to see Heather’s death either. But all they could do was hope things worked out for the best.

  “Where are Jett and Brax?”

  “We moved the cocoons to one of their rest areas. One with an overhang for comfort against the elements. We would have moved them to their den, but the cocoons are filled with a strange gel-like goo, and we weren’t sure how much of a mess it would make when they finally emerged.”

  “Can we go make sure they’re all right? Every day?”

  Beast sensed she needed this. She hadn’t been able to take care of Heather, but she could watch over the lizardy twins.

  “Come on,” he rumbled. He clasped her smaller hand in his as they wandered through the darkened forest. A piercing twe
et cut the air from the trees as a bird overhead startled from the leaves.

  He led the way, cutting through a different path in the trees, going east instead of the direction toward the main hub. After a while, they turned the corner to find one of the newer retreats. This one was a gazebo constructed from four trees, with branches making the top covering. The full moon bathed the area in a silvery light, giving the structure a surreal, fairy-tale look.

  “Do you remember the story Robyn told us of the children’s fairy tale?” Sunny stared, awe-struck.

  “Sleeping Beauty,” Beast rumbled.

  “It reminds me of that.”

  “Technically it could be Snow White. She was asleep in the forest, too. Actually, all those children’s tales are rather similar. I shall change them up a bit when I re-tell them to Kaden. Maybe make the human females rather ugly—perhaps big noses—and the princes will be all extremely gorgeous Xeno Sapien males.”

  Sunny snorted. “Don’t you dare! We want Kaden to grow up to be romantic like one of the princes in the tales.”

  “But we males want him to grow up to be tough. So we have to amend the stories just a bit.” He grinned down at her.

  They approached the gazebo, walking up the front step into the round containment. The brothers had constructed curved benches all around the sides, but in the center of it—on the floor—lay their cocoons, side by side.

  “Even in hibernation, they’re together,” Sunny said, sitting on the bench. “I wonder if Heather would have understood their need to be connected? Their need to share everything?”

  “I think she would have understood. She didn’t have a conventional upbringing. Robyn told me her coloring made her stand out like a sore thumb. Yet that coloring was lucky. When she was placed in the orphanage, no one wanted her because of her ugliness. The government was forced to find her relative, Elsa.”

  “I don’t think she’s ugly. I think she’s beautiful.”

  “So do I. So do the twins.”

  “You really think they’re all right in there?”

  He nodded. “We check them. Go ahead if you want. Peel back some of the cocoon. It will re-join itself.”

  She chose a location where she assumed a head would be, rapping on the hardened shell to hear how thick it was. Beast reached down and used a sharp claw to score a round area, and then when she rapped against it again, it cracked easily. She lifted it away.

  Thick, creamy goo covered the man’s face, even filling his nose. She wiped some of it off his eye. The gel had a surprisingly fresh, clean smell.

  “How strange,” she murmured. She wiped more from his forehead. “It’s Brax,” she said. “How do they breathe?” The gel covered his nostrils thickly. No air bubbles erupted from it.

  “As far as we can tell, they are not,” Beast said. “Yet their hearts beat. They still live, according to Amanda.”

  “They’re bodies haven’t changed, like one of those creatures that turn into butterflies?”

  Now it was Beast’s turn to snort. “No. And I don’t think either brother would appreciate you waiting for them to turn into a butterfly.”

  “He looks peaceful.”

  “They do,” he agreed. “I believe it’s healing their minds—this cocoon. They must have felt intense rage at the situation being beyond their control.”

  “So if things don’t go well with Heather and they believe her to be innocent, we could go through this again.”

  “Let’s hope it is as mild as this,” Beast said. “Who knows what could manifest the second time? Perhaps their bodies will change. Who knows?”

  Beast placed the piece of shell back over Brax’s face, fitting it perfectly over the cut-out area. Gel protruded from the edges, making it appear as if they sealed like glue. Sunny cuddled with him as they watched the gel slowly dry and harden the cocoon around Brax’s face.

  “We’ll come to visit with them every day? I’m sure they can hear our voices and know we’re here.”

  “I’m sure,” he agreed, knowing her need to take care of others.

  “I’m going to see if I can visit Heather, too. Get some of her story out of her. We can talk about what I find here in the gazebo, where Jett and Brax can hear what’s happening.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Beast rumbled, kissing the top of her sweet-smelling hair.

  “Hear that, guys?” she asked the cocoons. “Tomorrow we’re going to work. After work, I’ll visit Heather’s cell. After we have dinner, we’ll come back out here each night and inform you of all conversations.”

  Silence met her words, but of course they didn’t expect anything else.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sunny went to work the next morning, kissing Beast at the gate for long enough moments that it made all of the security team members groan as they waited impatiently.

