Lost clause blood bound.., p.1
Lost Clause: Blood Bound Book 2, page 1
Lost Clause
ELLE MAE
Contents
Also by Elle Mae
Note
Prologue
1. Silvia
2. Keir
3. Silvia
4. Keir
5. Silvia
6. Keir
7. Silvia
8. Keir
9. Silvia
10. Silvia
11. Silvia
12. Keir
13. Silvia
14. Silvia
15. Silvia
16. Keir
17. Silvia
18. Keir
19. Silvia
20. Silvia
21. Keir
22. Silvia
23. Silvia
24. Silvia
25. Silvia
26. Keir
27. Silvia
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
For those who kept this story alive even when I wanted to give up. Without you Silvia and Keir may never have the HEA they deserve.
Also by Elle Mae
Short and Smutty:
The Sweetest Sacrifice: An Erotic Demon Romance
Nevermore: A Deal with a Demon
Blood Bound Duology:
Contract Bound: A Lesbian Vampire Romance
Lost Clause (2023)
Winterfell Academy Series:
The Price of Silence: Winterfell Academy Book 1
The Price of Silence: Winterfell Academy Book 2
The Price of Silence: Winterfell Academy Book 3
The Price of Silence: Winterfell Academy Book 4
The Price of Silence: Winterfell Academy Book 5
Other World Series:
An Imposter in Warriors Clothing
A Coward In A Kings Crown
EDEN EMORY (CONTEMP)
Club Pétale:
The Ties that Bind Us
Don’t Stop Me
Don’t Leave Me
Don’t Forget Me (2023)
Other Worlds:
Two of a Kind
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Lost Clause
Copyright © 2023 by Elle Mae
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: contact@ellemaebooks.com
Cover design by SeventhStarArt
www.seventhstarart.com
Edits by My Brother’s Editor
ISBN 978-1-959187-06-6 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-959187-99-8 (ebook)
www.ellemaebooks.com
Created with Vellum
Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Before moving forward, please note that the themes in this book can be dark and trigger some people. Triggers can include but are not limited to: sexual assault mention, death, gore, mutilation (eggplant cutting), child abuse mention, farming humans for blood (mention), drinking blood of minors (mention), dubious consent, trafficking mention, blood play, biting, starvation, torture mention, violence, knife play.
Or visit https://www.ellemaebooks.com/triggerwarnings to view the TW for my other books as well.
If you need help, please reach out to the resources below.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
899
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
https://www.thehotline.org/
Prologue
Everything hurt.
Everything from the blood rushing through my veins, to the pulsing of my all-but-dead heart in my chest and the wind whipping against my skin.
All of it was making it harder and harder to push through, but I had no choice. If I faltered just once, my life would be over.
Vampires were closing in on all sides.
I could hear their feet pounding against the soft earth behind me, matching the rhythm of my heart. There were at least twenty of them. The scent of my own blood caked on me clouded my senses, but I could smell them through the filth.
It was Keir’s clan. They all had the same smokey scent to them.
Even against my wishes they had come for me. It was a painful reminder that, no matter what happened, I would never be free.
I ran through the forest surrounding the compound, not knowing at all where I was going. The scent of an oncoming rain permeated the dark forest. I had to wait for it. If I could just hang on a bit longer, I could give them the slip.
My throat burned. My body begged for blood. A disgusting revelation that was almost enough to deter me.
Shouts echoed behind me, and before I could dive out of the way, vampire hands were already grabbing at me. One tangled through my hair and sent me flying backward.
I growled, kicked, and screamed at the perpetrator. He was a young vampire who I had never seen before, but he was wearing the standard guard uniform I’d seen often in Keir’s compound, so I put two and two together.
He tried to wrestle me to the ground, but I used the newfound strength in my legs to kick him right in the chest. My hands dug into the damp soil, and I pushed myself up on shaking legs.
I made the mistake of looking back at him.
He pushed himself to his feet and readied himself to lunge at me, but just as he launched himself, an arrow lodged in his forehead. His head flew back but he stayed unsteadily on his feet. It was like his body hadn’t caught up with his injury and was still trying to persist. He took one, shaky step forward, his eyes wide and his mouth open, before falling to the ground in a heap.
I recognized that arrow. It was one that I’d seen often in my last few years as a vampire hunter, and even held in my hands at one point. Hope threatened to tear through my chest at the sight.
