Ellie rested her cheek against his shoulder and wrapped her other arm around his neck. She left wearing borrowed pajamas but she didn’t care who saw her. Fury walked toward the bedroom door, using his foot to pull it completely open. Justice, Slade and Trisha waited for them in the living room.
“I’m sorry,” Justice apologized softly. “I didn’t know or I never would have rushed into that kitchen.” He met Fury glare. “I didn’t think you would hurt her but after the last time, I wasn’t sure.”
Trisha frowned. “What last time? What happened before?”
Ellie sighed. “It’s just another mix up, Trisha. I’ll tell you about it another time.”
Trisha held out a pill bottle toward Ellie and Fury.
“I’ll take those,” Slade offered, plucking them from her hand. “I’ll drive them home. It would look strange to see Fury carrying a woman wearing night clothes.”
“Just take one pill as needed for pain,” Trisha instructed.
Slade hesitated at the door. “Do you want me to take her for you, Fury? Those Taser guns hurt like a son of a bitch.”
“I’ve got her,” Fury growled.
Slade opened the door and stepped out of the way. Fury carried Ellie out of the house to the waiting car at the curb. Slade opened the back door for them. Fury shifted Ellie inside his hold and climbed into the car with her on his lap. He sat down hard enough to jar her and made pain shoot through her head. She groaned softly.
Fury growled.
Ellie rubbed him where her hands touched. “I’m fine. It’s just a headache.”
Fury hugged her tighter, obviously upset. Ellie was shocked at how bad their evening had turned out. She had to blink back tears for fear that Fury would grow even more upset if he saw them.
* * * * *
Ellie smiled at the women who shared the dorm kitchen with her. The eight women were new, having just arrived early that morning. Ellie had been shocked when the eight women had been brought to the door with their suitcases. Breeze had stood at her side to welcome the new dorm roomies.
“They are so small,” Ellie gasped.
“Yes,” Breeze acknowledged grimly. “They are.”
Ellie glanced up at her. “I just assumed you were all tall since so far that’s all I’ve seen.”
Breeze hesitated. “We’re the experimental prototypes, Ellie. We were changed for strength and endurance to test out drugs that would make humans stronger. Justice sent us here first because we are more durable. We’re tough. Those,” Breeze’s attention focused on the women entering the house. “Those are the truly unfortunate ones.”
“What does that mean?”
Breeze shot Ellie a warning look. “Later.”
Ellie had assigned them rooms and now they had assembled inside the kitchen for their first lessons. It had been an odd feeling, being around women her own size and even smaller after getting accustomed to the much larger New Species women. The new women ranged from around five-foot to about five-foot-five. They had smaller body frames, similar to frail humans except their facial features revealed them as New Species. They also seemed timid and shy, unlike the larger New Species women. Ellie smiled in an attempt to put them at ease.
“I know this all seems like a lot but trust me, by the end of the week you will be cooking and you will know how to handle everything inside this kitchen.”
A blonde with big gray eyes raised her hand.
Ellie kept her smile in place. “Yes?”
The blonde bit her lip. “Are you one of us?”
Ellie shook her head. “I’m not New Species.” Ellie glanced at Breeze. She’d stayed close to the group of women as if she were their shadow since they’d walked into the dorm a few hours before.
“She’s pure human but she’s a good one,” Breeze assured softly. “She’s our house pet.” Breeze winked at Ellie. “We call her a poodle. That’s those cute dogs that are small and have puffy hair.”
The blonde looked shocked as her wide gaze turned to Ellie. “Aren’t you angry, being called a pet?”
Ellie chuckled. “I know it’s meant with love. What is your name?”
The blonde hesitated. “They call me Halfpint.”
Ellie glanced at Breeze. Breeze shrugged. Ellie had a ton of unanswered questions but pushed the one she really wanted to ask back for later. “Well, do you have any other questions?”
Halfpint addressed Breeze. “May I?”
Breeze sighed. “You don’t need permission anymore. You’re free. There’s no fear here, Halfpint. You can ask anything you want.”
Halfpint straightened her shoulders. She looked frightened when she faced Ellie. “Are you training us to go back to be better at what we were meant for?”
“No,” Breeze snapped. “That’s done and over. You are free. Do you understand? You are here so you can learn to run your home like any other human. They all learn how to cook meals and operate appliances.” Breeze stood suddenly from the chair. “I need some air.” She fled the kitchen.
Confused, Ellie stood there. She didn’t know what was going on. Halfpint’s gray eyes filled with tears. Ellie moved to stand in front of her.
“It’s okay. This is all new to you. Are you all right?”
Halfpint wiped at her tears. “I made her angry.”
Ellie glanced at the empty doorway knowing she couldn’t disagree with that. “What did you mean by going back to what you were before?”
Halfpint looked even more fearful. She turned suddenly and threw herself into the arms of another woman, hugging her tightly. Ellie realized they were all suddenly afraid for some reason. No other New Species women had ever been afraid of her. Ellie stepped back, hoping it would alleviate their fear.
