Cynthia Awakened instantly, forcefully; the Queen's blood igniting hers in a panicked wildfire like tumbleweeds used as kindling.
Cynthia gasped and didn't question the unspoken request of her body. She knew what she was.
Cynthia knew what she must do.
She squeezed Jules' hands tighter.
CHAPTER 21
healer
Cynthia felt everyone melt away as tingling heat filled her body and poured out in a perfect channel of electric fire that surged from her hands to Jules'.
Jules was siphoning her energy as fast as Cynthia could make it and she watched it bow her back, Julia's long golden hair illuminated from an internal light that shone as the two women were locked together in a harmony of healing.
Marcus approached, then with a look behind him at the Combatant two stepped forward and captured Jacqueline's spindly arms. “Let me go!” she screeched.
“No,” one of the warriors growled next to her ear, his massive hand encircling the entirety of her upper arm.
Marcus gave a low grunt of satisfaction and the next words on his lips were, “By blood they shall save the Queen. By will they shall free her. One of blooded fang and wing, claw, and the hands of Healing: so shall she be freed.”
William glanced sharply at the Singer Elder and then looked down at Julia. Finally, his eyes met those of the wolf's, the green orbs held emotion they should not have possessed. Deliberation not found in nature but in humanity.
Julia's husband by human laws cradled her head and making the hardest decision of his life he lowered his snout to her shoulder as William's fangs elongated in readiness.
They struck simultaneously: the Were and vampire taking what had been given in error, the Healer neutralizing the damage as it was laid.
When the Combatant whose blood was called strongest laid his hands on the Queen of Singers, light burst from the huddle of supernaturals, casting a brightness like the sun that none could look upon.
Every being save one threw an arm over their eyes against the glare.
Julia's Awakening culminated in that moment: healed, freed from her blood-binding as she became fully Singer and Queen in a rushing torrent of magic and power, bringing every nearby living creature to their knees.
Jacqueline had easily escaped with the distraction of the three and was well out of range by that time and sought cover. She was unaffected by the supernatural phenomena that was foretold hundreds of years earlier in the sacred book of the Singer, just out of range. She had tried to circumvent prophesy and failed.
*
Queen
The Circle of the Combatant closed in an ear-shattering pop of power and light, the Singer warriors immediately coming to stand near Julia.
Jason, William and Cynthia fell away and a huge hand opened next to Julia. She looked at it and smiled, sliding her small hand into his large one and stood. Her Awakening had brought Julia full circle, her role clear.
And with whom she would share it.
The fissure that had started in Jason's heart opened wider, a chasm causing it to break as Julia stepped into the circle of another man's arms.
William stood as Julia's true mate took possession of her, dwarfing her by his size, his manner staking a claim that no words could have done.
He gnashed his fangs as they retracted and the sounds of Jason's howl reverberated in the ears of the gathered.
Cynthia wiped the chilling sweat off her brow and gazed at the couple in the moonlight, perfectly compelling in their rightness together, one dark, one golden and a tear slid down her cheek as she watched Jules slip away into parts unknown.
Had she come all this distance only to lose the best friend she'd ever had?
Scott held Julia's jaw like a fragile egg and saw the acceptance he'd been wishing for there in her eyes.
He lowered his head to hers, their lips brushing softly in a kiss so chaste it was air and skin. When Scott lifted his head, his gaze was met by the three groups and he knew what must be done.
He spoke and Were, Vampire and Singer lent an ear.
*
Were
Alan ran with the Northwestern Pack seamlessly, a rare red moving amongst them.
He was familiar with Karl Truman.
Before his Change.
Alan Greene moved alongside the former policeman like brethren, his half-human/wolf form lengthening in graceful strides. The same lineage as the Feral who had been captured two years prior in a botched Alaskan acquisition. It had been pivotal in starting the whole miserable ball rolling that they now found themselves steeped in.
Alan had known he'd make an excellent wolf.
Unfortunately, he was Alpha, as was the case with many Reds. Alan kept his pleasure tightly veiled from Lawrence and Ford, who had received disturbing communique of a possible treaty of sorts with Region One of the Singers.
They would acquire Julia Caldwell before the vamps did. Before the Singers put the whole Region in lockdown. Lawrence had bemoaned the news.
A treaty was not the way of the Were.
War was.
The group tore toward the Singer Compound, pouring on speed, the wind a taste of flavors on their tongues.
Alan's thoughts briefly touched on the Alpha from the pack they had aligned themselves with and hoped that there was a way to end him.
Lacey would always need Alan's protection until such time that an Alpha male could capture her trust. If that could ever happen, he thought, his sister was broken.
Yes, Alan determined, he would use cover of the Singer uprising as a perfect camouflage for the demise of the one that had thought to injure a female Were. That Anthony Laurent had risen as high as Beta in the pack reflected poorly on the Northwestern Den.
The fool.
Alan had simply been biding his time until everything came together in a perfect position to play his hand.
Like now.
*
Northwestern Kiss
Gabriel raised his head from the sentries who'd whispered the disturbing news.
Dual and deadly.
