Breed of Innocence (The Breed Chronicles, #01) Read online

  But if I started early, that’d get me done five months sooner. I could actually do something now and start learning what I needed to know.

  “Miss Hall?”

  My head whipped around. “Yeah?”

  “Are you thinking, or are you going into a coma?”

  I felt my cheeks heat again. “Sorry. Thinking. But I’ll start now.”

  Another one of those knowing smiles crossed his face. “Very well. You’ll have the weekend to relax or to pester Mr. Stone about things.” He indicated the tablet on my desk. “All of your textbooks are already downloaded to your tablet as well, so that’s the only thing you’ll need for your classes Monday.”

  I let out a breath. “Okay.”

  He started for the door then stopped. “Should you need anything else, or have a question Mr. Stone can’t answer for you, don’t hesitate to call. Just dial star-nine. That will put you through to my secretary or Assistant Director Barnes.”

  “Okay.”

  “Someone will bring you a permanent ID later this evening, so until it arrives, your door will remain unlocked. Just swipe it over the card reader when you get it and it’ll reset the lock again. You’ll need to keep it with you when you leave your room, or you’ll be forced to call someone to be let back in.”

  “Keep ID on my person. Check.” I nodded. “Thanks, Director Greene.” My gaze fell to my jeans, to the blood spattered across them. “Oh! I do have a question. I don’t think Linc can answer it for me.”

  “Yes?”

  “Is there any news on Celina? The woman you had brought in earlier?”

  “The doctors are looking after her. I’m afraid that’s all I know right now.”

  “Oh.” I sighed. “Okay.”

  “I’ll try to keep you apprised of her status.”

  “Thanks.”

  He nodded and offered a small smile. “I’ll leave you so can you can get your dinner. The café is at the back of the building, on the right side.”

  “Thanks, again.”

  “And Jade? One last thing. The weekend is your time and you’re free to do what you like, but I will ask that you not leave the grounds, and try to avoid starting any fights.” Despite the serious look he was probably going for, I saw the amusement in his eyes when I gaped at him.

  He walked away before I could think of how to respond. Which was good, since it probably would have only been an argument. And contrary to Fishface’s beliefs, I didn’t go looking for trouble. What was the point when it found me without any effort? I didn’t mind fighting so much, but it wasn’t my style to start them. I had no problem finishing one, though. It was one of my mom’s rules, even as a kid.

  “Okay,” I breathed as the door closed.

  Letting out a harsh breath, I fell back on the bed. I bounced a few times before settling and put my arms under my head. I was…content. At least more content than I’d been in a long, long time. It’d been so long that it took me a full two minutes before I realized what I felt. And what I didn’t feel: weighed down.

  I pushed up, resting on my elbows, and glanced around the room. It’s not much, I thought, quoting Greene’s earlier words. Yeah, right. It was still twice as big as my old, shared room.

  And it was mine!

  I was free of Fishface and the Tadpoles!

  Freedom, food, clothes, spending cash. I got it all, just to be a guinea pig and have my blood poked at. Just to agree to let some secret organization train me to fight demons. And after today, after finding the proof I’d been looking for, it was something I would have done for free. Without the perks. “But they’re nice ones,” I said, grinning to myself.

  I was happier than I could remember being in a long time, but I was still alone. My family was still gone, and regardless of where I was or how many people might be in this place, that wasn’t going to change. Not today, anyway. Maybe it would. Maybe this was the start I needed. Maybe joining the CGE was a step in that direction.

  My heart hurt. It always did. But right now, it seemed a little lighter and a little less achy than it had yesterday, or even this morning.

  I took a long, deep breath, released it slowly. Mom, I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing or not, but I’m going to find the thing that took you from me, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t kill— I let out a shuddered breath. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone else’s family. And I would. Even if it took four years, or however long Greene said it might take.

  My stomach grumbled. I still hadn’t eaten.

  And I was supposed to meet Linc!

