Blood Bound

by Alaska Angelini

  Bile burned my throat as panic set in. I had been so afraid of this. It was the whole reason I hadn’t wanted to call anyone. Death seemed to follow me wherever I went and this time, I’d brought it on all of us.

  “Moretti, let’s fucking go. I got the bastard, but he ran off. Let’s get out of here before more return.”

  Johnson called my name again, but I barely heard as my training kicked my body into action, even if my brain was a little behind.

  I threw Thatcher over my shoulder, growling at Gomez to get Waters. I’d been taught not to leave anyone behind. Active duty or not, I wouldn’t break the code I held in my heart.

  “Faster!”

  The light bounced as Johnson raced around the turn. I barely felt Thatcher’s weight as we came to our tunnel. Music in the distance had my feet almost coming to a stop. Everything in me knew the city was further ahead. I’d been going the wrong way the whole time.

  “Hurry up! Let’s go.” Johnson’s voice made me pick up my speed and I turned into the entrance, racing for the grate.

  I may have missed my opportunity to learn anything this time, but I knew where to go when I came back. Next time, I would be alone. And next time, I knew I’d find more answers.

  Chapter 17

  Tessa

  Whispering surrounded me; a phantom sound I knew couldn’t exist. Not here in mine and Marko’s room. My eyes made jerky movements as I scanned the open space. Cement walls surrounded us, yet I could hear the voice as if it were slipping through invisible cracks.

  Marko sat across the room on a black velvet chair. His powerful body leaned forward while he rested his arms on his thighs, watching and listening to what I was hearing. We didn’t speak a word. We didn’t have to. I knew he was just as baffled by the odd change as I was. His fear was my own while I tried to hold onto sanity. For hours, I had battled with the changes taking place in my body. I’d never felt more like my old self, yet there was someone new lurking beneath the surface. Was this person talking, her? Or was it delusions brought on by Sayer’s blood? They all thought the mix would bode well with what was already in my system, but no one knew for sure. I was starting to think it was having the opposite effect. I was going crazy and I couldn’t figure out how to stop it.

  You want him. Just stand up and go. No one can stop you. Take the human’s blood. Your thirst is undeniable. Feed. Taste.

  My eyes squinted as I shook my head. I had no idea what it was talking about. I didn’t thirst. Hell, I didn’t feel hungry at all. And human? I would have thought Marko or Sayer, but the voice kept mentioning human, as if I were already a vampire. It didn’t make sense. None of it did.

  I dropped my head, covering my ears. The voice grew louder. Clearer. It was enough to cause me to jerk up and rush to my feet. Pacing wouldn’t do any better. I’d been there. Walked this floor for probably miles when it first started happening.

  “Make it stop,” I breathed out. “Make it stop!” I wasn’t talking to Marko or anyone in particular. I just needed silence. My whole body was twitchy and panicky the longer this went on.

  “Ma minette, come sit on my lap.”

  My glare was automatic, but at Marko’s worried expression, I walked over to him, curling up against him.

  “His blood is driving me insane. I want it out. Take it out of me, please.” My wrists shot forward even as my head lowered. “I never wanted this.”

  Marko’s hand cupped the side of my head while his other reached for my outer bicep to draw me in closer. “It’s done. Side effects range when mixing blood. This is probably just one of them. They can last for days. Let that comfort you instead of worrying about this being permanent.”

  “Days?”

  Run. He’s waiting for you. He wants you.

  A yell broke past my throat and my hands tore at my hair.

  “Calm, mon chaton. Don’t fight it, just listen.”

  “To some voice telling me to go after human blood? I don’t think so.”

  “It’s quite interesting to me. I wonder whom the thirst is coming from. You, me, or is it Sayer? Maybe it’s for his human lover. You never know.”

  My face lifted and I felt my eyebrows draw in. “These cravings could actually be coming from one of us?”

  “More than likely. Just…pay attention. See what it tells you.”

