Blood Bond

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “Wait,” I called. “What will you do if I don’t agree?”

  “To you? Nothing. Olivia wants you alive. To your family, your friends …” He hesitated. I could see the indecision, the battle within him. That, more than anything, made my stomach clench. “They won’t be so lucky.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I shouted, stuck halfway between pissed and scared.

  “And your mother? All alone in her flower shop across town? Can you protect her while you protect your human friends? Samantha and Angela? Can you be everywhere?”

  My gut tightened. I couldn’t breathe. Wes stilled underneath my hands. I swallowed, trying to find my voice.

  “What did you do?” George demanded.

  “Nothing yet. Twenty-four hours. We’ll be back to collect you then. Cordelia too.”

  “Cord?” Wes asked. “What do you want with her?”

  “Master requested it,” he said with a shrug.

  Rage, hotter than any flame, welled up inside me at his cavalier attitude. I let go of Wes and took a step toward Mr. Lexington. He narrowed his eyes, suspicious and wary. I didn’t care if he saw me coming. “All you’ve done is issued death threats. Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you what it tastes like?”

  I couldn’t remember making a conscious decision to attack, but that’s what I did. One second I was standing still, white-hot anger lacing my veins and bringing them to a boil. The next, I was running at Mr. Lexington, the wooden dowel rod raised over my head. I watched him crouch and then shift to a wolf, the fabric of his clothing falling down around him in chunks. His eyes glowed hotter the closer I got. He opened his mouth and growled, his teeth grimy and pointed.

  My insides burned and stretched as I ran. My bones pressed against my skin, straining to lengthen, to change. Canines dropped, breaking the skin along my bottom lip, drawing blood. Still, I ran, wanting only to wrap my hands—which ended in pointed claws now—around Mr. Lexington’s throat and squeeze.

  I never made it far enough.

  “Tara, no!”

  A furry body slammed into me, and I went down. My shoulders made a hollow thud as they hit hard earth. The air whooshed out of me and for a moment, the blue sky framed above me danced with pricks of light.

  Everything seemed to slow down, as if I’d been sucked into a vacuum. The noise and activity went on around me as if nothing had changed. Only I was affected by whatever force held me still. The rage inside me didn’t dull. I still wanted nothing more than to get up and finish what I’d started—how dare he threaten my friends?—but all I could do was lie there, and listen.

  I could hear voices now, hurried and harsh in the way they spoke to each other. The first one I recognized was Derek. “… didn’t see. They were too fast,” he was saying.

  “There could be more. Our priority is securing the house,” Wes said. “Get Fee.”

  “Here I am,” Fee said. “Where do you want me?”

  “You take east and I’ll take west. Five minutes. No more,” Derek said.

  The noise faded, replaced by a sort of rushing sound that was like no sound at all. Rage faded in again, blocking the rest out. I struggled to stand, to fight. At once, a pair of massive paws landed against my shoulders, pinning me.

  Voices penetrated.

  “… to call them. Cord will go to Sam’s. I’ll go to Angela.”

  “What about Tara?” George asked. The worry in his voice leaked through into the bond between us and threatened to overwhelm me.

  “She’ll be fine. This happened once before …” Wes trailed off. I could hear him hesitating.

  “I know about the attack at school,” George said. “She told me.”

  “Right, that. She’ll come out of it eventually. Probably won’t remember much, though. Just keep an eye on her.”

  “I should shift back, call the girls,” George said.

  “You’re not supposed to be here, remember? Get Cambria.”

  A second later, I heard, “Here I am. What—? Oh. What the hell? She’s…”

  “Yeah, we know,” Wes said. “No time. Get her phone.”

  Hands groped at my hips. I heard a snarl and realized it came from my own throat. The paws bore down. A hand reached into my pocket and took my phone.

  “You’re phone leader,” Wes said. “Call me if you hear anything. Then call Cord. The rest will check in with you.”

  “What the hell’s a phone leader?” Cambria asked.

  Wes huffed once. “Ask Vera. I have to go.”

  The voices fell silent. I couldn’t understand, not like I knew I should. I needed to know what was happening, to me—and to the others. Had they gotten the Lexingtons? Were Sam and Angela safe? My mother?

  Finally, the haze fell away, and I could think again. I could move. The first thing I did was struggle against the pressure of George’s paws on my shoulders, but he didn’t budge. His weight bore down, making it hard for me to breathe.

  “Get off me,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Are you … you?” George asked, peering down at me, his eyes wary.

  “I’m me,” I assured him. He didn’t look convinced. “Where’s Wes? Where’s Mr. Lexington?”

  “Gone.”

  “Gone where?” Panic threatened. George’s worry spiked through our bond and I fought to keep my emotions in check. I wanted him convinced. I wanted him off me.

  “The Lexingtons split. Jack, Derek, and Fee are trying to track them now. Wes and Cord went to check on Sam and Angela. Cambria’s calling your mom.”

  “I didn’t get him.” A fuzzy memory of being slammed to the ground midattack slid through my mind. I tried to identify the force that had held me still.

  “No.”

  I glared at him. “Why’d you stop me?”

