Chapter 1 Not a Child Anymore

Blood paints the ground as the bodies drop, and screams follow the mouths of the fallen. My guns are burning against my hands as the bullets fire rapidly, slapping their uranium promise of death against my enemies.

With the mountainside at my back and my adversaries straight ahead, I've got nowhere left to go. Our ammunition is steadily running out, and this is about to get uglier.

I only wish I knew how to use all the fucking power inside me. If my mother was here… well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that.

Please hurry and show up, Uncle Grayson.

"Aria! Down, now!" Rex screams, his visions prompting him to duck and dive before he has to on his way to me.

I scream out as a uranium grenade explodes beside me, and I roll through the gap of two boulders just in time to dodge the deadly blast.

Damn that was too close.

Suddenly, bodies opposing us start falling rapidly to the ground. I hear the shots coming from far away at an angle where we shouldn't have any men.

Damn it! Uncle Brazen is here.

Only he can make that many bodies hit the ground without being seen, and he's going to be so fucking pissed.

I fire my last few shots into the hoards of the Unaligned. I curse when my chamber clicks empty, reminding me I'm of no use to anyone without a weapon. I try forcing my gift free, but it's pathetic... as always. Nothing happens besides a slight ground stirring, but the Unaligned gifted come out to play the moment they spot my attempt.

I scream as I fly backwards after feeling a bursting in my abdomen. I look down to see the slices on my shirt from the strike I never saw, and then I scream again as a gifted hybrid jumps up to show me her face.

She holds her hand toward me, and the slices emerge again, revealing the mystery. I feel as though I'm being torn apart by a jaguar with uranium-dipped claws.

She screeches when a bullet slaps her in the stomach, and she ducks down before five more come flying in with a fiery blaze. One of her men steps in and takes the brunt of the bullets whizzing toward her, and they both limp off together before I'm joined by the pale eyes I've been dreading to see.

"Damn it, Aria. How many fucking times have I told you to not get yourself pinned against a wall?" Uncle Brazen scolds while tossing me a pack of blood.

He begins firing again, and then he tosses me an ammo clip to replace my empty one. I quickly refill it and squat behind the rock to help him fire into the crowds. I appreciatively drink the blood, gasping in relief when I feel my wounds closing up.

"It looks like you're pinned now too," I snark, though I'm so damn glad he's here right now.

I look over to see Rex still dodging bullets, and Uncle Brazen takes out the men surrounding him as he makes his way through the massacre to join us.

"I'm only pinned because you almost died," Uncle Brazen growls, his eyes too busy to join his mouth in scolding me.

"I'm sorry. Don't be mad. This is bad enough."

"It's not me you have to worry about being mad," he murmurs with a twisted, secretive smirk.

"Damn it! She's here?" I squeal, the knots in my stomach twisting, turning, and growing all the more rancid as I get sick.

He smiles bigger when the question I asked is answered in front of my eyes. The clouds part as a suctioning force breaks free like an instant stage five storm. The black hole promise of death pulls the weapons of our enemies from their hands as my eyes fall upon the woman walking through the fight without fear.

Her long, red jacket blows in the wind that has been created by her own hands, and her dilated pupils strike fear into the eyes of everyone - including our own people. But her sexy ensemble makes me roll my eyes while inwardly gagging.

Gifted hybrid foes step up to take their shots, their savages emerging when they release their power tied to it. They're no match for her though.

Her invincible body takes the full brunt of their force as though it's sand swirling against her. Cat Claw Girl gets a dose of her own medicine as she spirals backwards through the air to be gashed up by a raging bolt of red lightening.

Finally, the woman in red decides to bring her dramatic entrance to an end as she uses her savage, chime-toned voice to say, "Sleep."

Bodies from both sides begin dropping in a casual form as their eyes roll back in their heads. I sigh when she leaves me standing. I wish she'd knock me out before scolding me.

"It'll be alright, kiddo," Uncle Brazen says while kissing my the top of my head, and then he walks over with a smug grin as he pulls my mother into his arms.

Her savage eyes return to be her own as her smile forms, and their lips become entangled in a passionate kiss that makes me too sick to watch.

"Is that not gross?" I huff while turning to face my unfazed brother.

"Not really. I mean, Dad has been gone for ten years. Uncle Brazen has waited a hell of a long time to be with Mom, and now he can."

I roll my eyes at the suck-up.

"I always forget what a kiss-ass you are," I scoff.

He lets a laugh escape while shaking his head.

"I never forget what a brat you are," he teases, his mischievous eyes mocking me.

"So, did you see the fight before it happened and decide not to tell me?" I gripe while glaring at him.

"You know I would have told you, but I didn't see it in time. You must have already put your phone on silent. All I saw was you screaming, and I couldn't get you to answer. I thought I showed up in time, but then I heard you actually screaming."

I think it's best if I don't tell him I was supposed to be on silent stalk. Mom has prohibited those sorts of missions.

"That bitch cut me up somehow," I growl while staring at the redhead limply tossed on the ground while snoring. "Why did you call Mom of all people?"

And where is Uncle Grayson?

"I didn't call Mom. But I'm glad they got here when they did. I was low on ammo."

"Yeah, me too, but don't tell her I said that," I grumble, my face distorting slightly from the disgusting feel of those words.

If I didn't call her and if Rex didn't call her, then Uncle Grayson sent her instead of coming himself. I'll have to make a note to kick his ass later for this.

