Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) (21 page)

“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.”