Trish's body was throbbing. After being punished, Jordan hadn't applied any of the healing cream, although he had rubbed a different cream into her welts. It didn't have the same effect as the one he normally used. The soreness lingered, her skin was still extremely sensitive where she'd been spanked, and the lingering aches served to remind her of the cost of rebellion. Even though her rebellion hadn't gone further than sharing information... Bella had been the one stupid enough to actually attempt to use it. She still didn't know what the other woman had been thinking.
"Pet and Toy have both been injected with the new drug," the Wolf said, looking both gleeful and apprehensive. "It's not as different from the original as we thought, the Moon is as fucking lazy with their drugs as they are with everything else. This time we're going to break through the formula. They aren't going to be able to make Pet and Toy forget. Not everything."
That simple, satisfied statement shocked Trish to her very core.
"But will they remember enough?" Jordan asked, his tone heavy with doubt.
"And which one will remember?" Cora asked, giving Jordan and the Wolf a wicked look, obviously aware of their penchant for betting on things like that.
Trish tuned out as her mind whirled.
Everyone knew that the Wolf's long-term captives came back and never talked about their ordeal. If the Wolf and the others were saying what Trish thought they were saying, it was because the Moon was drugging the captives... because the Wolf was sending them back with information that the Moon didn't want to get out. It was a stunning revelation that shocked her to her very core, and if she hadn't been sitting on Jordan's lap, she might have fallen right over.
Of course she'd known there were issues on the Moon. To someone living there who wasn't part of the elite, their social structure was stifling, mercenary, and unfair. She'd always just accepted it as being the way things were, just like everyone else. The Moon always insisted Earthers were worse, with their violence and power hungry leaders... and Trish had bought into that too. Just like everyone else.
But taking away someone's memories...
As awful as Trish's abduction had been, she wouldn't even want her earliest memories of it taken away from her. Would she? No... they were hers. If she didn't remember, she wasn't complete. And if the Moon was forcing people to lose their memories, if they were making them and not giving them a choice... it was a violation worse than anything Jordan had done to her or the Wolf had done to Alex and Bella. Even the Wolf's mind-fucks didn't actually erase part of a person.
"They'll be more likely to remember information tied to traumatic or extremely emotional events," Cora said, her tone almost wheedling. "Are you sure you don't want me to take over?"
"I have it handled," the Wolf said shortly. "Besides, you can't receive visitors and you know it."
Cora made a face. "I could have, if you all hadn't voted against me."
"But we did and I'm the name. We leaked my face to go with the name, not yours. You, John, and the others need to stay out of the spotlight. If things go wrong, you can still pick up our plans."
Trish's mouth went dry.
Seeing the action behind-the-scenes was making her more and more worried. The Moon looked more and more like it was run by bumbling incompetents while the Earth leaders were well organized and goal-oriented. She still wasn't entirely sure what their goal was, but obviously it had something to do with the wiped memories of the Wolf's captives and - she was willing to bet - the collusion of some of the Moon's government with the Wolf and others. And, apparently, part of their plan hinged on the Wolf being the only known quantity to the Moon.
If something happened to him, it sounded like Cora and John and the other leaders wouldn't be inconvenienced much. But the Moon would have no idea who to focus on in his absence... maybe there was someone keeping an eye on Earth politics, but even if they were, who was to say the Earthers weren't several steps ahead of them?
The phone on the Wolf's desk rang and he hit a button on it.
"Yes?"
"We've isolated the changes." The voice was familiar and Trish frowned, trying to think of where she'd heard it.
"That was fast," said Trace, also frowning, although she assumed it was because he didn't understand how fast it had happened.
The person on the phone snorted derisively. "They barely changed the formula. I mean, they changed it enough that we'll need to make some adjustments to our serum as well, but I think it's possible that even without the adjustments, some memories would return eventually unless further steps were taken. It's shoddy, lazy ass work. Just what I would expect since they're still only working with Moon scientists who just want to finish their job so they can get back off Earth."
The voice suddenly clicked in Trish's brain - Dr. Margolis.
"The blocker we administered upon arrival will already inhibit the success of this new drug to some extent, especially over time, and we're almost done formulating a secondary shot to administer, more tuned to the new variation if you want a chance for their memories to return sooner rather than later. I would also suggest testing it further while they're still here on Earth, rather than leaving it up to chance." The doctor's tone was almost haughty, but it didn't seem to bother the Wolf or Cora.
"Anything else that might help?"