Mom and Uncle Brazen disengage from their steamy kiss, and then she walks over to me while holding his hand.

"Aralia-Rose, I swear. I'm sick of this bullshit," she barks.

The sweetness she was just exhibiting toward her new husband has been banished by the fury in her eyes.

"Gee, Mom, nice to see you too," I snark while rolling my eyes.

Her falsified hybrid blues narrow at me as she points her finger in true motherly fashion before unleashing her lashing.

"You wanted field duty, but I knew you weren't ready. For so fucking long I've heard about how much better you were than what we gave you credit for. Your father made me promise I wouldn't let you get hurt, and here you are walking into a trap. Do you realize how many of our kind are slaughtered daily because of foolish, rash decisions? This is a damn war. Get your head out of your ass and pay attention."

Now I'm pissed.

"Really?" I scoff. "You're lecturing me about getting my head out of my ass? You don't think I know we're at war? I'm fighting this war, Mom. You're one of the most powerful entities on this damn planet, and yet you barely come out to help us in this war. "

"Aria," Uncle Brazen's stern tone cautions, his eyes scolding me now for showing my mother a little less respect than he feels she deserves.

"What? Am I supposed to feel bad because I'm at least trying to make a difference?" I admonish, my voice raising.

He shakes his head, and then he motions for Rex to follow him as they walk off to leave me alone with the fuming hybrid woman - the only one of our kind able to control her savage.

"Aralia, I don't know what to do with you," she exasperates while sitting down on an oversized boulder beside me.

"You could start calling me Aria at some point." I huff while joining her.

She rolls her eyes, but her tight lips become firmly placed as she stares straight ahead at the chaos she evoked with barely a flick of her wrist.

"My power is too great to exhibit too often. Without your father or Clay here to help me cover up my messes, I have to be a little more careful now."

I sigh as I too look around at her sleeping beauties that have been forced to shut out the world.

"I know, but Uncle Brazen could have been commander. The United basically begged him to be. He could do just as much damage control as Dad. You could still be helping us."

She looks down, and I almost see guilt riddling her face.

"I know, and he would have been, if I hadn't asked him to turn it down."

"Why?" I muse, a little startled by her seemingly selfish confession.

"Because… Aralia, I'm not supposed to be immortal, dear. You know this. At some point they're going to wonder why I'm still strong and breathing. Brazen stepped down as admiral today. He's taking a civilian leave, and I'm leaving the United as well."

What the fuck?

"Are you serious? You can't do that. You're the only reason we started pulling out of the worst of the war. You're the only reason we're winning at all right now. Not because of your gifts but because of your interrogations. You're so… so selfish!" I snap, and her eyes lower all the more.

"Honey, I've lived a while. There's always a war, there's always a fight, and there's always some bad guy wanting to take over and rule things in true tyrant fashion, but I can't fight them all if I'm not supposed to exist.

"You know what they would do if they found out I'm the daughter of an emergent. You know how they would act if they found out my true power. I won't risk you, Rex, Brazen, Angelica, Grayson, or anyone else I love, because that's who they'd go through to get to me. Either I die, or I pretend to die. Living in the United is no longer an option."

I sigh out, knowing how right she is. Our world has evolved, and it's better because of my mother, but they wouldn't accept that. She pulls my hand in hers before continuing her sad monologue.

"This war started when Hale died. They didn't think anyone else was strong enough to hold them back with Clay and Hale both gone. This is hard from me to walk away from, so don't for one minute think it isn't. I've met our new commander though, and he's going to be the one to get everyone out of this. He'll be the knight in shining armor everyone needs. He's a good leader, and though I disagree with his choice in keeping his identity a secret, I understand his reasoning. If he's right, then he'll make one hell of a dent in this fight."

"So you and Brazen are going to fake your death, and then what? Disappear?"

"No. We're going to find a home, live our lives outside the United and Unaligned bickering. We're too old for this shit," she laughs out. "No one will be looking for the dead, but we'll cut ourselves out of communication circles for a while. When I reemerge, I'll look different, and no one will suspect anything when they see this."

She smirks as she pulls out her hybrid blue contacts, and then she replaces them with a pale blue full blood color instead.

"Well I'll be damned. You look full blood now. I suppose it helps that our scents mingle and mix these days, considering your blood healed them from their curse."

She smiles softly, and then she changes her contacts to put her hybrid blues back into place, giving me only a glimpse of her true violet stained eyes during the exchange.

"Well then. I suppose I need to wake up your captain and the rest of your crew. You'll need to tell them it was-"

"Yeah, I know. It was uranium sleeper gas. You might want to leave some of our men down and wake some of the Unaligned so that it doesn't look so obvious when only our people rise."

She smirks, and then she kisses my forehead before taking my hand in hers. Very slowly, all of our men start rising to their feet as Mom walks over to rejoin her newlywed husband. He smiles salaciously as he folds his arms around her waist and pulls her to his body the way he has only dreamed about for centuries.

I sigh out as I walk over to my captain, but he quickly goes to cuffing all the unaligned while they stay under the sleeping spell cast through my mother's lips.

I wish I could do that. Hell, I wish I could go savage .

I feel like the daughter everyone expected to be so powerful, when really, I'm the disappointment they never saw coming. I feel like a child instead of a centuries old hybrid. I feel… so alone… but I shouldn't.

I stare at my mother with Uncle Brazen, and though it's so different from the she was with my father, it's still so amazing. I want that.