The Blood Covenant

by Emily Bex

  As the night wore down, she began to notice the paparazzi thinning out. There was nothing unusual about that since Alec wasn’t with her. But there was one guy she’d never seen before, and he looked out of place. He wore a ball cap low over his eyes, sunglasses, and dark clothing. She tried to concentrate on him, but he’d appear and disappear so quickly in the crowd, she could never get a good look at him.

  Making her last stop of the night, she needed to run into the fashionable night spot and make an appearance for a friend. Rissa entered the club, and the music pounded her. She took a drink from a passing waiter and held it in her hand, chatting with her friend, making sure the crowd saw her. There was no Midnight available, so she pretended to sip at her drink. She didn’t want to seem in a hurry, this party was an important gig, and Rissa needed to make some contacts. She stayed for about an hour, making the rounds then making her excuses, always explaining that Alec was waiting for her, and of course, they understood. Hell, most of the women turned green with envy at the mention of his name and she loved it. He belonged to her and there was no way in hell they’d ever have him, but she knew there were plenty of women who saw Rissa as a way to get to him. Stupid bitches, not a chance in hell.

  Exiting the night spot, the suspicious photographer appeared out of nowhere, clicking away, close to her, blinding her, and she stopped dead in her tracks, lifting her arms in a defensive manner against anything that might attack. He was vampire, and suddenly, all her instincts went into overdrive. It happened in a flash and then he was gone, no trace of him. Was he after photos, or something else? Rissa brushed it off, and filed it away, reminding herself to be on guard.

  She teleported home and decided not to mention this to Alec. It was, after all, nothing. And she didn’t want any restrictions placed on her schedule.

  The next day, Rissa ran from one appointment to the next, her day went by fast, but she was constantly on alert, her senses tuned for anything suspicious. The night before had her unnerved, wondering what the hell that vampire was doing so close to her. As the work day came to an end, she headed for the gym. Working out was her way of relaxing, releasing some energy while building her body and keeping strong for most anything, but especially for sexual activities with Alec. He liked her sleek and firm, and she had to be able to handle his sometimes-unusual sexual appetite. He wasn’t one to take anything easy, much preferring to push the limits of what she could endure, and she loved it.

  Kickboxing was one of her favorite exercises. It was fun, and it worked out her whole body, made her sharp and above all, gave her time to think. Wrapping her hands, she went after the bag next; punching, kicking, taking out her anger and stress on that bag. She was strong, stronger than a mortal, but not as strong as those who were born vampire. Still, she had to be careful not to draw the attention of mortals.

  Next, she did a one-hour spin class, pushing her body. Getting ready to cool down, she glanced at the clock and realized it was past 10:00 p.m. and she’d been here for hours. She felt like she could go longer, wanted to go longer, but knew she’d better get home soon. Alec would wonder what the hell she was up to. Not bothering to hit the showers, she gathered her things and headed home.

  Alec could sense Rissa was ill at ease. She wasn’t angry or afraid, but something was bothering her. He tuned in to her, reached out to see where she was, picking up an image of her working out at the gym. He could feel something definitely had her worried. The gym was her outlet. He needed to talk to her when she got home. After the conversation with Shade, this coven seemed much larger, much more organized than they had originally thought. They didn’t seem to care if their activities were exposed to mortals, and there was nothing more dangerous than a vamp who liked to flaunt his prowess in front of mortals. Rissa needed to be on guard. Hell, they both needed to be on guard.

  92

  Waking from his death slumber, the sun had not yet set. Shade got up, dressed, ready to get back to the streets. Before heading down to the bunker, he stood beside the bed and looked at bel. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and he knew he needed to wake her and tell her he was leaving. Softly kissing her cheek, he slid his hand over her breast and whispered in her ear, “Mi amore, I need to go, I won’t be back early. Luca is here, bel. Call if you need me. Ti amo.”

  Kate was pulled from her sleep as she heard him whisper his goodbyes. “Then be careful, please, come back to me. I love you, Shade. I need you.”

