Lost clause blood bound.., p.2
Lost Clause: Blood Bound Book 2, page 2
It didn’t matter how good of a hunter I once was.
They would send hundreds after me. The Order had already proven as much, and if they didn’t blink at blowing up a building full of humans for a single vampire, there was no telling what they would do to get me out of the picture.
Slowly I placed my hand in his. The coldness of his skin shocked me so much that I tried to jerk my hand away, but his long fingers gripped my hand, stopping me. I stood up on shaky legs, taking in a calming breath as his powerful aura washed over me.
“I work for you, you provide me safety,” I breathed. “Nothing else.”
His smile was so wide even my cheeks began to ache.
“I am an immortal of my words, Silvia,” he purred and turned to lead me out of the forest. “Let me take your new home. While the others clean up.”
He pulled through the trees as the sound of more hunters began to fill the forest.
I looked back to see the three vampires getting ready.
“They will be slaughtered,” I said.
Tobias let out a soft chuckle.
“They may surprise you yet, Silvia,” he said and sent me a look. “Maybe you can learn a thing or two from them while you are under my care.”
I let out a scoff that was drowned out by the clashing of the vampires behind us.
“Come,” he whispered. “To your new life.”
I didn’t realize then how lucky I had been to get on Tobias’s good side. Over the years I would come to understand that the hand that held mine so gently was the same that ordered the murder of thousands without so much as a falter.
But it was also the same hand that molded me into what I needed to be. Who I needed to be.
The Silvia that was once would cease to exist as soon as I entered the tunnels underground, but until then I allowed myself one last moment in the rain, imagining all the ways I could get back at those who hurt me.
Chapter 1
Silvia
TWO YEARS LATER
From the outside, I looked like a hunter.
I kept a similar uniform. A turtleneck with tight black pants, though these ones had many more pockets that those cheap Order-approved leggings. I kept the diamond-encrusted dagger on my thigh and layered on a harness that went around my shoulders and torso.
It was the perfect battle-ready outfit.
I didn’t fully understand why I gravitated toward a hunter uniform. Maybe it was because I was secretly missing my work at the Order, or maybe it was because being a hunter was the only other thing I could cling to.
I didn’t have a family. I didn’t have a lover. And Tobias wasn’t exactly what you would call a friend. I had no hobbies, no place of my own. . . I really was just floating along until I got to this very moment.
The one where I would get back at all those who’d fucked me over.
It had been a long time coming. Night after sleepless night I ran through this moment in my mind until it was numb.
I didn’t try to sneak across the property. Instead, I jumped right over the back wall of the compound and walked toward the large manor without a worry in the world.
The Kazimir clan’s compound was not much different from Keir’s. I remembered seeing the building that was reserved for the event, with all the hunters lining the perimeter, and thinking that it was too overboard.
Their manor was even worse.
While it was in the same New England style as Keir’s, it spanned far wider than hers. The main house was big enough to fit hundreds while the surrounding properties were stacked tall, all with their own sprawling yards and hedges. It was its very own world and separated from the outside by just a poorly kept wall.
Night had fallen long ago, and the small cool breeze that would have once felt unbearable to my human form, felt nice against my reinforced skin. There were only a few lights that littered the property, giving me the perfect cover in the shadows. Luckily, I had memorized the layout from the years of planning and followed a forgotten path that led through the garden and into the basement.
The old door that divided the manor from the garden was weak enough that I easily broke off the handle and pushed my way in, the only thing giving me away was the small creak of the metal echoing throughout the empty hall. I paused, listening for anyone coming my way, but there was not even a whisper as I shut the door behind me.
The manor was silent as I walked the halls. Even the vampires seemed to retire for the night. I could hear some of them on the floors above, drinking from their various feeders, others just existing, maybe reading or something else. . .but none of them minded me.
Walking through the halls, I passed room after room until I got to the main staircase.
I could hear the moans of a feeder coming from the floor above, and I smiled when I heard Vance’s groan. It was the same one that was permanently etched into my brain along with the feeling of his fangs slicing through my soft human skin.
Perfect.
I stalked up the stairs, careful to not call too much attention to myself. As I got closer to where Vance was, I could tell that he wouldn’t even pay me any mind. He was fucking the feeder.
I guessed he was in one of the various feeding rooms that were littered around the house, which was not where he normally had been. After all my research, I had only heard of him being in his room and his study for these sessions.
Shaking off my suspicion, I carefully snuck up on the door.
“That’s it, baby,” Vance cooed from beyond.
The feeder let out a loud moan. Her breathing was ragged and I could smell the mixing of their scents. The sound of slapping skin disgusted me, but regardless, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Vance didn’t even pause in his thrusts as I entered.
“Harder,” the feeder gasped. “Yes, Vance.”
The room was about the size of a bedroom, with only a few loveseats available, and instead of fucking the feeder in the chair, Vance had her on her knees, her face on the ground, and he pounded into her from behind.
