Ryder inserted the code into the alarm system, which halted the lights and blaring sirens. It took two of them – Markus and Kyle – to use fingerprint and retinal scanning before the Quorum suites security gates were lifted. The elevators had been halted, and the entire Hive sectioned off during the breach. I was not surprised, but the level of security in the building was impressive. Of course, now the mercenaries knew about all of that – they had a general layout, they knew procedure – they would not make the same mistakes next time.

I was sitting in the control room, Markus stretched out on one side of me and Sam on the other. The dark-haired enforcer had gone back to being silent and deadly, not speaking to me, but his presence was as comforting as Markus’, who chatted away in his Scottish tones.

“I just about lost my grip when the car crashed into the building. It drew away the sniper immediately. He dashed in to make sure it wasn’t his men. That gave Sam and I enough time to get into position by the window.”

Turned out the sniper had been in the window next to our apartment. He would have taken out the boys if it wasn’t for the few distractions we had set up. Jayden had thought it was awesome they had gotten to smash up the main level. Of course, that was before Ryder sent him and Kyle back there to start repairing it, along with the rest of the enforcer group. Even though there were only six in the core group, there were dozens in the main enforcer team. Ten of their men had lost their lives, and I knew the Quorum was preparing the burial now. Ash didn’t get quite the same sendoff as the vamps, but they still had a ceremony.

I had not seen Ryder since those moments in my apartment. He was everywhere at once, dealing with everything, and—

“He’s calling in favors, you know.” Markus stopped randomly chatting, changing subjects to the one I was most interested in. “Ryder. Using his contacts to make sure the Sanctum don’t come for you again, finding out who hired them for the job in the first place.”

I shook my head, my arms automatically wrapping around myself as a comfort. “I don’t understand. I know I’m unusual. I know I’m apparently descended directly from an Original, but besides a little levitation one time, I’ve done nothing else. Why would they go to all of this trouble? Three million dollars is a lot of money. It doesn’t make sense. What do they want from me?”

Sam shifted. He was monitoring some security footage, going back through the mercenaries’ initial entrance. His job was to try and figure out how the security was so easily breached, how ten men were killed before the lockdown was initiated. His eyes flicked across to me once or twice, but he didn’t speculate with Markus and me.

The Scottish enforcer rested his massive feet on the desk, leaning back in his favorite position. “I don’t know, lass, but whatever happens, we have your back. Ain’t no one stealing our unicorn on our watch.”

I wanted to punch and hug him at the same time. Our unicorn. They were so arrogant. But they were my family now, and I kind of like that they claimed me as theirs.

“I should check on Jayden,” I mused, unwrapping my arms and placing them on the cool metal desk. “He was still shaken up, and I don’t want him to be alone stressing about how close he came to dying.”

Sam stopped me as I got to my feet; a single hand on my forearm did the trick. “Oliver is with him.”

That was all he said, before releasing me and going back to his footage. I had to shake my head a few times. His intensity was a little disconcerting, but I was starting to see the many layers to the mostly silent enforcer.

A noise in the doorway had all three of us swinging about to find Lucas perched in the entrance, his white trench coat billowing out around him. He looked tired. The last twelve hours had been stressful for everyone in the Hive.

“Can I talk with you, Charlene?” His voice was low, and sort of raspy.

I jumped up, and with a last wink for Markus, took off toward Lucas. I needed to talk with him too. I still hadn’t asked him to step in with Tessa and Blake. I hoped nothing had gone too far with those two yet. I had to save her.

Lucas and I walked side by side through the hall, ending up on the cafeteria level, which was deserted at the moment, hundreds of bench seats spread out, letting us see the true size of the space. It kind of blew my mind to think that every mealtime these tables were all full. The Hive really was too small for the growing number of ash. Each culling, fewer and fewer were going to be allowed to survive. In the next few years, being an ash would pretty much be a death sentence. Not for the vampires though – every single one of those assholes were welcome.

