Forgotten Curse (Curse Trilogy)

by C. M. Owens

  He smiles slightly, and then he pulls my hand in his before leading me out the door.

  “The fucking food has already been dispersed. They served it yesterday which means the damn full bloods should be here any time. They’ll be traveling in a pack because of the mindless mentality it causes,” Brazen growls in disgust.

  “Have you ever faced this before?” I ask softly.

  “I had a human girl try to use my blood in this way to trick me once before. If Corbin hadn’t chained me up, I would have gone after her. If he hadn’t sedated me, I would have found a way to kill myself when I couldn’t find her. It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life… until I lost you,” he utters a little too honestly, and my lips cover his instantly.

  His hands grip me tightly, and then Clay’s cough interrupts our accidental steamy moment.

  “We’re setting up to canvas the area. According to Brazen’s math, they should be here within the hour.”

  “This is so fucked up,” Hale exasperates while running his hands through his hair.

  “It usually is when blood is involved. Isn’t evolution grand?” Brazen sardonically rattles out.

  “Fuck,” Hale growls while slapping the side of the wall, and then we hear the stirring of frenzied vehicles humming violently.

  “They’re coming,” I almost whisper, and Hale quickly injects himself with olophine while arming himself with tranquilizer darts filled with the sedative we only view as medicine.

  Brazen kisses my cheek before climbing up the tower with his rifle strapped to his back. Hale walks over to me and checks my guns to make sure everything is in working order.

  “Worried I’ve forgotten how to use a gun in two days time?” I mockingly muse.

  He smirks slightly, and then his thumb rolls over my lips as he smolders, “I always look out for you. That’s never going to change.”

  I shiver lightly under his smoking-hot-as-Hale gaze, and then the sound of the cars near as suddenly the rabid full bloods begin bursting free from the vehicles to rush the gates.

  “It’s time, baby,” he utters too seductively, and then he jumps over the side of the wall to start firing his tranquilizers into mindless mass.

  I take a deep breath while my knees work to solidify themselves again, and then I follow his lead while dropping the five stories to the ground. Right away I see the men running toward us - unarmed and completely outside of their right minds.

  I see Hale firing rapidly into the flesh of the full bloods, and they drop instantly from the few drops of the sedative that wouldn’t faze us. I fire several of my own as the mindless drones power forward in their one-tracked mission.

  “There’s a lot of fucking full bloods here,” I scream out, and then my gun jams just as teeth shatter against my invincible skin.

  “Damn it,” Hale breathes out in relief as I slam the full blood into the wall to knock him unconscious, and suddenly more firing brigades sound out from behind as Nicholas and his men start firing down from the wall.

  Hale comes to my side just as a hailing shower of tranquilizers dipped in uranium fire into the terrifying crowds. He jerks me against him, and we thud against the wall where we’re shielded by the concreted overhang. More shots ring out as the bodies keep falling, and there’s an instant decline in the unarmed men.

  “That would have sucked,” he murmurs with his lips dangerously close to mine.

  “For you maybe. I’m invincible,” I smolder out, and he smirks at my witty little retort.

  “They were different than the Rising,” I think out loud.

  “They were farther away than the Rising were when their blood was tasted. It gave it longer to burn out their brain cells. Those tats on their bodies show they’ve traveled hundreds of miles. They’re from the Culligan Region on the other fucking side of the unaligned. We can hang out here while they finish up,” he mutters while continuing to hold me to his body. “Our job now is to watch for runaways eluding the eyes above.”

  I just rest in his arms, and I watch the sad movie unfolding in front of us.

  “Why do this?” I whisper.

  “To infect the humans. This was strategically planned. You can infect so many this way, and it wouldn’t take long for a full blown epidemic to wipe the earth clean of its humans. It doesn’t make sense for a full blood to be behind this, and it sure as hell doesn’t point to a human either.”

  “You think this is a hybrid’s plan? The new hybrid?” I rattle free.

