Page 70 of Prey

“Full conditioning protocol. Systematic psychological restructuring. She’ll learn to rely on me like oxygen.”

“Rely on you?” Damon’s laugh is sharp. “Brother, that woman burned down half of Chinatown’s trafficking network. You think a little dominance play is going to break her?”

“She wants it.” The admission scrapes out of my throat. “When I told her what I was going to do to her unconscious body, she fucking moaned. She asked me to fuck her while she was helpless.”

Silence falls across the line. Then Raphael speaks, his voice thoughtful.

“Consensual non consent. Interesting psychological dynamic.”

“It’s not a fucking case study,” I snap. “She responds to being claimed. Owned. I’m going to exploit that.”

“And then what?” Ezra’s question cuts through my defensive anger. “You condition her into the perfect submissive and then… sell her to someone even though she isn’t one of the architects? After all this obsession?”

My throat tightens. The thought of another man touching Jenna makes violence crawl up my spine like venom.

“I haven’t decided.”

“Haven’t decided my ass,” Darius laughs. “You’re going to keep her. Just admit it.”

“Maybe.” The word tastes strange in my mouth. “Maybe I condition her to be mine.”

“There it is,” Marcus says with satisfaction. “Finally, some honesty.”

“You realize you’re basically admitting you want a pet,” Theon points out. “A very dangerous, very lethal pet who’s already proven she can kill efficiently.”

“She won’t hurt me.” The certainty surprises me. “Whatever twisted connection we have, she won’t try to kill me. She had opportunities before. She chose seduction over violence.”

“Because she wanted to escape,” Raphael counters. “Not because she’s loyal.”

“She stayed in Chicago.” The words come out quiet. “For three months, she stayed in my territory. She could have run anywhere in the world, but she stayed close enough for me to find her.”

Understanding ripples across the line.

“She wanted to be caught,” Lucien says slowly.

“Part of her did.” I watch Jenna shift on the cot, her legs drawing up defensively even in sleep. “The part that responded to being owned and claimed. I’m going to feed that part until it consumes the rest.”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” Darius asks.

Heat pools in my gut as I consider the possibilities. The compound offers isolation, privacy, and unlimited time. No distractions. No operational demands are pulling me away from her conditioning.

“Hunt and capture scenarios. Primal play in the woods. I let her run, then I take her down and claim her where she falls.” My voice drops as the fantasy unfolds. “Breeding games. I keep her naked, keep her wanting, make her beg for the privilege of carrying my child.”

“Jesus Christ,” Marcus breathes. “You’re really going full caveman on this.”

“She responds to being hunted and claimed. I’m going to give her exactly what her body craves until her mind follows.”

“What if she doesn’t break?” Ezra asks. “What if she maintains psychological resistance despite physical submission?”

“Then I keep going until she does.” My hand presses against the glass as I watch Jenna’s breathing deepen. “I have unlimited time, unlimited resources, and intimate knowledge of her psychological triggers. She’ll break eventually.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

The question hangs in the air. If Jenna maintains her core resistance, if she never truly submits…

“Then I keep her anyway.” The admission feels like stepping off a cliff. “Broken or whole, submissive or defiant. I keep her.”

Silence stretches across the line before Damon speaks.