by C. M. Owens
“Araya, they abducted you because they knew. No United official gets taken for testing when they could go pick any random hybrid. If they wanted just any gifted hybrid, they would have gone after the entry level ones. They don’t go after someone as guarded as I kept you. I’m so fucking stupid for not seeing it sooner. They’re using Cheyenne as a base. You said it from the beginning it had to be a Cheyenne person who was familiar with the underground tunnels. Someone there used your blood. I just need to know who had access to it,” he insists.
“Hale, there was nobody. I watched them clean it up every time. Shit, half the time they made me clean it up myself. No one took my blood.”
“Then it was someone who did it without you thinking about it. Did you blood fuck anyone from there who might have taken your blood and bottled it up?”
“Hale, I don’t know. I’m a damn hybrid. Did you keep a damn roster?” I snark.
“No, but I know details about everyone I ever shared that intimacy with before you. I know you don’t take that lightly. Tell me if you ever blood fucked anyone with a link to Cheyenne,” he demands.
“The only person I ever blood fucked from Cheyenne was Ty, and he was gone from Cheyenne long before I was there. His damn span is almost up for fuck’s sake because he was so far ahead of my time.”
“Fuck,” he screeches while grabbing his phone.
It barely rings before it’s answered by a tired Clay.
“What is-”
“Clay, I don’t have time to explain. It’s Ty. It’s him. He’s the fucking ringleader, and he’s in our fucking lab right now.”
The siren buzzes immediately to litigate lockdown, and suddenly the heavy steel doors lock into place.
“Hale, he’s a non-aging, ungifted scientist,” I say in rebuttal. “It’s rare to be a non-ager and ungifted, but that’s about the extent of his special talents. He’s scared of his own fucking shadow.”
“I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner,” Clay says, and then I hear silence on the other end as troops run down the hall outside the door.
“Hale,” I exasperate.
“Araya, he and Wendy knew each other. He managed to become your roommate. I’m sure that wasn’t an accident, and I’m sure it wasn’t so he could woo you back. I’m sure he wanted to know your span too when you two were together, and since you refused to find out, he probably took it into his own hands. He got one hell of a surprise when he learned you were immortal, and from there you became his project. Fucking shit,” he blares while punching the wall.
“Hale, I dated him for over eight years before I met you. I think I would know if he was capable of something like this. He’s a creep, not an evil scientist genius.”
“Baby, his span is almost up. That’s why he pushed this project into overdrive, and the closer he gets to the end, the more ruthless he’ll be.”
“Why Symphony? He never even knew her. It doesn’t make any sense why it would be him,” I rebuke.
The ground rattles beneath us as an explosion quakes from below, and it brings me tumbling down to the ground. Hale joins my side as the earth-quaking floors continue their monstrous vibrations, and my ears ring as the sound stirring the vibrations catches up. Hale leaps to his feet as the apartment tries to crack beneath us, and the roaring of an engine sounds out before the wall to the outside is shot through by the same monstrous weapon that just rattled our worlds.
I catch a glimpse of Ty in a hummer flying through the hole as he gasses the beast of a vehicle to escape the clutches of the Seminole and United officers chasing behind him.
“Fuck,” I gasp.
“I told you,” Hale grumbles as he grabs his phone again, but it rings before he can dial anyone.
“Yeah,” he says to the phone.
“Are you and Araya okay?” Clay panics
“We’re fine. Just a little structural damage up here. I don’t guess I have to ask how he got away,” Hale grouses.
“He’s definitely in on this. If he’s the one in charge, we’re in trouble. He’s a ticking time bomb right now. His span could end within a few months. If he’s desperate to obtain immortality, we’ll need better security for Araya.”
“Believe me, I will see to it myself,” he growls before hanging up.
“This is crazy. Why Symphony?” I exasperate.
“Because she was so much like you. She adored you, and she did her best to emulate you every chance she got.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I grouse.
