The Blood Bundle, Books 1-2: Blood Singers and Blood Song (New Adult Paranormal Vampire/Shifter Romance) (9 page)

They sped off, the blackness of the SUV
melting into the night.

*

Julia

Julia wasn't the hugging kind of girl but she
gave a big one to the man who had let her sleep for hours on his
bus.

Alfred.

He gave her an awkward pat on her head and told
her to take care of herself.

She turned as she heard the engine roar in his
pickup truck and then dim as he pulled away. Julia looked at where
she stood. The moon was full, the brightness cast making Julia feel
strangely vulnerable under the yellowish glow of the streetlight,
on display. She clutched her toiletry bag tighter, moving forward
toward the door.

Julia walked inside, passing under a sign at the
threshold of the building which read,
Freedom Affirmed
. Once
through, there was a receptionist on duty, her hair was in a severe
bun, glasses perched on the end of her nose. It was her eyes, full
of knowledge from hard experience that finally relaxed Julia.

Eyes that seasoned eased her.

“Hello dear,” the receptionist said in a
pleasant voice, her bird like eyes taking in Julia's appearance,
missing nothing. The dyed hair, the crazy get up, the lack of
luggage. Julia guessed she was pretty much fitting whatever
stereotype there was.

“Hi.”

The woman raised an eyebrow, as she came around
the desk to greet Julia. “I'm Shirley,” she stuck her bony hand out
and Julia took it, giving it a gentle shake and then dropping hers.
Shirley's eyes searched hers and finally she said, “I guess you
need a place to stay for the night?”

Julia nodded. Only one night? Crap, she'd have
to figure it out day by day.

Shirley, apparently seeing how dejected she was
continued, “We offer transitional services. We will help you find a
job, another residence...” she spread her arms to each side.

Julia sighed. She was terrified of William and
Pierce finding her. It wasn't rational. After all, once she got on
the bus, her trail disappeared.

Or that's what she told herself.

But Julia had been with the vampires for almost
a year and they made normal human senses something to which there
was no comparison. Julia shuddered, remembering how easy everything
was for them. William was a runner, chosen specifically for
tracking.

He was engineered to find her.

Julia shuddered and Shirley gave her a look of
sympathy, misinterpreting it completely. She took Julia's arm and
they walked together to her room.

*

shelter

Julia was as settled in as she was going to be.
She looked around the room. Actually, it was a shared room, hardly
more than a closet. The bathroom served two rooms for four women.
The girl she shared with was at her new job, poised to leave the
next morning. Julia looked longingly at the bathroom. She was dying
for a shower.

She went through the clothes that Shirley had
provided. There was enough for a week's worth. A plain, black
duffel had been provided, courtesy of a sponsor of the shelter.

The clothes were simple but comfortable and fit
well. A miracle. She was heavier than she'd been when the vampires
had thought they'd lose her from malnourishment. But as Julia
caught sight of herself in the harsh reflection of the florescent
lighting that rode the top of the vanity mirror she blanched. Even
to her she looked hideous. Large bruise type circles held court
underneath her large, golden eyes. Her hair was a startling black,
the ends hacked unevenly about her shoulders. It was her ribs, each
one countable, her collarbone standing at attention which let her
know how desperate she still looked.

How had she looked before? Julia didn't want to
know.

Turning away she cranked on the hot water for
the shower, the needles slamming into her hands that were still
cold from the outside. The tingling of the warmth waking her skin
up as she pulled the stopper and the spray rained down, beating the
porcelain tub below. Julia stepped in, parting her lips, letting
the water fill her mouth and run down her chin. The warmth and
privacy made her want to cry with relief.

She hadn't realized how obtrusive her lack of
privacy had been when Susan had been her caretaker or how
oppressive William and Pierce's presence was. She was so grateful
she could hardly stand herself.

Julia almost shrieked when she glanced down
while rinsing the shampoo out of her hair and saw the tub filled
with black.

What-the-hell?

