Page 1

Chapter 1

Daff

The metal death trap dipped, and I closed my eyes, swallowing against the bile in the back of my throat.

They hadn’t told us how we’d be travelling, other than a date and time.

Like everything else about this job, the details had been kept on a need-to-know basis.

Apparently, I didn’t need to know much.

Mandy’s hand in mine gripped tighter, the tips of her nails digging into my skin.

A reminder I wasn’t the only one terrified.

Static blasted through my headphones, and a voice punched through the noise, keeping time with the soldier’s lips, strapped in at the front of the helicopter.

“We’re sixty seconds out from landing. Remain seated until you’re released from your harness and directed to exit.”

I gave Mandy’s hand a squeeze then slipped from her grip, the both of us wrapping our fingers around the thick straps holding us in.

My stomach floated for a few terrifying seconds, then a soft bump signalled solid ground.

Smooth. Easy. Just like they promised.

I pressed my hand to my chest, hoping the pressure would convince my pounding heart we weren’t still on the brink of exploding into scattered body parts, too melted to identify.

Two soldiers jumped into action, working on releasing our restraints while another directed us off single file, pointing towards a shuttle bus.

We ran towards it, our heads ducked against the wind slamming into us from the rotating blades.

I took a window seat halfway down the shuttle and Mandy slipped in beside me, rubbing her hands down her thighs as her eyes darted between windows.

It looked like we’d landed in the belly of a dead volcano, fully reclaimed by nature before being disturbed by the military.

Lush green slopes rose to form sheer cliffs around us.

On our right, nature ran wild, the enormous trees walled off by an insanely tall, chain-link fence topped with three rounds of razor wire.

Our left was packed with cookie-cutter rows of buildings, their roofs lined with solar panels.

“Oh my god,” Mandy whispered, “Where are we?”

The shuttle door slammed, making us all jump.

“Eyes on me, ladies!”

The soldier stood at the front of our bus, legs spread, shoulders rigid, hands clasped behind his back.

He wore the same fatigues as those on our helicopter, but he had two guns strapped to his waist, one a lot chunkier than the other.

“I understand it’s been a long trip, and you’re tired. You’ll be able to stretch your legs in just a few more minutes.”

“Where are we?” The woman sitting behind us asked.

She had pale skin spattered with freckles, making the dark circles under her eyes stand out.

I was pretty sure she’d introduced herself as Andi.

“We call this base The Compound. It’s your new home for the next two years.”

Questions exploded around me.

“Yeah, but where are we?”

“We crossed a lot of water.”

“Is it Hawaii?”

“Not many other islands are this green.”

He held up his hand, stopping the verbal avalanche.

“We have a duty to ensure the health and safety of every person on base. For a number of our residents, their location, therefore this base, is classified. I understand the lack of information is frustrating, but it’s absolutely necessary.”

Another uncomfortable reminder that us plain Janes were walking into this blind.

I’d seen the ad a year ago, offering an obscene amount of money for female applicants twenty-five and over.

Either not enough were interested, or they were smart enough to nope out before signing their contracts NDA, because the second time it flagged my attention, the application age had dropped to twenty-one.

The only other requirement?

Cutting contact with the rest of the world for two whole years.

While others would rather die at the thought, leaving my two jobs and the top bunk in Dad’s trailer behind wasn’t a big deal.

I didn’t have any pets.

No besties or boyfriends.

There was nothing to miss or make me hesitate in signing up besides Dad, who’d pushed me to go.

Because two years was nothing when it meant coming out the other end, able to buy my own home and study anything I wanted with no debt to my name.

Or Dads.

It was a life most people could only dream of, and it was going to be mine.

The shuttle hummed to life, following the single road towards the populated side.

It stopped outside a two-story building with admin scrawled across the side in giant block letters.

I leant forward far enough to roll my shoulders without bumping Mandy, trying to ease some of their tension.

The brief transfer hadn’t been nearly enough time on my feet, not after a full day of travel.

“I wonder why they put the base here? I mean, it’s beautiful, but…”

There was no other physical way on or off the island besides the helicopter we’d arrived on.

What if there was an emergency and the whole base needed to evacuate?

Mandy shrugged, crowding my personal space again as she looked out my window.

“You won’t hear any complaints from me. It’s gorgeous.”

“What do we do when we’re bored? There’s nowhere to go!”

I nudged Mandy until she moved back, then looked over my shoulder at Tess, the brunette who’d been strapped in across from me during our flight.

“Boring is great. Better than great. Think of all the reading time.”

As eclectic as our backgrounds were, the first thing we’d discovered during our awkward introductions was our shared love of reading.

And as classified as most of the details were, we’d been promised access to a library that could acquire any reading materials we requested.

Including smut.

Though the officer who’d assured us of it didn’t look like he knew what it was.

A few of us had snickered at that, making the poor guy look uncomfortable.

The side door opened, and another military guy stepped in.

He wasn’t in uniform, but there was no mistaking the way he moved.

“Welcome to The Compound. My name’s Jean and my job is your safety. If you ever have concerns for yourself or a friend, issues you feel aren’t being addressed, or feel physically unsafe, you come to me. This,” he said, pointing to the building we’d parked in front of, “is Admin. All our main offices are here, including security.

“Lara is my counterpart, and she’s waiting for us in conference room two.

She’ll brief you on why you’re here and what you’ll spend the next two years doing with us.

Follow me.”

We hustled off the shuttle and through a set of glass doors.

A single hall ran in both directions, filled with glass windows and steel doors.

Conference room two had a small keypad beside its door, its solid wall missing the blind covered window the others all had.

Inside, two fans lazily spun on the ceiling, its thin, industrial carpet hidden by a huge ass table all twelve of us could fit around.

Jean remained by the door, waiting until we’d all taken our seats before closing it and nodding to the woman standing at the front of the room.