“He was obsessed with you, Araya. More importantly, he was obsessed with your gift. The moment you and I found each other, I could see something inside him snap. The ungifted envy the gifted as it is. We get out of the camps sooner. We get recruited as officers in the United. We’re feared, and we are immediately given more respect than the ungifted ever receive. It causes one hell of a chip on one’s shoulder. If he has fucked with Symphony’s head and gift, it’s possible it’s to provoke your stage three.”
I know. That’s why I can’t let them get me to stage three.
“Stop thinking that shit,” he admonishes.
How the fuck do they keep knowing what I’m thinking?
“Araya, what do you think will happen if you die? Do you think all this will end? Because it won’t. Nothing will change besides the fact you won’t be here when everyone needs you the most. I’ll follow you to the fucking grave if you do this, I swear I will.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I huff.
His lips swarm mine as he engulfs me, and I feel the need in his touch as the kiss spirals into something much more. He grips me at my ass as he hoists me into the air, and my legs clasp around his waist as the couch finds my back. He tugs at the white leather pants, and my small red shirt falls to the floor as he surges into me with a needy force.
“Don’t leave me, baby,” he pleads in prayer.
“I’m not,” I strain out through my guilty tears.
He’s right. If Symphony is stronger, they’ll need me. I’m stuck with a no win situation.
His lips continue to devour mine as his heavenly rhythm quickens to a more exquisite pace which forces my head back. His lips press against my neck, and his body traps mine under him.
“Nothing has ever tasted better than you,” he murmurs as his lips return to my mouth, and I breathe him in as his body continues to own mine.
“Harder,” I exhale, and his pace quickens as his strokes become rougher to fulfill my moaned request.
His pounding force commands my body to squirm as I moan out my pleasure, and his dampened skin slides against mine as he jerks me to him to meet his thrusts. A sexy grunting noise rises from his throat to let me know he’s getting close.
I gasp as he jerks me free from the couch, and suddenly I’m sitting on the table in the dining room as he thrusts in deeper while ripping me to him. My head pops back as one of his hands curls around my neck, and his other grabs my ass to keep pulling me to his glorious force.
I grip the back of his neck as I rise up, and our eyes lock as his bottom lip moves between his teeth. My lips won’t close as my gasping moans rattle on, and then I scream as the climax I’ve been seeking finds me to shake me to the core.
He thrusts in again, and his warmth fills me as his raspy breaths shake beside my ear. He holds me as if he’s not going to let me go, and then his lips gingerly stroke mine as he picks me back up to carry me to the couch. He collapses to it while pulling me into his lap, and I curl into him just as the sun starts to set.
I feel so complete in his arms, and now that the cloud of uncertainty is gone, I can just relish him.
“I love you,” he murmurs while kissing my forehead.
“I love you too.”
“We need to get dressed. We need to see if we can track Ty. I’m sure they’ve sent out aerial drones by now to find him.”
“I feel too good right now to go to work. I just want to stay here with you,” I hum out.
He smirks
as he kisses me again, and then he pulls me closer to him.
“I’m so glad to have you back, baby.”
“I’m glad to be back,” I giggle out while his lips close over mine, and then I pout when he scoops me up to shuffle me to the bedroom.
I huff as I pick up more of the revealing garments I still haven’t replaced, and he lets a devious smirk free as I slip into the short, leather-of course- shorts. I slide on the revealing shirt that hangs far off my shoulder, and its lacy pattern offers a see-through promise if you look hard enough.
A pounding on the door erupts as Grayson barrels in without warning, and his tear-streaked face mingles with blood pouring from him.
“What the fuck?” Hale gushes as he rushes over to him.
“Angelica. That mother fucker has Angelica,” he says before collapsing unconsciously to the floor.
“Shit,” Hale screeches, and he quickly picks up his phone as my heart tries to pound from my chest.
“Blood. Get blood and meet us in the yard,” he yells into the phone, and then he throws his phone into his pocket before the person on the other line ever has a chance to say anything.
