“Did she say why he wasn’t restrained? I haven’t had time to read all the statements from the team but understand he wasn’t.”
“Dr. Allison released him after the first day.
She said she felt stupid having an unconscious male restrained and she believes he’s not dangerous.” The one called Tiger paused. “She’s been around us for too long and has never seen an angry new male who came directly from Mercile.”
“We’ll have Trisha make the hard decisions.
Right now he’s stable and Dr. Allison isn’t leaving the cell she’s contained in. Destiny is raising a fit to see her but I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s admitted to being attracted to her and I’m afraid he’ll attempt to pull mate status to save her if we decide to prosecute her for kidnapping 880.”
“Shit,” Tiger muttered. “It’s going to be ugly if we have to lock her up for years. She’s made a lot of friends here but we can’t just forgive what she did. I’m fond of her myself but it doesn’t change the fact that she put a Species at risk. We can’t condone that.”
The one called Justice hesitated. “She woke him. That’s got to count for something. It’s a hell of a mess.”
“I know.” 880 sensed that Tiger stepped closer.
“I’m afraid he’ll care what happens to her. What if locking her away from him keeps him from waking again? She might have been onto something with the female scent. He woke to protect her.”
“Hell.” The voice of the other male came closer too. “We’ll see what Trisha has to say. I know Dr. Allison has been clear that she’s willing to put her life at risk but what if he were to kill her if we allowed her near him? I’d feel guilty.
We just don’t know enough about him.”
“He’s clueless that his life has changed and probably thinks he’s still at the mercy of Mercile.
I wish some of our men had been with the team who located them. Maybe seeing one of us would have shocked him more but it might have made him realize who has him now.”
A firm hand gripped 880’s shoulder and he was able keep his body lax to hide the fact that he was conscious. He expected pain but none came.
“880, if you can hear me, I am Justice. I am like you.” He paused. “Tiger is like you too. We were once held prisoner by Mercile Industries but we were freed. You are safe here with your own kind. We have you restrained because we don’t know if you are dangerous to us or not. Your mental state is unknown.” His hand moved away.
“The female who stole you is human but she isn’t a technician working for Mercile. She’s a good one who just wanted to save your life. She meant you no harm.”
It could be a trap but 880 made the decision to open his eyes. The light was blinding but something suddenly leaned over him to block out most of it. He stared into a face inches above his own. The male had features that weren’t human and strongly familiar since he’d seen his own reflection at times. His heart raced.
The male smiled, his expression alight with kindness, and he opened his mouth enough to show his sharp teeth. “I am Justice. Can you speak, 880? You are safe. See? We are the same and I was created by Mercile as well.”
Movement to his left drew his attention and he turned his head to stare at yet another male with altered features. That male smiled.
“I’m Tiger. You’re safe. Mercile no longer has you. We’ve been freed.”
Shock gripped him as the words sank into his confused mind. It couldn’t be true but he stared at two males, proof that it might be. He didn’t even know other males existed besides the ones he’d smelled recently when his mate was murdered.
He opened his mouth, his throat dry, but managed to speak.
“Are we the only three left?”
Justice shook his head. “There are many of us.”
The male turned his head. “Get Destiny in here but keep Ted and Paul out. No humans. Species only.”
Tiger left. 880 stared deeply into the male’s gaze.
“You didn’t know there were more of us?”
Justice asked.
It hurt to speak so 880 held up two fingers.
“You were kept away from our females except for one. Is that accurate?”
He nodded.
An emotion close to pain twisted the male’s features as he spoke. “There are many of us, 880.
We were freed from Mercile cells. We are in control of our lives.”
880 tried to shift his arm but couldn’t since it was restrained. A soft growl burst from his lips. The other male noticed the movement and glanced up before meeting his gaze again.
“We’ll get those off you. We just didn’t know if you were dangerous or not. We didn’t want you to get hurt or to hurt us if you woke not knowing you aren’t amongst enemies.”
“The female?” He wanted to know where Alli was and what she’d done to him. “The two males?”
“I’m sorry.” The male leaned in closer. “Your mate was killed. We rescued the two males who were witness to it and they survived.” Anger deepened his voice. “We weren’t able to recover your mate’s body. I’m so sorry. It was gone by the time we located you and the other males held with you. The Mercile employees who would speak during interrogation said her body was removed and destroyed. They burned it.”
He knew his mate had died. “The technician.”
The other male drew back a little. “Dr. Allison?”
“Alli.” It hurt to get the words out, speaking hurt his throat, but he wanted to know about her.
“She is a human doctor who works for us. You were rescued some months ago and brought to us after you were in coma. After your mate was murdered you attacked the bars of your cell and it caused massive damage to your body. Even though your injuries healed, you wouldn’t wake.”
He licked his lips and took a deep breath. “Dr.
Allison didn’t mean any harm but she stole you from us. She believed you scenting another female would lure you from your deep sleep and perhaps pique your interest. We refused to allow it, concerned that you’d want the female whose scent you grew to know.
“She will be punished for taking you. We can’t condone the risk she took that our enemies would locate you. There are humans who hate us but we are safe from them here. She took you away from us, where we couldn’t protect you.”
880 tried to understand the information he’d been given. A lot of it didn’t make sense to him, the sketchy details overloaded his mind, and he still had a hard time grasping that his people had been liberated and so many had survived. Mercile no longer had them at their mercy. He was tempted to believe it was all a scheme to gain his trust for some new experiment but he refused to consider that males of his own kind would meekly submit to helping the vicious humans fool him.
He stared into the other male’s steady gaze.
“Truth?”
“It’s all true.” Justice leaned in again. “I know what you must be thinking. This isn’t a game and they aren’t forcing me to lie to you. No female will suffer if I don’t say something they made me repeat. We are free and Mercile is no longer in control. Your hellish life as you knew it no longer exists.”
The approaching footsteps drew his attention and 880 turned to watch the male named Tiger enter the room, along with a new male with altered features. Both of them smiled at him as Justice backed away.
“Unlock him, Destiny.”
The new male hesitated, shooting 880 a dubious look.
“It is safe. He isn’t feral. We’ve been talking.”
“I am now called Destiny.” The male approached his bed cautiously and withdrew keys.
“I will unlock your restraints. We mean you no harm.”
“He knows,” Justice stated. “Just set him free.”