Bound to Blackwood

by Sharon Lipman

  Nothing.

  "Shall I call for a doctor, My Lord?" Lucine asked.

  "No." There was no way in hell a doctor provided by House Meadows was going to treat the woman he loved. The woman he loved… Jesus, Thorn, you are such an idiot. He bent down and whispered in her ear desperate that she would hear him.

  Lena's mind tornadoed through her childhood. She refused to accept Lucine's words. And yet…Memories of her childhood, of her parents distorted, as if this was the truth she had never allowed herself to see.

  As her mind tracked back, she saw the hushed conversations in dark corners, and the times the discussion stopped awkwardly when she entered the room. The House where her parents had argued with people she did not know, what she thought had been House Meadows, had in fact been somewhere else entirely. And then there was Vance of House London.

  That scene replayed again. It wasn't a nightmare at all. It really was a memory, though she realised she hadn't seen all of it when the vision slammed into her a few weeks ago. As Vance approached her, his maniacal smile terrifying her, another man stepped into the corridor and shielded her from Vance's evil stare. It was her father. Or at least the man she'd always thought of as her father.

  She thought about her parents' death again. All her life she thought the attack on her family had been random. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unlucky.

  But if Vance knew who she really was… Now she wasn't so sure.

  Her memories waned, the colours now less vivid, faces merged into each other, voices indistinguishable.

  Except one.

  Not much more than a murmur at first, the voice got louder, more clear. Lena followed it as it coaxed her from the darkness in her mind.

  "Come back to me, Guardian mine. Come back; I am lost without you," it said.

  She knew that voice, knew it was home. She blinked as the here and now became clear once more. A pair of golden eyes looked down at her. A warm hand cradled her cheek. "Thorn."

  "It is time you and I went home," he said. Still dazed, all Lena could do was nod. Home sounded good.

  Thorn swept Lena up off the sofa and into his arms. His heart skipped a beat as she wound her arms around his neck and nuzzled close to him.

  "I am truly sorry, My Lord. It was never meant to be like this," Lucine whispered.

  Thorn swung around to look at the other woman. "Then why keep it secret all this time?" he demanded.

  Lucine lowered her silver eyes. "It is why I could only speak to Lena, or you, My Lord. We were sworn to secrecy! Maluth Clayden planned to get the message out as soon as it was safe. But…"

  "But he died," Thorn finished for her.

  Lucine gave a solemn nod.

  "There must have been another way."

  "We made an honour-oath. No one was to know the truth. We swore on the name of the King that the only people to whom we would reveal the truth were the King or Eden herself."

  Thorn scowled at her. "You could have come forward."

  "And forsake my honour?"

  Thorn puffed out a frustrated sigh. Fucking honour-oaths. They were all well and good at the time, but no one ever thought about the practicalities of keeping them. An oath was never made lightly, Thorn knew that, and he was well aware that a truly honourable Vampire would rather die than break their oath, but still. Jesus Christ, he could scream.

  "You should have come to court. We would have helped you," he said through gritted teeth.

  "And what would I have said, My Lord? Should I have just stood there and let you guess the problem? Waited until you happened across the right question?" she asked, her head now held high.

  Shit. She had a point. Thorn shook his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. "You know she may never forgive you for this."

  Tears welled anew in Lucine's eyes. "I know."

  It was a cheap shot, but Thorn had to take it; he felt utterly powerless.

  Chapter 32

  Kaden stood in the foyer of House Blackwood. He knew Thorn and Lena were on their way; he sensed them leaving House Meadows. Patience was not one of Kaden's favourite virtues, so he yanked the door open just as Thorn materialised on the front step. Carrying Lena.

  Kaden's eyes widened as he rushed forward. "What the fuck happened?"

  Lena lifted her head from the crook of Thorn's neck, her weary eyes blinking at him. "It's alright, Kaden. I'm not hurt."

  Kaden narrowed his eyes at her, then switched his attention to Thorn. The King's face was as stoic as ever, but those eyes of his gave him away. Thorn was worried. Very worried. "What's going on?" Kaden asked.

