“And I still think it’s more than a co-incidence that I get led into a trap by our enemies a few weeks after she turns up. How did they know where I’d be? My people have been with me long enough to trust them, the only new dynamic is her.” he sneered.
Darcy’s agitation on his lap increased, seeming to respond to his anger. He pulled her arms in to keep her from falling.
“Careful Sir, she will respond to your emotions.” Yeah thanks for the late update doc.
“Maybe we can keep Darcy hidden and still have an official pairing?” Greyson asked doubtfully.
Bennet laughed. “My mother would kill any female that went near dad. You know that.”
“Yeah but that was a love match. This, I’m not sure what this is but fucked up.”
His beast roared to the surface faster than anything he’d ever experienced before. Ice filled his veins.
“Watch your mouth or I’ll rip it out.” His beast told him. Greyson visibly took a step back never hearing it before and doff his head in submission.
Appeased his beast withdrew. Bennet took a calming breath. He didn’t like what Greyson was saying but it was the truth and he’d not ignore it. Taking Darcy as Craven could fuck up the alliance.
It was a millennium ago tradition that was stopped for this very reason. Not banned as such but much frowned upon.
Years of hard work would be gone, and it would bind her to him in such a way that her other life would be over. She’d be bound to a stranger that she’d helped save. To a man she didn’t know. Who she clearly believed was in his early 30s. Who happened to hang out with a lot of other good-looking guys that could kiss-ass. In a war that she knew nothing about. Having already cost her everything she had, it was likely she would never forgive him for this.
No good deed goes unpunished…..
Her nails dug in as Darcy suddenly screamed violently then went limp in his arms. Her breathing shallow. Fuck. They were out of time and no matter what, he owed her. Didn’t want her life to be for nothing. He was only alive because she’d came to his aid.
Scandalous or not, war or not, he didn’t have much choice.
He wasted no more time and turned her on his lap. “Greyson.” He held out his hand to him. “Your knife.” He came straight to him handing it over. Bennet had not worn his own for fear of scaring her. Slashing across the side of his neck ironically where she’d tried to heal him. He brought her mouth to it knowing what he needed to do.
He spoke the words that were no longer spoken.
“In front of the witnesses herein. I present, Darcy. Craven of Bennet. Drink from me Craven. Allow me to sustain you in your long life. To bring you to Kindred. With our blood I bind thee to me.”
The air seemed to crackle around them. His beast joined him, their voices mixing in the crescendo. He heard Greyson take a sharp intake of breath with a ‘fuck’ in the background, the doc took a couple of steps away from them but he didn’t stop.
“To live.” He demanded. “To life.” He offered. “To be MINE!” He roared, placing her head at his blood. “Now drink! and take your rightful place as chosen!”
He held her fiercely to him as his beast slowly receded having staked his claim. Bennet’s control tethered on the edge. His body shaking. He closed his eyes and whispered.
“Let me save you this time Darcy.”
Third
He picked her up firmly in his arms while she sipped at his neck, helping her to wrap her legs around his waist, he charged to the stairs and up them.
“Keeping her temperature down will help,” doc told him.
“Get my reserves. As much as the doc recommends. Then get out. I’ll call when I need you after that.” He heard them leaving as he moved through the bedroom to the bathroom.
“Darcy, can you hear me?” He got no response. Still holding her he ran a cold bath removing her outer clothing. “Its all going to be fine.” He told her, hoping he was right. “I’m here. We understand what’s going on now and I know how to help.” She whimpered in his arms. A response. It was something.
He brushed her hair out of her eyes and lifted her face to him. His blood on her lips reminded him of the last time he’d seen it there. Lust soared through his body. Her head wasn’t stable on her shoulders as he tried to cradle it. He checked her pulse. It was still there. She barely clung to him now and still way too hot.
Leaving her underwear on, he lowered her into the filling tub supporting her head like he would a new-born. That was what she was. A new-born once more and started to cool her down. Running cold water over her shoulders and hair until she was covered in it.
His blood was to blame for this. They knew better than to exchange blood with humans. It was too potent and could only be managed in a certain way. Or so they thought until now.
It was too alien, causing a chain reaction that most humans couldn’t tolerate. Only those with the gene link had a chance to survive. Anyone else didn’t.
It ripped through their immune systems and their bodies would shut down unable to cope with the intensity of it. At this moment, she was fighting it off but once her energy became too low, she’d lose that battle. Unless, he could swamp her system with more of his blood and his own anti-bodies took over.
That was a risk in itself. The anti-bodies didn’t like human blood and could reject the host killing them anyway. Either way her chances weren’t good.
Tipping her head back, he slashed at his wrist, pulling her mouth open and held it to her lips while rubbing at her throat to encourage movement.
“Come on Darcy, drink, you’re a fighter. Don’t give up on me now.”
He rubbed harder forcing more blood into her mouth. She swallowed.
“Good girl. You took on those men with no idea what was going on. You saved me, picking up a stranger from the road. You are the bravest human I know. You can do this. Fight.”
