It had been a week since the culling and life in the Hive had completely changed. We were given ID badges with our actual names. Jayden and I received a nice two-bedroom apartment that happened to be down the hall from Ryder and the enforcers. Level thirty-three. We got to wear normal clothes and were assigned shitty jobs. Jayden worked the front desk at the feeding center and I helped in the communications room. I got to dispatch Ryder and his enforcer team to different situations that got called in. It was hella boring and I would much rather be going to the actual calls and enforcing, but I guess it was fine for now. The nightmares from the culling were also starting to ease. The fact that I’d ended lives and had to fight to the death still weighed heavily on me, but last night I’d actually slept five hours in a row. First time since that day.

I would never forget what the vampires had forced me to do, but for now I was going to bide my time. I couldn’t change anything yet, but one day I wanted to give it my best shot to end the culling. I was relieved to know that even as a full-fledged member of the Hive, vampires were still not around much. I wasn’t sure what those suckers did in their spare time – stuck to their own levels of the compound probably – but either way I was much more comfortable with ash now. Which was good, since that’s all I ever saw.

Thank God for emails from my mom and Tessa, some much needed female interactions. They’d been more than relieved to learn I had survived the culling, and both were happy to know that I was applying for permission to go back to my college classes. As an ash of course. I would have to sit in a special section and not with Tessa, but it would be nice to get back to some semblance of normalcy. Of course, I wasn’t allowed back for a year. That was how long new ash were monitored. Which left me bored and edgy in the Hive. Cell phones didn’t work in lower levels of the Hive, so for daily communications Tessa and I had to email each other. I smiled as I saw an email pop up.

‘Clubbin’, read the title.

Hey bitch,

I miss your blood drinking ass and now that you’re not on ash probation, I thought we could meet up at Club Shade. Blake invited me, I will stay out after curfew. Please come, I miss your ability to down an entire bottle of tequila. Don’t dress like a boy, show the goods.

P.S invite Ryder, I gotta see this guy in person.

Love,

Tessa

My smile grew larger. I glanced over my shoulder. The communications room was pretty empty right now. Just Markus, the Scottish enforcer, and my current communications job trainer.

“Hey, Markus, what’s the protocol for new ash going out during curfew hours?”

He gave me a look that said I might not like the answer. “For the first year, all requests go through Ryder.”

Ugh. This monitored for a year thing was going to get old real fast. I drummed my nails on the table top and then stood to go find the elusive ash. He had just gotten back from a call where one of the eleven new ash that survived the culling had tried to run away. He hadn’t made it far, of course. Ryder was very good at his job.

I knocked on the enforcer locker room door.

“Come in,” Ryder said.

I opened the door and had to keep my jaw from dropping as Ryder was standing before me wearing only a white towel. His skin still had droplets of water beading and rolling down. Good God, this man was trying to kill me.

“What’s up?” he said as he pulled on a black t-shirt. I followed the movement as it rolled over his tan delicious body.

In the short time since we’d stopped training together, I had almost forgotten how perfect Ryder was. Shit, okay, I hadn’t exactly forgotten, more like I made myself to think of him as only my friend and an enforcer. No one wanted to lust after someone who was not interested, no matter how many blazing looks he threw my way. I needed to meet up with Tessa … or meet a nice ash ready to settle down. Ugh, no, not an ash. A human maybe … screw the rules. It had definitely been way too long since I had had a boyfriend.

I stared at his mesmerizing eyes, the silver so prominent tonight. I wondered what emotion he was feeling strongly. “Just wanted to see if I could meet Tessa – my best friend who is human – at a night club tonight. During ash curfew hours of course.”

He took a moment before answering. “I don’t know … you’re new, and the Quorum brought a shit storm of questions down on Lucas after your levitation incident at the culling.”

Apparently it was rare for a new ash to tap into their houses special skill like that. Thankfully, the questioning had been brief, but the Quorum were now “keeping an eye on me”.

I forced myself not to lower my gaze. I wouldn’t beg, but I had to make him understand. “I need this.”

It was either he let me out or I really would start begging him to take that shirt off again so I could gawk at his perfection.

His chiseled jaw actually softened. “Okay, I’m off duty tonight. I’ll go with you. I don’t want any trouble.”

I gave a little excited jump and wiggle. “Thank you! Can Jayden come?”

He threw his hands up. “Sure, invite all the newbies. I love to babysit.”

I threw him a grin. “You’re not such a bad guy after all.”

He returned my grin with a withering glare. “You can go now so I can finish getting dressed.”

I sighed and left, trying not to imagine Ryder replacing the towel with pants. Stupid pants. What use were they anyway?

I pretty much bounced the entire way back to my room. This was what I had been waiting for since the moment I collapsed at my mom’s place – time to feel normal, to pretend for just one night that I wasn’t some weird, mythical creature that needed bottled blood to live. Now that I had survived the culling, I was hoping for a lot more normal moments in my life. I wasted no time smashing into Jayden’s room in our apartment.

As expected, he pretty much squealed when I told him of our upcoming field trip from the Hive. “Seriously? Yummy Ryder is escorting us to a club in town?”