She quickly toweled off and ran to the mirror.
She swiped her forearm across the middle and there she stood, her
wet hair like dark gold, a black wash hanging on but mostly
gone.

Shit. There went her great disguise. Julia
sighed. Figures she would grab the wash-out-gradually dye. She
turned away in disgust. Jerking the nightclothes on, which
consisted of panties and an oversized shirt, she slammed her body
into the bed in a huff. She was certain she would fall right to
sleep.

But she didn't. Instead, thoughts of Jason
filled her head like they always did before sleep took her.

*

then: fire & ice

They flew down on the small plane from the
Anchorage Airport. Julia was stoked, they'd touch down in Homer
soon. The only small glitch was Jason wanted to meet up with Kevin
and Cyn one more time at their spot on the beach. Kevin was likely
burning the hell out of the driftwood as they flew.

She wanted Jason all to herself.

He laughed as she cuddled closer, his finger
tracing and alternatively swirling the wedding band she wore as he
said, “It's a sendoff, Jules. Don't get your hot panties in a
twist.”

Julia rolled her eyes. “They are super cute
panties, buster. Not that you'd know!” she said, giving him a
playful elbow. He retaliated, tickling her without mercy. She
shrieked in the confines of the plane, some of the other passengers
giving the pair stern looks.

They offloaded and ran to their car parked in
the lot, the mountains a backdrop behind Jason's car, the stubborn
snow clinging to some of the nooks and crannies at the top.

Julia sucked in a lungful of the freshest air in
the world, happier than she'd ever been. Vegas had been an assault
on all her senses. Filthy, noisy, dirty, everything that wasn't
home.

Jason opened the door for her and she piled in,
roaring off to the spit. Cyn and Kevin were waiting and she could
see the fire from the beginning of the spit, the flames rushing up
to kiss the darkening sky.

An omen.

Julia's mind protected her from touching the
memory which lay next. The one she couldn't bear to think of.

The one that was stealing her breath, robbing
her of life, making her heart pause in her throat.

Julia finally fell into a fitful sleep as the
vampires closed in around her.

*

vampire

The four of them surrounded the human cattle,
eyes glittering darkly at their prey. They could not afford to be
circumspect, all four would need to be well-fed when they finally
came upon Julia. William signaled to Pierce and they flanked the
victim.

A pleasure to dispatch
, William thought.
Remembering how they'd come upon him, abusing the woman that Robert
now eased into thrall as they moved toward the human scum. William
licked the tips of his fangs as they tore through the tender flesh
of his mouth.

Pierce's evicted his mouth as the smell of blood
wafted to their nostrils.

“Listen scary dudes,” the man said, defensively,
“that bitch wanted it. I was only givin' her what she was beggin'
for... you get my meaning,” he said, grabbing his crotch in an
obscene gesture of his self-perceived attractiveness.

“Yes,” Pierce mused, “the abuse of her face
tells us of her joy.”

William hissed, moving toward him with sure
footing, stalking closer, he jerked the foul human next to him
until his rancid breath filled the intimate space. “The innocent do
not defend their actions... ”

“Thou dost protest too much,” Pierce intoned,
the ghost of a smile riding his lips as he moved toward their
prey.

The other runner, Andrew, allowed his talons to
tear through the tips of his fingers and used them like the small
daggers they were, piercing the tender flesh of the man's back, his
gurgled response matching the widening of his eyes. “What are you?”
he whispered, his eyes bulging and distended as Andrew held him
skewered like a shish kabob.

“Death,” William answered, his fangs
lengthening. He reared, preparing to strike.

He struck true, as did Pierce, Andrew's talons
evacuating the holes caused by them.

Robert left the female in thrall, dazed and
uncomprehending. In a blur of speed, he was at the human's side
where he dropped to his knees beside the male. Working to the
inside of his thigh, he tapped the vein with a vicious push of his
fangs, piercing even the thick denim the human wore. He rolled his
eyes up and met those of his comrade, Andrew, who shared the foul
meal. The blood delicious, its host lowly.

