Roane

Chapter Six

After a quiet, solitary breakfast consisting of coffee and toast, Caitlyn found Kelly waiting for her by the door to the underground lab.

“I hope you had a good night’s rest. Doc’s excited by you being here. The man can lose all sense of time when he’s working. I have to remind him to eat, you know. Don’t be afraid to tell him when you get tired or hungry. Lord knows, the guys whine when they’ve had enough.” Kelly grinned, her dimples flashing.

“Thanks.” Her nerves flared. Oddly enough, Caitlyn felt more anxious about seeing Roane again than she did about going through Doc’s tests. She still couldn’t understand her behavior with the giant Circ. Incredible sex with a stranger who felt more familiar to her than any man she’d ever known. Baffling.

Kelly left her at a door marked Laboratory A. Entering, Caitlyn joined four of the squad. Roane and Doc remained absent. Her pulse settled into an easy rhythm. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with her lover right away. She had to work to tame the blush threatening to consume her. Oh, God. I have a lover.

“Caitlyn, you’re looking good this morning.”

Caitlyn cleared her throat and forced a smile at Hale. “Thanks, so are you.”

Was it her, or were the others avoiding eye contact?

“Ah, yeah, Caitlyn.” Derrick coughed into his hand. “Hope you had a decent night’s rest. God knows, I was up all night,” he added under his breath.

Hale glared at Derrick, and Caitlyn knew she was floating above the undercurrents in the room.

“So, what do you make of all this?” Zack asked her. “We volunteered for this crap. How did you fall into it?”

“My father. He was a soldier, fed the usual vaccines -- that weren’t all that usual.

Apparently, his genetics were altered enough that when I was conceived, I turned out a bit, well, different, according to Doc.”

“Man. Project Dawn started way before us. Who knew?” Ace asked. When he met Caitlyn’s gaze, he flushed. “I, ah, we haven’t talked much. I hope you’re enjoying your stay.” He turned even redder. “This has to be hard for you.” Derrick choked. “Hell. I mean, if there’s anything you need, we’re here to help.”

“I’ll say.” Derrick laughed hard, clutching his stomach.

“Nice, Ace.” Zack shook his head, disgusted.

“What are you three talking about?” Caitlyn stared suspiciously from Derrick to Ace.

Did they know what she and Roane had done last night? If he had so much as hinted at it, she’d kill him. Heat rushed into her cheeks.

“Ignore them, Caitlyn. Derrick’s an ass, and Ace has no idea how to talk to women,” Hale said with amusement. “Just ask Kelly.”

Ace opened his mouth to respond, caught Caitlyn’s look, and shut it.

She couldn’t help laughing. “This is like The Three Stooges, plus one.”

“I couldn’t have said that better myself,” Doc said as he stepped into the room. He nodded at everyone. “Where’s Roane?”

“Right here.” Roane stepped into the room, his shirt and shorts plastered to his battle-honed body, his hair wet, and his feet clad in flip-flops. Very beach bum, and so out of character for a male who looked like a recruitment poster for the Marines.

“Sorry I’m late. I was waylaid by an unavoidable delay this morning.” He gave his friends a dirty look.

They ignored him.

“I don’t want to know why you’re late, Roane. I never do.” Doc sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “This morning I’d like to run some tests --” Groans interrupted him. Caitlyn sympathized. She’d had enough samples taken from her yesterday. But her time spent in Pearson Labs reminded her that laboratory work could be extensive and time-consuming. She’d accept it as she did back then, especially since she had more at stake now. Like her life.

“Those tests will help us determine where Caitlyn falls into the Circ world we live in, gentlemen.”

Caitlyn perked. “I’m all for it if you can help me figure things out. I’ve thought about it, but I still don’t understand why this PPA would want me all of a sudden after the lab kicked me out three years ago. It makes no sense.”

“It does if you’re finally maturing into a full-blown Circ,” Doc explained. “You’re not atypical, Caitlyn. From what I’ve been observing, the males tend to mature faster than the females. Of course, it may be due to the regimen the males are exposed to, whereas the females are taken by the virus early on.”

“Explain that, Doc,” Roane said.

Caitlyn studied him. God, he looked even better this morning than he had…an hour ago? She blushed, recalling too easily how he felt under her hands. What a body. And more impressive, he knew what to do with it.

