Chapter 3

Jayla didn't wait for a response. She mentally grabbed hold of the system's interface and wrenched it open, building a psychic barrier to force the AI into a direct confrontation.

A soft electronic hum vibrated in her skull, followed by A. Winter's monotone voice. "Operative Lewis, what is your status?"

Jayla leaned her back against the cold, damp rock wall. A bitter, mocking smile touched her lips. "Status? I'm trapped in a psychopath's body, in a cave that smells like a slaughterhouse, with a mate who wants to cave my skull in."

She didn't mince words. "Terminate this mission. Send me back to Hawaii. Now."

"Request denied," A. Winter replied without a second's hesitation. "Protocol locked. Failure to complete the 'Progenitus Optimization mission's primary objective: Heal the Mates' will result in immediate soul erasure."

A dangerous glint flashed in Jayla's eyes. The pain in her head was a dull throb, but she used it, funneling the agony into focus. She gathered her mental strength and slammed it against the invisible inhibitors locking her powers.

"You want me to play savior? Fine," Jayla snarled in her mind, her teeth bared. "But I don't work with cuffs on."

She went limp, letting her body slump against the stone. She projected absolute stubbornness. "Unlock my powers, or I sit here and let them kill me. Your choice. No operative, no mission."

Silence stretched for three long seconds. Jayla could almost hear the gears of the system grinding, calculating the odds.

Ding.

A crisp, clear chime rang out. A. Winter's voice returned, as cold as ever. "Inhibitors lifted. Active link severed. You are on your own, Operative."

The moment the words faded, Jayla felt it. The suffocating weight on her chest vanished. The blocked channels in her body blew open, and Aether-pure, vibrant, and powerful-rushed into her limbs like a tidal wave.

She took a deep breath, the air tasting sweet for the first time. She raised a hand, and reached into her Pocket Dimension. Her fingers closed around a small porcelain bottle. She pulled it out and twisted off the cap, scooping out a dollop of a potent, emerald-green healing salve. She reached back and carefully applied the cool, tingling ointment to the back of her head. Warmth spread through her skull. The torn skin knit together, the swelling subsided, and the blinding pain evaporated like mist in the sun.

She rolled her neck. A series of sharp cracks echoed in the cave. The weakness was gone. The Tier-S operative was back in business.

Before moving another muscle, Jayla's operative instincts took over. "A. Winter, give me the full background file on this host and her situation. Now," she ordered in her mind. Her voice was pure, cold logic. Intelligence was survival.

A torrent of data-memories, timelines, consequences-flooded her brain. She absorbed it with clinical detachment. She saw how the original Jayla had used her father's authority as the Chief of the Oasis Tribe to forcibly mark seven of the most powerful males on the continent, reducing them to broken pets. Seven ticking time bombs. "Perfect," she muttered sarcastically.

Next order of business: comfort.

She raised her right hand and tapped the air. The Pocket Dimension opened with a flicker of light. Jayla reached in and pulled out a sleek, silver can of premium air purifying spray, the kind that smelled of eucalyptus and mint.

She stood up, her posture commanding, and proceeded to spray the can aggressively in every direction. Psssh. Psssh. Psssh. The clean, sharp scent of mint instantly cut through the stench of rot and blood, replacing the foulness with a breath of fresh air.

In the corner, Jordi peeked out from under his arms. His eyes were wide with shock. The strange light, the weird hissing object-it was all beyond his comprehension. He pressed himself harder against the wall, too stunned to even breathe.

Jayla ignored him. Her stomach growled loudly, demanding attention after the healing session. She reached into her dimension again.

This time, she pulled out a steaming, golden-brown piece of fried chicken, the crust perfectly crispy, and a large plastic cup of iced milk tea, the pearls visible through the translucent lid.

The rich, greasy aroma of the chicken exploded in the cave. It was a violent, mouth-watering smell that invaded every corner, completely overpowering even the mint spray.

Jayla sat down cross-legged on a relatively clean flat stone. She took a massive bite out of the chicken thigh. The crunch was deafening in the quiet cave. "This is what I call survival," she sighed, closing her eyes in genuine pleasure.

A few feet away, a loud, rumbling gurgle broke the silence. It came from Jordi's stomach. The sound was embarrassingly loud in the enclosed space.

Jordi's face flushed a deep, humiliated red. He slapped his hands over his stomach, trying to muffle the noise. He glared at Jayla, his eyes full of venom and suspicion. He clearly thought this was some new, elaborate torture method-taunting him with food he couldn't have.

Jayla sucked a large mouthful of milk tea through the straw, the ice clinking. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She didn't offer him a bite.

She knew better. If she handed him food right now, he would assume it was poisoned. Trust wasn't built with a drumstick.

She finished the meal quickly, tossing the bones and the empty cup back into the Pocket Dimension for disposal. She stood up, brushing the crumbs off her hands.

She looked around the dismal cave. The damp walls, the hard floor, the stench of despair. Screw the mission for a second; she needed a base of operations. A retirement villa, even if it was in a primitive hellhole.

Jayla strode toward the cave entrance. She needed to scout the area and maybe find some materials to make this place livable.

She stepped out of the gloomy cave. The bright morning sun hit her face, making her squint against the glare.