I woke with a violent gasp, lungs seizing like they were relearning how to breathe. My body jolted upright, and a fit of coughing overtook me. Water poured from my mouth, warm and bitter, splashing against the cold tile floor as my throat burned like it had been scraped raw from the inside out.
My chest heaved with shallow, panicked breaths as I tried to steady myself. My limbs trembled, and every part of me felt too heavy, too cold, too foreign.
Where the hell was I?
The room slowly came into focus. Stark white tiles underfoot, sterile air heavy with disinfectant, and walls so blank they felt oppressive. A wide space, empty except for the two beds and the silence that hung like a loaded gun between them.
And across from me, sat tensely on the edge of the other bed, was Delmar.
He looked like pain made flesh, his hands were braced on the mattress as if he were holding himself back from tearing something apart. His eyes locked on me, weary and tight, full of something that looked like guilt and relief twisted into one.
"What...where are we?" My voice cracked as I tried to speak, dry and scratchy like gravel lodged in my throat. I couldn't remember what came after... after him. After that tank. After Peter's voice echoing in my head like a nightmare.
Delmar didn't answer. Instead, his voice came low, measured. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," I rasped. "What do you expect? What did they do to me? Why does it feel like my throat's on fire?"
"You inhaled water into your lungs," he said quietly.
I blinked at him. My brain was slow to process.
"How did I..."
And then it hit me. A memory, no, a tidal wave. Crushing. Cold. The tank. Drowning. Delmar screaming. Peter watching. My body convulsing for air that never came.
My hands flew to my neck, fingertips searching, skimming along skin that felt... wrong. Different. I felt ridges beneath the surfac, ...soft, raised lines where smooth skin used to be.
"They blend into your skin when they're not in use," Delmar said gently, his voice careful, like he didn't want to startle me.
I swallowed hard, trying to come to terms with the impossible. Gills. I had gills. My heart pounded like it wanted to claw its way out of my chest.
I tore my eyes from him and looked around the room again, more carefully this time. One of the walls wasn't just a wall, it was a mirror. Or... no. A panel. A one-way mirror. I could feel it, like static on my skin eyes watching us, dissecting us with their silence.
"They're watching us," I said, my voice flat.
"Yes," Delmar said. "They're studying us."
I stood shakily, turning to face the mirror, staring into my own reflection, but seeing only them. I raised my middle finger and snarled, "Fuck you."
Delmar didn't flinch.
Silence passed between us before I finally said, "I don't believe this. I don't want to believe this. I'm not... I'm not one of you."
He didn't argue.
"I mean, yeah, I've always felt... off. Like I didn't fit. Like I didn't belong anywhere. But this?" My voice cracked. "My dad. My mom. They knew. They hid this from me."
I didn't even realize I was shaking until I felt the heat of emotion flush to my face. "He raised me like nothing was wrong. He lied to me my whole fucking life."
Delmar's eyes were hollow. "They didn't just hide you. They stole your life. And now these people, they want to control what's left of it."
I turned toward him, my heart thudding louder now. "What are they planning?"
He hesitated. A beat of silence that stretched too long. Then, voice like gravel grinding against stone, he said, "They want me to breed you."
I froze.
"...What?"
Delmar looked away, jaw tight, muscles trembling like he hated himself for even speaking the words. "They want to study our mating process. You and me. Faringue alpha and an omega he has soulbonded with. They think pairing us might yield results they can exploit."
The room tilted. I couldn't tell if it was the blood draining from my head or the sheer horror that washed over me like another tidal wave.
"You're telling me... they... what the fuck!" I shouted, the words tearing out of my throat before I could stop them. I couldn't even finish the sentence, couldn't stomach it. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest.
I turned to the mirrored glass, the one-way window behind which they were no doubt watching us like we were animals. No, not animals. Experiments.
My reflection stared back, eyes wild, hair damp, mouth half open in horror.
How could they do this?
And then, the voice I hated most cut through the room.
"Hello, Kash," Peter said, smooth as poison through the hidden microphone.
Delmar's low growl rumbled beside me like distant thunder. He didn't look up, just kept his eyes fixed on the ground, shoulders pulled tight like a bow about to snap.
Peter continued, his voice almost amused, "If you think you can avoid this, you might want to reconsider."
A sharp click followed. Then a sound played over the speakers that made my blood run cold, a high, keening shriek, inhuman and guttural. It clawed at something inside me. Panic twisted in my gut.
"What the fuck was that?" I breathed.
Delmar flinched like the sound had physically struck him. His jaw clenched. His hands curled into fists at his sides.
"They're hurting K'liira," he said, voice rough with restrained fury. "That sound... that was her."
"No," I whispered, heart lurching. "She's just a kid! She's innocent. How could you..."
I turned to the glass, every muscle in my body shaking. "How could you do this?! She's suffered enough! Let her go, you monsters!"
"We want to let her go," Peter's voice came again, all silk and venom. "She's nesting, Kash. She's vulnerable. It would be cruel to keep her like this for long."
"Then what the fuck do you want?!"
Peter chuckled. "We want you to do what you've been dying to do. Just fuck."
The word slammed into the room like a slap. The air itself seemed to recoil.
Delmar stood abruptly, stepping in front of me. "No," he snarled, his voice feral. "I would never put Kash in that situation. I don't even know if we're compatible. And even if we were I won't touch him. Not here. Not like this."
There was silence for a beat. Then Peter's voice returned, darker now. "Think again, Alpha boy. We have many... innovative ways to inflict pain."
Delmar's fists trembled at his sides.
I couldn't breathe. My chest ached. My pulse was racing too fast to think.
"God," I choked. "Delmar..."
He turned to me, and for the first time I saw the fear in his eyes, fear for me, for what they could do to both of us, for K'liira.
I crossed the room on trembling legs, dropped to my knees in front of him. "We don't have a choice," I said, voice cracking. "We'll find a way out of this hell, I swear to you. But not at K'liira's expense. She's already been through too much."
Delmar's eyes searched mine. I could see it in them the heartbreak, the helplessness, the primal rage bubbling beneath his skin. He cupped the back of my head like I was something precious he couldn't bear to lose, his fingers brushing my damp hair with aching gentleness.
I leaned into his touch.
"We go with it," I whispered. "Just until we find a way to escape. Agree for now."
Delmar looked past me to the glass wall. His jaw clenched, chest rising and falling like he was preparing for war.
"Fine," he said, voice hoarse. "I'll do it."
He didn't say it to me. He said it to them.
I hated this. I hated every second of it.
I stood slowly, swallowing my disgust, my fear, my shame. "What... what do we do? How does this... start?"
Delmar turned his head away, his voice low and bitter. "Faringues don't breed on dry land," he said. "We need water."
The silence that followed was heavier than the pressure in my lungs when I drowned.
And somewhere behind that glass, I could swear I heard Peter smile.
***
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