ut Rule Eleven, " Don't ask about the woman who came before you wasn't a request; it was a challen

The estate was silent, save for the low,

ed on Alexander's desk, a service crawlspace behind the mirrored vanity. She pu

he smell of ozone growing stronger. She wasn't

t was a circular chamber made entirely of reinforced glass. In the center, suspend

. But it wasn

ery freckle, the slight scar on her chin from a childhood fall, the exac

autiful,

lhouette framed by the glowing vats. He wasn't wearing his lab coat now. He looked

voice cracking in the sterile air. "

e a mistake. She tried to upload her consciousness into a digital mainframe that couldn't hold the complexity of

," Elena whispered, horror dawning

a terrifying, manic devotion. "The interface needs a biological 'anchor' to transfer her

not he

lta four years ago? Why do you think I've been watching you ever since? I didn't find you, Elena. I selected you. You were the only m

, her university scholarship, the "random" alleyway enco

. "You don't even see me. You just s

old mask broke, and something raw and agonizingly human l

you and discard the shell. But then you walked into my office with ash in your hair and fire in yo

monster, Elena. I know that. But I can't let

, her tears hitting his hands. "S

n the vat began to bubble violently. The monitors flared to life,

WANTS TO SEE IF HE CAN KEEP BOTH OF US! HE WANTS

" He smashed his glass against th

e surgical cart and swung it with everything she had. It caught Alexander

. She bolted for

g through the estate. "There is nowher

er ears. She burst back into her bedroom, her breath c

ling for silence anymore. She was pointing to the

thed through the glass. IT'S TO KEEP THE SE

n pouring it in a thick, jagged circle around herself. J

eld a biometric scanner in his hand. He scanned the room, th

the salt circle, it

ine, she di

t the spot where she was standing, but his eyes seemed to slide right o

rd the bed, hi

an she was terrified of and the man she realized,

toward the door.

ls. If she stayed, she was a queen in a haunted house, fighting for

t of the wedding ring Alexander had given her. S

out of the circle

ut if you want me, you're going to have to do more than jus

smile spread across his face a loo

accepted, M