Page 74 of Awakened Gifts
“People are idiots. And I’d love to tell you all about how I hate the idiotic populace, as well as hug you back, but do you think you could—”
The chained cuffs that have uranium lining the edges and sticking into my skin, weakening me, suddenly fall off and my arms immediately go around her waist the second I shed the unwanted weight.
“How the hell did you do that?” I ask her, brushing my lips across her forehead.
“There’s something people overlook when they see me. My gift is blood manipulation. I’m a scientist by profession, but people assume my gift is only for science. It’s amazing what you can do with blood and there’s always blood on hand.”
She holds up her wrist that has punctures from the spiked cuffs, and I growl the second I see them. I really wish I could go savage and destroy this fucking place.
“I was showing you my blood. I picked the locks using it. Like I said—they underestimate me.”
That’s definitely the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. “I won’t ever underestimate you again. So go pick the lock to the door and I’ll short circuit the electricity to give us cover.”
She shakes her head quickly while entwining our fingers. “Don’t do that. It’ll alert people that we’re free. That uranium has been dipping into our systems for a while. You’re going to be weaker.”
“And so will you.”
She smirks like she has a secret I don’t know, and I tilt my head as the door to the small cell we’re held in opens. We’re the only ones on this floor, thankfully. There are no windows anywhere, so we’re either underground or in one hell of a fortified building. The air seems to be filled with rich minerals, so I’m assuming it’s more than likely an underground facility. Small roots peeking through the cracks of the old structure seems to solidify that theory.
“I ciphered blood from the bags I sensed down the hall when I woke up. That’s why you feel like a savage just ripped through you and I don’t. Here,” she says quietly, and I look up in time to see a stream of blood heading toward us.
“It’s diluted. I wouldn’t feed you fresh blood.”
“I never questioned that,” I say before grinning and opening my mouth. I drink it down, and she does the same. It’s like having a blood fountain.
“Still don’t cut the power. We need to escape under the rada—”
“What the fuck?” a man spews from behind us. I turn just as the first shot is fired, but the blood behind us suddenly turns into a solid form, growing between us like a block of steel instead of a liquid mess.
“It’s amazing what compressing the molecules can do,” she says with an amused smile, watching the man at the end of the hall panic. His eyes aren’t purple, meaning he’s a human minion. At least Alice didn’t feel as though we warranted high security.
Simone barely offers the guy a wink, and he’s suddenly on the ground and strangling for air he can’t grasp, gurgling on his own blood as it pours out of his mouth.
“Let’s hope they’re all that easy,” I murmur idly, trying not to sound as impressed as I am.
“The new hybrids are stronger than me, but—” Her words cease as she doubles over and clutches her stomach, breathing heavy and scaring they ever loving hell out of me.
“Shit. What’s wrong?” I whisper, watching helplessly as she bites back a cry of pain.
“Aria. I think… I think she’s projecting numerous emotions at me at once. She—”
Her words are cut off again as she cries out through tight lips. I shift my weight, unsure what to do, but I finally scoop her up.
“Why the fuck would she be doing this to you?”
After whatever wave of pain that she’s feeling seems to ease, she scowls. “I think she’s trying to make me go savage by forcing me to feel what she felt when she thought Jase was dead. She’s using my feelings for you to make them more potent. Fuck, it’s strong as hell, too.”
This time when it hits her, she cries out, and I’m forced to put her down and muffle the sound with my hand, silently cursing Aria. When did she get this damn strong?
“Why the hell would she do this?” I ask myself, but at the same time, Simone’s eyes darken, her pupils pulsating and dilating at a dangerous pace.
I start to step back just as her voice breaks the silence, chilling me to the bone with its eerie tone.
“Probably because she wants us getting out of here alive.”
My eyes widen when I see a fully phase three savage that I’m still holding on to. I start to move, but then she grins up at me, and I’m torn between being terrified and relieved.
“I’m okay. I can’t believe she was right, but I’m okay.”