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

The Dreaded Language Arts. Everyone knew
there was nothing artful about it. Jason laughed as they trudged to
class, Julia's arms linked with theirs.

After Jason

Julia's chin touched her chest, lank strands
of hair swirling around, her arms jerked up and chained above her
head. Her hands had lost feeling hours ago. A cloak of numbness
stole over her body and her mind screamed, her body aching for
food.

But she'd be damned if she'd take it from
her captors.

The Murderers.

The creature came to her, his teeth gleaming
in the low light of where they kept her.

She looked at him, her eyelids at half-mast,
as piercing silvery irises bored into her gaze. Julia felt the
weight of their desire fill her mind, pressing without mercy
against the fragility that was there.

Forcing his will.

“You must eat, Julia. You
will eat,” he said in a fierce whisper.

“Why don't you... Go. To.
Hell!” she rasped, as loud as she could. Weakened by lack of food,
her voice held all the emotion that she couldn't scream, buried in
the air grown pregnant with contained frustration and
violence.

Violence against her.

“Let me convince her,” the
one named Pierce said, his stare covering her body like decaying
liquid.

The leader, William, turned and stood in one
fluid movement. “I have seen your methods with other Blood Singers.
We will not use that here, with this one.”

Pierce smirked. “You grow attached. She is a
vehicle for our needs, nothing more. She is human.”

William took Pierce by the collar of the
shirt he wore and dragged their faces together until they nearly
met. “She is much more than that. What if she is The One? Look at
the sign upon her head.” He shook Pierce in disgust and pushed him
away. Pierce reared back and opened his mouth and something burst
from the flesh as he hissed his displeasure.

Fangs.

Julia swallowed. She felt like she was in a
nightmare she couldn't escape from. She protected herself by
dwelling in her memory bank. It was full. There Julia felt rich. It
was there that this new reality couldn't impede.

William and Pierce looked at her quickly.
“She pulls away inside herself again! Fool! I almost had her!”

It was as if Julia could see through a
glass, though darkly. Black water covered her vision and the
horrible creatures that had torn her away from a future of love and
contentment, to a new one of terror and uncertainty, rushed toward
her and she let the water cover her consciousness. They were as dim
orbs of pale flesh as they sprinted to her side.

She fell back in the well of her mind, the
liquid forming a barrier between them and her memories.

For now, the memories won.

****

senior year, springtime

Cyn bent her head over the textbook and then
looking up, scowled at Julia. “This is simple, you're over thinking
the stuff.”

Julia was beyond frustrated. She'd flunked
lame-ass Algebra II when she was a junior and was on the eve of
graduation, still struggling though the concepts. Cyn at her elbow,
ramrodding it down her throat wasn't helping the learning
curve.

Julia's brows jacked down over her
whiskey-colored eyes. “I don't get it! They put the alphabet in
math and now it's a big jumble of nothing!” she wailed.

“How in the righteous
world did you pass One?”

Julia gave her a sheepish look.

“You're kidding me, right?
You cribbed off of Jason?”

“Like when am I gonna use
this worthless crap?!” Julia said, throwing her pencil
down.

“You're not! That's not
the point, Jules. The point is Getting The Grade. We're American,
we're not supposed to be the intellectual global force. We just get
the degree, then go on to college and get
that
degree,” she shrugged her
shoulders,
simple,
right
?

Julia crossed her arms underneath her
breasts. “You don't see what's wrong with that picture?”

“Doesn't matter what I
think. I just work the system.”

“Huh, we're nothing but a
bunch of sheep, manipulating a broken system.”

“Speaking of
manipulating...” Cyn said, a contemplative expression crowding her
features.

“Ah-no. I am not going to
dress up,” Julia said.

“Listen, we're almost done
with this math cram...”

“It's a cram all right,”
Julia said.

“Anyway,” Cyn said,
drawing the word out dramatically, “this is your last final before
graduation. Prom is coming. Let's get you hot and sexy for your
man-toy.”

Maybe Julia shouldn't have told Cyn about
the secret engagement. But she told Jason if she didn't tell
someone she'd burst. Now it was an endless barrage of teasing.

“Jason's not a 'toy',
Cyn.”

She scrunched her face. “Okay... ooh,
touchy. Calm yourself.”

Julia blew a stray hair away from her
forehead. She had to give in to Cyn or she'd be after her ass until
she chose a dress.

“Okay!” Julia threw up her
hands. “I'll go.”

“That's not good enough.
Tell me what I need to hear. You could go and watch me pick out a
dress and worm out of everything.” She gave Julia steady green
eyes.

Damn
, she had her there.

“Okay, I'll try something
on and choose a dress for prom. Happy?”

“Repeat after me: It will
not be a sack,” she said in her droll way.

Julia fumed. Did she really think she'd pick
out some shapeless sheath?

“I do,” she
said.

“Hey! I didn't say
anything...”

Cyn made a circling motion with her index
finger alongside her head. “Saw your wheels turning.”

Huh.

She repeated the sack thing and Cynthia
smiled.

Onward and upward.

*

Jason

Jason poked the stick into the fire,
mercilessly stabbing the coals, trying to decide if he should put
another piece of driftwood on or not. He looked at Jules, talking
animatedly with Cyn and Kev and smiled. The hell with it, he'd put
on another chunk. She'd wander over here eventually and be colder
than a brick of ice.

Couldn't have his girl
cold. That was against guy-code. Keep your chick warm, fed and most
of all, protected. He let his gaze linger on her. He couldn't
believe she'd be his soon. They'd graduate, then get married. His
parents would be steamin'-pissed but they'd get over it. It was
always what
they
wanted anyway. He'd been the good boy. He'd done basketball
until his body still felt like it was on the court when he laid
down on his bed each night. He'd sucked up the grades, played his
ass off and helped his girl limp through Math and Science. He
smiled, thinking of how much Jules hated the Math-Science grind. He
took her profile in, blonde hair that wanted to be red, that damned
wool cap covering some of it. Her legs encased in jeans that
dragged along the sand and her bright red puffy coat. It was her
face above the collar of her jacket that Jason's eyes stroked with
love.