My head snapped to the direction it came from. I strained to hear the slow footsteps that were coming from all around. They were different from the vampires that were slowly gaining traction on us. They had to have been lying in wait until the perfect moment presented themselves. They were calculated as they pushed through the forest. I could make out the small whispers of the humans that commanded the small army. Then just as I hoped, they appeared.
Humans in all-black Order uniforms materialized from behind the trees. Each had their weapons drawn. Blood coursed under their skin and called to the hunger that was tearing apart my entire being.
A burst of relief filled me even as my brain sounded the alarms, telling me to run. The familiarity of them was enough to put my instincts at ease.
The hunters stopped when the vampires got close enough to show themselves. There was a pause from the other side. I didn’t have to look back to know that they were staring at their dead comrade and the now handful of hunters who were poised to kill them all.
One of the hunters stood out from the rest as he continued to walk toward me. His footsteps were careful and calculated. His weapon was drawn, but as he came closer, I realized that it wasn’t the vampires behind me that he was aiming at.
. . . it was me.
Just as lightning flashed above I got a glimpse of familiar dark hair and hazel eyes.
Damon.
The person who had been with me through school. The same one who had been there to help fight off the fake rebels. The same person who had spilled what I had done with Keir to the Order.
And now, in the final act of betrayal, he had a weapon pointed at my head.
It hurt more than I could rationalize in that moment. All of what happened before seemed miniscule in comparison. I was willing to forgive it all, if only he would but the weapon down.
The desperation another aspect of my own foolishness.
“Damon,” I whispered. My voice cracked and my throat threatened to close. “Stop, you know me. I am one of you.”
His gaze hardened, and he pulled the arrow back. There was no familiarity in his stare. It was like everything we had been through in the Order was out the window and I was no different than any other rogue vampire we were sent after.
“I signed a contract,” he said in a dead tone.
His words tore at my chest. Growls surrounded us.
Desperation clawed at my insides. I didn’t want this to end. Not here. Not by him.
“Please,” I begged and inched closer to him. “You know this isn’t right. I am a hunter, just like you. Your friend.”
He swallowed thickly before shaking his head. “You’re not the only one who was offered a contract they could not refuse,” he said.
“You can’t. Damon—”
“I didn’t know about the blood in your system before, but I guess the second time’s a charm,” he murmured.
The sound of arrows being shot filled the air around us. Some vampire wailed as the arrows hit them while others lunged at the hunters around us. My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, and I rolled out of the way before planting my feet on the ground and using it as leverage to lunge at Damon.
Please give up. Please, I begged him in my mind.
But of course he wouldn’t. We were hunters after all, and he was facing his number one enemy. A vampire.
His bow and arrow were knocked to the side. His arms twisted around my head, but with my strength it was but a moment before I snapped his arm.
His guttural cry echoed through the forest.
I used his stunned state to climb on top of him while pinning his arms to his sides.
“Calm!”
He jerked against my hold. This was nothing like when we were sparring. We were both fighting for our lives. All of the Order’s training went out the window, and we were left with only our instincts and strength.
But he wasn’t giving up even as the battle around us turned in favor of the vampires. He continued to struggle under me.
I didn’t want to fight him. I didn’t want to fight anyone from the Order. They were like me. Taken advantage of and thrust into a world that only used them for their skills.
Why would they do this to us?
I wanted to believe the Order would come for me, would help me. But this. . .?
I didn’t realize he’d grabbed the arrow until it was lodged in my shoulder.
Pain burst across my senses, but it wasn’t a normal wound. It started to burn. My entire bloodstream lit on fire, and I became paralyzed by the pain.
I fell into him. His free arm wrapped around my back and held me to him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
I couldn’t move as the elixir worked its way through me. My mind was screaming at me to move. To sink my fangs into his flesh. His blood, it smelled so sweet, so mouthwatering. I could almost taste it on my tongue.
“Please don’t make me,” I whispered more to myself than anyone else.
I didn’t want to be the monster they made me into. Even as my body begged for it, I was all too aware of what I was about to do. And I couldn’t stomach it.
“Shh,” Damon whispered. His hand stoked my knotted hair. “I’ll be here to the end. You’re one of us. It’s the least I can do.”
Rain pelted us from above and washed the sticky blood from my body. The stark coldness of it against my heated skin was the only thing to lift the cloud of pain over my mind.
Survive. I needed to survive. I wasn’t ready to go. I had so much to see. So much to make up for. I couldn’t let it end here.
