She sighed. “I tend to overstep the lines of what is and isn’t my business. I don’t have a filter.”
“At least I’ll know what you’re really thinking.” In a place where everyone seemed to have so many secrets, having someone give it to me like it was, was a welcome change. I may not like everything that came out of her mouth, but I could count on her to tell me the truth.
She turned on the blender, drowning my thoughts in the noise as the ingredients turned into a green sloppy mess that looked as if a cow had thrown up in it.
A few seconds later, she stopped the blender and poured the vomit-inducing mixture into a glass. “Want some?”
I violently shook my head.
Lana laughed. “You have no idea what you’re missing out on.”
I wanted it to stay that way.
“That doesn’t go there,” Lana said as I placed the empty glass in the sink. “You need to put it into the washer, or Jacinta will have a fit.
“She runs the kitchen?” I asked, raising the glass out of the sink.
Lana nodded. “Jacinta runs it like a warden. You need to follow the rules or starve.”
“Good to know.” I gestured to the glass. “Where’s the dishwasher?”
Lana downed her glass and held her hand out for mine. “I’ll take it for you.”
“Thanks.” I handed it to her.
She put them both into the dishwasher then came back to the blender for the jug. “I know it’s earlier than planned, but did you want to get a head start on your training?” She rinsed the jug and popped it into the dishwasher.
“That would be great.”
We made our way out of the mess hall and headed toward the gym, guided by the night-lights softly illuminating the halls.
“You know, it’s nice to finally have someone around here who’s not intimidated by me or my family,” Lana said. “Or who doesn’t think I’m a judgmental weirdo.”
I wasn’t sure what I thought of Lana, and hearing her say those things made me wonder what I was getting myself into. Then again, I knew from personal experience that people regularly came to the wrong conclusion about people they knew nothing about.
I hoped that was applicable in Lana’s case as well. Otherwise, I was down to zero friends, a brother who didn’t want me here, his best friend who treated me like a little sister, and a guy who hated the very thought of me. But it was more than that.
Max loathed everything about me.
What I stood for.
The person I was.
The core of who I was.
A shiver ran up my spine as I once again thought about the way he looked at me.
I didn’t blame him. I couldn’t. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to change his mind about me.
“A penny for your thoughts?” Lana said.
Who says that these days? Hiding my reaction to her choice of words, I said, “Just thinking about how long it will take me to get up to hunter material.”
Lana placed her hand on the door to the gym. “If the others are anything to go by, you’ll be ready in about six months to a year.”
My eyes widened in horror.
I didn’t have that long. Mason didn’t have that long. The other’s may have taken months to get up to scratch, but I didn’t have that luxury. If I had to train all day every day, then that was what I was going to do. I’d made up my mind.
She must have sensed my anxiety and disappointment because Lana smiled. “I’ll try my best to get you there sooner.”
“Thanks.” I smiled back.
Lana pushed the door to the gym and stepped inside, holding it wide open for me.
Following, I entered the room and abruptly stopped in my tracks, heart pummeling against my chest, throat tightening, and an instantaneous cold sweat covering my skin as my gaze fell on Max.
17
“What’s she doing here?” Max spat, his words laced with venom as he froze, sweat dripping from his body.
My gaze darted to the deadly weapons in his hands, the shiny blades glistening under the dim lighting.
“She’s with me,” Lana said, grabbing my wrist. “And if you have a problem with it, take it up with me, not Kali, not my family, not Finn. Me. You got that?”
My eyes widened in surprise. Lana didn’t fear Max the way I did. In fact, I think Max was the one who feared her.
Glancing at Lana, I tried to see her through Max’s eyes, but all I could see was that she was nice, welcoming, and, above all else, prepared to give me a chance.
Max gave her a barely noticeable nod before turning his back to us and focusing on the mirror in front of him.
“Come on.” Lana motioned for me to follow her.
We headed over to the gym area, where she stopped in front of a rack filled with numerous boxing gloves.
“What size are you?” Lana asked.
Having absolutely no idea, I shrugged.
“Show me your hands.”
Doing as she asked, I raised my hands in front of me.
She nodded, turned her attention to the rack, and scanned the shelf until she found what she was after. She grabbed a pair of gloves and handed them to me. “Try these on.”
They were a perfect fit.
“Let’s go.” Lana grabbed a pair of gloves with pads on them for herself, headed to an open floor area next to the gym, and turned to me. “Now, do your stretches, and we’ll get started.”
Stretching was one thing I knew how to do. Boxing was a completely different story, and the fact that Max, the guy who hated me more than any other, was in the room watching, made me squirm under his scrutinizing gaze.
Reminding myself why I was there, I focused on loosening up my body, ready to get my ass handed to me. Because that was the reality of the situation. I was a runner, not a fighter. But there was a drive inside me that wasn’t going to let a little thing like never having been in a physical altercation stop me from saving Mason.
