Breed of Innocence (The Breed Chronicles, #01)

by Jordan, Lanie

  The room erupted with laughter.

  “Where’m I?”

  “A med room,” Doc told me. “You’re at the CGE.”

  Greene walked to the side of the bed and peered down at me. “Do you remember what happened, Miss Hall?”

  “I—not really,” I said. My throat and mouth were still dry, so my voice sounded strange, even to my own ears.

  “What’s the last thing you recall?”

  I closed my eyes, tried to pull memories to the surface. “The demon hunt. The trip there, I think, and finding the house with the vamps.” I closed my eyes again, tried forcing the memories forward. “We—Felecia and I—were in the house, in the living room.” Pausing, I looked up at Doc. “Can I have some more water or ice?” My throat was dry again.

  She handed me the cup and let me have a few more ice chips. “Small amounts.”

  “Thanks.” I gave the cup back and nodded.

  “We can come back later, Miss Hall,” Greene said.

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “Want me to raise the bed a little?” Doc asked.

  I nodded. When she finished raising the bed, I linked my hands together and rested them in my lap so I didn’t fidget. “I remember Peter warned us about vamps coming out, and when they ran out the door, Felecia followed.” My eyebrows scrunched together. “I think I went after her and managed to kill one of the vamps.” I sat quietly for a moment, trying to remember more, but I couldn’t. “Things are kind of blurry from there.”

  Greene gave a brief nod. “You were attacked.”

  Attacked? Everything inside me went cold and my head started to spin. I clutched at my neck and found a bandage covering it. “I was bitten!”

  “No, Miss Hall,” Greene said, speaking quickly. “It leapt on you, but Peter terminated it before it could bite you. You were just scratched.”

  I fisted my hands in the bed sheets and tried pushing up. “The teams? They were attacked too?”

  “They’re all fine.”

  “But…” I looked to Peter. “I heard screaming?” I made it question, more to myself than them, because I wasn’t so sure. Everything after the trip there was a blur of images in my head and I couldn’t tell if they were real or imagined.

  “That would have been Adam,” Peter said. “He was checking the basement, missed a step, and ended up falling down the rest. He broke his leg. Physically, he’ll be fine.” His shoulders shook. “Not sure he’ll ever live down the squeals though.”

  “Felecia?”

  Greene’s expression hardened and I watched as his jaw went taut. “She’s gone, Jade.”

  “What?” I demanded.

  I knew Felecia had run after the vampires and I’d chased her down—that much I remembered pretty clearly. One of them ran after me, I killed it, and then she screamed. There was a flash of a fanged-face as the last vamp leaped at me, and then…pain.

  Did I even remember the pain?

  Frowning, I shook my head. “I don’t remember the vamp ever touching her.”

  If I’d almost died—again—and she still managed to get herself killed, I was going to be really pissed. The CGE worked in genetics, didn’t they? Surely they could bring someone back to life so I could kill them.

  “She’s fine, Jade,” Linc said, coming around to the other side of the bed to hold my hand again.

  My gaze landed on Greene. “Then…?”

  “She’s been expelled. You were all given explicit instructions and she disobeyed them. This was her third chance to make things right, to show she was a team player. Instead, for the second time in nearly as many months, you were attacked by a demon because of her actions.”

  “Oh. But I went after it, too.” Getting myself in trouble wasn’t my intention, but it didn’t seem fair that she was gone for doing the same thing I’d done.

  “Jade,” Peter started, “you were following my orders. And even if you hadn’t been, would you have really gone after two vampires by yourself with what little training you’ve had?”

  I shook my head. “Of course not. I don’t have a death wish.”

  “And that’s why it’s not the same thing. You went after her to stop her—not the vamps.”

  Beside Peter, I saw Greene nod. “You don’t exactly avoid trouble, Miss Hall,” he said, “but neither do you seek it out for the sake of seeking it out. Aside from your one transgression, you’ve been an exemplary student.” He smiled down at me. “The kind the CGE goes to great lengths to find.”

