by Jen L. Grey
“You’re right.” He sighed and watched my hands work in the dirt. “But I can’t stay away. You haunt my dreams and my thoughts.”
My body responded to his words, which wasn’t a good thing. “What are you talking about?” We were heading into dangerous territory. Hell, we were already in it.
“I don’t know.” He sighed and ran his hands through his light brown hair. “But I can’t stay away from you.”
“Remember, I’m a half-breed. You should think of me as a threat.” That’s what we were to the pure breeds. The guards reminded us of that at every turn.
“There’s a lot of stuff that you don’t know.” He glanced off and bit his bottom lip.
“Like what? Try me.” He had to be having some kind of internal struggle. I needed to get the answer out of him before he closed back up again.
“I … can’t.” He sighed and stood back on his feet. “Look, I’ll come for you tonight. I’ll figure something out. Are you okay with that?”
“It’s …”
“It’s risky. I know.” He huffed and touched my shoulder with his hand. “Please. Just this one time. I won’t keep you out long, but I need to figure out what’s going on.”
The smart thing would be to say no. I didn’t need to add any additional problems to what I already had, but this brief meeting proved I had some sort of feelings for him as well. “Fine, but you better be stealthy about it. I don’t need any more complications.”
“What about your roommate?” He dropped his hand and frowned.
“She’ll be fine.” I was fortunate to have Deissy. She was the one person I trusted with everything. It seemed so strange, but we’d forged some kind of bond. “I trust her with my life.”
A grin spread across his boyish face. “Okay. Great. See you soon.” He spun on his heels and headed back toward the dirt road.
As I watched him walk away, I realized that I had probably made a horrible decision. Encouraging whatever was brewing between us was only going to lead to both of us getting hurt. I needed to keep my head in the game and figure out what he was hiding. I could only hope I’d learn his secrets sooner rather than later, especially since Jenee was itching to kill me.
Chapter Thirteen
“Alright.” Knox handed some more wolfsbane to a guard and turned my direction. “Let’s see how you do after working all day.”
Luckily, he gave me ten minutes to eat this time. I’d never eaten so fast and my stomach was miserably full. “Let’s do this.” I had to focus and get this down pat. Jenee wouldn’t stop at kicking my ass. She was out for blood.
A crooked smirk filled Knox’s face, and damn if it didn’t make my insides do funny things. How could I feel that way about two guys? Let alone an alpha asshole and the freaking guard who had kidnapped and locked me up.
Not waiting, Knox scanned my body, but it was different from this morning. It was as if he was taking me in instead of figuring out where to strike. His eyes landed on my lips, and then he broke into a run.
I spun to the left, hoping to avoid his collision, but he had to have anticipated my movements.
He wrapped his arms around me, and we both fell to the ground. Somehow, he was able to land softly on top of me.
“Hey.” I had followed his instructions from earlier, so how did this happen. “I did what I was supposed to.”
“Yeah, you did, but I also know your left shoulder is injured, so you’re going to spin to protect it.” His eyes landed back on my lips. “So I used it to my advantage.”
Even though my shoulder wasn’t hurting much anymore, it was still tender. “So that was my lesson, not to let anyone know my weaknesses.”
“Yeah, you can’t let them know your vulnerabilities.” His focus never strayed from my mouth.
“Got it.” My body was buzzing, and I became breathless. Unfortunately, it wasn’t due to his weight on me. It was his body that was doing it to me.
We stared at each other again, and his head lowered so his lips brushed mine.
Electricity rocked my body, but it wasn’t an unpleasant kind. It was similar to a high. I got light-headed and wanted more.
“We never agreed to any funny business.” The guard yelled toward us. “We don’t need any of you making problems here.”
Knox stiffened and rolled off me as if he was burned. “Now, let’s try it again.”
Thank God, someone had intervened. I wasn’t strong enough to say no to Knox. It’s like my body craved his touch.
“You’re going down, princess.” He emphasized the last word, making it sound dirty.
Great, so we’re back to asshole Knox. At least with that one, I knew what to expect and wouldn’t fall for his sexy … masochistic ways.
He rushed toward me, and I forced myself to stand still as if waiting for impact. My natural senses took over, and I bent at the last second. He landed on my back and wrapped his arms around me. However, right before all his weight hit, I lifted back up, causing him to flip over and land on his back right behind me.
“What the hell?” He groaned and rolled over to his side.
“Are you …” Before I could finish the words, he laughed and clutched his side.
“Okay, you aren’t as far behind as I expected.” He stood, and there was pride in his eyes. “How’d you know to do that?”
“I … I don’t know.” Maybe I had to stop overthinking things. “Luck.”
“No, it isn’t that.” He tilted his head and stared into my eyes. “Do you have any clue who your parents are?”
“I’ve told you this before. I had found out that I was a supernatural the night before I was taken.” I was lost as to why he was so curious all of a sudden. “All I know is my mom’s name is Jess and my dad’s name is Cole.”
“Normally when two supernaturals have a relationship, one is more dominant than the other.” He bit the bottom of his lip and hobbled over to me. “Like Deissy and Sol’s dominant part is the parent who was the strongest. That’s why they’ve been okay blending in and following along. I’m more of a vampire, and my dad was part of a council, which meant he was the stronger of the two.”