I rolled my eyes at “yummy Ryder.” Jayden had his own sexy six. He had to stop with all the man greed.

“Yes, get ready,” I told him. It was midnight and Ryder would be here soon.

Jayden lurched to his feet. “Me get ready? What about you?” He eyed my skinny jeans and tank-top like they were dirt-covered canvas bags. I flipped him off but he persisted.

“Honey, a body like that needs to be showed off. Please, please, please, let me dress you.”

Well shit, Tessa had been replaced by her clone. Knowing my new bestie pretty darn well already, I knew he would not give up. And I was too excited to care tonight.

“Whatever,” I declared, and just like that he attacked me with all of his gayness.

My hair was pulled down and curled in loose waves, my makeup applied with expert precision – darker than I usually wore, but still perfect. He finished with a red stain brushed upon my lips. Then Jayden ducked out of the room, he was gone for a bit so I guessed had headed to the Hive’s clothes stores, before he returned holding what looked like nipple pasties triumphantly in the air.

I put my hands up. “Hell no, I’m not a stripper.” Jayden was even worse than Tessa.

He rolled his eyes. “Duh, strippers don’t wear pasties.”

He dropped the packet on the bed and whipped out this small black scarf.

“What’s that scarf for?” It was cold outside now. We were well into October, but ash were naturally warmer than humans. I wouldn’t need a scarf.

He smiled. “It’s not a scarf, it’s a top.” He motioned for me to lift my arms.

With a sigh I complied, somehow knowing I was totally going to regret allowing him free rein here.

Ten minutes later, I was looking in the mirror – Good lord – wearing a black backless shirt that scooped so low in the front you almost saw my belly button. It fastened at my neck, and if I leaned forward the pasties were the only thing keeping my modesty. Jayden let me keep the skinny jeans and ass-kicking boots. My upper half was stripper central and my lower half was Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Which was actually kind of perfect.

A knock on the door startled me. Shit, my eyes flashed back to my outfit.

I had forgotten for a second that Ryder, and who knows how many other ash, might be at the club tonight. With my freaky blood, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to have so much exposed skin.

Before I could voice my protest, Jayden opened the door and I turned to meet two silver eyes.

The head enforcer took one of his large strides into the room. He wasn’t alone. His five guys were with him, the core group of his enforcers, AKA the sexy six.

I took a second to stop and stare, at all of them, but mostly Ryder. This was the first time I had seen him in civilian clothes. First time I had seen any of the enforcers in civilian clothes.

I already sort of knew Oliver and Markus, and had been briefly introduced to the other three. One was Kyle, with his mess of dirty-blond hair and NFL player’s physique. He was Ryder’s second and best bro. Those two were always together. They had epic bromance written all over them. Kyle had been off on a long mission during my culling, so this was the first time for us to really hang out.

One of the other two was Jared. With his hot-ass Australian accent and blond curls, he was the epitome of surfer dude. I sort of guessed his eyes had been sky blue before the ash transformation, but now were the same black, with slight rings of silver. He was a funny, laidback guy, seeming to bring lightness to the other more serious ash. He had been the one Ryder wanted to train me in weights, and as I had admired his biceps on more than one occasion, I’d been looking forward to it. Unfortunately, he’d had to leave with Kyle, so some other random enforcer had helped.

The final of the six was Sam. Sam was a bit of a dark horse. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard him speak. He just stood there with his black hair cut militarily short and his features hard. He wasn’t the tallest of the enforcers – that went to the mammoth of Markus, who was at least six and a half feet – and he wasn’t the scariest – that was definitely Ryder – but there was something about him, a contained energy. He was one to watch.

I found my eyes drawn again to Ryder. I was like a fucking bee with a flower, needing to suck out whatever sweetness I knew was inside. He wore clothes like no one’s business. He had on a dark blue polo shirt and dark-wash jeans. As my eyes dragged across his broad shoulders and slim hips, I realized he was checking me out almost as closely. His silver eyes were hooded now, his expression hard to read. I wasn’t sure if he appreciated all my skin or was hoping I had a large coat to throw over it.

He didn’t say anything about my outfit though, he just flicked his head to the hallway. “Let’s go.”

Oliver gave me a grin, his teeth very white against the dark tones of his skin. He crossed the space, and showcasing not an ounce of shame, interlocked fingers with my bestie. Go Jayden! I had quite the happy feels. Nothing like knowing your bestie was all hooked up with some hottie.

Ryder gave me a side glance, distracting me. “The boys have been bugging me to go out.” He flicked his head to the group. Kyle fell in on my other side. I tilted my head back to meet his lazy smile. Strangely enough, I was immediately comfortable with this guy. He induced no confusing and often x-rated feelings like Ryder, and even though he had the same tough, badass vibe going on, he seemed a little more relaxed.

“Fuck yes,” Kyle said. “It’s been boring as shit here for a while. Even my request in the UK proved to be nothing. The action has dried up since we got that call all those weeks ago about our mythical ash girl.”

Those black eyes twinkled at me and I found myself smiling in return.

“I’ll bet you thought that was some sort of system malfunction.”

He gave me a wink. “I was more focused on keeping Ryder from smashing the shit out of every single one of the ash who were at your mom’s house when we got there.”

