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Five

POV Fiora

I had never felt my body like this before. My heart was racing, faster than usual. Heat was spreading throughout my body, making every breath feel heavy. What was happening to me? This tightness wasn't just from the neural-link that had been activated, but also from the fear and confusion that had been building up since the matching ceremony night.

I looked up, staring at the man in front of me—Brynmor. He wasn’t like I had imagined. His sharp gaze and the way he spoke, as though every word that left his mouth was an unquestionable command. But beneath all that, there was something faint, a tension in his face that made me wonder.

“Follow me,” he said briefly.

His voice was firm, nearly emotionless. I looked at him confused, but my body moved on its own as he pulled my hand. His hand was cold, almost mechanical, but there was strength there. We walked quickly down the long hallways of his headquarters.

“Why are we leaving?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Silence,” he replied shortly.

I wanted to protest, but the next moment, I noticed something strange. All the men we passed were staring at me in an unusual way. There was something in their gazes that made me feel like prey being hunted by a predator. I felt Brynmor’s shoulders stiffen.

“Look ahead. Don’t look at them,” he ordered.

“What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer. We kept walking until we finally reached a large steel door that opened with a hiss. I looked around, realizing that this was a place I had never seen before—a dark room with transparent walls showing the view of outer space.

“This is the Isolation Zone,” he said, releasing my hand. “You’ll be safe here.”

I looked at him suspiciously. “Why should I be isolated?”

He sighed deeply, looking frustrated. “Your body is undergoing a post-synchronization hormonal reaction. Your synthetic pheromones are triggering a response from men without genetic mates. If you stay outside, you’ll become their target.”

His words were like a slap to the face. I felt my body shake. “So... this is all because of that synchronization?”

Brynmor didn’t answer. He just stared at me coldly before walking over to a control panel on the side of the room. I stood frozen, trying to process everything he had just said.

♡♡♡

Hours passed in silence. Brynmor sat on the other side of the room, busy examining something on a floating holographic screen. Meanwhile, I sat in a corner, hugging my knees, trying to steady my breath.

I felt like a prisoner in this place.

“I can’t stay here forever,” I finally said, breaking the silence.

Brynmor looked up, glanced at me for a moment, then returned to his focus on the screen. “We’ll only be here until your body stabilizes.”

“And after that?”

He didn’t answer.

I stood up, looking at him with a gaze as sharp as I could make it. “Why did you choose me?” I asked bluntly.

This time, Brynmor stopped what he was doing. He looked at me with unreadable eyes. “That’s none of your business.”

“How could it not be my business?” I began to lose patience. “You chose me. You decided the course of my entire life in one night. I have the right to know why!”

He stood up, stepping closer until I could feel the cold aura emanating from him. “I chose you because you were the best option for me. That’s it.”

“The best option?” I scoffed. “You know that’s a lie. Everyone knows I’m a genetic failure. No one would want to choose me, especially someone like you.”

Brynmor remained silent. I could see his jaw tightening as if he were holding something back.

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he finally said, his voice low and cold.

I took a step back, feeling like I was talking to a wall. But I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “Is this all because of my family? Because of my father?”

Brynmor’s face changed in an instant. His eyes narrowed, and his expression darkened. I knew I had hit a sensitive spot.

“You don’t know anything,” he said softly, but there was a threat in his tone.

“I know my father isn’t a good man,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “But that has nothing to do with me. If you have a problem with him, deal with him, not me.”

Brynmor didn’t answer. He simply turned away, heading back to his spot.

I felt frustrated. There was no point in talking to him. I finally sat back down in the corner, hugging my knees, trying to hold back the exhaustion and sadness that were slowly taking over me.

Time passed without me realizing it. I didn’t know whether it was morning or night. In this place, there were no markers of time. All I could do was wait, hoping my body would return to normal, and I could leave this place.

However, something was bothering me. There was a noise coming from outside the room. I looked at Brynmor, who was already standing with a wary expression.

“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice full of concern.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he walked quickly to the door and opened another holographic screen. His face tensed.

“They found us,” he muttered.

“Who?”

“Devlin’s forces,” he replied, looking at me. “We need to leave, now.”

I didn’t have time to ask more. Brynmor had already pulled my hand and was leading me out of the room. An alarm began to blare, signaling a security breach.

We ran down the dark hallways. I could hear footsteps and voices in the distance. Brynmor looked incredibly calm, even though the situation was clearly unfavorable.

“Where are we going?” I asked, gasping for breath.

“Out of here,” he answered briefly.

Our steps halted when suddenly a group of armed men appeared in front of us. They wore uniforms different from Brynmor’s, but their expressions were full of hatred.

“Hand over the woman, Brynmor,” one of them said.

Brynmor stood in front of me, protecting me with his body. “She’s mine. You don’t have the right to touch her.”

“Devlin wants her. You know that,” the man said again.

Brynmor didn’t answer. Instead, he raised his right hand, which transformed into some sort of plasma weapon. Before I could understand what was happening, he fired the weapon at them.

I screamed, my body instinctively pulling back. The sound of gunfire and screams echoed down the hallway. I watched as Brynmor fought with terrifying strength, mercilessly destroying his enemies.

However, there were too many of them. Brynmor finally turned to me, his face covered in sweat. “Run!”

“But—”

“Run now!”

I had no other choice. I turned and ran as fast as I could, even though my entire body was shaking. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn’t dare look back.

As I neared the end of the hallway, I felt a hand grab me. I screamed but quickly realized it was Brynmor.

“We have to go,” he said, his voice out of breath.

We finally found an emergency exit that led outside the facility. A small vehicle was waiting there. Brynmor forced me inside before taking the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going now?” I asked, my voice still filled with fear.

“Far from here,” he answered briefly.

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