Blood Born (The Dark Hills Series Book 1)

by Hana Blue

  Never once in my life did I think I would fall in love, nor did I ever think the one time that I would, that the woman I loved would call me a liar and be a bitch to me about it. Maybe this was why I was a womanizer. It is far easier to deal with many women for brief periods of time rather than one woman all the time. It was beyond stressful and disheartening.

  She is free to think whatever she wants and feel whatever she wants, but if she thinks I will sit on the sidelines watching as she fights me tooth and nail at every opportunity she’s wrong.

  Dropping the towel to the floor, right out there in the hallway, I started pulling on my jeans, not even realizing that red-haired fuck had been exiting his room. Once my jeans were all the way up and buttoned he spoke.

  “Sounds like she doesn’t care about you like you thought.” He let out a laugh and went to walk past me.

  Already fuming with rage, I reached out as he got next to me, slamming him into the wall behind him. Unable to control myself, I felt my knuckles smash into his jaw repeatedly. A sickening cracking sound echoing down the hallway as his jaw finally broke and his body fell unconscious. Letting go, I watched as his back slid down the wall and his body slumped over there on the floor, wiping the blood off my hand casually on my jeans.

  Damnit I was tiring of that guy. The sooner I could go back to Sitka the better, with or without Aine. As long as I was as far away from him as I could get.

  “Dominic, what was that racket?” I heard Damien call to me as I hit the bottom of the stairs. Sounding rather concerned.

  “Fuck Aine, Fuck that ginger son of a bitch, and fuck you.” I barked at him, leaving the house promptly. Looking to get as far away from Aine as I could. Well, within reason. So my next destination was to sulk on the front porch.

  Maybe with some time to cool off, I could face her again without the anger. I doubted it, but it was worth a shot, as long as it kept me far enough away where I couldn’t hurt her. I almost felt like I longed for the days when she meant nothing to me. At least then we were on the same page.

  Twenty Four

  Family Curse

  AINE~

  Sitting across the main dining table from Damien, I twiddled my fingers. My thumbs bobbling circles around themselves as I anxiously awaited the beginning of his story. Next to me Dominic huffed, leaning back in his chair like he owned the damn place.

  His arms crossed tightly across his chest and his chin was held high, looking like a belligerent teenager. Both of us made all attempts not to look at each other and Damien noticed, rolling his eyes at our spat.

  “I had hoped you both would have been in better standings as we gathered.” Damien remarked, breathing out roughly. The irritation with his son’s attitude more than clear.

  Reaching out to touch Dominic’s leg, sending out a silent white flag, he jerked away. Taking a quick moment to glare in my direction. Not really looking at me, but more through me. With a sigh, I pulled my hand back, resuming my fidgeting.

  “Why don’t we skip to the part where you explain what the fuck we are dad.” Dominic growled out, tucking his chin into his chest. I scoffed at his attitude and rolled my eyes. I understood that he was angry with me, but the way he was taking out on Damien irritated me. Damien didn’t deserve to deal with Dominic’s shitty attitude.

  “Alright Damien. What’s up?” I asked politely, trying to offset the childish attitude that was coming from beside me. Since it was more than obvious that Dominic would not let up.

  Damien sighed and his irritated expression changed to one of almost regret. Nodding at me slightly as a wordless apology for how Dominic was acting toward me. I gave him a soft smile. It wasn’t his fault; it was my own, and damnit did I regret saying anything. You would think I’d know when to shut up by now, knowing how angry Dominic would get, but I guess didn’t.

  Damien straightened his shoulders and sighed again. He folded his hands on the table, preparing to explain. Looking very distraught as the past came back to him.

  “As I’m sure you have realized, I’m very different and that has been passed on to Dominic. To which I’m very sorry.”

  I nodded as I listened, and Dominic remained quiet. Scoffing at his fathers apology like it meant nothing.

  * * *

  DAMIEN ~

  35 YEARS AGO

  Leaning against my bike I took another drink from the bottle of whiskey I held in my hand. Letting the warmth of it roll over me. Making my best attempt at enjoying the Saturday night.

  “Damien, for real, Just ditch that girl. She’s a fucking bitch.” My friend piped up, snatching the bottle from my hand, taking a drink of his own, then handing it back. The sound of music blaring from the radio of someone’s car filled the open space of the field we were parked in.

  A relatively well known spot for people to meet up and drink, the underage ones at least. People from all walks of life would meet up and party there in the clearing. Filling the large areabetween the trees with cars, trucks and bikes alike.

  Drunk horny teenagers as far as the eye could see. Drinking, smoking and grinding on one another in a free for all of sin. The place I spent almost every weekend. This mess of heathens being my friends, my family, and this damn field being my home.

  Rolling my eyes at my friend I took another drink. I hated when he brought up my girlfriend Amber. Well, not exactly girlfriend. Looking over across the field my eyes landed on her. Dancing very close to some blonde guy in a jean jacket. The jock like guy giving me a goolaugh. He wasn’t really her type, but she had a liking for cock, so from time to time she payed no mind to the body attached.