My eyes shifted across to the silent enforcer again. “What did they do?” I asked, as some worry seeped into my voice.

He shrugged. “Nothing much, but they were too caught up in what you were. They abandoned protocol.”

“And the fact that one of them was cradling her in his lap while she convulsed had nothing to do with it?”

Ryder turned that dark stare on Kyle, who just laughed. You could tell they’d been friends for a long time. He was one of the few males not afraid of him. We walked in silence for a bit. I was still pondering Kyle’s words, even though I really didn’t want to be. Ryder shifted a little closer, and as my eyes rose to meet his, he said, “Your hair looks good down.”

Whoa. That was completely unexpected and I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t used to Ryder dishing out compliments. I didn’t want to read too closely into it. He was an honest guy. Probably there was nothing more than simple approval.

“Thanks,” I finally murmured.

You look good in a towel.

We traveled the rest of the way through the Hive in silence, before ending up in the courtyard. Everyone piled into a big black unmarked van and then we headed to the club. Hell yes. Finally, some normalcy in my life.

The doorman was a vampire. They must completely change shifts when the curfew ended. I had no idea, I wasn’t one to break curfew much. Ryder nodded at the bouncer and we all strode in without paying or ID checks. Ryder posse perk.

The club was pumping, the music louder and more bass driven than the last time I was here. I felt my body loosen up as we strode further in. This was my world, not the fucking Hive.

“Charlie!” my bestie shrieked, bounding over to me with blond curls bouncing. Girl looked all kinds of gorgeous in her short, tight blue dress, eyes extra blue against the dark liner. She slammed into me with the force of a truck and I laughed as I hugged her. We stayed like that for an extended moment, flashes of our past flittering through my head, and I knew she’d be thinking the same thing. The last time we were in a club everything had been normal. Then that very same night, everything changed. You really couldn’t take anything in life for granted, it could be gone before you even had a chance to really know you had it. Eventually we had to untangle ourselves and I handed her over to my other bestie. Tessa and Jayden had been chatting over email but hadn’t met in person.

“Girl, your hair is Marilyn Monroe gorgeous,” he told her. She grinned and hugged him. My heart overflowed at my two BFFs finally meeting.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. Thanks for dressing Charlie tonight.”

I scowled. “What! How do you know he dressed me?”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “Please…”

Her next words were cut off as she finally focused on the enforcers, her eyes running across the six tall, buff, and badass guys. She lingered the longest on Ryder. Somehow she knew which one he was. She had never really met him; the last time she’d been passed out. I was a little nervous about the glint in her eye.

Please don’t say anything stupid, Tessa.

“So, you’re Ryder,” Tessa said. Her words made it sound like he was some important person in my life. Shit. My cheeks reddened.

Ryder extended his hand and shook hers. As he pulled away, a vampire strode in beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. I bristled at the sight of a bloodsucker so close to her.

Tessa smiled up at the guy with his strawberry blond curls. Damn, he was sort of a cute, sexy version of a grown-up Cabbage Patch Doll.

“Guys, this is Blake.”

I really did not like the idea of Tessa having a regular vampire feeder, especially not one that acted possessive of her.

Blake nodded to all of us, then his eyes settled on the tall enforcer at my side.

“Ryder,” he said.

Ryder nodded back. “Blake.”

It was clear Ryder had the respect of all the vampires, which was an achievement since they thought of ash as mongrel dogs.

The song changed then and Tessa squealed, ducking out from under Blake’s arm and grabbing Jayden and my hands, dragging us to the dance floor. Typical Tessa, she was a sucker for Britney Spears. It felt good to let loose, and I got lost in the music for some time. After dancing inside of a Jayden and Tessa sandwich for almost a half an hour, I broke away to get some water. I was laying off the liquor for a bit. Human alcohol was pretty much a waste now anyways.

As the crowd parted, I noticed Ryder leaning against the bar, his eyes locked on me as I approached. He lowered his glass from where he’d just taken a drink, his eyes traveling across me. I approached him slowly, taken aback by the intensity of his gaze.

“Having fun?” I queried.

His reached around and pulled me close to him, speaking in my ear. It was the only way to be heard in here. “What did you say? I can’t hear you over the music?” he shouted.

His muscular thigh was partly lodged between my legs, and to steady myself I reached out and let my hand rest on his bicep. The only thing ruining this moment was the reek of alcohol on his breath.

“Got a hold of some vamp moonshine I see,” I shouted back.

He gave me a slow but insanely sexy smile. “I’m told I need to lighten up.”

I grinned. Well, well, well … if I didn’t know any better, I’d think Ryder was more than a little drunk. My straight-laced, overly rigid, tough as shit Ryder. And I was starting to get the feeling that in his drunken state he wanted a piece of Charlie.

I knew I could lean into him now … I could kiss him. But something held me back. This wasn’t how I wanted it. Tomorrow the steel door to his emotions would close again and I knew on instinct that one night with Ryder would never be enough, and I didn’t want a taste only to lose it forever.

Before I could respond, he leaned in so close that my hair covered his face and his cheek touched mine. “I should have told you this long ago, but watching you fight in that culling was among the worst moments of my life. I was half a second from jumping in the fight and killing them all.”

