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E lias grasped the human’s hips as he pounded into her wet and willing body.

She gasped and moaned, arching into each hard thrust. Her breasts swayed and she clawed at the bedding, clearly lost in passion.

He liked lusty females, but he preferred them with a little more fight.

This one—he couldn’t remember her name, Meagan or Mary, something that started with M—had begged for cock from the start.

He slapped her ass, then reached beneath her and twisted her nipples.

She cried out and her pussy spasmed. She was close to orgasm, again.

Each time Babcock gave her an injection she became insatiable.

Tonight it had taken four males to keep up with her demands.

After the guards each fucked her twice, Elias sent them outside the cabin.

That left him with Juan, and they’d just started round three.

He glanced at the younger man, feeling a spark of resentment.

Juan was Armando’s brother and Armando had been Elias’ best friend and beta.

But the cats murdered Armando, so Juan took his brother’s place.

Juan was intelligent and ambitious. Once he learned Elias’ routines, he would be a good beta.

But Elias and Armando had known each other most of their lives, long before Nuevo Biotech captured them.

He’d met Juan a couple of times, but he was simply Armando’s annoying little brother.

Shaking away the distractions, Elias slapped her ass again and fucked her even harder.

Her vocalizations became more guttural, more growls than groans.

She shook her head and shuddered violently.

Elias had positioned her on her hands and knees, hips right at the edge of the bed.

He stood on the floor, enabling him to move freely and possess her body more deeply.

She made another animalistic sound and Elias paused. “Are you alright, girl?”

Her pussy muscles clamped down hard on his cock, explaining her vocalizations. He smiled and shifted position as he resumed his fast, hard thrusting.

The female was still moaning like a lunatic, so Elias ordered, “Shut her up. I’m tired of listening to her.”

Juan crawled onto the bed and drew her head up by her tangled hair. He took his cock in hand and brought it to her mouth. “Open up, sweetheart. You clearly need something more constructive to do with your mouth.”

Elias chuckled and pulled out of her rippling cunt.

He positioned himself against her other opening and impaled her ass with one brutal thrust. The human’s startled cry was muffled by Juan’s cock, but she bucked and sucked noisily, assuring them that she was enjoying herself.

Elias rode her hard, reveling in the firm grip of her ass.

Juan matched Elias’ strokes and soon they both emptied their balls into the well-fucked human.

She collapsed onto her belly as they released her, and Elias cringed.

She reeked of sweat and cum and numerous bite marks marred her pale skin.

She was by far the most beautiful of the human females who had been captured during the last raid.

That’s why Elias had chosen her. But watching half his pack fuck her had severed any emotional connection he might have felt for her.

The only person any self-respecting alpha would share his mate with was his beta.

Once this human gave him a litter of pups, Elias would dispose of her and find a female worthy of?—

A savage growl emanated from the female, interrupting Elias’ thoughts.

“What’s wrong with her?” Juan asked, staying well back from the bed.

She screamed and kicked, bucking as if someone were on top of her.

Carefully, Elias rolled her to her side and brushed the tousled hair back from her face.

Her features twisted and morphed. Her nose and mouth elongated into a distorted muzzle only to revert to a more human appearance.

“Go get Babcock,” Elias urged. “It’s much too soon. She shouldn’t be shifting yet.”

Pausing long enough to pull on a pair of pants, Juan sprinted from the bedroom.

The woman thrashed and moaned, arching and twisting as she continued to randomly transform. Elias watched in morbid fascination. Over and over the shift rolled across her features, resulting in grotesque creatures neither wolf nor human.

Suddenly, she lunged for him, fangs bared, long claws extending from her fingers.

Elias twisted sharply, barely missing the slash of her claws.

She lunged again and he responded instinctually, batting her aside with his muscular arm.

She hit the wall with a sickening thunk , then lay on the floor moaning.

He approached her hesitantly and knelt at her side. Her eyes were wide and filled with terror.

“Help me,” she pleaded as her thrashing began to ease.

Her strength was ebbing, he realized. But the transformations continued. Her final shift was truly monstrous, and she died with a pathetic whimper.

Elias threw a blanket over her body, making sure to cover her mutated face.

