by C. M. Owens
“I will,” I say with a smirk, and then I climb up to walk over to the closet.
I slide on some underwear, and then I deliberately bend over right in front of him while picking out the shoes I don’t need just yet.
“You’re fucking hilarious,” he growls, and I laugh all the harder.
“Well, I didn’t get finished, so I’m still a little turned on,” I say to mock his already agitated nature.
He grabs me at the waist, and I feel the wet bed beneath me in that instant.
“They can fucking wait,” he murmurs against my lips, and his incredible erection is released once again.
I gasp as he surges into me, and then another knock at the door forces a painful separation.
“Fucking shit,” he growls, and this time I don’t find it so humorous.
“Come on you two,” Clay yells through the front door. “This is very important. It’s about the man we presumed a human,” he says with worry, and then the door starts to open.
Hale jerks his pants back up, and I swish over to the closet to find something to wear while Hale joins Clay in the living area.
“I’m going on ahead,” Hale says softly.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I mumble, and I hear him sigh as he and Clay disappear.
I comb through my hair, barely making an effort to style it before I rush down to join them. I make my way down a long, sterile corridor, and I have to enter in my access code through every doorway. The security is so much tighter here than before, and it’s starting to worry me.
Hale and Clay are leaning beside the dissected body of the man I interrogated, and their faces are stark white. I move in to listen rather than ask what the hell is going on.
“The test results will be more conclusive in a couple of days, but I’m fairly positive you want to get to work sooner rather than later,” Dr. Elton states. “This transformation is incomplete - meaning, this was a prototype. The man looked, smelled, and presented himself as human. The question is… why?”
“Better yet, why wait until the moment he did? He could have snapped those standard cuffs in half at any time, so why make a move so late in the interrogation? He barely put up a struggle at all when my men brought him in,” Hale thinks aloud.
“Do you think this has something to do with Araya?” Clay asks softly, and now it’s apparent they don’t realize I’m in the room.
“This evolvement here is a passage for the virus, but it’s connected to a nerve that stems straight to the brain. It’s true they can infect, and they can decide who to infect,” Dr. Elton adds while pointing to an exposed tube in the man’s severed throat.
“Fuck,” Hale sighs out, and then he looks to Clay.
“This has to stay confidential. Only the heads of the United should know, and we have to call Brazen as well,” Clay says to Hale, and now I’m feeling rather out of sorts.
Fuck. I’m not a head in the United, and I just heard this shit.
I start to creep out, and I feel the eyes burning against me when the tile squeaks under my sliding shoe.
“Araya,” Clay murmurs disappointedly.
“It’s my fault. I asked her to come down before I knew of this,” Hale interjects in my defense.
“It’s fine,” Clay sighs out. “She is one person outside the heads I trust, but I’d prefer it if no one else knows that she knows.”
I nod rapidly to answer his silent request, and Hale motions for me to join him as he pulls out his phone. He waits impatiently on the line, but he doesn’t hear anything.
“There’s a type of sand on his shoes that can only be found in the old deserts of Salan. The grass there dried up centuries ago before turning to dust, but it still leaves a fingerprint. You’ll probably want to suggest they start looking there due to the amount I found,” Dr. Elton instructs, and Hale offers a nod.
“No answer,” he grumbles.
“I think it’s fairly obvious why he wouldn’t answer,” Clay murmurs, his eyes pointing to me, and he begins dialing.
“Not answering you either?” Hale snarks when Clay doesn’t have any better luck, and then he dials another number.
“General Hampton,” a gruff voice answers.
“General Hampton, this is Commander Jude. I’m trying to reach Captain Mordel and the others, but I’ve been unsuccessful.”
“Sorry Commander, but he has been instructed to go on silent stalk in case prying ears. He most likely doesn’t even have his phone turned on right now, along with the rest of the unit.”
Clay hangs up the phone shaking his head.
“We need to get them to Salan. Araya, would you try?” he asks hopefully, and Hale’s jaw tenses at the mentioning of it.
I sigh as I stare at the expectant face of Clay and the dreaded look of distaste bore on Hale’s face.
“First of all, you heard the general. He probably doesn’t have it turned on,” I grouse. “Secondly, he’s not going to break orders just to answer me,” I grumble.
Considering we were still together when he kept his location and mission for two months a secret due to orders.
“His phone isn’t off, and I think it’s more than likely because he’s hoping you’ll call,” Clay murmurs without any regard to the awkward situation he’s provoking. “Just try, that’s an order,” he says with seriousness.
“Fine,” I huff, and I pull out my new phone to take a chance.
I don’t know if I want him to answer or not. He needs to go to Salan, but we don’t know enough about what we’re facing. Such blindness could lead to him getting hurt. I also don’t want him to answer, because if he does, then Hale is going to really be pissed.
The phone rings until it hits voicemail, and his sweet voice on the other line is almost unbearable. I almost sigh in relief when I end the call, and Clay tightens his lips while leaning over the science project that used to be a man.
“Damn it. I really thought he would answer for you,” Clay grumbles, and I can see relief on Hale’s face.
