The Blood Bundle, Books 1-2: Blood Singers and Blood Song (New Adult Paranormal Vampire/Shifter Romance) (17 page)

Julia wiped sweat from her brow and glanced at
William, who didn't sweat, of course. He never broke stride.

Neither did the other nine which ran with
her.

Excuse me, jogged. They could run, she could
only do what she was doing now. It was hopelessly slow. She was a
foot shorter than them.

“Are you well?” William asked.

She smiled shyly. He was beyond solicitous.
Julia had allowed herself the barest crack in her plan. As she had
begun to figure it, with all that time recuperating to help with
her decisions, she had two evils. The one she knew and the one she
did not. The vampires had come clean (or as clean as they ever
would) by explaining to her what her options were. Her alternative
of escape seemed so remote. So unsuccessful. Julia couldn't help
but feel defeated, beaten down. Her chances of survival if she were
to get away would be slim.

For starters, there was no camouflaging the
scent of what she was. That was by far the largest obstacle
standing in the way of her freedom. True freedom.

Secondly, and this was a terrifying prospect,
the Were searched for her just as hard as the vampires would. If
she
did
escape, the likelihood of her being reacquired by
another coven or den of the Were was high. She literally could not
find sanctuary.

Her heart grieved for Jason. Her pragmatic
nature instructed her thought processes. Survival. And it seemed
she had many years to survive.

She'd been off a million miles away and finally
answered William, “Yes, I”m fine.”

He looked at the others and gave a command
outside the decibel range of human hearing.

He took her by the elbow and they slowed.

She still felt slightly weak, but nothing like
when they had taken the first, shuffling steps into the outside
air. The smell of it had been cloying, foul.

And rich and wonderful.

Freedom had a smell and Julia breathed deeply of
it.

So long she'd been underground, held captive in
the original thirty-one blocks of Seattle's great city. While the
cattle walked overhead, their predators lived underneath their
feet.

Julia remembered what Claire had told her over a
month ago.

Julia came awake and met Claire's stare, her
eyes steady on Julia's face.

She had never felt as weak as she did now.
Not when she had refused to eat for months, when she had to be
bathed like a baby by Susan.

She felt cold to her marrow.

“
You've lost a tremendous amount of blood
from the attack,” Claire said in her calm way.

Julia looked at her, willing her lips to
move, but they didn't cooperate.

Claire smiled and stood. She brought a cup
with a bendy straw in it.

As Julia sucked on the plastic tube, cool,
clean water saturated her mouth and tongue, swollen from lack of
use and circulation anomalies.

Finally, when she'd had her fill she asked
Claire, “What happened?”

Claire looked away for a moment, a blush of
pink lighting on her cheekbones, her skin as fair as Julia's. Julia
realized she was embarrassed.

“
Things got out of hand. A few of the
contenders... could not control their blood lust.” She looked at
Julia, who returned the stare without expression, willing her
silently to go on. After a pause, she did. “We did not foresee it.
But, they were quite premeditated. Gabriel and I,” Julia huffed at
the leader's name, immediately begrudging his authority. As Julia
saw it, he had no authority over her. After all, he was nothing
more than a glorified kidnapper, using the weapons at his disposal
to manipulate the vampire outcome.

For their benefit, she thought sourly, not
hers. His weapons of choice... the vampire of course.

Claire continued through Julia's insolence
as if it didn't exist, “... thought there'd be sufficient
protection because of their Singer lineage but it wasn't enough.”
Claire looked at the hands that were wringing themselves in her
lap. When her eyes met Julia's she saw they were glistening, the
tears held there unshed. “There are so few vampire that are capable
of breeding with a Rare One.” She gulped and struggled forward,
“Now there are fewer.”

So what? Julia thought. It's not like those
were such great guys that had assaulted her? Whatever. She said as
much to Claire and she nodded reluctantly.

“
We know this now. It had been centuries
since a female Rare One had entered the coven for this purpose. We
didn't anticipate the pull...”