William had been subjected to the most severe torture that Merlin could dispatch, Gabriel's worse fear. He'd meant to waylay him, delay the acquisition of the volatile Rare One. Gabriel could not afford the losses she'd inadvertently brought on his head. The top of his kiss to the bottom, flooded with loss and death because of her presence. Julia Caldwell had not strengthened the position of his kiss as he had hoped but left it weakened.
What was even more disturbing was the news of Merlin's death.
From the account of his spies, buried deeply within Southeastern's ranks, his guts had been found in a twine about his neck. He had slowly suffocated on his own entrails. His blood level nonexistent.
Gabriel paced, his tall body stiffly moving within the cavern-like confines of his gigantic meeting area that was more than living quarters but much like a small house. Because of his Rare One status, no form of sunlight bothered him and his vampiric powers without the need for blood were always at his disposal. That is why Gabriel stood bathed in natural light as the one hundred year old skylights of muted violet glass cast circular shadows on the cobblestone ground beneath his feet.
That is where Claire found him when she entered without knocking.
She strode to him, arresting his stride as if she called out to him and slapped his face with a ringing that bounced against the walls and back at them in an echo.
“You heathen!” Claire yelled, a light layer of spittle beaded on her parted lips, her passion unrestrained.
Gabriel grabbed her wrists and held them with a brutal clamp that was instantly painful and she gasped.
Then he took her by the shoulders and gave her a hard shake, yelling into her upturned face, “It was not my intent for William to be injured! It was Merlin that broke the bounds of our gentleman's promise, Claire!” His fair complexion instantly gave way to ruddy color, his eyes searching hers intently for understanding.
“Ye
t he suffers! And what of Julia?” she asked, glaring as he released her shoulders and she rubbed her wrists where he'd held them, trying to take away the pain he'd laid there.
Gabriel gave her his back. “She is a liability. Let another kiss deal with what she brings.”
“You disgust me. It is the vampire that needed discipline in their actions against the Rare One. It was not for William to take on as an individual crusade with not one vampire at his back. Now he is amongst enemies yet again... faced with a Rare One who may...”
“He is now the leader of the Southeastern Kiss.”
A deep hush fell over the room that lasted minutes.
“Oh no,” Claire said sadly.
“Yes,” Gabriel said in a low voice.
“William will seek retribution against this kiss.”
“He will be within his rights to do so.”
“If he is in command of Julia, then we will never... we will not have a chance.”
He turned, his face in profile and Claire watched him, waiting with her breath held within a breastbone grown frozen with anxiety and cold knowledge.
“You are quite right. We need to be ready, as a kiss. For he will come.”
“Maybe he can forgive us. Forgive you?” Claire asked hopefully.
“I would not,” Gabriel said with finality.
Claire hung her head.
It was worse than she feared.
*
Tony
Tony felt like the time was nearly perfect and grabbed Cynthia as she stood despondently, watching her best friend become united with another Singer.
Tony was nothing if not the most opportunistic of his kind and recognized right away that the Rare One was out of reach. Combining his natural inclination to stealth with his lack of morality he gave a blow to the Singer, who had the handy ability of Healer he'd noted. It caused her to slump bonelessly. His fellow Were and the rest of the contingent were held as a captive audience by the Rare One and the male Singer.
He caught her neatly and placed her limp form behind a tree.
Tony smiled with satisfaction at the pussy Feral who was all sissified over the bitch that had chosen another.
Tony knew how he'd handle that. Yesiree. Easy as pie.
Death to challengers.
He figured Jason Caldwell was a slow learner. Or maybe he simply was not wolf enough to do what needed doin'.
That was great for Tony, while Jason was distracted, there was no one that was keeping an eye on his activities.
Adi turned, that phantom instinct that someone was behind her just a second too late as she'd slid to human form, her wolf quiet inside her body.
Tony did not, keeping his half-formed shape for just the advantage he laid against her in that moment.
She gave the softest growl as his elongated paw struck her. Adi went down, the blow making her vision gray and her last glance giving her the knowledge of her dismal future.
And that of Cynthia Adams.
Slaves of a Were of ruthless intent.
Adrianna watched as her vision diminished to a pinhole and Tony scooped up an unconscious Cyn.
Then he came for her.
She could see Tony smile in the moonlight as he did.
Then her consciousness turned like the night.
Black.
*
Jason and William looked at each other, stepping away from the glowing couple as Scott spoke.
His wolf clawed to take action, nearly tearing out of his now-human form.
It screamed that his female was being marked by another.
Yet he stood there.
Because his Julia was no longer his. As Jason listened his anger did not melt, his vehement need to consummate their barely-there marriage didn't diminish.
His clarity deepened.
“As many of you may be aware, what has transpired here was foretold inside the Book of Blood...” Scott began, Julia tucked underneath his arm, his heartbeat in sync with her own.
When Marcus broke in Scott allowed it gratefully, formality had never come easily to him. He wanted nothing more than to take his new mate and get to know her.
Scott smiled at his thoughts.
Julia thought at him, I hear that!
Oh crap, Scott heard himself think.
