Blood Ties Read online

  “It should be exit seventy-two, if these directions are correct,” he said.

  “Good.” She could feel Duncan’s eyes on her, and after another tense moment, she sighed. “What?”

  “I saw what you grabbed from Fausta’s drawer.”

  “Did you?” Megan mumbled in a bitter, mocking tone.

  “Why do you need it?”

  “None of your business.”

  “I’ve researched wolves, you know. I’ve read the volumes, I’ve conferenced with the other advisors. I know that wolfsbane stunts wolf shifting and normal development. The side effects alone are horrific.”

  “Look at you, the grand bookworm. You should be an honorary pack member, huh?” she shot back.

  “I mean no disrespect, Megan, but I do not think you know the repercussions of what you seek.”

  She gave him an icy stare. “I was introduced to wolfsbane when I was five, because my grandmother thought I should get used to the smell. You know a lot less than you think, vampire. This has been my fate my entire life. Bastard wolves are not allowed to shift, and for me, shifting means death.”

  “Why?” he asked, turning towards her.

  Her thoughts were plagued by images and memories of her three half-siblings, those perfectly groomed, toned, and trained pups that her mother had churned out as a consolation to her arranged marriage. “Wolves are pack animals. Bloodlines even more so.”

  “I understand the mechanics of a pack,” he said.

  “No, you don’t. I was with Clay when I felt my half-brother’s first shift. I felt it. Like some sort of beacon, screaming at me, calling me to challenge him, or find him. Alpha blood is different than beta or omega blood. Alpha blood demands. They didn’t get all of the snow wolves during the war. Aspen is alive, and if he’s alive, it means my grandmother is, and however many others, and that means they’re coaching him. Training him. And if I can feel them, they can feel me.”

  “But you are so far away from the other snow wolves that-”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” she said sharply. “Why do you think bastard wolves are killed at birth? There can only be one alpha, and my own blood is calling me to him. It’s like an itch that gets worse and worse until we have to fight. Aspen’s gotten a lifetime of preparation while I’ve been shut away in a closet, and passed between vampires. He’ll rip me to shreds. You say that wolfsbane is such a horrible fate… well, shifting, for me, is even worse.”

  Duncan studied her face for a moment before letting his gaze drop. “When you have a moment, you might ask Magnus about it.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “In your words, you’ve spent your life locked away in a closet. I am hardly an authority on the intricacies of wolven society, but centuries ago, Magnus was very involved with them. He is regarded by the vampires as the most sympathetic master to the wolven cause, and during those years, the Alphas showered him in appreciation for his endeavors. If you need information, or even if you just have a question, he would be a wealth of knowledge for you.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the road. Her hands were shaking, the dull throb behind her forehead increasing, tense and coiled. She wanted wine. She wanted whiskey. She needed something. But another part of her knew there’d be no more of that; no more luxury, no more excess. She ruminated on it, driving another thirty minutes before they made the turn. The rain had thickened, splattering across the windshield in large welps. Megan turned the defrost on and peered through the woods that engulfed them. “Duncan, are you sure this is right?”

  “Rogue vampires need a discreet place to stay, one that is hidden from both humans and other rogues. Royals like myself do not do well among the criminal masses.”

  She raised an eyebrow but sighed. They went over another pothole, jarring the entire SUV, and Megan cursed. “Sorry about that,” she muttered. Magnus stiffened, and Todd jerked awake, both of them inhaling sharply at the motion.

  Duncan glanced back at them and then checked his hand-scrolled notes. “I believe that we are almost there.”

  “Where are we?” Todd asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

  “About an hour outside of Cleveland,” Megan replied.

  Todd nodded.

  Megan finally spotted the poorly marked driveway after another mile of crawling along the road.

  “Can you make that?” Todd asked, peering outside of the window.

  “Yeah, just…” Megan muttered, steering the car around a fallen log, into the side of the ditch. Magnus was about to hurl when she finally righted the car and slogged back onto the path.

  “Oh, dear me,” Duncan mumbled, his hand over his eyes.

  “Quit it,” Megan threw back. “Unless you want to drive.” When the trees cleared, Megan could just make out a large cabin, with a no trespassing sign planted on the crumbling fence. She spotted a lineup of cars in various stages of use, and shrugged as she parked opposite of them. “Guess we’re here.”

  “Yes, I suppose so…” Duncan said, his brow furrowed in the dim glow of the dashboard.

  “What is it?” Magnus whispered harshly.

  “I will go ahead,” Duncan murmured. “Stay here.”

