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GAR

Gar\'s entire body shuddered when the human alpha male laid his hands on his mate. Rika, obviously knowing how he would react, whispered her pleas to Gar—don\'t reveal yourself, it\'s not worth it. Don\'t show him who you are. Don\'t let them know. I\'m fine. I\'m fine. I\'m fine.

But the growl wanted to rise in his throat, and his brothers pressed hard on both sides to remind him to stay in place.

"You\'re intelligent beings," the male said, all arrogance and certainty. Gar wanted to bare his teeth. But along with the others, he turned to watch. Rika had been turned to face them and she finally met his eyes, but wildly, and she didn\'t hold the gaze, just passed over him, meeting eyes with everyone in the line.

It was smart and thoughtful and showed that even in her panic, she was strong. But it made Gar\'s stomach clench.

The male yanked her to a halt and shook her by one shoulder. Gar tensed.

"This is one of ours—or is she actually one of yours now? I guess we\'re about the find out. It\'s up to you. I have a job to do, and a war to fight. And I don\'t want to fuck around and waste time fighting you all for the inevitable. You see those cages? They were made for you. Developed to hold you. They are a prison. But, a healthy one. One that will let you leave this place alive. So… you can all come willingly and be treated like the prime cattle that you are—nourished and groomed and coddled—or you can fight, and be consumed. Because that\'s what we do. I\'m not going to waste my time."

Gar took a deep breath and the brother behind him whispered caution.

"Or you can try to be clever, try to betray us like this one did. And you\'ll die." He heard a click and his blood ran cold as the barrel of the gun appeared in the male\'s hand, pressed against Rika\'s temple. "Now, which one of you wanted this woman as a mate? Or have we already killed him?"

Gar stared at the ground just in front of her feet. He knew if he looked away it would be a giveaway when everyone else was staring at them, so made himself follow the crowd, looking at her feet because if he met her eyes he wouldn\'t be able to stop himself.

"The Alpha is mine," he breathed to the other Anima and heard the ripples as the messages were passed down the lines.

"Well?" the Alpha barked. "If he\'s already dead it does none of you any harm to tell me. And if he\'s not, I\'ll give freedom to the one who identifies him for me."

Gar did growl, low in his throat then, but not because he feared the Anima would reveal him, but in contempt for the male and his tactics.

No honor in these people whatsoever—and the assumption that there was no honor within the Anima, either.

The dawn light was growing. The sun would be over the mountain soon. Had the portals closed? He doubted it. So the only thing left for them was to take as many of these humans as they could down with them.

"It\'s me." The voice was low and determined, and hoarse as if the male had been strangled and barely survived.

Gar startled. They all turned. Reece lay on the ground, his body slumped, hands tied behind his back. Was he still under the paralysis of the tranquilizers? Or had they done something to him?

"Don\'t hurt her… please," he pleaded, very believably.

Believably enough that Gar\'s heart jumped. What had passed between the two while they were alone?

The Alpha shook his head and chuckled. "I should have known, shouldn\'t I? You both did a great job of pretending not to know each other." Then he turned to Rika and despite the smile, spoke through his teeth. "You\'re a better liar than I gave you credit for."

With a groan, Reece pulled his knees up underneath him and sat up a wobbly kneel. "Please…" he breathed.

"No!" Rika said frantically. "It\'s not him! He\'s just—"

"Shut up, traitor." The male cuffed Rika in the temple and she flinched, then her body began to shake.

Gar tensed and the males in front and behind pressed in.

"Don\'t do it, Gar."

"She\'s trying to protect you. Let her."

The Alpha had all his attention on Reece, though. "Get up," he snapped. "If you want her, get off your ass and come get her."

Reece stared at him for a moment, then sucking in a deep breath, rocked back to get his feet under him and pushed to stand, but he stumbled and almost fell. And when he did begin to walk, eyes fixed on Rika, he wavered. The shackles they\'d locked to his ankles didn\'t help.

What had they done to him?

Gar was trembling. He couldn\'t help it. But the Anima around him also began to shake, as if it were a response to the events for all of them, hiding his reaction.

He prayed the Creator\'s blessing on them.

When Reece stiffly, haltingly, made it to stand in front of the Alpha and Rika, the man sneered up into his face. "Very honorable of you, horse-man. And just to show you I can appreciate your willingness to put yourself on the chopping block for your people, I\'m going to offer you one last chance to say goodbye."

Reece stared down at Rika sadly. "Thank you for—"

"No, no, not like that. She\'s your mate, right? Or going to be? That\'s something special for you people. That\'s something powerful, right? So you don\'t have to say goodbye with words, Reece. I\'m going to let you kiss her. Long, and slow. Let her know exactly how you feel because it will be your last chance."

Then he shoved Rika into Reece\'s chest and raised his eyes to stare smugly at Gar. And Gar knew at that moment it had all been a ruse.

As Reece hesitantly leaned down and Rika\'s eyes widened, Gar growled. "Walk away, Reece. It\'s not worth dying over."

The Alpha human laughed and shoved past them both, stalking towards Gar, smiling gleefully.

"I knew it."

Gar\'s upper lip curled as the male yanked him out of line and started dragging him towards her by his bound arm.

"She was only ever going to go for the best. She\'s a scientist, she has a good eye. So you, sir, can come over here and tell her your last goodbye if you want. Because it really will be the last one. She\'s a traitor and a minx, and other than possibly enjoying her myself, she serves no more purpose for us.

Gar yanked his arm out of the man\'s grip and turned, putting his body between Rika and the male.

"You have no honor," he snarled.

The man grinned. "None," he said lightly. "But I am fucking strong, and I will kill you, or take her, or do whatever the hell I want. This is my house now, and you and your people are nothing but cockroaches for me to exterminate—"

Gar spat in his face.

The male froze. Then slowly, slowly, wiped his face with his sleeve. When he looked up at Gar, there was no more smiling.

"You\'re going to pay for that."

"Gladly." Gar roared and leaped forward, about to shift when there was a mighty rumble, and his roar was overwhelmed as the ground began to shift beneath their feet.