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Imprint

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

With the exception of its use in any review, the reproduction, or utilization, or resell of this work in whole or in part, in any form and by any means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express written permission of the author(s).

Blurb

Crow has a lot on his plate as the new head of Sector A. Young and inexperienced as he is in his leading role, he still has to prove himself as a capable Alpha. Especially Strike is challenging him for rank.
Yet Crow is adamant about asserting his position, because only as Alpha can he finally have what has been out of his reach for so long – Leslie, a doctor and former head of Life Tree’s INBREED program.
Unfortunately for him, Leslie herself doesn’t make it any easier. Three years his senior, she still regards him as the young Trooper who qualified for INBREED. In her book, that’s two reasons not to let him into her bed.
When Strike catches on to Crow’s weakness and abducts Leslie, both men are out for blood…

Leslie is traumatized. In the blink of an eye, her world was turned upside down. She has gone from being a self-confident woman and head of INBREED to being property of a Trooper.
Although she likes Crow and feels drawn to him already, she simply cannot forgive him for trying to make her submit only so he can strengthen his position as Alpha and leader. Moreover, there is this secret she keeps… the reason she left Earth. If Crow were to find out, he would certainly cast her aside – a bitter experience Leslie has been through before. No, she’d rather ignore her feelings…

1

Leslie

I thought I had my life all sorted out, that I had left behind the old Leslie on Earth when I took the job on Terra Alpha. Because that’s what I had wanted – to leave my old life behind and just… forget all my hopes and dreams because they could never be realized.

So Leslie became Dr. Barner, head of Life Tree’s program INBREED.

I thought I was content. Maybe not happy, but at least content. However, once I came to Terra Alpha, I quickly realized that what I was allowed to do here had little to do with what I had imagined to accomplish. The women they bring here from Earth – sentenced prisoners, yet most of them innocent – are mirror images of me. I’m a prisoner, just like them… and there is no way back, neither for them nor for me. We are all property of United Governments, and a part of their secret research project. Only they are forced to serve project Life Tree with their bodies – while I have sold my soul.

I tried to make the INBREED department as humane as possible, but I failed. Maybe what is happening now is my punishment for joining Life Tree. Now I get to experience for myself what those women have been through. I’m no longer head of the program… no longer the one making decisions… Now I’m just a female, exactly as all the other women on Terra Alpha.

The Master Troopers have taken over Sector A, and Crow – the young Trooper who I myself selected for program INBREED only a few years back – is the one in charge of the facility and the people now. From the beginning, he demonstrated high sensitivity and intelligence, which made him perfect for INBREED. However, truth be told, I secretly hoped the program would keep some of his humanity intact… That was a mistake, though. Crow isn’t human. His genes hold eight percent predator DNA. It’s a fact so easily forgotten when you are around the Troopers day in, day out... My mistake. Well, a mistake all of us on Terra Alpha made.

A part of me understands why they turned on us: We have kept them under control in a manner that would have every predatory animal fight against its imprisonment sooner or later. We felt too safe… but eight percent predator DNA outweigh ninety-two percent human DNA. And not even Crow can fight against his true nature… But of course, I was too blind to see that, yet again.

“It’s safer if you’re not alone, Doc. There is going to be some fighting before every one of us has accepted the new system, and I can only protect you if you stick close to me.”

Crow’s voice pulls me from my shocked state. He looks at me and for the first time I feel threatened by his height; I barely reach up to his shoulder.

Crow is wearing his combat gear. The takeover of Sector A was planned… They simply came back early from their tour in the outer zone and took over the facility in the blink of an eye.

“Doc…”

Crow’s blue eyes fix on me, and I feel like screaming when his hand lands on my shoulder. It feels like a stone, trying to weigh me down. What happened to the Crow I knew? The nice, young Trooper? I already noticed the subtle change in him the last time I did his blood work, because his partner wasn’t getting pregnant. He was quieter and more closed off than usual… as if he was stressed out or under extreme pressure.

“Where do you live, Doc?”

His voice is deep, like every Trooper’s, but today it seems even deeper than usual to me. I try to make sense of his words, but my brain is all fuzzy. I’m still shocked and off-kilter.

“Doc… I asked where your bungalow is. Or do you live here in the facility?”

I shake my head mechanically and somehow manage an answer, “The researchers’ bungalows are behind the facility. Inside the fenced perimeter.”

