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Prologue

Sandy Hook

Sherra stood silently in the shadows of thecarefully, her eyes narrowed as the nine men parted company and went to their respective rooerous She had watched the Doc off at the safe house, then followed them to Sandy Hook and watched as they checked in

Kane didn’t remind her of Merinus in any way He was darker-haired, the color nearly black, with intense, cold blue eyes His strong jaw and high cheekbones gave a hint to Native A at extensiveShe knew the look, the way a killerthem, been raped by them more than once But this one she knew personally This ht her pleasure Despite her pleas, despite her wishes to the contrary, he had taken her beneath the unfeeling eye of a ca her from one climax to the next, his lust fueled by hers, and hers by his touch

Had it only been eleven years ago? Sweet heaven, that night torh it had happened only yesterday The dark soldier who had sworn to help her, to rescue her He had co freedoht teaching her the pleasures of her woman’s body When he left, he never returned But the doctors had They had returned to her cell with the video they had taped of the night she spent with his Kane Tyler had done to her, that she had done to hinated her They had wondered if pleasure would

She was a Breed As she had been taught in the Genetics Council’s labs, she wasn’t hu more Even now, ten years after her freedom from those labs, she wasn’t certain which she was Human or animal She knew, for a very brief time, in this man’s arms, she had become a woman And she would hate him for it until she drew her last breath She had been created, not born Trained, not raised When Kane touched her, she had lived When he deceived her she had lost the only thing that ever mattered in her life, and now, life or death, it didn’t matter All that mattered was the survival of the Pride itself Their sanctuary here in Sandy Hook had been compromised in ways that could never be repaired now They were, once again, homeless Homeless and hunted

Her hands clenched into fists of rage as Kane lingered outside his rooarette he had lit moments earlier She wanted to kill him now She had sworn she would kill hiain Sworn she would see to it that he paid for every o She had sworn he would pay for lying to her, and for doing it so easily without her knowledge He had betrayed her, just as he had betrayed his sister

His expression hardened when the last door finally closed and he was left alone with her

“Where’s Merinus?” His voice was savage, pulsating with a fury that sent a frisson of unease through her body How had he known she was there, watching hi? “And why the fuck weren’t we met at the airport as promised?”

“I have a better question,” she said from the safety of the shadows “Why would a brother betray a sister he swears to love, on the eve of promised help?”

He turned around slowly, casually, until he was facing her She saw hard purpose in his face, and surprise

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“A full team of soldiers swept over Callan’s house A dozen et him or Merinus But I know they want her They know about her ”

“Knohat, for God’s sake?” He raked his fingers through his hair, his voice quiet but rough with fury

“Why the hell would they attack now?”