“Wait.”

  Jason instantly feared I would switch him for one of the others and those eyes lightened into pinpricks of terror.

  “I know things…”

  To the listening world, it might sound like a sexual line, but I doubted the Network would read it that way. Was he trying to get himself killed?

  My sudden grin was shark-like. “You’re playing with fire.”

  The enslaved male looked back at me with open desperation. “I’m already burning. I have been for a long time now.”

  That was another feeling I understood well and I moved back toward the couch as I sealed up my disappointment, the anguish. Jason wasn’t one of a kind. Eventually, I would find my bachelor, my cure. Right now, I had a duty to honor and I went about it like any other Pruett would have.

  I lunged for his throat.

  Jason

  Angelica’s hot body slammed me against the couch, long legs straddling my hips and I cowered away before I realized she was talking.

  “Tell me - now.”

  I stammered, trying to breathe past the fear as she ran warm, rough hands through my hair. “The Network knows about the Borderlands Safe Zone. As soon as Baker’s there, they plan to destroy it.”

  She jerked back to stare at me, maybe to see if I was lying, and then she pressed her mouth to mine!

  I froze again, trying to listen through the panic… the interest. She smelled good, like a fresh wind through the service tunnels.

  “How do you know that?” she demanded against my lips.

  I struggled to talk as her musky scent filled my nose. Her legs fit me so well… “Rankin let it slip.”

  Angelica tensed at the name and I understood she didn’t like the Head Defender. It gave me the courage to wrap a gentle hand around her neck and draw back. I made sure her hair covered my words from the cameras. “I’ll give you anything you want. Please don’t let her have me.”

  Angelica

  My heart clenched in jealousy and I nodded against his trembling hand. “You’ll be with me when I go.”

  Jason smiled then and I couldn’t stop from sealing my promise with another kiss. The feel of him under me was incredible torture.

  The heat blazed up when he responded. I knew that it was only to make sure I understood he would uphold his end of the deal and give me whatever I wanted. The thought had me crying inside, even as I smoldered.

  “Five minutes.”

  The Den Mother’s voice held a tone that said I’d get a word or two before I left, and I pulled back from his sweet lips. “I’ll get you there and then you’re free.”

  I stood up, instantly missing his heat.

  Jason held my gaze. “Whatever you want.”

  I snarled in hurt at that and spun from the room. What I wanted had been denied.

  The Den Mother was waiting for me near the music area and I made a good show of handing her a UD slip to cover the warning I suspected she was waiting to deliver. I didn’t mind it as much as I appeared to. This weird woman was one of the rebels. She would keep him as safe as she could.

  As I neared her, I saw the cleverly hidden words she’d written in dust behind the camera.

  “She’ll come after her property.”

  I tossed the payment slip on top of it, so she’d be able to easily erase the message when she picked it up. “Good.”

  As I closed the door to the bachelor cells, I evaluated the guards I’d earned. They weren’t naturally loyal, but I could pay their price.

  I moved by with low words that had them walking along. By the time we hit my hall, I didn’t have any protection again and my unease had lifted. With what I’d just paid them, those guards wouldn’t let the head of the Network themselves in to see my choice without immediately calling me.

  I couldn’t stop Rankin from visiting him, but I would know about it even when the Den Mothers weren’t around and hopefully be able to intervene before Jason got hurt again.

  On the top, I was busy going over how we would get to Baker. Inside, I was burning. After all I’d done and would do, I still wouldn’t be able to put out this fire. It seemed I would be picking through the rebels at the Safe Zone after all.

  7

  “Welcome to Round Three of the Bachelor Battles! Now that we're down to only four contestants, all the matches will be held here, in the big cage! Come see these man-hungry women fight to the death! Who's ready to play? Who wants to play? Do ya? Do ya really? Well, come on then...”

  A brief pause, where I smothered a snarl. How had Candice stood the wait between matches?

  Clips of the week’s matches flowed along the huge screens as the enormous crowd screamed and pushed against the lines of guards and barriers in front of The Block.

  “Let's look at our fabulous fighters…”

  I tensed, wondering how bad it would be.

  “Angelica Pruett is one slot out of first place and has caused much the same furor at these games as her cousin Candice did nearly a month ago, before going on to win. From stirring up rebellions in the Den Mothers, to ripping out throats with her teeth, she's certainly living up to that brutal family name...”

  I hit the button, switching channels before I lost patience and used my claws on the screen.

  “...refusing to let in other contestants to see the male she has a fondness for. Rumors speculate if she wins, she'll defend her title next week in an attempt to claim another of her favorites...”

  I stopped on the next channel, studying the image on the screen. It was Stone Mountain and the charred, bare rubble sent me back to the night it had happened. I’d been there; I’d met the rebel leader and spent a night in their compound with Candice. It had been full of life then. Now, even the jungle that had hidden us was withered and brown. The rebel base was a symbol of death, and I bore a scar from that destruction on my back.

