Chapter Kellan

After babysitting Simone's blood fuck partner long enough to send her off, I finally try to find the others. The first person I see is the fucking commander, and I don't want to talk to him. I'm so ready for Aria to be over this bullshit fucking with her blood.

Aria isn't with him right this second, so I start looking for her, hoping to catch her without him for a change. I have to do something to make us work. I'm drowning right now. It's hard to make her love me if she's disgusted by my touch.

"Hey," the beautifully familiar voice says from behind me, and I turn to smile at the girl destined for me.

"Hey. I was just looking for you," I murmur softly, refraining from touching her because I don't want to see her grimace.

"I was looking for you too," she says, surprising me, making my heart actual shuffle in my chest.

"You were?"

I hate how pathetic that just sounded, but it feels so good. She's always looking for him, never me. For once, he's in view but she's at my side instead.

She smiles softly, looking around behind me as though she's searching for something. "Yeah, I wanted to find our full blood informant before she left."

The hope I foolishly let myself have starts to crumble to the ground. I should have known she wasn't just searching for me.

"Oh," I murmur softly, trying not to let my disappointment ring out. "She's already gone. Did you forget to ask her something?"

I don't really care if she forgot to ask anything, but I don't want to seem disengaging. I sure as hell don't want her to know how bad that just hurt.

"No, I forgot to warn her," she says while huffing out, kicking a rock to express her frustration.

"Warn her?" I ask, finding her attempt to be intimidating a little sexy.

"Yeah. I don't want her to tell anyone about Simone, and I was going to make it clear what would happen to her if she did."

One second she hates Simone, and the next she's defending her secret. I really don't understand women as well as I thought. In fact, I don't understand them at all. I'm starting to wonder if all the women I've known throughout the years were secretly laughing at me for thinking I knew the first damn thing about their confusing world.

"I took care of that," I murmur while sitting down on the tailgate of one of the trucks the United just arrived in.

Their swarming in, getting their instructions, and loading the place down with uniformed soldiers. For a guy who has spent a few years as a fugitive, it's weird. I keep thinking I'm supposed to run or hide, a reflex I've developed.

"You took care of it?" she asks, her beautiful smile returning as she joins me, just barely not touching me as she devotes her attention to me.

Finally. I've done something right.

"I gave her a glimpse of what I could do," I say casually, trying not to sound arrogant.

To be honest, the bitch laughed at me. She said she knew she was fucking Araya's niece and she was far more scared of what Araya would do to her than what I could do. I won't tell Aria that part though.

Her smile grows, and she pats my arm, keeping the contact light and brief. It's a sweet gesture though. Maybe it means she just wants to touch me.

"That's sweet," she says, smiling softly. "You seem pretty protective of her."

Her? She thinks I said something for Simone's sake? She's never going to get over that stupid kiss that I fell into during a moment of weakness.

"You're still upset about that kiss, aren't you?" I grumble, feeling as though the rug has just been ripped out from under me.

She forces a smile through tight lips, and then she shakes her head.

"I wasn't ever really mad. You're a hybrid. It's in your nature. I was hurt at Simone because she's like my sister."

She really thinks I'm that stupid?

"Aria, can I ask you something?"

She shrugs, acting indifferent as her eyes slowly start to trail away from me, sneaking a glance at the full blood commander. He's busy directing the foot traffic and sending his men on different details. He thinks he's so fucking important. He's just a poor replacement for Clay Jude or Hale Banner.

"Why is it you tell him exactly how you feel, but with me, you hold back? Are you worried I'm going to get mad at you if you're honest?"

She looks away, not letting her eyes rise from the ground. "He can read my mind. Generally, I don't like conflict. I usually get boiling mad, but I get over it without having to tell anyone."

I start to pull her hand in mine, but she tenses before I even reach her. Her eyes move back to the full blood, and then they fall to the ground with all their exposed violet beauty.

"Aria, I'm in love with you. You can't run me off because you speak your mind."

A tear slips out of her eye for reasons unbeknownst to me. I reach over to wipe it from her cheek, but she pushes my hand away, turning her face from me.

"Kellan, I need to tell you something," she says while sighing out, keeping her eyes on the vacant landscape beside the city.

She's finally going to let me know it made her mad. It's about damn time. Maybe we can move forward now.

"Okay," I murmur softly, stroking her cheek in a way that instantly makes her start to sweat - in a bad way.

