Hunted (The Half-Breed Prison Book 1)

by Jen L. Grey

  “You probably need to eat something and lay down.” Aaron tightened his hold around my waist.

  “Right, but it’s dark, so I missed all my meals today.” I couldn’t believe how spoiled I’d been back at home. I could get food any time that I wanted.

  “Yeah …” His voice dragged on as if the truth of my words hit him dead in the face.

  “Why are you helping me?” Even though he was the one who had captured me, he was being a lot more caring than any of the other prison guards. “Is it to help ease your guilt?”

  “That’s a fair question.” He slowed our pace as he paused. “Honestly, I never gave a second thought about catching hybrids. I mean, they are … weak.” The word weak fell flat. “But, for some reason, with you, it didn’t seem right.”

  “Could it be because I honestly had no clue about who I was … a supernatural?” Now that I thought back, I realized the dark feeling I carried around inside me had to be the nonhuman part of me. The part I had never been able to focus on and accept. In some ways, I was relieved that the feeling had disappeared, but I still ached for it at the same time. “I never got to explore either side of me.”

  “Well, maybe that’s a good thing.” His tone had an edge to it. “That could be why it feels different with you.”

  “Don’t try to make me your redemption.” At the end of the day, he’d still brought me here, and he was taking me back to the cabin. I refused to be the one that eased his guilt. “We are living beings, people like you. All of this … It’s cruel and unfair. Don’t try to glamorize it or make it more than what it is. You’re an asshole just as much as any other person who works here.”

  When his hold on me didn’t slacken, I was shocked. I had called him out, and he should have been pissed.

  “I don’t make the rules.” He turned his face to stare me in the eyes. “This is our reality. You’re a half-breed the same as everyone else here. Don’t try to make it as if you aren’t. And I’m a full-breed. There are lines in the sand that neither one of us can cross.”

  “So that’s your cop-out.” I stepped away from him despite the swaying of the world. Somehow, I managed to stay upright. “There are laws that define each of us and our role in the world.”

  “Yes, similar to it’s not okay to steal or cheat.” He took a step toward me, but I countered it with another step back.

  “Being a half-breed is the equivalent of that.” What kind of shit were they smoking? Hell, if it was that good, I wanted some of my own.

  “Well … yeah.” He cringed as he spoke the words. “Laws are made for a reason.”

  “So by being born, I broke the law and should be sentenced to retribution for my entire life.” Did they not realize how crazy it all sounded?

  “What’s going on here?” Knox’s raspy voice made a chill run down my back.

  “Nothing, I was heading back to the cabin.” I took a step forward with every intention of making the rest of the way by myself. Except, by my second step, I began tilting with the world.

  Strong warm hands caught me. “What did you do to her?” There was an edge to Knox’s tone.

  “She had an appointment with the doctor today.” Despite everything, Aaron sounded concerned. “She got out, and I was taking her back to her cabin.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take it from here.” Knox pulled me against his side, securing me.

  “No, I can …”

  “We take care of our own.” Knox’s tone was cold with an edge to it. “You go on and head back out so your Daddy knows you did a great job.”

  “That’s not fair.” Aaron clenched his hands into fists.

  “But us being locked up and tortured is.” Knox bent down and threw me over his shoulder. Ugh, my ass was right next to his face.

  “Hey.” The world somersaulted as I hung down his back. “Put me down.”

  “You’ll be fine, princess.” Knox spun on his heels and began walking back to the cabins. “I’ll take her from here.”

  “Stop.” I smacked his ass with my hands. Except, damn, that hurt. That’s how muscular the guy was. “You’re skipping.” He had to be, considering how much I was jiggling.

  His shoulders shook underneath my stomach. “I’m most definitely not skipping. What do you think I am? A fucking five-year-old?”

  “No, it’s that I’m getting really nauseous.” I felt my stomach rumble as whatever contents it held began pushing upward.