  The station switched to a group photo of the top ten wanted rebels and my heart thudded heavily. Those male faces were angry, even more than I was in the heat of the Change. Their ready expressions and hard stances said they were coming for the Network at some point, and I silently rooted them on before switching programs again. I hit the button, got the Network station.

  “…are investigating a contestant's claims that the bachelors are not safe. Changes to the Den Mother system may already be in the works...”

  I turned it back to the announcer for my coming challenge, ignoring the sounds outside my door as reporters and players prowled the halls. I'd planted a seed and it was growing.

  “For the start of this round, the Network will pick the exhibition for the remaining contestants. A reminder, these elimination challenges are no longer non-lethal. At least one of our contestants will not be with us when this is over. The top two finishers will feature in tonight’s final elimination match.”

  “And our challengers will have to… climb the Network Wall of Death!”

  “Please report to The Block.”

  8

  “The wall of death is a fifty foot granite cliff with deadly traps, and no dividers between the contestants! This should be just wonderful!”

  I studied the wall as we waited for the announcer to finish, picking out areas to hit and spots to avoid. I’d only seen a few of the Games, and The Wall wasn’t among them. I’d heard of it, of course, and I’d seen the billboards as I entered New Network City, but staring up at that unflinching challenge was enough to kick in my survival sense. Deeply anchored in the floor, it looked as if part of a mountain had been set down into the complex. I couldn’t even see the top from where I stood.

  “Our four challengers are allowed full contact in their race to be the first to reach the top. In order to make it harder, there are weapons hidden in the crags and ledges. How many will make it to the top? Will this episode end right here, folks? It’s happened before!”

  The gate slid open and I moved along the fenced aisle to the starting line without responding to any of my opponent’s glowers. I was in the center right of the four lanes, but I already planned to take the far left and zigzag my way up. High above us, camera crews waited patiently to capture every drop of blood, every swing of a weapon.

  “Are ya ready? Then go!”

  To everyone’s surprise, I stayed still as the other three made a mad dash for the wall. They clawed at each other, drawing blood before the first foot of fifty was reached. I waited until all of them were scaling the cliff.

  “What is that clever little Pruett doing now?” the reporter wondered as I finally moved forward.

  I had an advantage over the others in only one way, but it would be enough to earn me second place - first, if I’d chosen the right dangerous path, but either would do. I wasn’t fighting for a mate now, but my family honor. It was a stronger drive than even the Change.

  With that in mind, I lunged up the wall, grabbing the ledge the others had avoided because of the height. I grunted at the sharp stone under my fingers, the unforgiving feel of the rock.

  I hefted myself up, feet catching a small crag to push from and then lunged again, springing up four feet to snatch a wild hold on the edge of a weapon.

  The claw hammer snagged the stone and caught my weight… held. I hung there long enough to secure a foothold and then I started climbing, using the claw edge with lunging swipes that would either move me up large spaces or kill me with the fall. Hungry edges tried to grab me, already tacky with blood from this week’s episode. The stone sliced into my wrist… my arm... my leg.

  The other three were closely bunched above me, set to get to the top first, but the fighting was about to slow them down. I kept moving up.

  Chelsea reached a knife and immediately threw it at the Changeling athlete directly below her. The blade sank into the weight-lifter’s throat and she clutched at the hilt, falling.

  The crowd roared its drunken approval all around us, those rafter-like seats giving them a birds-eye view of our fight.

  The other player left starred regularly in the Network commercials, and in her free-time, liked to climb mountains. I followed Chelsea’s lead. My hammer slammed into the back of the actress’s head with a dull thud and she let go, fell.

  Now, the noise was deafening. Chelsea and I moved toward each other, blue lights streaming, the bloodlust flowing….

  I ducked her wild leg kick and punched out, hitting her in the chest. She grunted, kicked again.

  I took her boot to the side of my head, and used the momentum to yank her off of the cliff. I swung her out and tried to let go, but Chelsea wrapped both legs around me in an iron vise, and dragged us from the wall.

  9

  I woke to see my off-limits bachelor standing next to me, worry covering his face. My Changeling sight went over his healing bruise first, then the room.

  I was in the medical bay and the gated cubical next to me held my final battle, if I was to judge from the sounds. The medical quarter was set up much like The Block, with a center area for the doctor, surrounded by seven partitioned rooms. Each one was gated and shaded by a thin white curtain, allowing knowledge of each other, but no contact.

  The bed was softer than the couch in my room and the equipment looked well cared for, but the stark, white walls were a vivid contrast to the green I’d been waking to all week. There were no windows here either, but this time, I doubted it was to keep us in. It was more likely that the Network council didn’t want anyone to see what was out there, on this side of the honeycomb complex. The view was likely staggering.

  In place of an eighth bay, there was a small walkway that led to a main door. Less than ten feet from where I was, the shadow guarding that entrance was unmistakable.

  “What deal did you make to come here?” I snarled, full of bitter jealousy and a rage that needed a target.

  Jason looked away. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does to me!” I growled. “Don’t ever do it again.”

  He bowed to my order. “I won’t.”

  By the tone, I suspected the price was high, and I admired his courage. “Will you be okay?”