She grabs her head and puts it between her knees while rocking back and forth, and the full blood shows up almost instantly. He sits down on the other side of her, pulling her into his arms as he coos softly to her, making her pain disappear with just a touch.

This is torture. I may have to let her seek his comfort for a little while longer, but I don't have to sit here and watch it.

"I need to go check on something," I murmur, though it's nothing more than a sad lie.

"Okay," she murmurs while leaning into the full blood, listening to whatever he's whispering so low.

How does a full blood whisper too quietly for me to hear?

Whatever he says makes her nod, and then he wipes a tear from her cheek. I stand there, feeling like the odd man out once more. Then I walk away just as he makes her smile again.

He makes it look so easy. Aria is by far the most complicated, hard to understand, mystery of a girl there's ever been. How can he possibly make it seem so easy to shift her moods?

I fucking hate him.

I huff out, refusing to look behind me, as I make my toward the edge of the city. Short black hair calls to my attention, and I notice Simone sitting in the tall grass where the city meets nature.

Blood is swirling around in the air in front of her, and she's leaned back, watching it as though there's something she's studying. She lifts a finger, and the blood splits, forming a new thread. It's beautiful really.

"Who's blood is-"

She screeches, halting my query, and blood flies all around, part of it splashing me just below the lip. Shit that was close.

"Damn it," she gripes, grabbing her heart. "You scared the hell out of me."

I touch the wet spot below my lip to feel how dangerously close that just came to finding my mouth. Her heart is pounding fiercely, and I cock my eyebrow as I gauge her reaction.

"This is yours? You're playing with your own blood?"

She blushes, which is something she does a lot around me.

"Yeah," she murmurs, not bothering to elaborate freely.

I laugh while sitting down beside her, watching her pull free all the spilled blood and reassemble it.

"What are you doing?" I ask, genuinely curious.

I realize then she's not wearing a bra, which becomes distracting immediately. I look away, trying not to let my eyes fall to the loose, thin fabric showing the perfect roundness lying underneath.

"Checking it for anything out of place. It's times like these I wish my dad was still here. He could do this so much better. You know he could even dissect the section of blood that forced the need for a blood fuck? It's starting to piss me off."

I laugh lightly at her inferiority complex.

"Why are you checking your blood?"

She grumbles under her breath, shaking her head and then her blood swirls into a tight wad before slipping into a vial.

"I know something is wrong with me, but I don't know what. That kiss... the one you returned by the way, I wouldn't have done that to Aria without being extremely pressured by something... someone perhaps. Since her blood was fucked with, I'm checking mine."

"So you wouldn't have gone after me at all unless something was forcing you to? I really have lost all my swagger," I mumble while dropping back to lie down and letting my arms fall over my face in a crossing motion.

I hear her smile before I see it, and I peer out from behind my hands to see the beautifully executed grin she bashfully displays.

"You haven't lost all of your swagger," she lightly giggles out, a flirty hue to her tone. "I was simply saying I wouldn't do that to Aria. She's my best friend, and since my parents died, she's been my lifeline. I would like to think I have enough dignity to refrain from a pretty face when that face belongs to my best friend's counter."

" Pretty face? That's emasculating," I joke, amused by how easily she seems to blush around me.

She looks away and starts pulling at the grass beneath her. A nervous habit perhaps? Do I make her nervous?

"You know what I mean," she says in a near whisper, keeping her eyes on the ground as her girly grin grows.

I stifle my grin, enjoying her discomfort. I feel more like myself around her. It's fairly obvious Aria makes me feel like a nervous kid because I'm constantly trying to prove myself to her. I always have to compete with the full blood she loved first.

Simone... she's simple. She doesn't confuse the hell out of me. I really wish things were this easy with Aria. Maybe it will be when she finally accepts me fully. That can't happen until her blood is cleansed. Just one more day.

"So, what do you think is wrong with your blood, and who do you think would mess with you?"

She shrugs, her serious face coming into play as she becomes Dr. Jude. "A number of reasons. I'm close to Aria, Araya, Grayson... all the big hybrid players. And, as you learned tonight, my blood has secrets of its own. If they knew about Aria before Araya told the world, then it's likely they know about me as well."

I nod, realizing she might be right.

"Don't let anyone get their hands on that vial. If that woman was right and there are insiders, then they could have been involved with Seminole's collapse," I murmur while motioning to the glass vial.