  Her response irritated him, and he knew he was over reacting, but the words were out of his mouth before he could think. “Have faith in your damn warrior.”

  Walking out of the room, it ruffled him that she thought he’d get hurt or not come back. Fuck, he would drag his body home to be with her. Slamming into the bunker, he loaded up with weapons and yelled at Luca, “I’m out. Get your ass to my mate!”

  Teleporting out to the Dead House, he was more than ready to rip the fuck out of something this night.

  As Shade left her, she felt his anger. Kate knew it wasn’t directed toward her. She knew he suffered in his own way. This bed, where they had shared such passion, felt so cold to her now. He didn’t touch her in the same way. He held her like a fragile china doll. She slipped from beneath the sheets where, only seconds ago, he laid beside her, and she returned to the nursery.

  This room was meant to hold such joy but seemed to be the only place she could let go of her pain. Someone had made the nanny’s bed where she’d spent the previous night. Most likely it was Theresa, which meant the staff knew she came here to grieve. Kate climbed atop the twin bed, drew her knees up to her chest and laid her head on her knees, letting the pent up tears flow. She wept for the loss of their baby, and she wept for the loss of Shade, for the loss of them as a couple, as they used to be.

  Luca walked up the stairs and headed for their bedroom again, only to find the room empty. He didn’t need to look for her tonight. He knew exactly where to find her. He walked to the nursery and saw her on the bed and heard her soft sobs. Master would never have left her like this. She was hiding her grief from him, as he hid his from her. He stepped inside the room and she looked up at him. They locked eyes, and she put her hand on the chair by the bed, indicating she wanted him to sit with her. He walked over and sat in the chair, facing her, waiting in silence for her to speak.

  “I feel like I’m drowning and everyone around me is just watching me sink, helpless to save me. He can't save me. I have to save myself. I’ll either pull him under with me or he’ll have to break free of me to save himself. Am I losing him, Luca? I tried so hard to mask my pain while he was here, but he barely stayed through the daylight. A few minutes of his time before his death slumber, and then he wakes before sunset and leaves me.”

  “My lady...Kate...he grieves in his own way. I assure you, you aren’t losing him. I have known him my whole life. You know our history. There is no one I respect more, love more. In all of my life, I’ve never seen him as happy, as devoted, as he is with you. He finds his strength in you.”

  “But not now. He finds no strength in me now. I’m lost in the darkness and I can't find my way back. I want to go back. I want to get back to us, and a time when I could smile and laugh, and it didn't take everything in me to do it.”

  “That comes with time, Kate. This is all so fresh. You both need time to heal.”

  “But in the healing...there’s so much pain in the healing, and I get so afraid we’ll never get back to where we were. I bear so much of the blame.”

  “There’s no blame, Kate. You can't carry that around. This is no one’s fault. You lost your baby. You had no control over that.”

  “But it is my fault. It’s my fault I was even pregnant in the first place. I wasn't doing anything to prevent a pregnancy. I assumed, since he was immortal...I don't know, I assumed nothing could happen. He was angry when I told him. This wasn’t what he planned for us. And then, I learn once I'm pregnant a mortal/immortal pregnancy is high risk, so even from the beginning ou
r baby...” Tears streamed down her face. “Stupid, stupid decisions. I put us in this place. I lost our baby, and I put Shade in this place. Tell me how that isn't my fault. Tell me how he won’t see it as my fault.”

  “I watch him with you. I know him, and I can tell you, he’s carrying this entire burden on his own shoulders. His need to protect you overrides everything else. I watch him when he’s angry or frustrated with you, and it dissipates in minutes. He can't even hold onto that. His love for you consumes him. Be patient with him. You both just need time.”

  “I can be patient with him. I can wait a lifetime for him if I have to. I fear he’ll get tired of waiting for me. Get tired of the drama. I try to fit into his world, but he still shields me from so much. I think his life was much simpler before I came along.”

  Luca smiled slightly. “Simpler, maybe, but much lonelier. I assure you, Kate, he’ll always choose a life with you in it, regardless of the drama. You can never appreciate the isolation and loneliness of a warrior.”