A slender blonde I assumed was Lara.

She greeted us with a tired smile.

“Let me start by saying that although I don’t yet know you all, I’m honoured to be working with you. You’ve been through an intense vetting process and have committed to giving up a chunk of your life with very little information. I can wholeheartedly assure you that your sacrifice is for a very good cause.”

“And the pay,” someone muttered.

Lara’s smile dipped a fraction.

“It doesn’t change the fact that you’re here, and your presence will impact many lives for the better.”

A message tone sounded, and Lara glanced at Jean, who’d unclipped his pager.

He scanned it then looked up, shaking his head.

She turned her attention back to us.

“Two years ago, an intelligence mission resulted in the discovery of a multifaceted research facility intent on creating a superior breed of soldiers. This included DNA splicing between humans and animals, and a lifetime of tests and experiments on the hybrids they created.”

Lara picked up a remote and the wall behind her lit up with pictures.

Pictures of prison cells and the creatures inside them.

Some had fur. Eyes that reflected the light.

Faces with noses and jaws too wide and warped to be human.

“Oh god,” someone whispered, echoing my thoughts.

“This can’t be real.”

I pressed a hand to my stomach, churning inside me.

“Did you rescue them?”

Lara’s gaze found mine.

“As many as we could.”

She clicked through the next few slides, maintaining a steady pace.

“The initial loss of life was staggering. Since then, we’ve learnt what each hybrid species needs, not just to survive, but to thrive. This compound was created in response to those needs.

“Medical facilities, individual housing, education, trade and work opportunities, and a number of recreational facilities.

As a result, this past year has seen our resident hybrids progressing from strength to strength.

”

She turned off the projector, and Jean flicked the lights back on.

“The likelihood of the outside world accepting them without major fallout is minimal but not impossible. Either way, the hybrids are ready for, and in need of a broader community. Which is where you come in.”

A few of us shifted in our seats, but none of us said anything.

I think, like me, they were still in a state of shock.

If Lara’s words hadn’t been enough, the pictures she’d shown us had well and truly shoved us over the line.

“Jean, I’ll pass this next part to you. I need to make a call.”

Jean nodded as Lara hustled from the room, clutching her pager.

“The hybrid’s residential area is restricted, as is yours. All other areas of The Compound, excluding the Wild Zone, are considered shared areas. The hybrids have three designations. Low, Gen and High.

“Low have the same rules and curfews as the rest of The Compound.

They have a mixed schedule of work and volunteer hours in their chosen fields, and are free to come and go from all shared areas.

“Gen’s curfew ends an hour earlier. They’re still participating in at least one mandatory class and are restricted from one or more of the shared areas.

“Hybrids with a High designation aren’t allowed in shared areas.

Most of these hybrids have chosen to permanently reside in the Wild Zone, on the opposite side of the island.

These beings are either unable or unwilling to control their non-human instincts, and often display aggressive or territorial behaviour.

“The Hybrid’s you’ll be interacting with are all Low and Gen designated. Their experience with females has been minimal until recently. The first were medical personnel, followed by guards, and as of three months ago, Group A, our first round of applicants. You are group B.”

Tessa’s hand shot up.

“Are you saying all the animal people are males?”

Jean raised an eyebrow.

“They’re called hybrids, or beings. I don’t want to hear them referred to by any other name or combination again. It’s disrespectful. And yes, all the adults are males. Their ages range from seventeen to twenty-six. The females on base are between four and six years old.”

“Why are they so different in age and gender?”

Jean grimaced.

“Infants and the younger males were euthanised before we could reach them, and we don’t know why there aren’t any older females. We’re hoping it’s because they were focused on developing males first and not because they were kept in another facility.”

“Oh god,” Mandy whispered.

“I know this is a lot to take in. We’ll spend the next few days learning about the different hybrid species living here, safety protocols, things you should watch for, and the way we’d like you to handle your interactions with them. We won’t let?—”

Lara burst back through the door.

“Jean, we’ve got an issue with Prowl.“

“King—”

“Is at his limit.”

“We can’t?—”

“Ladies,” she said, turning her back to Jean as she cut him off.

“It doesn’t happen often, but when shit hits the fan here, it hits hard.”

“Lara—”

She paused long enough to glare at him.

“They’re here to help. Let them help.”

Both their pagers went off.

“Shit,” Jean muttered, glancing at his before shoving it back on his belt.

“I’ll get the bus ready and call ahead.”

Lara nodded and turned back to us, making eye contact with each one of us.

“Prowl is one of only three lion hybrids left. He’s extremely intelligent but ruled by pheromones. If any male other than his brother, King, is close, he attacks his enclosure, causing himself physical harm. Initially, we had two female guards he tolerated, but they left a month ago due to their contract’s end.

“King is now the only one Prowl calms for, but King’s struggling with his own issues and can’t stay for long periods of time.

This has resulted in a steady decline for Prowl, who’s slowly beating himself to death against his own walls.

”

“Why can’t you leave him on his own?”

“Or sedate him?”

She raised her hand, silencing our questions.

“His altered genetics doesn’t allow us to sedate him for long. Not safely. And being alone results in the same reaction. We’re not sure if it’s because of his lion’s instinctual need to keep those he identifies as family close, or PTSD, from the life he lived before he was rescued.”

“What do you need from us?” I asked, glancing at the others.

“I need you to prepare yourselves. We’re going to Prowl’s containment area, where I’ll be sending you in one at a time, just long enough for Prowl to scent you and react. He’ll either settle enough to stop self-harming, or continue to self-destruct.”

“What if he doesn’t respond to anyone?” Mandy asked, voicing what we all wondered.

Lara’s shoulders rose and fell in a hopeless gesture.

“Then he’ll be dead by the end of the week.”