Lifted Curse

by Owens, C. M.

  “Clay’s right though,” I continue. “The full bloods there might be in jeopardy after pissing me off on my wedding day. I know a place I’d rather go. They’ll be more accepting of my purple eyes, dilated pupils, and our new breed of hybrid that needs to be brought down from her blood high. She’s your counter, Clay,” I murmur while climbing into the backseat.

  His eyes widen, sadden, and dare to show a flicker of hope in the depths of them.

  “How do you know that?” Clay almost whispers, the emotionally bomb barely not exploding as Brazen climbs into the driver’s seat.

  Hale’s arms wrap around me as his lips slide over my neck. I smile as I taste his need for me, and my savage self wants to ravage him here and now. I exercise my control though, which continues to astonish everyone… including me.

  “Because he said so. Ty let it slip. He has injected her with a serum containing his own blood that forces her to be enslaved to him. You can save her, free her, and give her the chance for some revenge… as well as real love.”

  Tears drip from his eyes as he holds her in his lap. Her body is dead weight as her eyes remained closed. He doesn’t do anything but kiss her forehead while stroking her back.

  “Don’t heal her until we get there. She’s one crazy bitch right now. She’s been trying to fight Ty’s hold on her along with the new virus. I know you can separate both from her blood. She has the ability to block other’s gifts. She can also face shift, use telekinesis, and who knows what the fuck else. He has found a way to unlock the portion of the brain that allows for gifts.”

  “Fuck,” Brazen growls.

  “How did you find me?” I ask curiously.

  “She’s freaking me out right now with her calm demeanor,” Clay sighs out, his eyes turning to check mine once again - his uncertainty and confusion beaming free.

  “Me too,” Hale almost whispers while looking into my dilated eyes. “It doesn’t seem right.”

  I smile as my lips fold over his, and I straddle him in the backseat while facing his worried eyes.

  “I’m fighting very hard to stay calm, but I’m doing it. Gabe can harbor us until we have a plan of action.”

  Brazen drives like Hale as we disappear from my latest torture hosting place.

  “I love you,” Hale breathes while collecting a piece of my shredded dress in his hand.

  “I love you,” I murmur softly while touching his tired face. “You found me.”

  “It was easy when you went savage. You guided me to you,” he murmurs softly.

  “We’ve been in the wetlands for days searching for you. Grayson and Angelica took the north, we took the south.”

  “I need to tell them where we’re going,” Clay inserts.

  My lips continue to stroke my hybrid’s, and he grips me tighter to his waist to feel his erection as Brazen drives us toward refuge.

  “How did you know I didn’t leave you?” I muse.

  “It was pretty easy to tell she wasn’t you. My girl doesn’t have new hybrid blues. Plus, she didn’t have your walk. I knew the moment I saw the security footage it wasn’t you, I just didn’t know what was going on. Then we found Greta shoved into a closet, bound, gagged, and left for dead.”

  “I’m sorry, Brazen,” I utter sincerely, and his eyes flash up to the mirror meet mine with pure shock etched in his pale blues.

  “She’s sorry about my mother? Are you sure she’s savage?” he says with complete bemusement.

  Hale lets a snicker free, and then his lips find mine again.

  “We got her some blood, and she’s fine now. She told me she confronted you with the blood truth. I swear I never told her, Araya,” Brazen murmurs worriedly.

  “I know. She just thanked me for letting you breathe in the sun’s warmth. Apparently Leon blurted out a drunken theory at a bar. He never used my name or the details, but she pieced it together. I promised her the same cure. They’ll all have it.”

  “This is surreal,” Hale murmurs while touching my cheeks. “She’s my Araya even though her savage strength is in play.”

  “I don’t know how long I can maintain it. It’s hard and it’s exhausting, especially while like this,” I murmur while lowering his hand to my stomach to remind him of our child. “I haven’t eaten in days, and I’m so thirsty. Let’s get to the hybrid colony, and once Clay has a chance to release her from her enslaved state, I can come down. You can bring me down,” I murmur softly.

