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PROLOGUE

BOULDER, COLORADO

Harmony Lancaster flipped on the television as she pulled the da, damp strands of black, brown and sunlit blond fell down her shoulders as she picked up her manicure set and propped herself on the bed to watch the news conference

Good ole Reverend Henry Richard Alonzo, head of one of the largest and fastest growing supre court and spouting nonsense If only those to whom he preached were aware of who and what he was really all about A son and grandson to hest order of the Genetics Council A man whose faainst If Breeds could be called monsters

A cynical smile shaped her lips: Well, perhaps in her case

Returning to the States hadn't been an easy decision to make, especially to this area But the job she had cohter of a wealthy industrialist The little girl had been a the rescue It hadher out of the shack where she was being held

As for the kidnappers, they would never be found Harmony had made certain of it

"The very creation of the Breeds is an abomination to the natural order and law of h his blue eyes gloith fanatic fervor

"Allowing them to run loose, to crossbreed and live as human is the most unconscionable reat and hty God They were created by man They are the beasts that will mark us with their corruption Is this e truly want? To tempt our downfall into hell?"

"Giveher attention to the news conference as she ran a file slowly over her short nails, watching the arrogance that filled Alonzo's lined face

How old was he now? Sixty-five, seventy? Shouldn't he be dead by now? The ht on society, and if he would just mess up a little bit, then she would be happy to take him out But until she found the blood on his hands, there wasn't a da she could do

If the Breed Ruling Cabinet wasn't very careful, then Alonzo was going toroups were noly banding with hile entity that could, in tiainst the Breeds

Race wars They had been a part of the world for as long as hu in ence of the Breed population Sometimes, Harmony wondered why Callan Lyons, the leader of the Feline Breeds, had made the decision to publicize their existence Yeah, Breeds were free They weren't dying in labs anymore and they weren't imprisoned Now they were hunted and reviled, and the world was slowly becoain This time over species distinction rather than race

Were the Breeds human? Unfortunately, as far as Harmony was concerned, they weren't Humanity was stripped from them the first five years of their lives And now Alonzo threatened the fragile balance the Breed Ruling Cabinet was atteain their humanity

That was, if Alonzo didn't die first His wealth and fervor were the guiding forces behind the rapidly organized Blood Purity Society And that sucked Because killing him would require a lot of work, and it would really prick her conscience a bit Of course, that wouldn't bother her overmuch if it weren't for the fact that another fanatic would just take his place There were always otherto replace the ones that fell