BloodSworn (2 page)

 
Chapter
Two

D
ame
Judith sailed into the room ten minutes after the start of the meeting, the
click of her stilettos stabbing at his last nerve. Two overfed goons trailed
behind her like eager puppies.

Leo remained seated, tapping his finger against the desk as
she sprawled in her chair, crossed her legs, shooting him a sexy smile as if expecting
him to come to heel at her feet like one of her dogs. She stroked the chair,
glancing around his office as if already claiming ownership of everything she
saw.  

They jokingly called her Dame Judith, but her smug attitude
ruffled his fur the wrong way. He had resigned himself to bedding her, but the
repugnant thought had his claws pressing against his fingers, ready to rend the
bitch apart.

Victor must have sensed the change, for his eyes widened and
he cleared his throat. “After careful consideration, we feel the joining of our
two packs would be beneficial for both.”

Dame Judith’s chin rose, a smirk on her lips.

Leo couldn’t contain himself. “Unfortunately, we can’t
concede to every demand.” He hid his pleasure at the way her face froze. Her
eyes darkened, and she glared at him. Retribution would follow, no doubt, but his
flesh crawled at the very thought of touching her.

He might be part animal, but even he couldn’t be put to stud
to one like her. He liked his balls right where they were.

“You insult us.” The she-wolf slowly stood. The men at her
back bulked up, their wolves shedding their humanity just short of a challenge.

Leo waved away his men as they rose to answer the threat.
“None was intended, I assure you.” He shrugged one shoulder, keeping an eye on
Judith, half-expecting her to leap across the desk to set her claws at his
throat. He hadn’t expected to take such pleasure out of her reaction. “There is
no doubt the wolf clan is the strongest portion of the pack, but joining the
lions would alienate the rest of the pack. It’s my job to keep the peace
between all clans.”

Red flagged Judith’s cheeks. “My wolves do more than their
share.”

“No one is questioning your devotion, but there are some
concerns that you are growing too powerful and seek to unbalance the pack by
forcing the smaller clans from our protection.”

A snide laugh twisted her face, and she glanced at everyone
else in the room. “Excuses. This pack needs a strong leader. Vampires have been
reported at our borders. We’ve been growing fat and need to cull the herd to
protect ourselves. We’re vulnerable so large.”

The bear clan leader, a big hulk of a man who could pass for
a pro-wrestler, nodded agreement, though they often complained a pack of two was
too large. The rest of the room looked aghast at the accusations. Most of them
wouldn’t survive without the pack to protect them. Heated arguments erupted,
and he let them squabble.

If the wolf clan broke away, the rest of the pack would lose
territory. The separation would leave the very people they were supposed to
protect, the humans, vulnerable to attack.

He suspected that there was a spy in his household,
monitoring his movements or lack of them. Could the wolves know about his
injuries and suspect CreedMark? As long as he was still sane, he wouldn’t allow
his pack to be plunged back into chaos.

A knock at the door broke the tension, and the babble of
voices rose to be heard. Victor crossed the room to answer the summons.

As soon as the door opened, Victor bulked up, transforming
to his half-human form, fangs and claws at the ready, a growl erupting from
deep in his chest. The rest of the shifters quickly followed suit, their
clothing shredding at the change.

Vampires.

The slight scent of decay swept through the room, clogging
his nose. Leo cursed himself for being distracted by Judith and not sensing
them sooner. As a pair, they stepped through the entryway then halted. They lifted
their arms to indicate they were unarmed. Not a muscle moved, not even their
chest, neither bothering with the pretense of breathing.

The pack advanced.

“Halt. No bloodshed. They are allowed entrance under the
truce.” Leo stood to intervene, but thankfully, everyone heeded his command.
The war between vampires and shifters had ended one hundred fifty years ago
with a shaky truce that neither race would encroach on the other’s territory.

This was the first time since then a vampire had elected to
appear at the monthly meetings.

 “We are here for the meeting.” Both vampires were dressed
in identical dark suits, the color stark against their alabaster skin. Both
were skinny, their blood diet whittling their frames down, easily identifying
them as vampires. Their appearances were deceiving, their strength easily
rivaling that of a shifter. Their pale blue eyes almost glowed as the meager
light reflected off their gazes. Something about the color allowed vampires to
see in the dark but nearly blinded them in daylight.

