My head turned to the dining area, where Angelica was now being handed a plate and cup by Greg. He was glowing with admiration as he spoke to her, not afraid of her reaction to his voice… or the touch of his scarred hand along her wrist as he gave her the items.

  Something inside me twisted angrily. That was my liberty to be taken!

  I started to move their way, but realized Baker had stopped in the main entrance. His silver gaze read it all, had me tensing for his scold.

  “Do you know how to make a Changeling snap?”

  I nodded, flushing as I waited for him to tell me I should try it with Angelica.

  Instead, his gaze went to the line, where there were now no less than five rebel males in very close proximity to Angelica. Not one of them was hesitating to hit her with their scents or sounds.

  “So do they.”

  Baker ducked outside and I tried to remember how to breathe through the anger.

  The males knew she wasn’t satisfied. The pink orbs that I could see from here proved it to them. I saw Angelica’s hand tremble as Greg leaned in to say something low, felt the waves of need flow out to find me.

  Our eyes locked over their shoulders, sparking. In that moment, I knew what she was thinking. Could one of them erase the attraction she felt for me? Would one of these willing males ease her pain just as well?

  My feet were moving before I could growl in protest. I followed Baker outside.

  Angelica

  He was a fire in my blood.

  I listened to the rebel males chattering, hearing their unspoken offers as well, but all I wanted was my ward. There was no denying that the lust could be slaked with one of these eager-to-please men, but it was Jason’s fire I craved.

  When he turned away, my need flattened back into a disinterested throb and I knew the moment for what it was. The end of me.

  Remission.

  What an impossible dream that had been! There was no magic cure, Sam was right about that. The only relief to be had was the blood… or service. That, Jason would give willingly.

  Heat flared again, and the two closest males smiled eagerly. I felt their open offers coming, wanted to stop them, but my mind was too full, already spinning in the new direction I’d just allowed. If I agreed to let him service me, I could keep him...

  “Can we offer you anything?”

  “Many here would be honored to provide a service.”

  Those words, from these two, meant little more than the constant agony of their bell-like voices. I shook my head. “No, thank you. Have you asked my sister?”

  Distracted, they turned toward the corner where Sam and her loud, crude Runners were enjoying the meal. Freshly roasted deer and rabbit, and ears of tall corn graced the table, along with an assortment of baked goods that I recognized from Stone Mt. I assumed they’d traded for the corn, but I could tell from the proud smiles that the meat had been hunted.

  As I recognized the color of the husks on the corn, I realized someone among the rebels had been trading with the lepers for their carefully tended crops. It was a large risk to take, but after seeing the way the colony was careful about their food handling, I didn’t protest. For now, it was needed. When we hit the Safe Zone, I would insist on our own garden to eliminate the possible contamination of our males.

  Our males. I went back to my horrible, dangerously-tempting thoughts.

  Candice and Baker had been happy during their time together… and I would have Jason as much as he would allow. Could I settle for that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just head for the worst part of the Borderlands and spill blood until I couldn’t taste him on my lips anymore?

  I moved away from the group of rebel males while they were still considering my words, faces full of worry. I set the plate and cup down on the way out of the room. I didn’t want food or drink. I wanted Jason.

  I would never be free of this pain, but for some of my dark, agony-filled nights, he would be mine… and I thought it might be enough to ease this new, empty ache that nothing cured. I’d thought the pain of the Change was the worst I would ever know, but to have such a determined desire for someone who had so little for me, was a level of hell I’d never imagined.

  I turned as the main door opened, and instinctively ducked out of sight when Baker and Jason stepped in. Their voices were low, but my Changeling ears didn’t miss a word.

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’ve seen it.”

  “But it’s a legend…”

  “It’s fact and right here.”

  Jason was surprised. “You mean Candice and Daniel.”

  Baker didn’t react to my cousin’s name. It told me she’d been right when she implied the rebel leader wasn’t as attached to her as he’d seemed.

  “Yes. In love, without burning out or up. What would you call that?”

  “Remission.”

  My heart thumped. Jason had gone to Baker to talk, about me.

  “Now, you understand?”

  Jason’s voice was full of discovery. “Yes. I never thought a Changeling could be so strong.”

  Baker’s head turned toward my lurking place, and then returned to Jason.

  “The Network thinks it takes two willing partners who have an attraction. What they don’t realize, is that they’ve missed a part of the equation.”

  “Love…”

  “Yes. There’s no true match without it, no remission, no immunity.”

  “But with it…”

  “A whole other life, one where the children are normal and this ugly world begins to heal. It’s a future the Network will stop at any cost.”

  They moved into the dining hall, and I noted Jason’s expression as he saw I wasn’t there - disappointed.

  Bang!

  All through the tunnels, rebel males cringed, but not Jason. I remembered Candy’s warning about storms, and realized he didn’t have that weakness to be conquered. I’d watched for it during the dust storm, but all I’d sensed then was surprised excitement and assumed he was too distracted by driving to be scared.

  Baker also noticed it and gave Jason a pleased smile that made his chin go up in pride.