  What he said about me not avoiding trouble was off. I (usually) did my best to avoid trouble. It wasn’t my fault it followed me around, was it? Despite that, the bit about me being exemplary…that I wasn’t so sure about. I wasn’t sure how to respond to either without sounding idiotic or argue-y, but I was saved from having to answer when my stomach grumbled loudly. “Sorry.” Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”

  Everyone in the room looked away. Linc’s gaze went to the ceiling, as though it were the most interesting thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What?”

  “Um, Jade. It’s Tuesday. You’ve been here for four days.”

  “Ha ha, very funny. Come on. You can’t be serious.” I was the only one laughing.

  “I’m afraid he isn’t kidding, Miss Hall.”

  Peter whistled and then smiled down at me. “That is my cue to exit. I’m glad you’re awake, Jade. Take it easy, okay?”

  There was something in his eyes that left me with a weird feeling, like some big secret was hanging in the air and no one wanted to tell me. I couldn’t say why I thought it, so I didn’t say anything, but I kept frowning as he ducked out of the room.

  Something wasn’t adding up. If I wasn’t bitten, then… “Why was I here for so long?”

  Doc stepped forward, her mouth opening to speak, but Greene cut her off. “The vampire leapt on you. You hit the ground pretty hard, Miss Hall. We mostly kept you sedated while we ran tests and made sure there was no damage.”

  “Damage to what? You said I was just scratched.”

  “To your head, for one. You were knocked out cold.”

  “What about the pain?” I asked quietly. My memory of the whole thing wasn’t exactly the greatest, but I wasn’t sure how I could’ve imagined something so bad.

  Greene’s gaze went to my right hand. “You were scratched multiple times—both on your hand and neck. They can be almost as painful as a bite. While it isn’t normal for an infection to occur that way, we wanted to be certain.”

  I looked at my hand, found it covered in white gauze. “Why don’t I remember more?”

  “You suffered a concussion, Jade,” Doc said, speaking quietly. “The memories may not come back.”

  When no one said anything else, I pushed myself up in the bed more. “So, I can go now, right?” Four days in an infirmary was more than enough—even if I’d only been awake for a few minutes of it.

  Greene shook his head. “Not yet, Miss Hall. The doctors need to run more tests. Maybe in a few days.”

  I glanced down at my hand again. “Really? Because of a few scratches?”

  “Vampire scratches,” he said. “And, of course, let’s not forget the concussion.”

  I frowned. “I can’t just come back for the tests?” The way I saw it, being anywhere within ten feet of Doc for any extended amount of time could only bring bad results. The longer I stayed, the more time it gave her to do something crazy, like steal more of my precious blood-supply. She wasn’t exactly a vampire, but I bet she’d seen more than the average one.

  “It’s just a few more days, Miss Hall.” His eyes went to his wrist. “I’m afraid I have a meeting I can’t put off any longer, so I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Miss Jones.” He started for the door. When he reached it, he stopped and turned back. He gave Doc a hard look. “Please keep me apprised of any developments.”

  He disappeared before I could say anything else. His words didn�
�t worry me so much, but the tone of voice and look were…off, somehow, though like with Peter, I couldn’t quite explain why I thought it.

  “Well,” I started, blowing out a breath, “I can sure clear a room.”

  Doc’s laugh was forced. “It’s nothing personal.”

  Linc and I exchanged looks. He shrugged.

  After a minute, when no one else spoke, I said, “Is everything okay, Doc?”

  She gave a high-pitched laugh. “You’re the one who was hurt and you’re asking if I’m okay?”

  “Well, I don’t know. You just seem…quieter than usual. Less torture-y. I mean, I’ve been around you for at least ten minutes and you haven’t tried taking any blood. That must be a record.”

  “I’m fine, Jade,” she said, keeping her back to me. “We’ve all just been worried about you. And as for blood…” When she turned, she had a smile on her face and pointed to a tray to her right.

  I groaned.

  Linc smirked. “Careful what you wish for, Hall.”

