But despite the fact that we were separated, my eyes drifted over to where a particular shaggy blue-haired hybrid was standing. Crow was leaning against the gray padded wall, commanding his birds with barely a twitch of his fingers.
I knew I shouldn’t stare, but I couldn’t help but watch him. There was just something about him. I was attracted to him, sure, but it was more than that. My spider was definitely interested too, which had me a bit freaked out since that’s how she felt about Tomb, and she’d killed the poor stone dude. Even though he’d come back to life, I still hadn’t forgiven her for that one.
I watched as Crow lifted up his arm to let one of his birds land on him, and it made his bicep bulge. My tongue darted out to lick my lips. I couldn’t help but imagine how his arms would look if his body were poised over mine, or how it would be to sink my teeth into that muscled part of his body. Gods, I bet he’d taste amazing.
I wanted to taste him—him and Tomb both. That dark desire of mine was rising up like water from a hot spring, bubbling beneath the surface and getting hotter and hotter every minute.
My carnal musings were cut short when sharp pain suddenly pierced my left thigh. “Ouch!” I looked down, just as the knife Oz had thrown at me fell to the floor from where it had hit my leg. My angry eyes lifted to him. “That hurt.”
“Pay attention,” my trainer snapped in response.
“I need a break,” I said, still panting from exertion.
“That was your break. Now get your spider ass in gear, or you’re gonna catch more knives in you.”
“Careful,” my spider warned, unfurling from the core of my being. Her voice was quiet, but deadly. Oz blanched before he could catch himself. “You know what I am. So you know that if I wanted to, I could trap you in so many webs that it would give me plenty of time to lure your cock out and consume your life before any of the guards could get to you.”
Oz’s face paled, and his hands automatically went in front of his dick, as if he could keep himself in his pants. My spider grinned, and he grew notably embarrassed at his vulnerability, his face mottling red.
“Water break,” he bit out. “Sixty seconds.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “Isn’t it nice to work together?” I said in false politeness before walking away.
I noticed the frowns on the faces of the guards and the observing scientist—Lowell—in the room as their eyes followed me, but I ignored them as I walked up to the water table and downed a cup. I was probably going to pay for that one, but fuck them.
Once again, my eyes found Crow. Aside for yesterday, he’d been in every training session with me this week. We weren’t allowed to speak to one another while we worked with our individual trainers, but a quiet longing still simmered between us. Sometimes, I’d catch him staring at me as he argued with Spector. He fought them at every turn, and I loved that about him. Based on that display I’d just done, I think Crow’s rebellion was wearing off on me a little.
Crow’s trainer, Freddie, was currently screaming at him to organize the flight pattern of his crows, but it didn’t seem to be going so well. Every time he gave Crow a pattern to replicate, the birds would peck at the man’s head or dive for his feet instead.
Based on the sly smirk on Crow’s face, he was causing the chaos on purpose. I had an inkling that Crow could control them right down to the minutest flap of their wings, but he wanted to fuck with Spector...or simply not reveal just how in control he really was.
“Enough!” Freddie shouted, ducking and dodging the feathered menaces. “Let’s try something else.” He looked around amid the other hybrids training, and when he saw me standing at the water table watching, his trailing eyes stopped. “Hey, Oz! How about a face-off with our trainees?” he called over to my trainer.
Oz stuffed his remaining throwing knives in the holster in his belt and walked over to me. “Sounds good.” He got to my side and tipped his chin up. “Break’s over. Get over there with them. You can fight the hybrid.”
I frowned. “What? No. I can’t fight Crow.”
Oz sneered at me. “It wasn’t a fucking question, spider bitch. Get your ass over there. Now.”
A knife was in his hand again, and my eyes flicked down to it. My interactions with Spector employees had always been rough, but they’d grown increasingly violent. I didn’t need my vampiric sense of smell to know why. They feared me. And this fear caused them to use more and more force to keep me in line. But that line was going to snap if they weren’t careful.
Crow looked steadily back at me from his spot in the training room as I turned to look at him. There were mats on the floors and a mix of mats and mirrors on the walls, and despite the fact that the entire place spilled with light, there weren’t actually any windows.
I didn’t want to move closer. I barely knew the man, but my spider liked him, and obviously, that attraction was dangerous. Tomb’s death and subsequent resurrection were still very fresh in my mind, haunting me at every moment. I refused to let that happen again.
When my feet didn’t immediately move, I felt the sinister press of Oz’s knife at my back, the sharp edge puncturing my skin. “Move, spider bitch.”
Clenching my teeth, I followed his orders and crossed the training area. As I drew closer to Crow, my spider seemed to flex within me. The closer I got, the more my spider went crazy in my chest. She could