My phone starts buzzing in my hand, and they both look at me as I stare at the screen. I cringe when I see the name I wasn’t expecting, and I answer while turning my back on the different gazes they’re giving me.
“Hey,” I breathe out casually, and I hear a sigh of relief on the other end.
“Fuck, Araya. I was worried something happened. Are you okay?” Brazen asks sincerely.
“I’m fine, but we’ve made a discovery you need to hear about,” I answer, and I hear his disappointment through his tone.
“Oh. What is it?”
“I’ll let Clay tell you,” I mumble, and Clay takes the phone out of my hand on cue.
He moves to the far corner, and Hale pulls me into his arms while his lips caress mine.
“When are you going to tell him?” he whispers.
“I don’t know. It’s going to be hard for him to hear, and I sure as hell don’t want to tell him right now. He could be in real danger if he’s distracted. He could be in danger even if he isn’t.”
“He’ll be fine. This is reconnaissance, not a battle proclamation. He’s just going to observe if there is anything worth checking out, and study it if there is,” he soothes.
Clay walks back over to hand the phone to me again, and I look up at him with puzzled emotion on my face.
“He wants to speak to you before he hangs up,” Clay says to answer the question only asked by my expression.
I take the phone, and then I move away as I murmur gently into it, “Hey again.”
“I just needed to hear your voice before I hung up. I miss you,” he utters, and tears of betrayal sting my eyes.
“I’m sorry I had to call, and I’m sorry you worried. Please be careful, and please stay focused. Don’t make me come save your ass again,” I half joke, and I hear him chuckle lightly on the other side.
“I would welcome another blood transfer from your mouth to be mine, so injury doesn’t seem so bleak right now with that thought,” he sizzles
out.
I can tell by Hale’s flinching that I’m not out of range, and Brazen isn’t whispering like I am.
“Just be careful, please,” I murmur into the phone.
“Does that mean you still care about me?” he asks so pitifully.
“Of course I still care. Just because I left doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt.”
“I’m hurting pretty badly, baby. I miss you so fucking much, and I just want the chance to make it up to you. I promise that’s not the way I feel, and I regret ever getting drunk enough to say such a blasphemous thing. Will you please just sit down and talk to me when I get back?” he almost begs.
I look back to Hale, and his jaw is terribly clenched as he pretends to listen to Clay running theories.
“Just get back safely, and we’ll discuss the rest later,” I say with a noncommittal answer, and he sighs over the phone.
“I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, Araya,” he mutters, and I almost feel a tear trying to tug against my eye.
“Be careful,” I say back, and then I put the phone away before returning to a frenzied Clay and a worried Hale.
“As soon as the results get back, we can start testing blood types against this mutated virus along with everything else,” Clay rambles to finish the conversation I had tuned out while on the phone.
“Sounds good,” Hale says to acknowledge Clay, but his eyes burn into mine for reassurance that I haven’t changed my mind.
“I love you,” I whisper when I reach his tense body, and my arms wrap around his waist as I push my head into his chest.
I feel him relaxing, and he quickly returns the embrace while kissing the top of my head.
“I love you,” he coos, and then he starts leading me out of the cold room full of death.
“Hale, what time do you want to leave tomorrow?” Clay asks, and my mouth goes dry when I hear it.
“We can leave around ten or so,” he murmurs vaguely, and his eyes begin gauging my reaction.
“You’re leaving?” I pout out.
“We’re going to meet Brazen in Salan, and we’re taking you with us,” he says before kissing me almost too hard.
“Oh,” I shiver out.
“You don’t have to tell him yet,” he sighs out.
“That’s not the problem. I’m just curious as to when I suddenly got approved for field detail again,” I murmur curiously.
“When we realized how fucked up everything is getting now that they’ve mutated the virus to start creating a whole new species. I told Clay I wanted you by my side during all of this, and he said he thought it was a good idea in case we needed you. Are you worried about being with me in front of Brazen?” he muses.
“You saw how crazy he got that night. I just don’t want it happening while everyone needs to stay focused,” I huff out.
“We’ll keep a low profile while out in the field to spare him the truth for a while,” he grumbles out, deliberately avoiding eye contact with me.
“I do love you, Hale, but I spent two years with him. I left him the first time he ever did anything wrong. I think I owe it to him to show some mercy so soon after our breakup.”
“I understand. I just want to know that it’s the only reason you don’t want to tell him,” he says with hesitance, and I step in front of him to pull his face down to mine.
“It is. I love you. Please just let me ease him into the transition.”
“I’ll do whatever you need me to as long as you’re not going back to him. If that happens, I’ll fuck his world up,” he almost growls, and I smirk as I pull him down to my lips.
“I’m yours,” murmur into his mouth, and I feel the wall behind me as my arms get pinned above my head by his strong hands.
“Good,” he breathes, “because I’m not giving you up ever again.”
I feel his erection that has either returned or never went away.
“You want to finish what we started?” I seduce.
He smirks a little, and releases my hands from their hold to douse my fire in ice cold water.
“Not yet,” he says with a mischievous grin.
“Really?” I huff.
