Born Bad Read online

  One-Twenty-Six Press.

  Born Bad

  Sarah Noffke

  Copyright © 2019 by Sarah Noffke

  All rights reserved

  Copyeditor: Christine LePorte

  Cover Design: Andrei Bat

  All rights reserved. This was self-published by Sarah Noffke under One-Twenty-Six Press. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you are seeking permission send inquiry at http: www.sarahnoffke.com

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Summary: One man will kill to get back what belongs to him, even if he destroys himself in the process.

  Published in the United States by One-Twenty-Six Press

  ASIN:

  Praise for Previous Works:

  “There are so many layers, so many twists and turns, betrayals and reveals. Loves and losses. And they are orchestrated beautifully, coming when you least expected and yet in just the right place. Leaving you a little breathless and a lot anxious. There were quite a few moments throughout where I found myself thinking that was not what I was expecting at all. And loving that.”

  -Mike, Amazon

  “The writing in this story was some of the best I've read in a long time because the story was so well-crafted, all the little pieces fitting together perfectly.”

  -The Tale Temptress

  “There are no words. Like literally. NO WORDS.

  This book killed me and then revived me and then killed me some more. But in the end I was born anew, better.”

  -Catalina, Goodreads

  “Love this series! Perfect ending to an incredible series! The author has done this series right.”

  -Kelly at Nerd Girl

  “What has really made these books stand out is how much emotion they evoke from me as a reader, and I love how it comes from a combination of both characters and plot together. Everything is so intricately woven that I have to commend Sarah Noffke on her skills as a writer.”

  -Anna at Enchanted by YA

  For Tommi Ann,

  for being such a loyal supporter and a lovely friend.

  Table of Contents

  Reading Guide

  Get your free book here

  BORN BAD

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Reading Guide

  Get your free book here

  Reading Guide

  Sarah crafted the Dream Traveler universe and has 5 series that take place there. Characters from different series bounce between the books. The reading guide below offers a suggested order for consumption to decrease spoilers and stay on the timeline. The last three series listed can be read in any order.

  For more information please visit Sarah’s website at www.sarahnoffke.com or email her at [email protected]

  Join the mailing list here for freebies, updates and more! http://www.sarahnoffke.com/connect/

  A Dream Traveler Series: The Lucidites Series

  Awoken, #1:

  Stunned, #2

  Revived, #3

  A Dream Travelers Series: The Reverians

  Defects, #1:

  Rebels, #2

  Warriors, #3

  A Dream Traveler Series: Ren

  Ren: The Man Behind the Monster, #1:

  Ren: God’s Little Monster, #2

  Ren: The Monster Inside the Monster, #3

  Ren: The Monster’s Adventure, #3.5

  Ren: The Monster’s Death, #4

  A Dream Traveler Series: Genetically Altered

  Made to Kill, #1

  Better off Dead, #2

  Hungry for Blood, #3

  Born Bad, #4

  A Dream Travelers Series: Vagabond Circus

  Suspended, #1:

  Paralyzed, #2

  Released, #3

  Soul Stone Mage Series: An Urban Fantasy Witch Adventure

  House of Enchanted, #1:

  Dark Forest, #2

  Mountain of Truth, #3

  Land of Terran, #4

  New Egypt, #5

  Lancothy, #6

  Virgo, #7

  Ghost Squadron Series: A Military Space Opera Adventure

  Formation, #1

  Exploration, #2

  Evolution, #3

  Degeneration, #4

  Impersonation, #5

  Recollection, #6

  Preservation, #7

  Precious Galaxy Series: Fantasy Space Opera

  Corruption, #1

  Investigation, #2

  Determination, #3

  Obliteration, #4

  Unstoppable Liv Beaufont Series: Urban Fantasy

  The Rebellious Sister, #1

  The Uncooperative Warrior, #2

  The Defiant Magician, #3

  The Triumphant Daughter, #4

  Get your free book here

  Click here to get started:

  http://www.sarahnoffke.com/free-book/

  BORN BAD

  Genetically Altered Series, Book Four

  Prologue

  A tortured scream filled the lab room. Mika slammed his fist into the arm of the chair where he sat.

  “How much longer?” he said through exasperated breaths.

  Drake eyed the IV bag hanging on the rack next to Mika, no urgency in his eyes. “I’d say at least another minute,” he said with an indifferent shrug. “Maybe two or three.”