My heart beat wildly in my chest at his proclamation. Who was this ash? He seemed relaxed, his words flowing more freely than usual. He pulled back then, slipping his leg out from under me, leaning farther back onto the bar. He was then casually watching people dance like he hadn’t just said the most romantic thing in the world. I sank in next to him and ordered my water.

After taking a few sips, I decided to be bold. “You wanna dance?” I gave him my bedroom eyes. This look had never failed me. I was wearing nipple pasties, for Christ’s sake. No way would he say no.

He swallowed before shaking his head. “I shouldn’t.”

Well, there’s a first time for everything. Awesome. I’m a complete loser. I noticed Kyle heading our way, and not wanting to break down like a full-on girl, I swiveled around.

“Right, see you later.” I booked it for the bathroom, trying to remember where it was.

Stupid, Charlie! He didn’t like me, he was just drunk and my boobs looked amazing in this shirt – he got distracted.

I took a wrong turn down the hallway before remembering that this led to an outside patio and smoking area. Frustrated, I turned around and ran smack into a vampire.

He caught me by the shoulders to keep me from falling. His grip was firm.

“Oh sorry,” I said as I tried to pull out of his grasp. He didn’t let go, and my eyes shot up to his face. His hair was slicked back and jet black; he had a pointy nose, and his eyes were doing the pulsing thing.

“I’ve been waiting all week to meet you. Your performance in the culling was superb,” he purred, tightening his hold on my shoulders.

“Thanks, I really need to use the bathroom.” I reached up to brush his hands off. He tightened them again, his grip an iron vice. What the actual fu–

“Ow!” I shrieked as his breathing hitched and he began to pant. Fangs slid from his upper lip. Shit. I had never fought a full-fledged vampire before. I knew they were stronger than ash, but not sure how much. I had a feeling I was about to find out.

I put both hands on his chest and shoved him, hard. He stumbled backward a little, but my push only served to enrage him more. He smelled of vamp alcohol and had clearly lost control.

He slammed into me before I could even track his movement. The back of my head cracked into the wall and I yelped. He had me pinned against the brickwork; we were alone in this dark hallway. His eyes pulsed from solid silver to some weird gray color.

“Help!” I screamed again, hoping like hell someone would hear me this time. I felt the graze of razor sharp points on my neck, and I knew he was just about to pierce my skin. Pleasure chased along my spine, my body remembering how it felt to be fed on, but it was quickly doused with how awful this situation was. Vamp asshole then decided to take his time with me, slowly pushing his chompers into me. His wet mouth sucked at my neck with greed. Gross. Vampire hickey. Just what I needed. I kneed him firmly in the groin, but he just bit down on me harder.

“Got off, asshole!” I screamed, but it was no use. He was like a two-hundred-pound mosquito.

Suddenly Ryder’s and Kyle’s faces zoomed into focus, and before the relief even had time to hit, the enforcers had grabbed the vamp by the neck, ripping him off of me. The vamp went airborne and was slammed onto the ground. Kyle reached over and yanked me up, holding me against his hard frame as one of his hands lifted to rest against the side of my neck. Both of us froze as we watched Ryder go completely into warrior mode, throwing a series of powerful blows to the vamp’s head, his arms moving so fast I couldn’t track them. Holy shit, he was a monster. The force at which the punches connected with the vamp’s face made sounds that I was pretty sure would haunt my dreams. It was in this moment I truly realized how easy Ryder had been going on me in training. I had not even the slightest clue of his true abilities.

Kyle held me close until my shaking stopped. “You okay, Charlie?” His dark eyes lifted from Ryder to lock on me. “Shit, sorry girl, we got here as soon as we heard you scream.”

I tried to swallow, some of the pain in my neck easing. Kyle lifted his hand away and his eyes swirled as he stared. “The wound has closed over. You’re going to need some blood.”

He pulled himself away from me and I realized that my blood was tempting him. I propped myself against the wall as Kyle strode across to help Ryder. Markus, Jared, and Sam ran down the hall then, and together the enforcers helped Kyle pull Ryder off the unconscious vamp. I remained against the wall, too shaken to move yet, my focus locked in on the one man who always had my back. Ryder’s eyes were wild, his knuckles already bruised, cuts littering them. He left the vampire to his men, crossing the space to crowd into me.

“Are you hurt?” His words were barely audible, so much feral in his gaze.

Hurt? Oh right, I was attacked.

My hand went up to my neck, even though Kyle had told me it was healed. “He bit me.”

Ryder breathed deeply, his serious eyes never leaving me. He didn’t seem drunk anymore, the fight having washed away whatever buzz he’d had.

Finally, he turned back to his guys, even though he did not shift out of my personal space. He spoke in a low voice to the enforcers, and I used the time to move off the wall. My limbs were shaking a little, the adrenalin starting to wear off. Why were these bastards always trying to bite me? It didn’t seem normal.

Ryder turned back around, and finding me moved, stepped back into my personal space. “If he were an ash, I would kill him right here.” His hazy silver and black eyes flickered to the lump on the floor.

Kyle nodded. He’d moved close to Ryder’s back. “I think we should kill him anyways. Who cares what the Quorum says.”

