The Blood Bundle, Books 1-2: Blood Singers and Blood Song (New Adult Paranormal Vampire/Shifter Romance) (33 page)

There was no peace for her
, Cynthia thought. But she turned anyway and looked into his
kind eyes. “Thanks, I'll check it out.”

Alfred smiled and nodded, pushing the lever,
the bus door closing with a snap and an air-driven hiss. Cynthia
watched the bus glide away, the only proof it had ever been was the
exhaust cloud in its wake.

Turning, she headed for the building.

It was as good a place as any
, she thought. Her thoughts unconsciously echoing those of
the driver.

Cynthia quickened her pace toward the
building.

Toward a new life.

*

Julia

Julia walked quickly and made progress. However,
she grew thirsty, her tongue swelling like a tumor in her mouth.
She became so parched it was all she could think of. Shading her
eyes, she looked up at the sun. Julia guessed it was well past
noontime.

As she hiked the sun would move behind clouds,
casting deep shadows in the forest. Julia's mind played tricks on
her and she felt alone.

Scared... and foolish.

Mostly just scared, she decided. Finally, Julia
thought she heard the tinkling sounds of moving water and when the
forest floor grew greener and the topography of the ground at her
feet began to slope away and downward, Julia figured she hit the
jackpot. She grabbed branches to steady herself as she finessed her
way down a short but steep ravine toward the sounds of a small
stream. It was probably a river here in Washington, but by Alaska
standards, it was a creek. She knelt by the crystal clear water and
made a cup with both hands, letting the slow-moving water run over
the top, then capturing the refreshing goodness in her already cold
flesh. Ignoring her intellect she gulped greedy sips.

After she'd drunk her fill, Julia stood, wiping
her hands off on her jeans. She turned and carefully made her way
up the small ravine, refreshed and rejuvenated.

She abandoned the tree cover and entered an open
meadow, stopping for a moment as the sun came from behind the
clouds, beating its warmth into her as she stood in the open. Julia
closed her eyes, lifting her face to the sun and reveled in the
stolen moment of warmth. When the first pain began to pierce her
guts she gasped, folding her arms across her belly
protectively.

What was this? She groaned out loud, holding
herself.

Julia felt the water she had drunk not thirty
minutes before begin to churn in her stomach like curdled milk. A
chill rolled over her skin and she began to shiver, goose flesh
rose like chicken skin and she trembled again. Julia looked around,
feeling ill. Maybe she drank too much at one time?

This was the worse possible time to get the flu
or some other crap. No worries, just the big bad wolf after
her.

She didn't think being Little Red Riding Hood
was very funny.

Zero amusement.

Julia pressed forward, clutching her stomach as
she walked. Her eyes searched the dim forest. She might have to
find someplace to hide until her insides felt better.

She moved into the soothing coolness of the
forest as the first cramp tore into her and pain rode her like a
wave coming to shore.

*

William

William and his five runners made haste. As soon
as twilight had dropped its veil of protection over the city, they
had left the shelter of the kiss.

The cattle parted like the Red Sea. Even in
their ignorant stupor, there was some biological imperative that
kicked in, a primal alert of sorts. When the vampire evacuated
their lair, the steps leading to the street a yawning concrete hole
of uncertainty and darkness, they moved aside unconsciously, giving
the vampire a wide berth.

William moved quickly, Gabriel's words ringing
in his head,
Do not engage a large group of Singers
. His
eyes had met his leader's and he had asked,
What is too
many?
There had been a pregnant pause then Gabriel had
responded with a question,
How many was too many at the Were
stronghold?

William understood. In that case, had it not
been for the feral Were he might have stood a chance, even with the
pair of Singers. He was not certain. He shrugged the thought away.
Julia and he were connected, William had Singer ancestry. That
accounted for some things. Alliance, Blood-share. However old it
had been, it would cast weight to the positive for him.

He swiped the words away with a dismissive
mental shrug. Gabriel did not fully understand battle reasoning.
The Were, for all their flaws, did. In the heat of battle,
decisions were made. Some lacking in any rational foundation.
Nevertheless, they were deemed critical then, in that moment. There
may be a moment which arose in just that way in the next few hours,
and William would be reactive. It was the only thing he had not
allowed himself in prior instances.

He had thought it a luxury. Now he recognized it
for what it was. Necessary. If he wanted Julia, he would have to
use his emotions as his barometer, not rationale. This was not the
time for mental negotiations.

Now was the time for action.

Their noses were on keen alert as they made
their way toward a remote spot on the Olympic Peninsula. William
had chosen the runners for ancestry instead of warrior prowess.

They could all shift.

As they did now.

To the casual observer, it would look like black
wings and bodies, flying against the backdrop of the night's
sky.

Only the eyes would give an observer pause.

Crimson.

Like blood.

catalyst

Julia rolled over onto her side, her body
shuddering in response.

She realized she'd made the gravest, most novice
mistake in the world. She had drunk water from a creek. Untreated.
Did her Alaskan upbringing teach her nothing?

Dumb!

She had Beaver Fever. Julia had consumed a ton
of creek water and now it felt like someone was taking her insides
out with a spoon. Worse, she wasn't throwing up or the other. Oh
no. But a fine fever was there, securing a good foothold.

Climbing higher.

Julia remembered when she was young, her mother
had said she was a “burner.” One of those kids that got rid of
being sick by jerking their core temperature up to an insanely
dangerous level.

Like now.

Julia shivered, crawling back into the crevice
of an old log. The wooden embrace was full of sodden leaves and God
knows what else. She flung her arm out, bending it at the elbow to
fit inside the tight space. She shuddered, as she put the bare skin
of her forehead against the cold wetness of her jacket, dampened by
her environment.