She felt Hale watching her and ignored him, not wanting to see what was probably a knowing grin. Oh hell, they probably all knew where Roane had spent his night. Great, she was the squad “ho.” Maybe she should tell Doc that, to let him know where she fit into the Circ world.

“Of the viable Circ females I’ve observed --”

“You’re telling me there are other female Circs out there?” Ace demanded.

“Technically, they’re Circs, but physiologically, they’re still normal females. They’ve never changed, never experienced the mating heat.”

“Then how do you know they’re Circs?” Caitlyn asked.

Doc paused, studied Caitlyn, and nodded. “Come here.” She slowly approached, feeling all eyes on her.

“Go change into this, please.” Doc handed her an overlarge shirt, one that looked like it would have dwarfed Roane. Doc leaned closer. “Only wear the shirt, nothing else. Trust me, you’ll understand before we’re done.”

Though she had no idea what he was after, she changed in the bathroom adjoining the room and returned feeling like a kid playing dress up. The shirt draped off her shoulder and exposed the slope of her breast if she wasn’t careful. Caitlyn felt ultra-aware that she wore nothing but a thin layer of cotton protecting her from the five tough, battle-ready males surrounding her.

“Nice threads,” Hale said with appreciation.

“You look damned good in white, Caitlyn.” Derrick nodded. “Damned good.”

“My new favorite color,” Ace murmured, and even Zack seemed taken by the stupid shirt she wore.

Caitlyn took a subtle whiff, but couldn’t detect a trace of any scent or reason for them to be so enthralled by what she was wearing. She snuck a glance at Roane and hurriedly turned back to Doc, the only safe male in the room. Roane looked as if he wanted to eat her, which brought back last night in vivid detail.

“You’re definitely Circ.” Doc nodded at the men. “They can sense it, and you know it, even if you don’t yet understand what that means. Before yesterday, had you ever changed?”

“No.” She still didn’t understand what she’d “changed” into, or why the feeling that she was now more lingered under her skin.

“Why were you at Pearson Labs in the first place, Caitlyn?” Doc knew the answers to these questions; she’d told him earlier. He obviously wanted her to share it with the others. Their gazes didn’t waver from her. The intensity of their interest would have had her running for the door had Roane not been there, too. He provided a measure of comfort, whether he knew it or not. She instinctively knew to turn to him should she need aid.

“I used to go to the labs for monthly checkups. I was never sick, but my parents told me I’d had an unusual development following my birth that made it necessary to constantly monitor my health.”

“What development?” Doc asked.

“I don’t know. They never really explained why, and I went because they asked me to.

It was no big deal. Blood samples, a strand of hair, a fingernail clipping. The labs took harmless pieces of me. Then they’d give me a shot each visit, to boost my immunity, they said. Nothing too hard to swallow.”

Roane honed in on her mouth. Not a great choice of words, Caitlyn. She nervously continued. “When I hit puberty, my body changed.”

“No kidding,” Hale murmured.

Roane scowled.

“You mean more than physically,” Doc added and faced the others. “Elliot made sure Caitlyn received a monthly dose of the Circe toxin for the first twelve years of her life. The gradual exposure to the virus in small quantities, in addition to the genetic manipulation from her father, helped her body overcome the resistance so many other Circs later fell to.

Caitlyn is a one hundred percent, fully functioning Circ.

“I’m guessing Elliot and his team found something in your blood, something they can use. You hadn’t changed until now, so whatever they found is recent. I’d love to know what made them come after you.”

“So would I,” Roane said in a low voice. “What happened to you on the beach that day, Caitlyn? When we spotted Dunn and Hoff near you, we knew we had to act fast.”

“Who?”

“The PPA? Simon Dunn and Vincent Hoff. The assholes who met you on the beach.” She swallowed and crossed her arms nervously over her chest. “I’ve been, or at least, I was sick for a while. I’d come to the beach to relax, to take some time and think.”

“Sick?” Roane looked her over from top to bottom and inhaled. “You’re fine.”

“Now. I’ve been getting really bad headaches for months. Joint pain, fevers, chills.

Nothing a doctor could explain, but pain that would put me down for days. I didn’t know what was wrong with me.”

“Your body was preparing for its first change,” Doc said, as excited today as he had been yesterday when she’d explained her symptoms.

“I guess. All I know is that Simon and Vincent threatened me on the beach. They were going to tag me, they said.”

“Bastards,” Derrick growled.

“I thought they meant beach tags.” She laughed nervously. “They said a few things…”

“What?” Roane asked, his voice hard.