I pushed down my bitterness and focused on Lucas across from me. We were seated near the entrance, the space around us cool and quiet.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” He reached out and took my hand, his grip comforting. “I was very angry about being locked in with the Quorum, especially when my people and you were out there unprotected. But when a head of a house dies, the entire line is weakened. It happens time to time but not a lot. It is to be avoided at all costs, so they always lock us in the secure chambers during conflict.”

I returned his squeeze. “All good, Lucas. We weren’t even here when the initial infiltration happened.” I told him bits and pieces about our theories – why the Sanctum had been hired, how they’d tried to take out Ryder first. I kept a lot of information secret though. There was a mole somewhere in this Hive. I trusted Lucas mostly, but it never hurt to be a little cautious, even if he had done nothing but keep me alive.

“I will organize a security detail for you also,” he bit out at the end of my story. “I know Ryder will be on top of it, but I have to do whatever I can to keep you safe.”

I started to shake my head. I didn’t want a security detail, I didn’t want to be followed and watched every second of the day. It was bad enough being stuck in here, and I wanted to be able to go back to college soon. I couldn’t let them stop me.

I quickly changed the subject to Tessa, hoping Lucas would forget about his plans to sic his guards on me. “You have to do something to stop it, she’s not thinking straight.” I got louder and angrier with each sentence. “Blake has her all wrapped up in love, and she misses me. She would do anything so we can live together and be in the same world again.”

Tessa was lonely. Her family was rich but not really warm or caring. She always preferred my mom and spent a lot of her younger years in our house.

The silver in Lucas’ eyes swirled, and some green lit up the iris. “I’ll do what I can, but of course this decision does not rest with me alone. I can definitely talk to Blake though, but I cannot stop him either. Any vampire has the right to petition the council to turn a human. But rarely are they granted, so your friend should be fine. She will remain a human, and soon realize that the life of a feeder is no life for her. It is a phase many humans go through. Most come out the other side and walk away from us.”

He wasn’t exactly that reassuring. It wasn’t the “No way, I’ll totally stop Blake” I’d hoped for, but it would do for now. There was nothing more I could do except continue smashing Tessa’s email inbox with my heartfelt pleas to stop being a dumbass.

We chatted for the next little while about this and that. Nothing and everything. It was nice to have someone to unload my feelings with, especially the heart-wrenching fear of seeing my best friend tied down and with a gun to his head.

“I’m not sure he’s going to forgive me,” I whispered to Lucas. “It’s my fault he ended up like that. He could have died. Oliver could have died. I feel so guilty and responsible.”

Lucas moved around my side of the bench then, sliding in next to me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “None of this is your fault, Charlie. You have a big heart. You care too much and you love too deeply. Our world, it’s harsh. It’s kill or be killed much of the time. Jayden understands this. He’ll forgive you, mostly because there’s nothing to forgive. So come on, let’s head back to your apartment.”

Lucas helped me up. “Also, I have a surprise for you.”

He draped his arm around me again for the walk back to my room. Oliver was probably still there, but it didn’t matter. I needed to clear the air with Jayden.

Lucas left me at the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he dropped a light kiss on my cheek and left. I realized once he was gone that he’d never showed me his surprise. He’d probably forgotten.

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door, eyes fluttering as I stepped inside, hoping like hell that my best friend didn’t hate me. I already had one of them ignoring me. I needed Jayden.

Shouts enveloped me, followed by strong arms that wrapped around me and lifted me up into a hard chest. “Holy shit, Charlie, why didn’t you tell us Lucas had blood wine! This is the best mutha-effing thing I have ever tasted.”

Oliver spun me around once, before setting me back on my shaky legs. I realized then what Lucas’ surprise must have been. He’d finally come through on the cartons of wine for me surviving the culling, and Oliver and Jayden had cracked open the first bottle. Or finished it actually, judging by the inch I could see left in the bottom.

I took a second to stare at the enforcer. He looked so much better, his injuries healed up and vitality back in his face. The olive-skinned ash had been looking mighty pale when he’d first dragged himself into our room after the Sanctum took off. Now he was all drunk and happy.