  Megan watched as Duncan slipped into the woods, approaching the cabin, peering through the dark forest. She turned back, glancing at both Todd and Magnus, who looked out of place in the SUV. “I need some air,” she mumbled, opening the door and stepping out. She found herself surrounded by foggy woods, crisp and cold as her shoes sunk into the earth. Megan closed her eyes, breathing in the fresh air, the forest. Her home. It was nearly intoxicating, after so long being inside. Like a bird in a cage. The door behind her opened and Magnus stepped out, wrapping the large jacket around him tighter. His breath fogged in a cloud, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, standing awkwardly. “I am not used to feeling the cold like this,” he muttered, shoulders slumped. Megan didn’t reply, watching the tree line with both longing and fear. After a few moments, Magnus turned to her. “I did not know you were a bastard snow wolf,” he said quietly.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Well, now you know.”

  “That is-”

  “What?” she shot back. “Horrible? Sad? Save it. I don’t need your pity.”

  Magnus let out a pent-up breath, a smile curving onto his chapped lips. “I was going to say incredible.”

  Megan scowled at him.

  “Bastard wolves have never been allowed to live,” he said. “The fact that you have not only lived this long, but also survived the wolf wars, is a miracle.”

  “You call it a miracle, I call it a mistake,” she muttered bitterly. “Agree to disagree.”

  “As you would have it,” he shrugged. “You know, it is not my place, but-”

  “If it’s not your place, then back off,” she growled.

  He smiled even wider. “I cannot imagine you had an easy upbringing, and you have had an even harder lot in life since then, but look around you now. What do you see?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “A whole lot of nothing.”

  “Exactly. You might have once been shackled by your family, by your blood, or by Fausta herself, but now you are free of them. Do not trick yourself into thinking that just because you were born into those chains that they will always constrict you.”

  Megan’s scowl deepened even though his words hit her hard. She felt hot tears welling up in her eyes and she turned, giving Magnus her shoulder and wrapping her arms around herself even tighter. “That’s great advice from your friendly neighborhood ex-supreme-vampire-leader. You should write a memoir.”

  A soft chuckle sounded out from behind her and she knew the conversation was over. Todd lumbered out of the car next, walking over to them. They stood there for a few moments, cheeks red from the cold, until Megan’s eyebrows ticked together. A wave of goosebumps raced up her arm and she frowned. “You hear that?” she asked.

  “No,” Todd muttered, kicking another rock.


  “No birds, no raccoons, nothing…” she whispered, taking another step towards the cabin. “Something’s not right.”

  “We could go check on him,” Todd proposed.

  “If he has fallen out with the other rogues inside, that would not be well advised.”

  A gunshot cracked out from inside the cabin, and Megan stiffened, her heart jumping into her throat. She sprinted back to the car just as two more shots sounded out, and a series of thuds cut through the thick night. The door was still open and she crouched behind it, looking for any sign of Duncan through the foggy, grime-coated windows. Muffled voices and footsteps clunked from inside, coming closer to the door, and Todd put a hand on her arm, pulling her behind him. Megan scowled and yanked him back along with Magnus. “Are you crazy?” she hissed. “Only one of us can heal!”

  “Should we run?” Todd said in a panicked whisper.

  “From vampires?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “We can’t leave Duncan,” she threw back. The door opened, and a stream of people poured out, looking around with the same panicked expressions they had. Megan forced her chin up, her arms spread out, her posture defensive. She wasn’t about to go down without a-

  “Over there!” a woman yelled, pointing straight at them.

  Megan was eating her pulse now, thick and visceral, and she drew in a sharp breath in preparation to fight. “Hey!” a man yelled, hand wrapped around a wooden stake. “Are you alright?”

  The woman sprinted towards them, stopping about five feet in front of their terrified trio. She looked them over, fear and panic fresh in her eyes. “Three of them!” she called back to the rest of the group, holding both of her hands out. The silver knife in her palm glistened with blood and she outstretched her fingers, slowly putting the knife back in the sheath on her hip. “It’s alright. He’s gone. You’re safe now.” Megan’s eyebrows drew together as four other humans came running out of the cabin, crossbows and shotguns in tow. Her mind raced as she tried to piece together what was happening. Magnus’s whisper was barely audible. “Follow my lead.” Before she had a chance to react, she felt movement from behind her and barely looked in time to see Magnus break away from their huddle. “You don’t understand. He’s not dead, you-”

  One of the men stepped forward, his face spattered with oily crimson blood. “He is. We know what we’re doing.”

  Magnus stood for a moment before crashing to his knees in front of the woman. “You’ve saved us!” he sobbed, his hands gripping the dirt in a show of anguish so real that Megan’s own heart nearly wrenched for him.

  “Who… who are you?” Megan asked, still keeping her protective stance in front of Todd. After everything he’d done for her, she’d take a hundred bullets for him, no problem.

  The man lowered his gun and wiped his hands on his pants. “We’re vampire hunters.”

  Acknowledgements

  This book was made possible by the love and support of my family, the encouragement of my friends, and the undying devotion of my two biggest fans. The Bloodborn Series is nowhere near done; there are far too many characters that haven’t gotten the voices they deserve. Blood Ties is just one of many adventures in store for Robin, Reykon, Lucidia, and others to come.