Ash (Hive Trilogy Book 1)

by Leia Stone

  The scientist placed the tube into a glass cylinder compartment inside a machine.

  “About eight hours.”

  Ugly turned his dark, silver eyes on me. “You may go. Don’t leave your apartment today. All right?”

  House arrest. Awesome.

  I nodded. Would it kill them to get cable in the Hive? At least then I could at least spend the hours until my doom with some good TV viewing. I’d choose those badass brothers from Supernatural. The door opened and an ash was there to collect me.

  What? No Quorum escort back to my room?

  As I followed the ash wordlessly down the hall, the severity of the situation began to press down on me. What if it didn’t work? What would happen when my blood showed that my father was an Original? Would they kill me? I needed to talk to Ryder, he would know what to expect from this.

  The ash dumped me at my door and left without a word. I’ll bet that he thought the Quorum warning was more than enough to keep me from wandering during the next eight hours. Little did he know, I was most probably going to be running for my life, and a little rule breaking would be the least of my worries.

  I crashed into my apartment, closing the door tightly behind me. I scented that Jayden was here, but Ryder’s spiciness was missing.

  Jayden strode out of his bedroom, bottle of blood in hand. “Girl! What the actual fuck is going on? They had your shit searched while you were gone. You need to tell me everything and you need to do it now.”

  He drained his bottle before throwing it in the trash and basically kicking my ass across to our couch. I interrupted his next little hissy fit.

  “Where’s Ryder? I’m pretty sure I’m in a crap-ton of trouble and I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to do now.”

  I was not sitting around waiting for them to kill me. No freakin’ way. Still, there weren’t many options for me. I might never have wanted to be an ash and live in the Hive, but there was no life left for me in the human world. They feared my kind, and I would be hunted by the government. If these tests went badly, I was going to end up with nowhere to escape.

  “He did that growly, sexy-as-sin thing, then took off just after you were escorted out by the Night of the Living Dead crew. He hasn’t come back yet.”

  I could tell by the way Jayden had me pinned with his dark eyes, and the hand on my shoulder, that he was not letting me leave until I told him everything. I just had to hope this knowledge wouldn’t come back to bite him.

  “They did some tests when I first turned, trying to figure out how the hell there was a female ash. Apparently they had some odd results. They believe my father was an Original.”

  I had just thrown it out there, and Jayden was surprisingly calm about it. So either he didn’t know the stories or he wasn’t worried. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. His perfectly shaped brows drew together as he seemed to contemplate my words further. “Closely descended from an Original is not a huge deal, but sired directly is … I thought all the Originals were dead.”

  He was starting to understand now, understand the trouble I was in.

  “What else was wrong with your blood, Charlie?”

  I swallowed loudly, working hard to try and clear the lump in my throat so I could talk. “I wasn’t showing the standard blood work of an ash, and yet it wasn’t vampire blood either. The lab technician was confused, said she was going to run more tests, but I haven’t heard from her or Lucas since then.”

  Lucas or Ryder, I needed one of those big bastards. Someone needed to tell me what level of freak-the-fuck-out I needed to be having.

  Jayden rubbed a hand over his eyes, looking confused. “So if you’re not an ash or vamp, what the hell are you?”

  I pulled myself from his grip and began to pace the room. “I have no idea. What is there beside ash or vampire? I’m definitely not human.”

  Jayden fluttered those crazy long lashes. “I wouldn’t worry about that right now. Let’s deal with problem number one – you being a direct descendant of an Original. The Originals were all murdered for fear of them being too powerful.”

  I stopped and looked up at him. “So … if they find out?”

  Anger began rise up in me. I did not just fight my way through the culling to be killed by some old-ass Quorum bitches. Jayden got to his feet, crossed the room and grabbed my hand.

  “Then we run. I don’t have a family anymore. Never really did. You’re my family now. I will go with you and we will figure it out.”