“I’m not going to repeat what they said.” Her face felt on fire, and she shifted uncomfortably. “But they weren’t nice. When they touched me, when I smelled them, I wanted to vomit. They smelled wrong. Evil. And the things they wanted to do scared me to death.”

Roane clenched his fists. To her surprise, the rest of the team looked equally angered.

On her behalf?

“How did you escape?” Doc prodded her to continue.

“I did what I used to be able to do, before the ability vanished a few years ago. I released my scent into the air. It’s like a heady perfume that goes straight to your head. It only affects males that I know of.”

“Show us,” Doc ordered.

“Doc, that might not be a good idea,” Roane said.

“We need to see what Caitlyn can do, how you react to her. I’m trusting that you’ll all control yourselves,” he warned and tapped a small tray next to him. On it lay what looked to Caitlyn like a small, metallic gun. “No one will hurt you, Caitlyn. But if any of these guys get out of hand, as sometimes happens during testing, a small tranquilizer will even the playing field.

“I’m trying to illustrate to you all how Caitlyn and the other females are different. Go ahead, Caitlyn. Release your scent. Just a small bit, mind you.” That Doc had dealt with the men when they were out of control shouldn’t have surprised her. Still, comparing his slighter frame to all five behemoths in the room, she credited his preparedness when dealing with the men. At least she wouldn’t need to fear a mass rape if she overshot the mark.

She released a small bit of scent into the air. As one, the men stilled and took a step in her direction. Even Doc had to shake his head.

He had to clear his throat to ask in an audible voice. “That’s a small bit?”

“Yeah. I hit Vincent and Simon with more than that. A lot more, actually, when they tried to kidnap me.”

“Oh man.” Zack licked his lips.

She would have had to be blind to miss the physical reactions in the men around her.

Every one of them was flushed and glassy-eyed and definitely aroused. They looked as if she’d blasted them with her entire arsenal.

“Not a good idea, Doc,” Ace added. His arms rippled, and he grew in front of her, several inches wider and taller. He split his shirt and his shoes.

“Oh, wow.” Caitlyn hadn’t seen them change before. It was like looking at a giant predator on two legs. Ace looked beastlike, with darker, harder skin, claws, and fangs to complete the package. His features broadened, roughened, but still looked enough like Ace to see that he was the same man. He stood at least two feet taller than her own five-seven. Then he released his own scent…

“Enough,” Roane roared and stepped in front of Caitlyn, so close, she could lean forward and touch him. “change back. Now!”

Ace growled. Roane spoke again in a low voice. “Kelly’s just a few rooms away.” Ace shook his head, growled and groaned, but eventually shifted back into his normal form.

“Good Christ, Doc. If she can do that with a little bit, she could take us out if she really wanted to.” Hale wiped his forehead and took several deep breaths.

“That’s the change?” she asked in a thick voice. “Ace looked like something out of a comic book. Like a bronzed Hulk, but scarier.”

“The claws and fangs were designed with defense in mind,” Doc rasped. “Goodness, Caitlyn. I hadn’t realized how potent you are.”

“It never used to work this well,” she admitted.

“Must be your maturation into a true Circ that’s amped your potential, then. Very impressive.”

She noticed the men had yet to relax and still circled her. Roane refused to budge.

When she tried to push him aside, he hissed at her, “Dammit. Don’t touch me now. Not unless you want to be flat on your back with an audience.”

“Roane.” She flushed and backed away. “Doc, what did you want me to prove with that demonstration? And why the hell am I wearing this nightshirt?” The fact she wore nothing beneath couldn’t be helping.

“So that you’ll be covered when you change.”

“When I change? You’re going to teach me to control it, right?” She had partially shifted yesterday, recalling her large arm, that foreign hand that was hers and yet not.

“I wanted everyone to see your differences before they see you again in your other state.” Doc sounded like himself again, though his face was pinker than usual. He said to the group, “The few female Circs I know of were either born Circ or injected with the Circe serum at an early age. Caitlyn has abilities you five don’t. Since I’m not privy to Pearson’s files on her, I can only conjecture. I assume that because the virus was passed down from one generation to the next, it had time to adapt. Caitlyn never experienced psychological jags, did you, dear?”

“Um, no.”

“No overwhelming need to harm another? To fulfill your base desires?”