  “Shit, they had to almost drain you dry for you to be this hard up.” He glanced around and took off toward the cotton fields. Even though they weren’t being worked anymore, the plants were still high and able to hide us. “You need to drink.”

  “Yeah, I do.” That was the first thing I was planning to do back at the cabin. My mouth was wretchedly dry, I needed hydration and food badly.

  “Here.” He bit into his wrist and held it out for me. “Take it.”

  “What? No.” Even in a state of delirium, I wasn’t stupid. “How is blood going to help me?”

  “I’m part vampire, so it has restorative properties.” He held it out toward me.

  “But I’m part vampire too.” So if that was the case, why wasn’t my blood rejuvenating me?

  “Yeah, but your blood is really depleted. It’ll work but take seven times longer.” He held his wrist out once more. “Stop being so stubborn, and take it.”

  “Is that what you say to all the loopy girls?” There had to be a catch. He’d been an ass to me ever since I got here.

  “No, but why should I expect you to be cooperative.” He shook his head and huffed.

  “What the hell does that mean?” The more my anger flared, the dizzier I got. I slumped over, but of course, it had to be on his side. So I wound up with my head on his shoulder.

  “It means you butted in to protect a girl you barely knew. Now you’re refusing my help. You’re never cooperative.”

  “To be fair, you kind of deserved it.” I shrugged my shoulder. “She’d been nice to me, so I couldn’t let an asshole harass her like that.”

  “This asshole is trying to help you now.” He chuckled and held out his wrist again. “If you don’t want Deissy to see who brought you home, you should probably take this.”

  Dammit, he was right. I didn’t want him taking me home. “Fine, but I’m only doing this out of pure self-interest.”

  “Duly noted.”

  I gently took his wrist in mine and held it to my nose. I had expected to gag on the metallic taste, but it had a sweet, musky scent that was alluring. I stuck my tongue out not quite sure what to expect, and when it touched the warm liquid, it tasted similar to cotton candy but not quite as sweet. It was delicious. Placing my lips on the wound, I began sucking vigorously.

  “Hey, don’t take too much.” His warm chuckle was right next to my ear. “You’ll wind up carrying my ass back instead.”

  Not wanting to stop, I held a finger up. I took one more long sip and physically forced myself to unlatch from his hand. When I glanced at his wrist, I couldn’t believe my eyes. He now had two sets of incisor bite marks. “Oh my God.”

  “What?” He tilted his head as he moved his wrist away.

  “I … I bit you.” I reached up, touching the ends of my teeth. They didn’t appear any different than normal.

  “Of course you did.” His forehead creased, and he bumped his shoulder into mine. “It’s fine. Are you feeling better?”

  “Uh …” I glanced around, waiting for the world to spin. “Yeah, I almost feel normal.”

  “See, was it that bad?” Knox rolled his eyes at me. “It’s as if you’d never tasted blood or something.”

  There was no way I was going to admit to it, but something must have reflected on my face.

  “What? That was your first time?” Knox startled a little and shook his head. “How is that possible?”

  “Is this where you try to get my whole life story so you can use it to your advantage later on?” I’d already had that done to me back during
my junior year of high school. My crush was the quarterback of the football team, and he had started giving me attention. He’d asked me to go to prom. Despite all that, on the day of the actual event, he publicly humiliated me, stating that he would never consider going to prom with a reject. He wound up going with the head cheerleader, and they won prom king and queen.

  “Look, I’ll admit I’m not the nicest guy around, but I wouldn’t pull that bullshit.” He leaned away from me as if he was insulted.

  “You know what?” It didn’t matter when it was all said and done. Him knowing wouldn't hurt me. “Fine. I didn’t know I was a supernatural until the hunters were already on my tail, staking out my house.”

  “Yeah, that’s the same thing that happened with a couple of my buddies.” He shook his head in disgust. “They somehow didn’t wind up in the system but weren’t with their biological parents either. They had no way of knowing what they were. They felt like they never really fit in.”

