LOGINFive's POV"I've been expecting you," that pleasant voice hummed.Elvis sat in the corridor's alcove the way he sat everywhere — like the space had been arranged specifically for him, like comfort was simply his natural condition rather than something he cultivated deliberately.He looked up from the document in his hands with that expression. The pleasant one."Five forty-nine," he completed.I held his gaze."Where is she?" I asked. No preamble, no careful approach or strategic wording.I was too tired for strategy with Elvis today.He tilted his head slightly."I'm not sure who you mean," he said pleasantly."Yes you are," I countered.He studied me for a moment.The pleasant expression didn't waver.That was the thing about Elvis — he never let the mask slip the way Rebecca had, never let frustration or fury or the ugliness underneath reach the surface. He simply sat in his pleasantness like a man sitting in a warm room, completely insulated from whatever was happening outside."Y
Five's POVI didn't knock.I had stopped knocking on his door some time ago and the new arrangement hadn't changed that — if anything it had made me less inclined toward the courtesy.I pushed the door open."Where is she?" I demanded.He set his pen down."Close the door," he ordered."Where is Fifty?" I snapped. "What happened to her?""Close the door, Five."The name landed the way it always landed — that specific warmth, that involuntary response that I thoroughly resented and could not seem to train out of myself regardless of effort.I closed the door."Lucien," I breathed. "What happened to her?"He didn’t respond, just stood there studying me.“King.” He said finally.The anger I fought so hard to control surged.I stepped closer, my pulse roaring in my ears.“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I snapped, the anger exploding out of me. The books on his shelf trembled, reacting to the aura oozing out of me.That heat climbed up with a force, extending outwards.I took in ragge
Five's POVI took a step back, as if hit by a physical blow.She had known.Before it happened — or as it was happening — she had known, and she had left this here for us to find. I folded the cloth back around the paper and pressed it flat in my palm.I stood in the garden with the grey sky above me and understood what the absence of Fifty meant.They had done something to her. We had underestimated Elvis, and he had shown us we were nothing but rats playing against wolves."Damnit," I cursed, my voice carrying the weight of my frustration.This was the work of Elvis or the facility, or both.I couldn't tell which it was because they moved through the same quiet administrative channels.Fifty was gone.I swallowed back the lump in my throat, pushing back the tears threatening to spill.The warmth moved through me — not the power, not yet. Something underneath the power. Something that had been building since a girl named Sixty-seven had wanted to leave and never come back, since a
Five's POVElvis knew of Fifty's involvement.Which meant a different thing than it did for me and Seven.Fifty was a facility soldier.If the facility caught wind of this —"They can't remove her from the citadel," Seven mused.I paced the room, running a hand through my hair.Think.I needed to think."Everything would be alright," Seven reassured. "We just have to figure out another way to get to Elvis since they won't be trusting our only source—""Don't underestimate the facility," I cut in, the image of that dead guard resurfacing. "They don't have authority over the girls once they leave, but they don't need authority."Seven's eyes narrowed slightly."What are you saying?"I held her gaze steadily."They are wolves."She understood the implication of what I was saying. But there was something else underneath that understanding I recognized."Sounds like you're speaking from experience," she whispered, her eyes growing wary.I said nothing."Another fucking secret?" she scoffed
Seven's POVThe girls who had spent three years in Elvis's quarters.I watched one of them as she moved, her bob bouncing with each step she took.That seemed to be the only thing other than her legs that moved.She had learned to take as little space as possible, had learned to draw as little attention to herself as possible — in this case, none.I approached carefully, falling into step beside her.She glanced at me, but said nothing.I kept my gaze forward, maintaining the silence as we walked.Earn her trust. I needed to earn her trust."Your hair is different," I mused, keeping my voice light.She froze.Gotcha.Her entire countenance was blending in. A hairdo that stood out was a slave's nightmare."I'm not the first slave with a bob."Her voice was low and empty."You're not," I agreed. "But you're the first to bob it like that."She didn't say anything.Just kept walking.But I could tell something had changed. I just couldn't identify what.We walked in silence for another co
Five's POVI didn't know what I had expected.Why I had expected more.Why I had somewhere along the line let the nature of our relationship get lost to me.I held back the sob that threatened to spill.The corridor was empty, which was the only mercy the world had offered me. I walked through it with my spine straight and my chin level and my face neutral.I made it to the east wing.Made it to the corridor outside my room.Made it through the door.Closed it behind me.Seven wasn't there.She had duties.I stood in the empty room, at the space that had felt like something close to home for the past weeks, and the sob that I had been holding back since the moment he said "I'll breed you" reached the surface without asking permission.I pressed my hand over my mouth.It didn't help.The second one followed the first and then there was no containing it — it came apart all at once.I collapsed onto the bed, my body giving out on me. I didn't bother holding back the sobs, didn't try swa
549’s POV The forest swallowed me whole. Branches tore into my skin, as I moved, roots caught my feet—making me stumble. But I didn’t slow down, I couldn’t. The voices behind me were multiplying, flashlight beams cutting through the trees. I ran until my legs stopped working properly. Unti
549’s POV“What’re you doing?” I whispered. She didn’t respond, just kept the gun pointed at me with steady hand.Her eyes were fixed on me, cold and calculating. “Answer me!” I snapped, my throat feeling raw, my head starting to pound. “You can’t leave this place.” She finally responded, her vo
549’s POVIt was time. For the first time, I wasn’t clad in a white dress. I wore a black trouser and a black turtleneck top. It felt… thrilling, like my first real act of rebellion. I was getting out of here with my friends. We’ll find other humans, find that paradise I’d dreamed of. We’ll be
549’s POVI curled up in my bed, my head heavy, my throat sore from crying. The higher ups would punish me for not looking after myself. But I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when everything was crumbling around me, not when my fate had been sealed. I hated it, hated the breeding facility, th