  “I don’t know. It could be either. This could be something completely separate from the new hybrid phenomenon,” he grumbles in exhausted frustration. “I need to ask you something. Are you sure it was only full bloods who took you underground?”

  I shiver slightly, and his arms immediately tighten around me in response.

  “That’s all I saw. I can’t imagine any of our kind would have done it. What would have been the purpose? They could draw out their own savage blood. Why does it matter now?” I ask while turning back around to face his secretive eyes.

  “Araya, I need to tell you something, but I want you to inject yourself first,” he murmurs while pulling out a vial of olophine.

  My eyes slant suspiciously, but I trust him enough to know he wouldn’t be asking me to do this if he wasn’t worried I’d go savage. Why is he worried?

  “Okay,” I mutter while taking the vial, and then I hear calls for us from above.

  “That’s all of them. Araya? Hale?” Clay yells.

  My eyes stay on Hale’s, and I can see the desire he has to spill those haunting secrets. What else could there be? He’s already told me about Alex and the fact he never loved me or even could love me. What else could be worse than that?

  “Araya!” Brazen panics when I don’t answer right away.

  “We’re down here,” Hale reluctantly releases, and then he takes my hand in his as the gates open.

  “Get these full bloods picked up and cared for. They’ll need to stay sedated for several days before the blood is completely digested and out of the humans’ systems,” Nicholas orders, and I quickly inject myself with the vial Hale gave me - though now it’s for a new reason.

  Nicholas’s eyes fall to mine, and I see the pain, guilt, and years of burden ringing out loudly. I can see his lips wanting to move, wanting to tell me why he abandoned me so long ago. His tortured soul begs for penance - penance I’ll never give him.

  “You’re not ready for this,” Hale smoothly says into my ear, and his hand tightens on my side.

  “I don’t think I ever will be, but I’ve got a job to do right now,” I tremble out, and he holds me even tighter while handing me a second vial.

  “You might need this,” he murmurs, and his lips brush my ear to send more chills up and down me.

  “No. I’m not going to get deep. This will be a professional conversation. I think he’s had more than plenty enough time to explain why he dumped me and kept his other offspring,” I growl.

  “Araya,” he cautions, and he jerks my face to his to check my pupils. “Take the damn medicine, or I’ll give it to you myself.”

  I break the top of the bottle, and the warmth rushing through my veins brings me down from my accidental high.

  “I’ve got to be more careful.”

  “I’ll be here when you need me,” he smolders, and his eyes do their best seductive work.

  “We need to find someone linked to this shit so my girl can interrogate the fuck out of them,” Brazen mumbles while walking up, and I instantly leave Hale’s side to join my full blood at his.

  Brazen’s lips stroke my forehead as he inspects me, and then he pulls me tighter into his arms when Nicholas approaches.

  “I was hoping I could have a moment alone to speak to you,” Nicholas strains out.

  My whole body tenses, and Brazen’s protective arms start pulling me behind his body.

  “I don’t think that’s the best of ideas right now, Captain,” Brazen murmurs gently. “I also think it would
in the best interest of everyone here if you found another interrogator. Araya and I will be moving to Circuit until a new base is acquired.”

  “I’d really like the opportunity to explain some things. Araya, I-”

  “I can’t hear it right now, Nicholas,” I choke out, and Brazen starts pulling me away from the full blood I now know as my estranged father.

  Brazen holds me as we walk through the halls, and he continuously kisses the top of my head.

  “I’m here for you, baby,” he soothes, and I stop walking to put my lips against his.

  His hands become a little rougher as he grips my sides, and then I feel a wall against my back as his key swipes the door beside us. I smile when my eyes catch a glimpse of his apartment, and then my eyes widen in fear.

  “Your mom and dad,” I gasp.

  He smirks as he snickers out, “They’re gone. Mom got a little rattled from her encounter with you, so Metropolis sent another representative in their place.”

  I stifle my grin as he pulls me to his bedroom I’ve barely seen, and then I feel the bed beneath my back as he slides over me.

