Hunted (The Half-Breed Prison Book 1)

by Jen L. Grey

  That didn't cheer me up, but at least that mad scientist wasn't planning to pump me dry yet. "Yay."

  "But I get to eat first?" Maybe there were small miracles.

  "Yeah, let’s get moving so we don't piss off Doug." He waved his hands in front of his body toward the door.

  "Don't have to tell me twice. I'm starving." I walked out the door and waited for Deissy to catch up.

  I had expected Aaron to move on to some other cabins, but he caught up to us.

  "The others need to have breakfast too." I got that he might have been kind of protective of me, but he needed to let the others out.

  "Pete is tending to the others. He was a few minutes behind me." As Aaron spoke his name, the creepy red-eyed guard appeared several yards ahead of us but coming in our direction.

  "Isn't he going to wonder why you let us out?" The last thing we needed was more eyes watching us. It was hard enough as it was.

  "No, he was there when Doug told me to get you early so you could eat and get to him faster." Aaron shrugged. "I wasn't complaining."

  "Hey, there’s Aaron, hanging out with that freak again." Pete sneered the words, and his eyes settled right on me. "I mean, she's hot in the overly pale kind of way, but still. Come on, man, they're gross."

  "First off, I'm not hanging out." Aaron scowled at him and padded to the side so he was standing in Pete's way. "And secondly, don't hate on me because they asked me to handle her and not you. Jealousy isn't a good look on you, man."

  "Do you think I'm jealous?" Pete's front incisors popped out, and he hissed. "You're the warden's son. Of course, you get special treatment even if you haven't earned the right."

  "All the tests I took were my scores." A vein in Aaron's neck popped out. "Don't think I was handed something on a silver platter because I wasn't."

  "Hey, you both need to chill." I hadn't realized all the animosity Aaron had with the other guards. Maybe that was one of the big reasons he wanted to leave. I wouldn't blame him.

  "And I'm supposed to listen to you?" Pete's nose wrinkled in disgust, and he took a menacing step toward me.

  "Well, I mean the doc seems awfully concerned about my well-being." This guy was an asshole and needed to be put in his place. "I'd hate for an injury to happen to me and he found out you were to blame."

  "Very true." Deissy chimed in with a huge smile. "I mean, after all, there are two witnesses here to vouch for your story."

  Pete began breathing heavily, and he moved in close so that he was in my bubble. "Are you threatening me?"

  "What are you talking about?" If this asshole wanted to scare me, he'd have to do much better than this. "I didn't hear any threats, did you two?"

  "Aaron wouldn't lie. Even if he hates me, he wouldn't ever side with a half-breed." His putrid breath hit me right in the face. It smelled similar to a rotting corpse.

  "If you're so sure, why are you facing off with me?" I hated assholes and was so tired of being bullied.

  That knocked the smirk right off his face. "You're a bitch."

  "I've been called worse." I refused to let him get under my skin. He wasn't worth it. "So your creativity is lacking."

  Pete grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. His teeth were a few inches from my neck. "I could suck you dry, and you wouldn't be a pest any longer."

  "That's when you know a man has a small dick." Deissy huffed and shook her head. "When he has to abuse someone to make himself feel stronger."

  Before Pete could respond, Aaron sidestepped us and chuckled. "Say hi. You're on camera."

  "What the hell?" Pete dropped me like a bad habit and spun around to face Aaron. "Are you fucking serious?"

  "Yeah, I am." Aaron stopped recording and placed his phone back in his pocket. "I told you Doug has special plans for her, and you're over here threatening to injure her or drain her dry."

  "You've gone soft." Pete took a few large steps back, gaining distance from us. "I can't believe you."

  "If by going soft you mean obeying orders and doing what is asked of me, then yeah. I'm soft." Aaron touched my arm softly and glanced at me. "You and Deissy go on. I'll be there shortly. Pete and I need to have a talk."

  The last thing I wanted to do was leave him alone … but damn. If I didn't listen, Pete would lose his shit more. "Fine." I looped my arm through Deissy's. "Come on. Let's go."

