by Mandy Rosko
No way.
Jessica sighed. She sat in the corner of her cell, hiding beneath the two way mirror that let any number of people watch her at any given time. There was a camera in the room, but the two way mirror was worse somehow, and she wasn’t even sure why.
The steel frame bed, which was bolted to the stone floor, didn't interest her much. Not only was the mattress laughably thin and barely worth sleeping on, she'd killed a man on it a couple of days ago.
She eyed the thing, like it was some evil force that wanted to grab her when she wasn't looking. It hadn't been her fault. Another angry paranormal got shoved into her cell with her. He'd recognized her. Jessica recognized him.
Not only was he a paranormal, but he was one of the men that Jessica had captured, stuck in a box, and brought in herself.
To be fair, the guy had been a criminal. Even in the regular sense of the word. Using his power to break into people's homes, terrorizing them, and then stealing from them before leaving.
The paranormals who had criminal records that involved more than just existing were always worth more for a hunter to bring in. The bounty on that guy had been particularly big, even though he'd never actually killed anyone. He was just a thief who liked to threaten and scare.
Which was why it saddened her when she had to kill him.
He'd seen her, rushed at her, and got a good hard punch to her stomach before grabbing her hair. Her clothes were ripped from where he'd yanked on them in his frantic attempt to scratch at her.
The guy was normally a werewolf. Not the kind who only changed on the full moon, but who could shift any time he wanted. He couldn't change his body then, thanks to the spelled shackles on his wrists and ankles, but that didn't stop him from clawing at her, from trying to bite her and maul her.
So, she'd killed him. Jessica had sucked up all the moisture in the air, and even a lot from her own body, and like the man with his two hands, she'd encased this one in a block of ice.
The problem was that she'd stuck his entire body in that ice, ice that was so thick and heavy that, even though his eyes were still frantic inside of that uneven mound of ice, when Jessica had called for help and tried to get him out of it, she'd accidentally pushed the man's body off of the bed.
Again, flimsy mattress, held up by only a few bits of wire. It wasn't her fault. She knew that.
The crack of the ice wasn't anything overly dramatic. The man's body didn't shatter. He wasn't that frozen, and the ice wasn't that thick around him.
But apparently, but spine did snap under the pressure. She only found that out when one of the Handlers came in the next day, after she was properly drugged and shackled.
He'd told her about it, but he didn't give her too many other details. If he had, then Jessica couldn't really remember them.
She probably only got that small amount of information because a lot of the people who worked in this building knew her. Jessica was usually calm and reserved, but she smiled at the woman at the reception desk, had conversations with the Hunters and Handlers who came and went. Even her brother was known to be the donut guy since he often brought over a box and flirted with anything that had two eyes and two legs.
Now she didn’t know where he was, and though she tried to keep herself from doing it, she couldn’t help but start to feel sorry for herself for being in this position.
Which was fine. It was a normal emotion to be feeling, but she was glad when it left, left and replaced itself with anger, and all the little plans that fantasized in her head of doing to the people who had once tried to be friends with her. Jessica had turned her back on her own kind, brought them in and left them here to be locked up or studied, all in the hopes of hiding for just another day, of living a somewhat normal life.
The second she got the chance, she was going to make the lot of them pay. She put her hand over each and every one of their hearts and send a blast of cold so deep into them it would make their lungs stop. She’d do it for herself, the people she’d been forced to kill while they tried to figure out how powerful her ice really was, and for all the innocent paranormals she couldn’t save, couldn’t hide, and couldn’t speak up for.
The light above the only door that led into her room flashed green, letting her know that someone was about to come in. She sighed and pushed herself to her feet, keeping her hands relaxed and at either side of her body. If she put them behind her, it gave off the impression that she was trying to hide something, and that never worked out well in her favor.
The door opened, and Charles Mallary walked in, a tall blond man with a widows peak which just made his receding hairline look that much worse. He had a clipboard in his hands, and he looked down at it as if this was just another day in paradise, not even caring that Jessica didn’t have on her shackles.
Soren Birgir followed behind him. A man who was taller than Mallary by a good five inches, had better, thicker hair, but the he was thin. Definitely thinner than the last time Jessica had seen him. There were blueish looking bags under his eyes, suggesting he hadn’t been sleeping much. Eating much either, apparently, if the way the white coat hung off him was anything to go by. His stubble was also a tiny bit longer than it had been yesterday, which meant he hadn’t shaved either.
He’d spent another night sleeping at his desk. Didn’t he ever go home?
A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face, and Jessica blinked and looked to the side. Charles wasn’t exactly glaring at her, but he didn’t look happy, either, even as he finished slumping the iron shackles onto her wrists.
With the round spectacles, he looked like a grown up Draco Malfoy who’d stolen Harry Potter’s glasses.
“I asked you if you were ready?”
Jessica waited. When no explanation came, she struggled to hold her patience. “Ready for what?”
Soren answered for her. “Your solitary confinement if over, for now. It’s been decided that you will be safe enough to spend time with the other test subjects.”
About Mandy Rosko
USA Today Bestselling and Award Winning Author Mandy Rosko lives as a hermit with her scared of everything dog, and she works in Ottawa, Ontario. Every once in a while she peels herself away from writing and Internet surfing to socialize with real people. She loves videogames, Sailor Moon, Hatsune Miku, and her dog.
Other Paranormal Romances by Mandy Rosko that you might enjoy:
Things in the Night Series:
The Vampire's Curse Book 1
The Legend of the Werewolf Book 2
The Dragon and the Wolf M/M Novella
The Shepard's Agony Book 3
Dangerous Creatures Series:
Burns Like Fire Book 1
A Shock To Your System Book 2 M/M
As Cold As Ice Book 3
Gonna Make You Howl A Novella Available Now!
Let Me Play a Trick on You A Novella Coming Soon!
Others:
The Princess' Dragon Lord
The Lady And The Dragon’s Holiday
Sold To The Enemy
My Angel Lover, Have Mercy on Me M/M
Mate of the Wolf
Bite Me (A Woodland Creek Novella)
Night and Day Series:
Night and Day Book M/M Book 1
The Calm Before the Storm M/M Book 2
All Hell Breaking Loose M/M Book 3
Book 4 Coming Soon!
Medieval Romances by Rizzo Rosko:
Lady Thief Book 1
Lady Deception Book 2
For a free ebook, The Vampire's Curse, release dates of my latest books and cool sales, sign up for my Newsletter at Mandyrosko.com
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen