The Vampire's Bond Trilogy: The Complete Vampire Romance Series

by Samantha Snow

  Afterward, beneath the pain, Michael simply looked resigned. It didn’t take some great genius to tell what was about to happen.

  Still, Gabriel paused for a moment, before he struck the finishing blow.

  “I do apologize,” Gabriel offered quietly, releasing the mangled wings to instead hold Michael aloft with an arm around his middle. “I didn’t want it to end up the way it did.”

  “Spare me,” Michael snarled. “I don’t need your guilty platitudes.”

  Gabriel sighed and caught an elbow around Michael’s neck. With a sharp jerk of motion, he wrenched his arm to the side, and there was a click and a meaty crunch as Michael’s neck snapped.

  Gabriel let the body fall down into the trees in the park below. When he drew his attention back to the present, it was to watch Raphael and Oriphael rapidly flee.

  *

  Osamu leapt backward, landing at the back of the cluster of Lords. The sphere in his hands flared once again, and Seraphiel ground to a halt, jerking toward him periodically only to back off again, like a dog straining at its chain.

  Allambee plowed into her with his shield, and she bounced off of it, hurtling away through the air and hitting the ground with enough force that she skidded, carving a trench in the ground as she did.

  Everything became a flurry of activity after that, as the rest of the seraphim burst into motion.

  Dask’iya darted forward, her sword raised high over her head until she brought it swinging downward in an arc set to end right where Zophiel’s shoulder met his neck. It missed its mark by only a hair’s breadth, the tip of the blade instead carving into Zophiel’s chest and side as he spun away, a splash of shimmering, transparent angel blood splattering across the ground.

  Dask’iya ducked, the Fang raised defensively as Rikbiel lunged to Zophiel’s defense. Her attempt to duck under the blade was warded off by a fistful of fire, so she tried instead to come from above, only to abruptly jerk to a halt as Osamu lifted the Apple once again. She regained the use of her limbs just a fraction too late, as the Fang sank straight into her gut and out her back. Dask’iya gave it a savage twist before wrenching it free once again, and Rikbiel sank to the ground in a heap, like a puppet without any strings.

  With a gentle laugh, Osamu darted away again, next to force Zophiel to a halt. His wound was already halfway healed, but as Allambee slammed into him and sent him careening through the air and across the ground, it tore open once again. Allambee closed the distance rapidly, lifting the shield and then slamming the bottom edge of it downward. Zophiel’s ribcage splintered, and there was a scream like telephone static and the splintering of souls, though it died away to silence soon enough. Allambee wrenched the bloodied shield out of the seraph’s chest.

  Osamu darted away once again, weaving between Zaphkiel and Ophaniel.

  “You’re having too much fun,” Regina accused quietly, as Osamu forced Zaphkiel to a halt just outside of arm’s reach and forced Ophaniel to launch high into the air.

  “Should I feel bad for lending what aid I can?” he wondered, feigning innocence. “Especially given all that they have killed and the many more they planned to kill next.”

  Zaphkiel broke the compulsion long enough to weave out of the way of Regina’s swing of the Bough, and nearly knocked her flat on the ground with a simultaneous beat of all six wings. Osamu caught her shoulder and propelled her toward Zaphkiel again, as the seraph once again was forced to a halt.

  Regina swung the Bough of Eden in a horizontal arc in front of her, dragging the end of the blade across Zaphkiel’s throat. She ducked away from the spray of blood, and as Ophaniel came screaming toward her, she caught the hook on the other end of the Bough on one of his wings and launched him into the ground before she speared the blade through his chest.

  If Osamu felt at all cheated that he hadn’t had a hand in Ophaniel’s demise, he didn’t get a chance to say anything about it, as Seraphiel hurled herself back into the fray, aiming herself straight at Osamu as she flew, her eyes narrowed in determination as she battled the compulsion of the glowing Apple.

  She crashed into Osamu, and for a moment, they scuffled across the ground, until she curled both hands around his throat and squeezed.

  There was a quiet, “Oh, dear,” just before Seraphiel’s hands sparked with light, and she threw Osamu with all of her might. He hit the ground and tumbled, the Apple of Eden falling from his hand. He lay motionless, and Seraphiel laughed quietly.

  Seraphiel’s triumph lasted only a moment, though, before Harendra darted to Osamu’s side. He had remained largely on the sidelines up until then—the shepherd’s crook was not the most imposing of weapons—but he could recognize an opportunity when one was presented to him.

  Seraphiel’s eyes widened in something like terror as Harendra simply tapped the end of the Serpent against the middle of Osamu’s chest. His eyes snapped open, and he reached out, his fingers closing around the Apple once again, though truly controlling her was no simple feat. Slowly, fighting the Apple’s compulsion, she began to struggle upward, each beat of her wings carrying her higher into the air.

  And then, Dask’iya jumped into the air to join her.