The tub was practically overflowing with freezing water, both his wrists a mess by the time Greyson got back with his blood and a transfusion system for her.
“What the fuck man,” Greyson stated as he walked in the door.
Bennet vaguely saw what he did. Blood everywhere. Between him forcing it into her mouth, running down her into the water, coming off him at the neck and wrists all over the floor and tub, it was a mess. It looked like a slaughterhouse.
“Hurry.” He beckoned for the needle taking it from Greyson placing the torque around her upper arm, slapping at her inner elbow looking for a vein.
“Come on,” he called out willing it into existence. His hands starting to shake. He’d torn up both wrists and they were still leaking so was his neck. He was running low himself. Everything was slippery.
“Let me Bennet.”
“No. If she catches your scent, she could reject the lot.”
“You need blood too.”
“In a fucking minute.” He growled finally finding what he was looking for and slowly inserted the needle, opened the valve and blood flowed into her. He collapsed against the tub taking his first real breath in what seemed forever.
“Fuck, I don’t know if we were in time.”
Greyson gave him a four of bags. “Not mine?” He didn’t want to take his own in case everything went tits up and he’d have to soak her system in it literally opening up her veins to do it in a last ditched attempt to save her.
“No asshole, mine. Its lucky you can drink anything.”
He huffed in thanks and scooted away from the tub nearer the door and felt Greyson’s fingers at his neck. Wet and working at the cut flesh on his neck while he grabbed the bags from him and drank. Knowing his saliva would close the wound. He licked his own wounds closed before he started the next bag. Then blew out a relieved breath as his system locked down once more. Fuck. He’d been weak. Two lots of heavy blood loss in recent weeks. Not good.
“Your beast made an appearance during the ceremony. Pretty fucking scary man.”
He closed his eyes and drank. He knew that he didn’t have to tell him.<
br />
“You’re both bonded. You and your beast. It’s rare. I’ve only ever heard of your mother and father in that situation.”
Bennet gave a nod. He knew that too. “Beasts don’t normally show up unless….” Greyson needed to stop fucking talking!
His beast soared up and flooded his senses taking over. He whipped Bennet’s head to look at Greyson. “You speak too much of my mate. Be warned. I will not tolerate you or anyone interfering.” He waited until Greyson showed he understood and submitted once more before receding again. “Remember.” He told him in a parting whisper.
Shit. Bennet blew out a breath. He’d seen more of his beast in recent weeks than he had in decades.
“Doc said don’t give her more than two bags.” Greyson murmured.
He nodded wearily. “Outside. She won’t appreciate being looked at in her underwear.”
“Really?” Greyson called out walking into the bedroom.
“I think they’d probably be a song about that, or another boy band she’d spout about that would fully explain it all in some weird Darcy way, while asking where her candy is of course.”
Bennet laughed tiredly and drank. God, he hoped so.
Bennet drank until he felt better and checked the IV still working. He swopped out the empty bag for a new one, getting to his knees much harder than it should have been. A reflection of the blood he’d lost? Then stood and went back to the tub, washed her down, letting out some of the bloody water, refilling it and laid a towel over her her underwear now transparent. He checked her pulse. She wasn’t conscious but breathing and it was definitely stronger.
Bennet followed him out and slumped in the chair near the bed where he could still see into the bathroom, making sure she didn’t slip under the water.
“She has a way with things that’s for sure.” He told him.
Greyson leaned by the wall looking his way. “This wasn’t your fault.”
Bennet wiped his chin with his hand. He felt exhausted. He blood would eventually even him out, but it would take a good half hour.
“Isn’t it? My weakness was at fault, so I think we both know it is and likely to ruin everything.”
“You made it out of there on your own. Few would have succeeded in that. She was being a good Samaritan. She’d have done it for anyone. It’s clearly her way.”
“Yeah, knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.” Greyson passed him some water. He cracked the bottle and drank it down. It would help.
“What do we do about Jo?”
Bennet sighed. “If we send her back as is, we’ll bring a shit load of heat down on to us. She was the right breeding choice. Right connections, right money, right family. What about our prisoners? They singing yet?”
“No.” Greyson told him angrily.
Bennet yawned. “Fuck. Keep at it. See if we can’t connect someone or anyone to Jo or her family. If she’s in the clear of any wrongdoing, then we’ll say it just wasn’t a good fit and site her sleeping around and big mouth. That wouldn’t normally be an issue for Kindred as you both know. We’re hardly monogamous. They’ll find it a weak point of contention and we’ll take the hit. It’ll be messy. If she is involved, we use it to hammer home the point that it makes it impossible to have the alliance and where the fault lays.”
“That will only work until they know about Darcy.” Greyson reminded him.
He sighed. Tell him something he didn’t know.
“If she survives, by then it will be done, and I’ll present her as the first geno linked human in over 200 years and as my bonded mate. Do we have her family tree? We need to explore if there are others. They’ll be a target.”
“I’m working on it.”
