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Tara Hughes felt her pulse accelerate as she approached the massive A-frame lodge.

She’d been living in the feline village for six weeks now and anxiety still overtook her each time she entered this building.

Little wonder really. The first time she’d visited the lodge she’d been forced to watch as her best friend, Lexie, was ruthlessly dominated by three lion/human hybrids.

The males were now Lexie’s mates and she was thrilled with the arrangement, but Tara could still hear the swoosh of the belt and Lexie’s pleading as her mates disciplined and dragged pleasure from her trembling body.

Worse, Tara had started fantasizing about similar situations.

She was curious about raw, animalistic desire, and wondered what it would feel like to surrender control completely.

Steadying herself with a deep breath, Tara climbed the steps to the railed porch and heaved open one side of the double doors.

She’d been summoned by Zion, the pride leader, so this visit was mandatory.

Few were brave enough to question Zion’s decisions.

No one challenged his authority. A huge fire blazed in the fireplace to her right, warming the meeting room.

The large open space was empty now, but it never stayed that way for long.

Communal meals were held here as well as village meetings and social functions.

She let her fur-trimmed hood drop back as she unzipped her parka.

Rydarian weather was merciless, and it would only get colder once winter arrived.

Her gaze swept upward, taking in the dramatic logs supporting the tightly fitted timbers of the roof.

A nested stairway was tucked away in the corner to her left.

The stairs led to the restricted area, which consisted of Zion’s apartment, an office/conference room, and several storerooms. Of the three settlements on Rydaria, the feline village was by far the largest and most advanced.

The hybrids—shapeshifting soldiers illegally created by Nuevo Biotech—had been allowed to repurpose most of the technology on their transport ships.

The primary engines and communications systems had been disabled, of course.

Under no circumstances were the hybrids allowed to leave the planet.

But solar generators and molecular conversion units had allowed the hybrids to maintain a better quality of life than they would have had without the technological assistance.

Humans, on the other hand, had been dumped here with nothing but tents and primitive tools.

They’d all worked for Nuevo Biotech, so most considered their exile a fitting punishment.

No one was surprised when four months after their arrival most of the humans were dead and the rest were so desperate that they threw themselves on the mercy of the hybrids.

Tara looked around with a sigh. She could no longer deny that she fell into the desperate category.

If she didn’t allow a group of male hybrids to claim her soon, she would be back out in the cold with nothing to eat but field rations.

A group of laughing females hustled by, carrying trays of refreshments.

Claire, one of the six women Tara had shared a tent with when they first arrived on Rydaria, separated from the group and paused.

“Are you coming to the gathering tonight?” Claire had vivid red hair, bright green eyes, and a curvy figure that immediately drew the attention of their male companions.

Despite the recent death of her younger brother, Claire remained positive and caring.

Tara had liked her from the start. She just felt closer to Lexie.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Tara admitted. The gatherings were the Rydarian equivalent of singles bars and dating apps. They allowed human females to interact with hybrid males hoping to make an emotional connection.

“You should come,” Claire encouraged. “It’s fun, and it’s not like you have anything else to do. I saw Bianca earlier. She’s completely recovered.”

“Thank God,” Tara murmured with a distracted smile.

Tara had originally been allowed into the feline village to help care for Bianca.

Bianca had pneumonia at the time and had been very near death.

They’d been quarantined in one of the cabins, a luxury they hadn’t known since arriving on Rydaria.

The cabin had private bedrooms, actual beds, indoor plumbing, and a hot shower.

It was warm, comfortable, and safe. For obvious reasons, Tara didn’t want to return to the wilderness beyond the village walls.

“We hardly see each other anymore,” Claire pointed out. “I’d love to catch up.”

“I’ll try,” Tara said, and meant it. Claire was a sweetheart, and Lexie had been largely unavailable since finding her mates. It would be nice to talk to someone still struggling with these decisions. “I need to get going. I’ve been summoned by Zion. I’ll see you tonight.”