  “Araya, I love you, and that’s always going to be true no matter what. I can’t think of any reason for us not to be together. I’ve asked this before, but I want us to finish what we started this time.” He pauses as he moves down to be on one knee. His eyes look up as he continues with, “Araya Crush, will you marry me?”

  He pulls out a pristine ring with a black opal and a scarlet rose in the center to exactly match the one I’m still wearing even in its rusted state. Tears fill my eyes, and my hand reaches up to cover my mouth as he eagerly awaits my answer. I bend over to pull his face to mine, and his sweet breath fills my mouth as our lips dance on each other’s.

  Very slowly, he stands to his feet, his arms wrap around me, and his lips continue to devour mine. My hips tilt to meet his erection as his hands slide up my sides to pull my shirt over my head. His soft lips stroll over my chest before reaching my neck, and his teeth slide down to graze my collarbone before he jerks off my shorts and underwear.

  “Yes,” I murmur into vacant air above me as my head tilts back, and his lips return to mine bearing a salaciously excited grin.

  “I love you,” he utters.

  “I love you.”

  He slides the new ring on my finger, and then his lips attack mine as I pop open the buttons on his shirt to expose his perfection hidden beneath. His cool flesh chills my heated barrier, and his grinding motion promises what’s to come.

  His hard, deliciousness slides into me very gently, and then I feel his teeth threatening to break the skin of my shoulder.

  “Can I?” he asks in a breathless hum.

  “You don’t have to ask,” I breathe out, and then I feel the exquisite, erotically charged pain of his blood bringers injecting me with his passionate venom.

  I gasp as he takes my blood in his mouth, and the erogenous explosions rattle free throughout my body. My lips grab his, and then he surges into me with such a fantastically powerful force. His chest hovers over my face as his long body digs deep into mine, and my blood bringers find their way to his shoulder to inject my own toxic lust.

  “Fuck,” he murmurs under his breath with divine ecstasy, and then his lips return to mine without hesitation as he pounds into me all the harder.

  He growls as he continues his fervent pace, and his lips continue to tangle with mine. Our bodies toss in the sheets until we run out of bed and slap the floor. The ground vibrates, and he teasingly pulls out to where his tip is just barely inside me while he smiles deviously.

  I abuse my gift by forcing his body to slam into me, and he moans out from the turn on. He pulls me tighter, and my nails slide up his back as his skin cools even more and mine fires up.

  Fire and ice.

  His icy lips feel incredible against my heated ones, and his teeth tug at my lower lip as he pounds into me with his full blood force ravaging my hybrid body. I gasp and he grunts as we both near our climatic release, and I grip the back of his neck to almost clank our teeth together from the intoxicating entanglement.

  My legs begin to stiffen as I scream out, and he thrusts into me one last merciless time before his warmth fills me. I laugh and cry at the same time as he falls to my body, and he begins kissing me erratically all over while I stare at my new ring.

  “So we’re really doing this?” he asks softly.

  “As soon as possible,” I murmur earnestly, and then Hale’s devastated face flashes through my mind.

  The momentary distraction is ripped apart when Brazen’s cool body begins sliding over mine, and then he pulls me up from the floor to drag me back into the bed.

  “I love being with you like this. I feel as though there’s no closer feeling than two people who can trust each other like this,” he mutters gently while kissing my forehead.

  “I love knowing you can stand in the sun now. I just wish you didn’t have to keep it a secret,” I say while trickling my finger over his chest.

  “Not for long, baby. Clay assured me he can duplicate the results soon, and within a few years, all full bloods will have a chance to experience what I can. You’re incredible,” he coos adoringly, and I smile as his lips close over mine.

  Then his damn phone buzzes, and we both huff as he reaches over to get it.

  “Fuck,” he grumbles while reading a text.

  “What?”

  “They need us in the lab. One of the other regions is here, and they are dealing with the same blood that reads as if it’s straight from the vein without the maddening side effects.”

  “I don’t see why it matters. If it’s not hurting anyone, then why go after someone for giving the full bloods a better quality of life?”

