Page 7 of Protector (Alpha Ties)
SEVEN
AX2
It’s ten days before he sees the other AX models again.
Dr. Green isn’t forthcoming with feedback from the session with the prostitutes, but the lack of punishment lets him assume they are not displeased by his refusal to participate. The beta doesn’t mention her absence, either, his sole focus on pricking needles into AX2’s skin and reading test results on the computer.
But on the tenth morning, when Dr. Green enters the lab, he waves two fingers on the hand clutching his usual cup of coffee at AX2. “No need to strip down—we’re skipping the tests today. You’re scheduled for brunch with the others.”
“Brunch?” The concept seems so alien it takes him a moment to connect the word.
“Don’t tell me you have an aversion to scrambled eggs and bacon, as well as willing girls climbing all over you.” The beta rolls his eyes and turns back to the door. “We’re moving on to the next step of your training. After today’s brunch, we will be transferring you into a shared dorm with the other AX soldiers.”
His heart gives an odd lurch. “Permanently?”
“So long as things continue to go smoothly, yes. Come on.” He walks out the door, leaving AX2 to follow.
An unfamiliar lightness spreads through AX2’s chest as the beta’s words sink through the humming in his ears. The others… He will be living with them? He won’t be alone in this lab day after day after day if things go smoothly—and by all the stars in the sky, he will ensure they do—if it means he gets to be with his kin.
He only hesitates for a second, letting his eyes move over the familiar room one last time before he follows Dr. Green.
The mess hall is in another part of the compound he’s never seen before. There are several tables and benches set up in the room, and a buffet along the eastern wall. It’s unmanned, but the scents of food hit his nostrils the moment he enters.
There are only four occupants—the other AX soldiers. They all look up when he and Dr. Green enter.
“Oi, would you look at that!” Simon grins, a piece of bacon halfway to his mouth. “Glad you could finally make it, buddy.”
“Thought you’d decided to ditch us,” Jack says, elbows on the table as he gives AX2 a wide smile. “Grab some food and come sit down.”
There is something… off about the scenario playing out in front of him. The last time he saw them, they were as cautious as he—careful not to speak out of turn in front of the doctor. This… This carefree atmosphere doesn’t fit with what he knows of this place.
His back muscles flex, tension curling in his gut on instinct, but Dr. Green only nods in the direction of the buffet. “Get yourself a tray. I’ll come back at ten to get you settled into the dorm.”
AX2 stares mutely after him as the doctor walks out, leaving the five of them alone.
“You really should get in on this before the eggs cool down,” Dwayne says between mouthfuls.
AX2 snaps his head back to them. “What the fuck is this?”
His angry rumble makes the others chuckle.
“Yeah, it takes a moment. Welcome to step three of reprogramming. It doesn’t come with pussy, but it does have bacon.” Sean lifts his chin in the direction of the buffet.
AX2 remains frozen for several long breaths. Experience warns him to be cautious, to expect the other shoe to drop at any moment. His kin’s relaxed postures and easy smiles tell another story.
They leave him to work through it, returning their attention to their food and one another.
It takes a few minutes before he forces himself to cross the room, grab a tray and stare at the offered food.
The sheer color of it is overwhelming—the bright yellow of scrambled eggs, reddish brown of bacon, deep green of collards, and vibrant purple of blueberries. Up until now, his meals have consisted of carefully balanced, high-nutrition mush.
When he returns to the table, his tray is loaded five layers high.
“Whoa. You’ll be able to eat again later,” Simon says, eyebrows lifting as he looks at AX2’s tray.
“You’re one to talk—you ate thirty fucking oat rolls the first day,” Jack snorts. “Leave the man to his food mountain.”
“And I was constipated for three days after. Just trying to save his ass—literally,” Simon sighs.
“This—how long has this—?” AX2 makes the mistake of biting into a buttered roll of bread, and his question dies on a soft groan. Pure bliss fizzes on his taste buds.
