Let the Rain Come Down [The Moonlight Breed 6] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Gabrielle Evans (read a book TXT) 📗

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Start from the start. They say that’s usually the best place.”

One side of his mouth curled up in a half smile, and Oscar bobbed his head for a long time before he spoke again. “I guess I had a fairly typical childhood up until I shifted for the first time. I really can’t say how I ended up in The Hive, though. I don’t know if my parents freaked, or if they saw a way to make money because of what I am, but I doubt I was just randomly kidnapped by strangers.”

“The Hive?”

Oscar held his hand up and shook his head. “I’ll get to that.”

Demitrius pressed his lips together and waited patiently. It wasn’t easy, but things like this couldn’t be rushed. There was pain and sadness in Oscar’s eyes. That kind of hurt didn’t just spill out after years of bottling it up. It had to be forced out, purged, and Demitrius probably understood that better than anyone.

“I went to sleep one night and woke up in The Hive the next morning. It was a pretty normal room expect for the one wall that was made completely of bulletproof glass.” He took a big breath and let it out slowly. “Anyway, they took a lot of blood, and there were some other tests that I didn’t understand. I mean, I was only thirteen.”

“Understandable,” Demitrius agreed, trying to keep his tone neutral and rein in his anger. Now that they were mated, Oscar would be able to feel his agitation, and he might misinterpret the cause of it. The last thing Demitrius wanted was for the man to think he’d done something wrong.

“I don’t know anything about genetics, but the theory was that if shifters could change from human to animal, then we should be able to change our human appearance at will as well.”

“The Hive is a genetics lab?”

Oscar chuckled darkly. “Yes, but to outsiders, it was simply a home for troubled youths.” He sat quietly for a moment, apparently gathering his thoughts before continuing. “See, I never knew that being a Moonlighter was a bad thing until I came here and the others told me. We were kind of like the golden children in The Hive, because only those of us with white coats were Desirables.”

Demitrius would bet everything he owned that it was because of the breed’s powerful magic. That meant that whoever was in charge of this lab understood how that magic worked and had been able to not only control but manipulate it. That bit of information was troubling, but he pushed it to the back of his mind to discuss with Xander and the others later.

“D-212 is injected into the hip through a cylinder with five needles.” His face took on a pinched look, and Oscar rubbed absently at his hip—no doubt the same location where he’d received his own injection. “I’m no scientist, and it’s not as though they let me in on their evil schemes. I honestly can’t say how they developed the formula. Sorry.”

Taking his lover’s hand, Demitrius caressed the knuckles with his thumb and smiled. “No one would expect you to know that. Tell me what else happened, Oscar.” Gods, he didn’t know if he wanted to hear anymore, but he knew Oscar needed to get it out, to finally tell someone about the hell he’d endured.

“The first few years were spent learning how to control and alter my physical appearance at will. When I turned sixteen, I began learning about the human body, especially about how to encourage relaxation and relieve stress. From there, I moved on to the different pleasure points and how to manipulate them. After my eighteenth birthday is when the real fun began, though.”

Demitrius didn’t need it spelled out for him, and thankfully, Oscar didn’t go into great detail about the training he’d received in how to be a proper sex slave. Companion, my ass. His blood boiled with barely suppressed rage, and Demitrius wanted to find this place and burn it to the fucking ground.

First, there were still a few questions he needed answered. “Okay,” he said slowly, still trying to sound as though he wasn’t mad enough to spit nails. “You said that I somehow changed you. Care to explain that?”

“Once we finish our training, we are then eligible for contracts. To seal the contract, we must exchange blood with our new Master, forming the link that will allow a Desirable to interpret and anticipate a Master’s every desire.” Oscar spoke in a stilted monotone as though reciting directly from a handbook.

“I’m not your Master, Oscar.” He wanted to be very clear on that subject. Just thinking about his sweet little angel being owned like a pet was enough to make his stomach heave.

“I know.” Blinking several times, Oscar shook his head as though coming out of a daze and finally met Demitrius’s worried gaze. “This morning, you wished I wasn’t so small. I also know that red is your least favorite color, and that dark blue is your most favorite. So…”

“Oh, Oscar.” Demitrius didn’t think it was possible for him to feel even worse than he had just seconds ago, but he did. He felt like the fucking scum of the universe. “Come here, sweet baby.” Gently, he pulled Oscar back into his arms and held him lovingly. “You can be whoever the hell you want to be. If this is what you want, I’m happy. Yes, I was afraid of hurting you, but I don’t ever want you to change for me or anyone else.”

Oscar appeared to be thinking it over for a long time before his lips split into a wide grin. “Really? You’re okay with how I looked?”

“You are gorgeous no matter what, but those amazing green eyes were the first thing I noticed about you when we met in the kitchen. They hypnotized me like magic, and I knew right then that I’d never want anyone else.”

Before he’d even