  Of the remaining seraphim, Seraphiel was the last to fall, her wings catching fire as Dask’iya set the Fang ablaze and plunged it through the seraph’s chest. She plummeted through the air, limp as a ragdoll, her eyes open but unseeing, their glow gone. She hit the ground with a reverberating impact, and then she burst into flames as bright as the sun. In a single moment, every other seraph burst into equally bright flames, and as they burned, Raphael and Oriphael rapidly winged their way back into the sky and vanished.

  The seraphim burned for only a moment, and then there was nothing of them left. Not even any feathers.

  Slowly, the Vampire Lords congregated together around the patch of blackened grass where Seraphiel had burned. Gradually, the other vampires followed them, joined by Gabriel after only a moment of hesitation.

  Slowly, Siobhan wondered, “Is that it?”

  Gabriel looked up, watching as Anael turned and left, vanishing into the distance. Finally, he looked down, confirming quietly, “They’re all gone.”

  “So what now?” Siobhan asked, looking around at the almost unnerving lack of corpses, save for Michael’s, still partially dangling from the branches of the tree he had landed in.

  “I suggest,” Regina began diplomatically, “that we make a hasty retreat before the sun comes up and we acquire even more of an audience than we already have. As it is, we’re going to be all over the news.”

  “We probably already are,” Jack supplied helpfully.

  ‘Getting the fuck out of Dodge’ was a good plan, Siobhan figured. It was very good sense.

  *

  There was a memorial set up at the edge of Chambersburg. It had been there since shortly after the disaster. No one quite knew what to actually call whatever had happened there, or if it could be linked back to the video footage of the winged beings or the footage of the fight in Belleview.

  Siobhan stood a few yards away, observing it. There were no grieving friends or family there just then—it was late, though the candles set up in front of the cross that had been cobbled together with beams pulled out of the wreckage lit it up as bright as day—but she had company despite that. Countless photographs stared back at her from the memorial, and Jack and Gabriel were quiet presences behind her.

  “So, is it all over?” she wondered, idly running her a finger back and forth above the flame of one candle for a moment before she turned and stepped away, joining Jack and Gabriel at the caution tape. “Are we finally done with all of the angel nonsense?”

  “I don’t know,” Gabriel answered honestly. “The hierarchy of Heaven goes further upward still, but I don’t know if there will be an attempt at retaliation or if things will simply be allowed to carry on.” He tipped his head to one side. “What will you do in the mean time?”

  Siobhan shrugged. “Be ready for whate
ver comes next, I guess.”

  “Take a load off for five minutes,” Jack added wryly.

  “Pop in on my siblings,” Siobhan tacked on. “I know some great all-night diners.”

  “Keep being Regina’s gofer, probably,” Jack mused, tapping his chin with one finger. “Presumably, she still won’t like running her own errands.”

  “And you’ll still get cooped up if you’re locked in the manor for too long.” Siobhan patted his back with one hand.

  “That, too,” he conceded easily.

  “What about you?” Siobhan wondered, folding her arms and shifting her weight to one side as she looked at Gabriel expectantly. “What are you going to do? I mean, no one’s going to keep you at the manor anymore, and I doubt you really want to stay there just because.”

  “I might visit, from time to time, but—“

  “You’d better,” Siobhan threatened, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  “But I think…I will try to find my remaining siblings,” he continued, as if she hadn’t interrupted him. “To see if I can convince any of them to change their minds. I will look for Anael first. If any of them are going to be receptive, it will be her, and the others will be more inclined to hear me out if she’s backing me.”

  “Just remember to come say hi now and then,” Siobhan reiterated firmly. “As long as you do that, I wish you luck.”

  “Sun’s going to be up soon,” Jack cautioned suddenly, looking at the clock on his phone and then to the eastern horizon line. “Are you good to head back yet?”

  “…Almost. Hang on.”

  Slowly, Siobhan turned and closed the distance to the memorial once again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the shooting star, cleaned until it shined and looked as good as new, save for its tattered string and the fact that it wasn’t connected to the rest of its mobile.

  Careful not to disturb anything, Siobhan crouched down in front of the candles and the cross, the flowers and the photographs, and she traced one finger along the edge of the shooting star. Finally, she set it down, propped up against a stone, bathed in the flickering light of a squat, half-burned votive candle. She took a moment to adjust it, making sure the star wouldn’t fall over, before she dusted her hands off on her pants and straightened back up.

  Returning to the caution line, Siobhan held her hand out, and her fingers closed around Jack’s once he offered his in return.

  “Now I’m ready,” she assured him quietly. “Let’s get going.”

  BOOK THREE

  THE VAMPIRE'S BOND 3

  THE BONDED SERIES BOOK 3

  SAMANTHA SNOW

  Copyright ©2018 by Author

  All rights reserved.

  About This Book

  This is book 3 from the “Vampire's Bond” trilogy. If you are new to the series then start with Book 1!

  When Siobhan MacLeod died she was brought back as a vampire by Jack Blackwell, her future lover.

  And now Siobhan was set to learn that everything happened for a reason and her new life as a vampire was set to take on a whole new meaning...