  I jumped up from the bed and ended up sliding across the floor as I rushed to the bathroom, narrowly avoiding running head-first into the doorjamb. I twisted around, went back for my bag.

  Two minutes later, I ran back out wearing clean clothes and had hopefully managed to de-grass my hair. I pulled the door shut behind me as my stomach growled again.

  I went left, to the nearest staircases and started down, taking them two at a time at breakneck speeds. When I reached the first floor, I slammed out of the doors and ran straight ahead.

  Without warning, something blurry ran into me—or I ran into it—and sent me skidding across the floor. My head cracked against the linoleum, leaving stars dancing in my vision. The blur landed a few feet away with a muffled oomph.

  Pushing up, I rubbed the back of my head and tried not to wince when my fingers touched a small, already-forming knot.

  The blur was…still blurry. I tried focusing my eyes on the shape in front of me until, finally, it took form. A girl, with short, jet-black hair and a pissed off glare, stared at me. I recognized her from Orientation. She was the one who’d been sending me death-glares after my sparring match with Linc.

  A girl with blonde hair ran up to her and squatted down beside her, offering to help her up. “Are you okay, Felecia?”

  Oh, I’m fine, thanks for asking about me, I thought.

  Blurry-girl, aka Felecia, let the other person help her to her feet, all the while using the death-glare on me. “Mind watching where the hell you’re going?” she snarled.

  “You know,” I started, pushing off the ground and ignoring the crowd gathering around us as I dusted off the back of my pants, “you weren’t exactly all-eyes yourself.” Greene had wanted me to avoid starting fights. Crap. He probably wanted me to play nice. I exhaled, tried for a diplomatic smile. “Sorry, I was running late—”

  The other girl snorted.

  Biting down on my tongue to keep from saying something that would definitely get me in trouble, I tried my diplomacy act once more. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m starving and I’m supposed to meet someone.” Half a beat passed, then, “And I wasn’t the only one rushing.” At least I didn’t think I was.

  Okay, so the last bit probably wouldn’t help make peace, but whatever. I was still starving, Linc was still waiting, and now my head was killing me.

  The girl took a step forward. Her hands curled into fists at her side. As someone who fought—a lot—I knew the look well. To head her off, I said, “I’m not going to fight you.”

  Felecia set her jaw. “That’s fine. You can just stand there while I kick your ass.”

  CHAPTER 06

  I took a step back and kept my eyes on Felecia. “You really don’t want to do this.” Though anyone with a single brain cell could see that she did. And in a bad, bad way.

  Felecia advanced on me with a nasty smile on her face. She craned her neck side to side. “Yeah, I think I do.”

  I’d told Greene I wouldn’t start any fights, and I intended to keep my word. But he never said anything about ending one. If Felecia wanted to go a few rounds then we would. I wouldn’t throw the first punch, though. But against the rules or not, I wouldn’t stand by and let some girl with an angry bug up her ass pummel me.

  When Felecia said nothing else, I shook my head and turned away. Did I have a ‘target me, target me!’ sign pinned to me somewhere? Some invisible-to-me tattoo? G
reene calling on me for demonstrations, and now some crazy chick who wanted to fight over a stupid accident.

  Maybe I really was a magnet for trouble.

  A tingling on the back of my neck had me slowing and turning around. I dodged to the side half a second before Felecia’s fist would have plowed into my head. “What’s your deal? Do you really want to fight over something so stupid?”

  In answer, she swung at me again. I twisted out of her way and, using her own momentum against her, shoved her down.

  She hit the ground hard. “Bitch,” she muttered as she jumped back to her feet.

  I circled around, trying to avoid her, and kept my fists up to block any hits she’d try to get in. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the crowd around us had grown. Great. Just what we need—an audience. “For crying out loud! I don’t want to fight you.”

  Her brown eyes narrowed even more. “I don’t remember asking what you wanted.”

