by Jen L. Grey
There was no way I was leaving them behind. "Hurry. Go." I stood in front of the opening and pushed Deissy through to the other side.
A short girl with white, ash-blonde hair popped out from the bushes and pulled Deissy into the tree line. Then a tall, blond man emerged with two huge men and one strong-looking woman with long brown hair next to them.
"Jess, get your ass back here." The blond guy called out.
His voice sounded familiar. I glanced at him and then the small woman and realized those were my parents. I wasn't sure what I had expected, but it wasn't that.
"Hell, no. That's our daughter out there." Jess ran through the opening and grabbed my arm, pulling me through.
"No, I can't leave them." I turned back around as a guard aimed his gun right at Knox's chest.
Right as he squeezed the trigger, I closed my eyes, expecting the worst. Except, when I opened them back up, Knox had somehow already disarmed the guard and reared back, punching him in the face.
"Of course you can't." Jess sighed but stopped tugging me. She focused her eyes on the warden, and then nothing happened. "What the hell? Why can't I access my power?"
"Because it's spelled." I hadn't thought of that.
"Get them now." The warden yelled as guards came running from the building. "Take the sympathizers too, and don't lose that girl." He pointed right at me.
"Go, Sol." I needed her gone so I didn't have to worry about her.
"Hell, no." Sol stood beside me and stared them down. "It'd be fun to kick their asses for a while."
"Don't think I'm going to leave all the fun to my daughter and wifey." Cole appeared beside me and grinned. "This is what a family does together."
I wasn't sure how to respond to that.
My eyes slid back to Aaron and found him lying on the ground, seemingly unable to get up. The warden was several feet away, shouting orders.
"We have to get the guy bleeding on the ground and the one fighting the guard." This place deserved to burn to the ground. Although right now, I couldn't focus on my hate but rather on saving my friends.
"On it." Cole ran off toward the guards who were attacking Knox as the two huge men and the woman ran inside as well.
"Raven." Jess said the name, but nothing else came out of her mouth.
It was strange because they looked as if they were communicating without words. What the hell?
"Stay here. We're going for him," Jess whispered the words in my ear as she and Raven took off toward Aaron.
I didn't know what else to do, but more guards seemed to be pouring outside. We had to get going and fast. There was no way we could all get out. We were outnumbered more than anticipated. Now my parents and their friends were going to be captured as well.
All of a sudden, I realized what I had to do. I glanced at Knox and hoped to God I wasn't making a huge mistake. I ran out into the middle of it all and closed my eyes. Something inside me began churning as I tore my skin with my teeth.
The darkness swirled inside me in sync with my heartbeat. There was no getting away, but I had to protect the ones I loved. They wanted my blood, so I was going to give it to them. I tore into my other wrist and let the blood pour down on to the ground.
"Lexy, what are you doing?" Knox's worried voice seeped into my mind, but I couldn't let it. I had to keep going.
The darkness rose inside me, and when it reached the top layer of my skin, it broke into two threads. One of dark red ... the color of blood, and the other was a yellowish-green. It felt like it was connecting into the ground and into the air.
"Hell, yeah." Cole's voice yelled. "That's my girl."
My blood began to thrum through my body, and my feet began to shake. I wasn't sure what I was doing other than trying to bleed out.
The warm blood trickled down my hands and onto the ground. As each drop hit the ground, I could feel it inside me.
A wave of chaos seemed to ensue, and the wind began to whip around me.
"Lexy." My name was called out, but I couldn't be certain by whom. The only thing that mattered was the blood connecting me to the earth.
"Somebody has to stop her." A panicked voice filled the air.
For once, I wasn't caged in, and I was free.
A rough hand touched my back, and Knox's familiar voice whispered into my ear, "Stop. We've got to go if you want Aaron to survive."
His touch and those words were all it took to finally break through.
Something ripped, and when I opened my eyes, I watched as Knox removed his shirt, tearing it into two pieces. He tied them around each of my wrists to stem the bleeding.
I glanced around and saw that all of the guards who'd fought against us were passed out on the ground. "What the ..."
The warden scowled at me along with at least another dozen guards right behind him.
The dark-haired girl stepped toward the warden. "Let them go now, and we'll leave."
"Do you think I'd ever listen to you?" The warden laughed, and his beady eyes landed on me. "I'll let you all go as long as the girl stays."