  CHAPTER ONE

  It was a calm night, all things considered. The manor was quiet. There were still more occupants than usual—everyone was leery about simply going back to normal when no one knew what the angelic situation was going to be like—but on that night, they were getting along. The Vampire Lords all seemed content to keep to themselves, perhaps relishing in the lack of any immediate danger. There were no states of emergency. It was just a quiet night, verging on early morning.

  Siobhan MacLeod ordinarily would have been enjoying the peace. She had been a vampire for only a few weeks at that point, and she had barely had time to just stand still and breathe. As it was, though, she and Jack Blackwell were sitting outside on the porch, staring expectantly at the sky.

  At least it was a nice view, she reflected, as her bronze-green eyes traced the path of a satellite. Somehow, the moonlight managed to make her look even paler than she already was (granted, she still wasn’t quite as pale as Jack, who had been sun-deprived for decades as compared to Siobhan’s mere weeks), but if nothing else, it meant her chin-length red curls stood out more than ever.

  She slid a glance over to Jack, admiring that view for a moment as well. The bronze that all vampires acquired made it a bit difficult to appreciate the green of his eyes, but the moonlight made his short black hair look like mercury, and she had always appreciated his profile.

  Granted, none of that made her any less impatient. Patience, on the whole, was not something that had ever been one of Siobhan’s saving graces.

  “He said today, didn’t he?” Siobhan asked eventually, toppling backwards and leaning against Barton, as if the wolf-dog were some sort of gigantic, elaborate pillow. (For his part, he grumbled and fidgeted and fell back to sleep.)

  Truth be told, they hadn’t actually been waiting all that long, but she had left her cellphone inside and had nothing to do, so the twenty minutes she had been on the porch had gradually stretched out into an eternity.

  “He said today,” Jack confirmed for the sixth time, not even looking up as he scrolled through the update feed on his cellphone. Siobhan considered stealing it from him, but she knew he would just take it back without even blinking.

  (She also contemplated getting up to go grab her own phone or a book or something, but she didn’t want to get up. Laziness did not suddenly cease to exist once mortality was no longer present; Siobhan could be semi-immortal and lazy simultaneously quite effectively.)

  Siobhan huffed out a breath and squirmed impatiently, but before she had a chance to complain further, two shadows fell over them from above, blocking out the dim light of the night’s small moon, each silhouette equipped with two pairs of wings.

  Gabriel landed first, his sister touching down only a moment after him. While Gabriel seemed reasonably at ease, Anael looked as if she was going to try climbing out of her skin. Siobhan supposed she could understand that; vampires and angels didn’t have the greatest history with each other.

  The thing about angels was that they all looked as if they had been made from a mold. All the men looked alike but with different color palettes. All the women looked alike as well. It was a bit unnerving when there were more than one of each in the same place, made even more unnerving by the fact that they were all perfectly symmetrical to a frankly alarming degree, but Siobhan had begun to get used to it.

  Whether or not angels were attractive rather varied, though. In general, Siobhan would say no, since they usually wanted to kill her and looked highly displeased. Gabriel, though, was rather fond of her (very fond of her, actually, based on past actions, though she rather hoped those feelings were waning) and tended towards a calmer, less outraged demeanor, so Siobhan was perfectly willing to admit that he was attractive in a broad, angular sort of way. He had tan skin, like coffee with a bit too much cream, his hair was a slightly metallic shade of brown, and his eyes glowed a medium shade of purple.

  Anael, like the other female angels Siobhan had seen, had deceptively soft features, like a delicate doll. Her wings were white but with a faintly blue tint to them and only moderately paler than the rest of her, save for her deep red hair, which fell to her waist like a waterfall, and her eyes, which glowed like fire opals.

  Both of them wore the unusual armor that angels tended to favor: black and like a second skin, a strange, unidentifiable material that was neither cloth nor metal but something in the middle.

  “I didn’t know you were bringing company,” Siobhan observed, sitting up once again and letting Barton stretch out more comfortably. Though she knew Gabriel meant no harm, she couldn’t help but feel wary. True, she had never fought Anael before, but Anael had never proven herself to be an ally either. She had been very thoroughly neutral in their few past encounters.

  Gabriel shrugged and clasped his hands together behind his back. “She wanted to meet you,” he offered simply, and he sounded so matter-of-fact that Siobhan couldn
’t help but let herself begin to relax.

  Despite that, Anael seemed more like she was contemplating hiding behind him. Siobhan grinned and waved cheerfully. Her fangs maybe made her grin a bit less charming than it once was, but really, it was just something Anael would need to get used to.

  “Hi!” she offered pleasantly. “I’m Siobhan.”

  “And Jack,” Jack chimed in, finally looking up from his phone and nodding his head once in acknowledgement.

  Anael observed them for a slow moment, her wings tense and folded tightly to her back. Finally, she bowed her head and offered, in a soprano voice, “Hello. It is…a pleasure to meet you. My brother speaks rather highly of you.”