“Was?” I had a bad feeling about this.
“Yeah, they capture us, but they kill the full-breed parents if they can be found.” Knox shrugged and sighed. “Hopefully, since you have no clue about your parents, they’ll be safe.”
“I hope so.” I bet Aaron would at least know something.
“Okay, you two.” The guard pointed his gun in our direction. “Times up. Head back to the cabins alone. No hanky-panky.”
He just had to go there. I couldn’t meet his eyes after what he witnessed between Knox and me.
“Come on, let’s go.” Knox took a few steps ahead of me, putting distance between the two of us.
I wasn’t sure if he was doing that because of the guard or because of the moment we had shared. Either way, I couldn’t obsess over it despite the fact that my lips were still tingling.
We strolled back to our cabins in complete silence. Tension surrounded us.
“Lexy,” Aaron called from behind me.
“Please tell me it’s not that guard.” Knox groaned as he turned around. “Of course it is.”
Aaron’s pace slowed slightly when his eyes landed on Knox. “Training again?”
“I should have figured you’d know.” Animosity dripped in his voice.
This was so much fun, all over again. “Yeah, we were.”
“Do you have a second?” Aaron lowered his head ever so slightly and glanced up at me.
He looked similar to a puppy dog.
“Wow, I’ve never heard a guard ask our permission for anything before.” Deissy glanced at Sol. “Maybe things are changing here.”
“Right." When Sol’s gaze landed on Knox, she began laughing. “And it appears Knox is having a change of heart too.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” He glared at Sol and Deissy. “I don’t want her to get killed because she was never
trained properly.”
“Right.” Deissy mashed her lips together and nodded at Sol. “He’s still the same uncaring asshole as ever.”
“You guys better head off before you get into trouble.” It appeared as if everyone was content standing around us.
“Uh, you’ll get into trouble too.” Deissy arched her eyebrow.
“No, I told them that she had gotten injured and was having a hard time performing her work. I’m supposed to take her to quickly get looked at by the doctor.” He reached over and gently tugged me toward the big house.
“Of course you’d subject her to that.” Knox’s jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. “You aren’t any better than the other guards here.”
“I kind of have to agree.” The last thing I wanted to do was meet that horrid doctor. “I don’t want to go and see him. Last time, I was his voodoo doll that he tortured with needles.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Aaron huffed and shook his head.
“Well, I’m kind of wondering seeing as you committed me to going.” The last thing I wanted to do was see that potbellied asshole. The thought of him made my skin crawl.
“Doug is smart.” He nodded his head so hard it was as if he was trying to convince both himself and me.
“And unsterile, blood obsessed, and sadistic, especially when it comes to half-breeds.” Those were important components to the equation too. “Anyway, my shoulder is fine. I’m fine.” I took a few steps away from him, and he frowned.
“Look, if I don’t take you now, it’s going to cause problems.” He sighed and looked off to the woods. “I’ll be with you the entire time. I won’t let anything bad happen.”
At the end of the day, I didn’t have a say. Whether I liked it or not, he was a guard and could make my life hell. “Fine, but if he hurts me, I won’t be so friendly next time.”
“Come on, Lexy.” Knox’s eyes pleaded with me.
“Do you think I have a choice?” In some strange way, I wanted to go with Knox.
Realization seemed to settle the tug of war. “You’re right. Be careful.” He appeared to want to say more, but he turned and stomped off.
For some reason, part of my heart left with him. I couldn’t keep going down this road.
“You better be careful.” Deissy made her way over to me and wrapped her arms around me. “I can’t lose you now.”
It felt so strange to have her arms around me. I’d always thought I would hate being hugged, but I didn’t at all. “Yeah, of course.”
“Let me tell ya something. She’s a little sister to me.” Sol got her finger going in the air at him. “You let this girl get hurt, Imma hurt you. Are we clear?”
That confirmed what I’d already suspected. She could be a badass when needed.
“Crystal.” Aaron tried not to smile, but the edges of his mouth tipped slightly upward. “Come on, let’s go.” His touch on my arm caused a buzzing sensation.
I winked at the girls before turning and following him to the big house.
The entire walk back had been in silence. Even though he assured me that nothing bad would happen, I couldn’t prevent my stomach from flip-flopping. I had wondered a lot the past nights about how much blood he had taken that day. What about my brain?
Aaron glanced at me as he badged in. “Come on, we’re almost there.”
“You don’t say.” I couldn’t prevent the smartass comment. He was literally taking me to one of the last places on earth I’d ever want to be.
“I might have deserved that.” He opened the door and grabbed my arm as if he was taking me in. However, his fingers hadn’t dug in, unlike all the others.
As we entered the building, the bright fluorescent lights hurt my eyes. We had poor lighting at night, but it wasn’t a big deal since we could see just as well in the dark. I couldn’t help but wonder why they needed it. They were paranormal the same as us. Maybe that was something I could ask later.
We passed by the badging office, and I was surprised to see the curvy, red-haired vampire inside.
She sat behind her desk, drinking out of a blood bag. Of course, she had her girls on display for the men around here.