Yeah, that, Julia thought back.
Scott locked down his emotions, thoughts. He knew how, he was classically trained for all that.
Julia wasn't and he got a tongue-lashing while his father went on.
Scott realized he probably deserved it.
Marcus ignored the obvious internal conversation between the newly soulmated couple and turned to the crowd; usually and at all times enemies, frozen for a rare moment in time. Perhaps with some well-chosen words, he could gain their attention and the final prophesy of the Book of Blood would come to fruition.
Unity between the species.
It had been foretold. Perhaps these three groups would come together and a treaty of sorts could begin. One that would be far-reaching, encompassing all the groups and spreading to the four corners of the earth. Peace had always been Marcus' hope.
He spread his palms away from his body in a universal sign of non-aggression. “Julia and Scott have been united in the Old Way. Through blood sacrifice and ritual healing, their union has begun, their path laid. A royal pair will come together upon the Awakening of the Queen and the Circle of the Combatant shall close for the protection of the Queen.”
Jason's face closed down. There'd never been a chance. It didn't even matter that he'd been injured, become a werewolf. All that mattered for shit. His wife.
His wife for shit's sake.
She stood in the arms of her supposed centuries portended soulmate and he had to sit there and take this?
Jason's wolf dismissed the words of the Singer leader, his nose scenting the dim relation to the huge male that held Julia.
Jason counted three heartbeats before he Changed as he rushed them.
No male would steal his female, his wolf howled. Jason was buried in there somewhere... but the wolf had taken over and it didn't understand reason.
It only understood dominance.
The Combatant were too far away and only Scott was close enough to protect his mate. Unconsummated but his.
Given to him by fate.
Gifted by destiny.
As the husband of Julia came in a ripple of scarlet muscle and fur Scott stepped in front of her. His body was a living shield, while skin and flesh sloughed off during Jason's charge like a snake shedding its skin.
Julia saw red water flow over Jason and his humanity left and a raging blur of crimson came for them and she screamed, Scott using that incredible strength and speed that all Singer males possessed to protect her.
But Julia knew this time that Jason wasn't after hurting her.
She had Awakened and did what being Queen had given her.
Julia held her hand out and as if an invisible wind could be harnessed, she deflected Jason's progress seamlessly, veering him off course like a sail boat without a rudder.
He rolled and crouched in readiness and Julia said in a low voice, full of command, “Enough.” The moment strangled her in the surreal. Reality slipped as she watched the man she had loved in her life before become something different, something alien.
Jason howled his frustration and leapt.
Julia was startled, having pulled back her power when he'd fallen. She'd thought it was over, reason and logic reasserting itself.
She was so wrong.
He wrapped his half-formed hand around her small forearm and jerked, bringing Scott with him, his fist connecting with Jason's snout.
Julia in the middle.
When her arm broke the scream of pain was torn from her throat like a siren wail and the Combatant moved in. The events that transpired had lasted only seconds.
Three held the great red wolf down and a fourth got ready to deliver a blow that would have killed him when Julia said,
“Stop,” in a low moan of determination laced with pain.
The fist held, raised like a boulder of death above the wolf.
They faced each other and Julia gazed into the face of the man who was technically her husband. “Stop hurting me, Jason. Just leave me alone...” she said, the first tears of many leaking out of her eyes.
Emmanuel came and took in the scene, keeping enough distance to keep the alert of Singer warriors off him. He knew theirs was a lost cause, the Feral having put the whole of everything in jeopardy.
Jason opened his mouth and the fist raised higher, he snapped his jaws back together with a teeth grinding clink.
“Get him out of here,” Scott said, then added, “before I kill him myself.” He gathered Julia into his arms, carefully taking her broken arm into both hands.
Marcus jogged to the pair and looked into his son's volatile eyes. “You can heal her now, Scott. She is your blooded soulmate. It is but one benefit, use it now.”
Scott did, knowing instinctively how to react. He had been raised with the Singer training his entire life and used those lessons that he'd not ever embraced before. He used them now.
Gathering Julia close he breathed onto the wounded arm as Jason struggled against Emmanuel, the Combatant releasing him to the Were while keeping a watchful eye on him.
“It hurts,” Julia whimpered, her eyes trying to find Jason.
Jason saw what he'd accidentally done to Julia and was beyond pissed at himself.
It was the sadness he felt when he saw her fear of him that killed his spirit. He stopped struggling as the man that should have been him healed her as she writhed in his grasp, the pain Jason had caused gradually lessening, a healing sleep overtaking her as he watched.
Jason breathed easier when he saw color return to her pale cheeks, her eyelashes fluttered closed as she began to breathe easier, a slow deep rhythm began. He couldn't contain the growl as the huge male scooped her up, cradling her against his chest tenderly. Jason watched as he tucked her uninjured arm inside his own so it wouldn't dangle and walked off. As he passed Jason he paused, pegging him with a gaze that measured him and found him wanting.
The Blood Bundle, Books 1-2: Blood Singers and Blood Song (New Adult Paranormal Vampire/Shifter Romance) Page 47