Unfortunately, his bare ass was the first thing I saw as I walked in.
“Wait your turn,” he grunted. “I’ll be finished soon.”
I let out a light laugh. The sound caused him to freeze and slowly his shocked face turned to lock eyes with mine.
A thrill ran through me.
How many times had I daydreamed of this? Too many to count but nothing even compared to seeing the panic flush through him. In a single moment I could see every insignificant memory flash cross his mind as his brain worked out what to do.
“Hi, Vance,” I said in the sweetest tone I could muster.
He let out a shriek and pushed the human away from him. His abrupt actions forced him to the ground as he lost balance.
“Silvia? Is that you—”
“Yes,” I answered and pulled out my dagger. His eyes dropped to it as it sparkled in the dim light. His face contorted, and he scrambled into a kneeling position, forcing his face to the dirty ground. He was still half-clothed, and the whole thing was just so humiliating.
The action angered me. I didn’t want to see a vampire bow to me again. I was not royalty, no matter what my killing of the previous king did, and I never wanted to be.
“Please forgive me, my lady.” He shuddered. The title caused my mouth to sour.“I have had time to reflect on my—”
“Leave us,” I commanded the human who lay in a heap on the ground. She blinked rapidly before slowly standing. She didn’t bother to try and find her garments as she left.
When the door clicked behind her, I rushed at Vance. He jumped up, flailing his arms around as he tried to find his balance, and tried to run away.
But I was faster.
I tangled my hand in his hair and forced his head back. The anger that had been festering inside me for all these years had come boiling up to the surface.
I wanted so badly to slit his throat. . . but that would be far too easy. He needed to suffer. He needed to feel what it felt like to be at the hands of someone far more powerful than him while he could do nothing but squirm.
“You’re gonna regret you ever touched me,” I growled and with quick movements I placed the tip of my dagger against his still-erect dick. I let out a laugh when it twitched. “Oh no, don’t tell me you’re a masochist?”
“Please, Silvia,” he begged. “I promise I can make it—”
His scream filled the air as I sliced his pathetic dick off. That was it. The moment I had been waiting for. I had salivated over the idea of making him pay in a way that would guarantee he would suffer. I thought that this moment would bring me all the closure I was hoping for.
I basked in his screams and waited for the euphoria to hit me. . . but it never did. Seconds if not minutes ticked by and instead of the rush I was expecting, I was left with a sinking feeling.
I was…disgusted.
I hated this vampire. Hated him with my entire being, yet I still felt like there was something missing.
Throwing his writhing body away in disgust, I stood and readied my weapon. I would let him suffer for a few minutes before ending his life. I froze as three sets of footsteps sounded outside the door.
They were quick and light which only meant one thing. . . they were trained.
I cursed under my breath.
There was only one way out of this room and no place to hide. I would need to fight my way out.
I held my breath as the door was pushed open, my hand grasping my dagger so hard my fingers began to ache.
My entire world froze when I saw a tall messy-black-haired man enter the room, with a strikingly obvious golden emblem in the middle of his Order uniform. Hunters, but not just any hunters. Enforcers. The ones who kept the hunters in line. The ones who threw me in the Dark Room at my time in the Order. They didn’t care about hunters, they only cared about enforcing the rules.
They were the worst of the worst.
But these weren’t any enforcers. I knew them.
Behind him trailed the black-haired witch, and Jase, the vampire enforcer, after him.
Keep a look out for hunters. . .
That bastard!
Tobias had to have set me up.
I let out a growl and crouched as Isaac stepped forward. He was the leader of this so-called faction. He raised his hands, and I noted that none of them had weapons. I eyed the witch carefully.
“Silvia,” Isaac said. “We mean you no harm.”
I let out another growl.
“Fuck off,” I hissed. “I don’t want anything to do with the—”
“We need your help.” The witch spoke up. I don’t remember him speaking last time, and the raw emotion in his voice made me pause.
They need my help?
I stood slowly, but kept my dagger in my hand.
“Where are the others?” I asked and tried to listen for more heartbeats. There were two missing. “I expect they are waiting to ambush me when I walk out of here?”
The witch’s face dropped.
“They are gone,” Isaac said. “His brother and Chase. . . they went missing. Just like the rest. Just like what I told you would happen.”
The anger in his voice took me by surprise.
They had mentioned this, back when we were a part of the Order. Hunters had been going missing for years. Many of their teammates and the people who had the highest ranking in the Order. They were highly trained, and deadly, yet there was something amiss.
Each of them somehow turned up dead while on missions or just never returned at all.
And now it had hit too close to home.
I looked over Knox, the black-haired witch, with a heavy sense of grief in my chest. It made me uncomfortable to realize just how much I had come to care about the people and the organization that tried to kill me.