He grabs Grayson to throw him over his shoulder, and I run behind him as he blurs through the hallways. Brazen is riddled with anxiety as we reach the hummers outside, and he jerks the door open as Hale throws Grayson in the backseat.
“What the fuck?” Brazen gushes in almost exactly the same tone Hale used when Grayson burst in.
“Ty has Angelica. Feed him blood, I’ll drive,” Hale answers quickly as we jump into the vehicle.
“He has her? How?”
“I don’t know,” he says as the engine screams out its pain from the gas pedal being abused.
Hale grabs his phone to his ear after quickly dialing a number, and we skid out of the compound as we follow the dust clouds still lingering behind.
“We’re closing in and looking for our shot,” Clay says as soon as he answers.
“Don’t shoot. He has Angelica,” Hale asserts.
“Shit. Where’s Grayson?”
“He’s with us. Stay on him, we’ll catch up. We have to get her out of there alive.”
“Stand down. The suspect has a United officer. Follow; do not engage,” Clay says over the radio. “I hope that engine is fast enough to catch up. If she goes savage, we’re all fucked without Grayson. Her developed gifts have classed her as a level seven.”
“Brazen is feeding him blood now. He got hit bad. How did he get her without us knowing?”
“How has he done any of this without our knowledge?” Clay groans.
Hale hangs up, and I turn to see Grayson coughing as his consciousness returns.
“Where is she?” he gasps as he coughs again, and blood still runs from the wounds that haven’t healed.
“Drink this. We’re chasing after him now. Clay has him in sight,” Brazen gingerly offers while ripping open another bag and proffering it to him.
“I’ll fucking kill him,” he growls.
“We didn’t have time to pack olophine, so guns only,” Hale cautions.
“She can bring me down. I’m not holding back on that son of a bitch,” Grayson spews.
“She won’t be able to if she’s savage herself. Was she conscious?”
“No,” he whimpers. “He just fucking blew the damn doors open the second the sirens sounded. Angelica was hit hard. I barely even got a glimpse of him. Nicholas was in Hale’s office so he could speak privately with the Hershian about his return. It was just us, and we were about to watch a damn old movie. I remember flying backwards, and then there was just blackness. When I woke up, the entire apartment was in shambles, and then I heard an explosion. I blacked out again before finally waking up long enough to make it to your apartment. She could die if she doesn’t get blood,” he whines.
“She’s an emotionally attached savage holder like I am,” I murmur in a warning tone to Hale and Brazen.
“What does that mean?” Grayson cries.
“It means… she’ll fuck his world up very soon, and it’s going to be one hellacious awakening. The first savage is always fierce. He’s such a dumbass. She’ll level him, and you’ll have to work hard to bring her down after she does. Her savage will kick in when it fears death is too close.”
I see a halted attack ahead as gunshots ring out, and suddenly our vehicle is getting hammered by a hailstorm of them.
“Fuck,” Hale releases. “He must have called for reinforcements.”
He skids to a halt as the bullets rain down, and he hands everyone a vest before jumping out to find Clay.
“Grayson, stay by me. Guns only, no incineration,” I instruct.
“I’m going to climb that hillside and see if I can get a good angle on their big guns. I’ll call you if I see her,” Brazen murmurs before disappearing into the fight.
“You can save her. Tell me you can save her. Can’t you just raise all their bullets and launch them back at them.”
“I could if I was savage. Like this, there’s too many to even attempt that. There’s always a big boom if I exert too much energy while sober, and everyone would die, not just them” I explain as he follows in behind me.
“Go savage then. Hale can bring you down.”
“I can’t. I’ll kill all the full bloods without blinking. It’s too dangerous, Grayson. We’ll get her out of here, I promise.”
“Please find her, Araya. I won’t live if anything happens to her.”
Tears drip from the eyes of the broken boy, and I slide him in behind a bunker as my eyes scour the landscape. I can see Angelica’s body limply lying on the ground, but Ty is nowhere to be found. The guns he called in are big enough to snuff out our smaller arsenal. We’re supposed to have the better weapons.
