Laurann Dohner - Wrath

“I’ll do whatever you want but please don’t kill me. I have a whole list of stuff I want to do before I die and I haven’t done any of it yet.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Right. That’s why you’re hiding your face.” She pointed up at him. “You’re making sure I can’t see your eyes. Is that supposed to terrorize me more, because it’s working? This might be some kind of sick sort of amusement for you but not for me. I’m hungry, tired, and scared. Don’t you have a heart at all?” Her hand lifted to wipe at her tears.

“I am not wearing them to frighten you. My intention is the exact opposite. I wear the glasses to keep you at ease with me.”

“Big fail.”

He hesitated. “Do not be alarmed. I swear I won’t hurt you. Humans are afraid of us.”

Her eyes widened. “Humans? What are you? An alien?” She frowned. “Crap. You’re nuts too? Really? Shit.”

Wrath reached up and slowly removed his glasses. He stared at her calmly while she paled. Her mouth opened, closed, but nothing came out. He figured it was a good sign when she didn’t scream.

Chapter Three

Lauren knew she was gawking at Wrath. His eyes were strange. She was adding up facts and it all slammed together in her brain on why his features looked so masculine.

“Oh God.”

“Do not be frightened.”

Is he kidding? Relief swept through her and her fear eased. “You’re not some ex-con who works for the mob. You’re a New Species, aren’t you?”

He gave a sharp nod of his head.

“You don’t just have weird nicknames. They are actually your names!”

“Yes.” His lips twitched. “And I don’t think our names are weird.”

“Most men have names like Joe or Ralph but I shouldn’t have used the term weird. I know that New Species have names like Justice and Fury. I have seen both of them on television and I heard or read somewhere that you all pick names that have meaning for you. So you really are New Species. I’ve never met one of you in person.”

“I am New Species.”

“I didn’t know any of you kept your hair short. I should have realized when I saw your cheekbones and that nose…damn. I feel stupid for not putting it together. It’s just that the bald man’s eyes are really weird and he doesn’t exactly look like you.”

His eyes widened and he appeared confused.

“I can’t believe I’m in a room with a New Species.” She blushed a little and knew she probably sounded a bit nuts but she was a huge supporter of them. “My best friend and I, well, we’ve followed the news closely since that first facility was raided.”

She rose to her feet and took a few hesitant steps toward him. It dawned on her that it might not be a good idea and she paused. That’s when she remembered they could be dangerous to their enemies. Her eyes widened.

“Brent worked for Mercile? Is that why you’re after him?”

His lips pressed firmly together then he said, “Yes.”

“Son of a bitch!”

Eyebrows arched.

“Sorry.” She tried to tone it down a little. “I really didn’t like him. He’s a dick, treats women like crap, and is a ten on the eeew scale.” She was nervous suddenly. She was alone in a room with a real New Species.

They’d suffered so much. New Species had been created by a pharmaceutical company, using various combinations of human and animal DNA. The company, Mercile Industries, had used them as test subjects, imprisoned them, tortured them, and treated them like animals.

She tried to get a handle on her emotions as everything snapped into place. They were hunting Brent because he was a douche bag who helped suppress them. Vengeance’s words finally made some sense and she paled. “Brent helped kill that bald man’s girlfriend? One of your women?”

He hesitated. “Bill worked for Mercile Industries and isn’t worthy of you protecting him. You are aware that Mercile Industries used our kind to experiment upon. You know they created us to do illegal testing on our bodies. Bill worked for them and he tortured many of my people. He enjoyed causing us pain. Vengeance is so enraged because he was joined to one of our females for a long-term breeding test. He mated her and when they ended the test, they tried to take her away. A fight broke out and she was murdered by the technicians as punishment to him for attacking them. Vengeance was only trying to protect her. Bill didn’t kill the female but he killed another male’s female out of revenge. Bill reminds him of all he lost.”

Horror and shock tore through Lauren. She had heard Mercile Industries had done some horrible things to New Species but she hadn’t heard that they had murdered their victims.

“Brent killed someone?” She shook her head, taken aback. “Are you sure you have the right guy? I mean…” She kept shaking her head. “He’s an asshole and creep but I never would have thought he was pure evil.”

“We have the right male, Lauren. I am telling you the truth. He tortured my kind in the facility where he worked. He brutally raped a female and slit her throat in front of a male as punishment for his refusal to do as he was ordered in a breeding test. The male whose female was murdered, along with other victims from that facility, have all identified Bill by photographs we were able to obtain. She wasn’t the only female he raped and he enjoyed hitting males while they were helplessly chained.” His voice deepened into a snarl. “He deserves to be punished for his crimes and he is one of the humans we want most.”

It was beyond appalling to hear that the guy she worked with was capable of such monstrous atrocities but she believed Wrath. A shiver ran down her spine. She backed up to the bed and sat hard. Her legs shook a little at the thought of all the times she’d spoken to Brent, totally unaware of what a vile person she dealt with. She’d even filed complaints with their boss over his rude behavior. He could have killed her in retaliation.

“I am sorry for Vengeance’s behavior toward you. He thinks you are Bill’s female. The pain of what he witnessed with his own female and the rage at her loss has driven him a bit crazy. We haven’t found or identified the male who killed his female but Bill is so similar to that human that he’s taken this mission to his heart. I apologize. It will never happen again. You weren’t supposed to really be harmed. You assumed we were similar to those males we watch in criminal movies and we allowed you to believe it. We don’t hit or torture females but we thought your fear of us would make you talk. We played the part you expected.”

Lauren still reeled from finding out she’d worked with a rapist and murderer. “I understand. I feel so bad for Vengeance now that I know why he was so awful to me. I don’t condone it but I get it.” Her arms hugged her waist and she peered up at the New Species. “I had no idea who Brent really was but I’ll do anything you need to help you track down that piece of shit. I mean that. I know you guys think I’m dating him or sleeping with him but I have better taste than that. He’s a creep.”

“How well do you know Bill?”

“I know him as Brent. Everything I’ve said is true about just knowing him from work. I started there three months ago and I didn’t like him from the get-go. Vengeance said I smell like perfume that Brent likes, that it’s rare, but I got this at a Christmas gift exchange at work. It must have been the gift he brought. I took men’s cologne in for the exchange. It’s a common thing to buy for those things.”

“We’ve talked to many females who Bill has dated and shared sex with. You carry the scent he buys them and prefers they wear. Perfume confuses our sense of smell. We aren’t picking up any trace of sex from you or even the scent of a male but we can’t read you accurately. I can faintly scent another female. Did you hug or brush up against one?”