Ash (4 page)

Holy fuck! I had ash eyes.

Even
in my distressed state, I noticed that something about my eyes seemed
a little different from the male ash eyes I had seen. But
there was no mistaking the fact that I had the very distinct eyes of a human
vampire hybrid. My mother’s words floated back to me. She had been trying to
tell me something, to prepare me for this moment. My chest heaved as I fought
back the panic that was coming. Ryder held the mirror in place, as if he was
trying to force me to stare longer, to acknowledge all of the things I had
conveniently ignored over the last few months. It wasn’t just the eyes. There
was no denying how flawless my skin was; it had a light glow, and my hair shone
like in a Pantene commercial. Not to mention I could run like an Olympic
athlete and was thirsty for something no liquid I drank could quench. But
still, even with all of that, t
he eyes were the worst.

I was a freak. How had this happened?

As
Ryder lowered the mirror, the dry burning need in my throat and mouth roared to
life. Everything was starting to make sense now. If I was an ash, I needed…

Ryder produced a small bag of blood.

No!
Not blood. I couldn’t be like
them. I wouldn’t.

The moment I had that thought, he pricked the plastic bag, and as
the metallic tang filtered into the air, some sort of instinct knocked into me.
I jerked hard against the chains and was relieved to hear them snap. There was
the slightest burn in my gums, near the canine areas, and I could actually feel
the lengthening of my fangs.

But I was too far gone in the blood haze to care about that.

I popped up on two feet and stood on the bed looking down at
Ryder. He looked only mildly surprised by my rapid movement as he tossed me the
bag. He then reached for a long stick which had been resting near the end of my
bed, with some type of metal electrodes at the end.

The
blood bag was cool to touch, and as my eyes zeroed in on the dark red within,
my stomach churned.
This was gross. I was not doing
this. No, no, no…

Before I could stop myself, the thirst within roared harder and I
lifted the pouch, bringing it to my mouth. The fangs, over which I had no
control, slid out again and punctured the plastic. I began sucking the glorious
blood into my mouth and down my throat. Pleasure exploded on my tongue and I
moaned. I had a fleeting thought of Tessa. I would have to tell her that
touching an ash had not done shit, but drinking blood was most definitely a
mini orgasm. Even though my head was still saying gross, the rest of me was in
heaven. For the first time in forever, my thirst was contained. Vitality poured
into my body. My heart pounded in my ears and my muscles tightened. All too
soon the bag was empty.

“More,” I growled at Ryder.

He slowly pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt clip. “We need to
put the south ward on lockdown.”

What the fuck?
He wasn’t
producing the blood I wanted fast enough, so I leapt down from the bed, ready
to rip his pockets open in search of more of that liquid orgasm. But before I
could get within two feet of him, his arm snaked out, grabbing me by the neck
and slamming me back down on the bed.

I froze as both shock and arousal poured through my newly
sensitized body. He leaned down close to my ear and I could smell him – cedarwood
and other spices, not to mention that something decidedly male and enticing. Of
course he would smell yummy too. I could not catch a break. His breath tickled
my ear.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

My thoughts of Ryder were distracted by a heady scent of metallic
deliciousness wafting toward me. That smell – someone had more blood nearby. My
leg kicked out hard, launching Ryder off of me. I got two steps to the door
when I felt a massive surge of electricity rock my body and I fell backward.

Strong arms wrapped around me just as the blackness took me.  

It felt as if the jolt knocked
me out for only seconds, but it must have been longer. I awoke in a different
room, and
even though I should have had the mother of
all headaches after taking that much electrical pulse, I felt amazing. My
senses seemed to be on overdrive, and it took me only moments to catalogue the
area. I had expected to be chained to the bed again, but in this room there were
no chains. A tugging sensation had me focusing on the IV in my arm. I followed
the cord to find a large bag of blood slowly dripping into my vein. I ran my
tongue over my teeth. The canines were short again, and for the first time in
days my mouth felt wet and hydrated.  

Movement
and a scraping sound caught my attention – two figures stepped into view. The
pair, who had not realized I was awake yet, were across the other side of the
large room, but I could hear them perfectly.

“She needs more blood than most ash. Nearly the same amount as a vampire
in the midst of the change. If you keep her hydrated, you shouldn’t have any
more outbursts.” A short-haired, strawberry-blond woman wearing a white lab
coat was speaking to Ryder
.
On instinct I inhaled. Her scent was different to the male ash and
humans. She was a vampire. Somehow I knew this already, like I had an inbuilt
radar that told me human, ash, or vampire.

My eyes fell then to the stick Ryder still held in his hands. I
had a distinct flash of burning pain as I recalled how that bastard had electrocuted
me.

I was an ash.
Shit. I knew newly-turned
ash could be dangerous. Something about needing large influxes of blood for the
cells to adjust to the virus as it finally released and took root in your body.
I could have killed my mom. Maybe I should be a little more grateful to be here
and not out there hurting someone I loved. Though what I really needed was an
explanation. How could this even happen? A female ash. I always wanted to be
unique, but this was not exactly what I’d had in mind.

I stared down at my hands, only to find that they looked slightly
different, the skin tighter, paler, baby soft. Holy hell on wheels, I did not
know how to process this. I was legit a damned ash. What did this even mean for
me? Would I ever see my mom again? Tessa? What about college? I was not ready
to give my life up and live in the Hive.

My tumultuous thoughts were cut off as the lab-coat woman left the
room and suddenly Ryder was back by my side. His eyes locked in on me as he
stopped about three feet from my bed. He didn’t seem surprised to see me awake.
Probably he’d known the entire time.