She nods, and then she uncorks the vial and pours the blood out, using her gift to suspend it midair. I watch in amazement as the blood sizzles, burns, and then ashes to the ground.

"How did you do that?" I ask, sitting up to offer her my full intrigue.

"It's part of my gift. I can only do it to blood that has been shed. I wish I could do it while the blood was still in the body. That would be badass." I laugh at her candor, and then she looks over her shoulder, checking for people too close, before continuing. "I already suspected an insider or two. I told Jase that as well."

I'm a little shocked by that. "He acted surprised."

"That's because he didn't want to believe it. We were both hoping I was being paranoid. You see, I never told anyone I was working with Aria's blood because her blood makes me a little overly cautious. I even went so far as to change all the security codes so that I was the only one capable of using that lab while I was visiting. Yet they knew her blood was there and they knew where it was.

"When I went to investigate, I found the safes. They only opened the one where I kept her blood. They knew it was my personal safe, and only someone in rank would have been privy to such knowledge because of the logs I had to sign, notating I would be using said safe. The other safes - all fifty-three - all throughout the lab were crushed completely, doors still intact. The safe where I kept Aria's blood - and only Aria's blood - had the door ripped off before the blast. I could tell by the differently patterned scorch marks. They knew.

"They knew which lab I was using, and there were thirty others. Seminole is a labyrinth that should confuse anyone, so to know precisely where the lab is that I was using, along with the exact safe."

Impressive. I'm not so sure I can be around Dr. Jude right now. She's damn cute when she's showing how truly brilliant she is.

"Who had access to the logs?"

She checks over her shoulder again, though I don't know why. I would hear anyone trying to sneak up on us. You learn to have eyes in the back of your head when you live on the run.

She tugs her hair behind her ears, leaning in so she can speak softer.

"There's only five I know of: Dr. Keltman, Seminole's residing scientist, Sergeant. Davis, head of security, Captain Fricks, Seminole's compound captain, James Hardin, the legal representation of Seminole, and-"

"Wait, a lawyer? Why would he need to see the logs?" I interrupt.

"He keeps an eye on liability stuff. His late wife was hybrid, he's full blood. They moved to Seminole centuries ago, and he stayed there after she passed. I highly doubt it would be him."

I sit back, mulling over the others. "What about Captain Fricks, what's his story?"

She shakes her head, banishing that suspicion. "Captain Fricks was one of Uncle Hale's biggest fans. Fricks was put in prison after illegally biting a human. He was trying to change her, hoping for a miracle despite the fact she lacked the gene. He loved her and she was dying from cancer, so there was only one option in his eyes.

"Hale saved his life. He pardoned him from the two-hundred year sentence, and then he offered him a place in the United because Hale Banner knew the heart could make you do crazy things to save the one you love. Fricks worked his way up the ladder from there. Little by little, he earned the respect and trust of everyone. He's a good man that made a mistake a long time ago; not a traitor."

Another dead end.

"And Davis or Keltman?"

"Davis is a trusted advisor of Captain Fricks, but I've never really cared for him. He has a major stick up his ass, but I don't think he'd be a traitor. Dr. Keltman is a royal pain in the ass who is an arrogant prick, but he's served the United devotedly for centuries.

"He even helped my father with dispersing the cure for the full bloods. It's frustrating, but I can't think of any of them doing this."

I frown, not feeling any better about any of this.

"Who was the fifth?"

"Rex. He oversees all the ins and outs of the labs. He has since Dad appointed him years ago. Obviously that's out of the question."

Could Aria's brother be behind this?

"So the logs only showed which safe you were using, but not what you were using them for. Right?"

"Right."

"So out of those five, Rex is the only one who most likely knew you were messing with Aria's blood?"

She rolls her eyes, scoffing as though she's offended. "First of all, that's preposterous. You haven't been around to see how much Rex loves his sister, so I'll let it slide. Next time, I'll make you bleed in places you've never wanted to see blood."

Definitely glad I didn't meet her before Aria. I love this girl's vicious mouth.

"Okay," I chuckle out, holding my hands up in surrender. "I was just pointing out the one person out of those five who knew."

She checks over her shoulder once again, cracking me up with her excessive worry. "Jase is a full blood, but he can hear too good. He can see too good. He can fucking read minds. I know that's supposed to be nothing more than a level two power, but in all actuality, that sort of thing could be a level seven power if someone used all that information they found inside the minds of others for the wrong reason. What if there are others out there like him? What if it's not one of the four? I'm excluding Rex, for the record. What if someone else has an ability like Jase's or one similar to it?"