  “Ahhhh,” Mika said from the back of his throat, clenching his eyes tightly shut. If he pressed them hard enough maybe that pain would distract him from the fire pouring through his veins. This time was worse than the last, which made no sense. A few years ago Mika underwent the process for increasing his speed, making him as fast as the werewolves were now. However, the drugs, according to Drake, had worn off. That’s why the speed Mika had enjoyed when moving around Olento Research had gradually dissipated until he returned to his normal pace.

  “This is the same formula as before, correct?” he said with his eyes still pressed shut.

  “Yes, you said you di
dn’t want to take a risk by increasing the dosage,” Drake said, sounding irritated by having to answer the same question a second time. If Mika could get into the scientist’s head then he’d find out if he was in fact hiding anything. Something wasn’t right, but Drake was all he had at the moment. Finding someone to replace him would be impossible, so he’d just have to trust that the German was only more grumpy lately and therefore unable to control his attitude. Mika would punish him for his tone later, but now the burning in his blood owned his attention.

  The drug sank deep into his tissues, spreading along his blood, carrying its fire with it as it did. Mika held his breath when it arrived to his lungs, bathing them in flames that he was certain had the capacity to split open his chest. He’d never felt this kind of agony when undergoing a procedure. Was it because he’d done so many things to his body? Was his body rejecting the drugs?

  “Breathe,” Mika heard Drake say in front of him and he let out a hot breath that burned his nostrils.

  “Just another minute,” Drake said, his tone still mechanical.

  “You said before that I only had a minute,” Mika said through clenched teeth, losing his breath on the last word.

  “Not much longer,” Drake said, and Mika could hear him flick his fat fingers against the bag of drugs that were intravenously being delivered into his body. A rush of the drug shot into Mika’s arm, and unable to control it he let out a scream that echoed off the empty lab walls. He gripped the arm of the chair with his other hand, feeling close to breaking it off.

  Soon he’d make himself super strong, like Rio. That’s why he was doing all this anyway. He was going after the werewolves himself, if necessary. The night he discovered that Kris helped Rio to escape from Olento Research he’d torn the place apart. That little bitch was going to pay for what she did. Rio and Kris were Mika’s property and he was going to get them back and beat them until they were compliant. The Lucidites thought they could win against Mika, but he’d only just begun to fight. Soon they’d be begging for mercy. But it would never come. He was going to recapture his werewolves, steal everything of use from the Lucidites, and then kill them all. And Mika knew that his victory was imminent. Soon he’d be more powerful than any of the werewolves. He was the true alpha wolf and his pack would bow to his reign.

  Mika growled as Drake withdrew the needle from his arm, bandaging it as he did. The pain receded with each steadying breath. When Mika pulled his eyes open he noticed a strange look on Drake’s face. Was it a smile? With a speed he hadn’t felt in many years, Mika yanked his arm away from the scientist’s reach. He then bolted to a standing position and sped through the lab and across the Olento Research facility, making it to his office in record time. He in fact had enhanced speed, and therefore Drake could live another day.

  Chapter One

  “Dream Travelers are a rare race who can travel to any place and time with their consciousness using their dreams.”

  - Dream Traveler Codex

  He slipped his fingers across the fibers of the white handkerchief. It had a blue stain on one corner, probably from a ballpoint pen. The life of the handkerchief displayed in Connor’s mind through a series of images. Usually they flipped through his mind in a quick, random show, only pausing on one or two long enough for him to make out details. His eyes sprung open so he was staring straight at Zephyr.

  “What did you see this time?” Zephyr said, leaning forward.

  “There’s over two dozen guards on duty at any given time,” Connor said, remembering seeing the employee roster that Haiku reviewed every morning, sometimes while wiping his brow with his handkerchief. He was the person who had owned the object which Connor was using his psychometry to read.

  “Why in the hell would an organization need that many guards?” Rox said, more as an aside. She was sitting next to Zephyr, as she normally did, but backward in the leather seat, her legs straddled around the chair. From the way Adelaide kept eyeing the girl, she didn’t approve of the casual way she was sitting. Connor didn’t think it was because Addy was mad at Rox’s disrespect of the office furniture.

  “There’s video surveillance in all the hallways and lab rooms,” Connor said, closing his eyes and trying to recall the images.

  “Okay, so after an hour of this bloody shit all we know is that Olento Research is heavily guarded. Can you offer anything more helpful so we know more than to be careful?” Adelaide said.

