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PROLOGUE

Private Daniel Burrows knows the advantages of getting a designation. His ranking in the military would be higher, and he’d get promoted faster. He’d get a large enough signing bonus that he could put a down payment on a house.

If he had any interest in buying a house, that would be more alluring.

He could get engaged and prepare to start a family… if there was someone he had any interest in being engaged to.

Daniel’s pretty sure he can’t have a family. After. Though he isn’t sure. How in the hell would that work? That’s the sort of thing he doesn’t want to think too much about. Would he want to marry a man?

Anyway.

There are benefits to being a lab rat aside from the financial aspects—the benefits his father and brother focus on.

He’ll be stronger, smarter, and faster. He’ll build muscle more quickly than a normal man. He might never catch a cold again. He’ll heal faster, have increased longevity (so long as he doesn’t have to be put down or frozen), and his hearing and vision will be perfect. There are definitely benefits.

And if he became a Dominant then his father would be proud of him.

The man would have no choice in the matter. For once in Daniel’s life he might hear the magic words: “Good job, son. I’m proud of you.”

Failing that, he might get a shoulder squeeze of approval. Or maybe a grunt of acknowledgement. The bar of what Daniel would take as “praise” is embedded in the floor.

The problem is that becoming a Dominant isn’t a certainty. The military has gotten better about predicting who will be submissive and who will be Dominant, but it isn’t exact. And Daniel hasn’t quite decided what’s an acceptable level of risk. What if there’s a five percent chance of becoming submissive? That’s five out of every hundred men. Those are pretty good odds, but they’re still not great.

Maybe one in five thousand would be good enough odds. Definitely ten thousand.

Daniel’s father is about to tell him the likelihood of him becoming a submissive. Surely if it’s too high then his father won’t want him to do it, right?

“Eight percent,” Daniel’s father says, looking at him sternly across his large mahogany desk. Daniel hates this desk. He’s been whipped with a branch over this fucking desk more times than he can count.

That’s terrible , he thinks about saying. It isn’t worth the risk. I don’t want to do it.

His father turns his gaze to Daniel’s brother Logan. “Twelve percent.”

Ah, hell.

Daniel can see Logan grip the chair tightly, knuckles white against the carved wood. “What do you think I should do, Sir?” Logan asks, leaving it up to their father.

Daniel wants to punch him.

“Our family has been in the military for five generations. We have always fought with integrity and bravery. We do not run from our duty. No boys of mine would turn down this opportunity to become the best of the best, no matter the odds. Your grandfather’s odds on D-Day certainly weren’t above fifty percent chance of survival. That’s how heroes are made. Real men take the risk.”

Logan nods in agreement. “Yes, Sir.”

Daniel wants to howl in protest. He wants to get up and run from the room, but how can he when he only has an eight percent chance of becoming a submissive while Logan is at twelve percent?

“That is the right decision,” their father says. And then he turns to Daniel.

“I want to make you proud,” Daniel tells him, voice wavering. He has to clear his throat—it’s so terrifying to argue with his father. But he’s an adult. He needs to do better than this.

“This is a good start,” their father says, and stands up.

“But I can’t do it,” Daniel forces himself to say. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to risk it.” Bile fills his mouth. He might throw up all over his father’s desk.

“It’s a matter of will, Daniel. If you are steadfast in who you are, if you have no moral failings, then you have nothing to worry about. Do you have the will to become a Dominant?”

Daniel is almost positive “will” doesn’t have anything to do with it. “I do believe in myself, but it’s a… risk. All sorts of good men come out wrong, I mean submissive?—”

“Not my sons,” his father retorts, voice a low hiss of rage.

He can feel Logan looking at him, shocked at his display of disobedience.

“Your brother Aaron will be the head of this family. You two are meant for the military. I will not be shamed by you, Daniel. If you don’t have the courage to do your duty?—”

“He does. Of course he does,” Logan cuts in, getting to his feet.

“First thing tomorrow, then,” their father says before he strides from the room. Their time is up. His father is a busy man, probably has to talk to someone from the Department of Defense or Homeland Security. Someone more important than his two sons.

Daniel stays seated, stunned at Logan’s betrayal, the destiny that is yawning open in front of him.

“You’ve fucked me. Do you understand? I don’t want to do it. You shouldn’t want to do it! It isn’t going to go well. I can feel it. This is a mistake. And do you know what we will get for this sacrifice? Nothing. He won’t love us more. He won’t give us approval. I can’t believe you,” he whispers. His brother’s betrayal is the worst part. His father has always been an asshole. Of course he doesn’t give a shit what Daniel wants. However, Logan is not just blood but his best friend in all the world.

He hadn’t expected this from his brother.

“Daniel. You’ve heard the odds. What can we do? Do you want to be disowned? Disinherited? You know he’ll turn his back on us for dishonoring the family name if we say no.”

I’ll walk away if you will. That’s what Daniel wants to say. Because Logan is his twin. If they walk away together, then Daniel can survive anything. But what if Logan says no? He can’t stand the possibility of such a rejection.

For all his life, he’s had one person on his side. What if Logan doesn’t choose him?

“We’re still his sons. He couldn’t stand to have submissive sons. He says the odds are good and I believe him,” Logan continues. “We’ll have the best doctors. He’ll make sure of it. He’ll use his connections and we’ll be fine.”

“That man has never given us special treatment. Why the hell would he start now?”

“Because he doesn’t want to have submissive sons. His pride won’t allow it.”

Daniel wants to howl and throw something. Run away. What if he just walked out and never came back? Got a job at a fast-food place or bussing tables? Anything. He looks at his twin and the look of determination on his face.Seeing the mask covering up the fear on Logan’s face that he also feels is enough for Daniel to make his decision. How could he let his brother undergo such a thing on his own?

He sighs heavily. “Shit. I guess there’s no other choice,” Daniel says, voice rough. “You’ve both decided.”

Logan sighs as well and sits back down in the chair. “If you want to leave, I’ll support you.”

“But you won’t go with me?”

“I can’t,” he admits, wincing. “And hell, my odds are worse than yours.” Logan manages an insincere chuckle at the end.

Daniel leans forward, waiting until Logan is looking him in the eyes. “Aren’t you worried that we won’t be ourselves anymore? How can they change so much of us and say we’re the same? Do you want to suck dick, or get fucked? Because I don’t. But apparently, we’re going to be okay with it when this is all over. I’ll have the urge to fight or get on my knees, I’ll be drawn to men and need things that….” His breath stalls in his chest. It’s impossible to say. To even think. “How could we want those things? What if we don’t even want them, but do them anyway? I don’t understand why we’re letting it happen. Are you really not afraid? Not fucking terrified?”

The problem is they’re brothers. They’ve been best friends their entire lives. Daniel knows Logan better than he knows himself, and if Logan is going to go through with this, then somehow, Daniel is too.

“No, I’m not worried. And you shouldn’t be either,” Logan says, and Daniel knows he’s fucking lying.

For some damn reason that makes it easy. Everyone is scared and they do it anyway. Surely his great-grandfather who fought in World War One was terrified to leave the trenches and go over the top, but he did it anyway. His grandfather was on Normandy Beach and raced out of the water while his brothers were gunned down around him. The seas were red with blood and those men still got out of their boats and did what they had to do.

This is easy by comparison. All Daniel has to do is walk through a door and lie down. When he wakes up it will be over, and he will be a hero. The odds are he’ll be Dominant. If he has urges to be with men, if he “needs” that, then so be it. There will be benefits which outweigh that possible side effect.

All he has to do is have faith. And maybe his father will finally be proud of him.