“You better or else.” Claire softened the threat with a friendly smile.

Tara waved as she continued toward the stairs. A burly guard stood at the bottom of the staircase. He glanced at Tara, but didn’t speak.

“Zion is expecting me.” The statement brought a fresh rush of anxiety. She didn’t like Zion. Thought he was arrogant and abrasive. If she were being honest, he intimidated her, so she avoided him as much as possible.

“Tara Hughes?” the guard asked.

“That’s me,” she offered with forced cheer.

He nodded and moved out of her way.

She headed up the stairs, but her mind drifted back to the beginning.

It had been five years since the atrocities at Nuevo Biotech were discovered.

Backed by the nearly limitless funding of a military cooperative, the ambitious medical research company had been combining the genetic material of apex predators with that of humans, primarily males in the prime of their lives.

The field of study had been outlawed for nearly a century, but Nuevo didn’t care.

Their headquarters was an autonomous outpost that orbited Earth’s moon, so they thought they were beyond the reach of the law. For over two decades they were right.

Known as the Griffin Project, the experiments first incorporated segments of lion DNA.

Encouraged by the results, they moved on to wolves and birds of prey.

The scientists refused to admit what the final stages of exploration involved, but the division had been labeled ‘exotics’ and some of the hybrids had been barely recognizable as human.

The project’s crowning achievement was identifying the exact combination of genetics and environmental stimuli to trigger shapeshifting.

Tara looked around as she ascended, admiring the results of the lions’ efforts.

The lodge, like the rest of feline village, was impressive.

The craftsmanship was admirable, the design architecturally interesting.

With running water, electricity, and access to utility printers, the lodge could have been the focal point of any wilderness resort on Earth.

But Rydaria wasn’t a resort. For hybrids and humans alike, it was a prison.

Anyone involved in the Griffin Project had been arrested and tried for a laundry list of crimes.

It didn’t matter how indirect their role at Nuevo had been or that many had no idea what was really going on; everyone was found guilty and exiled to the same planet where their former victims now ruled.

It had taken a couple of months for the wolves to lash out, but they came damn close to wiping out the human encampment.

Even if the wolves hadn’t attacked, it was unlikely the humans would have survived.

They were research scientists, physicians, and clerical support staff.

They were highly educated, but completely dependent on technology.

Clearing forests and growing food, hunting animals and cooking over an open fire were simply skills the urban-bred humans had no reason to develop.

Tara was no different. She’d been an executive assistant at Nuevo and a couple of camping trips in her youth was the extent of her wilderness training.

She reached the top of the stairs and refocused her mind.

Like it or not, she was stuck on Rydaria, and it was adapt or die.

She wasn’t sure what Zion wanted, but it couldn’t be good.

Zion only summoned people when there was a problem, or there was something he needed them to do.

She raised her hand to knock on the door to his office, but someone pulled it open before she could.

Tall and sleekly muscled, the male appeared fierce yet controlled.

His dark hair had been closely trimmed yet the curly texture was still evident.

His skin tone reminded her of warm caramel, but his eyes were pale green.

The combination was striking, and she found it hard to pull her gaze away from his handsome face.

Many of the hybrids were good looking. She’d never been impressed by outward appearance before.

Something about this male made her restless and hyperaware.

She wanted to touch his face and press her body against his muscular form.

His gaze gleamed as he motioned her into the room.

Tara gave herself a firm mental shake and eased past him.

The room was surprisingly large. A rustic table on her left served as Zion’s desk while a much larger table on the right allowed him to conduct planning sessions.

Zion sat at the head of the larger table.

He was massive, by far the biggest hybrid she’d ever seen.

With dark hair and piercing golden eyes, he could silence a crowd with a look.

His shoulders would span most doorways and his entire body was corded with thick muscles.

Unlike the male who opened the door, all Zion made her feel was anxious.

“Have a seat,” he directed.