I turned my attention to Jayden, who was looking his normal gorgeous black self on the couch. He sat a little straighter and held out his arms to me. I didn’t hesitate running across the room and throwing myself into his arms. “Missed you, bitch,” he said as his muscled arms enfolded around me. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again.”

I pulled back to see him better, arching one eyebrow as I did.

Jayden grinned, before leaning in and resting his forehead against mine. “I don’t care who the fuck has me and how many guns are pointed at my head, if you ever try and trade yourself for me, I will kick your ass so hard it will make Sanctum look like freakin’ Care Bears.”

I hadn’t thought anyone had noticed in the chaos, except for Ryder of course, since I’d full on shoved him across the room to get to Jayden. But my best friend had seen too.

“Kick my ass all you want,” I whispered, “but nothing will stop me coming for you. No matter what.”

Jayden groaned, pulled back to stare at the ceiling. “Stubborn woman, you deserve to love someone as hardassed as Ryder. He might whip you into line.”

I whacked him across the back of the head for that one, even though I knew he was joking. Plus, I’d never mentioned love before. I wasn’t going to delve deep enough into my Ryder emotions to put a label on them.

I settled in beside Jayden, the couch snuggling around me. Oliver dropped in on the other side of us and handed me a glass of red. I held it between my hands, warming it.

“You have to stop with this Ryder stuff,” I blurted out. The not thinking about him thing was not going well. “He doesn’t want me. I mean, he freakin’ kissed me like I was the only woman in his world, like he couldn’t live or breathe without me. The walls were down, the fire was lit between us, and then he not only doused the flames, but iced right the hell over them.”

I took a sip, letting the sweet copper tones cross my tongue. It was followed by a burst of blackberry and cherry, which was tart and crisp and delicious. I would have to let Lucas know this one was a hit also.

“Give Ryder time,” Oliver said. “You mean something to him. He rarely lets anyone new into his world, but you somehow snaked your way in there almost from that first night in the club when you were just some human he ran into. He’ll come around.”

I shrugged, even though a part of me jumped with joy to think that it hadn’t just been me who noticed the connection between us. Even from that very first night. Still, I wasn’t sure I had the time or energy to wait around any longer. Ryder and I were friends, and that was where it would stay. This time I was almost certain of it.

The next morning I woke up dry-mouthed, with the slightest of hangovers. Luckily, Lucas had provided more than twenty bottles, because the boys and I had polished off at least ten of them – with a little help from Kyle and Markus, who had joined us later in the night. Ryder and Sam were no-shows, and I couldn’t say I was surprised about that.

Breaking the silence, there was a loud knock on the door. It sent a pounding pain through my head, and for a second there I thought I might throw up. I closed my eyes for a second, gripping the thick blanket in hope of regaining my equilibrium. Thankfully, the dizziness and pain passed, enough so that I could drop my leg over the bed and stumble my way to the fridge for some blood.

O-negative, not tainted by alcohol. My fangs had descended and the bottle was already in my mouth when I wrenched open the front door. I was not in the mood for visitors today. The second I saw who it was, I instantly regretted not at least brushing my hair, or my teeth for that matter.

Ryder’s eyes were light, the black swirling with silver as he stared. “Rough night?” he finally asked, his lips curling up as if he was fighting a smile. I narrowed my eyes and pulled the bottle of blood from my lips before sticking out my tongue and slamming the door in his face. I was totes not in the mood for Ryder. I sank back against the door, my body sagging as I fought the urge to tear the barrier open and throw myself at him. Don’t be pathetic, Charlie. Not even for the hottest man that ever lived. I finished my blood before throwing the bottle into the trash.

“Charlie, open the door.” His low words penetrated through to me, and I had to squeeze my eyes tightly shut, my nails cutting into my palms as if the pain would somehow make me stronger. “Charlie … please.”

My knees pretty much collapsed under me as he uttered those words. I had never heard that tone from him before, that level of low anguish and need. I bit my lip as tears rimmed my eyes. The pressure in my chest was sharp and biting as the force of my emotions slammed into me. I couldn’t ignore him when he spoke like that, I needed to know what he was here for. This Ryder seemed different.