  “Baby, we can find you something to eat and drink first,” he utters so guiltily.

  “No. First we go to Gabe’s. The longer I’m like this, the weaker I feel. If I lose control, bring me down immediately,” I softly demand, and his lips consume mine.

  “Did he take your blood? Does he know you’re pregnant? Is that why he took you?” Brazen rattles out as if he’s been afraid to speak to me too much.

  I lean back from the tortured eyes of my love to face the pale eyes drenched in guilt and dread of his own.

  “He did take my blood, but he never studied it. He was trying to get it to blend together with the same enslaving serum he used on Symphony. His plan was to make me his second bride. He’s crazy. He’s absolutely mad,” I explain. “He has his army ready too. I don’t know where they are, but he’s got them stashed away somewhere. That was just his personal safe house to stash me in.”

  “He was going to do that to you?” Hale blares while pointing to Symphony.

  I see tears edging to his lids, and my lips gently strike his to ease the pain in his touch.

  “It wouldn’t have worked. My blood heals… it even heals me. I would have eventually snapped out of it.”

  “So many years I spent thinking she was dead, but instead she was enslaved. I should have known. I should have felt her savage if we’re counters,” Clay whimpers while holding his love to his chest.

  “Whatever he did to her forced her to believe he was her counter. Her savage called to him instead of her true counter. That’s why she wasn’t strong enough to hold my savage down. I know the truth, I’ve felt the real connection… she hasn’t.”

  Brazen’s eyes check mine again, and he still seems confused by my actions toward him despite my savage state. He also looks relieved. I can tell his scandalous mind is hoping our future has an even better chance with me being able to tolerate him like this.

  I shake free from his gaze, and my eyes return to the man who makes my blood boil in the most erotic of ways, especially when I’m like this. My lips engulf his as the tantalizing surges strike inside me.

  He grips me tighter to him, and I feel his erection slipping free from its harness as his pants lower from my gift. My dress covers us both, and he presses the button to shut the darkly tinted dividing window between the front and back as he sinks into me.

  I keep my moans silenced as he slides in deeper until my base meets his. My head pops back as his slow motion rocks me back and forth. It feels so incredible right now. My half savage, half sober state is intoxicated by his very touch. I’ve needed to feel his touch so badly.

  My needy grip clings all the tighter as his lips press against my chest while I slowly ride his firm piece of heaven. He grips my ass in one hand while pushing against my back with the other to keep me firmly planted against his perfect body.

  A slight crackle squeezes free from my throat as my hips rise and lower against his, and the wet affair going on beneath the dress only quickens as my lips fall over his with more need.

  His breaths grow greedy, ragged, and desperate as he clings to me tighter. I feel the days of terror seeping through his skin. His eyes hold guilt for the pain I’ve suffered. Then they darken as he presses those incredible lips against his favorite spot between my shoulder and neck.

  He can’t blood fuck me though. He might bring me down by accident, and I might not have this control again. His lips stroll up my neck to shake me from my inner thoughts, relieving me from my concern, and then he kisses me with a fervency when they finally reclaim mine again.

/>   He muffles the sounds I’m trying not to make as they roll into his mouth. Our thrashing bodies continue to collide at an amazing pace while the steady road under us gives us time to revel in our ecstasy.

  The rocking of the car forces the tin to squeak, doing more to drown out our torrid sounds escaping. His right hand tangles in my hair, and his other cups and squeezes my ass while jerking me to meet his thrusts. Each time a bump jars us, it only intensifies his deep thrusts.

  My legs spread wider, offering him more depth, and he capitalizes by arching his hips to surge in with more power. My lust is only challenged by my love for him. He’s perfect, and we were made for each other.

  I grip the back of the seat when my earth shattering moment closes in. I lean down to bury my face against the soft fabric behind us, and it drowns out the noise that would otherwise cue Clay and Brazen in. I gasp as I go weak in Hale’s arms, and I feel his warmth filling me as his ragged breaths pant against my chest.