  “You be careful what I wish for,” I muttered under my breath, fisting my hands in the sheet and trying not to imagine it being Linc’s neck. He caught it, gave me a sidelong glance, and though it was subtle, he shifted away from me slightly, as if to protect himself.

  As soon as Doc pulled the tray closer, Linc was back at my side, taking my hand in his like he did every time I’d had blood drawn. Despite that, I gave his hand a harder-than-necessary squeeze and smiled up at him. He winced but held on.

  When Doc was done, she put her blood-stealing supplies away and came back with gauze, tape, and some kind of ointment in a tube. “Time for a bandage change. Give us a minute, would you, Linc?”

  “He can stay. It’s not like you’re getting me naked or anything, right?” At least, I hoped not.

  Doc snorted. “No. But the scratches aren’t pretty. He’d make some grossed out face and it’d only freak you out. We don’t need that.” When Linc still hadn’t moved, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Then again, he’s been around you, so maybe he needs an inoculation—”

  Linc was at the door in an instant. “I’m gone.”

  I shook my head as the door shut behind him. “That was just mean, Doc.”

  “I know, but it worked. Now, turn your head to the side.”

  I didn’t get a chance to as she was already turning it herself. She put a pair of gloves on and pulled the bandage away.

  “How’s it look?” I said, just to keep my mind off the fact she was poking and prodding at my neck.

  “It could be worse,” she said after a long pause. “But it could be better. Try to keep it dry, okay?”

  “I will.”

  She rubbed the ointment on my neck then taped a new piece of gauze in place. “Your hand should be okay for a few more hours. I’ll let Linc come back in, but I don’t want him staying too long. I know you slept a lot, but you need more rest.”

  “And then I can go back to my room tomorrow?”

  She threw the old bandage away first, then her gloves away. “We’ll talk about that tomorrow.”

  I frowned. “You just like being mean.”

  “There is that.” She walked to the door. Turning back, she smiled. “We’ll talk later.”

  Doc walked out and Linc came in. The second the door closed behind him, I said, “Okay, what’s really going on?”

  He sat down on the bed beside me. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, Greene and Doc are acting weird. Heck, even Peter was acting funny.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see it.”

  “You missed a lot, Jade.”

  “Like what?”

  “Fury. And a lot of it.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because you were attacked. By a vampire.”

  “Scratched,” I corrected.

  “Whatever. Peter was livid. If Felecia had been closer, he might’ve strangled her. As it was—”

  “Wait, what do you mean if she’d been closer? She was right there.”

  Slowly, he shook his head. “No, she was halfway up the block when we found you.”

  “But…I don’t remember a lot, but I know she yelled my name. I remember that.” Didn’t I?

  “I don’t know if she did or didn’t, but I know Peter did. When we found you, he yelled for you, hoping to get your attention or to scare off the vamp.”

  I remembered Felecia yelling for me, but not Peter. I didn’t even remember him being there. “Oh. Okay.”

  “When that didn’t work, he took the shot and killed the vamp.”

  “Well, either way. It all worked out, right?”

  “Jade, it was a close call. I mean close. The vamp hesitated or something, because it was on you for at least ten seconds before Peter was in range to shoot it.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What are you saying, Linc? That it should have bitten me?”

  “Time wise, yeah. It had plenty of time to and it didn’t.”

  “So I got lucky. I already figured that much.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Would you like to finish telling the story or, since you can’t remember it, would you like me to continue?”

  Message received: it’s my story, so shut up and let me finish. “Okay, fine,” I said, tossing my hands up. “I’m shutting up now.”

  “Good. Anyway, Peter was livid. When he reached you, I think he thought you’d been bitten—we all did. He ordered Dale to play barricade and keep me back, and told Harry to take ‘that girl’—his words, said with a very nasty snarl—away. I tried getting by Dale,” he said, the sides of his lips curling in a small smile, “but he wouldn’t budge.” A frown creased his brow. His eyes darkened and he hung his head, refusing to meet my eyes. “I saw you, for just a second when they were loading you up, and…it didn’t look good. You were whiter than a corpse and Peter had a bloody bandage over your neck. I thought you’d been bitten. Or were dead.”

