Chase by Viola Grace Page B

door to her cage opened. Nishino was watching her with light gleaming at his back.
    "Have you changed your mind today?" He crossed his arms and she swore she could see the muscles bunching under his skin.
    When she arrived, they had done two things, enhanced her talent with a viral infection that surged out of control when she got emotional and implanted a collar into her neck that was wired into her spinal cord. Her chances to escape were slim to none with the locator woven into her collar.
    "Go to hell, you murdering bastard. I am never going to agree to be your mate."
    He sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "Not mate, breeding partner. After I get a talented child from you, you will be passed to the next male of compatible genetics. I am not an ogre, it won't be too bad, I promise."
    She shifted, the chains wrapped around her limbs clanking as she sat up. "Get bent. Go to hell. I hope your dick falls off and your skin erupts in boils."
    His jaw flexed with anger. "Enjoy your time in the wilderness. You will be the target of the next hunt."
    Her muscles clenched as the urge to claw his eyes out became overwhelming. Memories of the collar changed her mind. He was perfectly safe taunting her. If she attacked him, she would be brought down by a searing pain that would continue until she released him.
    He waved in two of the guards who were stationed outside her cell and they approached with caution.
    She stood, the chains falling to the floor in a heap. They didn't ask how she managed to unlock her shackles, it was her only hobby locked in the cell with nothing else to do and a collar around her neck. At this point, she was able to measure every twitch of their bodies and the strike zones that would render them unconscious as well as those that would kill them on contact.
    The medical wrap she wore was stained and filthy, but it covered her from shoulder to knees. Nenita walked out of her cell, the guards nervously fidgeting behind her while Nishino led the way out into the bright light of day.
    Nene shaded her eyes with her hand, the group of males in collars watching her made her uneasy. The ones who were not wearing collars frightened her more.
    Nishino raised his voice. "This is a Terran who has decided that she is too good to carry the next generation of talents. She will be allowed one hour of a head start and then you can chase her. You will have the opportunity to fight for the right to follow her first. Each pair of men to win will get to follow after one hour. At that point, a pair will be released every hour until she is brought back. Anyone who catches her gets three days with her, no permanent damage, but anything else goes. Let's see how she likes it when the choice is taken from her."
    The men muttered to each other, grins were breaking out and the men were shifting from side to side with eagerness. She could almost smell their anticipation.
    Without ceremony, the gates to the compound swung open. Knowing that they would cheat, she ran for it. He may have stated she had one hour, but that was a gross estimate. In her experience, men could get fighting in a matter of seconds and win just as quickly.
    Nenita sprinted out through the gates and headed for the thick foliage and the hills. If she could get far enough away, she might just have a chance to set up a defensible position. Here was hoping that her enhanced talents could help her out.
    Nenita hid behind the waterfall, her body submerged as the hunters milled around the pool. While she watched the men stalking around her trail, her hands worked at the back of her collar. The release point was obvious, but finding something both thin and strong enough to press it was a problem.
    Watching the men argue and come to blows while her body cooled rapidly was frustrating. They could either leave or kill each other, but they needed to make up their minds, she was getting cold.
    As she watched the men fight, she noted their weak points and got frustrated with their