  Knox slid into the seat next to me. "You got here earlier than normal."

  "Aren't you going to sit with your pack?" He had sat with us a few times. Although, normally, he still stayed with them and that girl who seemed to be trying to mark him for her own.

  "No, I kinda need to be close to you." He rubbed his hand over his face. "After last night and all."

  Oh, shit. We had agreed to talk to each other after breakfast. "If you're still wanting to talk, hurry up."

  "Do you really think tall, dark, and brooding is going to let you run off with sexy and mysterious?" Deissy laughed and shook her head. "Girl, sometimes I wonder what's running around in that brain of yours."

  "Why is that guard waiting for you?" Knox frowned and looked deep into my eyes.

  "Okay, I heard enough of that conversation to be worried." Sol dropped in the seat next to Deissy like normal and arched her eyebrow. "How did you know tall, dark, and brooding was the guard?" Sol pointed her finger right at Knox. "You got anything you want to tell us?"

  "What?" His mouth partially dropped open. "It's just he’s the only other guy I see hanging around her that isn't me."

  All I could say was that I loved these girls. "As fun as this is, if you want time to talk to me, we do need to hurry. Apparently, the good ol’ doctor got Aaron to release me early so I could get to him faster."

  "I thought you had a few more days until then." Knox paused before he shoved the bacon in his mouth.

  "I guessed this is another preliminary thing." I hoped he had told Aaron the truth. Granted, the time they drained me, they hadn't let me eat breakfast.

  "Fine, I'll hurry up."

  When I finished my last bite, I glanced over and realized so had Knox. "Wow, you did eat fast."

  "We need to talk." Knox grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

  It shocked me because it was in front of everyone. He normally only did those types of things when we were alone. The warm buzzing of his hand comforted me.

  He took the lead and guided me to the door. I glanced back at the girls, and the big-boobed girl was throwing daggers at me with her eyes.

  I couldn't blame her at all. Knox was a force to be reckoned with, and I still wasn't quite sure why he was paying me attention other than he found me intriguing. I guess being different was a good thing.

  As soon as we stepped through the door, Aaron was standing there, and his eyes immediately locked on to Knox's and my joined hands.

  That's when it hit me. He was only holding my hand because of Aaron. Not because he wanted to. I jerked my hand from his.

  "Are you ready?" Aaron slowly approached me.

  "Yeah, but I need another minute." Now more than ever, I wanted to talk to Knox. That little stunt was not cool.

  "Uh ..." He sighed, and his shoulders slouched. "Fine. Make it quick."

  Knox stood still, staring Aaron down. "Come on." He headed toward the cotton fields that were being worked on, readying them for the next harvest.

  I followed him down a section that kept us hidden. There was a coolness in the air that was refreshing.

  "I wish he would go away," Knox grumbled and turned to face me. "You always act differently around him."

  "You mean because I jerked my hand out of yours?" Was he trying to blame this shit on me?

  "Yeah, it's like you're afraid for him to see us together." He narrowed his eyes at me.

  "The only reason you held my hand was that you were trying to make a statement to him." My finger became a weapon the way I was twirling it around in his face. "You never make a move unless we're alone or, apparently, when you know Aaron is going to see us."
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  "That's not true. I sat by you today and held your hand in the cafeteria." Knox spread his arms out. "We're in prison, Lexy. This isn't the same as if we were in a more tolerant world and it wasn't a punishable sin to date you."

  "But that girl ..." Big boobs popped right up in my mind.

  "Who?" Knox's forehead wrinkled and he squinted. "What girl?"

  "Big boobs." I held my hands out emphasizing how large her breasts were. "The one who got all pissy about you sitting with me that one day."

  "You mean Gretel?" Knox ran both hands through his hair. "What does she have to do with anything?"

  "Of course her name would be Gretel." That would be my luck because obviously, this was all about me. "Her boobs are the candy."

  "What?" He dropped both hands to his sides and huffed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "You know the fairytale, Hansel and Gretel?" It was obvious what I meant, but I was going to have to spell it out for his dumbass. "They were lured by candy. Her boobs are her candy. That's how she lures you in."