“Why don’t you go and unpack you clothes? We’ll just take today really slow and you can meet the other women. I put notes on the backs of your doors to let you know when meals are served. If you have any questions I’ll be here until five. The other women will help you if I’m not around.”
Ellie watched the women flee then went in search of Breeze. She spotted her through the living room window and let herself out of the building. Breeze sat on a bench under a tree on the front yard of the dorm. Ellie sat next to her.
“What was that about?”
Breeze used her foot to rub the grass. “What was done to them pisses me off. The doctors created them weak on purpose. Those women are afraid to even ask you a question and did you hear that comment about before? No matter how many times they are told that shit is over, they are still terrified they are being lied to, and being sent back.”
“I don’t understand.”
Breeze lifted her head and revealed the tears in her eyes. “They spliced their DNA with domestic animals to make them weak and small. They didn’t create them to run tests on. They weren’t combined with different species for medical research. They made them to be used and abused.”
Ellie crossed her arms. “For what?”
Breeze wiped at a tear that slid down one cheek and let her head drop. “Gifts. The doctors made them to be sex slaves to the bastards who funded the testing facilities. They were passed over to whatever asshole had enough money and was perverted enough to want to fuck an animal that was human looking enough to be appealing. They made them small enough to be helpless and unable to defend themselves.”
“Oh God.” Ellie knew the blood drained from her face. “Please tell me you are kidding.”
Breeze shook her head. “We found some of them but Justice is still searching with the help of your government. We were too late to save most of the ones we’ve traced the money transactions on so far. The men who were arrested confessed to abusing them to death. These were the ones who were tougher and bigger, who survived the worst.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
Breeze met her eyes. “Me too. Not only did those bastards hand out gifts to sickos with animal fetishes but they gave them to the worst of humanity. Murderers who have admitted to beating the life from the
m or starved them to death.”
Ellie was glad she’d missed breakfast or she might have thrown it up on the grass at her feet. “So when they said before, they meant that? They think I’m trying to train them to be better…” She clamped her mouth shut as bile rose.
“Gifts,” Breeze growled.
“Those sons of bitches.”
Breeze nodded. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper but I get enraged. I had it bad, Ellie. Trust me. We all had hellish lives but they had it so much worse. I had a few guards try to sexually assault me. I fought back and even killed one of them. Most of the staff inside the testing facility was willing to protect us against that and it didn’t happen often. They said we were too expensive to damage. The testing facility only made us have sex with our own people but we didn’t hurt each other. We shared dignity and respect and kindness. They didn’t have that when males touched them.”
Ellie rose to her feet on unsteady legs. “I guess I’m going to have to really reach out to them and hopefully they can learn to trust us.”
Breeze stood and smiled down at Ellie sadly. “You are small the way they are and maybe that will help them. Halfpint thought you were one of them.”
She and Breeze returned to the dorm. Depression coursed through Ellie. Every time she thought she had a handle on the kind of horrors the New Species had suffered, a new one was exposed.
* * * * *
Ellie smiled at Fury. He hadn’t wanted her go to work but she’d argued with him that morning. Now he was going out of his way to make it up to her. Makeup sex couldn’t happen since Fury feared he’d hurt her somehow. Ellie’s smile died. She wished he’d realize she wasn’t as fragile as he believed her to be.
“I feel so bad for them,” she admitted.
“You’re softhearted.” Fury rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “They are free now. We’ll find more of them soon.”
“I wish I could do something nice for them.”
“What do you have in mind?” Fury pulled Ellie down on the couch to sit next to him.
Ellie curled against his side, loving to cuddle with him. “I don’t know. Breeze mentioned they were kept away from anyone except their abusers.”
“Yes. They call us animals but those men were truly the beasts. Some of those women were found locked inside basements. They were kept far from any other person to avoid their presence being discovered. They were never taken anywhere and never even owned clothing in some cases.”
Ellie shivered from the horrible images that tidbit created inside her mind. “They thought I’d tried to teach them how to use the kitchen so they’d have a new skills to take back with them to their former owners.”
Fury flinched. “I heard it was bad. Justice keeps them far away from all the men. He wants them to grow stronger emotionally before they are introduced to us.”
“But you protect your women. I’ve seen it.”
“We do but they’ve never had that, Ellie. They’ve been hurt and abused by men. It’s all they know.”
“Where have they been kept after they were rescued if they haven’t been around men? Were all of them discovered at once and brought directly here?”
“No. Justice contacted a church. They have a few secluded retreats without any males. They accepted the women with open arms to give them some time and peace to recover from what they have been through. They are to be sent here when the therapists believe they are strong enough. The first batch is a test to see how they do. Hopefully they are able to overcome their pasts and find a future.”
“And if they aren’t?”
“Justice has thought about making our own female-only community to protect them.”
“Those poor women.” Ellie snuggled tighter against Fury’s side and glanced at the television. Fury enjoyed watching baseball and a game would be on soon. “I wish I could think of something to do to help them.”
“You’ll come up with something.”
“Yeah. I hope so.”
The news came on before the game. Ellie sat up straight and stared in shock at the reporter who opened with the evening’s top story about the New Species. They flashed an image of Fury carrying Ellie to a car. He appeared furious in the photo and Ellie looked to be in pain.