Julia crossed her arms again as she looked
up at the shadows that passed across the glass skylight of her
room. Why was sunlight allowed to penetrate their lair if it were
such a problem?

Claire followed her gaze, smiling. “We have
our technologies.”

Julia's brow cocked in question.

Claire gave a little shrug. “They cannot
live outside the confines of this space during the day. But, we
have one that formulated a chemical wash for the glass...” she
threw a palm in the direction of the only window that Julia
had.

“
So...” Julia's sudden realization of what
the shadows were struck her almost dumb.

Almost.

“
Those are people? They are walking over our
heads?” she asked incredulously.

Claire nodded. “They do not know of our
existence. It is like being hidden in plain sight. You understand
this concept, no?”

Julia did. She had a babysitter before her
parents were killed that would hide everyday objects in plain
sight. Julia remembered at one point she'd hidden a sewing thimble
on the top of an old TV antenna and it'd been an hour before she'd
spied it. Metal on metal, almost invisible.

She couldn't suppress a small smile at the
memory, nodding at Claire.

Claire returned the smile, not knowing its
origin but happy for its appearance.

“
It affords the kiss the greatest
protection.”

Julia looked at the shadowed feet, crossing
the glass, a foot's separation between their life and death. They
never knew.

Julia shivered.

“
The solution blocks the UV rays.”

“
Couldn't that clever guy make a sunblock or
something?” Julia asked, a little bit of snark creeping into her
tone.

Claire's smile faded. “That was
unsuccessful.”

Julia didn't press but judging by the
expression on her face, there'd been a few vampire-torches.

Julia withheld her smile. An image of
William on fire came to her mind. Just a few days ago, that visual
might have given her a lot of satisfaction. Now... her heart had
shifted. And while she did not hate him any more, she wasn't sure
what she felt. She thought of flying over the meadow, leaving the
Were that had attacked her behind, the claws bound to her shoulders
like excruciating hooks. His fierce expression as he fought the
vampires that would have bled her dry.

Julia was ashamed. He was what he was, a
freak of biology. As she was. Jason was gone.

Forever.

It was in that moment that Julia decided for
neutrality with William. He had not shown her harm. On the
contrary, he had shown much more.

What it was made her uncomfortable. That
couldn't be held against him.

Her discomfort.

In the end, William had been right. Jason
had been killed by the Were. Not vampire.

Julia sighed, looking once more above her
head.

The cattle moved across their concrete
pasture.

Unaware of the vampires below.

*

the present

William smiled down at Julia. Cautious hope took
hold of his soul. If a vampire had such.

She looked infinitely better than after the
attack. He was right as rain in less than a fore-night. But Julia's
tenuous situation was held in the fragile balance of the twilight
of death. It took much to kill a Rare One. But the two that may
have been in the race for betrothal ruined it by hurting her.

Forget that notion
, William thought.
Killing her. They almost killed her. He could hardly bear to think
upon it. He had already claimed Julia in his heart. He had not the
right. But love chose its own pathway, mindless of the change.

Love hath no master.

He took in her lush mouth, the pulse that beat
at the hollow of her throat more attractive than any show of flesh
could ever have been. He swallowed, reining in his emotions. He'd
had two centuries to perfect his lack of expression.

William found that a year and some days with
Julia had undone it all. The careful procedure of schooling one's
expression in the way of the vampire, lost. He thought it might
never be regained.

His heart seized with instant panic as a scent
wafted through the night air.

In an instant, he pulled Julia against him,
scenting their surroundings, her water bottle hitting the ground
with a false thud, the water leaking out over the black pavement
like a crystal well.

Broken.

*

Julia

Julia's heart slammed into her ribcage,
William’s hands wrapped around her arms like steel bands, cool
against her fevered skin, still warm from the run.

“What is it?” Julia asked.

Pierce lifted his nose to the air. “Wolves,
William?”