“Since the whores.” Sean eyes him carefully. “Next morning, they brought us all here. Everyone except you. We thought maybe the lady doc did something to you.”
The memory of soft skin and that throbbing pulse under his palm pushes at the edges of his mind. He shoves another bite of bread into his mouth, forcing his focus to return to the taste of real food.
“Any idea why they kept you away?” Dwayne asks, his tone slightly too casual. He doesn’t quite manage to hide the note of concern.
AX2 only grunts in response.
“Eh. He didn’t fuck on command, so they probably just needed to recalibrate his dick.” Simon points a fork at him. “Pipes in working order now, bud?”
“Why are they doing this?” AX2 asks around another mouthful of bread. His choice not to answer is deliberate.
Jack shrugs. “Who knows? Something-something training us to act like normies.” The smile he cracks doesn’t hide the gleam of darkness in his otherwise pale eyes. “Nothing like real food and company to make you forget months of torture and obedience training, eh?”
His tone is sardonic, but AX2 frowns as he takes in his kin. It’s only been ten days, but he sees the difference in them. Reprogramming, Sean called it. If that’s what it is, it looks like it’s working.
Every instinct hard-won during his time in this compound tells him that there is something bad coming—that the only reason the scientists in charge would ever allow them this is to have something to take away again later.
It doesn’t matter. Even if that’s the case—if this will all be yanked away without warning—he still wants it, craves it, with every cell in his body. Just a moment without fear, without loneliness, is worth whatever horrors lie ahead.
By the time ten o’ clock rolls around, AX2 is full to bursting, and a warm, lethargic sensation threads through his body. It’s the best he can remember ever feeling.
When Dr. Green shows up, he leads them to a room with concrete on all four surfaces lit by a single, fluorescent lightbulb. Three bunk beds with gray blankets and gray sheets fill the space, two on either side and one in the middle. Apart from the door they enter through, there’s another on the northern wall, undoubtedly leading to the latrine.
“The gym is down the hall on your left,” the beta says. “We expect at least five hours a day from you. If your test results drop, we will step in. I suspect you’ll prefer it if we don’t have to, so put in your best effort. There will be no missions for the time being, but I want you in fighting condition at all times. Understood?”
AX2 nods. His head feels light. They are allowing him control of his day?
Over his body?
“Good. We will be monitoring…” Dr. Green’s voice dies when the door behind them bangs open and General Thompson storms through it.
AX2 jerks once, as do the other soldiers, the sudden and aggressive arrival of another alpha sparking instincts not entirely hardwired into compliance.
“General Thompson,” Dr. Green begins, his brow furrowing as he catches the look on the other man’s face. His lips are pressed into a flat line, but his eyes are wide, their whites pronounced.
“You—AX2. With me,” General Thompson snaps, ignoring the doctor as he exits the dorm as swiftly as he entered.
AX2 obeys, his body moving before his mind has fully processed the scene.
General Thompson waits for him in the halls. His posture is staunch, spine arrow-straight and shoulders wide, but the energy emanating off him is jittery and aggressive, and it sparks against AX2’s nervous system.
“The Russians have Adelaide,” he says the second the door closes behind AX2.
AX2 blinks. “What?” The question is out of his mouth before his training kicks in. He braces for the sear of his chip, but the general is far too agitated to punish him for the slip.
“They kidnapped her. The commie bastards took my daughter right from under my fucking nose. I’ve managed to locate her whereabouts—they’re holding her in a bunker in Eastern Siberia.” He pulls his fingers through his short hair and turns to AX2. “I need you to get her back.”
A roil of emotions heats his gut—confusion and dread most prominent. He is careful to keep his voice monotone when he says, “I have not been trained for search and rescue, sir.”
General Thompson rounds on him, his steel-gray eyes narrowing to a glare. “I don’t give a shit. If I take this through the proper channels, and if she’s…” He sucks in a sharp breath, jaw clenching around whatever he was about to say. “You’re the best I’ve got. And I am ordering you to rescue my daughter. Save her, no matter the cost.”