  With his eyes still closed, Connor released a slight smirk. She just couldn’t be nice. He didn’t think that kissing her would change that. At least he hoped it wouldn’t. Others might be turned off by Adelaide’s brazen nature, but Connor found it endearing. He found everything about her attractive, but he was also certain that she’d run if he told her that. Still, she’d allowed him to kiss her and now that was all he could think about, even though she liked to pretend it hadn’t happened.

  “Mika isn’t at Olento Research on Monday mornings. Drake has been clocking in later on those days, but Haiku allows him to change the security records to reflect otherwise,” Connor said, swiveling around and facing Adelaide, who was standing at her usual place at the end of the table.

  “So now we know Mika parties on the weekends and has a human resource issue. Thank you so very fucking much,” Adelaide said, swiveling her eyes away from Connor’s as soon as he looked at her.

  “You’re absolutely welcome,” Connor said, almost enjoying that his gaze obviously made her nervous. She’d come around to him sooner or later. He’d be there when she did.

  “I think this will add up to something we can work with to create a strategy,” Zephyr said, sketching down notes on a pad of paper.

  “You’re bad at math,” Adelaide said.

  “Why don’t you just give me the address and I’ll stop time, walk in there, and release Rio and Malcolm?” Kaleb said. He was sitting on the other side of Connor, propped up on his elbow, like he was considering taking a nap on the conference room table.

  “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?” Adelaide said with mock shock. “Case closed. Let’s all go home.”

  “Although I appreciate your bravery at stepping up to the challenge, I think what Adelaide is so thoughtfully trying to say is that might not work,” Zephyr said. “You can only stop time for a couple of minutes and from the information Connor has supplied on the layout, that probably won’t give you enough time to get in and out of there.”

  “So I go in there. Time continues. I stop it again and then get the weres out of their cages,” Kaleb said, like it was a done deal.

  “How?” Adelaide said, sticking her hands on her narrow hips. “How do you get them out? Where are the keys? How do you get to them? How do you get through security? Where’s your badge?”

  Kaleb slid his head down and laid it on his arm. “Oh, right. Never mind. Just wake me up when you have a plan and need me to save the day,” he said.

  “Now that the sleeping idiot has gone to bed, I have some other business to discuss,” Adelaide said.

  “Shouldn’t we focus on strategy?” Zephyr said. “Nothing is more important than getting Rio out of Olento Research, and Malcolm as well.” Since Rio had been taken, Zephyr had been more unnerved than ever before. He didn’t stop working, always drilling Connor for more information. Connor understood completely though. The loss of Rio’s presence wasn’t just a blow to the pack, but it also reminded Connor how vulnerable the werewolves were as long as Olento Research was hunting for them. They’d never be safe while Mika was out there.

  “Yes, that’s my main objective, but currently Connor is supplying us with an address to Olento Research and also the information that it’s too secure for us to break into there. Until he can offer something a bit more substantial, we’re at an impasse,” Adelaide said, turning to look at Connor with a dissatisfied stare.

  How does she do that? Pretend so well? Everyone thought she was so hard, but nothing could be further from the truth. This was a girl who just wanted to be loved.
To feel deserving of that love. And if anyone ever told her how incredibly brilliant and beautiful she was, inside and out, then she’d feel a lot different about herself. Still, he’d never change a thing about her. This was a part of her path, and the journey to her had become something Connor appreciated.

  “You are so right. I’m the problem. And therefore, I’ll go meditate with my hanky, and only return when I have information of use,” Connor said, standing from the table and offering a wink to Adelaide, who returned the gesture with a beautiful scowl.

  “Well, now that that misfit is gone,” Adelaide said, wondering if her cheeks were burning red, because they felt on fire. What the fuck? She hadn’t realized that Connor wanted her to kill him. Why else was he flirting with her? “Aiden has created a drug that he says is mostly safe and could give us exactly what we’ve been looking for.”

  Zephyr’s gray eyes shrunk with hesitation. David’s death was still in the front of his mind, and probably something he was continuously blaming himself for. “You mean, a drug that takes the wolf out of us?” he said.

  Adelaide shook her head. “No, I realized after learning about Hunter that reversing the conversion was the wrong approach. We don’t need to sever you from the wolf, but rather build a stronger link. We need to fuse the man and the wolf, making them almost equals,” she said.

  Zephyr licked the tip of his thumb before squinting at Adelaide. “Well, I never expected to hear you say that.”