  There was little I could do, but I had to ask. Want me or not, I already felt like he was mine.

  “Yes. There’s only so much she’ll do right now.”

  My hand shot out to capture his wrist. He didn’t flinch back, but he stiffened.

  “You can use my name. I give you permission.”

  Jason smiled sadly - a small glimpse of the man I thought he might eventually become if he were set free.

  “I already did.”

  I didn’t ask what he’d used it for, feeling the medication jerking me under. I let go of him. “Why did you come?”

  “I had to make sure you weren’t… dead. I had to see you.”

  His tone told me as much as his words. I was his only hope, that was why. I closed my lids to hold in the disappointment. “It takes more than that to kill a Pruett.”

  “Good.”

  For an instant, the fury blazed hotter than the medication and my eyes turned solid red as they flashed open. I hated the sound of his fear. “This will never happen to you again!”

  Jason gave me another of those gentle smiles that I knew I could become addicted to.

  “It’s worth it. Get better. I... I need you.”

  I wanted to examine the tone, the words, but the darkness pulled me under.

  Jason

  I closed the door to her gated area and made sure it was locked. I then waved the guards over and gave them a sharp glare that I knew Rankin observed with interest. She’d been waiting to see exactly what I was now showing - courage.

  “If the Pruett dies and there’s no feature match, the Network will replace every one of you. Taking payments is fine, but not when it interrupts their scheduled programming. You know?”

  The nods from the hard guards allowed me to turn to Rankin with an even tone despite my dread. I’d invoked Angelica’s name to get the defender’s attention, to make her bring me here. Rankin hadn’t liked agreeing one little bit and now, I would pay the fine. “I’m yours until dawn. No fighting.”

  Rankin’s evil orbs blazed red and she grabbed me by the arm. Her claws dug into my skin, stinging, as she dragged me down the dimly-lit service halls toward her Den.

  I’d done the best I could to ensure Angelica’s safety while she recuperated. If she won tomorrow night, she would protect me for a while after that. If she lost… well, tonight would be a small preview of what I would suffer when Rankin bought me next month.

  “Are ya ready?” Rankin cackled eagerly as she shoved the door open and marched us inside her foul-scented den. “I know I am!”

  The Network

  “We’re all set for the meeting.”

  It was just two of them, the Commander and the XO, enjoying the quiet.

  The tower lounge was a large triangle-shaped room with an oddly formed desk in the center, surrounded by even odder chairs. Each armrest held a hand-scanner, a note-writer, and an alarm button. In the center of the desk, suspended with thin, durable chains, was a three-sided monitor showing darkness. Earlier, it had revealed a mob of thousands along the border with Canada.

  Along these oddly-shaped walls, we’re doors, private entrances for the members. Each had their own entrance, providing eight total exits to be taken advantage of. Inside those luxury residences existed access to anything they wanted - from hand-served meals of tender veal and sweet fish that could only be had here, to the stacks of intricately starred jewelry that so many of the city residents liked to use for wagering on the Games. It was a lifestyle the Network enjoyed immensely.

  “Send word to the Coast. We’re ready for them now.”

  “What if they won’t come?”

  The leader snorted heavily. “We’re offering a full train of supplies and males. They’ll show.”

  The younger voice held doubt. “Sometimes those bought through desperation do not remain loyal. We may see alliances.”

  There was a small silence. “That would be bad.”

  Glad their leader understood, the second voice spelled it out eagerly. “Yes. If the rebels convince the Coast to join their cause, we could be facing the very weapons we hope to gain control of. The bothersome Pruetts have to be dealt with soon. We can’t keep using them this way.”

  “Rankin will handle it.”

  “Yes, the new Head Defender - perhaps she has outlived her usefulness?”

  The head chair squeaked as it was emptied. There was a gentle swish of tailor-made clothes, the kind their subjects would never be able to afford. Even their boots were made by the sweat of a person, instead of a machine. Animal pelts had never touched their unmarked skin.

  “Considering the fuel she added to the media fire by putting a mark on one of them, I’d have to agree.”

  “She could be… caught in the crossfire…”

  “That sounds exactly like what will happen. Do it as soon as she gives us the location.”

  The lower ranking member moved for the door, and then stopped, turned back. “Communication is almost non-existent. What if Rankin can’t get a call through?”

  There was a thoughtful pause…

  “Activate her locator beacon so we can keep track. As soon as she stops moving hard, send in the plane.”

  “You know we only have five warheads?”

  “Yes. Two are for the meeting.”

  The other member leered eagerly. “And one for Canada?”

  A tolerant chuckle. “If it comes to that, we’ll use something a bit larger than Breaker bombs. The west is still littered with nuclear warheads. After we take care of those at the meeting, we’ll control them all.”

  Chapter Five

  Day 7

  1

  After 24 hours in the medical bay, healing and listening to my opponent growl in the next room, I was feeling better. Unlike Chelsea, I didn’t mind solitude and I spent it deciding where my true loyalties were. I was a Changeling and this fire was one that might end me in time, but I was also a Pruett and before I went out, I wanted justice.