  Full of their words, I headed for my room. That was the piece I’d been missing. For remission, there had to be love, and, if Jason wasn’t even willing to be mine…

  The heaviness settled back into my chest, and I swallowed my rage as best I could, hatred brewing. This was all the Network’s doing. Instead of spilling blood in the Borderlands, maybe I’d splash crimson over New Network City.

  Jason

  I followed her carefully, slowly, trying to give her time to get settled. After the trip to get here, and then standing guard duty all night, she had to be tired. I was, and the thought of sleeping with her was the clearest thing on my mind when I tapped on the dusty door board.

  “Come in, Jason.”

  Not sure how she’d known who it was, I stepped inside. Angelica’s room was curved around a waist-high wall of stone, providing a measure of privacy, and I wondered if Baker had given her this one intentionally.

  Angelica was standing by the fur bed in her half top and shorts, sexy muscles glowing in the dim candle-light as she watched me. I swallowed. Where was the air?

  “There’s another stack of furs in the corner. They weren’t sure if they should set it up for you or not.”

  I flushed at the thought of these free men discussing our personal life, and saw her tired frown.

  “Make your choice, Jason. I need to sleep now.”

  I couldn’t say it, not with those slightly pink eyes on mine. I dropped my head to mutter, “Together?”

  Instant, sparking heat.

  “Yes, please.”

  It sent me to our kiss in the brick shelter on the way here. I heard the same excited, sad longing in her tone, and stayed where I was. “Just to sleep?”

  Angelica grunted in annoyance at my slightly disappointed tone. “Yes. Now.”

  I didn’t wait to be told another time.

  As I curled my body around hers, the feel of her skin against mine, the sound of her low groan ringing in my ears, I felt another chunk of my desire for freedom fall at her feet. There was no longer any denying that this was where I wanted to be. I just didn’t see how it could work out for either of us to be happy.

  Angelica

  Jason held me close and tight, like I needed, and I let his scent pull me toward sleep as my mind flew over sudden, unwelcome truths.

  I would surrender to keep him - first, my morals for agreeing to a service arrangement, and then probably my hard line over children not long after. I wanted him too much, needed him too badly now, to refuse anything he was willing to give.

  Jason tightened his grip, as if feeling my waves of pain, and I let out another low rumble of contentment. For this moment at least, he was mine, and I drifted to sleep with him securely in my embrace.

  Network

  “Rankin got a call through. We have a location.”

  “Great!”

  “Send the explosive now.”

  “Wait.”

  A lower ranking council member had been studying the radar. “There’s another squall moving into that area.”

  The storm flashed onto the main screen, causing mutters around the council table. Even the protestors at the border would take shelter from that monster.

  “I’ve never seen anything that big!”

  “It’s the Changeling Winds.”

  “If those winds are strong enough, it will deflect too much of the blast. Sitting for five hundred years hasn’t helped the strength.”

  There was silence as they waited for the Head of the Council to make a choice.

  The walls behind the members weren’t adorned with the same bloody images that graced the lethal halls below. In this sterile room, there was only one picture - the original ten founding members of the Network. The rest of the walls in the triangle meeting room were as naked as the day they were designed.

  “Tell her to stay close and contact us after the squall. As soon as it lets up, send the explosive.”

  The West Coast representative hesitantly spoke up, drowning out the beep of an incoming message. “Are you sure about crossing Rankin? If she survives, it’ll be another enemy to fight.”

  There were scowls at the continued questioning, but the Head of the table paused to consider it. This coastal observer wouldn’t be taking any information away from here - plans had already been made for that - but Rankin’s reputation for paying it back double was half the reason she had been given the job.

  “Perhaps we’d better send two planes, just to be sure that doesn’t happen. Our hands are full enough without adding more loose ends to be handled later.”

  “There’s a call waiting for you.” The interrupting member’s voice from the far end of the table was tense. “It’s the UN representative.”

  “Transfer it to my private residence.” There was no mistaking the anger under the calm words. The head of the table hated answering to outsiders of any kind.

  This was the second call from the negotiator, and everyone doubted there would be a third. They were about to be given a final timeline, an ultimatum for surrender.

  The tower meeting room cleared slowly, each council member curious at the private talk. They’d handled the first call together, though it hadn’t gone well. New America was now a target of the outside world, and if the inspectors made it through the wall, the rest of the world would be right behind.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jason

  The rebel workouts were interesting.

  I’d woken alone, and wandered until I found the large group of training men and women in the back tunnels. Once I’d observed the lessons taking place, I hadn’t been able to leave.

  Candice and Baker had two completely different methods of training, and it was amazing to have them in the same room, using both ways, during the same lesson.

  “Lean in. Use it!” Baker demanded, seeing the big female’s eyes turn pink.

  “But she’ll…”

  “No, she won’t.” Candice confirmed their safety. “The Runners are often hired to escort males to their new owners because of their stamina. Now attack her!”

  Greg lunged forward, invading the big female’s space, and we all tensed as Rosa’s tattooed hand swept out at him.

  “Now jump!”

  Candice kept him moving, following her orders as he evaded the fast swipes and swings.