  His mouth dropped open, and his brows furrowed. Eventually, he shook his head and looked up at the sky. "I don't know what to say."

  "See, I'm right." Except, for once, this didn't bring me any joy.

  "No, you're not." Knox closed the distance between us and crashed his mouth on mine.

  This was the first time I'd ever truly been kissed. Before I realized it, I was wrapped around his body, and my hands were in his hair. Our tongues danced as I matched him stroke for stroke. He tasted sweet, and his musky scent made me dizzy.

  The wind picked up and somehow made me come down from my high. I pulled back and whispered. "This isn't solving anything."

  "No, it has." Knox lifted a hand and brushed it against my cheek. "In two days, we can be together, and I'm in. I can't risk something happening to you until we leave. If they figured out we were a romantic couple, the guards would go crazy. Two half-breeds together would only lead to worse things in their minds. I haven't been trying to hide my feelings from you. I’ve been trying to protect you."

  "Really?" That was bullshit. I had to call him out on it as I climbed off his body.

  "Fine, at first, I was scared." He sighed and took my hand. "But I still couldn't stay away. So I'm done fighting."

  "So I'm not crazy." I waved my free hand between him and me. "You feel the same thing." For so long it had seemed so one-sided.

  "No, you're not crazy." He chuckled.

  "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to go." Aaron's voice came from behind me, and it was cold.

  I spun around to face him and almost wished I hadn't. His beautiful blue eyes didn't appear so bright. They looked as if he was in pain.

  "Yeah, you're right." I sighed and glanced at Knox. "I'll see you later, okay?"

  "You’ve got it." He nodded at me and forced a smile.

  I slowly closed the space between Aaron and me, but with each step, the tension between us only increased.

  There was no telling what part of our conversation he’d heard, but it was enough to cause distance between us. I had to salvage our relationship or I might not be getting out of here.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The walk back toward the big building was done in complete silence. I wasn't sure how much Aaron had seen between Knox and me, but whatever it was, he appeared restrained.

  Right before we left the woods, I reached out and touched him.

  He flinched as if I had burned him, but he didn't pull away. "Look, it's fine."

  "No, no it's not." I glanced at the two guards that we were in between and noticed one was on his walkie talkie and the other had some earbuds in. "Look, it wasn't what it looked like." As soon as the words were out, I had to take them back. It wasn't true, and I couldn't lie. He didn't deserve it. "I mean, I don't know what to do."

  "Look, you don't have to lie to me." Aaron closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll still help you get out. You don't have to lie or pretend with me anymore.”

  "I'm not lying or pretending." He deserved the truth in case I didn't make it out. As likely as it was that I could escape, it was just as likely, possibly more so, that I may die. Granted, I wasn't comfortable with it, but it was the truth and I needed to go into this with both eyes open. “I thought you found your mate, so I’m not sure what you’re expecting here.”

  "You sure aren't now." Aaron shook his head and took a small step away from me. "Look, I get it. You want him. And no, I lied about it. It’s the only thing that another supernatural will expect for strange behavior."

  "Well, then. That's not true." That wasn't a full lie. "I mean, I do … but I want you too."

  "Then what about him?" He arched his eyebrow and stared me directly in the eye.

  "I want him too." The words were low, but they were loud between the two of us.

  "You're kidding me, right?" He took a step toward me and scanned my face. "I mean, you can't expect us to be okay with you having both of us. That’s not how mates work."

  "No, I don't." I dropped my hands and took a deep breath. There was no way to explain how much each one of them meant to me. Hell, I didn't understand it. "I’m ... drawn to you both."

  "See, that's a problem for me." Aaron blew out a breath. "I am only interested in you, and I can't do a damn thing about it."

  His words hit me right in the heart. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." I wished I could figure it out and choose one of them, but at this point, we had more pressing matters on our hands. "I get it. I can't have both of you; it wouldn't be right, and it would be selfish of me."