Ryder seemed to consider this, then he grinned, catching me totally off guard. “No, I have a better idea. Throw him in the pit for a month.”

Jared let out a low whistle. “A month in the pit. Dude is going to be fried.” Damn that accent was good. I needed to visit Australia one day. Also, note to self: Don’t get on Ryder’s bad side and find out what the hell the pit was.

Ryder placed a hand on my lower back. “Fun’s over. Let’s go.”

I got the distinct feeling he would not be letting me out again soon. “I wouldn’t consider being attacked by a vampire fun,” I retorted.

He frowned. “Yeah, bad joke. Sorry.” He stopped and faced me. “Seriously, are you okay?” His hair was tousled from the fight, and the protective way his hand rested against my spine had my stomach all aflutter.

No.

“I’m fine,” I said.

This was not Ryder’s problem. I was the delicious, chocolate-covered unicorn donut, and while I’d love it if Ryder were my own delicious chocolate-covered donut, the feeling clearly wasn’t mutual.

I turned and left the hallway with Ryder hot on my heels. The night of fun was over, and we were heading back to the Hive. Back to the world of blood and vamps. If I didn’t figure this out soon, how to stop all of this blood-lusting after me, I wasn’t going to survive long past the culling anyways.

The next day I awoke to a loud banging on my door. This wasn’t a friendly, just-stopping-by knock. It was a police-raid I’m-going-to-Taser-your-ass, bang-bang-bang sort of knock. I leapt off the bed, heart hammering and crossed the hallway as Jayden flew out of his room, eyes wide.

“What the hell?” Jayden looked half dead. Ryder and Kyle might have brought me home early from the club, but Jayden and Tessa had stayed out with their men.

“Open the damn door!”

It was Ryder.

I flung the door open and he stepped inside and slammed it behind him.

“The Quorum is on their way.” His words were short and sharp. “They want another blood test after the culling and what happened at the club. They don’t trust Lucas.”

My eyes went wide and Jayden looked confused. I hadn’t told him about the direct descendent thing. Not because I didn’t trust him, but because there wasn’t really anything to say. No one knew what I was, they just knew I wasn’t normal.

“What do I do?”

Would it be so bad for the Quorum to find out I was directly linked to an Original? No one had really explained the end results for me if everyone found out. But since Ryder looked worried and usually nothing fazed that man, there was definitely room for me to start stressing.

Ryder tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck. “Bite me,” he declared.

Heck yes! I mean … what?

I raised one eyebrow as Jayden looked at me, grinning. Okay, I’m not gonna lie, I had fantasized about Ryder saying those exact words, but not in front of Jayden. And not in response to the stupid Quorum. I hadn’t fed directly off anyone before and now really didn’t seem like the right time to start – the freakin’ Quorum was on its way. I closed my mouth abruptly, trying to figure out what he was on about. “You want me to … bite you? Why?”

Ryder grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. “Feed from me and then from Jayden, and when they take your blood it will be a diluted mix. It’s the only chance we have.”

Holy. Shit. Was it man-candy Monday?

Realizing there wasn’t time to ponder this, I slipped one hand behind Ryder’s neck and stood on my tiptoes as instinct kicked in and my fangs slid from my upper gums. I had about a thousand-percent more control over my fangs now than when I first turned, but right at this moment they wanted Ryder. As I leaned in, I barely even noticed that Jayden turned and left the room, giving me privacy. My nose grazed against Ryder – Mmm, he smelled so good. I lightly scraped my fangs against his neck, but paused. I had never fed from a living person. Would I hurt him? Would warm blood be gross?

His hands clamped down on my hips. “Do it, I want you to.”

That was all I needed to hear. I sank my teeth into his deliciously plump vein and his warm blood trickled into my mouth. We both moaned at the same time. He tasted like cinnamon and copper. Holy shit – bottled blood was like old ass compared to this. Ryder’s blood was potent and warm, filled with power and energy. It was like hitting an electrical socket and frying a thousand volts through me, but instead of pain all I got was the huge boost of power.

I gulped greedily as his hands tightened on my hips. I lost sense of time completely, but still sort of knew that he let me feed from him for an extended period.

Finally he halted me. “Stop, Charlie.”

I pulled away gasping, feeling his warmth in my body, and the burning of my cheeks. I knew they would be bright red. When I met Ryder’s eyes I could see desire flashing there.

A bang on the door ripped me from my trance.

Ryder silently grabbed my arm and pulled me into Jayden’s room. My best friend was ready.

“Bite me, bitch – but you better tell me everything later,” he whispered softly. I nodded and sank into his neck without any of the sensuality that I’d reserved for Ryder. It was more uncomfortable without the intimacy. Let’s just say I was much more aware that I was feeding on another person. After a few big gulps, I pulled off.

Ryder nodded and handed me a type-O blood bottle.

“Answer the door,” he murmured as he slipped inside of Jayden’s closet. For some reason he did not want the Quorum to know he was here.

I chugged the bottle, throwing it in the trash as I crossed the space to answer the door. As I opened the door, strong vampire energy flooded through the entrance and I almost took a step back. A group of very pissed, very powerful looking vampires stood before me. My eyes catalogued them, wondering if I was about to find out how strong the Quorum really was.