I cleared my throat, unsure of what to say. “I’m a woman,” I
blurted out stupidly.

His
cheeks lifted then, the sides of his mouth quirking into a
sexy smile, full of dimples and straight white
teeth. Until this point I had not seen the man crack even so much as a smirk,
and now I was assaulted with that much sexiness all in one go. He was lethal in
more ways than one.

The
gods hated me today. I did not want to be attracted to an ash. I couldn’t be.

His
smile faded then, morphing into an expression that was part heat and part
curiosity
. His eyes drifted down my body. “Yes, I see
that.”

Well, eff me
. “No, I mean … how can a
woman be an ash?”

He took another slow step toward me, his hand still gripping his
torture stick. Whether I deserved it or not, I really wanted to get him back
for that one. Although, as I scanned his huge arms and graceful stalk toward me,
I doubted I could take him on. 

“We’re all a little mystified at your presence here. But there’s
no doubt … you’re an ash.”

 As fear flooded me, so did anger. “So I just give everything up
and join your bloodsucker gang?” I spat the words out. There was nothing I
hated more than losing my freedom, my choices. Sure, I probably wouldn’t have
found the cure for cancer, but that wasn’t the point. The point was I could
have, and now that chance was gone.

He lowered the stick to his side and I noticed his ankle was in a
walking boot, like he had recently been injured.

“You will have to abide by our rules and live here in the Hive, yes.”

I had guessed I was in the Hive, but now it was confirmed.
Wait!
I was in the mother-effing Hive! Of course I was. My skin crawled at the
realization of how many ash and vampires were around me right then. Thousands. I
forced myself not to think about the only other time I’d been on these grounds.
This time would be different.
Yeah, sure.
This time I’d probably have
hundreds of the bastards trying to hurt me.

My eyes darted again to his firm grip on the torture stick. “You
can put that thing down. I think I’ve had my weekly intake of electric shock, thanks.”
I glared.

He didn’t budge. “My broken ankle would seem to disagree with
you.”

My mouth dropped slightly. I did that?
Shit
. “Oh. Whoops.”

He shrugged like it was no big deal. “It will heal in a few
hours.”

I leaned back on the pillow. Maybe for now I needed to just shut
the hell up and do what this guy told me. I clearly didn’t know anything about
this place, and there was no returning to the human world for me. My entire
life was going to change. No more Tessa, no more Mom. Curfew, blood thirst,
fighting.
Shit …
I had forgotten about that part. The fighting. The
rumors of the fighting match required to earn your place here. I felt the heat
behind my eyes then, the pressure which had me pressing my tongue to the roof
of my mouth. But there was no stopping it. Big hot girly tears tumbled down my
cheeks and I rolled over and faced the wall as sobs wracked my body.

I heard the soft click of the door as Ryder left to give me privacy
and I let it all out. I needed to process this shit and get over it, because if
the rumors were true, I would soon be fighting for my life. The Hive was
overpopulated. If you wanted to live, you had to earn that right.

After crying
it all out, I pulled myself together. That was my one moment to fall apart. Now
I would deal with this shit the same way I had dealt with every bad thing in my
life – by fighting back. I got out of bed, wincing as I pulled out my IV and
the tape which had held it down. Noticing a pile of clothes on a nearby chair,
I crossed over to pick up the first item. I felt my brows draw together as I
stared at the shiny material. I wasn’t happy about wearing something of theirs,
but I had no choice. I also noticed boots and underwear, which surprisingly
enough looked to be my size. I slipped into the cotton underwear and followed
this with the skintight black jumpsuit, which had silver panels on the side.
Everything fit me like a glove. The back and front right pocket of my suit had “#46”
on it.

Had they custom made this outfit for me or something? How long had
I been out of it? Surely not long enough for them to measure and fit me with an
outfit. Ugh, did those creeps take my measurements while I was unconscious? I
really shouldn’t even be surprised by that.

Dressed and nervous, I was just deciding whether or not to try and
open the door when I heard voices on the other side. I pressed my ear against
it.

“There has never been a female ash. She’s special. The rules are
not the same for her and we shouldn’t have her fight with the others. What if
she’s killed?” Ryder’s voice was low, controlled, but I could hear undercurrents
which made me nervous. I couldn’t tell how far away he was, but I could hear
him as if he was right next to me. Ash perk.

A cold, hard voice cut him off. “There are eleven open beds left
in this hive and forty-six new ash. She will fight with the others and earn her
place like everyone else.”

“Sir, I respect your position, but—”

“But you’re not in my position, so do your job and follow orders.
Find her a trainer and a sponsor and be done with it!” Loud footsteps
retreated.

“Dick,” Ryder muttered, and I smirked.

The door opened suddenly, cracking me in the side of the face.

“Ow!” I rubbed my cheek as Ryder stood before me.

He let out an exasperated sigh. “Do you make it a habit to listen
behind closed doors?”

His eyes locked in on me and I was struck by the notion that, like
my own, his were a little different than the others. More silver.

I stepped back a few feet. “I might be guilty of doing that on occasion.”

He
had no cast on his leg now. He hadn’t been kidding about the quick healing. And,
thankfully, he
no longer carried the torture stick.
He
gestured for me to follow him.

“If you can keep from attacking everyone, I can allow you to join
the rest of the new ash.”

“No promises.” I pursed my lips. I wasn’t kidding either.

The smallest hint of a smile crossed his face as if he’d heard the
extra thoughts I didn’t add. He picked up his walkie-talkie. “I’m taking new
initiate number forty-six out into general population. Be advised.”

My eyebrows shot up.
Seriously?
What else had I done in my
blood craze?