Shadow Breeds

Chapter 16

Ashe

"Abso-fucking-lutely not Asheland," August scolded me. I rolled my eyes, he was not going to change my mind. Two too many had sacrificed themselves for me, it was my turn to return the favor. "We've spent years protecting you from being found and I'm not going to let you throw yourself directly into her hands," he continued.

I stared at him blankly for a moment, "that's not your decision to make August." A hurt expression crossed his face and he pouted. I let out a groan and rolled my eyes, "Clovella said she'd help train me, it's not like I'm going in blind. I'll just study more about gods and vampires and hunters in the meantime too, regardless I'm not letting you guys try to fight her army all by yourselves."

He crossed his arms over his chest, "we aren't doing it by ourselves, we have an army too. Although it's more ethical than Loralai's, it's also stronger due to that fact."

"More ethical?" I asked curiously. He nodded, "did you ever notice Savanna's tattoo, the one behind her ear?" I shook my head no and he continued, "when hunters have children, the child either joins them and receives a number or they're killed. Similarly, any children of Loralai's army members have to join or they'll be killed. If she finds a Shadow Breed alone, they either join or die, she leaves no room for choice or bonding. We only take volunteers, we don't force anyone to join us, and we get to know each member, they join us purely because they want to."

I felt relief after hearing the army he had was created peacefully, but I felt bad for the other children who weren't given a choice, the thought angered me. They weren't even given the option of a somewhat normal life, all their choices were made for them before they were even born.

August snorted and brought me back out of my thoughts. "What's funny?" I asked. He shrugged with a grin, "you are something else." I felt my face heat up and pouted, "this is serious, we should talk about a plan with Oakley and Clovella." He sighed and turned towards the door, "I'll give them a call while I make you some coffee but, for now you need to rest."

I grunted in disapproval and walked through the small hall and into the living room to grab a seat on the couch. "I'm in here when you're done," I called out to August. I grabbed my backpack from beside the coffee table where I'd left it and pulled my book out.

Soft footsteps entered the room and I looked up to see Magna a few feet inside the entrance. I wasn't necessarily mad at her, it appeared as though she just had my health in mind, but I didn't appreciate having half of my identity purposely hidden from me. She shuffled her feet awkwardly, I see where August gets that nervous habit.

"Ashe I want to apologize, August and you are right, you deserve the truth and I shouldn't have pressured him into hiding from you for so long," she spoke eventually, sounding genuine. I gave her a small smile, "just don't hide things from me anymore, I can't trust you if you do that." She nodded and smiled slightly, "would you like to see a photo of them?" She asked.

My eyes widened and I closed my book, "you have pictures of my parents?" I asked, almost not believing it until I remembered that it technically wasn't that long ago that they had been murdered. She nodded and walked over to a bookshelf on the opposite side of the room from where the couch sat. After pulling out a black folder she brought it to me, "is it okay if I sit?" I nodded with a smile.

She handed the folder to me as she sat on the couch and I opened it to the first photograph. A pale, brunette man in a black t-shirt and blue jeans stood with an arm around a curly-haired woman in a slim black dress. "You look just like her, but with his eyes," Magna said warmly and I smiled again. I could see it. I flipped to the next photo, this time my father was wearing a suit and my mother was wearing a deep-grey, strapless dress that perfectly wrapped around her swollen belly. "Their wedding," Magna explained, "she was five months pregnant with you in that one."