I lay crumpled on the cold floor, the sharp taste of blood in my mouth, the memory of their rough hands searing my skin. My cheap slip dress hung in tatters, useless. Trembling hard, I barely noticed Jax dragging Koda out of the interrogation room, the door sliding shut with a hiss, trapping me in a heavy silence.
My breaths came fast and uneven. Violation. That's what it felt like. Deep, raw violation. They didn't just touch me; they claimed me, judged me like I was nothing but an object.
Soon, the door opened again. Not the twins this time. A tall woman stood there, built strong like a warrior, with shiny cybernetic parts on one arm and a calm, eerie eye. Her face showed nothing, no emotion at all.
She didn't help me up or say a word. She just pointed for me to stand.
My legs felt heavy as stone. Shame battled with fear inside me. Still tied, I struggled to my feet. She turned and walked, expecting me to follow. Where else could I even go?
We walked through cold, clean hallways, her boots making soft echoes on the shiny floor. We reached a private area, full of metal and tech, but with a harsh kind of luxury. We stopped at a smooth door.
It slid open, showing not a cell, but a huge bedroom. Fancy, with a giant bed that could fit four, covered in silky sheets glowing under soft lights. Tall windows showed Neo-Veridia City far below, neon lights flashing on thick glass. A pretty prison.
My guard pushed me inside. Before I could ask anything, the door shut with a quiet click. I ran to it, pulling and pushing. It wouldn't move. I checked the edge. No handle, no lock, just flat metal. Touching it, a weird tingle hit my skin, maybe an energy field, or just my shaky nerves?
Panic gripped my chest. I looked around. The room was nice but empty of life. Tiny cameras hid in the ceiling corners. The window felt too strong to break. Escape looked impossible.
Hours passed, I don't know how many, when the door hissed open. The same guard, Rhea, I later learned her name, came in with a tray. She put it on a low table. Real food, thick nutrient paste, clean water.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice rough. "Why am I here? What do they want?"
Rhea didn't answer. Her cybernetic eye glowed a little as she checked the room, probably for safety. She turned to go.
"Wait!" I shouted. "My zip-ties! Cut them off!"
She stopped, looking at my sore, red wrists. Without speaking, she pulled a small laser cutter from her belt. A quick beam sliced the plastic, freeing my hands. Relief hit me, then sharp pain as blood flowed back to my fingers.
Rhea left without a sound. The door locked again.
I paced for hours, testing the walls, the window. I tried my weak cloaking skill to trick the sensors, but it didn't work. Maybe the room blocked my tech, or stress broke it. Touching the door's edge made a quiet hum, probably an alarm to my captors. A super expensive security setup, no doubt.
Just as hopelessness grew, the door opened. Rhea stood there, face blank.
"Come," she said.
Fear hit me hard. "Where?"
"Medical Bay. Doctor's orders."
I froze, but Rhea stepped in, her body showing I had no choice. Stomach twisting with dread, I followed her.
We walked deeper into the Citadel through more hallways. The Medical Bay wasn't like the cheap clinics I knew from the slums. This was top-notch, bright white and metal, full of buzzing machines worth a fortune.
A woman waited by a big scanning bed. Younger than Rhea, with sharp features and smart eyes behind thin glasses. Her white lab coat was spotless. She gave a small, cold smile that didn't warm her face.
"Zara, right? I'm Dr. Aris Thorne. The Alphas want a full check on you. Normal for new people here. Please, lie down."
Thorne? The name rang a bell. Silas Thorne, the rival Koda talked about? Maybe related, or not, since she worked here. She must earn big money, at least 250k credits a year, to serve the Alphas and stay silent.
Hesitant, I got on the scanning bed. It felt cold on my skin. Restraints locked my wrists and ankles automatically. Panic rushed through me.
"Is this needed?" I gasped.
"Just safety," Dr. Thorne said calmly, her fingers moving fast on a control panel. "Your cybernetics are special. Model X-07. Amazing. Records say the maker shut down years ago. But your energy levels are crazy high." A scanner came down, covering me in blue light. "We need to know what we're handling."
Her touch was all business, distant, but her eyes had a hungry, curious shine as machines scanned my body, digging into the tech under my skin. It felt worse than the twins' attack, a different kind of invasion, cold and prying.
"Incredible," she whispered, staring at the screen. "Military-level parts, not registered anywhere. Weapons built in, maybe kinetic pulses? Short EMP bursts? Where did you get this tech, Zara?"
I kept quiet, heart racing.
"No worries," she said, almost to herself. "The energy jumps are big. Could be dangerous if stressed. We'll watch you closely." Dangerous. The word felt heavy, full of hidden threats.
After forever, the scan ended. The restraints let go. Dr. Thorne wrote on a datapad, her face thoughtful, almost hungry.
"Thanks, Zara. Rhea will take you back."
Back in my fancy cage, the door shut, leaving me with the cold luxury and the scary echo of Dr. Thorne's words. Unregistered. Military-grade. Dangerous. They knew my tech was powerful, risky. They knew I could be risky. And I was stuck, scanned, and marked, deep in the pack's stronghold, under the sharp eyes of two controlling Alphas and their clever doctor.