  Emotion tightened my throat. It was a sweet offer. It wasn’t logical or practical, of course. We wouldn’t be able to get jobs because of what we were. And no jobs meant no food, no blood, and no place to call home. Still, I really appreciated his loyalty. A light tap came at the door. I moved instantly, hoping like hell it was Lucas or Ryder. As I flung open the door I was shocked to see Blake, Tessa’s feeder boyfriend.

  “Umm, it’s not a good time,” I told him.

  Ignoring this, he pushed past me and shut the door behind him. Umm, excuse me? “Come right on in,” I muttered.

  “Lucas sent me,” he said quietly. Okay, in that case I would tolerate his presence.

  “Does he have a message for me?” I urged in my most hurried voice, whispers of bitchy leaking through – this vamp asshole was chomping on my best friend. I wasn’t a fan of him.

  Blake glared at me, which looked odd on his pretty, cherub face. “I love Tessa, you don’t have to worry about me hurting her.”

  A sound left my voice, somewhere between a snarl and a gag. “You love her? Please, you barely know her.”

  He stepped closer to me, eyes fierce, jaw set. “You’re her best friend, so I know it’s your job to worry about her, and I will take whatever you dish out. But I want her and I will fight for her.”

  Well shit. Maybe I was letting some of my frustration over the whole Ryder thing bleed across to Tessa and Blake. Sure, I was annoyed that she was with a vampire, but that declaration was pretty damn perfect. Even Jayden had tears in his eyes.

  I sighed. “You better look after her, Blake, or I am going to cut your dick off and feed it to you.” He blanched at my threat. I meant every word of it too. “I must be the only one in this hive that’s single. Can a girl get some action?” I told the room.

  Blake, already recovered, was back to wearing his cocky grin. “I’m sure you would be getting action if Ryder hadn’t told every guy in the Hive to stay away from you.”

  My heart jackhammered in my chest. “Wha ... wait, what? He said that? To who? Why? When?”

  I will kill that asshole. He couldn’t just reject me and still make a declaration like that. Who did he think he was? Jayden had walked closer and was hanging on Blake’s every word.

  Blake shrugged. “I’m not sure if it came from Ryder or the Quorum. Apparently they don’t know if you’re fertile.”

  And just like that my dreams went up in flames. I was seriously pathetic, thinking Ryder told every guy to stay away from me so he could have me. Jesus. Jayden squeezed my hand in BFF solidarity.

  I changed the subject. “So … what’s the word from Lucas?”

  Blake ran a hand through his perfect curls. “Lucas said to stay put for now, and that if stuff heats up any more there will be an exit plan in place. He said you would know what that meant.”

  Shit. So if the Quorum wanted to kill me, Lucas would be helping me run away from the Hive. I sighed.

  “Yep. I understand. Thanks.”

  Blake gave me a long glance. “Tessa misses you and she has asked me to get permission from the Quorum to change her into a vampire. I’m considering it.” Then he turned on his heels and left.

  As the door slammed, I was knocked out of my shock. Okay, now I was back to hating him again. Tessa would be turned over my dead body. Seriously, what else could go wrong today?

  Jayden’s comforting arm around my shoulders did very little to ease my pain. He gave me a tight squeeze, and I realized silent laughter was shaking him.

  “Oh my
God, when he said Ryder told all the guys to leave you alone, you should have seen your face. You were like an orphaned puppy that finally found a family.”

  What? I totally had not – okay, I must have looked a bit pathetic. I tried my best to glare at him, but his amused expression was ridiculous. Asshole. Finally I busted out laughing too, until tears ran down my face and my stomach ached. It was a nice stress reliever, that was for sure.

  Seven hours, three games of Scrabble, thirteen magazines, a thousand YouTube videos, and fifty-seven emails to Tessa later, there was a knock at the door. I bolted upright from my position sprawled on the couch, my head darting to the side to meet Jayden’s gaze. Was this the results? Early?

  I pulled myself up, brushing off the crumbs from my many snacks, before crossing the room confidently. When I was a foot from the door, I smelled the familiar spicy scent. Ryder.