Julia fell into a fitful doze, her body
intermittently shaking from exhaustion and sickness. She was
completely vulnerable and alone.

The cougar knew that, having scented its
prey in the meadow. It followed the female back to where she lay
inside a downed log in the forest. The cougar slunk closer, knowing
that the prey was weakened. And safely inside its territory.

The cougar prowled toward the log.

It scented danger too late.

The werewolves moved in with typical stealth,
tearing the cat's large head off its shoulders even as it turned to
swipe. They executed the maneuver with precision and accuracy.
Wasting nothing, they feasted on the most delicate part of their
kill, leaving the remainder for possible consumption later. They
were wary. Many scents were all around them. The enemy... and
others.

What lay within the folds of the log was too
precious for dispatch from the dumb creature of the forest.

A lowly cat no less.

They moved to the log, peering inside.

*

vampire

The ravens lit upon the branches of the trees.
They had not discovered the scent of the Singer, but that of the
dogs. Circling the position, spying the group of four Were with the
sharpness of their eyesight in raven form, they settled on the
highest branches. William sent out an alert to the others, a single
cawing tone of specific meaning. They fell to the ground as a
well-oiled machine, from thirty of forty feet of height, their
wings melting into deadened flesh and bone as they dropped. It was
a beautiful symphony of purposeful landing which began with
feathers and ended with feet which touched the earth with a
thud-less hop, silent.

But not silent enough.

The Alpha amongst the Were snapped his head up,
his senses on full alert. His snout swung toward the three he'd
brought with him and turned to his first, giving a snort. The other
Were scooped the girl out of the log. The Alpha scented her
sickness and paused. She was very ill. He breathed deeper, maybe
not permanent? It didn't matter, the time to move was now.

He moved in the opposite direction of the scent
he'd caught that accompanied the noise.

Vampire.

They would not recapture his precious cargo.

They began to move away in battle formation, the
Alpha at their back, his half-formed hands at the ready, the Rare
One in the arms of his second.

*

the Feral

The feral moved from his discovery with
precision and energy, the meal he'd consumed affording him the
speed and agility that would be necessary to find the female.

He knew he should never have left her. She
had escaped him. Judging by the tracks in the rock cave he'd found,
she had wiggled out. Her small frame had allowed
maneuverability.

The feral ran hard, smoothly evading every
obstacle, his form perfectly suited for the environment in which he
traveled.

He hit upon her scent and stopped short. It
had changed.

She was sickened by something. He scented
deeper. She had drunk water and had the sickness that humans were
susceptible to. It was not possible for him to be affected. He
moved forward, scenting the many nuanced odors which preceded
him.

He welcomed the challenge of their presence.
There would need to be many to keep him from the female.

Mine, his mind said.

Mine.

****

Scott

Scott stopped suddenly. His hands went to the
hard planes of his stomach. “What is it?” Jen asked, her breathing
labored, they'd been near-running since they'd discovered Julia's
disappearance.

Scott felt a dull pain in his guts, bowels and a
burning in the back of his neck. He described it to Marcus and his
father replied.

“She's sick and that's what you'd feel,” his
tone ominous, knowing.

Scott wanted to get moving but Marcus explained
briefly, “A soul-meld is more than a pairing of Singers. It's an
awareness of each other,” he made his hands collide, the fingers
lacing together. “She has encountered,” he waffled his hand back
and forth, “something and is ill.”

Scott's teeth clenched together. This was just
getting better and effing better.

“Well...” Brendan began. “She's sick alright and
the Were have her again.”

Scott's eyes locked with Brendan's, sweat
running down between his shoulder blades, chilling as his skin
dampened in the cool night air. Then Brendan said the thing that
made Scott's blood run cold, “The feral is out there,” he lifted
his nose to the air, pushing a good amount of an invisible
fragrance right underneath his nose with his palm, “vampire and
werwolves.”

“Wait! Flag on the play!” Jen yelled, throwing a
flag on an imaginary football field.

They all turned to her. Jen planted her hands on
her hips. “What... more werewolves? The feral and...?”

Brendan nodded. “Yeah, I'd recognize wet dog
anywhere. And the red feral... he's his own tomato. The vampire,
well... we know what they smell like.”

“Shit,” Scott responded definitively and began
jogging in the direction they'd been heading, impatient to get to
her
.

“Scott!” Marcus yelled after his son.

Scott whirled around. “No! I'm not waiting
another second. It's already been too many seconds.”

The siblings all looked uneasily at each other,
following Scott.

He couldn't think until he had Julia safe. His
change of heart was breathtaking in its completeness.

*

Julia

Julia moaned, the constant rocking motion waking
her. She wished she hadn't awoken. She looked up into a pair of
eyes she hoped to never see again.

Tony. It didn't matter what form he was in,
she'd recognize his stench anywhere.

She swore he grinned when he saw recognition
dawn on her face.

Julia tried to struggle in his grasp but was too
weak by far to do anything.

“Stay still,” he said in a low growl, “you're
sick.”

Julia felt hot tears she couldn't afford to lose
run down her face.

Helpless again. Grief crashed into her like an
earthquake. It shook the very foundation of her soul and nothing
but despondency remained.

Tony looked down at the flushed face of the Rare
One. He could scent her displeasure at being held by him coming out
of every pore of her body. Even if she'd been well, she couldn't
have fought him. Except for her gifts she was helpless. Helplessly
female and ill in an intoxicating mix that made his perverted heart
speed. He could feel the presence of the Alpha at his back and
didn't care.

Tony had never been one to follow rules.

He'd have her, squirming and fighting. It'd be
amazing. He crushed her against himself and she made a pain sound,
trying to beat at his chest weakly.

Scott felt a great hopelessness well up inside
him that was so foreign to his nature he interpreted it for what it
was.