“Hello, Charlene, we require your presence in the medical wing,” one of them told me with a gritty voice. It took me a second, but I realized that I knew his distinct voice. This was the vampire who had spoken with Ryder outside of the medical wing when I was first brought in, who told him I would be treated like every other ash and join in the culling. He was tall, with slicked black hair and a bent hooked nose. He must have been an ugly mofo before the virus, because even with all the smoothing out he was still fugly as hell.

I acted dumb. “Okay. What’s this about?”

“Just a routine blood test.”

Damn liar.

Where was Lucas? There were – I quickly counted in my head – nine of the members here, but no Lucas. “Wow, the entire Quorum accompanying me to a routine blood test. I must be pretty important,” I mused out loud. I couldn’t act too dumb.

I stepped out and they closed rank behind me, boxing me in.

Ugly sneered at me as we walked together. “We just want to see with our own eyes that the test is done properly. Your… talents … don’t seem to line up with your lineage.”

I tried to slow my heart rate, knowing they could sense it. “Whatever.” I shrugged. I was getting good at feigning disinterest. But in my head I was all fuck-fuck-fuck. My damn unicorn blood better not shoot rainbows when they looked at it, or I had a feeling I was a dead woman.

I was led to a medical room, where a male doctor I had never seen was waiting in a lab coat with a needle kit before him.

“How many doctors does the Hive need? You guys heal,” I said in the sweetest voice I could muster.

One of the Quorum members smiled, a woman with reddish hair. “She’s bright.”

Another Quorum member scowled at me. “They aren’t just doctors, they’re also scientists. The humans allow a small number of vampires to be privately educated. We have a highly contagious virus that the humans aren’t keen to catch. Now sit down.”

I sat down in the red leather padded chair and hoped that my resting bitch face was on. These people were really starting to annoy me. No more words were spoken at the scientist pinned my arm down and jabbed it with a needle. I had forgotten the affect my blood had on them until the aroma hit the air and they all stiffened.

“Why do you think her blood is so tempting?” one of them asked as his fangs extended onto his lower lip.

The scientist holding the tube of my blood shook his head as if to clear his own lusting thoughts. “I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.”

“Maybe because she is the first female ash,” another Quorum member offered.

The ugly one shook his head, that crooked nose looking even more bent in the fluorescent lighting down here. “No, I think there is more to it. When will the results be ready?”

The scientist placed the tube into a glass cylinder compartment inside a machine.

“About eight hours.”

Ugly turned his dark, silver eyes on me. “You may go. Don’t leave your apartment today. All right?”

House arrest. Awesome.

I nodded. Would it kill them to get cable in the Hive? At least then I could at least spend the hours until my doom with some good TV viewing. I’d choose those badass brothers from Supernatural. The door opened and an ash was there to collect me.

What? No Quorum escort back to my room?

As I followed the ash wordlessly down the hall, the severity of the situation began to press down on me. What if it didn’t work? What would happen when my blood showed that my father was an Original? Would they kill me? I needed to talk to Ryder, he would know what to expect from this.

The ash dumped me at my door and left without a word. I’ll bet that he thought the Quorum warning was more than enough to keep me from wandering during the next eight hours. Little did he know, I was most probably going to be running for my life, and a little rule breaking would be the least of my worries.

I crashed into my apartment, closing the door tightly behind me. I scented that Jayden was here, but Ryder’s spiciness was missing.

Jayden strode out of his bedroom, bottle of blood in hand. “Girl! What the actual fuck is going on? They had your shit searched while you were gone. You need to tell me everything and you need to do it now.”

He drained his bottle before throwing it in the trash and basically kicking my ass across to our couch. I interrupted his next little hissy fit.

“Where’s Ryder? I’m pretty sure I’m in a crap-ton of trouble and I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to do now.”

I was not sitting around waiting for them to kill me. No freakin’ way. Still, there weren’t many options for me. I might never have wanted to be an ash and live in the Hive, but there was no life left for me in the human world. They feared my kind, and I would be hunted by the government. If these tests went badly, I was going to end up with nowhere to escape.

“He did that growly, sexy-as-sin thing, then took off just after you were escorted out by the Night of the Living Dead crew. He hasn’t come back yet.”

I could tell by the way Jayden had me pinned with his dark eyes, and the hand on my shoulder, that he was not letting me leave until I told him everything. I just had to hope this knowledge wouldn’t come back to bite him.

“They did some tests when I first turned, trying to figure out how the hell there was a female ash. Apparently they had some odd results. They believe my father was an Original.”

I had just thrown it out there, and Jayden was surprisingly calm about it. So either he didn’t know the stories or he wasn’t worried. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. His perfectly shaped brows drew together as he seemed to contemplate my words further. “Closely descended from an Original is not a huge deal, but sired directly is … I thought all the Originals were dead.”

He was starting to understand now, understand the trouble I was in.

“What else was wrong with your blood, Charlie?”

I swallowed loudly, working hard to try and clear the lump in my throat so I could talk. “I wasn’t showing the standard blood work of an ash, and yet it wasn’t vampire blood either. The lab technician was confused, said she was going to run more tests, but I haven’t heard from her or Lucas since then.”