He grabbed his pants off the floor and dragged them on, then hurried into the living room.

Damn it. Babcock had warned him that there were significant risks when attempting this sort of conversion.

Still, Elias hadn’t expected it to happen to his mate.

Babcock arrived a few minutes later looking blurry-eyed and annoyed. “This couldn’t wait until morning?” he grumbled as Juan escorted him into the cabin.

“She’s dead,” Elias snapped. “Your fucking treatment killed her.”

Without reacting to the news, Babcock walked into the bedroom and examined the female. “Transformation at this point is unexpected, but not unprecedented. However, her transformation was clearly abnormal.”

“Transformations,” Elias stressed. “She shifted continually for at least ten minutes before she finally died.”

Babcock looked at him, eyes narrowed with suspicion. “That’s not possible. Nothing in the injections should have resulted in multiple shifts.”

“I don’t give a shit. I only know what I saw,” Elias snarled and walked back to the living room.

“I saw it too,” Juan interjected as Babcock emerged. “She changed shape over and over.”

Babcock scratched the side of his head and stared off into space. “I’ll reassess the formula, but this doesn’t make sense.”

“Have there been any other side effects?” Elias shuddered. Side effects didn’t get much more significant than what just happened in his bedroom.

Ignoring the question, Babcock continued to mutter. “There must have been something odd in her genome. I’ll need a tissue sample before you dispose of the body.”

“Take whatever you need now. She’s the third casualty,” Elias reminded. “At this rate we’ll run out of women.”

The doctor’s cold gaze snapped back to Elias’ face. “You’re right. We need more test subjects. A lot more.”

Elias scoffed, shocked by the utter indifference in Babcock’s tone. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Of course not, but it’s a fact nonetheless. The cats will never let you near their village, but the shelter outside their gates is less secure. Send a large party over there and collect?—”

“You do not command me!” Elias shouted. “I will not go collect more females for you to murder.”

“Then the project will fail.” Babcock’s features became as emotionless as his tone. “I’ll refine the formula, but you need to go get more women.” He quickly collected his samples then left the cabin, not bothering to shut the door.

“Unbelievable,” Elias snarled, walking over to slam the door. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”

“The only being in this star system willing and able to save us from extinction,” Juan said calmly. “You knew he was an evil bastard when you agreed to work with him. That doesn’t change the fact that we need him.”

Juan was right, but facing the truth only added to Elias’ agitation. “I can’t think while she’s lying there.” He pulled the door open again and motioned toward the guards. “She had a bad reaction to the injections. Get rid of the body.”

The guards looked shocked for a moment then did as they were told.

Elias dropped into his favorite chair and stared into the smoldering remains of the fire he’d lit hours before.

“Would you like me to leave?” Juan asked as he pulled on his shirt.

Elias shook his head. “Pour us a drink and help me think this through.”

Juan went to the table near the kitchen and poured two glasses of village-made ale. He handed one to Elias then sat in a chair facing him.

“Babcock isn’t wrong. Even if every female in this village survives the transformation, which is unlikely, we don’t have enough to create a viable gene pool. We must capture more humans.”

Juan didn’t argue, but his features remained tense and wary. “You want to raid the shelter outside the feline village?”

“I don’t want to,” Elias stressed. “I think we need to. Once the women have been accepted into the village, they’re beyond our reach. And more of them give in to Zion’s demands every day. We have no choice but to attack, and it needs to be soon. We’re running out of time.”

“Then you need to meet with Curtis Stevenson.”

Elias narrowed his gaze. He was annoyed by the suggestion, but couldn’t say why. “Who the fuck is Curtis Stevenson?”

“A human male who found his way to our village when all the females joined the cats.”

“Go on.”

“He worked maintenance at Nuevo Biotech, but he was in the Space Force for eleven years. He was a tactical officer. He can help us plan and execute this raid if you’re willing to take advice from a human.”

“Is there any proof of his claims or do you only have his word on his expertise?”

Juan grinned at him. “I did a tour in the Space Force right after high school. Curtis knows what he’s talking about.”

Elias nodded. “I’m not committing to anything, but I’d like to meet your new friend. Set up a meeting first thing in the morning.”

“Will do,” Juan assured him and then left the room.