  “Man, you need to quit fucking her. It does you no good. Quit before you catch something.” He added again, noticing that I was watching her. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders at him. Letting out a low chuckle.

  I knew he was right, but I wasn’t going to lie it was nice to have an ever ready booty call, regardless of how trashy she was. She had a nice body, and her face was decent, so until I could trade her up for someone new, I’d keep her around. Plus there was no doubt in my mind if I snapped my fingers that blonde fuck would be nothing but a distant memory to her as she came running.

  Just like always.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I muttered back to my friend, letting silence fall around us again.

  I watched the crowd intently for a while until I saw an old Bel air pull up into the clearing. A car I wasn’t familiar with seeing here before. My curiosity was peaked.

  Finishing off the fifth of whiskey in my hand I tossed the bottle into the bed of the truck next to me and watched as two young girls got out of the new car.

  As the girl who was driving came clear into view I felt like the wind had been knocked right out of my chest. She was absolutely beautiful. Incredibly long fawn colored hair flowed around her in waves, the tips resting right above a perfectly round ass. I felt like a creep as I leaned against my bike watching her.

  I just couldn’t help myself.

  Letting my eyes drink in every last inch of her, I watched from the sidelines until I couldn’t take the distance any longer. I pushed myself from my bike and vaguely heard my friend ask me something, but I had a one track mind. That track leading me right to her.

  The girl and her friend started dancing amongst the crowd, both of them holding drinks in their hands that sloshed as they wiggled around. Making a b-line for them I started to cross the clearing. All but running over every single person in my way.

  “Hey baby.” I heard Amber coo to me as the feeling of her hand on my arm caught me off guard.

  I looked down to her as she held onto my upper arm, bouncing and wiggling about. No doubt completely smashed. Her bright blond hair bouncing around looking like a tumbleweed. She had obviously been having far too much fun this evening..

  “Fuck off Amber.” I grumbled, pulling my arm away from her, continuing my path to the new girl. My go-to booty call looking like nothing in comparison.

  “What the fuck is your prob
lem Damien?” Amber called out to me in frustration, throwing her arms around in a ridiculous fashion, but I ignored her.

  Finally I had made it to my destination, coming to stand behind the girl. She was average height, only a little shorter than I, and was seemingly unaware of my presence behind her.

  “Need a drink?” I asked her roughly, startling her. She spun around quickly and stumbled backward as she came face to face with me. Her eyes were wide and panicked for a moment before she softened. Her eyes were the most beautiful white color, almost making me wonder if she was blind. Seeing as though she reacted to seeing me, that obviously wasn’t the case.

  “Damien.” I stated, offering her my name along with my hand, trying hard to be somewhat gentlemanly.

  “Eva.” She replied. Her voice was soft, almost angelic, sending me for a loop.

  “So Eva. Do you need a drink?”

  She looked down at her cup, then back up to me with a sheepish grin. “No. But I Iike to dance.”

  * * *

  PRESENT DAY ~

  “We hit it off well. Eva and I. I was head over heals for her, she could do absolutely no wrong.” I sighed.

  Shaking my head, I looked up to Dominic, trying to gauge his reaction. Being as I was starting off the story of his mother, but he seemed unbothered. By anything other than Aine, at least.

  I felt bad for Aine, realizing that the way he was acting hurt her. An attitude I was all too familiar with, one I used to have often. I didn’t know what happened between them this morning, nor was I going to pretend I did. All I knew was that my heart was going out for the woman who had become like a daughter to me, making me want to knock my son’s teeth out for upsetting her.

  Shaking my head, I forced that thought back, and I dredged back up the memories that truly mattered in this case. For this story time wasn’t about me falling in love with Eva, no, it was about what falling in love with her did to me.

  * * *

  35 YEARS AGO~

  I spent most of the day not hearing anything from Eva, which was strange. By this time of day I had at least heard from her or seen her once. Her having neither called my work, or having shown up there at the shop. To say that I was becoming worried, or at least paranoid, was an understatement.

  Every single day for the last four months we had been relatively inseparable. Since she didn’t have a job of her own, she spent most days that I worked watching me. Putzing around the shop, reading trashy magazines, painting her nails or just having a mindless conversation with me.

  She really was a wonderful conversationalist, and she never minded listening to the stories of the stupid shit I had done in my life. She would always listen like she was thriving off, or at least feeding on the stories. Like the stupidity and evil it drew fascinated her, excited her. I usual chalked it up to her being drawn into me being a so called bad boy.

  Sure, the anger and reckless nature I had was more than just your standard bad boy image. I was on a fast track to the state pen, and that didn’t bother her a bit. Since she kept showing up to listen and talk. Always craving to be with me.

  It had become so familiar and routine for her to be around, that once I hadn’t heard from her, everything seemed off in the world.

  Wiping off my hands, I grabbed my punch card and clocked out for the evening. Figuring that my best bet would be to head to her place. She lived with an enormous family, some of them apparently being friends. I didn’t quite understand why so many people would want to live together in one house, but who was I to judge.

  Hopping on my bike, I made my way to her house that was located deep into the woods. It was very secluded. Which was actually nice, although it made me feel like I was about to be a part of some horror film.