Lucas or Ryder, I needed one of those big bastards. Someone needed to tell me what level of freak-the-fuck-out I needed to be having.

Jayden rubbed a hand over his eyes, looking confused. “So if you’re not an ash or vamp, what the hell are you?”

I pulled myself from his grip and began to pace the room. “I have no idea. What is there beside ash or vampire? I’m definitely not human.”

Jayden fluttered those crazy long lashes. “I wouldn’t worry about that right now. Let’s deal with problem number one – you being a direct descendant of an Original. The Originals were all murdered for fear of them being too powerful.”

I stopped and looked up at him. “So … if they find out?”

Anger began rise up in me. I did not just fight my way through the culling to be killed by some old-ass Quorum bitches. Jayden got to his feet, crossed the room and grabbed my hand.

“Then we run. I don’t have a family anymore. Never really did. You’re my family now. I will go with you and we will figure it out.”

Emotion tightened my throat. It was a sweet offer. It wasn’t logical or practical, of course. We wouldn’t be able to get jobs because of what we were. And no jobs meant no food, no blood, and no place to call home. Still, I really appreciated his loyalty. A light tap came at the door. I moved instantly, hoping like hell it was Lucas or Ryder. As I flung open the door I was shocked to see Blake, Tessa’s feeder boyfriend.

“Umm, it’s not a good time,” I told him.

Ignoring this, he pushed past me and shut the door behind him. Umm, excuse me? “Come right on in,” I muttered.

“Lucas sent me,” he said quietly. Okay, in that case I would tolerate his presence.

“Does he have a message for me?” I urged in my most hurried voice, whispers of bitchy leaking through – this vamp asshole was chomping on my best friend. I wasn’t a fan of him.

Blake glared at me, which looked odd on his pretty, cherub face. “I love Tessa, you don’t have to worry about me hurting her.”

A sound left my voice, somewhere between a snarl and a gag. “You love her? Please, you barely know her.”

He stepped closer to me, eyes fierce, jaw set. “You’re her best friend, so I know it’s your job to worry about her, and I will take whatever you dish out. But I want her and I will fight for her.”

Well shit. Maybe I was letting some of my frustration over the whole Ryder thing bleed across to Tessa and Blake. Sure, I was annoyed that she was with a vampire, but that declaration was pretty damn perfect. Even Jayden had tears in his eyes.

I sighed. “You better look after her, Blake, or I am going to cut your dick off and feed it to you.” He blanched at my threat. I meant every word of it too. “I must be the only one in this hive that’s single. Can a girl get some action?” I told the room.

Blake, already recovered, was back to wearing his cocky grin. “I’m sure you would be getting action if Ryder hadn’t told every guy in the Hive to stay away from you.”

My heart jackhammered in my chest. “Wha ... wait, what? He said that? To who? Why? When?”

I will kill that asshole. He couldn’t just reject me and still make a declaration like that. Who did he think he was? Jayden had walked closer and was hanging on Blake’s every word.

Blake shrugged. “I’m not sure if it came from Ryder or the Quorum. Apparently they don’t know if you’re fertile.”

And just like that my dreams went up in flames. I was seriously pathetic, thinking Ryder told every guy to stay away from me so he could have me. Jesus. Jayden squeezed my hand in BFF solidarity.

I changed the subject. “So … what’s the word from Lucas?”

Blake ran a hand through his perfect curls. “Lucas said to stay put for now, and that if stuff heats up any more there will be an exit plan in place. He said you would know what that meant.”

Shit. So if the Quorum wanted to kill me, Lucas would be helping me run away from the Hive. I sighed.

“Yep. I understand. Thanks.”

Blake gave me a long glance. “Tessa misses you and she has asked me to get permission from the Quorum to change her into a vampire. I’m considering it.” Then he turned on his heels and left.

As the door slammed, I was knocked out of my shock. Okay, now I was back to hating him again. Tessa would be turned over my dead body. Seriously, what else could go wrong today?

Jayden’s comforting arm around my shoulders did very little to ease my pain. He gave me a tight squeeze, and I realized silent laughter was shaking him.

“Oh my God, when he said Ryder told all the guys to leave you alone, you should have seen your face. You were like an orphaned puppy that finally found a family.”

What? I totally had not – okay, I must have looked a bit pathetic. I tried my best to glare at him, but his amused expression was ridiculous. Asshole. Finally I busted out laughing too, until tears ran down my face and my stomach ached. It was a nice stress reliever, that was for sure.

Seven hours, three games of Scrabble, thirteen magazines, a thousand YouTube videos, and fifty-seven emails to Tessa later, there was a knock at the door. I bolted upright from my position sprawled on the couch, my head darting to the side to meet Jayden’s gaze. Was this the results? Early?

I pulled myself up, brushing off the crumbs from my many snacks, before crossing the room confidently. When I was a foot from the door, I smelled the familiar spicy scent. Ryder.

Opening the door, he was alone. My eyes ran over his tan smooth neck and the memory of biting him floated into my mind. I pushed that aside.