  Behind her and Daniel, were the two men who had flanked them as they’d come outside to greet us. I recognized them both as Games bachelors. The size of the one, and the purple hair of the other, marked them, but I’d also seen them in the halls…and the renter’s cells when Rankin had taken me down for my lessons. I’d been right across the hall, listening to the screams.

  I shuddered. There were a lot of faces here that I recognized, and I tried not to draw their attention.

  “Now! She caught your scent! Do it now!”

  Baker’s words sent Greg in to press his mouth to Rosa’s. The Runner, and the rest of us, froze.

  Greg pushed his advantage, using his voice as he drew back. “You taste nice.”

  Rosa shuddered, eyes flipping to pink.

  “Now!” Baker ordered.

  Using a gentle move, Greg slid a leg behind Rosa’s and took them to the ground. He landed on top, with a knife at her throat.

  The room erupted in cheers, and Candice and Baker began directing the rebels into a line to take a turn. It was easy to see that Greg was determined. Not only did he have his freedom to fight for, he also had sons being held by the Network. His face was untouched, but his hands! They had so many scars and scores that, well, if it had been an up-close view, I might have guessed it was a hide that had been damaged by axe blows.

  Still on the floor, Greg’s attention was on Rosa, seeing the pink with streams of red. If he ran, he could be in danger, and I wondered if Candice was strong enough to stop Rosa if she snapped.

  As I had the thought, Greg tossed his knife away and delivered a brilliant smile. “You really do taste nice.”

  The big woman groaned. “Call in the next fool. I’m at my limit.”

  We all expected Greg to get away from her - certainly the others were backing up, moving for the doorway. It was a surprise when he laughed.

  “Lightweight.”

  His teasing broke the tension, and helped the big Runner find her control. Her eyes slowly slid into black and she let Greg go as he stood up.

  “Maybe we could do it again sometime,” Greg suggested, holding onto her hand as he pulled her up, and the big woman flushed. He leaned closer, too much for us to hear, and whispered something.

  Whatever it was, it had the big female reaching out to jerk him up against her body.

  “Be sure. I own. I don’t rent!” she spat it at him.

  Thanks to my time with a Pruett, I was able to read the fear behind her anger. Like Angelica, she had hopes of a match!

  Greg’s eagerness didn’t cool at the warning or the hands-on treatment. “Pruetts are for freedom. As long as I still get to fight, that’s good by me.”

  The room was silent as we realized we were witnessing a domestic arrangement… or maybe something more, judging from those flickering pink eyes.

  “If I accept, how long will you honor it?”

  Greg finally found his reluctance, flushing, but we were unprepared for the honesty.

  “Until I no longer please you. When that time comes, I’m to be set free, not sold or passed to another owner.”

  Rosa smiled in shocked joy, large hand rising to gently touch Greg’s cheek. “You really want to be mine?”

  Greg chuckled, hand coming up to keep hers against his skin. “As much as you want to kiss me right now.”

  The playboy leaned forward, invading Rosa’s personal space, without hesitation this time. “You can, if you want… to seal our arrangement?”

  Rosa’s eyes deepened to red orbs, and she led his thin frame from the room amid laughs and approving words. It was another successful match.

  As the next female moved toward the center of the room, I thought about what we’d just witnessed. Greg was smart and courageous, things the Runners respected. He was also attractive with his curly brown hair and those matching chocolate eyes. Even his scars went in his favor, proving he was tough, but I thought the speaking was what had swept Rosa off her feet. Our voices wore away a Changeling’s control, something few of us were brave enough to use openly.

  It made the other rebels eager to claim a female for themselves, and tension sparked as they all turned saw the Runner who’d replaced Rosa while they were distracted.

  Sam swept the willing, curious faces and lifted her head arrogantly. “I’m no lightweight, gentlemen. I’m a Pruett. Put your tongues back in, and come work for a taste of my lips.”

  Candice and Baker laughed with the room and I chuckled in admiration, leaning forward. This should be good.

  Angelica stepped into the room, drawing my instant attention, and I watched her move to the far corner. I didn’t think she’d noticed me yet, and I wondered if she was a ‘test subject’ for this class. I smothered the jealousy.

  We were going through the Runners. Two others had already fled in defeat before Rosa, eyes showing different shades of need. Baker would be busy overseeing a lot of agreements tonight - and making sure the cuffs held.

  Angelica

  I tried not to stare at Jason, studying the training room instead.

  It was bare except for the training equipment they’d managed to salvage from Stone Mountain. Only the mats were familiar. Compact and inflatable, they would protect the males a little, as would the bulky clothes. Homemade candles lined the walls and tables, and rebel guards now stood stiffly at the main entrances and exits. The Changeling Winds were moving through the Borderlands and it was making everyone uneasy.

  Some of the males sat in groups, talking quietly or playing hob jong as they attended the lesson. Others were reading or writing, something I found unusual and wonderful. Few of the males in New America knew how to do both, but ours would have that advantage. I’d begun to notice the other differences, the strength of these males. While part of them were inept and as apt to flinch as to fight, the rest were harder. They went about their lessons and they learned from each other, built on it to get what they needed or wanted. They were like Jason.