Forged: An Altered Series Prequel Read Online Free

in every other pulse point. My tongue felt heavy as a sandbag.
    Connor came across the room and stepped into the light with me. It only hit half his face, leaving the other half in shadow. He looked down at me, and all the blood in my veins drained to my toes. My knees grew weak.
    He looked absurdly handsome right now, even though it was the middle of the night. Where my hair was disheveled, matted in the back, flat on one side, his was messy in a way that seemed deliberate, as if he’d just gotten out of the shower, run his fingers through it, and called it good . Several locks fell in front of his eyes, but he still managed to keep his gaze settled on me.
    “What did he say to you?” Connor asked, his voice quiet, but heavy on the inflection.
    “Nothing.”
    The corner of his mouth quirked. “You can trust me, Dani. I’m not going to reprimand you. I just want to know.”
    “Usually if someone needs to tell you they can be trusted, it means they can’t.”
    He smiled but didn’t say anything more.
    I thought about the bruises painted across Sam’s face. “Maybe it’s not me I’m worried about getting reprimanded.”
    Connor narrowed his eyes inquisitively. “You barely know that guy.”
    “So?” I furrowed my brow. “He looks like he spent the day getting the shit kicked out of him.”
    Connor tilted his head, as if he were listening for the things left unsaid. “Spoken as if you know something about the subject.”
    My throat tightened and tears burned immediately in my eyes. I did know. I knew too damn well. And I wondered if Connor knew, too. How much had OB told him?
    “He only said there was a lot of training,” I answered. “Endurance. Memory. Hand-to-hand combat. That’s it. He didn’t say anything else.”
    Connor watched me too closely. I didn’t blink. The less I gave away the better.
    “Good,” he finally said, and turned to the door. “Try to get some more sleep. Six AM will come quicker than you think.”
    And then he was gone, but his presence had left an impression on me, and I knew sleep was going to be impossible.
    Was he trying to rattle me?
    Because if he was, he’d succeeded.
    *  *  *
    I ate breakfast alone and waited in the lounge area for someone to come get me, to tell me what it was I was going to be doing today. Or what I was going to be doing at all.
    After Connor left me earlier in the morning, I’d taken a shower and dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top with the black Nikes. It was a comfortable outfit, but not what I was used to wearing. At least I had my makeup, so I could still feel slightly like myself.
    When I heard footsteps nearing the lounge, I perked up and expected it to be Connor coming to retrieve me.
    It wasn’t.
    My immediate disappointment caught me off guard.
    It was a woman who stood in the doorway, staring at me. She didn’t seem much older, or taller, or stronger than I was. Twenty-two, maybe. She didn’t seem much of anything, actually. She was unremarkable. Unadorned. Unattractive, but not ugly.
    “Are you just going to sit there?” she said with the quirk of an eyebrow.
    I stuttered for a second and silently chastised myself. I must have sounded like an idiot.
    “No,” I finally got out. “I’m coming.” I scooted the chair back and in my rush nearly knocked it over. She raised her eyebrow higher.
    When I came up in front of her, she offered me her hand. “I’m Natalia. I’ve been assigned as your instructor.”
    We shook hands, and I was surprised to find a lot more strength in the shake than I had anticipated. A lot more strength and a lot more confidence.
    Maybe there was more to Natalia than her modest appearance.
    “Nice to meet you,” I said.
    She smirked. “Wait until tonight,” she said as she walked away. “You’ll be taking that back.”
    *  *  *
    I was slammed on the blue mat for what felt like the millionth time, and the pain didn’t register quite as much as it had the time before. I