Shaking out my shoulders, I tried to ignore Max’s scornful stares and directed my attention to Lana. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“Come on then,” she said. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, staring at Lana’s gloved hands raised in front of her.
Max snickered, making me want to crawl inside myself.
“Forget about him,” Lana said. “Throw a few punches and go from there.”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded and released it slowly. Getting my stance right, I leaned back and threw my first punch. It couldn’t have been more pathetic if I tried.
Max chuckled, pausing his routine to watch me make a fool of myself.
Lana placed her gloves on her hips and glared at him. “Real mature.”
Max shrugged. “Not my fault she hits like a child.”
Lana shook her head. “Let’s go into the other room.”
“There’s another room?” I asked, raising my brow. Why the hell hadn’t she suggested that before instead of letting me make a fool out of myself in front of Max?
She made her way over to the wall of mirrors, stopping in front of the section where two long mirrors joined up to a shorter one. She pushed it. The mirror popped out like a door, revealing another room void of any light other than what was filtering in from the gym.
Lana switched on the lights, and we stepped into a gigantic empty, windowless room, void of any onlookers. My nerves almost instantaneously disappeared the moment Lana closed the door behind us.
“Thanks,” I said, heading into the center of the room.
She nodded. “If you want to become a hunter, you will need to learn to ignore negative comments and innuendos.”
“I know.”
“Right then.” She held her hands up in front of her. “Let’s try this again.”
After the initial few punches, there was something liberating that came with each blow I threw. It was as if I was finally freeing a piece of my soul that had been hidden for my entire life, reminding me of
the freedom I had experienced after I had drunk that woman’s blood.
Running had always been my savior, my place to let loose and give in to the part of me that was tormented by my daily struggles, allowing me to escape from the pain of continuing after my mother’s death. Well, that and drugs. It was an intoxicating combination, but it was mine all the same.
But this… This was one of the greatest releases. Allowing me to throw myself into the pit of my pain, drawing on my anger, fear, and sorrow, and releasing it with every punch I threw.
This was my new thing.
18
Aching all over and gritting my teeth so as not to show anyone how badly I was struggling to keep up with the training demands, I made my way down the hall, away from the gym, with no goals other than washing off the sweat coating my skin and sleeping for the next five hours.
“Where are you going?” Lana asked. “The kitchen is this way.”
Wanting to cry, I stopped and let out a loud sigh. I was so close to getting away from her and hiding out in Finn’s room for the next month.
Slowly turning around, I wanted to slap the smile off her vibrant face. She’d done just as much training as I had, yet she barely looked as if she’d done a thing. “I think I might go take a shower first.”
Lana stalked toward me, a knowing look in her eyes. “I know you’re feeling it. I’m not stupid. But I also know you want everyone else—especially Max and Finn—to see you are hunter material. So as much as you want to fall down and throw yourself a pity party over your aching muscles, you put on a smile, come with me, and prepare yourself for the next round.”
No matter how much I wanted to turn around and never see the inside of the gym again, I knew she was right. Standing up straight, I faked a smile and hoped I was pulling off the appearance of being ready for another hour in the gym. “Show me the way.”
Lana bumped her shoulder against mine. “Thatta girl,” she said as Max exited the training room. “Are you coming?” she asked Max.
His nose turned up as his disapproving gaze swept over me. “I’ll pass.”
I could’ve kissed Lana right then for making me pull myself together—even if it were for show—because it was having the desired effect.
He swung his shirt over his shoulder and headed in the other direction.
It wasn’t until he was out of sight that I could finally breathe again.
“You got a thing for him, don’t you?” Lana teased as we made our way to the kitchen.
“If by thing you mean he scares the absolute shit out of me and I have to sleep with one eye open so I have a chance of someone hearing my screams and coming to save me before he guts me like a fish, then yeah, I totally have a thing for him.”
“You’ve really thought about it, haven’t you?”
I nodded. “After what he did in the hall… He scares the shit out of me.”
“Lucky you have me then.”
We entered the mess hall, and I was surprised to find it already bustling with people getting an early start to the day.
“You need protein after the workout—especially if you want to go for another round later this evening.”
“Whatever you say.”
Sitting at the table with her, I stared at the meal in front of me, regretting handing over my food choice to Lana. She may have been a kick-ass hunter I wanted to grow up to become, but she had seriously bad taste in food.
“Eat up.” Lana stared at me from across the table, waiting for me to take a bite of the Salmon. Who ate fish for breakfast?
“Tell me again why I couldn’t have bacon and eggs?”
“As I told you before, bacon is filled with salt, cholesterol, nitrates, and a whole load of other harmful compounds, which can lead to heart disease and various cancers. Eggs are fine, which is why there are three on your plate.”
“With no sauce.”
“Sauce is filled with sugar and loads of salt that will cause retention in those thighs of yours. And if you want to be at your peak, you have to forgo the luxuries that are slowly killing you.”
I gaped at her. I’d known Lana for less than twelve hours, and she was already pointing out flaws I didn’t think I had. I’d spent years pounding my feet around the track, and by no means had flabby thighs.