  My lips stroll over his hair, and his softly press against my chest. He needed me as badly as I needed him. A hybrid knows sex. A hybrid needs sex. It’s how we cope with the dark world we live in, and he’s my light at all times. He always has been. He always will be… no matter what I have to do to keep him.

  Chapter 11

  Savagely Bound

  Harsh lights glare against us through the fine hairs of the dark, and Hale shields his eyes with his arm while yelling to the men hiding behind the spotlights.

  “I’m Hale Banner. I’m here to see Gabe… er, I mean Garth.”

  “You have a full blood with you,” one objects. “No full bloods cross the threshold of our sanctuary.”

  “It’s fine, go in without me,” Brazen murmurs softly while staring fearlessly into my violet eyes.

  “No. Gabe trusts me. If he sees me savage and you still breathing, he’ll know you’re no threat to him. Besides, the hybrids are the ones to fear above anyone else right now.”

  I turn to face the wall, and then I yell out, “Tell Garth Araya is here to speak to Gabe.”

  The gates instantly open upon hearing my words, and Gabe walks out with his robe tied tightly. His tired, squinted eyes show the lack of sleep he has suffered, and I’m worried something else has happened since we left.

  “Araya, what’s the meaning of this? You know I can’t allow a full blood to-”

  He stops short when his eyes become astonished by mine. His mouth claps open and shut in disbelief,. He looks back and forth between Brazen and me and then Hale.

  “She’s savage right now. How in the hell is she savage but not violent? How is she savage next to a full blood?” he gushes.

  “It’s a long story, but as you can see, if my savage state allows Brazen to live and breathe so close to me, he can be trusted. We need you to trust us, and you’re going to want to hear what I have to say about Ty… the man behind the mask.”

  His even more startled self takes a step back as if he’s trying to assess what is really going on. He still seems shocked by my tolerance for a full blood, and he walks toward the gates to speak to the men awaiting his orders.

  “He’s okay… she trusts him,” he says, uncertain of how those words are actually coming out of his own mouth.

  “He’s full blood,” one objects.

  “She’s savage. Do you think he’d be alive if she didn’t trust him,” he snaps, and they all look at each other in the same astonishment I’ve witnessed for most of the ride over here.

  Headlights flash from behind, and I see Angelica rushing over to me as she hops out of the passenger seat. She stumbles when her eyes fall on my dilated pupils, and I see a glimpse of fear pass over her.

  “It’s okay, Angelica,” I say to calm her fears, and now her bemusement exudes as well. I turn back to Gabe to continue with, “This is my sister. I told you about her when I saw you last. Grayson is her counter.”

  He still seems confused about how to proceed. I’m not sure if he’s scared of my savage - which he’s witnessed the power of before when I was merely in phase one and leveling Cheyenne’s surface - or if he’s questioning whether he can trust Brazen and the others as well.

  “Considering our last encounter with a human/hybrid, I think I can adjust my normal rules. I’m assuming that’s what this is about,” he murmurs while ushering us all in. “The new hybrids?”

  Clay pulls Symphony from the car and holds her bridal style while walking toward the gates. Gabe’s eyes widen when he sees her limp body, and he looks back to me.

  “She could kill us all,” he panics.

  “Not with me like this. I’m stronger. I know that with certainty,” I say to comfort his mind. “That’s why I’m holding savage.”

  “I’ve never seen this like this before,” he mutters while inspecting my eyes closer. “You should be tearing apart the lands right now, not calmly speaking to me without even a flicker of menace.”

  “None of us have ever seen anything like it. I need a place to start operating on Symphony before she wakes up. We can discuss everything in there while I work. I’ll need Araya to be there in case she wakes up.”

  Gabe surrenders his tongue and silences his questions while leading us to the lab. I stagger slightly, and I feel myself losing my controlled grip over my savage. Hale looks to Brazen who is getting sized up by all the natives, and then Angelica tugs the full blood’s hand while rushing over to a vendor stand. I’m pleased when they return with a canteen full of water, and a sandwich meant for a giant.

  “Thanks,” I murmur appreciatively, and Hale scoops me up to carry me while I eat to keep me from exerting even more energy.