I wrenched the door open again. Ryder was still in the same position, his eyes almost purely silver now. We stared for a few long moments, and he didn’t speak as the energy stretched between us. Finally, he held out a hand, asking me to take it, and jerked his head to the hallway, asking me to trust him, to follow him.

I swallowed roughly, before nodding in a jerky moment. “Just give me a second.”

I dashed away from him into the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth in record time. I managed to tame the rat’s nest hair I had going on, and even threw on a clean shirt. Mine had a few blood wine stains on it.

When I stepped back into the living area, Ryder was still in the same spot, just standing there waiting for me, as if he had not even moved an inch while I was gone. I couldn’t stop my feet from crossing to him. My hand slipped into his like it had been made to fit. He led me from the room, silent, his body heat and spicy scent enveloping me as we walked side by side.

I had a lot of things to say and so many things to ask, but for now I was content to just be by his side, holding his hand. Ryder ended up leading me to the elevator, and we descended to the ground level. Stepping through the rubble of the entrance hall, most of the damage from our “car crash distraction” had been repaired, but not all of it. Once we were outside I recognized the place he was taking me. It was that same green area Jayden and I had sat long ago, before the culling, where the ash had attacked us. Ryder and his men had stepped in.

“I never thanked you properly for that day,” I said, breaking the silence. We were outside, standing together in the sun, the thick forest surrounding us. I loved the feel of the warmth on my face, the breeze as it ruffled my hair.

Ryder shifted his head to stare into my eyes, and then he graced me with a full-on grin. My heart sort of stopped, or stuttered at least. Ryder so rarely smiled like that, a true smile. It was all kinds of sexy and beautiful. Who was this new Ryder and could I keep him?

“That first night I saw you in the club, I knew you were trouble.” He turned away again to stare off into the trees. “The days before the culling only cemented my view.”

I barely heard his words over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.

“You were so stubborn and willful, fighting me every step of the way. Resisting training, resisting killing, even though it was to save your own life. Like I said to you before, watching you fight was torture. Every single second. Knowing you could be culled before I had a chance to discover more of the hidden fire that fills you. Charlie, I have been emotionally dead for a lot of years, doing my duty, fighting the pain of who I am, of what I did. Not allowing anyone in. Well, I’m done fighting it. I can’t with you.”

My breath hitched at his admission.

He reached out, gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You came along out of nowhere and you completely disarmed me. You made me feel. And now I don’t know what the hell to do about it. I don’t know what I’m ready for…”

I leaned into him, our bodies melting together. His honesty took me completely off guard. “We don’t have to make any rules now, Ryder. You have to find peace about what happened to Molly. Otherwise that is a cloud which will live over us forever.”

I got all brave then, raising up on my tiptoes to press my lips to the corner of his mouth, his delicious scent and taste drawing me in. “This is enough for me, for now,” I whispered against him, and with a groan he yanked me closer, our bodies slamming into each other.

“Never enough with you, Charlie.”

Then he was kissing me, like the night in the karaoke club, but this time tinged with so much more desperation. We had been through a lot since then. That night in the Hive with the Sanctum had cemented the ties between us. Ryder had protected me and I would never forget it. There was a hunger in the way he kissed me, like he would never get enough.

“Is this why you were trying to keep me from coming back to save Jayden?” I asked as we pulled back for air.

His swirling eyes locked in on mine. One of his hands ran up and down my back, as if he just wanted to be touching me. “I was angry with the situation, but also with myself. I knew I should not bring you back to the Hive, but I couldn’t say no to you when you needed me to say yes. I don’t like that sort of weakness. I should always be able to do the right thing, even if it is the hard thing to do. I should be able to protect you and my team without giving in to you just because you flash those gorgeous silver-black eyes at me.”

I smiled, dropping to my feet, my heart still rapid as I tried to adjust to this sudden change in Ryder. He was so open. So free with his words. I wanted more of this. I wanted all of it. But I also understood what he was trying to say.

“You did the right thing, Ryder. Any relationship works two ways. You have to trust I’m strong enough to handle the bad as well as the good. I would rather walk into battle by your side than cower in the car while my best friend is killed.”