The vampires fed. Two miles from where Julia
laid sleeping.

But not peacefully, never that.

Julia
never
thought about the day Jason
died. She did everything within her power not to.

That's probably why her subconscious took
over.

She was too exhausted to fight it anymore. She
was not in the vampires' clutches, she'd had a shower and even a
little food. It made sense to sleep.

She needed to sleep.

Julia felt her body slide off into that strange
midway point between true wakefulness and that of deep slumber. Her
mind floated, circling the last things she had thought about. As
she slipped into REM, her body jerked like it was falling, landing
about where she'd left off in wakefulness.

Julia knew where she was going and began to
struggle toward consciousness again, as if at the bottom of a lake,
swimming to the surface.

But sleep was victorious, sucking her back
underneath the waters of her dreams.

*

then

She and Jason were almost to the spit when he
got the text from Kevin.

Jason turned to Julia. “That's not their fire
babe.”

She arched her brow, looking at the blaze far
down on the terminus of the spit, a glowing beacon. “Who else would
start that monster?”

He laughed. “They want to go to that spot by the
woods. More private,” Jason waggled his brows, he couldn't wait to
surprise Jules with their new place and all that came with it.

Right. Translation: let's make out. But now they
were married, she was going to do more than that and without an
audience thank you very much.

She sighed, some wedding night. She folded her
arms across her chest, brooding.

“Listen, hun. It'll be fun, it won't get light
until, when? One a.m.?”

The land of the midnight sun
, Julia
thought with more than a little hint of sarcasm. He wrapped his
hand around her neck, massaging the stiffness of the travel away,
catching little glances when he could, driving with one hand.

Julia guessed she'd forgive them. He was giving
up his apartment, after all. Tonight was their last night before
heading up to Anchorage. Just thinking about facing Aunt Lily
tomorrow filled her with dread. Even knowing she would be relieved
to see Julia go didn't make it better.

Jason looked at her with concern, then swung his
attention to the road ahead of them. He took the turn for the small
stretch of beach where they liked to hang. Only the four of them
knew about it: how to traverse, how to find.

He squeezed the back of her neck and she felt
the strength of his hands, having always been gentle with her. She
thought of Terrell. They'd been the same hands he had used to
murder their teacher.

To defend her.

“Jules, stop thinkin' about what Lily's gonna
do. It'll be fine, you'll see.” He looked at her quickly then
parked the car above the slope that led to the beach.

The beach lay below, a steep ravine above it,
lined with spruce trees which camouflaged the fire. They didn't
need anything special to get down there but it would be a bad fall
if they didn't watch it. Jason took her carefully by the elbow as
they used the rigid and deeply grooved soles of their boots to
assure their footing as they descended to the rocky beach.

*

Vampire

Andrew and Robert paired, as did William and
Pierce. Silently, having worked together as a quad before. They
scented Julia easily. William never went anywhere without his
quarry’s scent. In this case he possessed a scrap of an original
piece of clothing, never laundered. He allowed his runners a deep
whiff before they picked up the faintest scent coming from their
current position.

“I say one point two-four kilometers,” William
said, lowering his face from its position in the sky.

Pierce laughed. “So literal, William.”

William gave him a look and Pierce's amusement
faded.

He looked at the faces that studied him in turn.
“Follow me.”

They ran, staying to the border of the
buildings' flanks. The shadows embracing them soundlessly, the
peppering of blood splatter on their garments invisible in the
dark.

*

before

The dusk lingered in Alaska forever it seemed
like. Summer nights were one long siege of twilight. Julia didn't
mind. The veil of false darkness provided the perfect backdrop for
a sky the color of bruised violet, a sprinkling of the brightest
stars flung about. Venus hanging like a shimmering anchor at the
horizon.

She had planted her bony butt on a huge piece of
driftwood Kev and Jason had hauled to a safe proximity next to the
blazing inferno.