  Thorn shook his head, his eyes flashing in warning. "I'm taking Lena to her room," he replied as he made to walk past Kaden.

  Kaden's brow knitted. Something bloody weird was going on here. He moved so he blocked Thorn's path. The King actually snarled, but Kaden just couldn't let it go. "You have to tell me something," he demanded.

  Lena lifted her head again, though she didn't relax her grip around Thorn's neck, which was just plain fucking odd. "I'm fine, Kaden," she said with a shaky voice.

  "You don't sound fine."

  She sighed. "I just want to go to bed."

  "You heard the lady," Thorn said as he pushed past him.

  Kaden stood there and watched Thorn climb the right-hand staircase. In no time at all, the guy stepped onto the gallery landing. The King turned to look down at him. "I will come and find you, Keeper."

  Left with no other choice, Kaden nodded. He had no idea what the hell was going on and he hated it.

  Once out of sight, Thorn took the rest of the stairs three at a time, wanting to get to Lena's room as quickly as possible. He felt a little sorry for Kaden — Lena was his sister in all but name, after all — but he didn't think either he or Lena were capable of explaining what just happened. Not yet.

  He held Lena with one hand as he opened the door to her room, kicked it shut behind them, and made his way to the bed. He laid Lena down, intending to pull up a chair for himself, but she wouldn't release her hold on him.

  She looked up at him with wide, midnight-blue eyes. "Don't leave me."

  Thorn sucked in a harsh breath. He'd been in this position before and it hadn't ended well. Yet, as she looked up at him with those scared, pleading eyes, he could deny her nothing. "There is nowhere I would rather be," he said. Lena swallowed hard and Thorn saw the tears welling in her eyes. He reached down and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Don't cry, Lena. We'll get to the bottom of this. You'll see."

  His words didn't help. She turned into him as the tears finally came and sobs racked her body. Thorn wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. All the while he cursed everyone that had ever caused her pain. By the time she quietened, he'd created a full kill-list in his mind. And the list was long.

  Other than go full-scale homicidal, he didn't have a clue how to help. "What do you need, Lena? Food?"

  She didn't look up at him, just shook her head.

  Think, Thorn! "A bath?" he suggested.

  Lena mumbled something into his tear-stained shirt.

  "What?"

  "A bath sounds great," she replied as she pulled back from him. She still didn't look up at him.

  "Then, a bath you shall have."

  Lena listened to Thorn moving around in the bathroom. The water came on and then she heard him sorting through her bathroom cabinet, no doubt looking for some bubble-bath.

  She stretched out on the bed and stared at the curlicues on the artexed ceiling. She had no doubt that Thorn was keeping a tight lid on a whole boat-load of freak-out over what happened at House Meadows. It made her think about her own state of mind. She lay there wiping the red tears from her face, waiting for more tears to fall. Waiting to lose it.

  It didn't come. She didn't even want to cry any more. She searched deep within herself, went through her memories again, still expecting that her brain would refuse the new information. But her heart knew the truth.

  Having t
hat piece of the puzzle made everything else make sense. Things she'd dismissed as childish misunderstandings, those forgotten memories, all fit together. They painted a picture she'd been struggling to see properly all her life

  Thorn popped his head around the bathroom door. "All ready."

  Lena wiped her face hoping she'd got rid of the worst of her blood-red tears and sat up. "Thanks." She rolled herself off the bed and made her way over to him.

  Thorn held the door open for her and she stepped into the steam-filled room, the scent of lavender and rosemary enveloping her. Lena was usually a shower kind of girl, but that bath, near-full to overflowing looked so inviting.

  "How do you feel?"

  Lena thought about it and gave the only answer she had. "I'm alright. Honestly."

  Thorn frowned as if he didn't believe her. "It's a lot to take in, Lena. Besides, we don't even know that any of this is true. There must be some sort of test; I'll speak to Soraya…"

  "There's no need," she said.