“Hey, I’m saying it like it is.” She leaned forward. “I’m only trying to help. You can go back there and get twenty slices of bacon if that’s what you want. But if you want to keep up with the guys, you have to make sacrifices.”
I sighed and stabbed my fork into the egg yolk, breaking the sack, letting the orange goodness spill over my mushrooms while trying to keep it away from the fish. Scooping the egg-soaked mushrooms onto my fork, I tried not to gag and shoved it into my mouth. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as spew inducing as I’d thought, but it wasn’t pleasant either.
The things I did for my little turd of a brother.
Taking the opportunity while Finn wasn’t around, nor any of his other buddies who would run back to tell him I’d been asking questions I shouldn’t, I leaned forward and asked, “Is it true what Finn said? Will Mason be okay for a few weeks, giving us time to find him without him being in any danger?”
“It’s true. But I don’t know if what you consider safe is the same as what Finn does.”
“My definition is that he won’t be harmed in any way while they make the arrangements for transferring him to wherever they transfer the prospects.”
Lana finished swallowing her mouthful of fish. “So, Finn decided to leave out the part about how he was used as a blood bag until he was rescued.”
My heart jumped into my throat at the thought of what Finn had gone through, and now Mason was being mauled by the vampires that held him captive. How the rest of the world could sit by and not do anything about it was maddening. I wasn’t the only one who thought the government’s claim of looking for a cure was a whole load of bull. But everyone turned a blind eye, fearing what would come if they caused a ripple in the hierarchy’s plans. How could a human army be victor in a war where the enemies controlled both sides? Maybe if they knew about the hunters, they would stand a chance.
“Don’t be too alarmed,” Lana said. “They mostly extract the blood through an IV. They won’t rip him apart like they do for the fledglings’ offerings. Mason will be fine—unless of course he’s the one.”
Slightly less concerned but a little intrigued, I frowned. “The one?”
Lana stabbed her fork into the fish and tore off a chunk. “I’m guessing your brother hasn’t explained that one to you either?”
“No surprises there.”
“Right,” she said, eyeing my food as if she were telling me to eat if I wanted to be a part of Mason’s rescue team. “There is a legend of a demon huntress who banished the demons into the shadow realm, freeing our world of the reign.” She glanced up, her pupils dilating. “Furthermore, there’s a prophecy that she will return in a descendant, if the need arises, and help rid the world of demons once and for all.” She practically spat the last few words out in a hushed tone.
“What are you doing here?” Finn said, scaring the crap out of me.
Before I could answer, Lana said, “I was getting to know my new friend. I’m sure you’re aware it’s protocol that someone from lineage must conduct a screening of all new recruits.”
Finn rested his balled-up fists on the table. “Kali is not a recruit, and she never will be.”
Glaring at Finn, she said, “That is for me to decide, not you.”
“Look, Lana. I appreciate the rules, but my sister does not show the material needed to become a hunter. She can’t be trusted after her contamination.”
“What the hell, Finn?” I said, my eyes practically popping out of their sockets. “You’re a fucking bastard, you know that?” I stood and got up in his shit. “I passed the quarantine and I haven’t tried to suck anyone’s blood, so don’t give me any of that crap just because you want to protect me when you’ve done such
a shit job of it so far.”
Lana stood and sauntered over to us, commanding the room with her presence. I wasn’t sure if it was because they feared her family, or they just thought she was weird, but the whole room was watching her—us—to see what would happen next. And as much as I wanted to take this matter elsewhere, I had to save face if I was to get the slightest bit of respect amongst the fellow hunters and everyone else in this facility.
Stopping only a few inches from Finn, Lana tilted her head back and locked eyes with him. She exuded confidence that only came with power. “As I said before, whether Kali is hunter material is for me to decide, not you. Your personal motives do not and should never come above the order. Do you understand?”
Finn stared at her for a few moments, then nodded.
“Right,” Lana said, returning to her normal, softer demeanour, a stark contrast to the authoritative figure she’d oozed only moments ago. “Get yourself some food, and come join us. I have some news to tell.” She turned her back to him and returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.
Taking her lead, I slipped into my seat as Finn headed toward the food.
I picked up my fork and stabbed another chunk of fish. “Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for. I would’ve done that for anyone,” she replied. “Finn knows the rules. No exceptions.”
Wow. I didn’t understand this woman, but I respected her, and at that moment, she was everything I needed.
Lana held her glass of kombucha to her lips, but she paused. “You have potential, and we don’t have the numbers to ignore anyone with signs of a hunter.”
My heart soared with hope and pride for the first time in years. “I’ve got potential?”
She furrowed her brow. “That’s what I said.”
Kade slid into the seat beside me with a green smoothie in hand. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” I said, not wanting to lower his opinion of me any more than I already had.
He glanced around the room. “Well, I think something went down here recently because if you haven’t noticed, almost every single person in the room is staring at this table.”
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