"That isn't an option. She's protected by me and my pack." Raven stared at him. "Lexy, do your thing ..."
I wasn't sure what she wanted, but anger buzzed under my skin. I stared at the warden, and a huge funnel cloud began to form. I pushed it at the warden.
He ran back, trying to dodge its path. "More guards are coming. You won't get away."
Cole ran over and picked Aaron up off the ground. "Let's go now." He began running to the fence when loud sirens filled the air, getting closer each second.
"Lexy, let's go now." Knox tugged my hand, pulling me away from the soldiers.
"But the others ..." We were winning, and we needed to save everyone.
"No, look." Knox gently took my head and turned it toward the parking area. There were at least twenty large cars turning into it if not more. "We can't fight them all when only a few of us can use our magic. Come on. Now."
He was right. This was always the plan. Us getting out and coming back to take down the entire prison. It was so hard to leave them now, but we'd be useless if we stayed and were defeated. I turned on my heels and ran after the others. It didn't take long until we were back in the woods and running to only God knew where.
We'd run for at least an hour. No one slowed their speed. The biggest guy from my parents' friends was carrying Aaron. He hadn't made a peep the entire time.
Finally, we came upon a backroad, and our group began to slow down. A group of cars was pulled off to the side, and we headed straight to them.
"Are you okay?" Knox glanced at the blood that coated the wraps. "Have you stopped bleeding?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I reached over and touched his arm. "Thank you."
"You're the one who saved us." Raven appeared at my side and smiled. "You've got some power there."
"That she does." The man who was dead-sexy stepped up next to her and wrapped his arm around the woman's waist. "Imagine what she could do when she syncs with it."
"Well, we all know who can help her with that." Raven turned around and looked at the biggest guy out of their group. "He's got some experience with that."
"Isn't that the truth?" Jess snorted and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "Now who are these people?" She nodded toward Knox and the girls. "These are my close friends." I pointed at Deissy. "She's half-mermaid and wolf, and Sol ..."
"She's half-witch and vampire." Raven finished the sentence for me. "I can't believe it."
"No way." Jess's violet eyes glowed. "You're Luna's sister."
Tears sprang to Sol's eyes, and her lip quivered. "How do you know my sister?"
"We're staying with your coven." Raven smiled wide, and I noticed there was something about her that was calming.
"And I'm Knox." He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with Sol's emotions.
"Where is Aaron?" I hated to cut off the introductions, but I needed to know how he was doing. I still couldn't get over what his father ha
d done to him.
"Don't worry." Jess rubbed my shoulder. "Cole is giving him some blood. He'll be back to normal in no time."
"We need to get going." Raven began moving to the black Mercedes at the head of the group.
"Wait, before we go, I need to know something." I hated to turn down their help, but I had to make sure that they were at least okay with our future plans.
"Okay, shoot." Raven nodded her head.
She obviously was the alpha, so I had to get her to agree to what I was about to tell her. "We go and get situated, but I want to come back and save everyone in that prison."
"Oh, girl." Raven's smile was breathtaking. "That was the plan from the get-go. We're going back to make a solid plan and prepare reinforcements. Those assholes are going down."
The End
For Cursed, book two in the Half-Breed Prison Duology, order HERE.
Want to read the series that started it all? Order Year One: Bloodshed Academy HERE.
About the Author
Jen L. Grey is a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Fantasy genres.
Jen lives in Tennessee with her husband, two daughters, and three miniature Australian Shepherd. Before she began writing, she was an avid reader and enjoyed being involved in the indie community. Her love for books eventually led her to writing. For more information, please visit her website and sign up for her newsletter.
Check out my future projects at my website. www.jenlgrey.com
Also by Jen L. Grey
Bloodshed Academy Trilogy
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
The Half-Breed Prison Duology (Same World As Bloodshed Academy)
Hunted
Cursed
The Hidden Princess Duology
Wolves’ Queen
Queen’s Reign
The Artifact Reaper Series
Reaper: The Beginning
Reaper of Earth
Reaper of Wings
Reaper of Flames
Reaper of Water
Stones of Amaria (Shared World)
Kingdom of Storms
Kingdom of Shadows
Kingdom of Ruins
Kingdom of Fire
The Pearson Prophecy
Dawning Ascent
Enlightened Ascent
Reigning Ascent
Stand Alones
Death’s Angel
Rising Alpha
