~ SASHA ~

It was a small suite. The main room included a couch, coffee table, and television, the sitting area separated from the small kitchen by a long, thin island. Beyond both was another wall with two doors.

"Bathroom on the left, bedroom on the right," Nick said, walking deeper into the little suite. "There should be enough in the pantry to throw together a snack if you need one, but we have a restaurant for staff here, and that's where you can eat unless you just don't feel like it. That key will get you into the building, into that hallway at the top of the stairs, and into this suite, but it won't open anything else. So don't go exploring. Security are armed," he said casually, as if it was completely natural to warn a person that they might get shot if they stepped into the wrong room. "We've got a couple hours until dinner. Did you want to have a shower and then I'll show you around?"

She looked at him, startled. "How… how did you know?"

Nick grinned. "Everyone reacts to Thana differently, but one thing is always the same. Anyone who's been there more than a day is dying for a shower when they get back."

"That… that would be good."

"Good! Okay, well I have an office downstairs. Why don't you clean up. By the time you get out we'll have some clean clothes up here for you, and then I take you around for a bit of a tour before dinner. How does that sound?"

He was acting like an Air BnB host, and it was creeping Sasha out, but she agreed just to get him to stop talking, then walked into the bathroom.

As she pulled her furs off—she hadn't even noticed she was still wearing them. She must have looked so strange to Alice—the conversation in the car came back to her in a flash. The way Nick had made sure she didn't say certain things.

Sasha looked around the room as she pushed her leggings down and kicked them off. She couldn't see any cameras, but she'd heard the stories.

She kept her jacket on until the water in the shower heated up, then flipped it off quickly and darted into the shower, pulling the shower door closed quickly.

Of course, there was no guarantee that there wasn't a camera inside the shower, she realized. But she also knew there was nothing she could do about it.

So she put her head under the spray and sighed, rubbing the spot on her chest where the bond had taken, that was still aching.

Letting the water spill over her hair and face, down her body, Sasha prayed and prayed that Zev was safe and healthy, and not doing anything stupid.

And she prayed she'd be able to figure out these people and this place so she could get herself back to Thana before Zev snapped.

If a couple tears trailed down her cheeks amongst the shower water, she ignored them. Now wasn't the time to give in. There was a strange man downstairs who might be helping, or might be deceiving her. And other men coming who would definitely deceive her if they could.

She had to be smart.

And she had to get back to Zev. She had to.

*****

Twenty minutes later Sasha stepped out of the shower to find a pile of clothing waiting around the corner, on the little sink counter. A handwritten note sat on top.

We have other sizes. If you need

them, just let me know!

- Alice How had she gotten the clothing in there without Sasha hearing her? Sasha kept the towel pulled around her body until she had the hoodie pulled all the way over her body, covering her to the thighs.

A few minutes later with her wet hair twisted into a bun, she walked back into the living room to find Nick sitting on the couch.

"Ready?" he said, walking back out into the hall without waiting for her to answer.

Sasha followed him down the hall in the opposite direction from the reception area, all the way to the other end of the building and a door marked FIRE EXIT.

"Ignore that," Nick said, pulling a little card from his pocket that he held in front of the black square on the wall next to the door. It beeped and the door clicked, then he pushed the bar on it and they walked out.

Just like that they were in the forest again—some kind of metal grate under their feet that had thin lines cut in it, big enough to see light and colors through, but not thick enough to catch a shoe or a toe. Their footsteps plinked on the grate as Nick led her across the suspended platform with thick, wooden railings on each side, to another, identical door on the other end. It led into another building, just as large. Sasha's head was beginning to spin.

"Okay," Nick said as he used the card on the little sensor next to the door until it clicked too. He pulled it open in the effortless way men had when something was heavy, but not a struggle for them, and held it open, gesturing for Sasha to go first.

Sasha stopped dead when she caught a whiff of the disinfectant, medicinal smell that came out of the building and caught sight of the linoleum floor and light gray walls.

Like a hospital.

"What is this?" she asked, her stomach twirling.

"This is one of the labs," Nick said, apparently not alarmed that Sasha wasn't going inside.

"Why are we here?"

"I'm going to introduce you to some of our residents," Nick said with a little nod when her eyes widened. "We've got an hour or two before the Board are here and ready to… chat.. So I thought you'd like to see some of the females and be able to tell Zev and the others that they're okay."