  Opening the door, he was alone. My eyes ran over his tan smooth neck and the memory of biting him floated into my mind. I pushed that aside.

  “Hey, come in.” I stepped aside and Ryder entered the apartment. I turned to see Jayden had gone into his room. Sigh. If only there was a reason for him to leave us in private.

  “The Quorum sent me.” He was less relaxed than usual, his posture stiff and his features cold.

  I planted my feet, hands on hips. “If you’re going to give me news from the Quorum, I would rather hear it from a friend, not the military enforcer ash you’re pulling right now.”

  The words slipped out before I could censor them and I regretted them immediately. Why was I all of sudden taking my sexual frustrations out on him?

  Still, something I said worked. His face softened just a little, and concern lined his eyes. His hand shifted at his side, as if he were reaching out for me, but then thought differently, stuffing it back in his pocket. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

  Guys were so dense sometimes. I really wanted to smack him upside the head, or kiss him. Maybe both.

  “Just tell me.” I was the cold one now, pushing off his concern. Ryder and I were never going to sort our shit out. The timing just never seemed right.

  He must have sensed my mood, and decided to just get to the point. “Your blood work showed that you do not have the DNA of an ash or a vampire. That has them in a total scientific mind-freak. But the blood was diluted and mixed, so you look to be about as close as I am to an Original. Nothing to kill over.” He smiled.

  I returned the smile. “Did you just say ‘scientific mind-freak.’ Oh my God, have I ever heard you cuss?”

  Ryder stared at me. “Believe it or not, I’m a gentleman. I don’t like cussing.”

  My mouth dropped open; laughter bubbled up inside of me and I grabbed his arm. “Oh my God, delicious Ryder, token ash, killer and enforcer, doesn’t say ‘fuck?’”

  He looked at my lips briefly before resting on my eyes. “Delicious?”

  I decided hard-to-get was a good play right about now. “Jayden’s words, not mine.”

  Ryder nodded. “I figured. You’re free to leave your apartment and go anywhere within the Hive grounds.”

  He turned to leave. What, just within the grounds? Damn, that meant no more human field trips, no more Tessa.

  “Ryder…” I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back around to face me. His body was inches from mine.

  I was going to take a risk. If one of us didn’t, we would always exist in this in-between place. I felt something between us, and sometimes I thought he did too.

  “Why are you helping me?”

  He was quiet so long I was afraid he wouldn’t answer. His jaw clenched as he seemed to be battling something I couldn’t see. Just when I was going to speak again, he muttered, “Many reasons, Charlie, so many. But for now, let’s just say that it’s my job.”

  Then he turned and strode away from me. Okay, that was it. I had given this guy too many opportunities to stake a claim. Time to move on. I slammed the door harder than I should have for someone at my maturity level. Whatever. I turned to go sulk in my bedroom when he knocked again. Oh yeah, asshole, come say sorry after that? I don’t think so.

  I opened the door. “Screw off!”

  Shit! Lucas was standing there, dressed in his whites. Luckily my verbal attack didn’t faze him.

  “Having a rough day, Charlene?”

  I chuckled. “You could say that.” I waved him inside.

  He entered the apartment, exuding that air of sophistication he always wore. I couldn’t hook up with a vampire, could I? I scanned Lucas and decided no, he gave off too many dad-vibes. But I wouldn’t tell him that, because I was pretty sure the only reason he was helping me was that I reminded him of his late wife.

  “I’m in the clear. Ryder just told me.”

  Lucas nodded. “Yes, I would have been here much earlier if that had not been the case. I have some other news from my own private blood results.”

  Oh. I sat down. Something told me this wouldn’t be good and I wanted my butt firmly planted for any more news today.

  Lucas sat across from me. “I’m not very good with this type of information.”

  “Just tell me.” I was in full freak-out mode now. Was I a new race? Holy gods … was I dying?

  “You can’t have children,” he stated in a sympathetic tone. His eyes were a swirl of emotions and I wondered if he was thinking about his own long lost children right then.