  Although Marko tuned in, I tried to let my thoughts drift to something else. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I was finished with this voice. I couldn’t deny that the more it pleaded, the more I actually wanted to obey. Where would I end up if I went along with where it was ready to take me?

  A yawn came from my mouth and time passed as I drifted in and out of blurry thoughts. Pictures played, but nothing came into focus. I felt as if I were floating in moments when I was sure it had to be nothing more than a dream finally giving me peace. Marko’s voice pulled at my attention and I tried to focus on what he was saying.

  “You’re…to tell me. You go too far.”

  “What?” My voice sounded groggy, raw even.

  Anger and surprise flashed on his face. I couldn’t decipher what was happening. Something felt off within me, distant as I blinked to bring him into focus.

  “Ma minette….” Marko shook his head, clearly unhappy. “You’ve been talking for the last three hours nonstop. Quite,” he paused, “bravely.”

  The timeframe had me tensing up. “What?” The question exploded out as I tried to fight my way from his arms. Fear that I wasn’t in control of myself was causing me to panic and I suddenly noticed my shirt was soaked in sweat.

  “You don’t remember any of it? You were telling me about your childhood. A lot about Hunter. Some of it quite…bold of you to say.”

  The anger was growing as it underlined his tone and he held on tighter as I continued trying to wiggle free. The jealousy was evident and the fog began to roll back through. Somehow, I managed to hold onto reality as I processed his question.

  “He’s my best friend,” I breathed out. “I…love him.”

  “Yeah, you were sure to tell me all about that. But you won’t love him more than you’ll love me. You’ll never love anyone more than me, ma minette,” he said, shaking me. “No one. I won’t let you. Ever. Do you hear me? I’ll kill them. You love me. No one else!” Black was taking over his eyes and I made a sound at the added stress. I didn’t get to fret on it long. Lips crushed into mine as he pulled me in tighter. I tried breaking away, but Marko refused to stop kissing me until I softened in his arms. This part of him I knew. The passion. The way he burned for me. God, I was suddenly on fire and I couldn’t stop myself from pulling at the buttons of his shirt. They broke free at my impatience and I barely noticed as he stood and brought us to the bed.

  “Sayer wants your blood, I want your body, and your fucking heart is still wrapped up in Hunter. Tell me why I put any of us through this misery? I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

  I broke away, glaring at the anger that suddenly surfaced within me. The black was all but there now and it wouldn’t be long before the beast lurking within took over completely. I had prayed this part of him was over with, but I knew in my heart things were only about to get a million times worse. The nice Marko would be gone now and what scared me the most was how I suddenly might be, too. I’d been oblivious to everything for three hours. How was that possible? To make things worse, whatever I said had built over time, triggering this episode of Marko’s vampire. What I’d admitted had to have been bad. My pulse quickened at his words about Hunter. My heart was still wrapped up in him? …I loved him, I knew that. He’d been the foundation of my life. Apparently, my sub-conscious hadn’t let that part go with these new feelings for Marko? The real me was trying to tell myself something I was too bonded to see. But I already knew. Deep down, I did.

  “What’s the matter? You were so full of conversation just minutes ago. Too good to talk to me now?”

  Fingers dug into my face as his weight settled more on top of me. “I don’
t know what you’re talking about. I don’t remember.”

  “Let me refresh your memory.”

  The waistband of my panties was pulled from my stomach as his hand pushed into them. “You’re going to rule, Tessa. That’s what you so clearly stated while you looked up at me as if I was beneath you. You’re going to rule and concubine to Sayer or not, you’ll bond a slave. The only one truly worthy to be at your side. Ringing any bells?”

  The pads of his fingers rubbed over the top of my slit and I felt my legs jerk at the sensitivity.

  “I never said that,” I whispered. “I’d never do that to Hunter.”

  “You’d never do that to me!” he exploded. “I won’t let you. I may love you, but I’ll kill you just as fast if it comes down to it. I own you. You’ll be mine forever. Forever,” he growled. “No one will see this body as I have. No one will touch it. And damn sure no one is going to fuck it.”