  “I’m okay. It was just a scratch,” I reminded him.

  “Yeah, but we didn’t know that. Like I said, Peter wouldn’t let me near you at all. He called for the van and he rode with you—and Adam, since he was hurt too—while the rest of us waited for more transpo.”

  I made a pfft sound. “Can’t get rid of me that easy, Stone. Someone has to stick around and keep you in check.”

  Instead of laughing like I’d hoped, his expression went darker. Edgy. He gripped my hand again, this time almost painfully, and his eyes stayed completely focused on mine. For a long time, he didn’t say anything, or even breathe—he just stared at me. Every few seconds, his eyes and expression would soften, but then they’d go hard again. Finally, when he did speak again, his tone was barely a harsh whisper. “I thought you were dying.”

  I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and tried to smile. He looked miserable and I didn’t like it. It didn’t fit his face. “I’m okay. I’m alive and kicking.” And to prove it, I kneed him in the back.

  For a second, I didn’t think he’d crack, only continue to scowl at me, but then he rolled his eyes and shook his head. His hand relaxed a little and I could just make out the beginning of a lop-sided smirk. “You kick like a girl.”

  I snorted. “I can still kick your butt, even lying down.”

  “Tough talk, Hall. Tough talk.”

  I grinned. “So what about Greene?”

  “I missed most of it waiting for transpo. By the time the rest of us got back, you were already being looked over, I guess. Greene had all the Prospects piling out to the field.” He sat up straight, rolled his shoulders. “He pulled me aside when we got back, and before I could say anything—and believe me, I was about to—he said you were alive, unbitten, and the doctors were looking over you. And then Felecia came out.” Linc gave a low whistle. “I’ve seen mad, all kinds of it, but wow. He shot her one look—I won’t say it was full of hatred, but very strong dislike.”

  “It was an accident,” I said, though I had no idea why I was defending her. “It wasn’t like she want
ed me to get bitten.” Linc’s eyes snapped up to mine and had me shaking my head. “Come on. She hates me—everyone knows that. But you can’t really think…”

  “I wouldn’t put it past her. And I wasn’t the only one. I overheard Peter yelling at Greene about it, how she’d left you once in the South Tower, and then again with the vamp.”

  “Come on,” I said again. “She’s… No way. I’m not saying she wouldn’t—or hadn’t—left me to die, but hoping for it?”

  “I’m not saying she did or didn’t, but that’s the second time you’ve been attacked by a demon because of her, Jade. When are you going to stop defending her?” he snapped. “When she actually manages to kill you?”

  “I’m not—okay, I am.” My shoulders rose and fell when I sighed. “It’s easier defending her than thinking she’s trying to get me killed. Over what?”

  “Jealousy’s a powerful motive.”

  “Well, it’s also a stupid one.”

  “True, but most reasons are.” He shrugged. “Like I said, no one’s saying she did it on purpose, but people are wondering—especially when she was escorted off the property after Greene’s speech.”

  “Speech?”

  He gave a brief nod. “After I got back and he told me about you, he had everyone at the bleachers. He explained what had happened, why it’d happened, and explained—in painful detail—why it would never happen again. If anyone is responsible for getting someone else hurt because they decided to disregard the rules, they’d be gone. No explanations, no second chances. Just gone.”

  “Wasn’t that already kind of a rule?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think they’ve had anything like this happen before, at least nothing to use as an example, you know?”

  I frowned. Leave it to me to set another example—and not a good one.

  “I mean, it’s always been a possibility,” he continued, “but until it happened, I guess they didn’t know how they’d really react. Or maybe they knew but hadn’t had to.” He shrugged. “So anyway. Greene was pissed. Peter was pissed. He yelled at Greene about how she shouldn’t have been allowed on the hunt in the first place.” A slow smile tipped the sides of his lips. “Tasha was a special kind of fury. She swore up and down for an hour, even in front of Greene. If Felecia hadn’t already been gone, I think Tasha would’ve gone after her and probably ripped her head off.”