Page 56 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Lily

I am no longer Prospect Four Hundred and Seven. I glanced down at the card in my hand. I am now Moon Chase Item Seventeen, Designation Clemente Clan.

The blonde female beside me held a similar card, only hers said, Breeding Bitch Twelve, Designation Clemente Clan. Above it were the words Blood University Three, Prospect Seven Hundred and One, Year One Hundred and Seventeen . That distinction was crossed out, just like mine.

Only mine said Blood University Seven, Prospect Four Hundred and Seven, Year One Hundred and Seventeen.

I assumed the number distinction after the university detailed which one we’d attended. It seemed like a safe assumption to make, considering she was a stranger to me.

A lycan growled from the front of the bus, his gaze on a silently sobbing woman a few seats in front of me. She was doing her best not to make a sound—all of us were—but the shifter obviously felt that the human needed to try harder.

I ignored the exchange, my gaze dropping to my card again. I am now Moon Chase Item Seventeen. I kept repeating the statement, each time with hopes that Cedric would hear me and respond.

Disappointment threatened to drown me every time he didn’t acknowledge me.

But I kept trying.

Even as we were shuffled off of the bus and onto a plane.

Even after finding my place inside a cage.

Even as I was told to lie down and sleep.

Even while I dreamt and again when I woke.

Nothing. Not a single word.

Because he’s letting me go. Either he’s given up on me, or he’s dead .

Only, I suspected I would sense the latter. Or perhaps I wouldn’t. I couldn’t feel him inside me at all. I was just Lily. Alone with my thoughts. Holding on to a card as though it carried the meaning of life. Sitting beside the breeding-camp female. Trying not to show an ounce of emotion.

The crying woman from the bus was long gone. She’d been unable to suppress her sobs, and the lycan had taught her a lesson. Or, more accurately, he’d used the human to demonstrate what would happen to all of us if we didn’t remain silent.

I’d barely noticed, too busy chanting at Cedric to truly fear the brutality unfolding before me.

There were more incidents on the plane.

But the bus around me now was far quieter, everyone resigned to their fates, or perhaps we all had simply lost the will to live.

Although, the blonde female beside me—the same one I’d been next to throughout my journey from the Blood Day ceremony to here—didn’t seem dejected. She wore a bored expression instead, her gaze flicking to the windows as we drove through the darkness .

There was something calculative about her. I hoped she didn’t try to flee or cause a scene. The lycans would simply chase her and destroy her.

Like they’re going to do to me during the next moon chase, I thought. I’m exactly where you said I would be, Cedric. And I’m starting to wonder if that was your intent all along.

Not exactly a fair statement to make after everything we’d experienced together, but I couldn’t help the kernel of anger working its way through my heart and my mind.

He left me.

He abandoned me.

And now I’m going to be wolf food.

The bus went through a high-walled gate, the moon glinting off the wiry top. The female beside me narrowed her gaze at the barricade, her jaw clenching. But in a blink, she schooled her features and looked forward again.

Only to then glance at me when she realized I was watching her.

She arched a blonde brow in challenge, confirming that she wasn’t dejected at all, but intent on fighting this fate.

I ignored her and returned my gaze to the lycans at the front. I wanted no part in whatever she planned to do.

The metal groaned around us as the tires protested the path, forcing the bus to inch along a long, dark road that seemed to go on for miles.

My seatmate returned her eyes to the window, as did I, both of us observing the barren land illuminated by bright lights out in the yard.

A windowless cement building appeared in the distance, the three-story structure resembling a rock more than a residence hall.

Is this the breeding camp? I wondered. Or the holding center for the moon chase ?

My blood chilled as the bus parked alongside the ominous structure.

Will they tell us to disembark and run?

Or will there be some warm-up sessions first?

Maybe we’ll have some midnight trainings, similar to those practice runs in the desert .

There was sand here. No trees.

I couldn’t feel the air yet, the bus chilled to keep the lycans on board comfortable.

Of course, they turned all that off as they left the bus. Their lack of a command spoke volumes. Don’t move was what their actions said.

I swallowed, my heart skipping a beat. Will my seatmate act out now? Or wait until we’re off the bus?

I was next to the aisle, blocking her path.

But she didn’t ask me to move. She didn’t say or do anything at all other than observe out the window.

Several others fidgeted around us, everyone waiting.

But no one spoke. No one tried to run. We all simply waited like well-trained pets.

I see now why humans bore you, I thought at Cedric. Our sense of free will has been taken from us .

However, Cedric had returned mine to me. He’d shown me what life could be like by his side.

Only it’d all been a lie. A temporary fairy tale. A dream I should never have indulged in.

You were right, I continued. It would have been a mercy to kill me .

And yet, if provided with a choice, I would have chosen this path anyway.

A na?ve thought perhaps, given that I hadn’t truly suffered my intended fate yet, but the pleasure of knowing Cedric was worth my future pain.

He wasn’t the monster he considered himself to be. He was merely old. An ancient vampire with a different concept of humanity, or lack thereof.

You gave me the gift of experience , I murmured. It may haunt me until my dying breath, but it’ll grant me peace, too.

It would also provide me with a purpose.

A fight.

A will to survive.

He’s coming for me , I decided. I had to believe that, or hopelessness would destroy me.

The woman beside me tensed, drawing my focus to the rooftop of the building, where lycans prowled in wolf form. Their stunning white coats glittered beneath the moon, giving them an eerie appeal.

Appropriate , I thought, my heart skipping a beat. This place is the setting of nightmares.

My lips parted as one leapt off the building to land on top of our bus with a thud.

Two humans yelped.