  “Are you lonely, Luca?”

  He held up both hands and laughed. “Oh no, you aren’t going to make this about me.”

  She giggled at his response. “I'm going to find you a girlfriend, Luca.”

  He stood up and started backing out of the room. “And on that note, my lady, I'm leaving. Call me if you need anything.”

  She watched as he left the room, and realized she had a smile on her face. It slowly faded as the pain crept back in and gripped her heart. She lay down on the bed, holding the bear, and let the hours pass.

  93

  The warriors spanned out, taking their assigned quadrants and providing cover for the city. It was the easiest way to monitor activity against the fucking rogues who just popped up with complete unpredictability, then killed and left their drained victims on display. Shade stayed in the Dead House, monitoring his crew and directing their movements for hours, and he was getting more edgy by the minute. None of this made any fucking sense to him. Who the fuck were they? And why the hell didn’t Alec know them?

  Shade had well over twenty warriors on the streets, and not a damn one of them could get a strike. It was so fucking random, and whoever these Aries rogues were, they were keeping well-disguised. It was cold here. It was snowing hard and everyone was bundled up like fucking Eskimos. He had whipped Alec’s crew into good warriors, not like his, not exceptional, but decent and they should be able to smell out a vampire five miles off, but they couldn’t.

  He sent them out in teams of three. Two to hunt, one to bring back the dead left behind. If even one body was found by the mortals, Alec would have his head, not to mention, they all risked being exposed. The longer he was shackled up inside the Dead House, the worse his attitude got until he bolted out alone. Nothing was going to fuck with him tonight. He was ripped, emotionally ragged, and ready to take them all on, if he could find them.

  He scanned for miles and began to think this would be another wasted night for him, when he decided to hang out on the edges of Georgetown. Nothing seemed to be happening in this grid closest to Alec, and that also had him confused. Shade personally went down there every night to check it out for a few hours before sunrise. He was determined to figure these bastards out, if it was the last thing he ever did.

  As he lit up a smoke, he dropped down to street level, walking among all the pretty people who had more fucking money than sense in this damn town. He hated it here. D.C. was not Florence, and he wouldn’t have stayed if it hadn’t been for bel. She was the only damn thing keeping him here, and he wasn’t sure he could even hang onto her anymore. She was in a place he couldn’t reach, lost in pain he could not fix. Then his eyes caught something, stragglers who looked out of place here. They weren’t blending in, and he knew in his gut they were rogues.

  Instinctively, Shade called for backup to surround this area, but he wasn’t waiting for anyone to get there, these rogues belonged to him. There were four of them wearing sweats and hoodies, looking like wanna-be gangsters and totally out of place in this upscale neighborhood. They were clearly hunting when they got a whiff of him, and the battle began.

  He drew them into an alley, away from the crowds. Things moved fast, and the rogues were quickly all over him. He relished in the adrenaline rush of battle, the speed, the alert and focused mind, and his skill with weapons. He took two of the rogues out, removing their heads with a single swing of his sword. The other two played cat and mouse, stayed with him, trying to circle him. You fucking little pups, you will not wear me down. Then he felt the sudden pain as a shuriken sliced into his arm. Shade didn’t stop or even look down. He let his anger and pain fuel his fight, as he nailed the rogue through the heart. Suddenly, his own warriors were surrounding them, and there was only one lone rogue left. “You are mine, you scum sucking piece of shit!”

  Shade’s warriors made a seething, hissing circle enclosing them, as the rogue stood speechless.

  “Full of fight until you are confronted by real warriors, is that it? Talk and you will come out alive. Keep fucking with me and you will die like your compadres.”

  The rogue came at Shade at a blistering speed, invisible to the mortal eye, and yanked on the shuriken sticking out of his arm. Shade screamed from the pain, and tried to grab the rogue’s neck, but the rogue maneuvered out of his grasp. Shade did a backflip and slammed his fist straight into the rogue’s chest cavity, ripping out his heart and squeezing it in his hand until it oozed through his fingers. The rogue stared back with a look of surprise, as Shade held his beating heart in front of his face, in that split second before the rogue dropped dead to the street.