  "Don't you want to know the truth?"

  "I already know the truth, Thorn."

  "Huh?"

  She gave him a small smile. "It's like Lucine gave me a piece of the puzzle I didn't know I'd lost. My memories of my time with my parents have always been patchy, confusing. I thought I had just forgotten, but I hadn't."

  "So you believe you are Eden of House Greenshire?"

  Lena shook her head. "No. I am Lena of House Blackwood. But I was her once." She sat on the edge of the bath and swirled her hand around in the hot, soapy water, her mind at peace now she'd said it out loud.

  She heard Thorn move behind her and she turned to find him hovering by the open door. "I'll leave you to it," he said as he looked at his feet.

  Something inside her clicked, some sort of borrowed emotion flickered in her heart. As she watched him turn to leave, her heart screamed at her to stop him, to make him stay. "Thorn?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

  His broad forehead bunched into a frown. "Doing what?"

  "Looking after me."

  He looked at his feet again.

  Lena sighed and turned back towards the bath. "It doesn't matter."

  Thorn's huge hand landed on her arm and pulled her back. She whirled around and nearly smashed into that impressive chest of his. Lena looked up into his glowing, golden eyes. The now familiar inner fire ignited, the heat spreading so fast, she gasped at its ferocity. Thorn growled. He grabbed both her upper arms and pulled her against his hard body.

  When it came, the kiss was hard and hot. Lena sank into him as a rich musk wrapped itself around her. Her hands found their way into the locks at the nape of his neck and she felt like she had found home.

  Thorn broke the kiss and looked down at her again. "Because I love you, Lena."

  Lena stopped breathing. Never had words held such power over her, but as soon as they came from Thorn's mouth, she knew she was lost.

  Thorn stroked the side of her face and she took a deep, shaky breath. She looked up at his expectant face and a confidence she didn't know she had galvanised her resolve. "I think I have always loved you, Thorn." His face lifted into the goofiest grin she had ever seen and she couldn't help but giggle. He kissed her again, this time slower, more sincere, more loving.

  When he pulled away, she felt bereft. The grief at the loss of him turned to worry in one look at Thorn's face. Oh God, he didn't really mean it. "W-what's wrong?” she whispered.

  Thorn took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you."

  "For the love of Fae, Boss, will you sit down?" Ryver called across the den.

  Kaden had been in a foul mood since he got here. So far, he'd snapped a pool queue and punched a hole in the wall. Now, he paced up and down, muttering and cursing. Ryver didn't need to be a telepath to know the effect Kaden's distemper had on their brethren. He could see it in their faces, the questioning looks they shot each other, the dark aura that surrounded each of them.

  Kaden either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. Ryver was betting on the latter. Kaden continued to pace.

  Mercury threw his PS4 controller on the table and plonked himself down on the sofa next to Ryver. "What the fuck is going on?" Mercury whispered.

  "Don't look at me," Ryver replied with a shrug.

  "Oh come on, Ryver. Can't you use your voodoo or whatever?"

  Ryver cocked an eyebrow. "Voodoo?"

  Mercury rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

  "No I can't use my voodoo. Besides, I already tried."

  "And?"

  Ryver sighed. "And, thirty-nine times fifty-one is one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-nine."

  "What?"

  "It's what Kaden does so I can't hear his thoughts. He does his times tables."

  "Wow."

  "Yeah, I've never met anyone who can compartmentalise like him."

  "Still, you must have an idea what's goin' on," Mercury said.

  Ryver swallowed down the guilt that moved through him. Yeah, he knew. He knew a lot, but he couldn't breathe a word of it. Damned oath.

  "Forget I said anythin'," Mercury said. "I know you can't tell me," The guy shot a filthy look in Kaden's direction, took a swig of his beer and got up.

  Ryver watched him march over to Kaden, Mercury's thoughts loud and clear. Ryver gave a sigh of relief as Sky stepped into Mercury's path. Whatever Sky said worked, because the two of them headed for the pool table instead of pursuing a no-good-for-anyone encounter with the boss man. Wise choice.