He smiled again. “I’m starting to see that, and having you by my side feels right.”

A shadowy figure stepped out of the trees then, and Ryder tensed for a moment before he realized it was a friend, not foe.

“Hey, bro, unicorn, I’ve been looking for you guys.” Kyle loped across to us, all happy and casual-like. He was out of enforcer black, wearing dark blue slacks and a button shirt. It was the most formal I’d seen from Kyle. Even his unruly dirty-blond hair was brushed back, emphasizing the defined cheeks and broad features in his handsome face. “Everyone is gathering in the stadium. It’s time to say farewell to our fallen soldiers.”

Ryder didn’t say anything more, but as we turned and followed Kyle, things felt right between us. We still had a long way to go. I had no idea what Ryder wanted in the long term from us, but this felt like a positive step in the right direction.

The Quorum were dressed in their finest attire. It seemed nearly all of the Hive was assembled. The stadium that held the culling was now completely transformed into a clean and peaceful ceremonial hall. White and blue silk draped the walls. The bloodstained fighting mats that had covered the ground had been pulled up to reveal polished wood floors. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the room, giving an elegant ambiance that had been missing from my days in this room. Before us all lay ten gold urns. Odd that the place these men fought for their lives would also become the place they were laid to rest. A podium with a microphone stood empty, and Ryder squeezed my hand before approaching it. I stayed behind, leaning against the wall, next to Kyle and the other enforcers. My eyes remained locked on Ryder as he sidled through and around the masses of gathered Hive members. He never even glanced at the beautiful faces of our people around him. His focus was solely on the enforcers he had lost. When he reached the podium, he stood very still for a few long moments. No one made noises or spoke. The silence felt both respectful and heavy. People had lost friends, and loved ones. After this time of silence, Ryder cleared his throat and all eyes were on him.

“For centuries the ash have laid down their lives to protect the Hive, to protect the vampires and the Quorum that govern it. These ten men died doing their jobs … protecting all of you. They will be remembered! They will be honored!” His voice grew strong and loud toward the end. These words were met with applause. This Hive hierarchy really confused me. They made us kill ourselves for the opportunity to live with them. Then, even though the vampires were physically stronger, they made us fight to protect them. But we outnumbered them ten to one.

“These enforcers are mine to protect!” Ryder was all deadly now, his long arm pointing to all of us leaning against the wall. “And I will protect what is mine.”

There was no mistaking that threat. Whomever the mole was should be shaking in their boots right now. I held a little hope, too, that since he so readily grouped me in with them, it was time to mention that I really wanted to be an enforcer. Maybe he’d actually consider it at this point. Please, God, don’t make me answer phones for the rest of my life.

A group of enforcers walked out military-style in a perfect line. They picked up the vases, and as they turned to march from the stadium, golden urns cradled in their hands, they stopped only once to salute Ryder. The heaviness broke then and Ryder indicated that people could leave. The Quorum disbanded, and a few members trailed over to talk to the lead enforcer.

Kyle and I strolled within earshot, stopping in the pretense of waiting, but we were really listening in. I knew of most of the Quorum members now, but except for that lovely day where they forced me to go with them to the medical wing, I had not really met them.

The leader of the second house was a willowy female. She had dark blond curls that fell around her face. She was a lot taller than my five feet seven and looked extra cheerleader cute, even though she was most probably deadlier than cancer.

She was scolding Ryder. “You have one of my vampires in the pit who has had an unnecessarily long sentence. A month for biting an ash?” Her tone indicated that this was barely even a crime at all.

Ryder stood taller, his height giving him domination advantage over her. “A month for attacking and feeding off of a female ash.”

The Quorum members looked at me quickly before turning away again.

“Let him go, he has served enough time,” said the dour and jowly male leader of the third house, before turning with cheer-vamp and leaving.

As he watched their retreating backs, Ryder’s face indicated that he wanted to beat the Quorum into submission, but instead he just walked over to Kyle and me.

“Well, duty calls,” Ryder said.

Kyle grabbed my hand. “Wanna see the pit?”