  “It’s as if you told my life story.” At least I wasn’t alone. “It just sucks because I never got to know that part of me. Or parts since I’m apparently half-fae and half-vampire.”

  “Maybe one day, if we can find a way out, you’ll get that chance.” He gave me a crooked grin, which somehow made the bastard hotter.

  “Oh, I’ll get out.” If I hadn’t been resolved before, today’s doctor visit reaffirmed it. I was getting out. The only questions were when and how.

  “You are?” He laughed and bumped my shoulder. “I’m sorry, but you, out of all people? You admitted that you never got to know your supernatural side, so how in the hell could you do it?”

  “A fat lot of good it’s done you by being raised with both parts.” If he was going to be an ass, so could I. “I bet me and your other friends in a similar situation could figure a way out ten times faster than you with supernatural experience.”

  He laughed again but mashed his lips together. “I’m sorry. Believe it or not, I’m not trying to be rude, but I’ll bite. How do you guys have an advantage exactly?”

  “Well, you’ve had your magic and power your whole life. You never knew anything different until you came here.”

  “And?” He arched his brow.

  “We only know how to function without it. So if anyone can logically think of a way to escape, it’s going to be someone who had thought they were human.” I had him there.

  “But our guards are supernaturals.” He wiggled his fingers in my face. “So how does that work in your favor again?”

  “Because they can’t think like a human either.” That right there had to be the key to unlocking it all. Whoever created this place only thought about it from a supernatural perspective. Meaning that there had to be a way to escape that they would’ve failed to consider.

  “I hate to admit this, but that does make sense.” He leaned back on both his arms. “So dazzle me with your plan.”

  “That’s the thing, I don’t have one yet.” Even if I did, I wouldn’t be sharing it with him. He might have helped me tonight, but I was pretty sure I’d pay for it somehow in the near future.

  “And here I thought you had all the answers.” He glanced at the sky. “We better get going. We’re already late. The guards are going to be pissed that they’ll have to come down and let us in.”

  “Yeah, and I could really use some water.” I stood on stable legs now and sighed with relief. “Thank you. I don’t think I’ve said that yet.”

  “Your welcome.” He took a step closer to me and lowered his head so he could stare into my eyes. “I figured since you were giving that guard an earful, it only appeared right to help.”

  “Yeah, that probably wasn’t one of my finest moments.” I snorted. “Okay, I probably don’t have any fine moments, but still.”

  “Honestly, you had the strength to tell one guard what we are all thinking.” He reached his fingers up and gently brushed my cheek. “And the first time I met you, you were standing up for someone who had only semi-gained your trust. That’s admirable.”

  “And you seem like the type of guy who would be looking for a romp in the hay …” I held my finger up once more. “I mean cotton.”

  “If I’d wanted to take advantage of you, I would’ve done it when you were defenseless. Don’t compare me to a coward.” Something dark gleamed in his eyes.

  Damn, I messed up. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “That I could only get someone if they were loopy and out of their mind.” Knox took a few steps back. “It’s rather insulting now that I think about it.”

  “Look, I’m sorry.” I hadn’t meant it to come out that way, but I wouldn’t apologize again. He could either accept it or not. “It came out wrong.”

  “It’s fine.” He motioned for me to follow him. “Let’s get back before the guards make a huge deal about us.”

  The stroll back to the cabin was in awkward silence. It was strange; me drinking his blood was really intimate, but now things between us had turn uncomfortably quiet.

  When we reached the set of girls’ cabins, I couldn’t leave him. “I don’t think I said thanks for helping me out with the guard.” I glanced at my feet, feeling oddly shy. “So … thanks.”

  A small grin spread across his face. “You’re welcome.” He took a step closer to me, his eyes landing on my lips. “There’s something about you that’s unnerving. I’m not sure if I it challenges me or if it pisses me off.”

  For the first time, Knox was being real with me. It made my heart flutter for some unknown and annoying reason. “Your best bet with me is deciding that it pisses you off. I’m kind of a hot mess.”

