Clara would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her flinch.  Acting frightened of him would give him an advantage.  She stood her ground as his heavy footsteps brought him closer, right into the bubble of her personal space.  It felt odd to let someone this close.  The last person who had been this close to her had been Nowak right before she had been sent out after Hanz and he had put her through the regular rigamarole of scientific testing.<br/><br/>He was tall, so damn tall.  The top of her head didn't even come up to his shoulder and as he stepped closer, his broad chest filled her view.  She didn't move, not one inch, as his hand lifted toward her face.  Every muscle in her small body was wound tightly as she prepared to duck or leap out of the way.  To her surprise, he touched her face far more gently than she ever thought those large hands would be capable of.  Her nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply, still ready for whatever blow was coming her way.  After all, he'd already tackled her and tossed her into a tree since they'd met.  Instead, he laid out his plan and then kissed the top of her head.  Clara's mind was reeling.  What the hell was he doing?  Was this some sort of tactic to get her to lower her guard?<br/><br/>"I refuse to go back there.  I'm not a science experiment and I'm certainly not a pet."  Thankfully, he stepped back and so did she, dropping into the small chair and perching on the edge of it so she could stand up quickly if she needed to.  Lifting her eyes to his, she studied his face carefully.  For far too long, she'd been trained to not reveal everything, to play her cards close to her chest.  Her eyes narrowed at the corners, a little furrow appearing between her eyebrows as she considered the man standing in front of her.  Finally, she took a deep breath and nodded.  He had shared with her.  She could share with him.  Maybe not everything but enough.<br/><br/>"He was my mate."  It was the easiest word to describe the bond they'd had, the way they'd known without even trying what the other person thinking or about to do, the way she could always smell him across the room and know in an instant if he was okay or not.  "We were always kept separate, females and males.  Until we turned eighteen and they brought the groups together."  Pain flashed in her eyes.  "It was bad.  So many of us died."  Her words were simple but what she'd been put through in the Camp was brutal and horrific.  Males fighting for dominance and females, the females pairing up with the males.  The lucky ones died quickly.  "It was strange how quickly we bonded.  It was like absolutely nothing I'd ever experienced."  She looked down, training her eyes on a random spot on the carpet near her feet.  Explaining how instant the connection had been was impossible.  No words could ever do that level of connection justice.<br/><br/>A deep sad sigh slipped out.  "He was killed on a mission."  Clara looked back up but avoiding his eyes.  "I miss him."