Crow pushes me forward gently but determined, and signals the others to take care of the research team. They are going to lock them up until they know who is on their side and who is not. I’m not going to be locked up… at least, my imprisonment won’t be as obvious. Crow’s hand on my shoulder is unmistakable, though. He has never touched me before.

“Alright, Doc. We’re going to go to your bungalow now.”

I stare at him. “You… want me to let you into my bungalow?”

Instead of answering, he just looks at me for a long time. This isn’t a request… it’s his next move. The distance he always had to keep between us while I was still in charge of Sector A is no longer obligatory… and it’s no longer my say how close to me he is allowed to be.

“I already told you, Doc, it’s a dangerous time for you right now. You need to stay safe. And I’m the one in charge of all this now.” He moves his hand fractionally, and I know he doesn’t just mean the building, but the people – myself included. “I want to be as close as possible to the control center of Sector A, so I have to stay near the facility. We’ll find new tasks for the researchers… and also for the head of the team. That’s still you, Doc. I want to keep you close to me…”

Is that all? Is that really all? I want to scream, but of course I don’t. Instead, I just nod as if his explanation makes sense. As I lead the way, I can feel his blue eyes on my back. They burn through my skin, ripping open old wounds I thought long cicatrized. As of this moment, Crow is no longer the nice young Trooper… he’s my personal prison guard.

We leave the facility through a side entrance. The researchers’ bungalows are basically the same as the ones used for the INBREED dwelling compound, only with a more personalized interior, since we all brought some things from Earth with us. The Troopers are only at their bungalows every four months. We prohibited personal relationships outside the units, as well as attachments to tangibles or their changing partners… so the Troopers would think of themselves as soldiers without ties to home or family.

Well, that’s how it used to be. No one knows what’s going to happen now.

My hands are shaking when I hold my magnetic key to its lock. The familiar scent of my home fills my nostrils. This is my refuge from Life Tree, my safe haven – but not anymore!

Crow moves past me into the living room and takes in my furnishings… the photographs of my parents and my sister on the shelf, and on the wall a picture by an unknown artist portraying an afternoon at the beach as it most likely used to be on Earth a long time ago: A blue sky, the sun glistening on the water, people sunbathing on towels on the white sandy beach, children collecting sea shells, and some boats in the distance.

“Pretty. Is this what it looks like on Earth?” Crow asks, eyeing the picture. There he is again, the Crow I like… The intelligent young man who is curious about all kinds of things and questions them.

“No, it’s what Earth used to look like. Now the oceans are dead, the beaches are polluted, and no one would ever want to go there.”

“That’s too bad,” Crow answers with a frown. Then he moves to my couch and flops down on it like he owns the place. I keep standing, uncertain what to do next. From his seat, he has a nice view of the whole bungalow. “I like your furnishings, Doc.”

“Thank you,” is all I can think of saying. I like them, too… and I’d also like to have them back to myself, but I don’t think that’s an option.

With a start, I realize there is one major difference between my home and the Troopers’ bungalows – I do not have a second bedroom. For a moment, I think about pointing that out to Crow, but better let sleeping dogs lie. Instead, I have a look at the digital clock on my wall: It’s almost 7 p.m. already. The shock is wearing off, and I realize I’m hungry. I’m tempted to inform Crow that I’m about to move to the kitchen to cook, but I bite my tongue at the last second. This is still my home, and I don’t have to account to him for anything.

I decidedly turn around and walk into the kitchen, and I hear Crow’s footsteps behind me as soon as I’m out of his sight. The hairs on the back of my neck rise to stand on end. I wait for his arm to wrap around me like a vice… like I’ve seen Torn do to Larona whenever he feels like she has given him reason to substantiate his dominance over her again. If Crow starts acting like that towards me, I don’t stand a chance… I know that. So it’s probably better not to provoke him. On the other hand, I can’t act too submissive either, or it’ll give him ideas, like I’m sending him signals.

“I’m hungry,” I say without turning around.

“Then we should cook.” Crow’s voice is so close behind me that I feel caged again.

His manner has definitively changed… as if he’s trying to eliminate the distance between us. He’s probably fairly insecure because he’s still young – Crow is only twenty-five, almost three years my junior – and with his new position as leader… He has to get used to it first. That could be my chance to unsettle him so he’ll stay away from me.

I silently take food out of the fridge and hand some of it to Crow. I try to do so with my usual confidence, and at least for the moment, it seems to be working.