Ryder shot him a glare, but before he could protest I nodded. I totally wanted to know what this infamous pit was.

Ryder shook his head, looking resigned. “It’s not going to be pretty, and starved vampires are pretty deadly. But if you want to come along…”

Even with our talk outside, I knew it was going to take him some time to stop treating me like a delicate flower and realize I was just as tough as most of the ash. Sure, I had boobs, but that only increased my power.

We all walked to the line of elevators. I paused, expecting we would take them down into the crater of hell or something. I mean, where else would the pit be? So I was a little surprised when instead of going to the normal silver elevators, we went around the corner, and there, resting in a small alcove, was an elevator with a red door. I had never seen it before in all my time at the Hive. It was perfectly hidden away. Ryder and Kyle put their thumbs on a keypad and the elevator beeped and flared to life. Whoa, legit super-secret. My stomach knotted in anxiety and excitement.

The doors opened and we stepped inside. One button on the panel, labeled “pit.” Ryder hit it and the elevator made its way down.

“So,” I asked, “the pit is what exactly?”

Ryder looked at me, seemingly thinking about his answer. “It’s the Hive’s version of jail.”

Kyle snorted. “More like a mixture of, jail, solitary confinement, and torture.”

Ryder and Kyle exchanged a grin. I felt a moment of queasiness at the mental images those words provoked. I must have paled, because Ryder stepped a little closer to me, his heat warming my cool limbs.

“You can still back out,” he said.

I swallowed down my fear and stood taller, squaring my shoulders. “I’m fine.”

The slightest of smiles tipped up the corner of his lips. Nice to know I could amuse him.

The elevator ground to a halt and opened to reveal a long hallway. Before we even stepped out I was hit with a wall of stench. It immediately had me gagging. Since becoming an ash I’d learned to separate out various smells, and right now I was surrounded by blood, sweat, and urine – plus a completely disgusting concoction of bodily fluids. To add extra ambiance to the stink room, there were distant but drawn out screams echoing across the stone chamber.

We walked slowly down the hall to a man sitting behind a reception desk. He was a vamp, with a hard, lined face, and gray hair. Vamps didn’t age, so he must have been infected at an older age. This is where the Hive stuck old people, I guessed.

“Hey, Marty.”

Ryder shook his hand and the man nodded, standing swiftly, looking surprised. “You bringing her in?”

Ryder shot me a side glance before chuckling, “No, she’s training. I’m here to release Vincent Crow early. Quorum’s orders.”

Marty nodded. “Good thing too. He’s been going crazy, screaming about humans and rejecting blood.”

Ryder frowned. “He hasn’t been here long enough to do that much damage.”

The old vampire shrugged. “Everyone’s different. The pit wears us all down. He’s in cell 56H.” He turned to a machine and ran Ryder’s card key through it. Once we had clearance, the three of us stepped further into the pit, leaving Marty behind.

We walked down a series of twists and turns before stopping at a small door marked 56H. The screaming was much louder now, coming in from all directions. It was especially strong from inside Vincent’s room.

I started to differentiate the sounds out, and realized he was screaming words.

“You don’t understand! I need food and ... water.” His voice sounded strained, weak but still in a screaming pitch.

Ryder banged hard on the door. “Vincent Crow! Your sentence has been suspended early by order of the Quorum.” Ryder plugged his keycard in the small door and it popped open with a click. The space they kept the prisoners in was tiny and I wasn’t prepared for the dirty, half naked body of Vincent to come tumbling out.

We all gasped at what we saw. Vincent was little more than skin and bones. He looked like a victim from a wartime concentration camp. As he rolled over, I could see bloody infected cuts along his back and side. Why wasn’t he healing? Did the pit stop that somehow?

As his face came into view, my hand flew to my mouth. The once beautiful vampire was gone. Stress and wrinkles marred his eyes. He had frizzy hair, blotchy skin. He looked … human.

His eyes flew open as he focused on me, recognition lighting them up. He pointed a bony arm at me. “She’s … the cure,” he rasped.