  “That’s a very true statement.” He chuckled and shook his head. “But for better or worse, you intrigue me.”

  That was the thing. I wasn’t sure whether that excited me or scared me. Knox was one huge complicated man. I didn’t know if I was up to the challenge, but that’d never stopped me before.

  Chapter Nine

  “I’ve been worried as hell about you.” Deissy's voice was loud and frantic.

  I marched through the door and turned around to the guard. “Thanks for letting me in.”

  “Make sure this doesn’t become a habit.” His voice was gruff, but there was kindness in his eyes. He had to be a couple of years older than I was.

  “Got it.” As soon as the words left my lips, the guy shut the door, locking it from the outside.

  “First off, how the hell are you standing on two feet right now?” Deissy scanned me from head to toe. “Did they not take you to the doctor?”

  “Oh, they did.” Now I realized what she had been alluding to earlier. I was partially upset that she hadn’t warned me but, at the same time, thankful that she hadn’t. The day was inevitable, and not knowing probably made it easier on me in the end. I glanced at my wrist where a needle had been. There was only a slight bruise remaining. “You were right. It was horrible.”

  “I thought you might be mad at me for not volunteering to go in your place.” Deissy stared at the ground.

  “Of course not.” I hadn’t blamed her one bit. “It’s not like they would’ve gone through on the trade. Some guy named George was here when I went back there.”

  “Ugh, why am I not surprised?” She walked over to her work bag and pulled out something wrapped in napkins. “I snuck you some food. I figured you would need it.”

  “Thank God.” I rushed over to her and took it from her hands. I carefully unwrapped the small parcel, and there sat some vegetables with a small piece of meat. “Thank you.”

  “Sorry it’s not more. It’s all I could sneak without being noticed.” She watched me as I began stuffing my face.

  “No, this is perfect.” I didn’t bother with manners. “I hadn’t expected anything, so this was more than I could hope for.”

  “You never answered my question. How are you standing without help?” She bit her bottom lip as she examined me. “I usually got dragged back here, but not you.”

&n
bsp; “Well, it started off that way.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell her about Knox or not, but damn, it’d be nice to have someone to confide in. I figured this would be the ultimate test of loyalty. “But Knox intervened.”

  “What do you mean Knox intervened?” She beelined to one of the chairs and sat.

  “I was out of it and arguing with the guard. Knox came up and took over.” Even though I wanted to tell her about the conversation, I wouldn’t be baring my soul to her any more tonight. “He took me into the cotton fields, and that’s when I began feeling better.”

  “There’s more to the story than that. Dish.” Deissy crossed her legs and tilted her head. “Spill it.”

  “He suggested that I should drink his blood …”

  “What?” Her mouth dropped, and she jumped back to her feet. “Tell me you didn’t.”

  “Uh … okay, I didn’t.” There was obviously a piece of information I didn’t have.

  “You did. You hussy.” Deissy laughed while shaking her head. “I should’ve seen this coming.”

  “You’re making me nervous.” I was missing a big piece to this puzzle.

  “One, vampires aren’t supposed to drink from one another unless they are mates.” Deissy began pacing around our small living room.

  “I’m sure he’s done it with other half-vampires.” I took another large bite of food. I wasn’t picking up on what she was saying, but my stomach was still grumbling for food.

  “No, he hasn’t.” She chuckled and blew out a breath. “It sounds as if someone is invested in you.”

  “What do you mean?” We weren’t mates, so it shouldn’t have been a big deal.

  “Since his blood is the one inside you, he can feel your thoughts now.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.” I had never heard this before. “Thoughts don’t have feelings.”

  “Where do your emotions come from?” She ran her fingers through her thick rainbow hair. “How you feel is derived from your thoughts.”

  “When you put it that way, it makes a whole lot more sense.” Another thing I could chalk up to being a newbie. I really needed to learn all this shit or I was going to get myself killed.