  Pulling up the driveway to the house, a large white dog ran alongside of my bike, tucked just a little farther back into the trees than the road. As I stopped the bike, the enormous dog darted to the back of the house, its size almost alarming as it came into full view before vanishing.

  Shaking it off, I got off of my bike and made my way for the door. Before I reached the front steps Evangeline stepped out, a worried look on her face.

  “Uh, hey Damien.” She said like I was just some unexpected guest. I took a step forward, reaching the bottom of the porch stairs and she took a step back. Backing herself up to the front door.

  “Babe? Are you ok?” I asked her, cocking my head to the side, completely taken aback by how she was acting. I didn’t quite know what to make of it, especially after her not contacting me at all throughout the day. My mind assuming the worst.

  Taking another step back Eva was almost cowering, her back now pressed to the door, her hand on the handle, looking at me like I shouldn’t be here. Which became clear when she spoke.

  “Damien, you need to leave.”

  Before I responded, it took me down to the ground. My body hitting the dirt so hard, all the air was knocked right out of my lungs, leaving me gasping. The white dog that had followed me, now hovering above me. Snarling, gnashing teeth mere inches away from my face. The true size of the dog startled me, even larger now, the huge white creature much larger than myself loomed above.

  * * *

  PRESENT DAY~

  “You were attacked?” Aine gasped, rearing her head back as she looked at me. Confusion pooling over her face. I nodded at her regretfully and sighed.

  “Yes. And that is when I came to understand that humans weren’t the only beings that walked this earth. Believe me when I say, it was frightening. All either of you have ever known was wolves. For a boy in his late teens who believed wolves to be nothing than myth or fairytale in his life, it was very scary.”

  I swallowed hard, “So, after watching the girl I was in love with change into a gigantic beast, I watched her rip into the other wolf that was attacking me, sending it running for the hills. I should have been terrified, but I wasn’t which lead me to have to make a choice. Was loving her worth whatever was to happen, knowing what I knew. I decided it was.”

  “So, you were just a man, that’s what you are saying?” Dominic asked me gruffly, uncrossing his arms finally.

  “Yes. I was human. More specifically.” I clarified, gaining a intrigued nod out of Dominic.

  “So who attacked you? What happened there?” He asked again, leaning onto the table with his forearms.

  I swallowed hard and looked down to my clasped hands before squeezing my eyes shut. The memories flooding back at a tremendous pace. The horrific truth of it all, almost enough to twist my stomach into knots.

  “He was your mother’s mate. Who later on I killed by her request? It was one prex I had to pay to have her.” I muttered lowly. Ashamed of the actions my love for that woman brought on. This being only one of the many vile deeds that I did to please her.

  “Having made the choice to love her regardless of what she was, she posed me with an opportunity of sorts. Using the fact that love blinded me to her advantage.”

  * * *

  34 YEARS AGO~

  A year had gone by, Eva and I working hard at making things work between us, although we were two completely different species. However, there was one looming problem that continued to appear. I wanted to marry her. I wanted to settle down, but our differences made that nothing but a pipe dream.

  There was never a chance for it, especially since her future was already laid out for her. They mated her to another man, and he was her future. Even so, I couldn’t stay away. She made sure that I knew she loved me, and only me. Feeding me the tale of her mate meaning nothing to her. I couldn’t understand what the mate bond was, so foolishly I ate it up.

  * * *

  Sitting there on the couch at what I had now come to understand as the pack house, Eva leaned back against me. My arms wrapped around her, listening to her complain about something that her father, the alpha, had done.

  Her argument being that he refused to see an upcoming threat and was too stupid to protect them. I did not understand what s
he was talking about, but I was more than willing to just hold her and listen, as long as she was in my arms.

  “I wish you were one of us.” She muttered, drawing circles on the top of my hand with her fingertips. “You’d make a great alpha.” She then added, rolling over onto her stomach so she could face me.

  “How would that even work?” I asked her curiously, not really understanding how all of that worked, but from my small understanding, that kind of role was passed down through family.

  Placing a soft peck on my chest, she giggled. “I have no brothers. My mate would take on being alpha.” She explained plainly. The mention of her mate bringing on a fuming rage. Realizing when he would come back, I would have to stop coming here to see her again. Something that I had become used to. When he would come back to the pack house, I would stay away. She always came to me, but the hiding was irritating to say the least.

  “You know.” She hummed sweetly, letting her fingers dance along my skin. “If you were to be like me, we could be together forever.”

  Batting her eyelashes at me, she let those bright white eyes of her’s sparkle at me. Sucking me in hopelessly. Almost like herself alone held me in a spell, leaving me powerless and weak. Her comment piquing my interest, I pulled myself up to sit.

  “Ok, so say I could be a wolf like you. You would still have a mate.” I remarked and a wicked grin creeped across her face.

  “Say you could. Would you?” She asked sweetly, a tone that in no way matched the devious look on her face. Of course she knew my answer. I would give anything to have her forever, even if that meant giving up being a human, giving up my family.

  “I would.” I answered honestly, stroking her back slowly.