“I'm sorry, Paige,” Evan said quietly.
“It's okay.” She hated that she still longed for someone to love her. No one but Robbie had ever shown her so much affection. Her friends were fine, but they never knew the real her. And after elementary school, she'd retreated into herself, not comfortable with people as a whole. “Like I said, I wasn't abused. I received an education, even a degree from Princeton. I never put it to use because my job, according to Elliot, was to assist him in scientific research. Once I finished school, the few tests they used to give me when growing up turned into extensive physical and mental exams. Like being a living pincushion for a mad scientist,” she tried to joke.
She forced herself to bury the memories of watching those poor creatures nearly kill themselves to get to her in the dark depths of Elliot's second home—Pearson Labs.
“So you were never given shots growing up? Never given odd medicines or vitamins?”
“No. Elliot was very careful that I only ate healthy foods. No junk foods, no pills or medicines of any kind. Not that I ever needed any,” she murmured, thoughtful.
Evan looked troubled. “Paige, you've never changed, have you? You know what that means?”
“I do. And no, I've never changed. I'm totally normal. Well, mostly. In the last few years, I seem to have developed several Circ traits that you wouldn't know about unless I told you.”
“Like?”
“I'm pretty strong. I can see, hear, and smell better than most people I know.” She debated whether to tell him the rest but felt a need to confide in him. It felt right. “And I can control the Circs sometimes. The mutants and I seem to have a special bond, I guess you could say.”
“How so?”
“I don't know how to explain it, but I can release a certain scent, and they do what I tell them. That's how I've avoided them for so long since my escape from Pearson Labs.”
“Your father actually imprisoned you there?” Evan asked, horrified.
That Evan seemed more passionate about her imprisonment than her abilities soothed a knot of tension she hadn't realized was building. “Elliot never physically imprisoned me. I had a home away from that horrible place. But he threatened to incarcerate me there if I didn't do what he said. You've seen the men working there. I didn't think I had much choice.”
“My God, you really are Subject 31, aren't you?”
“How do you know about that, anyway? I thought Elliot's files were totally secure.”
“I read things he didn't know I had access to. Elliot was proud of your accomplishments. He thought you were the future of the Circs. But he said you needed tweaking. He said you were too undisciplined, too willful.” Evan smiled at her, and she smiled back. “At least he had the sense to protect you from the…unpleasantness there.”
“You mean from the beatings, rapes, and torture imposed on the rogues.” He shifted and glanced away from her, his voice a mere whisper. “Yes. A few months ago when I found out I had a niece and that you were one of Elliot's subjects, I was terrified of what he'd done to you. I still am, if you want the truth.”
“Hey, I'm still alive. And I'm here.”
“You can't know how happy I am about that.” Evan gave her a tremulous smile. It slowly died. “There's something else you should know. There's danger out there for you, Paige. From all that I've studied since I realized you were, in fact, alive, it seems Elliot had specific plans for you.”
“For his breeding program. I know.”
“You know?” Evan stood and began pacing. “I wish Elliot were here right now, so I could wring his neck. To treat his own daughter like this… I think it's highly likely that he took your mother away because he wanted her to die. Miranda would never have agreed to what he did to you, Paige. From what you've told me, I believe you were born a Circ. Elliot must have infected your mother, which is how you came to have so many abilities without the problems the Circs in Project Dawn had.”
“So how is it your guys are still okay? I mean, from what I know, Circe's Recruits are the only surviving members of the original project.”
“I have some ideas, but honestly, I'm not sure why the squad survived the initial failure of the project. But they're not the only ones, you know. Caitlyn is like you. She was born a Circ. Kelly was injected with the serum at a young age. And Sabrina recently became Circ, saved from madness by Derrick, her mate. We're a special group here Paige. Like you.”
And McKinley, she thought but didn't say.
“Paige, if you don't mind my asking, how did Elliot realize you'd turned Circ?
What was it that first alerted him to your abilities? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I have to admit, what you've described doesn't seem to mirror what Caitlyn went through. Elliot had worked with her since she was born. She'd exhibited Circ traits right after puberty.”
“I don't know about that.” Interesting. Paige had an urge to talk to Caitlyn and the other women, to see what they thought about the men here and about their experiences with Elliot. Her instincts told her that she could learn a lot about herself among those of a like nature. She could be safe here…with Hale.
Shaking off the worrisome thought, she hurried to explain herself to Evan. “I lived a pretty normal life up until the last five years. Before then, in Elliot's eyes, I was normal. A failure. So he left me alone, until I matured and got careless. I was twenty-three when I made a big mistake. I'd just started to notice subtle differences. I'd become really strong. Small scratches healed within minutes, never leaving a scar. My senses exploded, like I could smell my roommate's perfume minutes before she walked through the door.
“I kept it to myself. I knew Elliot would want to know about it, and it made me feel good to keep that news to myself. It would have pissed him off, big-time.”
“Oh, yes,” Evan agreed.
“I'd begun dating a nice guy at the office where I worked. I'd never been very interested in the opposite sex, but Simon was nice, handsome, and fun to be with. Until one night when he wouldn't take no for an answer. I put his face through my front door.”
“Good Lord.”
“You said it.” Paige smiled, comfortable enough with him to share parts of her past. She still didn't understand why she felt so at ease with him—a virtual stranger—
but he seemed to genuinely care that she'd been mistreated. He knew all about Circs, so she didn't have to hide the truth of what she was. And he'd known her mother. The picture she still held in her hand was priceless.
Evan grimaced. “Let me guess. Elliot had you spied on.”
“Yeah. By my boyfriend, it so happened.” She shook her head, annoyed she hadn't seen that one coming. Then again, she'd been so out of her mind with lust at the time, she would have nailed anything that moved. She'd been a late bloomer. With no interest in sex, she'd resisted a ton of dating requests. Then she'd met Simon and dated him more to fit in than because she'd wanted male companionship. During the course of their courtship, her libido began a strange rhythm, turning her almost insane with lust. Which made her beast's rejection of Simon so confusing. When he'd refused to back off, her inner beast had reacted. Badly.
“I'm so sorry.” Evan reached out as if to touch her. But he kept his distance and put his hands in his pockets.
“It was a long time ago.” But the betrayal still hurt. “Elliot had watched the whole thing. He was pretty angry when he learned I'd been keeping things from him. I think my only saving grace is that he feared hurting me would hurt his research. After that, he kept me tied to his experiments. I wasn't a prisoner in the labs, even though I was.”