I bit my lip to keep from making a sound, while the female beside me inhaled sharply.

The door flew open as another lycan entered the bus in just a pair of jeans, his irises flickering like a golden torch as he surveyed the crowd.

His lip curled, his disgust palpable.

Then he grabbed the human nearest him and demanded to see the male’s card.

“Moon chase,” the lycan slurred. “Better start running, then.” He pushed the other man off the bus, inspiring a riot of growls outside.

I lowered my gaze to my card, willing myself to be invisible as the sounds of howls echoed in the night.

Their beastly song was hungry and cruel.

And punctuated by the human shrieking.

Just breathe , I coached myself. Submit and survive .

For now.

The lycan at the front of the bus grunted. “Well, if he’s an introduction to the shipment, we’re in for a boring year.”

His words were clearly meant for those outside of the bus.

But his next ones were definitely directed at us. “Stand up and form a line off the bus for inspection.” When no one immediately moved, he added, “ Now .”

Everyone shifted upward, causing the lycan to grunt as he left the bus.

I was about twelve rows back, placing me toward the middle of the line as we disembarked. The blonde female trailed along behind me, her movements silent. I did my best to ignore her, not wanting anything to do with whatever she had planned.

But all she did was pause beside me outside the bus and keep her head bowed, just like me.

“Cards up,” one of the lycans commanded.

I glanced to my left to see how the others held theirs, and followed suit, then lifted it a little higher after the first human was scolded for making the lycan bend down to read.

They were all much larger than us, their bulk honed from their supernatural heritage.

Or maybe I just felt small because all of the lycans surrounding us were males.

There were a few humans of similar stature, but they paled in comparison to the musculature of the lycans. I observed them from beneath my lashes even while keeping my head bowed, my perusal ending against most of their bare torsos.

Most of them wore jeans and nothing else, not even shoes .

When the lycan reached me, he paused. “Moon chase. Interesting.” He grasped my chin to force my eyes up, his own calculating and brimming with unveiled interest.

I swallowed, my heart threatening to skip a beat. But years of training kept my reactions in check, which only seemed to intrigue the lycan more.

He leaned forward, his nose going to my neck as he inhaled deeply. “Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “You may need to be reassigned.” He straightened, his ice-blue eyes meeting mine. “Assuming you survive the chase.” He released me with a wink before moving on to the blonde beside me.

I immediately lowered my focus to the ground as I fought to ignore the sensation his touch had left behind on my skin. Too hot. Too close. Too wrong.

Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one he seemed interested in, his comments regarding reassignment echoing as he continued to peruse the row.

He wasn’t the Clemente Clan Alpha, something I knew because I didn’t recognize him—we’d been forced to memorize all our superiors and their photos in a class several decades ago. But even without that knowledge, I would know his lowly status because of his energy signature.

The fact that I could sense it confirmed I was still linked to Cedric because I strongly suspected that awareness stemmed from our Erosita bond.

Which means you’re still alive , I thought at him, my blood icing over. And you’re ignoring me.

My mind threatened to deep-dive into the whirlpool of what-ifs again, but I held myself afloat in the present, my attention returning to the lycans around me. I couldn’t afford to feel distracted right now.

“This way,” one of the shifters said in a gruff voice as he led us all through a discreet side door into the windowless building.

The chilly air immediately lifted the hairs along my exposed arms, my white gown doing little to protect me from the abrupt shift in climate. I hadn’t even realized how humid it was outside until stepping through the threshold. Now it felt like I’d entered a freezer.

My knees shook as we walked, my limbs icing over not just from the chill but also from the noises reaching my ears.

Grunts.

Cries.

Screams .

I refused to glance through the open doors as we walked by the sources of those sounds. I didn’t need those images burned into my mind.

The corridor eventually dumped into a large open space surrounded by cages. A prison , I thought, recalling the term used for barred cells such as these.

Each room held two beds.

But we weren’t sent there first.

Instead, the lycan led us through the room to a locker area and commanded us to strip and shower, just like our Blood Day preparation. Only this time, we were all very much on display to their hungry gazes.

I tried not to think about what would happen if I attracted any of their interests, how it would tarnish my bond to Cedric and likely end in my swift death.

They wouldn’t be kind. Not that Cedric was all that kind either, but he at least gave me pleasure. These animals… would not.

Where are you? I wondered, nearly delirious from the icy water pelting my shoulders.

A growl ripped through the air as one of the lycans reacted to a female nearby. I didn’t look, just closed my eyes and finished my shower. Stay invisible. Obey. Survive .

That became my mantra as I exited the shower to dry off and put on the regulation clothing waiting for us—blue pants and white shirts.

I chanted it as they escorted us to a cafeteria area for a meal of grilled chicken, rice, and peas.

And I continued whispering it in my mind as they led me to my bed for the night.

Unsurprisingly, the blonde shared my cell.

It seemed our numbers had been linked, and from what I could tell, each room had one moon chase candidate and one breeding candidate.

“Lights out,” the lycan called.

The room went pitch-black before I claimed a bed, leaving me standing beside the other girl in a nightmarish theater filled with the echoes of humans screaming in the distance.

It was enough to make me hope I wouldn’t be reassigned.

Maybe I’ll let them catch me.

Or maybe I’ll find a place to hide.

Unlikely, but what choice did I have?

My fantasy with Cedric had come to an end. It was time to face reality. And reality meant surviving.

To do what? I marveled. To survive and go to the breeding section of this facility? To run and hide in the unknown? I knew nothing about Clemente Clan territory other than my brief tour outside.

Where would I go?

Where would I hide?

How am I going to survive?