Page 12 of Awakened Gifts
“You would have went for her immediately if she drank an entire vial of your blood.” When they had Aria’s blood, there were barely even a few drops. That blood still stains the glass, proving there was more than enough to draw him in quickly. “Something else must have been going on,” I murmur thoughtfully, trying to process all the crazy. “Where did she get the blood?”
He pulls the vial back out of his pocket and stares at it before shoving it back out of sight.
“I think this is the vial of blood that was left in the RV before the last attack. We thought it got destroyed,” he says while coming out of the bathroom and looking around at the mess of blood still spilling from the lifeless redhead. “I need to speak to Aria. She thought this girl was my counter.”
I almost go pale when my mind finally goes to where it should. “Aria just saw that. You. Kissing that girl. And—”
“Fuck!” he roars in interruption. “Where’d she go?”
He stalks toward me, and I curse before I start racing down the hall in the direction she went. Fast footsteps follow me, and all words are put on halt as we both frantically check the hallways. She’s got to be around here somewhere.
Chapter 5
ARIA
For over two hours, I’ve been out here with my knees curled up to my chest, my tears falling in rapid succession, and my body shaking from my sobs. I feel as though someone just ripped my heart out, and it’s no one’s fault but my own.
I knew this was coming. I knew it the second I felt their connection. It was so strong and undeniable, suffocating me with the inescapable truth that I tried to contest. My punishment is this—seeing Jase go to the woman he was meant to be with.
I’m the only person in the world to have ever been able to truly deny their counter. Not even my mother could deny hers—not that she really wanted to. In fact, I’m the first and only hybrid to ever not want her counter. My hope of Jase loving me enough to deny his was a fool’s quest from the beginning.
In a world full of freaks, I’m still the biggest freak of them all.
It’s not love in our world—a hybrid has no choice. It’s an inescapable, predestined fate, and we’re nothing more than destiny’s science experiments. Now I’m with no one, because I can’t love Kellan. What’s the point in even trying?
I’m miles away from the compound, sitting on a hillside that overlooks a canyon. I want to fall, to drop, to make it all go away. But I know I can’t. Even with my emotions heightened to the nth degree, I can’t do that to my family again.
“Aria,” a familiar voice calls, and I sniffle while turning to see the friendly face full of sympathy.
“How’d you find me?” I ask weakly, hiccupping out a sob.
A frown mars his gentle face as he comes to sit down beside me. Together, we sit silently and stare out at the canyon.
“It wasn’t easy,” he says after a minute. “Everyone’s looking for you, though, so you had to be found eventually. Are you okay? I heard what happened. You knew it was coming. Counters are hard to deny. It’s amazing you’ve denied yours for this long. At least now you don’t have to fight it.”
If he thinks he’s making me feel better, he’s crazy. “I don’t want Kellan. I don’t want anything right now. Except solitude. Could you leave me alone, please? And don’t tell them where I am. I just need some time to myself.”
He pats my leg and then reaches inside his jacket to pull out a flask. “It’s whiskey. Looks like you could use more than I have, but I’ll give you all I’ve got.”
I smile gratefully, though it probably looks as forced as it feels. Taking the flask from him, I mutter my thanks and then turn it up. The burn is stronger than usual, and I lap it up, swallowing it down as I lie back, feeling tired—too tired to hold my eyes open.
I succumb quickly to the beautiful sleep that claims me, and pray for peace within my dreams. My nightmares can’t compare to my reality, so anything is better than living with my eyes open.
JASE
“Where the hell is my daughter?” Araya barks as she bursts into the room.
I don’t even answer as I study the surveillance footage that I’ve been watching for hours. Somewhere on here there has to be a small clue as to where she went.
“Answer me now, Jason!” she yells.
“Don’t you think I’d answer you if I fucking knew,” I growl. “Facial recognition didn’t find her. Someone has tampered with it, further proving this was an attack. Kellan and Simone are trying to fix it, and I’m watching the footage frame by frame to try to find her. I think she avoided the fucking cameras after she ran away.”
“So the girl pretended to be your counter and then she tried to blood rape you. But you think it was all to attack Aria?” she asks in disbelief, her worry overtaking her anger.
Brazen walks in and puts his arm around Araya, trying to comfort her as she works to hold it together.
“I know it was. I finally got to read the bitch’s fucking mind. It was barely a glimpse, but I saw the scorpion tattoos in her mind, and I felt the peace she had when envisioning them. I promised Aria I would try to keep you from getting involved, but right now, she’s all I’m worried about. If we don’t find her soon, they could get to her first. I can’t lose her.”