"The mind is often retains memories it associates with trauma or extreme emotions, as I've told you, but other than that... we'll just have to see."
Jordan's hand on Trish's leg began to move, sliding up under her skirt almost absently, caressing her inner thigh with his fingers. If it hadn't been for how sensitive her skin still was, she wouldn't have even noticed. She'd become pretty used to Jordan's caresses while he was thinking. While she had no idea whether or not touching her really helped him, she did know it was something he just did. And she'd gotten used to it happening.
"Fine," the Wolf said with a sharp nod. "Give them the secondary shot as soon as you've finished it. We'll monitor the progress. You may have some time with Bella."
"Thank you, Sir."
Shivering, Trish shrank against Jordan, not wanting to draw the Wolf's notice right after he'd carelessly given Bella over to the Doctor. There were times when Trish almost thought the Wolf cared a bit about Bella and Alex, and then there were times like this when he was so ruthlessly indifferent that it was terrifying. Jordan's arm around her body squeezed her closer, as if reassuring her that she was his and not in any danger of being shared. His touch made
At least, not with the Doctor.
Just with Laura and Marek...
******
Alex's limp body lay on cushions in front of the Wolf's desk.
Constantly peeking at him, waiting for him to wake up, Trish kept pulling away from Jordan only to have him pull her back again, tucking her back under his arm. She didn't mean to, because she could tell he was losing patience with her constant increasing distance even if she didn't get very far, but she just couldn't stop staring at Alex.
Would the memory drug work? How much would he forget? Would there be any other effects?
She was also a bit worried about Bella, although her worry was also tempered with the occasional bit of resentment that Bella had brought her punishment on herself.
There was a reason Trish hadn't gone into the passageways. The same reason she and Bella had cringed every time Alex mouthed off or rebelled. She still didn't know what he'd hoped to accomplish by going without food for so long when they'd first been captured. Since then he seemed to be better at yielding when he had to, but it was always a fight. It would have allowed Bella to slide under the radar if the Wolf hadn't realized punishing Bella was more effective at keeping Alex in line than a direct punishment.
A sharp swat to her backside had Trish biting back a yelp, just before Jordan yanked her back to his side.
He didn't tell her to stop moving away from him; he didn't need to. She knew exactly why she'd just been swatted. On her already tender skin, the swat stung twice as much as it normally would have, and she really regretted having told Bella about the passageways. She'd been doing really well about not earning punishment spankings. The other spankings Jordan gave her didn't really hurt in a bad way and he always used the cream afterwards so she didn't have to suffer any lingering discomfort.
Planting her feet, Trish took a deep breath, keeping her head ducked so she didn't have to see Jordan's warning glare. If she wasn't careful, she was going to end up with another real spanking - and she wasn't sure he would take her somewhere private for it. The room was mostly empty other than the Wolf and Alex, and two soldiers standing guard at the door to turn people away. Jordan might not consider this public and the idea of being punished on her already chastened ass... with the Wolf right there...
She needed to stay where Jordan put her if she didn't want more trouble than she could handle.
It was just really hard not to keep checking on Alex.
After all, he hadn't gone into the passageways. In all of this, he was the only real innocent. Trish felt guilty just looking at him - although some of her guilt was ameliorated by the burn in her bottom. After all, she'd already paid for what she'd done and she knew Bella was paying now too.
As if finally responding to her mental plea, Alex stirred. The Wolf and Jordan ceased their conversation - which hadn't been very interesting anyway - and Trish made sure not to move her feet as she leaned forward. Jordan's hand dropped down to her bottom and squeezed; a warning against moving... unlike the swat, it didn't feel entirely uncomfortable and Trish flushed a little, as his hand ended the squeeze with a caress before returning to her waist.
Blinking, looking confused, Alex lifted his head.
"Ah... Toy's awake," the Wolf said, his tone satisfied but also threaded through with curiosity.
The Wolf, Jordan, Trace, Cora... they all seemed like they were hoping the memory drug wouldn't have worked at all even though Dr. Margolis had told them it would take some time for their anecdote to counter it. Alex's head swiveled, the unfocused look in his eyes clearing as he looked around.
"How do you feel, Toy?" the Wolf asked, leaning forward on his desk as he studied Alex. Beside Trish, Jordan was tense, also studying the man. He and the Wolf had a bet about whether Alex or Bella would be the one to recover their memory - Dr. Margolis had told them personality would play a factor in throwing off the effects of the drug - and Jordan was betting on Alex.
"What did you do to me?" Alex asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Where's Bella?"