  "The great thing is that you don't have to make the decision right now." Aaron glanced around and smiled. "I'm willing to wait ... for you. Now, let's go and see what the Doc wants."

  I couldn't believe he wasn't pushing me to make a choice at this time. At the end of the day, I was relieved. "Do we have to?"

  "Unfortunately, yes." Aaron gently grabbed my arm so it looked like he was tugging me along. We made our way to the big building, and the silence wasn't as tense as before.

  "You're becoming more guard than hunter." Dennis grinned at Aaron as we approached. "But you always seem to have this one in tow."

  "Yeah, the Doc needs her again." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Ugh … For some reason, it's always her."

  "Be ready, you're dad's in there too." Dennis yawned then chuckled. "Doug was going on and on about how you were the only one he trusted with her. Your dad was grinning with pride." He reached over and smacked Aaron in the shoulder. "As he should be."

  "Thanks." Aaron tugged me toward the door as he nodded at Dennis. "I'll be back later. He needs her for some more tests."

  "Alright. If she gets to be too much of a handful, let us know." Dennis waved him off and headed over to his usual spot against the wall.

  I had only seen the warden once before, but it was only for a brief minute. It was going to be interesting to see what the relationship was like between Aaron and his father.

  Within a few moments, we were in the hallway heading to the doctor's office. Aaron's jaw twitched the closer we got.

  "Are you okay?" I already knew the answer to it, but I wasn't sure what else to say.

  "Yeah, it's my dad." He shook his head and glanced down the hall.

  I followed his gaze to see Mac turn the corner and head in our direction.

  "Ahh, there's the lady of the week." Mac's grin was cruel and unnerving. "I can't believe, out of everyone, you're the one we'd been waiting for." He sighed as he reached up and pulled his hair into a man bun. "But it'll be so satisfying when they drain you and your heart gets to where it can barely beat. I may volunteer to sit by your side and watch it all."

  "At least you have something to look forward to." I couldn't let him intimidate me. "I mean, other than going home alone since every girl knows how much of a loser you really are."

  Aaron tugged on me again. "Come on, we need ..."

  "See, that right there is why I'm ecstatic." He pointed hi
s finger at me, but all I could focus on was the dark dirt under his fingernails. "Your kind has always been at least a little humble around us, but not you."

  "I'm sorry that your alpha dominance is anything but that for me." The hate that swelled in my heart was so much bigger than I'd felt for anybody else before. That was definitely saying something.

  "Don't worry." He strutted into my personal space and winked. "I'll be there when you cry out for my help. That's when you'll have to eat every single negative word you'd ever said against me. It'll be nice seeing you ruined and tossed out like trash."

  The real sad thing was that Mac had so much hatred in his heart. It had to stem from something other than half-breeds. "We'll see how it goes."

  "Aaron, what's taking you so long?" The warden’s voice echoed through the halls. "Get your ass in here."

  "You better go, boy." Mac clapped Aaron on the back. "Daddy's calling."

  With the first step into the hallway, the usual smell hit me and burned my eyes. There, at the end of the hall, was a man who was slightly shorter than Aaron with short brown hair. Their features weren't that similar though. Aaron's face was more angular, and his jaw was more dominant. Maybe that was his mother coming out in him.

  "We're coming," Aaron grumbled, and his face turned once again into a mask of indifference that he always seemed to be wearing.

  As we approached the man, I noticed his eyes were a similar shade to Aaron's but a touch darker. I wasn't sure if it was meant to appear that way or if he had such hatred in his heart.

  "When you're requested to get here immediately, that means no stopping and shooting the shit." He tugged on his blood-red tie and then tucked his button-down shirt back into his slacks. "Now let's get this over with." He reached out and grabbed my arm, yanking me so hard I almost fell to the ground.

  "No need to be that rough on her." Aaron's voice cracked a little when he said the words.

  "Are you trying to protect this ..." The warden glanced at me with a scowl on his face. I could feel the hatred spewing out of him. "Thing?"

  "Lexy." My mouth always got the best of me when someone I cared about was targeted or upset. This time like all the others, I couldn’t help myself.