Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

I continue browsing the files, my eyes growing wide as I see that of a woman. And another. And another.

Human females.

“Of course, this required changes at a cellular level,” Sebastian goes on. “And so, it was proposed that the serum be administered to human fetuses while they were still in their mother’s womb. The earlier, the better.”

I pause, seeing a file with the name Clare Ferguson. One look at the picture and I know exactly who she is.

Oh, shit.

“Clarissa’s mother was one of the research subjects,” Sebastian says. “It’s likely she was abducted while she was here in Africa. They administered the serum to her.”

My mouth gapes, my mind occupied with the image of Clarissa’s mother tied to a bed, doctors sticking needles into her.

“Shit.”

“She wasn’t fully aware of it,” Toshi adds. “The Cat I interrogated swore the mothers were given the best care and that they were mostly unconscious. He probably thought that bit of information would save him but he was wrong.”

“The Council approved of this?” Theo asks.

“No,” Sebastian answers. “A group of Cats did it without the knowledge of the Council, which is why the Council shut it down.”

“So, Clarissa is...?” I glance at her mother’s file. “She’s compatible with primals?”

Sebastian nods. “That’s why she shares some of our abilities – speed, strength, healing, telepathy, camouflage, heightened senses. You should have seen her fight. She exceeded my expectations.”

“And mine,” Toshi adds, whistling. “She was....” The word he used was something Japanese. Something I couldn’t catch, but the meaning was clear. Cool. Amazing. Something...unexpected.

I’d known that about her all along.

So I ignore him. “That means, she’s practically half primal, right?”

“We don’t know exactly how much,” Sebastian answers. “All we know is that the serum was designed to make a human compatible with a primal. The primal abilities are probably a side effect.”

“And how do you know exactly that this project was successful?” I stand up straight. “That Clarissa is who you say she is, or is supposed to be?”

“We don’t know for sure if the project was successful,” Sebastian says. “But Clarissa’s mother was the only one who survived it. Clarissa is the only baby born that lived.”

“Shit.”

“Wait,” Theo says. “You said the project was shut down?”

“By the Council, yes,” Sebastian replies.

“So, how come Clarissa’s mother was not taken under custody of the Council?” Theo asks.

Good question.

“The file says she’s deceased,” Toshi says. “But obviously, she isn’t, which means the Cats who were running Project Eden probably knew the Council was coming for them. They hid Clare’s existence and let her go, probably thinking that later on, they’d come back for her. But she was rescued and brought to America where they were detained by the Council. By the time they could come back for Clare, she had already died giving birth. They probably thought the baby died as well.”

“But the baby survived,” I say, closing the folder and letting it fall to my lap. “Clarissa survived and was adopted by her mother’s best friend.”

“Which the Cats didn’t know,” Sebastian adds. “They didn’t know about Clarissa until we started asking questions.”

“You mean until you started asking,” I sneer at him. “This is all your fault.”

“She deserved to know the truth,” Sebastian mutters, angry, defensive.

“And what good has the truth done to her, huh?” I try to push Sebastian back. “Look at her.”