But I too had felt what it was like to lose family. To lose a sibling. It was like the other part of you had been ripped away and you were nothing but half of a soul.
I couldn’t let this sway me. I had a job to do and anything that would make me doubt myself, and my actions, had no room in my life.
Jase’s hand squeezed his shoulder, and he took a hesitant step forward.
“We need your help, Silvia,” Jase said. “Our hunters are still dying, and we cannot stop it. We had hoped that you could help but. . .”
“I died,” I finished for him.
Sighing, I shifted on my feet and stared at Vance. He was holding back tears as his dick healed itself. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t kill him. . . but at least he would think twice before biting someone like me again.
“You won’t let me go, will you?” I asked and turned back to look at Isaac.
Isaac stepped to the side and motioned toward the door.
“Go ahead,” he said.
My slow beating heart stopped, and the breath was stolen out of my lungs. I could. . . go?
“Just. . .” The witch’s voice trailed off, and he looked up at me with a sorrowful expression. “Ash. . . he—they took my brother, and we just thought that you—”
“I don’t understand what you want from me,” I said and walked toward them, ready to take the exit they provided.
I knew what he was trying to do. I wouldn’t fall for it.
“How much did you know about your parents’ role in the Order?” Jase asked and stepped in front of me, blocking my exit.
“Not much,” I said with a shrug. “Just knew they were good at what they did.”
There was a pause as Jase looked to Isaac.
“Seven three three three five six zero,” Isaac said, his eyes drilling into mine. “Do you recognize that number?”
Images of Raphael and his guards forcing blood into my system flashed through my mind. They too had tried to prod me for these numbers while torturing me.
What the hell did my mom have to do with all of these people?
“Why?” I asked through clenched teeth.
Jase let out a sigh.
“Come with us and we will explain,” he said. “Not to the Order. Not to Keir’s. Not to wherever you have been staying. . . come home with us, and we’ll walk you through what we know.”
Trap. Alarm bells went off in my head. I had been running for two years, them reaching out to me now was suspicious, no matter what stories they spewed.
I would have liked to trust them, especially given the expression on Knox’s face when he talked about his brother, but my survival was key.
I let out a growl and pushed Isaac to the side.
“Don’t look for me again,” I warned.
A hand shot out to grasp my shoulder, but I was too quick for them. I was out of the door and running down the hallway before they could even yell. Footsteps chased after me, and Vance’s cries echoed down the hallway.
Sirens ran through the silent night, and a twisted smirk played at my lips.
This was the thrill I had been waiting for.
Fuck the vampires. Fuck the Order. I would bend to no one.
Not anymore.
Chapter 2
Keir
I threw my blood-filled goblet at the vampires sitting across from me.
In an instant everyone was standing up, and loud growls rumbled from their chest.
The head and staff from the Waita clan had shown up on our doorstep at two in the morning without an invitation, and now they dare insult me like this?
They were a smaller clan based in Oregon but had a reputation similar to my father’s reign. They had built their place through blood and violence. An ally on most occasions, but now they had shown their true colors.
The dining room was dim save for a few lit candles. The air was tense, and the once calm quiet had turned to something more volatile. There were only three of them. We could fight them if push came to shove. Gil was at my side in a flash, and I could hear the footsteps and slow beating hearts of our guards waiting outside the door.
The white tablecloth was stained with blood, some of our last bit of supply. I cursed my own foolishness, but it was quickly burned up in the anger that flashed through my veins.
The king, Anthony, waved off his right hand. His fair hair shimmered in the light, and his bright red eyes cut through the darkness. The vampire beside him, looked much like a mini version of the king. He was most likely his son. The only difference between the two was the hint of impulsiveness that wavered behind the younger’s glowing red eyes.
I could see right through his thoughts. After all, I had been just like him once. Ruled by my anger and wanting to destroy anything in my path.
Then I was forced to rule while the real clan head hid out, refusing to show her face. It had changed my whole outlook on the position I was born into. Though that didn’t mean I liked it any more than I once had.
There was a time where the title had looked shiny and enticing, especially when Father was still holding it. But the truth was hidden in moments like this. The politics of it all was enough to drive me insane, and no matter how innocent my cause had seemed, the world seemed stacked against me.
Wanting to protect your clan was not enough. It never was.
“You dare insult me?” I asked. “In my home?”
Gil shifted besides me as the guards filed through the door.
“You are weakening,” Anthony spat. His narrowed gaze shot to mine. “If it is not I to come warn you about what is to come then it would be your own people who try to see you fall. I am offering a way out.”
“A way out?” I asked with a bitter laugh. “You want to take. You think that I am unable to provide for my clan. That I am not fit to run—”
“Because you are not!” the younger one jumped in. “You are not fit to rule because you are not the ruler.”
His words hit me square in the chest. I gripped the side of the table and took a deep, calming breath, but it did nothing to clear the red that had covered my vision. The table splintered in my grip.
