I sure hoped I could remember where everything was tomorrow morning. Following Dad, we turned back into the hallway, heading further down. There was another room to the right opposite all the windows that had the door propped open. The words ‘Badging and Essentials’ was etched in black.
At least one door was labeled appropriately. Right now, I’d take the small wins. As I entered the room, I noticed a lady sitting at a desk to the left behind a computer. She had long, dark hair and bright green eyes. “Warden.” She bowed her head slightly, and her focus moved to me. “And son. So this is the new guy, huh?”
“Yes, the Elites determined he was a good fit here.” Dad forced a smile and motioned for me to move closer to her. “I’m going to head out from here. Mac will be picking him up soon, Marsha.”
“Perfect. This shouldn’t take long at all.” She turned her focus back to the monitor and began entering information into the computer. “All right, Aaron. I need your address.”
“It’s the same as Dad’s if that makes it easier.” I hated to admit it, but damn.
“Oh… okay.” She did a few more taps and turned back to me. “Please stand over here,” she said as she pointed to the middle of her desk, which held a camera and some other type of device next to it. “First, we’ll take your picture.”
I positioned myself in front of the camera and waited for the flash.
“Don’t you want to smile?” She arched an eyebrow as she looked at me.
“I didn’t realize this was a portrait.” I couldn’t hold back my words, which surprised me. This day had been long, and even though the prison was something I hadn’t expected, something didn’t sit right with me.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth partially dropped open. “No, it’s not.” She pushed a button, and the camera flashed. “Okay, now step closer for your retinal scan.”
“Is it necessary?” The thought of letting a laser hit my eyes bothered me. Maybe I’d watched too many movies, but I could just see something going wrong that made me lose my vision or worse.
“Yes.” Her tone was hard, and her body tensed. “Someone can steal your badge, but it’s a lot harder for them to steal your eyeball.” She huffed and crossed her arms, which emphasized her bosom. “Are you always going to be this difficult?”
Not having a good retort, I stepped up to the laser and sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Good with me.” She dropped her arms and hit another button on the computer, activating the red beam.
It took only a few seconds for the scan to complete. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but all I could see was red for a moment out of my right eye.
Someone stepped through the door, and I turned around.
It was a man who appeared to be in his thirties. He was dressed in black just like me and he scratched at his scruff as his attention landed on me. “I’m Mac.” His blond hair brushed across his shoulders.
So this was the man who would be training me. “I’m Aaron.” At least he looked nicer than Rufus.
“Well, I figured it wasn’t Marsha.” Mac smirked and winked at the girl.
“Hey, Mac.” Marsha giggled and flipped her hair.
All of a sudden, I felt like the third wheel. “Uh… Is my badge ready?”
Her smile dropped as she focused on me. “Yeah, hold on.” She turned to the printer and grabbed the badge that was sitting there. “Here, and here is your holder.” She opened a drawer and pulled out a retractable badge reel.
“Thanks.” Now I felt kind of bad. I hadn’t meant to be a smart ass to her. When I took the badge in my hands, both her and Mac’s essences sprung to life. Marsha’s tint was a dark gray, so she was a vampire. My gaze turned back to Mac, who had an earthly brown, which meant a wolf shifter.
“Yeah, thanks for helping my new recruit out.” Mac saluted her and grinned. “We’ll be going, but I’ll see you around.”
This was odd, seeing two different species flirting with one another. With how the world viewed hybrids, everyone went out of their way to not seem overly interested in another species.
I followed Mac out of the door, and we turned down the hallway again toward another door on the right. There were three other men in the room we approached. The guy on the left had a red essence, which indicated he was a dragon shifter, and the man on the right was an earthy brown like Mac. But what caught my attention was the man in the middle.
He was handcuffed, and his shoulders slumped. His essence was like no other I’d ever seen. It was a brownish gray, which I’d never encountered before. It was as if he was both vampire and wolf shifter… he was a half-breed. The first one I’d ever encountered.
“Good job.” Mac stepped to the one on the left, which was closest to us. “You got him back here faster than I expected. Hell, it wasn’t even a full fucking day.”
The guy laughed and glanced at me. “It was an hour short of a full day. Hey, new kid.”
“All of you can go to fucking hell,” the hybrid in the middle spat out. “One day you all will pay, and I’ll be the one to find you four and make each of you suffer.”
Wow, I was already lumped in with them, and I hadn’t even been here for a full eight hours.
“Go take him out with the others.” Mac narrowed his eyes and took a step toward the hybrid. “Remember your place. You aren’t the only one who has threatened us, and you won’t be the last. You’re scum, and we’ll make you work like the menace you are.”
“You piece of shit.” The man’s face turned dark