He laughs lightly and pulls my hand in his while leading me out the doors to the outside. We make our way through a small playground, and tears fill up in my eyes when I realize where we are.
“Do you like it?” he asks so sweetly.
“You really did build a playground,” I murmur as my hand slides across a see-saw.
“I did. There’s a skating park on the back half, and there’s a swimming pool inside. There are tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts… you name it. They’ll start growing up like normal kids instead of trained weapons without any reprieve from the real world. This will be a good outlet, and they’ll only be required to do the same amount of preparation as the others.”
Tears fill up in my eyes, and we walk into the school that holds children’s artwork and handprints for decoration. The lockers are a cold steel, but they are painted a vibrant red on the top and a boldly daring blue on the bottom. The rooms aren’t callous and unforgiving, they’re warm and inviting.
“We had all the hybrid children paint pictures, and then we had them come through and put their handprints on the wall. They got to pick their color of choice, and they spent the whole day decorating the school where they’ll be living. The dorms are upstairs,” he murmurs into my ear.
“Upstairs? Not the basement?” I gasp.
“They get a full view of the sun every time it’s in full glow, and they can see the tinted sky any time they want as well. No more basements,” he says while leaning up against a desk in a classroom.
My eyes take in the building that looks so much different than the one I was raised in. The softer lights feel more like a home than a prison, and the walls feel more peaceful, rather than suffocating.
“This is so unbelievable,” I gush, and then my lips rush his as my body presses firmly against his.
I can feel his smile behind the kiss, and he grips my hips to put me on the desktop.
“I did this for you,” he breathes into my mouth. “I’ve always wanted to do this for you. This was your dream, and I’ve been trying to make it happen for years. It’s why I took this position,” he confesses, and my lips just attack his all the more fervently.
His hand slides my skirt up around my hips, and he very gingerly removes my underwear while tucking it into his pocket. I giggle lightly while more tears drip down my face.
“No evidence this time?” I snicker out, and he smirks while wiping away my tears.
“I don’t need everyone knowing how incredibly sexy my woman dresses under her clothes,” he breathes in a possessive and sexy-as-Hale tone.
He jerks me to his hips, and I feel his pants lowering enough to expose his erection that has been dying to return inside me. His lips prove their love against mine, and his tongue dares to seduce my already seduced body as it tangles with mine.
He gently slides into me, and it’s so surreal, passionate and completely different than his usual violent entrance. His hot breath collides with mine, and then he stares into my eyes as he continues the more ginger rhythm. He undoes the buttons on my shirt while gently pumping in and out of me, and my black, see-through bra becomes exposed.
“What the fuck?” he smolders out as his eyes stare at the lacy artwork on my chest.
I smirk devilishly, and then his rhythm picks up when he becomes too turned on to hold it steady. His needy hands grip my breast firmly, and then they trail down to be on my ass as he jerks me into his powerful thrusts.
My nails cling to his neck, and my head drops back so that I can fully revel in his incredible skills. His lips stroll over my chest as he begins pounding harder, and the feeling in the pit of my stomach grows before begging to explode from my body. I moan slightly as my throat catches.
“That’s it baby,” he strains out through gritted teeth, and my moans deepen when he surges into that much harder.
“Hale,” I cry out, and I feel myself exploding around him as his warmth fills inside me.
“Fuck,” he says with a slight edge of disappointment.
“What?” I pant out.
“Apparently I’m going to have to blood fuck you again to even up the score, considering I can’t hold my own with you while I’m sober,” he says with menacing humor.
I snicker out a breathless laugh, and he pulls me into a softer kiss. I slide my skirt back down, and then I very slowly start buttoning my shirt up while he reassembles his wardrobe as well.
“Thank you,” I murmur, and he smirks while fastening his belt.
“You thanking me for sex these days?” he teases.
I blush lightly, and then I walk over to wrap my arms around his waist.
“Not sex. The school. Thank you,” I murmur through the emotional gust I hadn’t expected to resurface.
He smiles much sweeter, and his soft lips press against my forehead.
“You’re welcome, baby, but you don’t have to thank me. I love you, and I wanted to do something to prove it. I should have done much more long ago.”
He takes my hand in his, and then we head out to the courtyard. Everyone is in the process of training the teenagers, and we sit down to observe. I take notice that the teachers are hybrids - not the full blood merciless whip masters that trained us.
“Hybrids?” I muse. “I thought the United didn’t allow our kind to teach other hybrids due to too much empathizing.”
“It’s not a law, Araya. It’s just a request made by the full bloods, but I don’t always do what I can to please the others in case you haven’t noticed. This place has thrived since I took over, so they don’t say too much about what I do or don’t do. Until I took office, they barely kept a sufficient blood stock, they rarely maintained the weapons, and they didn’t have any organization. I changed everything, and then I changed even more,” he proudly boasts, and I smile at the little twinkle he exhibits.
“I think it’s great.”
My eyes don’t leave the young students far less intimidated than I was while the full bloods looked down on me with bitter disgust. They’re actually learning combat with a smile on their face. My face never bore any animation. If I hadn’t left it expressionless, it would have only showed my true pain.