  “You’ll be separated until lunch. Not until the end of time,” Shawn said, finally pulling him away.

  Beast winked at Sunny as he called out. “See you tonight, beautiful.”

  She would have liked to have had lunch with him later, but they’d agreed to Sunny bringing lunch to Heather. She nearly dreaded the visit, wondering how Heather was holding up.

  Heading to the mess hall, she fixed two plates, covered them carefully with foil wrap, and headed toward the prison facilities. As they didn’t have any other female prisoners, Heather was allowed to live in the lounge quarters instead of a small cell like the males in the adjacent building. However, the males were also rounded up daily to work, but the rules would be different for the lone female.

  Eclipse manned the front desk. “Good afternoon, Sunny.”

  She smiled at the Xeno Sapien. “Hello, Eclipse. I’m bringing Heather’s lunch, and I’ll be here for an hour if you’d like to take a break and grab your own lunch.”

  “I’ll do that,” he said. “Thanks! Just let me know if you need to leave and I’m not back yet.”

  “Will do.”

  She headed into the main lounge. Someone had the news feed scrolling across a vidcam, but it was just background noise. Instead of watching it, Heather sat near a window, staring through the bars of laser light to the outside.

  “I brought you some lunch.” Sunny placed the plates on the table near her.

  Heather startled, turning away from the window. “Sunny.”

  “Hi, Heather,” she said gently.

  Heather looked like hell. Her once-beautiful hair was dull and limp, and hung in stringy clumps. Her eyes were red-rimmed and looked sore. Her once vibrant complexion looked sallow, the pigments of freckles lying dark against the sickly shade.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Bringing you some lunch to eat.”

  “Why?” she asked bluntly, staring at the food as if it would jump up and bite her.

  “Because you need to eat.”

  “But why would you bring it? After everything I’ve done to…Beast.”

  Sunny uncovered the plates, gesturing at Heather to approach with her hand. “You were trying to save me, weren’t you?”

  “I didn’t realize your power wasn’t broke,” Heather whispered.

  “No, it works. That night last week, we discovered Beast is immune to it. The only person in the world. My other half.”

  “If I’d have known, I would have brought you,” Heather said, looking directly at her, an ugly look in her eyes.

  She was trying to goad her into harming her, Sunny realized.

  “And if you’d have known they didn’t have your gramma?”

  As she expected, Heather’s face crumpled. “I have no idea where she’s at! No one will tell me where she is, if she’s dead or alive—”

  “But would you have kidnapped someone if you were aware that they didn’t have her?” Sunny pressed.

  “No,” Heather admitted. “I would have told them to fuck off.”

  Sunny grinned at the crude language. “That’s what I thought. Now eat.”

  They began to eat, but Heather
barely picked at her plate, which explained her sunken appearance. Trying to lift her spirits, Sunny said, “Your grandmother is alive. You know if you’re imprisoned, I can probably bring her to visit you—”

  “No!” Heather’s voice was harsh.

  “I don’t understand? Don’t you want to see her? I thought everything you’d done was for her?”

  “It was. And I don’t want her anywhere near this place! Seeing me like this! Do you know what that woman went through to raise me? She sacrificed every credit she had to give me an education on Alpha One. Look at me now. A prisoner doing hard time.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be in prison, would I?” Heather’s voice was mocking. “Plus, she’ll just be around another group who will blackmail her. Your side. I don’t believe you all are as just as you think.”

  “We are nothing like the humans who blackmailed you!” Sunny said.

  Heather shrugged. “Then for the moment, she’s safe. Your people slaughtered the ones who’d kidnapped her. She’ll be able to live out the rest of her life in peace now, even if it’s without me. My mission was accomplished.” Heather pushed her plate away. She’d barely eaten a spoonful of food. “Keep her away from me, do you hear?”

  “Jett and Brax may speak on your behalf—”

  “No, they won’t.” Her voice was definite. “And I don’t want them to. I don’t blame them. They didn’t bother to meet me like they said they would last Tuesday, and it’s because everyone knew what was going down, didn’t they? Everyone was waiting, watching to see who I’d kidnap. To see if I’d go through with it.”

  “Yes, but—“

  “No buts.”

  “You don’t understand. Something happened to them. They’re in a cocoon of some sort, in a state of hibernation. They’re not even breathing…” Sunny’s voice trailed off at the look of horror on Heather’s face.

  Perhaps it was best to leave things alone. She’d forgotten one element. Above it all…Heather was human. Humans didn’t come into powers, they didn’t go into hibernation and all of it was freaking Heather out.

  * * * * *

  Sunny waited for Beast on the steps of the main hub. They were going to the mess hall for dinner before heading home for the evening.