For a few months, everything had been going smoothly. In an attempt to find a good fit for her, she'd been cycled through a few of The Arctics' labs, giving her an opportunity to learn about the work they were doing and to become increasingly more ill at ease with the direction they were headed.
Her own research picked up speed as well and everything seemed to be promising, with thoughts of one day soon escaping the clutches of the wolves keeping her pushing forward. Dice was constantly in the back of her mind.
But then the nausea had started. And the mood swings. And then she'd started showing. One blood test later and it became obvious that she'd been lying the whole time.
No one could get pregnant with a werebear baby in a compound with only werewolves, after all.
When she realized what had happened, it made her work twice as hard. Maybe it was that or that the results had been promising, with increase healing of thirty percent in some tests on mice, but she'd been allowed to carry the baby to term. It was then, after the delivery, that she had been moved to a facility with tighter regulations, less freedom and a lot less friendly guards.
Since then, she hadn't known where she was.
And two months ago, when she had been moved here, to her newest form of hell, they'd taken Dean from her. Ever since, she'd been slowly fraying at the edges. When it had just been her she had to worry about, and to a smaller extent her sister, it had been manageable. Every day had been a struggle, but Dice was the promising light at the end of the tunnel for her. Now, everything had changed.
She wrung her wrists nervously, a bad habit she'd picked up.
I bet I would start smoking if I had the chance, she thought, and then discarded the idea quickly.
No, she wouldn't. Even if she couldn't see her child, that didn't mean she'd risk her own health – as long as there was hope that she could get him back and win freedom for both of them, she'd have to keep going.
Her thoughts were sharply interrupted as sounds forced their way into the small, cold and dark room the three women sat huddled in. Meredith frowned, hearing a distinct kind of wailing, scraping at her ears like nails on glass. Her eyes went wide as she realized who it was.
"Maria," she whispered, scrambling up on her feet along with Sya and Amina as the door was flung open.
Maria was tossed inside and the door was closed behind her with a shallow thud, the locks clicking and clattering as they closed. The woman collapsed on the ground, scraping her knees on the concrete floor but obviously not being able to pay any attention to that. Her hands were clutching her face and the small blonde was shaking violently, her screams sorrowful and heart wrenching.
"Maria! What is it?" Amina asked, enveloping her in a soft hug and pulling the diminutive scientist against her.
"What happened, honey?" Meredith urged, getting down on her haunches and trying to catch a glimpse of Maria's brown eyes, usually so warm and soulful.
Now, she could see nothing but emptiness behind them.
"They … They killed my baby … They killed Josiah," she said, locking eyes with Meredith. "They … I … I saw him. His little lifeless body. His cold skin … They killed my baby!"
The three women stilled, deathly silence falling among them, save for the sobs of Maria. Sya looked to be on the verge of tears herself but Meredith simply hovered in place, incapable of moving, incapable of doing anything, really.
For weeks, they'd been worried about Maria. Her research had not been going well and there was some trepidation that The Arctics would somehow punish her for it. None of them had ever imagined that their punishment could be something so … brutal.
While not all of the women in the compound were mothers, several were. Some had been abused by The Arctics themselves and then punished for their pregnancies, some had been abducted along with their children and now having their kids being held as leverage to make the mothers work harder. Down in the belly of The Arctics' machine, nothing was beyond possibility. No cruelty was off limits.
I have to get out of here. I have to get Dean. I have to … Oh Dice, where are you? Meredith thought, pressing her lips into a thin line and closing her eyes, trying to fend off the panic wanting to rise forth in her.
All she knew was that she couldn't let what happened to Maria and Josiah happen to her. Whatever it took, she was going to get out of there.
Ten
Dice
"Holy shit! This place is swanky as hell," Price whistled, the whine of the microphone splitting in Dice's ear as the helicopter was slowly brought down.
The heat was already unbearable, especially for a werebear like Dice, but the two lion shifters seemed to be more than pleased with the ambiance. Dice's hand was locked around his gear bag and his gaze steely as he stared out of the small window, taking in the sights of Abu Dhabi, with The Landmark and the Etihad Towers looming above everything else.
She has to be here, Dice thought, his fist getting so tight around the straps of his bag that the nylon bit into his palm.
"We must have done good to be let out of the jungles," Rio noted with a chuckle as the doors were swung open and everybody threw off their headsets and scrambled to get their stuff.
One by one, Shifter Squad Nine piled out of the helicopter, jumping on the concrete floor of a nondescript high-rise in Abu Dhabi, while countless helicopters and small private airplane whizzed over their heads in the city. It seemed like the whole place was run by private airfield aficionados because as far as the eye could see, every damn sky scraper had at least one helipad and there seemed to be no shortage of choppers taking up the spaces. Hell, they even had Uber choppers, which only went to show how ridiculous the place was as a whole.
But Dice Alderson had no time to enjoy any of it, nor did he intend to carve out time to enjoy the lavish sight of the desert city, reaching out as far as the eye could see around him, with its gleaming glass buildings and metal beams that caught the scorching light of the sun. Bathed in warm light, the sun rays glinting off the countless windows around, Dice threw his bag on his shoulder and got out of the helicopter second to last, with only Price being left to follow.
"Come on. We've got work to do," he growled, garnering a raised eyebrow from Thor and a scoff from Ryker.
"Lighten up, Slicey. We've got time. The mission isn't until the evening, right?" Prowler said, his ghostly, pale green eyes following Dice's troubled path to the door in a questioning way.
Dice had been on edge lately, that much was evident. But it had gotten a hundred times worse after his conversation with Spade. While Shifter Squad Nine was far from a functioning team – at least in the sense that Dice would have wanted it to work, with trust and brotherhood being the basis of it – even his jolly crew of psychos could tell that something was off.
I can't tell them. They'll only use it against me, Dice reminded himself, his brow furrowing as the thought settled within him.
Of course they would. That was just how this group functioned. Every weakness was investigated thoroughly, picked apart until it was nothing but a rotting carcass of a concept and then used against you mercilessly. It was a small wonder that none of them had killed one another in a heated argument or brawl yet, though Dice could only assume that time wasn't far off.
"The mission begins now. Boots on the ground, let's get going," he snarled, just in time for Price to hop out of the pilot's seat as the whir of the helicopter's blades silenced in the background.
"Whoa there, big bear. Calm your shit," Ryker said, his deep, solemn voice a stark contrast to his wild eyes.
"No. You get in line," Dice said, spinning around on his heel before he reached the door leading into their accommodations for the day. "I say it's time to get to work, so you get to fucking work."
The threatening, throaty growl that came from Price almost sealed the deal. Adrenaline pumped through Dice's veins and he dropped his bag. Lightning-quick, he'd covered the distance between himself and the werewolf and grabbed the guy by the collar, yanking him so close their noses were almost touching. His other hand was balled into a tight, expectant fist.