Taming the Queen of Beasts

RIKA

"Are you sure?" Rika asked, her heart pounding so loudly she heard it in her ears. But she didn't try to stifle her nerves. She hoped if they saw them they'd take it as her fear of being near the Anima.

Veronica nodded. It was half a relief to find her here—at least she was a friendly face. But Rika's instincts were jangling, and if being around the Anima had taught her anything, it was to listen to those. Veronica was just a little too convenient. Did Rika really believe they chose a former employee—a lab technician—to bring into a new world?

  "They have a mobile lab. That's why I'm here. I got to see the test results and he's definitely got the markers."

"For which kind?"

"He's equine, I think." Veronica looked over her shoulder at the tent flap again, frowning. "Anyway… I just wanted to warn you that things are a little different now. As soon as they decided to come through they brought Jared and his crew on—they're normally mercenaries, I think. They said at the beginning that it was all about keeping us safe and making sure we could collect the specimens without injury, but… ever since we started moving, it seems like it's stopped being about discovery and development and started being about winning a war." She leaned in even closer. "I'm serious, Rika, I feel like I'm on an invasion. With an army."

"I noticed," Rika said with an uneasy snort. "I had rifles pointed at me just for showing up! It was like being with the Anima again, except, you know, with guns."

Veronica nodded, then pushed her glasses higher up her nose. "I can't believe they kidnapped you. But you're okay? Like… did they hurt you?"

"Not really," Rika said but didn't meet her eyes, as if there might be something she didn't want to talk about. "They're just really scary to be around. Like… dogs that might fight. They can be nice sometimes, but things change on a dime. And when they do, it's terrifying."

"So scary," Veronica nodded. "But… I mean, they're hot, right? What are they like when they aren't being… aggressive?" she asked.

The hair on the back of Rika's neck stood up. Veronica seemed just a little too attentive to her answer.

"I mean," Rika said carefully, "they're really cool. But like, scary cool. Terrifying. I don't want to see them destroyed, though. I just didn't want to be in their hands anymore, you know? They're fascinating, but they need to be… contained. I don't want anyone else to get killed. They're going to fight. I'm really afraid Jared wasn't listening to me or thought I was lying or something. He didn't seem to take my warnings very seriously. But maybe this is why… I can't believe Reece was one of them. He seemed so human!"

Veronica, whose eyes weren't quite as bright as they had been before, nodded.

Then the tent flap twitched and she stepped back to give Rika more room, her voice went suddenly formal. "Are you hungry? Can I get you a drink?"

"I'm thirsty. And I could definitely enjoy a sandwich or something. Thank you."

Jared stepped into the tent and Veronica hustled out with only one glance back at Rika.

Rika sat on the cot, waiting as Jared approached, his eyes wary.

When he didn't speak immediately, Rika raised her eyebrows. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"The male you brought is Anima."

"What?! That's crazy!"Â

"Is it?"

Rika tried to look shocked. "I was sure he was human—look how he's dressed. And he talks the wrong way for them, too."

"Oh, really? How do the Anima talk?"

Rika frowned. "I don't know how to explain it. They're like, more… grand?"

Jared frowned a little at that.

"Are you sure he's Anima, or do you just think so?" she asked. "Why would they be holding one of their own, tied up, and with human clothes on?"

Jared considered her for a moment. "We believe he's part of a faction of the Anima that have made a life in our world. He certainly knows the human way of things. But my guess is that his loyalty still lies with them. That he was a plant, put there to tempt you to bring him back—and that would mean that your freedom wasn't an accident either. This is a trojan horse. An infiltration."

"I don't think so. That male that was holding me… he seemed really serious about keeping me as his mate." When Jared didn't bite, she shook her head. "Wow, that just… blows my mind. But what would they have him do?"

"That's what we need to figure out," Jared said calmly.

"What will you do with him?"

"We'll hold him and have him retained as a specimen as long as he doesn't hurt anyone. He's incredibly strong. It took five men to restrain him when he realized we were onto him. And he's still not fully mature. These creatures are remarkable."

Rika shivered again, feeling terrible for Reece. "I can't believe they put him there just to fool me."

"Probably not just for you, Rika. These freaks can mind link. He's probably feeding information back to them that way."

Rika shoved her brows high. "He's a wolf?"

"No, a horse."

She made a face of confusion that she prayed wasn't too obviously put on. "I don't think the horses can do that. They never talked about it. Why would they send a horse instead of a wolf?"

Jared took a moment to answer, then he smiled. "Why would you bring an Anima among us when you're supposed to be on our side?"

Rika didn't react immediately, which she knew was a  mistake. But she was taken so off-guard by the full-frontal assault. "I… look, don't turn this on me, okay? Look at him. If you saw him in our world you wouldn't think twice, you'd just assume he was human."

"But that would be because I'd be in the human world, where I would assume everyone was human. Here? Why would I make that assumption here?"

"Because of the way he dressed and talked, and he was being held by them. They had him tied up!" Rika insisted.

,m "Did they?"

"Did they what?"

"Have him tied."

Rika stared at him, then her throat closed convulsively.

She'd just realized the mistake she'd made.Â