Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,70

times. It was much too cold to be pleasant, and Talon hated having me out in the open like that. Too bad it didn’t matter what he wanted anymore.

“Everything go okay at the SIA today? You seem a little pissed.”

I glanced up at Vander, having forgotten he was next to me for a few seconds as I stewed over Talon. “Yeah, it was fine. It’s your brother’s overprotectiveness that gets annoying.”

He clucked his teeth and smiled. “That’s just Talon. He takes his job very seriously.”

“Oh, I know.” If he tells me he’s good at his job, I’ll punch him. I don’t care how nice he seems.

“Plus, there was the blood bond…” He side-eyed me as he whispered the words.

“You guys talked about that?”

“Yup.”

I pushed through the door to the yard and the icy air smacked into me, freezing my lungs. I sucked in a chilly breath, craving the numbness, yearning for it to spread through my insides.

“Damn, it’s cold out here,” Vander muttered as he followed me out.

A group of male inmates eyed me as I trudged across the snowy field. A chorus of “fresh meat” rang out across the yard. Normally, it would’ve freaked me out, but today I was too irritated. I kept moving and threw them the middle finger over my shoulder.

A couple of them chuckled, but at least they all kept their distance. I told myself it was because of how intimidating I was and not the tall blonde shifter at my heels.

“You don’t have to follow me,” I called out, craning my neck.

“I’m not. I’m just enjoying this lovely weather.”

I didn’t glance back, but I could already tell he was smiling.

“You know, I’m not saying I miss the Nether Lands because man, is that place depressing, but at least I didn’t freeze my tail off over there.”

I kept walking, dipping my head back to take in the soaring peaks surrounding the fortress. If this weren’t a prison, it would be a pretty spectacular place based on the views alone. As long as you didn’t mind the frigid temps.

Vander scooted up beside me and dug his elbow into my side. I flinched and jumped back, ready to tear him a new one, but when I looked up, the goofy smile on his face drained my murderous urges.

“What was that for?” I gritted out.

He shrugged. “I thought you could use a distraction.”

“So you elbowed me in the gut?”

Vander waggled a finger at me. “It was in the side. And from what I recall, you used to like it when Ryx did it.”

My jaw dropped. “Ryx?” I screeched. It took a second for my mind to process his words. Of course he knew about my ex-boyfriend. He probably knew everything about me after stalking me for two years. “Just to clarify, I did not like it when he did it. And I barely even liked him.”

“Well that part was obvious.”

“Yeah, to a stalker!” I hissed.

He palmed the back of his neck, and a hint of crimson flushed his cheeks. “It was my job—”

I flung my hand up, stopping him. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m very familiar with the phrase.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve never met one of my assignments in person. I guess that did come off as creepy.”

“Majorly creepy.” I glanced up and found a semi-circle of inmates had crowded around us. “Looks like we have an audience,” I whispered to Vander.

He scanned the yard, and a flash of amber streaked across his hazel irises. “Come on, let’s go over there.” He pointed toward the track at the opposite end of the field. It was deserted like usual. Supes didn’t exactly need to exercise to stay in shape.

We walked over, and I kept one eye on the overly friendly inmates. They didn’t follow us, but their gazes remained trained in our direction.

“Wanna run?” asked Vander.

“Not really.” I stared at the large circular loop that spread across the yard to the edge of the wrought iron fencing.

“Walk and talk then?”

I rolled my eyes, but stepped forward onto the track, nonetheless. It was buried beneath a few inches of snow, but it was still vaguely discernible. “You and Talon are like polar opposites, you know that right?”

“I have heard that before, yes.”

“You’re like an overly eager golden retriever puppy, and he’s an angry old pit bull.”

“I’m not super familiar with human dog breeds, but I think I’m following your analogy.” He bumped my shoulder and grinned.

“But you weren’t like this when we first met.”

The smile melted away, and a faint scowl