  Please let me hold on a little while longer. Please, please, please.

  “I don’t even know what to say. It’s all so surreal. A pregnant hybrid, Ungifted hybrids unlocking the secrets of the gifted, and the torture of our people by one of our own on a madman’s quest. Not to mention a full blood standing freely next to a strong, gifted, and phase three savage hybrid,” Gabe murmurs while gripping his head.

  “She’s done. Now we just have to wait on her to wake up,” Clay murmurs softly, and Hale hands me two vials of olophine.

  I start to take them, but I feel my body releasing the savage on its own when my need for it no longer stands. Everyone gasps as my eyes return to normal without the injection. Hale’s eyes are wide in disbelief as my pupils return to smaller size, and he kisses my forehead while pocketing the medicine I didn’t even need.

  “I’ll add that to the list of bizarre too,” Gabe huffs out in exasperation.

  “She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Hale coos with adoration seeping from his tone.

  I smile as my lips fall on his, and I yawn out my exhaustion from the tiring few days I’ve suffered. He pulls me to his softly firm chest. Then I feel a cool hand on my shoulder as Brazen’s comforting touch offers me a hint of his amazing ability to give me peace.

  “Thanks for not tearing me apart,” he says with morbid humor.

  “Thanks for not being scared of me,” I murmur back while offering him a warm smile.

  “Never,” he quietly releases, and then he walks over to join Clay as he stares down at the girl he prays he has saved.

  “You really did a number on her. I’m almost scared to give her blood. What if she wakes up and she’s not better?”

  “She will be. I know you, Clay, and I know you wouldn’t be done with her if you hadn’t thoroughly checked each strand of her blood. You were meant for her because of this reason. Now wake her up.”

  He sighs out, and Brazen pats his shoulder while moving to the fridge to pull out several packs of blood. He hands it to Clay, and I can see the hesitance in his eyes. It’s mingling with guilt, which tells me he’s not scared to wake her up because he’s worried what she’ll do, he’s scared to face her after all she has been through.

  “She’ll love you as much as ever, Clay. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t know. She needs you right now.”

  After
taking a deep, shaky breath, he pours the blood into her mouth while massaging her throat with his hand. Angelica and Grayson move to join us, and her hand rests on my shoulder as she watches the blood going to work. Everyone’s breaths still, and then we all tense up when Symphony coughs in her first deep breath.

  Her eyes are the first thing I find, and I sigh in relief when I see the true blue they should be. Clay’s eyes water as he strokes her hair, and her trembling body lies as still as it can under the circumstances.

  Tears begin surging from her eyes as reality overwhelms her, and Hale’s grip tightens on me when he realizes how close he was to feeling like Clay. She sobs louder, and Claq seems uncertain of what to do. He pulls her hand in his, and she leans over to bury her head against his body.

  Tears fall from his eyes as he strokes her hair while holding her to him, and she slithers up to rest her head on his chest before muttering, “I’m sorry,” through her wails.

  “No, baby. I’m the one who’s sorry,” he chokes out, and her lips find his for the first time in so, so long.

  The table rattles as he jerks her up, and Hale motions for everyone to leave and give them some privacy. Gabe smiles with tears staining his aged eyes as we walk out, and he pats my arm softly.

  “She’ll have a lot to say once she calms down,” he chirps.

  “She’ll have a lot of scars to heal first. I don’t want to grill her for information. Anything she gives us will be null and void anyways. Once Ty realizes she’s gone, he’ll abandon all of his hideaways, his plans, and anything else she knows about. He’ll have to restructure his entire plan of attack.”

  “Ah,” he sighs, and Hale’s arms wrap around me as his soft lips consume my neck.

  “I’m taking Araya to bed. Should we use the same room?” he murmurs to Gabe.

  “That will be perfectly fine. Thank you for trusting me with all of this. I fear I may not be strong enough to help you, but I promise I’ll die trying.”

  I place my hand over his, feeling how much it has been softened by time and wrinkles, and then my eyes stare into the ones riddled with worry and dread.