Jane’s face flashed through my mind, and slowly, I opened my mouth. My fangs pulsed as they trailed his skin. The rain only made his scent that much more potent.
“I’ll be quick,” I whispered. Guilt ate at me but it was nothing compared to the pain tearing through me. I would have time to play this time in my head over and over until it made me sick, but in that moment I could only do one thing.
“Silvia—”
I clamped my hand over his mouth and sank my fangs into his skin. They cut through it like a knife to butter.
Hot, sweet blood filled my mouth. I moaned as the taste of it burst across my taste buds and chased away the burning in my throat. Warmth exploded inside me and mixed with the blood as it traveled through my body.
Blood was like unlike anything I had ever tasted before. It was strong, spicy yet sweet, thick enough to coat my tongue and throat but moved like water through my body. It caused my entire body to vibrate.
The only comparable human flavor would have been something along the lines of a sweet berry with a spicy tang at the end but it was so much more potent. It was the world’s most powerful drug, so intoxicating and downright addictive.
He tried, and failed, to stop me from sucking the life out of him. His tears mixed with the rain and pooled in my mouth. I’d planned to stop once I regained my strength, but it became impossible to pull away. Each gulp of blood warmed my body in a way I had never experienced before.
It washed away the pain. The feeling of helplessness. I could feel it strengthening my muscles and feeding me energy. And then there was nothing.
I pulled away to see Damon’s wide-eyed, empty stare.
I hadn’t even heard his last breath.
There was a rustling behind me. I stopped and turned to face the newest enemy. Another guard, but this one was injured in the battle. He was clutching the arrow that was stuck in his stomach. His face was contorted in pain and his breath came out in pants.
I needed to run. Even now, among the bodies of hunters and vampires, I knew it would be moments before I was surrounded again.
Against every thought in my head, I pulled the arrow out of my arm and threw it to the ground before stepping toward him. He stared at me but did not move to grab me.
“Give Keir this message,” I said and gripped the arrow still lodged in him.
He let out a pained moaned.
“If she comes after me again, I will personally see the downfall of her clan.”
With that I pulled out the arrow. His mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. I threw the arrow to the ground next to mine and turned to leave.
I cast a single glance back to Damon’s body. Shame, disgust, and hurt washed through me all at once. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to be like this.
I leaned down to close his eyes.
“I will kill them all,” I vowed.
The Order. The captain. Everyone who helped to put me in the dungeon. Everyone who had ruined my life until now and stolen every possibility of happiness I almost had.
Another set of footsteps came to my right, and I let out a sigh. A vampire ran past me in a blur. My gaze snapped to them, and I was met with the image of a vampire I had never seen before tearing the guard’s head off his shoulders without so much as a second thought.
So much for my message.
“Hunter turned vampire,” a familiar airy voice called just barely above the sound of the rain. “I never tend to trust Order intel, but I guess sometimes they can surprise you.”
I looked to the new intruder and my heart dropped into my stomach.
A man I had only seen once stood with two vampires by his side. Both dressed in casual clothes, one held an umbrella for the man, but they themselves stayed out in the rain.
The man in the middle had stark white hair that stood up at all ends. His black eyes were starting to turn red, and there was a smirk spreading across his scarred face.
Tobias.
Just like before there was an aura around him, and even though I was a vampire now, the difference between us was palpable. He stood there with his shoulders hunched over and an easy-going expression, but just below the surface lingered something dangerous. And it was watching me.
He waved the vampires away from his side and stepped out into the rain. He walked until he was right in front of me and held out a gangly, pale hand.
“If you’re here to kill me I won’t go easy,” I growled.
His eyes narrowed, and the smirk on his face only grew wider.
“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now,” he mumbled. “I come to offer my support.”
He pushed his hand closer to me. I eyed it with suspicion.
“I can keep you safe,” he said. “In the Underground. No one would know you’re there. Not the Order. Not Keir. You could be free from their burdens.”
I looked toward the vampire behind me. He was eyeing me warily and just waiting for his master to give him the command to off me.
“And what do you get out of it?” I asked as I turned back to him.
His eyes lit up at that. “Your services,” he said. “We could use a hunter in our midst. Come work for me, and I promise you shelter and safety. It’s as simple as that.”
Nothing is as simple as that. But nonetheless, his offer intrigued me. We both knew at this point I had no one to turn to. I was on the run from the two most powerful organizations in this area, and I would last but a few days until they found me.