“Why is she still here?” I was curious. I figured she was a nine to five type of girl.
“Mac and another hunter are bringing a new half-breed in.” His voice was barely a whisper.
For once, it wasn’t hard to keep my mouth shut. There wasn’t anything to respond to. Once again, it was crystal-clear that my kind didn’t matter, not to them.
We turned down the hall, and the chemical smell hit me. I wasn’t trying to fight him. It was futile, but my legs had other plans.
“Look, don’t make this harder on both of us.” Aaron tugged on my arm, forcing me down the hall. No matter how hard I fought against him, he was stronger, and within seconds, we entered the doctor’s office.
“Well, well.” Doug spun around and grinned broadly. “What do we have here? Ooh, you brought me that specimen again.”
“I told you she hurt her shoulder.” Aaron remained indifferent and exuded some kind of authority. He wasn’t the same guy who had stood in front of me a few moments ago.
“Well, damn, Aaron.” The doctor wiped his hands on his shirt. They left a large grease stain on the bulge of his stomach. “I thought you were kidding. Do you think I give a flying fuck if a half-breed is hurt?”
“But you said she was diff…”
“Shut up, boy.” Doug’s beady eyes landed on me, and he licked his lips. “If you’re here, let me go ahead and check you out … I could always use another vile or two of blood.”
I wanted to glance at Aaron and tell him ‘I told you so,’ but I couldn’t do it at the moment.
“You didn’t say anything about blood.” Aaron tilted his head at him. “Didn’t you take a ton a few days ago?”
“So what.” Doug shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a needle and three large vials. “Seriously, it’s not as if you care. Right?” There was a challenge in his eye.
“Of course he doesn’t.” If Doug got suspicious of us, there was no telling what would happen. “They also yanked me backward, and now my ass hurts.” Technically I caused it myself while fighting Knox, but his touch made me not feel pain. I had been too absorbed with the feel of his lips.
The doctor came over while he pulled on some gloves. As he snagged my arm to yank the back of my shirt up, his cold fingers made me chill. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He laughed. “You did hurt her good.”
“Yup, I sure did.” Aaron’s voice was a little tense but hopefully not different enough that the stupid human would notice.
“Alright, let me see this shoulder.” The doctor wobbled back over to the table and pulled out a medicine vial. “Steroids would make those types of injuries so much better. If I had any. But this should work on a specimen.” There was a touch of humor in his voice.
I would’ve bet money that he was going to treat me like a damn doll again and thoroughly enjoy my discomfort.
“Move your shirt over so I can get the needle deep into the muscle.” He approached me as if he had a weapon in his hand.
Great. I moved the brown cloth off my arm, and I could’ve sworn that the doctor didn’t look at where it stabbed.
When he pushed the medicine in, it stung worse than anything I’d ever felt before.
“Almost done.” He grunted and then yanked it out, making sure to drag the needle. “There. You should be good as new tomorrow.”
Something cold and excruciatingly painful spread throughout my body. “Am I supposed to feel weird?”
“Yup.” His eyes widened, and his shoulders shook. He looked away but snorted and chuckled. “That means it’s working.” He grabbed a needle that he had brought over and grasped my wrist, flipping it over. “Now I’ll get this blood, and we’ll be done.” He jabbed the needle into my arm the same way he had the other day and filled up the vials pretty quickly. “You healed very well.”
“Uh …
thank you.” I wasn’t quite sure what to say about that.
“Aw… manners, really? Let’s get you back to the wild before the new half-breed gets here. The last thing we need is two hybrids in here at the same time.” Aaron wrinkled his nose in disgust and clutched my arm again. “Let’s go.”
“Bring that specimen back in here tomorrow,” Doug called after us. “I’ll need to check her for something … important.”
When we were alone in the hall, I could have sworn I heard manic laughter. I narrowed my eyes at Aaron.
He mouthed the word sorry.
Sometimes sorry wasn’t good enough.
We hurried down the hallway. After he badged, scanned, and entered his password, we were back outside though we weren’t in the clear yet.
Aaron nodded his head at the guard. “Taking her back. Doug needed more of her blood.”
“Good.” Tommy nodded his head at me. “The doc was going on and on about this one earlier.”
That was so not comforting.
“Oh, I didn’t realize.” Aaron shrugged, but his fingers tightened a smidgen on my arm.
“It was similar to a mad rant. Something like he finally found the one.” Tommy rolled his eyes. “Who the hell knows? Make sure she stays safe. Her blood’s important.”
Now they were going to worry about me. Freaking assholes.
“Well, let me get her back to the cabin so I can get home.” He sighed and jerked me forward. “I had to miss out on hunting tonight because of this shit.”
Wow, maybe I had been an idiot. He’d probably been playing me. It sure sounded like it right now.
The coldness I had felt earlier seemed to be spreading down into my chest. It sat heavy and made it hard to breathe.
“Let one of us know if you need a hand.” Tommy waved him off and headed back over to the corner of the building he had been leaning against.
“What the hell was that about?” I had to pretend I didn’t suspect him because it might ruin his con, and I was hoping to get the upper hand.