  “If you’d attacked, they might’ve gone after your mom, or one of the girls,” George said quietly. “I used the bond to hold you until I could reach you myself.”

  “The bond?” I blinked up at him. “How?”

  “I’m not sure exactly,” he said with a shake of his head. “I told you it’s powerful. You just aren’t using all of it.”

  “Whatever. Why the heck are we still sitting here? Let’s go help.” I tried again to push him aside.

  “Tara, if I let you up, you can’t run off. Jack says we have to stay here. We should probably go inside.” He looked around.

  “I’m not going inside. My mom—”

  “Tara.” Jack’s voice carried from the far edge of the woods. He bounded up to us and nodded at George who eased up enough to let me sit. Jack towered over me. “Your mom is safe. She’s on her way here.”

  “And Sam? Angela?”

  “We’ll know in a few minutes.” His eyes took in the length of me. “Well, I guess we figured out what it’ll take to make you shift.”

  “What?” I asked. He didn’t answer. I looked back and forth between them in confusion.

  “Tara, your hands,” George said.

  I looked down and my stomach dropped to my knees. My hands and arms were covered in down. Gingerly, I reached out and touched it with the tips of my fingers. It was soft, feathery light—and wrong. I jerked my hand away.

  “Vera was right,” Jack said. “Your trigger is hybrids. The more, the merrier, it seems.”

  “Did I shift completely?” I asked. It came out a whisper. I couldn’t get my voice to work right. I remembered the haze—the voices, the conversation as if heard in a wind tunnel.

  “No, just this,” Jack said, nodding to my fur.

  My abdomen brushed against the fabric of my shirt. More fur. I stilled, not wanting to know how much of me was covered. “Did I—did I hurt anyone?” I asked.

  “No, the hybrids were already, uh, taken care of,” George said. He nodded toward the edge of the trees where several wolves lay unmoving in the deadened grass.

  “The Lexingtons?” I asked.

  “They slipped away when you ah, distracted us,” Jack explained. “Fee and Derek
are sweeping the property for more hybrids. Soon as they’re back, we’ll try and track them.”

  “What about … you guys?” I asked, finally voicing my worst fear.

  “You think you hurt us?” Jack asked, clearly confused at my question.

  “We’re fine, Tay.”

  Relief washed over me, so strong it almost made it all right that I was still covered in fur. Almost.

  Fee and Derek appeared from around the side of the house. Their eyes widened when they got close, both of them staring down at me. Neither one commented on the fur covering my arms and legs.

  “Anything?” Jack asked. Both of them shook their heads. “Let’s get going, then. George, take her inside and lock the doors. Don’t come out for anyone. If you hear anything before we’re back, go to the back window and howl once. We’ll hear you.”

  “You got it.” George started toward the house, but I held my ground.

  “Tara, don’t be difficult.” Jack’s tone shifted, becoming decidedly alpha. “I need you here.”

  “They’re my friends,” I said.

  “And you being safe is the only leverage we have against their lives. Go inside, lock the doors, and talk to Vera.”

  “Why Vera?” I asked.

  “Maybe she can tell you how to fully shift.”

  “Shift which way?” I said.

  “Either forward or back. Doesn’t matter. Pick one.” He turned and ran for the woods with Fee and Derek at his heels.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  My skin returned to normal within the hour. I couldn’t remember if it’d taken that long the other times. I didn’t think so. Vera said it was because my wolf was getting stronger. To prove her point, I accidentally growled at George when he complimented me on the soft brown color of my fur.

  I swallowed the rest of the snarl that rose in my throat. “Don’t,” I said.

  “I was just saying—”

  “I looked like the female version of Teen Wolf.”

  He didn’t say anything else after that.

  I sat in Vera’s room, only half listening while she explained her theory about the hybrids being my trigger for shifting. After what happened out back, I knew she was right—and that I should be more concerned with that fact—but all I could think about were Sam and Angela. Threatened. Possibly hurt—or worse. I couldn’t think about “worse.”

  “Tara, did you hear me?” George asked.

  I blinked and shook free of my dark thoughts. “What?”

  “The girls are both at Angela’s house. Cambria called and told them to stay inside until Wes comes to get them,” he said.

  “Are they alone?”

  “Yeah, their parents are at work. But Wes says there are hybrids in the woods out back. They’re waiting for dark—and reinforcements.”

  “Who exactly …?” I realized it at the same time George answered.

  “Alex,” he said. “And Edie. I need to signal Jack.” I watched as he went to the open window and tipped his head back, letting loose a long, low howl. My skin prickled and something unexpected washed over me. Yearning. My inner wolf strained at the sound. The urge to join him rose in my chest, but I swallowed it back.

  I caught Vera watching me curiously and stood abruptly.

  “Where are you going?” George asked, turning away from the window after an answering howl. It sounded distant, but there was no mistaking it was Jack.

  “I don’t know. I can’t sit still.”

  I knew he wanted to stay near the window, to watch. It made him feel useful. I gathered that through our bond—which meant I knew he could feel my restlessness just as clearly. He let me go without following.