“Son of a bitch,” Fury growled. He moved, stretching for the phone.
“Shush,” Ellie ordered him. “I want to hear this.”
“How the hell did they get a picture of that?”
“I don’t know.”
They both listened to the story. Fury finally clicked off the television and lunged to his feet. He dialed the phone as he stormed toward the kitchen. Ellie heard his furious undertones from the other room. She sat there, trembling.
The public now knew about her and Fury. The reporter stated she and Fury were the first New Species and human couple. They’d hinted that Ellie—they’d mentioned both of their names—had somehow been injured. The reporter claimed it may have been Fury who’d harmed her.
She closed her eyes and fought angry tears. Worse, she hurt for Fury. Why did people think he would hurt her automatically just because he happened to be a New Species? They even knew he’d been mixed with canine DNA, had mentioned that during the report. It obvious that someone inside Homeland had leaked that information to the press.
Ellie still trembled when she rose to her feet. She found Fury pacing inside the kitchen, talking on phone. Their gazes met. Fury paused, looking furious and pale. Ellie walked directly into him. One of his arms circled her waist and he rested his chin on the top of her head.
Ellie just held Fury until he ended his call. He hung up the phone and slammed it down on the counter. His other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her, while he rubbed her back.
“Justice is on it. He has to call a news conference, Ellie. He has no choice. They were hinting that you’re being hurt. We need the support of the public.”
She nodded against his chest. “I know.”
“There has to be a leak somewhere. They knew I’m canine. That’s not publically known. They cited our first names.”
Ellie winced. “Do you think it was Doctor Norbit? I’d hate to think she did this.”
“I don’t know but we will find out. I hate to say it but I’m betting it was her or someone inside the human security force. They have access to our files too. Someone informed me that Tom showed up at the doc’s house. Human security alerted him and that means they knew something had happened.”
Ellie pulled back from him far enough to peer up at his face. “I’m sorry they implied you hurt me. They are idiots.”
Some of the anger eased from his features. “It’s not your fault. People always assume the worst. Hell, my own people thought me capable of it.”
“What do we do now?”
His lips twitched and he gave her a slight smile. “Look on the bright side. We don’t have to hide our relationship anymore.”
She snorted. “Yeah. They had it on the news. I guess I should probably call my family soon before they hear about it and freak out.”
His smile died. “What if they are upset about you being with me?” His gaze searched hers. “Will you leave me?”
Ellie hugged him tighter. “Never. I swear. I don’t care what they think.”
He couldn’t hide his relief. “I checked something out.”
“What?”
He hesitated. “Have I told you that I love you?”
Ellie’s heart soared. “No. You haven’t. Are you telling me now?”
His lips twitched before he spoke and amusement sparked his gaze. “That depends. Do you love me?”
Ellie laughed and nodded. “I do.”
“I love you, sweetness.”
“I love you too.” Tears blinded her until she blinked them away. “I’ve loved you for a while but I refrained from telling you.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I guess I was being stupid. Human guys tend to flinch a little when a woman declares she’s fallen in love q
uickly.”
His eyebrows arched. “I’m not one of them, not fully, and I’m filled with joy that you love me. Never say you are stupid again. You’re cautious because you have been hurt by a man in your past. That will never happen with us because this time you chose well.” A smile curved his lips, a teasing sparkle in his beautiful eyes.
Ellie had to fight her emotions not to become overwhelmed. She did laugh at his joke. He loves me! More tears blinded her. She had to blink them back. It wasn’t just sex to him, he shared her feelings. Suddenly their problems seemed irrelevant. He loves me!
“Good. I love you more than words can say and I’m so happy you love me too.”
Fury chuckled. “I checked into marriage.” His smile died. “They don’t have a special marriage clause for us but it isn’t exactly against the law either since there’s nothing regarding New Species.”
Marriage? Ellie stared up at him in shock. She’d never once expected Fury to think about that kind of commitment but he obviously had. Did she want to be married to him? She stared up into his eyes. He had become a huge part of her soul since that first haunting day she’d seen him inside his sterile cell.
“You want to talk about getting married? Really?”
“Would you mind being married to me? I love you and I want to commit to you, Ellie. That’s the deepest one humans have.”
“I love you for that even more.”
He lifted her and carried her into the living room. He sat back down on the couch with her on his lap. She put her arms around him and they smiled at each other.
“Would you seriously consider saying yes if I were to ask you to marry me in the near future?”
Ellie laughed. “I would but you aren’t supposed to ask if I will consider it. Just ask me.”
“I would but I haven’t had a chance to buy you a ring yet.” He reached up and gripped Ellie’s hand behind his neck. He brought it to his lips to press a kiss on her palm. Then he turned her hand to study her fingers. “I don’t know what size your finger is unless they just come in small.”
“I’m a size six.”
“Six.” His gaze met hers as he held her hand inside his. “I’m having the legal department look into whether we can get married. All they have found so far is that it isn’t on the books but there’s nothing against us marrying either. We’re what they called a landmark case. It sounds like we are real estate.”