“No. Well, not until recently.” Embarrassed to admit it, she reminded herself that she was in a laboratory. Doc needed to know everything, so he could help her. “You mentioned yesterday that I’d already fully changed. I don’t remember it. And I don’t understand this mating heat you’re talking about. But I’ve felt more, ah, more…”

“Horny?” Hale offered.

“Hale,” Roane warned.

“Yeah.” She blew out a breath. “Actually, it comes and goes. Last night…” She paused and watched Roane tense in front of her. “Last night, Roane said I called him. But I didn’t realize I had.”

“She didn’t call me,” Derrick muttered.

“Me either.” Hale sighed.

Doc stared from Roane to Caitlyn. “Interesting. Roane, what did you sense?” Roane rolled his neck on his shoulders and allowed her to stand by his side, but he refused to put more than a few inches between them. “I was going to go to bed early.” The others voiced their disbelief. “I swear. I was almost to my door when I felt a sudden instinctual urge to go to her. Then I caught her scent.” His eyes darkened, from brown to black. “I thought for sure the rest of you would be on her.” On me? What the hell? From the looks on the others’ faces, Roane was suggesting they all wanted to, what, fuck her?

“Instead, I found her with Kelly. She never changed, just sent out that sweet fucking perfume.”

“And then?” Doc just had to ask.

“And then we spent the night together. Just her and me. Mine.” Roane ended on a growl.

“I knew she was going to be trouble,” Derrick said. “Just knew it.”

“But it wasn’t a mating heat, and none of the rest of you experienced this need?” Doc asked and began typing madly into a nearby computer. “This suggests Caitlyn actively sought out one of you. Not a mating heat. A selection.”

“What exactly is this ‘mating heat’?” She wanted to know, trying hard to overcome her embarrassment. Now it was out in the open. Everyone knew what she’d done -- who she’d done -- last night. Strangely, talking about all this sex was revving her engines again. She clenched her arms tightly across her chest, hiding her erect nipples.

“The mating heat is a hormonal call to procreate. Both genders of Circs experience it monthly or bimonthly. The squad shouldn’t have gone through their next heat for another two weeks, at least. But yesterday, you pushed them into one.”

“I did?”

“Yes, you did.” Doc turned from the computer.

“Doc,” Roane started.

“No, Roane. She has a right to know.” Doc faced Caitlyn. “My dear, I expect this is perfectly normal at your particular stage in growth. Nothing to be concerned or embarrassed about.”

“I did something yesterday I can’t remember, didn’t I?”

“You sure did,” Derrick said under his breath. “And I hope you’ll do it again.”

“Tell us what happened when you escaped from the PPA agents.” Thrown by the change in subject, Caitlyn reluctantly told them. “I turned my scent on them full blast. Simon stepped away, and I took my chance. I suddenly had a burst of speed and strength, and I ran faster than I ever have in my life down the street. I tried to lose them by heading toward the outdoor mall. That’s when I ran into you guys.” She took a deep breath. “I remember being afraid, feeling overwhelmed. And then nothing.” Not nothing. As she stood there, something within her woke. A slumbering consciousness, an instinctive part of her that both soothed and frightened her. Its power was enormous and familiar.

She saw herself swiping at Roane, clawing at his chest and arms with inhuman hands.

Felt herself carried into the vehicle. Then nothing until she saw Roane again, a perfect beast in his prime. He chased her, he caught her, and then…

“You.” She gasped and stared at Roane. “You took me, there in that yard.”

“I sure as hell did.” He didn’t try to deny it, startling her. “You were beautiful, baby. So dark, so strong.” His breath grew raspy. “So mine.”

Like that, the rest of her memories rushed back. Of having raw sex with Derrick and Hale, of swallowing Roane, that perfect essence that satisfied her need to mate. The strongest, the best. She needed Roane. The others she would take to remind him that she could. But he would be the one she ultimately chose.

“What’s happening to me?” Caitlyn groaned as lust swamped reason. Her bones and joints ached. Unlike yesterday, she wasn’t flashing in and out of another form. Now she experienced a full-body transformation. It didn’t feel good. It damn well hurt.

Caitlyn roared her displeasure until she shed the weak flesh and bone holding her back. Her body filled out, her face lengthened in proportion to the growth around the rest of her skull. Her shoulders held up the shirt now binding her breasts, rubbing against the engorged nipples, needing freedom. The entirety of her system became something more as she blinked and stared at four males she planned to work through before savoring the fifth.

The one who belonged to her.