He wiped a hand down his face and saw the mess. “God I need a shower.”
“Go take one in the spare bedroom. I’ll watch her. I’ll call you if she needs you. I won’t go in. If the blood works, how will you deal with the completion of the rite?”
Bennet started to feel better getting out of his chair he headed to the hallway.
“No idea. I hope to have the chance to ask her forgiveness and her wishes before I have to take things into my own hands once more. I’m sorry my Beast was hard on you. You’re a good friend Greyson.”
He stepped into the hall and walked to the second bedroom. Noticing all the new clothes he’d had purchased for her sitting on the bed. Bennet frowned. Didn’t she want what he could offer her? It was so little?
“Don’t thank me yet.” Greyson called out quietly knowing he’d hear him like he was standing next to him. “We’re not out of the woods yet and there’s no telling how the shit is going to hit the fan.”
Bennet stared at the clothes and shoes for a moment longer. Disappointment flowed through him. If she didn’t want something so small from him, she definitely wouldn’t have wanted this. He’d done what he’d thought was right. Trying to save her life. Maybe he’d been wrong? A part of him rebelled at the thought. His beast roared its ugly head one more. He wanted her.
He hadn’t been led by his beast since puberty. He hit the shower. The knowledge was unsettling. In all the women over the many decades, he’s beast had never lifted its head, so why now?
If she wouldn’t take from him, any life she had with him wouldn’t work. That, might be a problem.
~~~~
He’d been sitting by her bed for hours.
She’d not stirred since her fever had broken in the bath. The IV out, he’d pulled her from the tub, removed her underwear that was now ruined, dried her and put her to bed.
He could see the changes taking affect already. It gave him hope they’d not been too late. But he knew that didn’t mean much, just her system adjusting to the new dynamic.
For a man who’d had to endure much in his long life, there wasn’t much he feared, but this he did. Not so much for himself. However it went, he would live with it. He’d have no choice, but he feared for the female. For what this would mean to her. She was a good woman and didn’t deserve this. Her people lived unknowingly of their world and that was how it should stay.
Although handy with a gun, she had no skills, no way to protect herself in his world and being with him will make her a target. She’d be seen as human, a weak link and a way to get to him.
He had chained himself to a weakness and yet his beast didn’t recognise that. Maybe he was wrong and his beast was right. If he could protect her from the worst of it, he would, but he knew first-hand just how much of a bad move this was. She wasn’t Kindred and they would take action one way or another. The human Craven of old were nearly all mere blood and sexual slaves.
They were still spoken of in longing, hungered whispers in some circles. Their prowess in sexual appetites almost legend. The taking of them brought pleasures Kindred lacked. Preferences for their kind had led the Kindred to the dissolution of the practice giving way to many disgruntled people.
Too many half-bloods, breeding to easily had the purist worried their time was coming to an end. They were probably right.
His own people would struggle with it and they had other ways to feed now. His mother had led a difficult life. His father had been unwilling to risk her.
He’d practically shut her away from the world and over the long-extended years of her life, it had weighed on her. Once an outgoing, vivacious personality that had called to his father in the first place, had eventually withered and died.
She couldn’t take the isolation and restricted life. Bennet considered she had died long before she actually had. The look in his father’s eyes from time to time would say he knew this, but there was nothing he could do about it. Or was willing to do.
He feared losing her too much to his enemies and only wanted to protect her but, in the end, he’d done the damage himself by doing the one thing he knew how. Hiding her away. He didn’t want that life for Darcy.
Ummm. Shit that hurt. Her eyes blinked open and registered that everything hurt. Everything. Even her eye lids. She never kn
ew eye lids could hurt. Was that a thing?
She strained to open her eyes, she couldn’t remember going to bed. But the feel of the mattress under her wasn’t a mistake. Had she actually gone to bed this time? She blinked lazily and looked around slowly. She had the migraine from hell and her neck hurt moving it. Had she been in a car wreck?
Everything came into focus slowly and Ben was sitting in a chair next to her looking out the window. He looked thoughtful. He was also so beautiful. Could a man be beautiful? It was more than just handsome. She decided they could. There was a magnificent example right there. He looked good. Not a blemish, or mark on him. He looked exactly how she thought he would sans the injuries. By the look of him, he’d got lucky, no lasting effects. She was happy for him.
She looked down at herself and saw she was naked but for the sheet covering her. She tried to remember what the hell had happened. He’d come to see her she’d not been feeling well. She’d seen him standing so healthy in her living room and there was something strange about that, but she couldn’t put her finger on it and then it was all a bit of a blur. Did he get dessert?
Not that she was one to knock a gift horse, but she couldn’t think why he’d be practically naked sitting in that chair or why he was in her room or still here at all.
She cringed internally and closed her eyes. Had they drunk so much that she’d made advances and he’d taken her up on them? Had she had sex with Ben10? An over aged Ben10 but still, not her age. What had she been thinking? He was clearly distraught. O my god she hadn’t taken advantage of him?
Her Pride His Prejudice Page 7