“Hey, come in.” I stepped aside and Ryder entered the apartment. I turned to see Jayden had gone into his room. Sigh. If only there was a reason for him to leave us in private.

“The Quorum sent me.” He was less relaxed than usual, his posture stiff and his features cold.

I planted my feet, hands on hips. “If you’re going to give me news from the Quorum, I would rather hear it from a friend, not the military enforcer ash you’re pulling right now.”

The words slipped out before I could censor them and I regretted them immediately. Why was I all of sudden taking my sexual frustrations out on him?

Still, something I said worked. His face softened just a little, and concern lined his eyes. His hand shifted at his side, as if he were reaching out for me, but then thought differently, stuffing it back in his pocket. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Guys were so dense sometimes. I really wanted to smack him upside the head, or kiss him. Maybe both.

“Just tell me.” I was the cold one now, pushing off his concern. Ryder and I were never going to sort our shit out. The timing just never seemed right.

He must have sensed my mood, and decided to just get to the point. “Your blood work showed that you do not have the DNA of an ash or a vampire. That has them in a total scientific mind-freak. But the blood was diluted and mixed, so you look to be about as close as I am to an Original. Nothing to kill over.” He smiled.

I returned the smile. “Did you just say ‘scientific mind-freak.’ Oh my God, have I ever heard you cuss?”

Ryder stared at me. “Believe it or not, I’m a gentleman. I don’t like cussing.”

My mouth dropped open; laughter bubbled up inside of me and I grabbed his arm. “Oh my God, delicious Ryder, token ash, killer and enforcer, doesn’t say ‘fuck?’”

He looked at my lips briefly before resting on my eyes. “Delicious?”

I decided hard-to-get was a good play right about now. “Jayden’s words, not mine.”

Ryder nodded. “I figured. You’re free to leave your apartment and go anywhere within the Hive grounds.”

He turned to leave. What, just within the grounds? Damn, that meant no more human field trips, no more Tessa.

“Ryder…” I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back around to face me. His body was inches from mine.

I was going to take a risk. If one of us didn’t, we would always exist in this in-between place. I felt something between us, and sometimes I thought he did too.

“Why are you helping me?”

He was quiet so long I was afraid he wouldn’t answer. His jaw clenched as he seemed to be battling something I couldn’t see. Just when I was going to speak again, he muttered, “Many reasons, Charlie, so many. But for now, let’s just say that it’s my job.”

Then he turned and strode away from me. Okay, that was it. I had given this guy too many opportunities to stake a claim. Time to move on. I slammed the door harder than I should have for someone at my maturity level. Whatever. I turned to go sulk in my bedroom when he knocked again. Oh yeah, asshole, come say sorry after that? I don’t think so.

I opened the door. “Screw off!”

Shit! Lucas was standing there, dressed in his whites. Luckily my verbal attack didn’t faze him.

“Having a rough day, Charlene?”

I chuckled. “You could say that.” I waved him inside.

He entered the apartment, exuding that air of sophistication he always wore. I couldn’t hook up with a vampire, could I? I scanned Lucas and decided no, he gave off too many dad-vibes. But I wouldn’t tell him that, because I was pretty sure the only reason he was helping me was that I reminded him of his late wife.

“I’m in the clear. Ryder just told me.”

Lucas nodded. “Yes, I would have been here much earlier if that had not been the case. I have some other news from my own private blood results.”

Oh. I sat down. Something told me this wouldn’t be good and I wanted my butt firmly planted for any more news today.

Lucas sat across from me. “I’m not very good with this type of information.”

“Just tell me.” I was in full freak-out mode now. Was I a new race? Holy gods … was I dying?

“You can’t have children,” he stated in a sympathetic tone. His eyes were a swirl of emotions and I wondered if he was thinking about his own long lost children right then.

I blinked a few times. At no point had I expected him to say that. “Okay, well … shit. Is that the big news? I thought I had vampire cancer.”

A smile replaced his sympathetic frown. “No, I just wanted to tell you that you’re infertile like the male ash and the female vampires, in case that is something you would like to know for future relationships.”

I was still confused about why they were even checking my fertility? I supposed it was just because I was an unknown ash, and reproducing for our kind was against the law. Lucas gracefully changed the subject. “There’s more. My lab technician also thought she saw some sort of immune response to the virus in your blood. This is not her expertise of course, but still, worth us looking into for the future.”

I recoiled, confused. “An immune response? What does that even mean?”

Lucas’s expression was all serious. “Like you were fighting it.”

My mouth dropped open. “Okay.” I put both hands up. “Enough crazy for today. I have reached my limit. Maybe tomorrow.” I stood and Lucas followed my action. The serious look never left his face. “Charlie, if this gets out…”

“Lucas.” My voice was clipped. “I literally can’t take one more damned thing. I’m done.”

I had the strongest urge to hurt him, to unleash this pent up anger I had at the Hive. I was being pushed backed into a corner and I had an instinct that said Fight your way out.

Lucas nodded understandingly. “You know where to find me,” he said, and left.

I shut the door and let my head rest against it. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I wanted my mom. I had been doing way too much adulting in the past month. I didn’t ask for this life. I would give it back in a heartbeat. But it appeared I was stuck with these freaks.