Hale fires rapidly into the crowd, and I start firing as well until I see Angelica stirring. She stands to her feet, and the bullets rattle off her to shatter into pieces. Suddenly trucks, hummers, cars, boulders, and men lift into the air before shredding into.
Oh fuck.
“Grayson! Go now! She’ll kill everyone if you don’t stop her,” I scream, and he dives over the bunker to start charging toward her.
The dust is too thick to see through when her tantrum gets worse, and I can’t feel anything different. I’m almost terrified Grayson isn’t going to be able to bring her down from her first savage, and then I see Hale firing into a new group of attackers just before the suspended objects in the air slam to the ground.
Oh thank goodness. He’s got her.
I take off running toward the new attackers while firing into the masses, and suddenly there are new guns firing electrical bursts toward us. I feel the slice before I see the burst of electrical energy, and I scream out as one lashes through the missing invincibility on my body. I feel the burning slithers as it zaps through me, and then I feel a cool body pressing against mine as it shields me from the attack.
“I’ve got her. Get them,” Brazen screams to Hale as he absorbs the shocks that don’t affect his body.
“I can’t do much with out some fucking meds,” Hale blares as he dives through the massacre to pull Brazen off me.
“I can still fight, just take out those damn electric guns,” I growl.
Hale fires into the cannons hoisted over the shoulders as we weave and dodge their attacks. They’ve got fucking tanks rolling in, and we’re in hummers. What the fuck!
“There’s too damn many. We have to fall back,” Brazen screams out as he fires rapidly into a pin-size area of one of the tanks.
The machine goes awry as if he managed to shoot the man on the inside, and Hale scoops me up to save me from the electrical currents surging toward me. The burning strikes me against my side, and it draws blood this time as it rips through me.
“Damn it. They fucking know too much about her,” Brazen growls as he fires more.
Hale shields me from the new hailing shards of energy, and then there’s more coming before we can even free ou
rselves from the next ambush. Before we know it, we’re surrounded.
“Fuck,” Hale screeches.
“I’ll hold them back. Just get everyone out of here. We can fight them better from Seminole,” I say demandingly.
“Araya, you can’t. If you start trying to mess with this many sober, you’ll fucking blow everyone to hell,” Hale gripes. “I’ll do it. Just bring me down.”
“Hale, there’s no olophine,” I rebut.
His eyes soften as we kneel behind one of the armored vehicles for cover, and his lips graze mine before he pulls up to kiss my forehead.
“All I need is you. Just don’t let me hurt anyone I don’t want to hurt.”
He takes off before I can argue further, and Brazen tugs at my hand as Hale steps out to cast his first explosion. Screams erupt behind us as we start pushing everyone back, and I throw my hands up to sling the front line of our men out of the path of a missile diving in for murder.
Brazen dives through a hummer and emerges to throw me a mask while pulling one on for himself. I can see Angelica and following Grayson away from the fight, and I sigh out in relief to know her savage is hypnotized by his presence. I pray he gets her far enough away, and then I feel a bullet graze my side to remind me I used my second gift to render my invincibility unusable now.
“Damn it, Araya,” Brazen scolds as he inspects my wound. “You shouldn’t have used your gift. You didn’t put on a fucking vest.”
“Worry about everyone else. I have to help Hale,” I blare, and then my eyes fall to a body lying too still on the ground.
Clay!
I slide on the ground and roll until I reach him in the small dip between the armored vehicles.
“Blood. Give me blood,” I scream to Brazen, and he launches several packs down to me.
“Damn it, Clay Jude. Wake up,” I cry out as I pour the blood into his mouth.
He gasps for air as his face starts to heal, and I look upon the tragic state of his body. The blood pours from his veins with merciless intent as it beads into the dry sand. The metallic taste of spilled blood from everyone rattles around in the air, and prayer is almost false hope for so many.