  Marko’s fingers pushed into my wet entrance and I cried out as he surged deep.

  “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you’ll belong to someone else.”

  The hand keeping my face immobile tightened even more as he turned me to look into his dark eyes.

  “Tell me, Tessa.” My name was spat and I gasped as he rubbed against my G-spot.

  “I’ll always be yours. No one else’s.”

  In my heart, I believed that. Or…I had. I couldn’t understand the odd sense of emptiness my words seemed to carry. What was happing to me? Who was I? I didn’t know anymore. I couldn’t even figure out who the real Tessa was. I was so confused.

  “Say it louder.” The hand on my face lifted enough to slap against my cheek. “Say it where I can fucking hear you.”

  “I’m yours.”

  “No one else’s?”

  “No one else’s,” I answered.

  Pressure pulled my face to his as he met me halfway. I couldn’t stop from moving against his fingers while they pushed deep and kept a steady rhythm.

  “I’m going to make you pay for what you said. For even having it in your mind. I’ll fuck him out of you if I have to spend the rest of our days pounding him as far away as I can. Now, take it back. Tell me you don’t want this position as leader and you don’t want Hunter as your slave.”

  His dark eyes held such threat behind them that my mouth opened to obey, but nothing came out. I licked my lips, trying to ignore the lust roaring through me. But who was it for…Marko or Hunter? Both swirled around my mind, confusing me even more.

  “You know I don’t want it.” The last was slower…almost nonexistent at the force I had to use to make the sentence even come.

  Marko’s face tightened and I knew he didn’t believe me. His fangs came down and sliced over his arm. Blood was pouring over my lower face before I could even process what he was doing.

  “Drink,” he yelled. “I’ll drown him out. I’ll drowned all of them out!”

  My lips separated, but not fast enough. He removed his fingers from my pussy, shoving them into my mouth to make me open wider. “Taste me, Tessa. Taste us both. What do you think? Am I still unworthy of you? No, you fucking love the way I taste. You love me.”

  I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes as his anger increased by the second.

  “Don’t look at me like that. You did this. You’re the responsible one. It’s your blood fucking us all up. But I won’t let it. I’ll win because you’ll be mine. You’ll never rule or have a slave. Will you?”

  Coughing wracked my chest as he pushed his forearm deeper into my mouth, stretching my jaw and causing me to choke. Blood filled my throat and I could even feel it in my nose. He meant to drown me in him and he was succeeding.

  My teeth sunk into his flesh hard, trying to get him to stop, but it only drove him on. I could feel his hard cock grinding against me as he put more of his weight down onto my body.

  “Do you feel me, ma minette? Am I consuming you like you consume me? I can’t think about anyone but you. And you’ll be the same way before it’s over with. I won’t go through this alone. I won’t.”

  Marko spun me over to my stomach and ripped my panties down. My knees instinctively drew up underneath me and my head came up just as fast as his hand connected with my bottom.

  “Don’t you move from that position. I want to see what’s mine. Fucking, Tessa. You drive me insane. Wanting to bring Hunter here for your lover and slave.”

  Whack!

  “I would kill him as soon as I saw him anywhere near you. For you to even—”

  Whack!

  A cry came from my mouth as I blinked away the tears. “I don’t remember!”

  “You’ll remember now, won’t you?”

  Whack!

  His hand rubbed over the tender area from the spankings and he squeezed before moving to trace down my slit.

  “Oh, yeah. You’ll remember. Fuck, I’ll make you, even past the change. You won’t forget me or what we share. I’ll leave an impact so big, our minds will be one.”

  His fingers rubbed along the wetness, smoothing it into my folds. “Still, you respond to me. You like pain, though, don’t you, ma minette?”

  The bed shifted as he took off his clothes and moved to position himself behind me. Teeth bit into my ass and I sucked in air as his fangs punctured the skin just the smallest amount. Pleasure burst through and I moaned while I gripped the comforter.

  “I do,” I admitted.