  I tried blocking out the voices around me. Half the crowd was yelling ‘kick her ass!’, but I didn’t know which she was supposed to be kicking which she’s ass. The other half yelled for us to stop. Both options appealed to me. Unfortunately, judging by the look on Felecia’s face, only one option would please her.

  She came at me again, this time feinting with a right punch. I pivoted around to avoid it and instead got a kick to the side of my right knee that had it collapsing under my weight. I groaned as I hit the ground, then closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Inhaling deep, I held the air in for a few seconds. I pushed it back out slowly.

  Enough was enough already.

  Diplomacy hadn’t worked. Defending myself hadn’t worked. Trouble or not, I wasn’t letting psycho Felecia kick my kneecap in for no good reason. You want a fight, you've got it now. I stayed where I was and waited. Girls like Felecia were predictable, and I knew how they fought—especially when they thought their opponent was down.

  Felecia came up behind me, but I was ready for it. When her shadow loomed over me, I reached up, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and pulled. She flew over my shoulder and landed on the ground a few feet away with a sickening thud, followed by a moan that was mostly a curse.

  The crowd scurried out of the way.

  I pushed to my feet, wincing when my right leg tried going out under me again. Keeping most of my weight on my left leg, I limped over to her. She moved to get up, but I put my foot on her chest, increasing the pressure slightly when she tried wiggling free. “We're done here. The next time we fight—because I know your type and you're too stupid to just let it go—I'm not going to be as nice.” I pressed down a little harder, just enough to make sure she knew I was serious.

  I didn't mind fighting, not when I really had to, not when there was no other choice. I understood attacking someone for something stupid. I'd done it myself more than a few times since my family died. But what I hated, what I didn't care for, were people who attacked their opponents when they were down or not looking.

  If you were going to fight someone—even over something ridiculously stupid—it should be a fair fight. That was what my mom had taught me.

  I shook my head again and hobbled away, once again heading in the direction of the cafe. I wanted food. And aspirin. And, maybe more pressing than anything else on my short list, some damn ice for my throbbing knee.

  I heard footsteps behind me and pivoted around. Felecia’s fist slammed into my jaw hard enough to make my teeth shake, and when I licked my lips, I tasted blood. She moved in for another hit. I ducked under her arm, sent my elbow cracking into the back of her head, and twisted away. A shockwave of pain ran up my arm. I made face, shook my arm out. “We’re done,” I said again.

  Most of the crowd whooped and pointed. Some covered their mouths with their hands to stop from laughing. Felecia was livid. If this had been a cartoon, she would’ve had smoke coming out of her ears.

  I gave it another minute, just to make sure she wouldn’t try anything again. When she didn’t move and just continued to look as if she were trying to transform herself into a Hulk-like figure, I walked away.

  Everything ached, from my head to my toes. I should have just gone back to my room to cool off, but I was still starving. Gingerly, I touched my jaw and worked it side to side. Assuming, of course, I could actually eat.

  While Linc and I hadn’t exactly set a time frame of when to meet up, it’d been long enough now that he’d probably left, which meant I’d be eating alone. At the Pond, I’d preferred it that way. After my little scuffle with Felecia, I was surprised that I didn’t want to be alone. Not tonight. Not here.

  A few people smiled as I limped toward the café, and a few glared, but none spoke. Apparently, I had newbie written all over me.

  I sighed and, just when I’d decided to forgo food for a shower, saw Linc pushing his way through the crowd. One glimpse of me and he winced. “So that was you, huh?” he said, shaking his head.

  “What was me?”

  “The fighting.” He stopped when he reached me and hooked his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans. “I’m guessing with Felecia.”

  I muttered something under my breath.

  He rocked back on his heels and looked over my shoulder again. “Yup.”

  “I want food,” I mumbled. The words were partially slurry.

  His entire expression changed. It went from amused to concerned, and he moved to my side, putting one arm around my waist. He guided me to the café court. “Are you okay?”

