~ SASHA ~

Nick's tone ran a chill down Sasha's spine. She swallowed and forced herself to answer him calmly. "The why of a thing doesn't matter if it's evil."

Nick huffed his skepticism. "What makes something good or evil, Sasha?"

"The outcome."

"Bullshit."

"Oh, really?"

"Really," Nick growled. "I work for men who do some of the most extensive charity work the world has ever seen. They throw more money at poor kids, broken women, and medical miracles than any other group of human beings alive. They do what appears to be more "good" for the human race than anyone else you can point at. And they're doing all of this—making the Chimera, learning how to breed them—to find a way to make humans less susceptible to death and disease. How's that for a good outcome? If they can figure this out, they'll make you, me, and everyone else on earth healthier. Does that make them good? No. They're evil bastards, and they know it. And they don't care."

Sasha folded her arms. "And yet, you work for them. Give your life to them. According to Zev, your loyalty to them is rock solid."

"It is. But not because they're good, or because they're evil. It's because if I don't protect them, they won't protect me. And I'd like to keep my head attached to my spine. So, yes, I'll do what they say, every time. But that doesn't make me evil."

Sasha snorted. "You're so full of fucking bullshit, Nick."

Nick's eyes narrowed. "No, Sasha. I'm the most honest man you'll meet. Because I don't take my selfish motives and pretend they're something else. I don't tell you I'm your friend, then stab you in the back. I do what I say I'll do. Every time. And this time I'm telling you, I came to Thana to help you and Zev—and ultimately all the Chimera. Because if you don't get this right, they're all dead right alongside the two of you."

Sasha had an argument for that, but kept it to herself. She needed Nick to believe he was convincing her. So, instead, she sighed. "We keep coming back to this."

"Yeah, we do. Because that's why we're here."

"Then tell me what I need to say that will keep them happy and make them let me go back."

"It's not that simple. You're going to have to work with them, Sasha. They just lost an Alpha who was literally in their grasp. They could tell him to do anything and he'd do it, no matter how insane it was. And even when he thought they weren't watching over his shoulder, he was smart enough not to step out of line. Do you think you can give them that kind of assurance?"

"That I'll never step out of line? No, of course not."

"Then you're going to get all the Chimera killed—including your mate, and yourself."

"Then, I'll lie."

Nick shook his head. "You think they don't have ways to figure out that's what you're doing? You're being na?ve again."

Sasha groaned and threw up her hands. "Then what are you telling me, Nick? Stop beating around the bush. What are you trying to get me to agree to? If there's no hope, why am I even here?"

"Of course there's hope. You're here because I brought you, because I can show you how to make this work: You have to find your common goal with these people and aim for that. Talk to them about that. Promise them that. You have to find the thing where your goals align, and keep them focused on that. They're greedy and impatient and they know they're the smartest people in the room. You can't fool them. You have to be telling the truth. That's the only thing that will convince them."

"What possible goal could I share with these people?"

Nick lifted a hand off the steering wheel like it should be obvious. "Staying alive? Being with Zev? Zev, himself! His safety, his health, and your family."

"I am not giving—"

Sasha startled as the car suddenly jerked out of the lane. Nick swung it back into the right position, leaning on the car horn, long and loud, cursing about someone walking alongside the highway and how the idiot was going to get themselves killed. But the whole time he was muttering, he held her gaze through the rearview mirror, shaking his head slowly, his eyes fixed on her and his face tense.

"Sorry, about that. What were you saying?" he said in a normal tone, but his eyes got really intense and he continued shaking his head.

Sasha blinked and it came home to her then. She had been na?ve after all. Thoughtless, at least. These people he worked for were all about technology. All about fixing problems in covert ways. And he was telling her they were listening. Or would be. If they weren't hearing every word right now, whatever she said was going to be heard. She tore her eyes from Nick's and scanned the cab of the vehicle.

Of course they were recording. Or listening. Or spying.

How could she have been such an idiot?

If she was going to convince these people that she was the person they needed in Thana, she didn't need to wait to arrive at the headquarters. Her subterfuge needed to start now.

She'd been about to say she was never going to give her children up to these men, to this program, under any terms. But clearly, that was the line too far.

So Sasha sighed and, holding Nick's gaze through the mirror, cleared her throat, then spoke a touch more carefully. "I was saying that I'm not giving anyone any chance to take Zev from me," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Whatever I have to do to stay at his side, whatever's needed so that we aren't apart anymore, I'll do that. But I'm not going to be some… experiment. He's my mate. I'm not going to lie to him or… betray him," she finished lamely. "And if we have kids, it's because we chose to. Not because someone mixed up a cocktail in a Petrie dish."

Nick nodded and the corners of his eyes were less pinched. "That's okay, that's okay. We can find our way through. Draw the line under things we both want, and make those happen. You and Zev will have kids, Sasha. Chimera always do when the matebond exists. It might take some time, but it will happen."

"What? How can that be? Yhet doesn't have kids and he's still devoted to his mate."

"Yhet only reached full sexual maturity a few months before his mate was killed," Nick said, and she wondered if the regret she heard in his voice was real or not. "He's not a good example. But look at Xar—he had twins. Without our interference, Chimera are just like humans in that way. Sometimes the mating works, sometimes it doesn't. But with unaltered Chimera, the end result will always, eventually, be offspring."

Then he met her eyes again. "You are going to be a mother, Sasha. You can bank on it. If that's something you want, it's just one more goal we share."

And his eyes said, use it.