Her face. He knew Julia was The One the
moment she moved to Homer when she was almost nine. Sullen and
alone, living with her aunt, she'd been new with no friends. He'd
been a gangly and awkward nine. He'd started as her champion then
and never looked back.

Now and forever.

As if sensing his
thoughts, Julia turned to look straight at him and a smile broke,
her amber eyes like glittering jewels in a face caressed by
firelight. Her face asked a question and he gave a slight shake of
his head,
it's nothing
, his look said. She turned away, the ghost of a smile still
playing on her lips, then she burst into laughter at some dumb
thing Kevin said.

He looked away from her and added two more
chunks to the fire. It burned brightly and became hot.

*

Cyn

Cynthia watched the two of them jammed
together like sardines and smiled. She was happy for Julia and
Jason. They'd been two peas in a pod since fourth grade and Jules'd
had it tough, she deserved the happiness. They made a cool couple.
Jason was six-foot two and towered over Jules at only five-four but
she never seemed short. Cynthia had never met anyone more alive,
more independent. It was amazing her Aunt Lily had picked up the
torch after Jules' parents passed. Cynthia had to admit that Lily
rankled her ass sometimes too. She was so strict on Jules, like
she'd ever do anything? Hell, she was a secret prude. She hadn't
even done the deed with Jason. Dating three years and nada.

There's willpower for ya!

She looked up through her mascaraed
eyelashes at Kevin, her steady and at-hand date for prom and
sighed. He was absolutely hot. She wasn't letting him get away.
Cynthia had all the titillating details for Jules later. She'd act
bored and then listen raptly while she dished on her love life. A
slight frown bunched her eyebrows together. She'd have to ride
Jules' ass about going to Soldotna and picking out a prom dress.
She was insisting on Vegas for the wedding (she was sure to get out
of getting a dress). Cynthia did a mental eye-roll. But Jules
wasn't getting out of prom. Cynthia had tried to talk Jules out of
marriage for shit's sake. I mean, what, she'd been eighteen for six
months? What's the rush? Cynthia thought it had something to do
with both her parents being killed when she was young. It had
really scarred her. She wanted something to hang on to, something
tangible and real.

Cynthia wasn't sure getting married at
eighteen was the answer. But even she had to admit, she couldn't do
wrong with Jason. He worshiped Julia. She looked at the two of them
together as she snuggled in next to Kevin and watched Jason touch
Jules, cupping her face like a fragile egg as they began to
kiss.

“Looks like they've got
the right idea, Cyn,” Kevin said, waggling his eyebrows.

Cynthia gave him a mock punch. “You just
want to get lucky!”

“There
is
that,” Kevin replied, only
half-joking.

“Ah-huh, that's what I was
talking about.”

He dipped his head and gave her a peck on
the lips and she turned on the rough driftwood log where they were
perched, the warmth of the fire beating against her back and drew
him against her. His mouth found hers and they twined themselves
against each other. The sky lingered above them as black velvet
with stars sprinkled about.

*

dress-up

Julia thought she'd slit her wrists if she
had to try one more dress on. She paced the room in a huff. She
should have never said yes. Cyn had her dress-napped the instant
they came into the boutique. Remember, Fashion Aware. Of course,
everything looked good on Cyn. With her tall, lanky frame, she
could get away with anything. She'd chosen a shell pink, full
length gauzy thing that made her look like a princess.

Or, a queen, judging by the way she was
beating the hell out of Julia with her scepter.

“Come on Jules, I'm
thinking one more?”

“NO! I promised I'd try on
dresses. For you! Now look, what is this... number
fifteen?”

Cyn had the grace to look ashamed, flashing
both hands twice.

“Twenty!” Julia all but
shrieked.

“Right. Well... you're
totally hard to find something for! I mean, who has your coloring
anyway?”

Julia huffed, her eyes
taking in the pile of gowns growing in the corners like obscene
shrouds. “Okay... one more. Then we pick
whatever
from the pile!” Julia said,
her palm striking out at the material like it was alive.

“Okay. But if you're only
gonna try on one more dress, it's going to be green.”

Julia groaned. She hated green.

Cyn brought out her hands in supplication.
“I know you hate green but just trust me, K?

*

Cyn

Cynthia insisted on she and Jules going
together to prom so they could make their grand entrance and blow
the dudes away. She'd also taken the initiative and ragged Julia's
ass until she caved and let her do the make-up and hair for both of
them. She wasn't letting her bestie into prom with anything
resembling hippie chic. Julia was going to look put together and
polished if it was the last thing Cynthia did.

Cynthia dug around in her huge purse until
she found her makeup bag and dragged it out, throwing it on Julia's
vanity with a resounding smack.

Julia eyed it warily. Pointing to it she
asked, “what's all that crap in there?”

“Make-you-beautiful-stuff.”

The corners of Julia's mouth turned up.
“That's a technical term, right?”

“Hell yeah!” Cynthia
enthused with a wink.

Julia sighed, she knew she'd look like a
French whore by the time Cyn was done with her but she'd released
the reins and Cyn was firmly in charge of Prom Fashion. She had an
errant thought wondering about what Jason was up to. Definitely not
this.

“Woman-up, Jules! I'm not
taking a skin graft or something. Seriously, you act like you've
never worn makeup before.”

There was a significant silence.

“Okay, that was sorta
lame. You, the makeup queen.”

Julia slouched and Cyn poked her in the
back. “Posture, princess.”