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  “Here.” He held up two keys. “The door to the cell and to his restraints. Do you wish me to go with you?”

  “No. I’m afraid it would upset him if you did. I can do it.” She glanced at his outfit. “You changed fast. I only left the meeting a few minutes ago.”

  “I was nearby when the order came down. I’m relieving the officer since he didn’t have a spare set of clothes handy.”

  She gripped the keys in her fist, her fear and excitement clashing. She had no idea what would happen when she released 466. It could go bad really fast. The officer stopped at the elevator and removed a set of keys.

  “We’re keeping it on key access only. That way Moon can’t leave the basement. We activated the cameras below.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t like the idea of being watched.

  He seemed to read her mind as his expression softened while he twisted the key to open the doors. “Sound only. Justice ordered Security to blacken the screen feed.” He paused. “Only female officers are permitted to listen in. We hoped that would make you more comfortable. Call out if you need help and I’ll immediately be notified. I will come to your aid.”

  “Thank you.”

  He stepped inside and his finger hesitated over the button to close the doors when she followed. “I will take you down and then be stationed upstairs. It will take me about forty seconds to reach you if there is trouble. Do not fight if he attacks. Curl into a ball and be very still. Even feral, it should keep him from harming you for long enough for me to get there. Backup will only be seconds behind me. Just stay out of the way if that happens. Don’t interfere if I must fight him. You’d get hurt. I can handle Moon.”

  “I don’t think he’ll attack me.”

  His gaze swept over her. “Define your version of ‘attack’ for me.”

  “Hurt me.”

  His eyebrows arched. “Do you know the risks?”

  “I know he could be dangerous.”

  The doors closed them inside when he pushed the button. He was a big Species. She liked him. “He might want sex. Were you warned of that?”

  Her cheeks warmed again. “Yes.”

  “You are prepared for that?” He frowned, glancing down her body. “You aren’t very sturdy.”

  “Um, what’s your name?”

  “Darkness.”

  “I’m Joy.” She didn’t offer him her hand, that being a human custom and she hadn’t noticed if Species had picked it up. “Moon and I have a history.”

  “I was told about that but you never shared sex with him.”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “Do you ever watch animal shows on television?”

  “Sometimes.”

  His eyes were really dark as they narrowed. “Wolf matings?”

  “No.”

  “It will be a form of that if he comes at you. Expect growling, posturing, and sniffing. When mating, we tend to stick to instinct. He’ll be aggressive and exhibit alpha behavior. Lower your eyes, make no sudden movements, and don’t fight. He’d be rough without meaning to.”

  “You’re feline. How do you know about wolves?”

  He hesitated. “I spent a lot of time with Reservation residents at Mercile.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Our less civil Species are kept there. The ones Mercile considered failures. I was housed with them for a time before we were freed. Their animal behaviors overshadow their human traits in most cases. Don’t expect purely human actions.”

  “I think I understand.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” He studied her closely. “No one would blame you if you declined.”

  She decided to be honest. “I love him.”

  He didn’t appear surprised at her confession. “Forty seconds. That’s all you have to endure if you get into trouble.”

  “I’ll remember.”

  He pushed another button and the elevator lowered to the basement. Darkness stayed against the wall in order to stay out of Moon’s sightline. “Be careful,” he whispered. “Make sure you are comfortable with his behavior before releasing him.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered back, stepping out as soon as the elevator doors opened.

  Moon paced his cell, dragging his chains when she approached him. The doors closed behind her and she knew that they were both locked inside the basement now. She didn’t have a key to the elevator.

  “Hi. I’m back.”

  He stopped pacing and growled, his head turning her way.

  “466?”

  His lips parted and his fangs showed as he snarled. She halted about ten feet from the bars.

  “Talk to me.”

  He moved to the bars and growled low. She peered into his eyes and her heart dropped. No recognition showed there. Had he had an episode? Forgotten her?

  “Talk to me,” she said again, afraid for him.

  “Come,” he demanded harshly.

  “Who am I?”

  He blinked, a moment of confusion flashing on his features. Pain stabbed her chest as seconds passed. He growled again, shook the bars, and flashed his sharp canines. He didn’t know. Whatever lucidity he’d had was gone.

  “466? It’s Joy.” Her mind worked, trying to figure out what was going on. They’d talked and he’d been almost normal when she’d left. Now it was as if she faced him again for the first time. “You know me. Try to remember.”

  He spun away, pacing, dragging his chains. Soft growls came from him as she fought back the anguish. He wasn’t getting better. He was having moments of lucidity but then losing them. Her heart broke.

  It took a lot for her to walk over to the chair and put the two keys down where he wouldn’t see them. No way could she release him now. She’d jumped the gun because she’d wanted to believe so badly that he was getting better.

  “Come,” Moon snarled.

  She looked at him when she turned to face his cell. “Who am I?”

  He pointed in front of him and his gaze lowered to her chest. “Now.”

  Joy approached slowly but kept out of his reach. She lowered to her knees, staring up at him. “Who are you?”

  Confusion clouded his face.

  She tried to get a handle on her raging emotions. It tore her apart that he’d lost what foothold he’d had on reality. The anger burned too at the people who’d done this to him. She’d like to take the person who shot him with the drugs and wring his neck with her bare hands.

  “Come,” he demanded again, harsher than before.

  “I can’t.” Would they have to start over every time she saw him? She kept her voice low, dropped her head, and her eyes closed. It hurt too much to see him that way.

  Chapter Six

  He wanted the female. She smelled good sitting so close to him, torturing him by refusing to allow him to touch her. His blood seemed to boil inside his body from the need to put his hands on her. His mouth. He wanted to taste her. To take her. To possess her.

  She kept her chin down but he knew what she looked like. Her heart-shaped face seemed ingrained into his mind for some reason. Big blue eyes with yellow flecks haunted him.

  She was familiar but he couldn’t remember why. He crouched, sniffed at her again, and something tugged on the outer edges of his mind. He kept staring at her while he tried to figure out what it was about the female that captivated him. Frustration made him growl.

  She looked up at him then and tears shimmered in her eyes. It confused him but it also did more. A deep sense of guilt filled him. He somehow knew he was the cause though he hadn’t touched her or caused her pain. She blinked rapidly to keep those tears from spilling.

  Such delicate features. Her mouth grabbed his attention. She should be smiling. An image of her doing just that flashed. The sound of her laugher followed and a memory surfaced from the murky depths of his mind.

  “Don’t do that, 466. You’re supposed to be serious.”

  “I could be,” he said. “If you give me what I want.”