Novels by Anna Bloom and C.J. Blaise

Chapter Forty-One ~ Aspen ~ Jax and I moved quickly through the dense crowd. We hadn’t talked much on the way here. There was just too much at stake. It was a lot to take in, and neither of us really knew how to handle it. I’d gone into autopilot mode, and I wasn’t planning on turning it off until all of us were safe and this was all over. It’s how I’d survived this long, and I could only hope that it would get me through this too. The market was packed. It was both relieving and incredibly strange to be surrounded by technology again. And modern clothes. I had forgotten how behind E and the guys were. Jax suddenly placed a hand against my bicep, and I stopped walking. “That’s her.” He gestured to a woman leaning casually against a fresh produce stand, and I moved toward her without hesitation. This conversation needed to happen as quickly as possible. There was no telling when the attack would arrive. They could already be there. “Excuse me?” I tried to keep the urgency ou

Chapter Forty~ Lexa ~I spoke quickly even though I had gone over the plan with S and Jax a thousand times. “You need to try and get into the labs. Show where we were kept. The battle will be one thing but show how they treated us. Why we ran is just as important if not more. Are you sure you don’t need me to go?” “Yes,” S sighed as she packed her backpack with extra rations and clothes. “Do you even know how to work a camera, E?” I sighed too. “No.” I replied. “I’ve never seen one. Except for in the lab.” “You can’t run from this, E. Besides, your ability to manipulate energy will be put to use way better here.” She tried to comfort me. “I really don’t want to stay here,” I confided. “S, your dad already is trying to kill you. We were both in the city just the other day. What if going back is a trap?” “It was your idea, E,” She reminded me. “You said we need exposure. This is how we do it. And you being flippy floppy on the whole thing is just annoying me.”I hated when my own

Chapter Thirty-Nine~ Aspen ~Will looked like he was about to throw up. He turned to go after her, but I moved to catch his arm. “Just leave it for now.” I urged, and he plopped back down onto his chair in defeat. I honestly didn’t know what to make of that situation. If he really did sleep with her and someone else right after, she had every right to be mad. I chewed on my bottom lip as I recalled mine and Grey’s night together just a few hours ago. Yeah, if he did that with anyone else, he’d be dead. I cleared my throat in the hopes of cutting some of the tension. “Well, uh. I have a plan and it might be really stupid.” Three sets of eyes looked at me expectantly and I sighed. “First things first, there’s something you all need to know.” I let my attention land on Grey and prepared myself for anything. I had no idea how he was going to react to the news. We’d never talked about his family. I wasn’t sure if he even knew his mom was

Chapter Thirty-Eight~ Lexa ~S stormed out but the rest of the gang moved out a little slower. Grey ran out after S, but not before shooting me a glare. And Jax came over and kissed my forehead and muttered something about he was glad I was home. And Will tried to move closer and cuddle, but I told him that he was the last person I wanted to see right now. He kept asking what happened, what happened, and I couldn’t tell him. He didn’t know what he did. But I did. I did. And I was never going to forgive him. So, after everyone finally left my room, I found myself sitting in the lobby on the windowsill, taking first watch like I had done every night before I had left. I was exhausted. But I needed a plan to present to everyone with the information I had. Should we stay and defend our fortress? Or should we flee? How could we win this war? I had been fighting it my whole life, and I was no closer than when I started. It was well after 3 am when Grey finally stumbled out into the lobby

Chapter Thirty-Seven~ Aspen ~ I cast E a relieved smile. Confusion shot through me at the sight of her out this far, but seeing a familiar face was more comforting than anything. She knocked dad’s men off their feet and caught up to me quickly. I twisted to get a look behind us and winced. An endless stream of men were coming from seemingly nowhere. E swiped a hand in the air and some kind of shockwave moved through the grassy field around us. With that, everyone following us shot backwards as if pulled by an invisible rope. “Over here.” She called, suddenly veering to the right. I followed suit immediately, trusting where she was leading me. We ducked into the tree line and continued running at full speed. “I’m sorry.” She huffed from beside me. “Not now.” I grunted in return. It wasn’t the right time to have that discussion. For one, we were running for our lives. And two, I was nowhere near ready to forgive her. Or anyone else, for that matter. I could be stubborn to a f

Chapter Thirty-six~ Lexa ~I was breathing hard. There was little to no room to go. A stranger was not welcome at the market and I was worse than a stranger. I was a traitor. A no good. A nobody. Nothing was worse than a girl stuck in a cage. But I had much to learn here in the city. Despite how hard everyone tried to keep to themselves, they were all gossips. Harry was getting married this weekend to a girl his mother hated. The poor girl was as nervous as a cat in a thunderstorm. Then there was Jem who was cheating on his girl with Olivia. And the Harrison’s were in the middle of a nasty divorce. But beneath the shallowness there were secrets. And plans that no one was too keen on keeping a secret. But yet they were life changing. And they had to do with my people. “Did you hear Lisa Harris’ daughter is now under investigation?”“Wow, that's really young to be found with the sickness. She’s what? 3?”“It’s disturbing.” “Did you hear about the Carter’s son? They’ve been looking f