Leo knew of only one set of vampire twins, and recognition
hit him in the face like a punch. Aggression rippled across his skin, his
animal struggling to surface. The Ferguson twins were personal assassins for
the vampire king and reported to be two of the oldest vampires in existence.

And they were in his house.

Fuck.

He went to the window, yanked the blinds closed and then
stood there, unconsciously standing in front of the shed and the girl. No one
else bothered to shut the second window. Sunlight streamed through half the
room where the majority of the pack crouched.

“To what do we owe the honor?” Leo didn’t bother to smile
and neither did they. Those eyes of theirs settled on him as if the rest of the
pack didn’t matter and were of no threat.

They bowed as one.

“There was a new threat unearthed from the magical realm.”
They spoke in eerily unison, their voice devoid of inflection, eyes barren of
anything remotely human. Their pasty faces were made more so by the thick cream
they wore to be able to walk in sunlight. The mixture and their extreme age
were the only things that prevented the sun from incinerating them to ash.

A shame.

“The witch has last been seen entering your territory.”

Witches were little threat to the pack, but something about
their magic disturbed the virus that kept vampires alive. Vampires and witches had
hunted each other fanatically for centuries. The only thing that stopped an
out-right war between the races was the pack’s pledge to keep the peace. “What
can the pack do for the King?” 

The vampires exchanged a glanced, then the one on the right
spoke. “The King asks for permission to send a contingent into your territory
in search for the missing witch.”

Why was this one witch so important? They were natural
enemies, but this was more. Something seemed off about their request, but what
could they hope to gain by having access to pack territory? “Once the witch
enters our territory, they are under our protection.”

“She bears the King’s mark.”

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. Ownership. They had the
right, leaving him with no recourse. It gave him a headache just thinking about
the chaos their presence would cause. The only positive out of the whole thing
was that if he granted permission, the King would owe the pack a favor. “A contingent
is unacceptable. Panic would spread and slow your search. One vampire. We can
keep one vampire hidden until you find your witch.”

The vampires bowed. “We appreciate your generosity. One will
be sufficient. We—”

“Have ten days.”

 
Chapter Three

S
weat
trickled down Trina’s spine as the sweltering heat in the shed intensified. She
remained crouched on the top shelf, peering through the eaves, motionless as
the parade of pack and vampires slowly departed.

Three weeks ago, it had seemed like such a smart idea to
hide from the vampires under the paws of their jailors.

Now, with vampires within feet of her hiding place, in
daylight no less, it didn’t seem so bright. The chance to run as far and fast as
she could had vanished. Tightness bore down on her chest as the invisible trap
began closing in on her.

Regardless where she went, it would only be a matter of time
before they found her again. She flipped the knife in her hand, end over end,
catching it by rote as she surveyed every inch of the property for anything out
of the ordinary. Any overt sign of detection.

She picked up the wooden stake, tested its weight and then
shaved a few ribbons off until the balance felt natural in her grip.

It was done.

She’d begun the carving from a block of rowan shortly after
her sister had been taken. For all her learned science, Trina should’ve felt
foolish, but she wasn’t able to dispute one important fact.

Vampires were real and hunting her.

They’d murdered her parents ten years ago and nearly killed
her as well. She touched the knotted scars across her collarbone and pain
throbbed as if the decade-old injury had never healed.

To escape the vampires, she’d unleashed every scrap of magic
she could muster. It was childlike and clumsy, her ability to use traditional magic
pitiful.

Then everything had changed as she dangled from the vampires
embrace, death hovered over her. Power had ripped from her in a painful wave. It
exploded out of her, knocking her across the room with its backlash.

Her blood magic had been born that night, pulled unnaturally
into the world. If it had not been for the attack, her whole life might have
passed without it ever maturing.

The blood the vampire had consumed reacted to her call,
shredding him from the inside out. The vampire had lived, but only because of his
age and her inexperience. He vanished into the night with a hiss of fury, his
lackeys half-carrying him to safety.