That's food for thought.

"What if it was Jase?" I counter, feeling like dirtying up the good commander's name.

She rolls her eyes, moving away from me a little as she stares out into the open land away from the city.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Your life would be so much easier if he was the bad guy instead of her hero. Aria's yours. Stop acting like she's not and she'll stay with you. He's not just going to hand her to you simply because you're her counter, and she's not going to fall into your arms either. You have to work for it."

She almost sounds bitter, confusing me with her glossy eyes.

"I've been working for it. He's just better at working her than I am. She adores him, and to her, I'm just a poorly timed counter. Most of the time I feel like some intrusive ailment instead of her counter. I've spent centuries trying to find that one person who would complete me, and now I learn she wants nothing to do with me most of the time. She won't even look at me without showing me her dread."

She offers me a sympathetic smile, and then she leans in, dusting a fallen leaf from my shoulder. Her touch is so soft, so delicate, as though she wants to be close to me but knows she shouldn't.

"She's just confused. Aria's emotions are her biggest weaknesses. They don't guide her correctly because she feels too much of everything. Give it some time. Like I said, she's yours."

She looks away, hiding her face from me as she stares absently into the distance.

"You okay?" I ask softly, wondering if maybe I can help her out with her troubles since she attempted to help me with mine.

"I'm fine. I should go back. I have a lot of work to do on my blood."

She sounds a little dramatic right now.

"I studied under your father for quite some time. If you need some help, let me know."

She seems honestly surprised by that. Did Aria not tell her I worked with Clay? Simone is her best friend. She really doesn't give a damn at all. Fucking full blood.

I refrain from sulking like some surly teen right now.

"You worked with my father?" she asks, turning toward me again. "I'm surprised I never met you."

I'm not. Clay Jude was one smart as hell father. He knew how I was. More than likely, he knew she was just as bad. Together, we would have given him one massive ulcer.

"I assumed Aria had told you. I suppose she forgot to mention it since it had nothing to do with Jason Ericson."

Pity mixed with a knowing glaze falls from her eyes, but she tries to mask it. It's too late though. She knows as well as I do that full blood is way out ahead of me as far as Aria is concerned. One look from Simone just told me more than Aria has since I met her.

So much for not sulking.

"She'll come around, Kellan. She will." She sighs and looks around, acting as though there's more she wants say. Then her shoulders drop as she gives up on such an effort. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," I mumble, dropping my eyes to the dirt beneath me.

I didn't even realize that I had been plucking the grass free just as Simone was doing. I've left a bald spot on the ground below me with my absentminded habit.

As she walks away, I stand again. I'm tired of these games. Simone's right. Aria's mine. I've just got to fight harder for her. I have to stop handing her over to him. He wouldn't dare hand her over to me.

My eyes scour the landscape for the beautiful creature I seek, but I don't see her. There are so many United officials here now. You'd think one of our people died. What the hell is going on?

I grab a guy by the arm as he starts to pass, and his eyes meet mine. "What's with all the United officials?" I ask, trying not to sound as irritated as I truly am.

He offers me an incredulous look, one of condescension and agitation.

"Have you not heard about the guy who tried to kill an informant?"

I shrug, showing how confused I am. "Yeah... and?"

He rolls his eyes. "The commander was here. That could have become an attack on his life. We've set up a perimeter in case there are others like the one the commander killed. We'll be staying through the night to see if we can catch a break and find out who this guy was linked to."

Unbelievable. This was supposed to be a pit stop, and now it's turned into an overnight drama fest. Commander Arrogant is just going to slow us down.

I hustle through the brigades of men working tirelessly to find anything at all to help them start a track. I'd be the best to do it, but I don't feel like fucking around. I want to get Aria out of here. Maybe I can talk her into taking her vacation, even though we definitely won't go north.

There's a couple of guys leaned up against a pole, enjoying a smoke break as they chuckle over meaningless jokes.

"Have you seen Aria Banner?" I ask when I reach them.

One nods, blowing out a veil of smoke that makes my nose turn up. "Yeah," he murmurs, "She's with the commander on the far side."

Of course she is.

"Thanks," I grumble, walking away again as I shuffle in between the militant men who are singing their commander praises.

I'm surrounded by suck-ups.

