Marked By Pain (The Marked #2)(10)
“I’m not doing it,” I say flatly, as I sit back down on my bed. I don’t take my eyes off him though, I don’t trust him not to attack.
“Just come and watch the training then, you don’t have to take part,” he suggests, his tone light. His face, however, is calculating as it watches me. What is he planning? “What else are you going to do? Sit here and mope all day?” That was my plan, actually. Mope, mope, and mope some more.
“I’m not sure, what do kidnap victims normally do for fun?” I ask.
“You’re my child, it’s not really kidnapping, is it? More like you’ve been grounded, don’t you think?” he muses.
“Fuck you. You’re not my father; I have three dads, and you are nothing compared to any of them,” I snap. I haven’t spoken to them since being taken, it’s so hard losing all contact with the parents I’m so close with. I don’t need to listen to him pretending to be a parent. He’s nothing more than a donor to me.
“You cannot deny what’s in your blood, Mackenzie Crowe,” he says smoothly, not seeming at all affected by my words. “Now stop being childish, and come at least to watch the training. I will have men drag you in there if I must, but I’d rather not. We don’t need to make a scene.” He steps back out the door, as if he just expects me to follow.
I want to stay put, to kick and scream the whole way if they try and make me go. But I know it’ll do no good, only tire me out. An opportunity to escape could come at any time, I can’t waste my energy. Sighing, I stand back up and follow him out of the room.
He’s already halfway down the corridor, not slowing for me to catch up. Cursing under my breath, I jog a little to reach him, so I don’t get lost in the mess of this place. He leads me from the building, and cuts across the grass outside to another building I haven’t been in yet. Inside the building is a large gym-like hall, on one side it has been set up like a classroom, with desks and a whiteboard facing them. There are currently five people sitting in the seats, but they’re facing away from me so I can’t see their faces. The other side looks like it’s for more physical training, with blue mats littered across the floor. There are rocks, and various other things lying across the ground too. For earth practice, maybe?
Alaric clears his throat, and one by one, the faces turn my way. The first two faces are unfamiliar to me, but the next three make my heart crash wildly against my chest, and my hands shake at my sides.
What the fuck. Why are Enzo and the twins here?
I look between all their faces trying to understand what they are doing here. Enzo’s face is a blank mask, nothing I can read there. Logan looks sheepish, and Locke looks downright guilty. I have no idea what they are planning, why they’re here, or who’s side they are truly on. The only thing I am becoming certain of, is that I cannot trust anyone. They could betray me like Mr Daniels did. I won’t let myself be fooled. Until it’s clear whose side they are on, I have to keep them at arm’s length.
“Why don’t you take a seat, Mackenzie? I am sure the person leading the class will be here momentarily.” Alaric gestures to the seating. Gritting my teeth to stop myself from snapping, I walk over and take one of the empty seats. I sit at the back, away from the others. “Fantastic, I have to be off now, but I will speak to you later. I’d love to hear what you make of your first day in training, sweetheart,” he says, and then turns and leaves.
“Sure you fucking would,” I mutter under my breath as I watch the door close behind him. I’m glad he’s gone, but the room I’ve been left with isn’t much better. What the hell are they doing here?
The seat to the left of me pulls out, scraping across the floor. I look up, seeing Enzo sitting down. His dark eyes are watching me intently, as he looks me over. It’s not an emotional look, more like a clinical assessment.
“Hey, Crowe. How are you doing?” he asks quietly, as he pulls off his leather jacket, letting it fall against the back of his chair. I try not to notice how his black t-shirt clings to him, but it’s a losing battle. He looks good, even though I’m pissed I can admit that.
“Just frickin peachy. It’s not just Mr Daniels here I have to worry about, you’re all here as well!” I snap back under my breath, but all the heads in the room have turned to watch us regardless. The two faces I don’t recognise are watching curiously, whereas Logan and Locke look tense.
“You need to understand, we’re all on the same side here—”
“Really? You’re going to give me that same bullshit he did, too? Just leave me alone,” I cut him off angrily.
“Kenz,” Logan says, standing, and moving to sit on the seat directly in front of mine. He twists it to face me though.
“Don’t ‘Kenz’ me. How long have you been a part of this?” I demand.
“We just joined, the three of us. Daniels has been looking to recruit us all for a while now, apparently. But when his cover was blown at the school, he came to get us. Gave us all the option to join and come with him, East said no…” he trails off with a guilty look to match his twin’s.
“You know what happened to him, don’t you? The state he was in when I went to check on him, it was awful. You can’t seriously be okay with this?” I question him.
“It’s not what I think that matters, Kenzie. East made his choice, and we made ours,” Logan says. I look across at Locke, who has looked away, and is staring at the door.