Holy Fuck. My hand flew to my neck as the memory of that night assaulted me. How long ago was it? A week? Two? He bit me and then … and now … the man before me was a frail human, starved of food and water, given blood when he clearly had no need for it.

Ryder took a step closer and made a few out of character gestures. “Fuck,” he said, which was also out of character.

Before I could speak, or even think about what the hell was going on here, Ryder whipped out his gun and shot the man right between the eyes.

To a vampire that would have done nothing but hurt and piss him off, but this man was human. It was more than enough to end his life. I jumped, a scream ripped from my throat. Ryder had just killed a man, just like that without thought or consideration.

Shit … I knew Ryder. He only acted like that when he was protecting his men or me – it had been to protect me. I was in so much trouble.

Ryder ignored me for the moment, looking at Kyle. “We need to hide the body.”

Kyle looked shaken, but nodded.

I dropped back against the wall, my breathing ragged, my heart seeming to skip a few beats as it tried to keep up with my racing pulse. It was finally penetrating my brain now, the prisoner’s words. The reason Ryder had lost his shit and killed a frail human.

To keep this secret. To keep me safe. Because I was the motherfucking cure for vampirism.

The next few days passed in a blur of stress and panic. I basically hid in my room, expecting at any moment the Quorum were going to arrive and haul me off to my public execution. Of course, I probably should have trusted Ryder when he’d pulled me aside right after we left the pit area and promised that he would take care of it all. That he and Kyle would wrap everything up so that no one found out about the vampire I’d cured.

Because we all knew what would happen if the vamps figured out I could cure them. I was as a good as dead.

“You need to get that lovely ass out of bed and shower or something,” Jayden yelled through my door, about to leave for his shift in the feeder floor. I hadn’t been at my job for a few days, but since no one had smashed in my apartment looking for me, I guessed Ryder had that covered also.

I sighed into the silence. Jayden was right. I needed to get out of here. Staring at the walls was driving me insane, and it didn’t answer a single question I had. I just needed to stay busy until Ryder returned.

I dragged myself up, threw on some sweats and took the elevator up to the roof. A run was what I needed, some sun, some fresh air. Some time without vamps who maybe didn’t yet know there was a ticking time bomb under their roof. No wonder the Sanctum had been hired to find me. Someone knew there was something strange in my blood. Maybe they didn’t know exactly what it was yet, but how long before they figured it out? What would the humans do if they found out? Did my blood do anything to ash? Oh God, I was in deep shit.

My feet slapped against the track, my body falling into its old running patterns, my muscles enjoying the stretch and burn after so many days of inactivity. Just as I was rounding up for my tenth lap, a blur caught my attention. I spun to the left, paranoid as usual, but didn’t see anything. Turning back to the track, I gave a little shriek at the mountain of man standing right in my path.

As I skidded to a halt, I tripped over my feet and tumbled straight at him. He opened his arms and caught me with ease, and in that moment I felt a sense of peace which had been missing the past few days.

“Ryder,” I said, my voice low and muffled against his shirt. “Is everything okay?”

He pulled me closer, his strong arms lifting me further into his body. He lowered his head right next to my ear. “I promised you I would take care of it, at the moment no one knows of you being the cure, and I plan on keeping it that way for as long as possible.”

I pulled my head back so I could stare into his eyes. “So what do we do now? What do I do now?”

As the slight breeze tousled his dark hair, a rakish grin crossed his features, and I realized how badly I’d been missing him. Even when we fought our feelings, he’d still always been around.

“Have dinner with me, Charlie?”

It took me a moment to realize what he’d just said. Holy shit! Ryder had just asked me on a date. I blinked a few times, trying to conceal my excitement. Getting up on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips against his. The kiss was brief but electrifying. I loved that even with everything hanging over our heads – the Sanctum, my vampire cure blood – Ryder still wanted to take me on a date. He couldn’t have said a more perfect thing to me right then, and I knew we would deal with the rest when it came. I pulled back slightly, our eyes still locked on each other.

“Yes,” I said. “A thousand times yes, Ryder.”

Read Book Two in the Hive trilogy here.