Free New Species 05 Brawn by Laurann Dohner

outdoor
security and a concrete wall blocked her view of whatever was behind her
prison. It wasn’t that high, maybe ten feet of divider, but more than enough to
keep her curious about what she couldn’t see.
    Her hands gripped the thick, cool bars and she studied them.
No signs of rust showed at the joints and she doubted they’d ever seen the
outside to be exposed to the elements. She inched to the door, saw the gap was
nearly nonexistent and it had been well built. A metal plate covered the
section far enough to make it impossible for her to reach around and attempt to
pick the lock. The inside part of the door lock was totally sealed, without any
key access. It told her one thing for sure. They hadn’t been designed to hold
animals. A shiver sliced down her spine.
    Becca got as close to Brawn’s cage as she could, staring at
his facedown form. His chest rose and fell, assuring her that he still lived.
The drugs they’d dosed him with worried her. She couldn’t see how anyone
wouldn’t overdose on all those tranquilizers.
    “Brawn?” She cleared her throat. “Please wake up! Can you
hear me?”
    A growl from across the room jerked her head in that
direction to see the pacing male had moved to the corner of his cell, gripped
the bars and glared at her. He had really long black hair to his waist—a wild
mass of tangled, silky strands—but she couldn’t make out the color of his eyes.
Just the shape of them and those pronounced full lips and wide cheekbones assured
her of his altered DNA.
    “I’m Becca,” she got out, hoping he’d talk to her. “How long
have you been here?”
    He growled again, a scary, deep sound. He wasn’t exactly the
talkative type, she decided. Not real friendly either. She wasn’t about to give
up though. The more information she gained the better the chances of figuring a
way out of the nightmare she was living.
    “Can you talk?” She released the bars and touched her chest.
“Becca.” She pointed to him. “What is your name?”
    He spun away, snarled and kept pacing. She gave up instantly
on trying to learn anything from him. She did study his clothes—white pants
with wide, thick seams running down the sides and that’s all he wore. His chest
was massive, his arms thickly muscled and his fingers were clawed at his side.
Something seemed to have agitated him from the way he stalked back and forth.
Her focus returned to Brawn.
    “Brawn!” Her voice rose sharply. “Wake up, damn it!”
    His arm twitched, gave her hope and she pressed tightly to
the bars. “Brawn? Open your eyes right now! I’m worried about you. You’ve been
heavily drugged and need to fight it. Can you hear me? It’s Becca. Remember me?
We live together. Brawn!”
    He was sluggish as he rolled, fell right off the cot and she
winced when his big body sprawled onto the metal floor. That seemed to rouse
him though as he snarled, pushed up with his arms and his eyes opened. Fury
twisted his normally handsome features as he stared at the bars and lifted his
chin to take in the cage roof. Every muscle appeared to tighten with strain.
    “Brawn?” Becca softened her voice. “Are you okay?”
    His head jerked in her direction, confusion crossed his
face. The anger receded and he paled. “No.”
    “We were attacked. Do you remember?”
    He rose to his feet slowly, rubbed at some of the marks from
the darts he’d taken to his thighs and stared around them. His gaze stayed on
the cages across the room where the two other prisoners were kept. He moved
fast though, hit the side of the bars and growled at the pacing male.
    The other guy ignored him, kept walking the length of his
cage and Brawn sniffed loudly. “Fuck.”
    “What?”
    He turned his head. “We’re in a lot of trouble.”
    “No shit!” She bit her lip and glanced at the cameras. “They
are watching us.”
    He followed her gaze and turned her way, came to the corner
closest to her cage and studied her body slowly. “Are you harmed? Did