“What are you going to do next?” I ask a while later, as we’re eating rice and chicken, leftovers from the day before. Those are the last groceries from Earth; from now on, we have to get by on our own.

“Create a new community… live a normal life… just like you do on Earth, Leslie.”

I ignore the fact he just called me by my first name instead of using my title, like it’s the most natural thing to do. “But… you’re not like us.”

He looks at me, and I think that’s anger I see in his eyes. “So you think eight percent manipulated DNA make that much of a difference? That we want different things than the people on Earth? That we have different needs… different dreams?”

There he is again: Crow, the philosopher. But I can’t let that fool me. He’s still a Master Trooper.

“You are different. You act completely different than other men.”

Crow puts down the fork and gets up. I sense he’s trying not to snap. “That might be true… and it might be that it unsettles you, Leslie. You might even try to fight it. But it doesn’t change the fact that you all respond to it. Yes… you too, Leslie. Your body is giving off unmistakable signals right now.”

I stare at him. What is he talking about? Like I don’t know best what my body is feeling! What’s that even supposed to mean? What kind of signals? And how would he even know?

Crow seems to be reading my mind, because he answers unsmiling, “It’s your scent, Leslie. I can smell it when a woman wants me.”

I snort indignantly and shake my head. That’s overkill. “Listen, Crow. I’ve always liked you… but I’m not into you like that. I kind of thought of you as a younger brother.”

Now he’s really pissed off; that was definitively not what he wanted to hear. His blue eyes turn to ice. He’s standing completely still, but I can see the tension in his whole body. Good lord, it almost makes me wish he wasn’t like a brother to me! Crow is by far the most attractive man I have ever met with his strikingly handsome features, the slightly curly black hair reaching almost to his shoulders, and those bright blue eyes. He’s simply perfect – quite unlike myself. Nothing about me is perfect… that’s a fact I try very hard to forget.

“I’m not your brother,” he states calmly, but with an unmistakable edge to his voice.

“No, you’re not… You’re a Master Trooper – a part of my job.” I get up to leave, momentarily forgetting all about being cautious.

Next thing I know, Crow pushes me up against the fridge. It happens so fast I have barely time to register what’s going on. I want to scream, but Crow’s lips are already crashing down on mine, hard and demanding. His body is pressing against me, and I can feel his hard-on against my belly through the thin fabric of my bodysuit. I try to struggle, but Crow is strong enough to completely immobilize me if he wants to – and right now he doesn’t want me to move an inch.

“Leslie… I want you,” he growls in my ear after releasing my lips.

His hair tickles my neck, and I’m startled by the fact that his touch gives me goose bumps. However, I’m even more boggled when I realize it’s not fear that causes my skin to prickle, but a tense anticipation. Although I can’t see them, I know my nipples stand out hard against my bodysuit.

“Crow…” I manage to croak out. Why do I sound unsteady all of a sudden? I gather my thoughts, and make my voice sound calm and even. “Please let go of me… I don’t want this.”

Crow actually releases me, and I try not to be too obvious as I gulp in air. I don’t want him to see how much his attack has thrown me off-kilter.

“You do want me, Leslie. You’re trying to fight it, to deny it… but you’ll be mine, eventually. You’ve always belonged to me.” His voice is as calm and as steadfast as mine.

“I know what you’re thinking, Crow – that getting the residing Alpha female can only strengthen your new position as Alpha of Sector A.” It’s not easy, but I keep my eyes locked on his.

Unfortunately, Crow does not look away from me either. “That’s true… and a part of me demands exactly that, as my right.” For the first time today, he smiles… but it’s an indulgent smile, the kind a father would show to a child. “However, you forget that a non-negligible portion of my DNA is human. To tell you the truth, I’ve wanted you ever since you asked me to join INBREED.” His hand touches my cheek, traces my skin… Then he takes a lock of my brown hair and rubs it between his fingers. “But you’ve always been out of my reach… untouchable.” His eyes turn hard again. He stops touching me, but doesn’t look away. “You need me, Leslie… in every way. In any case, you’ll be the mate of Sector A’s Alpha… so you should be happy it’s me. Why are you fighting this? When I kissed you just now… you wanted me more than anything.”

I shake my head. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m never wrong about these things… that’s an advantage of the genetic manipulation. I’m just as sure about my choice

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Alexa Kim, al-kim@web.de
Bildmaterialien: jdesign.at
Übersetzung: Moira Scott
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 13.11.2016
ISBN: 978-3-7396-8308-9

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