  I blinked a few times. At no point had I expected him to say that. “Okay, well … shit. Is that the big news? I thought I had vampire cancer.”

  A smile replaced his sympathetic frown. “No, I just wanted to tell you that you’re infertile like the male ash and the female vampires, in case that is something you would like to know for future relationships.”

  I was still confused about why they were even checking my fertility? I supposed it was just because I was an unknown ash, and reproducing for our kind was against the law. Lucas gracefully changed the subject. “There’s more. My lab technician also thought she saw some sort of immune response to the virus in your blood. This is not her expertise of course, but still, worth us looking into for the future.”

  I recoiled, confused. “An immune response? What does that even mean?”

  Lucas’s expression was all serious. “Like you were fighting it.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Okay.” I put both hands up. “Enough crazy for today. I have reached my limit. Maybe tomorrow.” I stood and Lucas followed my action. The serious look never left his face. “Charlie, if this gets out…”

  “Lucas.” My voice was clipped. “I literally can’t take one more damned thing. I’m done.”

  I had the strongest urge to hurt him, to unleash this pent up anger I had at the Hive. I was being pushed backed into a corner and I had an instinct that said Fight your way out.

  Lucas nodded understandingly. “You know where to find me,” he said, and left.

  I shut the door and let my head rest against it. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I wanted my mom. I had been doing way too much adulting in the past month. I didn’t ask for this life. I would give it back in a heartbeat. But it appeared I was stuck with these freaks.

  Chapter 8

  Sometimes, when life gets really shitty, your best bet is to live in denial. That’s exactly what I had been doing for the past week. I didn’t even think about my special unicorn blood, I ignored the glances Ryder sent my way, and pushed off Jayden’s comments asking if I was okay. Denial. It was better than reality.

  Sitting at my computer desk in the comms room, I was ready to fall asleep if something didn’t happen soon.

  When the phone rang, I was actually excited to talk to someone, even if it was usually a panicking human thinking their dog had somehow gotten the vamp virus and was about to slaughter their entire family.

  “Hive hotline, this is Charlie.”

  At first all I heard was screaming in the background. Then: “My son – he’s not well. I think … he’s an
ash.”

  I sat bolt upright. I hadn’t had one of these calls yet – a newly turned ash. I looked around and saw that I was alone. Shit! Usually one of the enforcers was lingering around, but today they seemed to be MIA.

  What was I supposed to do? We weren’t taking in any more ash. We were referring them to the Seattle Hive? No, they’d pulled Seattle too, they were full. Was it the one in Denver? Shit.

  There were screams in the background, although they sounded a little closer. “Okay, ma’am, give me your address and I will send someone over.”

  The woman rattled off an address and I scribbled it down.

  “I’m thirsty!” a male voice screamed, and then the phone went dead. Shit!

  I bolted out of the room holding my piece of paper and burst into the enforcer dressing room. Generally one of them was in here.

  Kyle was standing there half naked, looking at me like a deer in headlights. I took a second to admire his ripped chest and arms, not to mention his tousled dirty-blond mane. What? Don’t judge me, I was only human … well, sort of.

  “Where’s Ryder?” I burst out. “I got a call. A newly turned ash just attacked his mom, I think.”

  Kyle swore and pulled on his clothes, lightning quick. He grabbed some weapons from a locker and shoved a gun in my hand.

  “Ryder is gone for the day. The rest of the boys are on the roof track running. The human will be drained dry be the time I get them. Let’s go! You’re coming with me.”

  I didn’t have time to register this breach in protocol. Leave the Hive? Carry a gun? Hells to the yeah. This was what I needed right now, some action and time out of this place. Kyle was on his walkie-talkie as we left the locker room, letting the other sexy six know what was up. They’d be right behind us. Following him, I ran faster than I ever had before and practically flew into the black van’s passenger seat. Kyle moved at ash speed, peeling out of the garage and down the gated side street.

  “The address is only a few miles away, over by the airport!” I yelled, holding on as he took a corner at a super speed. It felt like we went up on two wheels.