Then I see her. She's standing at his side like she's his trophy, and his arm is possessively draped around her shoulders. I wish I could tear that arm off and beat the fuck out of him with it.

That almost brings a demented smile to my face, but I wipe it away quickly, trying to dissuade myself from any violent recourse. I could shred a full blood too easily. I wish he'd give me a reason. Oh that would be so fucking awesome.

She leans into him, acting as though she's his instead of mine. It's frustrating and downright maddening. I prop up against a wall that is far enough away to evade their attention - though it's not like either of them give a damn where I am.

Several of the very prominent and stuffy men smile warmly at the girl they would have killed without hesitance just a few days ago, had they ever known what she was. Now they stare into the violet eyes to see the secret she no longer hides.

I'm not yet brave enough to remove my contacts and reveal to the world my little secret. My mother wasn't a beloved hero that saved the world, so I doubt they'll be as accepting of me, though they would probably fear me more. That could play well into my hand.

Nope. Still not taking out my contacts.

Aria's sweet laugh escapes as she politely shakes the hand of one of the men singing her praises for her beauty. The fucking commander smiles down at her, acting as though he's proud to have her hanging on him like the girl he shouldn't have.

Once her pain is gone and she doesn't need him anymore, I may very well kidnap her and force her to take a vacation. I have to get her away from him.

He kisses the top of her head before running his fingers through her hair, and then he nods to one of the men as though he's agreeing. Then he and Aria become lost in a gaze that makes me sick. I would kill to have her look at me like that. She will. One day. I hope.

She shakes another man's hand before tugging at Jase's shirt, forcing him to lean down and let her whisper into his ear. I wish I could fucking hear what she is saying.

He whispers something back, and she giggles in response. Air finds my lungs when she excuses herself and leaves all of them standing in their circle. My eyes follow her as she disappears between some of the buildings, heading down an alleyway.

I duck down an alley as well, ready to meet her in the middle of the vacant lot behind here. I have to find a way to connect with her. Talk to her. That's never been my strong suit. Conversation has been overrated in all of my previous relationships, but apparently it's something she wants.

Everything I say seems forced or just... weird. Then it's always followed by an awkward silence when there's nothing for her to really say back.

Hey, Aria, can we head to the fields? There's a bald patch in the grass I want to show you. I made it myself.

I really, really suck at this.

I roll my eyes at my own foolish self. If I'm finding myself to be boring and ridiculously odd, then what will she think?

Aria, do you want to watch a movie? We could get a room together and try to spend more than five seconds alone.

That just sounds desperate.

Line after line rolls through my head as I emerge to find the vacant lot. I see her leaning against the backside of the hotel, talking on the phone as she plays with the ends of her hair.

I can't hear who she's talking to because they're apparently using nothing more than a whisper, but I'm sure it's Araya when Aria asks how the kids are. I patiently await my opportunity. I'm afraid she'll wave me off if I interrupt.

I feel a little like a creepy stalker hiding in the shadows like this, but I'm a man on the ledge at this point. I'll do anything.

Then he shows up... that fucking full blood. He rounds the corner and his lips find hers despite the phone call she's in the middle of. She smiles against the kiss, making me sick as I stand there and watch through the looking glass at the love that should be mine.

She murmurs farewells into the phone before dropping it to the ground and putting her arms around his neck to bring him into a deeper kiss.

I really wish I had been the one to interrupt the call now.

It's not like I didn't know this was happening. I figured as much. I knew it was him seducing her instead of the seductive air in that hotel room. I'm surprised I'm not feeling the burn of her seduction right now.

She kisses him harder when his hand slides to the bottom of her ass to pull her closer, and my teeth try to break when I clench them too tightly. This is torture, but I can't lose my cool.

I start to walk away, save myself from the misery, when he pulls something out of his pocket. It's her mother-fucking panties. Fuck no.

That's a line he shouldn't have crossed. He put her in jeopardy just to fuck her before her forty-eight hour period was over. He just wants her to keep needing him. That selfish son of a bitch.

She just giggles, laughing as she takes them from him, and he starts kissing her again when she tries to pull them on. I get a brief glance of the body that's supposed to be mine when her skirt rises up higher for her to pull her lacy underwear into place.

He jerks her to him before sliding her against the wall, and his grin grows as he reads her mind. I can't watch this. He's already fucked her up. How fucking dare he!

Before I realize what I'm doing, I've already released the first purple streak of burning hot electricity.