  Chapter 33

  "I don't understand," Lena said, her forehead knitted into a frown. She didn't like the change she sensed in him.

  Thorn stroked his thumb over the back of her hand as he looked down into her worried looking eyes. "I don't love you, Lena."

  She tried to snatch her hand back as anger clouded the air; Thorn held on tight, refusing to let go. "I need you, Lena. I need you more than the air I breathe, the food I eat. Mother of Fae, I need you more than the blood that flows in my veins."

  Lena watched in amazement as Thorn dropped to his knees in front of her. With this strange bond between them, she knew he meant every single word he said. As Thorn looked up at her with those fantastic, golden eyes, a searing bolt of heat shot through her and her legs began to shake.

  Thorn drew in a deep breath and memories of their last time together came back to her. "Home," she said.

  He frowned up at her. "Sorry?"

  "You said I smelled like home."

  The frown softened. "Because you are my home, Lena. A man couldn't leave his heart anywhere else. Some of our race spend their entire life looking for their mate, and my Amocinta was here all the time."

  She must have misheard. "Your what?"

  His eyes flashed platinum as he dropped all of his guards. Lena gasped as the final piece of the puzzle slid into place. She reached up to her neck with her spare hand. "Then you aren't in danger of Falling?"

  "What?" he shouted. Of all the things she could have said, that was the last thing he expected. He pulled her to her knees and held both her shoulders. "For the love of Fae, why would you think that?"

  "Because I felt your need," she swallowed, "your hunger. You wanted my soul."

  "Ah Jesus, Lena."

  "You didn't then?"

  Thorn cleared his throat. "I did. I still do… But not because I am in any danger of Falling." He stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "It is what it means to be mated; the sharing of all that we are." He cupped her face. "I would share all that I am, if you would consent to stand at my side."

  He watched Lena's eyes widen, her beautiful mouth hung open, giving him a tantalising glimpse of her fangs. He laid himself bare. All he could do now was wait.

  A look he'd never seen before skirted across her eyes as she looked back at him. She took her hand from his and stood up. When she started to walk away, he thought his heart might actually break. He stayed on his knees, the tiled floor now h
ard as stone, cold as ice. The cold spread through him as he hung his head. He couldn't bear to watch her go.

  "Aren't you coming?" Lena's voice called out behind him.

  He looked over his shoulder to see Lena standing in the doorway.

  "If you think I'm going to give you an answer in my en-suite, you've got another thing coming, Thorn Blackwood."

  Even if Thorn could have dematerialised within the confines of the House, he couldn't have moved any quicker. He was off the floor and through the door in less than a heartbeat.

  Lena could feel the dread in Thorn. He had trusted her with all his cards and she could break his heart with just one word. "Lena, you're killing me here!"

  She took a deep breath. Where did she start? This wasn't just a simple yes or no kind of answer. She needed Thorn to understand. "I have been bound to House Blackwood for nearly two centuries, but I feel my bonds to you more keenly than any of my brethren. I always have. Have you never wondered why I've spent most of the last two hundred years avoiding you, never being alone with you?"

  Thorn shook his head, but didn't reply. She could feel the pain emanating from him, saw him shaking. She reached for him, hating to see him suffer.

  "Thorn, I avoided you because of the effect you have on me. You were never just another Guardian, no matter what you said, and I couldn't trust myself around you."

  "What are you saying?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

  She took a shuddering breath as she ran her hand up his chest and stopped over his heart. "I never understood what it all meant until now."

  Thorn swallowed hard. His heart staccatoed under the warmth of Lena's hand. A tiny spark of hope flickered within him, but he fought to dampen it. He daren't assume anything. If he did, and he was wrong, he didn't think he would ever recover.

  "What does it mean?" he asked, his voice sounding like a cheese grater had taken up residence in his throat.

  Lena's mouth lifted into that coy smile of hers and his heart beat even faster, the hope within him spreading. "House Bowman should have been my first clue," she said.