Free Jaci's Experiment by Bianca D'Arc Page B

precocious child and has grown into a lovely woman. Her family reports that she’s happy with her mating and she looks well.”
    “But you barely spoke to her while we were in the facility.”
    Grady shrugged. “I am a soldier. I protect and defend. I don’t make small talk.”
    That startled a chuckle out of her that he wasn’t expecting. This girl was something out of the ordinary but he couldn’t put his finger on what was different about her.
    “You seem to be doing well talking to me.”
    He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows. “You do have a point. I don’t believe I’ve talked this much to anyone in the past six months. You’re easy to talk to, Jaci 192.”
    She rewarded him with a bright smile. It touched that place inside him that sometimes yearned to feel, but never quite made it. The thought made him feel just a little empty. It was an uncomfortable observation and one of the many reasons he’d volunteered for this dangerous experiment. He wanted to know what was waiting in that empty place inside him. He wanted to experience the emotions he often watched on the faces of the Breeds he tracked. He wanted something…more than what he’d experienced of life so far.
    “I hope then, you would consider me a friend, Grady Prime.”
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    “That would be nice. I don’t think I’ve ever had a friend who was not also a warrior before.” The idea puzzled him and brought more of those odd sensations.
    “You’ll probably be facing some radical changes once you begin the experiment. I hope to be assigned to assist with some of the tech work but even if I’m not, I hope you’ll remember to call me if you need someone to talk to. I’ll pass no judgments and would be glad to assist you if I can.”
    He was surprised by her offer but also somewhat grateful for it. He didn’t like scientists as a rule. They tended to look down on everyone who wasn’t a scientist and warriors even more than most. He was comforted to know there would at least be someone there who was a friend. Even if he wasn’t quite sure what made this woman tick.
    “I’ll remember, Jaci 192, and I thank you for your generous offer.”
    She shocked him further by reaching up on her tip-toes to place a gentle kiss on his rough cheek. It did something inside him he didn’t quite understand. It was a faint sensation, like the kinds of things he sometimes felt and attributed to his inferior Grady DNA, but this was a pleasant feeling, warm and almost friendly. It was something he’d never felt before and something he wanted very much to experience again.
    The echo stayed with him long after she’d gone and made him all the more resolute to do this experiment. He wanted to feel. He wanted to experience those things he read on the faces of the Breeds he dealt with in his duties. Even if it were only the unpleasant feelings like fear and anger and rage, he wanted to experience them for himself at least once before he died.
    He wasn’t kidding himself. This experiment could very well mean the end of him. As a Grady, he was already considered on the lower end of the evolutionary ladder. He was more aggressive than was thought comfortable by the rest of the emotionless Alvian people. The High Council only allowed more Gradys to be bred because they needed them as soldiers, protectors for their own precious skins. Grady Prime had no illusions about why he existed.
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    Just as he had no illusions about what the experiment might do to him. If he reverted to the overly aggressive Alvian male of generations past, the High Council might well deem him too violent to be allowed to live. He could easily be put down for the safety of the rest of them because of his skills. But he knew?also because of his special skills?he could probably find a way to escape whoever they sent after him. He could easily disappear into the Waste to live out his life until madness eventually claimed him.
    He wasn’t as stupid as the High Council thought. He fully