  “Because they’re using it as leverage to make others do their bidding. It would be different if they were contributing to society. Besides, this is something we need to know how to duplicate. It will still be a few years before the cure is released, and in the mean time we could be distributing this. Personally, I only want your blood though,” he sizzles out, and I start laughing wildly when he begins his tickling attack to lighten the sexual tension we’re being held down by.

  “You’re so mean,” I giggle out while he pulls me to my feet.

  “I’m not mean,” he says with a menacing grin, and then he jerks me to his body. “I’m just trying to get us both out of here without looking as if we can’t do our jobs anymore.”

  I laugh lightly, and then I pull on my clothes. His body quickly presses against mine to fill the painful need for closeness, and then I curl against him as he walks me out.

  Nicholas is sitting by the doorway of his apartment, and my stomach knots up the moment I see him. He sighs out and nods gingerly as we pass, but I look away instantly.

  “I’ll be glad when we get out of here,” I grouse.

  “I know, baby. I’ll go anywhere you want to go,” he murmurs against my lips as he fills the void.

  “That’s why I can’t wait to marry you… because you always make me happy,” I gush, and his smile grows as he backs me against the wall in the next hallway.

  “I’ll always do everything I can to make you happy.”

  “I know,” I whisper through his lips, and then I hear giggling coming from just down the hall.

  We back away from each other, and my heart leaps into my throat when I see Alex talking to Hale. Angelica smiles as she shakes her hand, and Grayson laughs lightly as if I’ve missed something funny she has said.

  Alex’s hand lightly travels up Hale’s arm, and he casually backs away while continuing to talk to Grayson. I can’t hear what they’re saying right now though. It’s as if all sounds have been drowned out to dull, muffled echoes, and my vision blurs into a tunnel with only Alex at the end.

  “What the fuck is she doing here?” I growl.

  “She’s the replacement representative for Metropolis I assume,” he says with casual mildness, and he starts pulling me down the h
all toward them.

  Suddenly something inside my sane mind snaps, and Alex goes flying across the hall to slap the wall with a cracking thud. I grab a bottle of olophine to inject my veins, and Brazen’s eyes look to be destroyed right now.

  Hale’s eyes are wide, terrified, and he knows why the hell I just tried leveling his pretty, conniving little home wrecking full blood. Angelica starts to aide the meek full blood bitch, but before she can react I sling Alex down the hall once again to slam into the other wall. She falls to the floor limply, and Brazen’s shaking force brings me back to where all sounds can be heard and light can be seen.

  “Fucking shit. Araya answer me, baby,” he blares as if he’s been speaking this whole time.

  “Damn it,” I sigh out, and I pull out my last vial of meds to stop the savage within from fully taking me over.

  “Araya,” Hale prompts while jerking me around to look into my eyes. “I swear I didn’t know she would be coming.”

  Brazen rips me free from Hale’s grasp, and he pulls me into an interrogation room off to the side. The air in the room becomes stale and suffocating as he slams the door, and he shakes his head in disgusted disbelief.

  “Tell me why you just threw Alex around like a dirty bag of laundry. Do you still love him that fucking much? So much you can’t control yourself when you see another girl talking to him?” he blares, and his fist slams into the wall to crack bits of the concrete.

  I watch the spider vein like cracking as it continues on. It’s not enough to keep me distracted for long though.

  “That’s not it,” I mutter in a near whisper.

  “Oh really? Because that’s what it looked like to me. I can stand to deal with this savage shit when you can’t control it, but I won’t just be your first alternate.”

  “That’s why,” I mumble in a near muted tone.

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he growls.

  “You wanted to know why I was done with him, that’s why. He cheated on me with Alex numerous times. The words left his mouth to confirm my suspicions right before he told me he had never loved me. I spent years with him to find out I was the only one who had ever given a fuck. Seeing her just really sent a shocking jolt through me, not because I can’t bear the sight of him being with her, but because it made all those unresolved issues surface at once. I never dealt with it before. I just walked away from it and shoved it into the forgotten corner of my mind.”