“I do not know. But,” he looked at the nine that
were gathered together, his eyes glittering in the weakness of the
lights that illuminated the street where they stood, “it is the
only moment of my existence wherein I wish for their sense of
smell.”

There was uneasy laughter even as the vampires
looked around them for the perceived danger. A few tense moments
passed and William's shoulders finally dropped into a more relaxed
posture.

“Well?” another vampire asked, Robert, Julia
remembered.

William shrugged, his eyes tight. “I do not know
what it was, but I very much wish to head back.”

They agreed but Julia protested, “They would
never think to find me here.”

William looked down at her, his face cut marble
in the whitish blue light of the streetlamp. “It is that mentality
that will hasten your taking from our kiss. We do not underestimate
the dogs. Their passion makes them dangerous.” He looked into her
eyes then elaborated, “Sometimes I will have a moment of...”
William deliberated on his wording. Finally settling on,
“intuition.”

Julia looked at him. “Is that because of the
Singer blood?”

He nodded. “The shifting to raven is the single
most powerful element I gained from my genetics. Sometimes,
although it is not always trustworthy, the moments of intuition
have made me a better fighter.”

“How?” Julia asked, allowing herself to be
tugged along as they made their way back to the underground
city.

“Instinctive.”

“You fight with... training or...?”

He glanced her way then looked around again,
still slightly tense. “I use what has been given to me. I know
because of my Singer heritage that I can shift to raven form and
sometimes I anticipate.”

Julia had to ask, with nine other sets of
vampire ears to the ground, honing in on her words she forged
ahead, “Anticipate what?”

He stopped, looking down at her for a moment.
His gaze uncomfortably intense, he answered, “Danger.”

Oh, she looked around as well, sensing
nothing.

“Let us be gone from this place.”

And they left.

None of them saw the Were who tailed them
discreetly.

The Were's sense of smell allowing a great
distance to be maintained while still triangulating the vampire
position.

The Were came upon the plastic bottle that had
been dumped.

It was too perfect to believe. The vampires had
been sloppy by allowing anything she touched to be discarded by any
means other than fire.

Of course, vampires did not like fire. A grim
smile overcame his face.

He reached to pick up the discarded bottle,
scenting it for the Rare One.

Julia Caldwell's scent floated around the mouth
of the bottle like the most exquisite fragrance imaginable. He held
the bottle triumphantly while motioning with his hand for the four
other Were to gather round him.

They did, each scenting the bottle.
Familiarizing themselves with her smell.

The scent of the Rare One. The Mistress even
over the moon.

As her unique signature filled their flared
nostrils, five pairs of eyes spun to gold in faces that were no
longer quite human.

Joseph brought his face up to gaze at the moon.
Its mocking form half gone to full.

As small yips of excitement broke out in the
circle of men, the tone changed to a quality that caused the
pigeons to flee their roosts.

The noise caused the fear and flight reaction as
surely as a primal alarm going off.

The Were returned to their den.

An empty bottle as so much trash, carried in the
fist of the Alpha.

Joseph clutched it tighter as he ran.

two weeks later

Julia stretched until every vertebrae cooperated
by popping. Ah... so much better. She wasn't happy, yet. But for
the first time since Jason's death she felt a form of contentment.
She was sure it had a lot to do with the daily runs. Her body was
knitting itself stronger each day and she was thankful.

William had not pressed his advantage when it
would have been easy to and Julia had noticed.

William and she had lunch together each day now.
Actually, she ate lunch and he drank blood. It was an uneasy
alliance but he had to receive nourishment too. And she couldn't
negate what he had done for her.

With his blood.

It was yesterday's lunch that rolled around in
her mind. She couldn't believe what he'd told her. The
revelation.

That Claire was his cousin. William was one
quarter Blood Singer. His ancestry lent him the paranormal stripe
that allowed him to shapeshift, to have those little moments of
awareness that were
other.