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Her gaze shot toward Grayson. He d told her the truth. All he d been worried
about last night was another male detecting his scent. He d known he wouldn t hurt her
if he d come inside her.
Why the scare tactic?
It s the general s preference that there be no fraternization at all between his
troops and my cats, so he s used the complication to his advantage.
What complication? You just said there is no danger.
No, I said their semen isn t toxic. Certain females are at risk from morph
males. Darman made an adjustment to the scanner, then went on. When a female has
dormant aptitudes in her physiology, sexual interaction with a morph male can trigger
a dramatic metamorphosis.
Fucking a morph turns some women into a morph? She had to make sure she
understood what he meant.
It s not that simple. If the female is pure human, there is no danger.
You don t think I m human? Is that where this is going?
In a word, yes. But if you d be a little less impatient, I ll explain how I came to
this supposition.
I m sorry. I don t mean to be rude. It s just not every day you re told you re not
human.
I m not human, Darman admitted cheerfully. Or not purely human. It s my
understanding that you know how morphs came into being.
Just like that, the Executive Director of Alpha Colony admitted he was part of a
global cover-up? Then it s true? Morphs aren t evolutionary anomalies?
Darman looked at Grayson and shook his head. It still astonishes me every time
I realize someone actually believes that nonsense.
People believe what they need to believe to ensure their lives remain in balance.
I sort of screwed that up for Sasha last night.
Aubrey Ross Untamed Hunger 53
Darman turned back to her, his expression serious again. I was adamantly
opposed to the cover up, but no one gives a damn what scientists think. I also had no
direct involvement in phase three.
His team created hybrids not morphs, Grayson clarified.
Did you alter your own DNA or was this done to you?
I volunteered, as did most of the members of my team. We wanted to be sure
the procedure was safe before we moved forward.
Despite the sincerity in his tone, Sasha wasn t convinced. That s very noble, but
it doesn t make sense. If something went wrong, the project would have been
devastated by your loss. Why did you really do it?
Look at me. We saw what the feline DNA did for the test subjects and we
wanted what they had. Is that so hard to understand?
And DOMA allowed it?
It was my project. They weren t in a position to dictate to me.
In other words, it was easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission , Grayson
said. His superiors knew nothing about it until it was too late. They ve been suspicious
of him ever since. He might be the civilian head of the morph colonies, but DOMA
keeps him on a pretty short leash.
Resentment hardened Darman s expression. He didn t argue with Grayson s
description. Still, it obviously bothered him.
So, how can I be a hybrid, yet know nothing about it? The same way she
hadn t suspected the truth about morphs. People only saw what they were allowed to
see. Information was strictly regulated by endless layers of bureaucracy. They re still at
it, aren t they? They ve just gone further underground.
I m way out of the loop now, Darman said, but that s my best guess.
How do we stop them? What should we do?
Darman chuckled. Let s solve the current mystery before we take on the world.
How s that sound?
Far too reasonable for my current state of mind.
Aubrey Ross Untamed Hunger 54
I understand, but the longest journey is made one step at a time. Grayson, why
don t you wait in my office? This could take a while.
What if someone sees him?
Sees my grandson loitering in my office? They ll probably ask him if he needs
anything, and then go about their business. Relax. You re among friends.
I ll go set up the clinic, Grayson told his grandfather; then he smiled at Sasha
and added, You re in good hands. I ll see you later.
Relaxation was not Sasha s strong suit on a good day and this day was far from
good. She d thought Grayson s revelations were astonishing. Now they d been
compounded with the possibility that her DNA had been altered without her
knowledge.
How long have you been in the military? Darman opened a compartment in
the exam table and took out a handheld scanner and a device she didn t recognize.
Fourteen years.
Have you noticed any unusual changes in your physical or mental abilities
during those fourteen years?
I ve grown stronger and I can run faster, but that s physical conditioning. I
always excelled academically, so I don t honestly know if I m smarter.
He swabbed the inside of her mouth and inserted the swab into the unfamiliar
device. This only takes a few minutes, but I wanted to speak with you privately. I can
neutralize mating fever. If you only feel a passing fancy for Grayson, it would probably
be the wisest course.
My fancy for Grayson has been simmering for years. I was extremely attracted
to him the first time I saw him.
All right. Neutralization is off the table. Let s see what we re dealing with. He
picked up the DNA sequencer and scrolled through several screens. It s official, my
dear. You might work for Homo sapiens but you are not one.
If they jacked with my DNA, I m sure I m not the only one. There are probably
no humans left in the military.
Aubrey Ross Untamed Hunger 55
For some reason Darman found that extremely funny. I ve suspected that for
years.
So what am I? Oh God, what if they d interjected more than cat DNA. What if
she was a hodgepodge of all sorts of wacky stuff?
Every time we tried multiple crossmutation the result was disastrous. You re
definitely a feline hybrid. I m trying to verify which species.
She accepted the information without argument; then her mind snapped to
attention. You just read my thoughts. I didn t say the last part out loud.
I told you I wasn t human. All the morphs are telepathic. He glanced at her
and smiled. I ll have Grayson work with you when we re done here. I bet he can have
you sending and receiving thoughts before the day is through.
Something on the screen caught his attention. He leaned forward and stroked his
beard.
What is it? What do you see?
Let me verify this before I explain. I want to be absolutely sure of my findings.
He walked to the access terminal across from the table and activated three separate
applications before he spoke again. Good. That s a relief, he muttered, then issued a
series of commands. The terminal s verbal response made no sense to her, but Darman
finally turned back around.
Well?
Sorry. I m really not tormenting you intentionally. These are the facts. Your
DNA contains several feline segments, and the recessive genes within those segments
indicate the donor was a white tiger.
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