  “Do I look okay?” I shook my head and sighed. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Why did she fight you?”

  “I ran into her trying to get here. Or she ran into me. Not sure which.”

  “She’s getting worse,” he said under his breath.

  “You mean she attacks everyone and isn’t taking an exception to me?”

  He made a face. “Yes and…yes. She’s a little aggressive toward anyone who looks at her funny, and mostly when they’re not.” He rolled his eyes and sat me down at one of two dozen white-topped tables in the room. He disappeared for a few seconds, and when he came back, he had a bag of ice in his hand. He pressed it gently against my jaw and took the seat in front of me. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen her attack anyone before, though. Usually she sticks to intimidation or verbal abuse.”

  “There was plenty of both.” I glanced over my shoulder now. Felecia was still in the outer hall with a small group of her friends. She caught me looking and flipped me the bird. I sighed and turned back. “So much for letting bygones be bygones.”

  Linc looked around me, shook his head. “Nope.” A moment of silence passed. “Did you fight back?”

  “I did. I gave as good as I got, though she got my knee. Which is throbbing something awful.” I pulled the bag of ice away from my face and set it on my knee.

  “Really? Interesting.”

  “What?”

  “No one’s ever fought back—physically, anyway.”

  My back went up. “Well, I wasn’t about to let her stomp all over me because of some stupid accident,” I said, my tone defensive now.

  Did everyone but me think defending themselves was a bad thing? Weren’t people supposed to stick up for themselves, or were they supposed to—

  “Whoa. Easy tiger.” Linc held up his hands. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t have done what you did, just that no one else has before.”

  I let out a huff of air. “Sorry. I’m pissy after a fight.”

  The sides of his mouth twitched. “It’s okay. I’m usually pissy during one.”

  “Wait.” I made a face and held up my hand. “No one’s fought back? Ever?”

  He shook his head. “She’s been here almost two years and has pretty much ruled the place the entire time. Of course, she doesn’t typically go after anyone who could, or would, fight back. She usually sticks to the smaller girls, or the insecure ones.” His shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug. “They’re easier targets. Nervous to be here and s
cared to leave.”

  “So how much trouble do you think I’ll be in? With Greene, I mean?”

  “I…don’t know.” He didn’t frown, but it was close. “He’s pretty strict about fighting, which is another reason I’m surprised Felecia attacked you. Verbal fights are one thing. Unless they get really heated or look like they’ll turn into a physical fight, he usually lets them slide. But he wants us ‘working together’, not against each other.”

  I dropped my head down onto the table, ignoring the small burst of pain from having literally dropped it. “Great. Haven’t even made it a full twenty-four hours and already I’m making shit lists.” And probably on my way to getting kicked out.

  “Maybe not. Greene’s obviously got something in mind for you. He wouldn’t have went for you himself otherwise, I don’t think.”

  While a part of me still disliked the idea of being handpicked by him or having any kind of special treatment that I didn’t deserve, another part of me hoped Linc was right. I didn’t want kicked out on my first day. “I guess we’ll see.”

  My stomach made a sound that had heat rushing to my cheeks. Linc jumped up. “Shit, sorry. You need food—almost forgot. What sounds good? We have...” He jumped up from his chair and stood on his tiptoes, glancing over at the serving areas on the left side of the room. “Looks like some kind of chicken—probably not bad. Salad, if you're a rabbit. Or a vegetarian.” He glanced at me, tilted his head to the side. “You look like neither. Pizza—”

  “Pizza. If it has lots of pepperoni, I’ll be your slave your life.” I leaned back in the chair and almost drooled. The scent had been teasing me since I arrived. “It’s been...” How long had it been since I’d had pizza? At least six months. Pizza had been a reward at the Pond, and not one I’d ever gotten. “Too long.”

  “Excellent choice, Miss Hall,” he said in an almost-perfect imitation of Greene. “Be right back.”

  “I can get it my—”