  Shade ripped the clothes off the rogues back to discover the Aries tattoo. “Get these bodies off the street and take their asses back to the Dead House. I need to get home. Call in the rest of the warriors for the night, the sun will be up soon, so we are done here. I need to rest, as do all of you. We will have the same schedule for tomorrow night. This is how we hunt where I am from. So, take heed and get it done!”

  Teleporting home, his arm was damn near useless until he could extract this fucking shuriken. Shade stumbled in through Luca's entrance from the patio, to see him waiting and pacing. Luca had felt that something had gone wrong. As he made it inside, Shade just looked at him. “Need your help. Shuriken lodged in my arm. Fuck!”

  Shade slid down to the floor. He felt like shit and the adrenaline was wearing off.

  Luca knew he had to be in pain and he’d lost some blood. Luca cut away the jacket around the shuriken lodged deep into his bicep. He shook his head, looking at the jagged saw-tooth teeth of the shuriken lodged deep in the tissue. “This is going to fucking hurt.”

  “Yeah, just do it, Luca. I need to get to bel, I need to clean up. I need to sleep.”

  Shade laid his head back and braced himself for the pain, but Luca appeared to be stalling. “What are you waiting for? Just fucking do it!”

  Luca winced. “Shade, you’ve already started to heal around the blades. I’ll have to rip it free, one stroke, then bind it up quickly until you heal.”

  “Do it!”

  Shade felt Luca’s hand around the blade as his other hand was pushed hard against his shoulder, bracing him for the pain. The pain screamed up his arm and into his neck as Luca ripped the shuriken free. It tore through the muscle, making Shade’s head spin.

  “Master, let me help you up, you need to bathe before I can bind it, come on.”

  Luca hoisted him to his feet. He knew his master would heal before the next sunset. Luca helped him to shower; standing close by and letting Shade clean himself off, helping him as much as he could. He could tell Shade was feeling better just washing away the grime and blood from his body.

  Shade left the shower and toweled off as Luca immediately wrapped his wound. The bleeding had stopped, and he tried not to think about how fucking lucky he was to still have his damn arm.

  Luca finished wrapping the wound. “Master, do you need to feed? Are you feeding at all?”<
br />
  “I am fine, I only feed from bel now, and I haven’t lost enough to make a difference. The wound has already sealed over. Anything happen tonight?”

  Luca shook his head. “No, my lady is fine, quiet night. She...sleeps.”

  Shade left his bloody and torn clothing behind as he left Luca’s suite. “Good, heading up to her now. Fuck, I am tired, Luca.”

  Heading up the stairs, the towel wrapped around his waist, he felt so tired and lost, and he hoped bel was asleep and didn’t notice the binding around his arm.

  Kate heard him come in downstairs again and knew he’d go to Luca's suite and shower like before, so she rushed from the nursery and ran to their bedroom. She ripped down the blankets and tossed the pillows around before climbing under the sheets. She could hear the shower running, and then the water stopped. She waited for him, but still, he didn’t come to her. Her already broken heart felt the pain. She knew he was avoiding her. He was fighting his own pain and couldn’t carry hers as well. Luca said she wasn’t losing him, but she felt him slipping away from her, and she didn’t know how to stop it.

  Shade entered their bedroom quietly and slid into the bed beside her. He pulled her onto his chest. She stirred and he could tell she was awake. “I am home, bel.”

  Kate draped her arm across his chest, her leg across his legs. His skin and hair were still damp, and she was aware of the fresh bandage on his arm. She knew he fought. She knew all his anger was taken out in battle, but she wouldn’t make the same mistake as this morning. Her worry over his safety only angered him.

  “Lover, I’ve missed you.”

  Shade nuzzled his face into her crimson locks. “Not as much as I have missed you. I want you to feed. I need to know you are strong. I worry about that. Will you please, for me?” He tilted up her chin, looking deep into her eyes. “I love you. I want you to be strong for me.”