"Are they all still there?" I asked.
"Most of them. You're a stubborn lot."
"What do you mean, most of them?" I quirk a brow, suspiciously.
"993167 finally accepted the gift."
I wracked my brain. They made sure to always call us by numbers before we changed. 993167 was.... "...you mean Emily."
Yes, Emily. Brown hair, blue eyes. Wanted to be a librarian when she graduated college. Of course that was... before. The guard flinched for a moment when I used the girl's human name.
"No I mean Eira, now. She joined us at the warriors' barracks this morning. You should see her now that she's changed. Strong, beautiful, and happy. Like you could be."
"And you had to put a gun to all our heads to convince us... to be happy?"
"Why do you have to drag your heels like this? You know we've never harmed you."
"Would she even remember me?"
The guard sighed and bit her lip.
"Come on, they're expecting us."
"...that's what I figured," I grumbled, getting up. "Nobody who changes remembers who they were before."
"It doesn't matter to you what we're giving them, does it?" She said, securing my hands as she led me out of the cell and down the hallway.
"Right, it's a 'gift' isn't it?" I asked sarcastically as I walked.
"Humans are nothing to the Alphas. Less than nothing. Some of them think of you as food. Once you're one of us, you get respect."
"Once we're one of you, we're not ourselves anymore. Everyone forgets."
"Not everyone..." she muttered under her breath.