  “Let’s see how much.” A tug against my hair had him pulling me up until I was on all fours. The slave in me knew to hold still. Even if there was this small part that was ready to run.

  “Don’t move.”

  Marko brushed my hair to the side and I tensed as his claws eased down the length of my back.

  “You don’t trust me and right now, I barely trust myself, but let’s just see what happens, Ms. Leader.”

  My brow furrowed as I glared ahead. His anger sparked mine and it wasn’t smart to go rounds with him. Maybe he just wanted to get me worked up, to play on my fear as he held such deadly weapons against me.

  Burning began to rake down my sensitive back and I gripped the blanket tighter, letting the sensation take me over completely. The tightness in my back relaxed the slightest amount as he worked his way up the opposite side.

  “Ah…shit,” I moaned, jumping. Warmth traveled down my ribs and he let out a small laugh.

  “You cut me,” I said, turning back to look at him. “And you did it intentionally.”

  “I did. And I intend to do it again. Now, face forward and stay quiet.”

  Yes…Marko was gone. Long gone. How had I forgotten this version of him so quickly? He was surging again, growing more powerful. What I said might have set him off, but this would have come regardless. I just helped it out.

  I gritted my teeth, turning back to face the front. The spanking had me tensing in surprise.

  “You once teased me with a fantasy. I was painting your body with blood. I see the memory. It’s so far back that I can barely reach it, but I see it….and I’m going to give it to myself. Not you. What you want is irrelevant. I want it. And I’m going to cover every inch of you in red while you come all over my cock.”

  Another nail pushed into my back and my mouth opened in a silent cry as his fingers rubbed the warmth into my skin. It was so wrong and yet, one of the fantasies plaguing me the most. Except now, it didn’t carry what it once did. I was separating from him. It left me in a weird place as I picked up my compliant, slave behavior.

  “You’re going to have every vampire within a one-hundred foot radius trying to bust through our door,” I said quietly. “Sorry, but I think I’ve gone through enough. I’m too weak to bleed out that much tonight.”

  Marko’s hand paused and I was suddenly yanked to stand on my knees. His face was mere inches from mine as he came around and leaned in. The evil that radiated had me wishing I never said anything at all.

  “Let them come. I will destroy anyone who breaches our threshold. Do you doubt me?”
<
br />   I knew it wasn’t a question he wanted answered. There was a challenge in his tone that almost said he wished someone would try to break through the barrier. He was looking for a fight from anyone willing to step up. Even me, and I wasn’t that stupid.

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Then take what I give you and stay silent, unless you’re moaning or crying. Those, I like to hear.”

  His hand cupped my pussy and I moved into the contact robotically. I could feel how wet I was against his fingers. They glided over my shaved folds so smoothly while he rubbed my juices over my entrance.

  “Pleasure and pain, mon chaton. Pleasure and pain. What comes next?”

  The pleasure was already there. I knew what was coming and it appeared before I could finish the thought. The force of another spanking to my ass jolted me into him and I placed my palms on his pecs for balance.

  “You take the pain I like to give you so well. You were meant for this. Meant for me.”

  Marko’s mouth pressed into mine and I sank down on his fingers as he pushed two into my channel. My nails clawed into his chest and he broke away with a hiss, pulling back against my bottom lip.

  “Sayer will try to win you over. To him, this is nothing more than a game. You’re not going to give into him. You’re going to show him where your loyalty lies. Now, tell me.” The order was embedded in his stare and I nodded.

  “My loyalty is with you. I think I’ve already proved that tonight.”

  Faster, his fingers thrust into me. “You have. You could have died to protect me and I’ll never forget it. People will try to tear us apart, but we’re not going to let them. We’ll kill them all. We’ll rule.”

  I swallowed hard at his words. Was this what my life was destined for? To be at Marko’s side, helping him…murder his way to the top? No. This was the evil vampire talking. Not the good Marko. But where did mine begin and the new one end? Would this all fade once the power died out again? I wasn’t so sure and it scared me.