I banged on my chest to dislodge the grape before glancing up at Ryken, who was smirking at me. Shit, I had to answer first.
“Uh, thirty-four, roughly,” I said quietly, hating that I was ashamed for surviving. Some of those partners had been the difference between life and death. Literally.
Ryken didn’t look angry or judgmental, only surprised. His brow raised before he sipped his coffee.
“Seventy-two women,” he said, and honestly, I thought his number would be higher.
“Have you ever had an STD?”
“No,” I said immediately, always strict on condoms and no oral.
“No,” Ryken said, but again, I wasn’t surprised. Werewolves couldn’t contract human STDs. Their bodies healed them too fast.
“Have you ever produced a child?”
My heart stopped, that prickly skin coming back as I took a sip of my water. These questions were more than personal, they were reading the darkest secrets of my soul and I hated it. Without a mate, I couldn’t have children.
And I would never have a mate, because I was a hybrid. The scorn I’d endured my whole life made that perfectly clear.
“I, uh—” I paused, trying to say the words that felt like a boulder in my throat. Ryken frowned at me, curiosity blazing over those blue eyes of his and I looked down at my water. I didn’t want his sympathy or pity. “No.”
“Do you want children with a specific race?”
I scoffed. “No. But the possibility isn’t there so it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a mate,” I muttered bitterly, tears stinging at my eyes and throat at the stark reminder of my past. I chugged back some water, wishing it was alcohol, then leaned back in the chair.
“I want children,” Ryken’s voice was surprisingly soft and I looked up at him. I hadn’t known that. It made sense though if he was going to be Alpha. He needed an heir.
“Do you experience the heat?”
“Yes,” I replied, meeting Ryken’s gaze, that one surprising him.
It was a very painful time for me—humans were not enough and my body ached like all hell every single heat because no wolf would touch me.
“Yes,” Ryken murmured, still looking at me.
“Can you have penetrative sex?”
We both answered yes.
“Oral?”
“I don’t know,” I answered, playing with the label on my water bottle. “I’ve never done it or received it.”
I blushed when that answer brought a strange look to Ryken’s face, almost like it turned him on. I sensed it in the air and cleared my throat with more water.
“Yes,” he said, and I looked at the food.
I should eat more, this could be it for the next few days. But my stomach was turning with all these questions, my mind too.
Why did they need to know these things? Did this have to do with our “compatibility”? What had I gotten myself into? I was already shredding my dignity to pieces for the sake of this experiment and I didn’t even know what it was.
“Would you be willing to have multiple sexual partners at one time?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Would you be willing to be recorded?”
I hesitated before letting go of my insecurities. “Yes.”
“Yes.”
“In this experiment, you will be put in multiple sexual situations with different species. Are you willing to put your biases aside?” the voice asked.
I looked at Ryken, he was staring at me.
“You’re asking if I’d be willing to sleep with werewolves or humans if the experiment requires me to?” I clarified.
“Yes.” The voice confirmed and it was the most terrifying question yet—not because I didn’t know the answer, but because I did and that answer scared me.
“Yes.”
Ryken looked me dead in the eyes and answered too. “Yes.”
That answer shocked me. He had been willing to overlook that I was a hybrid all those years ago, but then he’d turned around and kicked me out alongside his father. It made no sense that he was willing to put that aside now. Which meant he and his father were up to something, I just had to figure out what before it got me killed.
“Thank you. Pre-tests complete,” the voice said and I leaned back in my chair. Finally.
“Throughout your tests, we have been monitoring your behavior, this has been added to your application as your social experiment. Please get changed into your clothing and exit the building. We’ll be in touch with the status of your application.”
The voice clicked off, the glass disappeared, and the food too.
The chairs started shifting back into the wall and I jumped out of it, stumbling back against Ryken who caught me.
I righted myself, pulling away from his touch which was way too warm on my thin gown.
I held my arms around myself and went for my clothes, slipping my underwear and jeans on under the gown before throwing it off and chucking my jumper on all before he could get a glimpse.
I pulled on my shoes and then turned to Ryken who yanked down his shirt and hung his jacket on his arm, heading to the curtain. He opened it and nodded for me to go out first.
“Were you telling the truth? That you can put bias aside?” I asked, still not convinced. He didn’t look it either.
He thought about his answer before shrugging, looking me over with that hungry stare again that made me burn up from the inside out.
“I don’t know, but damn I hope so,” he smirked before waltzing down the hall, all swagger and confidence. He was all charm which told me his words were more lies. He was up to something, he had to be. There was no other reason for him or his pack to be here.
Cerberus hated the scientists. After the shifting drug, he’d made it known that he hated the way the scientists worked to bridge the gap between human and werewolf. He wanted nothing to do with the experiments unless they were solely for the werewolves.
I rolled my eyes at Ryken’s cavalier attitude that he was using to hide things from me—it seemed to be a running theme for him—then headed out into the rain, not sure where I should stay for the night. It was already dark and the rain was heavy, so I was low on options.
My phone dinged in my pocket and I frowned—it was a bank notification.
~$50,000 has been deposited into your account.~
Then a message from an unknown number.
~Congratulations, you have been selected to participate in the scientists’ experimental trials. Arrive at the clinic at 9 am tomorrow. Make arrangements for your responsibilities for the summer. Bring nothing with you. Thank you.~
Holy shit, I had actually got in. Holy shit, I had $50K.
“Holy shit.” The voice had said we were going to be put in sexual situations, which meant I was probably going to have to sleep with Ryken. ~Highly compatible~, the robotic voice echoed in my mind.
My thighs clenched together at the thought. It had been a long time since I’d allowed myself to entertain such ideas.
I turned to face the door I had just exited, the rain pouring over me. Ryken was there, staring at me, his phone in his hand.
He glanced between the phone and me before giving me a smirk that made it clear what news he’d just received.
“See you tomorrow, hybrid.”