  I wandered the downstairs until I couldn’t look at the same stretch of walls any longer. I went up to the bedroom that had been my recovery room all those times, the room that now belonged to George. I went inside and lay down on the mattress that still smelled like dried leaves and mothballs, but that didn’t last long. My brain was working overtime to process all of the worst-case scenarios.

  I took a shower, managing to find an old pair of sweatpants that I’d left in the closet, and paired it with one of George’s lacrosse shirts from his brief stint on the team sophomore year. It smelled like him—like his scent before he’d turned. Completely human. Then I remembered where I’d seen these sweatpants before. I’d borrowed them from Sam months ago. My breathing hitched and I blinked rapidly.

  I heard noises downstairs, then doors opening and closing down the hall. I poked my head and listened to the voices. Jack, Fee, and Derek had returned. Dresser drawers slid open and closed. I imagined them shifting, donning clothes, gearing up to meet Wes and the others. The urge to demand that I be included hit me again. I met Jack as he came out of his room. The hallway seemed narrower with his broad shoulders filling the space.

  “You look better,” he said.

  I tucked my wet hair behind my ear. “I want to come.”

  “No.” He started for the stairs. I followed.

  “You said yourself that I’m better,” I argued.

  “That’s not the problem.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “We can’t expose you,” he said. “I’m already taking a risk exposing Cord, knowing they want her too.”

  I crossed my arms. “In other words, Cord can take care of herself, but I can’t.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you, Tara. You need to stay here. Your mom’s on her way. We need everyone together when we get back. To decide what to do.” I gave him a blank look. “About the Lexingtons. And their ultimatum. Do you remember anything they said?”

  My brow wrinkled as I tried recalling the exact wording. “They said Cord and I have twenty-four hours to give ourselves over to them or they’ll kill my friends.”

  “Right. So until we know what they want with you and Cord, you’re not going anywhere.” He towered over me, his mouth drawn down in a frown, looking every bit the alpha. Something inside me wanted to challenge him, but the human side of me knew better.

  “Whatever,” I mumbled. I stood there, staring at the buttons on his shirt until he walked away. Fee came up behind me. Her hand landed on my shoulder.

  “You know they won’t come back without your friends,” she said.

  “Jack or Wes?”

  “Yes.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  She planted a kiss on my forehead and slipped away.

  I stood clinging to the banister, listening to the sound of voices drifting up from the direction of the weapons room. Cambria appeared at my side.

  “You look sulky,” she said.

  “They’re going without me.”

  “I called your friends. They’re safe.”

  “You stole my phone.”

  “You wigged out and grew fur.”

  Derek walked up, still tucking stakes into various places along his waistline and into his boots. “We’ll check in every hour. If we miss a call-in …”

  “We’ve got the Carolina pack on standby. They can be here in under two hours if needed,” Cambria said. “I got this. Go kick hybrid ass.”

  He kissed her long enough that I felt awkward standing beside them. When he pulled away, the expression on Cambria’s face surprised me. It was more than infatuation.

  Derek nodded at me. “Glad to see you’re back to normal,” he said.

  Jack and Fee waited in the open doorway. He joined them after a final wave. I waved back, even though it was probably directed at Cambria. She blew him a kiss as George closed the door behind them.

  “You love him a little bit,” I said.

  “I might.”

  I stared at her, shocked that she’d admitted it, shocked it was true.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Close your mouth,” she snapped before marching off.

  *

  True to their word, Derek checked in with Cambria hourly. The first time they called, I spoke to Wes, but it was brief. He sounded distracted. Sam and A
ngela had been alerted to the rescue party. All they knew was that someone was after them, trying to get to me. I hadn’t talked to them directly, because I had no idea what to say if they asked for the rest of the story. Vague seemed best at this point. Angela managed to keep her parents away, along with her little brother and sister, so it was just she and Sam in the house.

  Wes said he’d counted twelve hybrids, all of them stalking the tree line like they were waiting on a signal of some kind. Hearing that made my stomach clench.

  “Are you okay, from earlier?” Wes asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’m sorry I left.”

  “It’s okay. I know you did it to help them.”

  “Is George taking good care of you?”

  “Not as good as you would,” I said. “But yeah. I can tell he’s tired of playing babysitter. Wishes he were there with you guys.”

  “He’s not ready for something like this.”

  “I know.”

  “You wish you were here.”

  It wasn’t a question. I answered anyway. “Yes.”

  “I’ll bring them back.”

  “I know.”

  The phone beeped with another incoming call, and I had to hang up. It was Logan. I handed it to Cambria. Not because I didn’t want to talk to him, but after delivering the news to Victoria that her parents were alive, and seeing how happy she’d been about it, I really didn’t want to tell her we were currently trying to kill them.

  My mom arrived in a windstorm of worry and stress. She carried a bag full of disinfectant and rags. I rolled my eyes and left her to it. It’s not like Fee would complain once she saw her sparkling house.

  George wandered in and out, both of us more and more restless as time went on. At some point during the wait, we found ourselves knee-deep in weapons and padding, and proceeded to reorganize the entire supply room. Jack could thank—or yell at—me later.

  At midnight, Derek called and said they were ready to move.