After leaving Anna, Sam, Cas, and Nick behind, Trev is on his own and under the watchful eye of the Branch once more. But where do Trev's loyalties really lie? Riley, Trev's overseer, is determined to find out.
On Riley's command, Trev sets off on a mission to a small Wisconsin suburb. His order: locate and kill a seemingly innocent teen named Charlie. Trev soon learns, though, not everything is as it seems in this quiet town—most of all Charlie.
Find out what Trev's been up to behind the scenes in this Altered Saga original short story.
word count: 10,910 words

They were made to forget. But they'll never forgive.Everything about Anna's life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch, at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There's Nick, solemn and brooding; Cas, light-hearted and playful; Trev, smart and caring; and Sam . . . who's stolen Anna's heart.
When the Branch decides it's time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape. Anna's father pushes her to go with them, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. On the run, with her father's warning in her head, Anna begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about herself. She soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they're both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Review

"Within minutes, this medical-engineering thriller will have readers glued to their seats....Riveting." (Kirkus Reviews )
"Action-packed...[Anna's] interactions with the boys...keep the story moving quickly, along with a steady unfolding of revelations and events." (Publishers Weekly )
"Rush keeps it fresh with this fast-paced novel, full of last-minute surprises and unexpected twists . . . The mysteries laced throughout the action add suspense, making the moments of romance even hotter." (Romantic Times )
"Heart-racing action complete with identity twists, mystery, and romance born from the core of the story make this unputdownable." (Lissa Price, international bestselling author of *Starters* )
"A trill ride full of twists, secrets, and betrayals. I loved it. More, please!" (Kim Harrington, author of *The Dead and Buried* )
"A thrilling, fast-paced, and romantic story... Government conspiracies, special abilities, family, friendship, and love all melt together so beautifully to create an amazing debut novel." (Julie Cross, author of *Tempest* )
"An exciting debut full of mystery and suspense. It gripped my attention from page one. I loved it." (S. J. Kinciad, author of *Insignia* )
"Jennifer Rush's debut had me turning pages long into the night. Thrilling and suspenseful, Altered surprised me in the best possible way." (Michelle Hodkin, author of *The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer* )

About the Author

Jennifer Rush began telling lies at the age of five and was immediately hooked. Fiction was far better than reality, and she spent most of her teens writing (about vampires, naturally). She currently lives in Michigan with her husband and two children and enjoys eating ice cream in her spare time. Altered is her debut novel.