Blood Bond (28 page)

Wes kept a firm grasp on my hand and led us
to a space near the breakfast table where a wicker couch and chairs
sat. I stood behind the couch and braced my hands on the frame. I
was too wired to sit.

Professor Flaherty brought everyone glasses
of water and then drifted back toward the door. I got the
impression she was going to let us have it out with one another
without interruption.

Cord was the one to speak first. “This is
ridiculous. Why is everyone standing around like nothing is going
on? George is a Werewolf, except his eyes aren’t yellow and he’s
not trying to rip everyone’s throat out like a wolf-zombie.”

She stalked over to me and leaned in,
sniffing heavily. She leaned back and made a face. “You’ve been
giving me goosebumps since I opened my car door, and you smell like
dog.” Everyone’s eyes shifted to me.

“I can explain,” I began.

“She was attacked,” Alex said from the
doorway.

He didn’t look at me, but I knew he’d spoken
up so I wouldn’t have to. I wondered if he was keeping my secret as
a way to prove I could trust him. “When I found her, she was about
to be dinner for a couple of Miles-made hybrids. Their scent is
probably still all over her, not to mention saliva. He was
practically drooling on her.”

“What? Why didn’t you say anything?” Wes
asked.

“There hasn’t been time,” I said.

“Perimeter’s clear. I chased them off,” Alex
said, settling on a spot against the wall. “Wounded the female, but
she’ll recover. There wasn’t time for more.”

“Thank you,” Wes said, nodding at Alex like
it pained him.

Alex nodded, though he didn’t quite meet
Wes’s eyes. “There was another complication,” he said. “They were
familiar.”

“Familiar how?” Cord demanded.

I took a step forward, looking past Cord to
where Victoria and Logan sat. They stared back at me, Victoria’s
expression as neutral as Logan’s, and for a moment, all I could see
was the memory of her, sobbing in our dorm room after her parents
had gone missing, and the dejected set of her shoulders when she
realized they weren’t coming back.

She edged forward in her seat as if she
sensed the words on my lips. I let go of Wes’s hand and went to
her, lowering myself onto the table so I could face her. The fact
that she sat quietly, instead of insulting me or telling me to get
away from her, let me know she already suspected.

In that moment, we weren’t enemies. We
weren’t rivals. We were friends—two of a kind, completely
understanding of the other, no agendas.

“It was your parents,” I said quietly.

“Were they—?” She stopped and bit her lip.
Logan took her hands in his.

“They’re Werewolves,” I confirmed. “They
asked about you.” The wetness in one of her eyes spilled over onto
her cheek. She’d never looked less like a bully.

“They wanted to take Tara to the one in
charge of the hybrids now, a woman named Olivia,” Alex put in,
saving Victoria from the stares of the rest of the room.

Wes rubbed his chin and cheek with the palm
of his hand, a gesture of exhaustion. “Do we know an Olivia?” He
looked at Cord.

“Not that I can think of. I can’t keep up
with all of Tara’s enemies anymore,” she said.

“Give me a break,” I grumbled.

“Do you know what this Olivia wants from
you?” Wes asked.

“No,” I said. “They never told me. All I
know is they are determined to bring me in. They called Olivia
their master.”

“Of course,” Cord said. “Heaven forbid we
get any peace and quiet.”

“Look, this tells us they are going to keep
coming,” said Alex. “The hybrids in general, and specifically the
Lexingtons. We need to play offense instead of sitting and
waiting—”

“We?” Wes interjected.

Alex hesitated. “I took a leave of absence
from my team.”

“How convenient,” Wes said.

“Seriously,” Cord agreed. “I mean, you just
happened to show up here at the same time as a couple of hybrids
you’ve been looking for?”

Alex and I shared a look. He let it pass
without correcting her about the Lexingtons’ whereabouts these past
few weeks.

Logan looked up at him in surprise, probably
the only other one besides me who realized what a huge step leaving
would’ve been for Alex. “Why’d you do that?”

Alex pushed off the wall and walked to the
window, his hands fisted at his sides. “There’s talk between some
of the higher-ups … some of the things I’ve seen lately don’t add
up. I wanted to take some time to figure it out before I commit.”
He turned back to face the group, his eyes flickering over Cord and
resting on Wes. “In the meantime, if Tara’s in danger, I’d like to
do what I can to help.”

Wes stiffened beside me. I slid my hand into
his again, a gesture of reassurance. When Wes didn’t offer an
answer, Alex turned to Professor Flaherty. “Would it be all right
if I stayed?”

“Of course. We have plenty of room,” she
said.

“And it’s understood that my presence here
won’t be shared with anyone,” he added.

“You have my word.”

I wondered what that meant. Why would it
matter if anyone knew he was here?

“You saved Tara from the attack,” Wes said,
startling me with the abruptness of his words. He was still staring
at Alex.

“Yes.” Alex didn’t move.

“You have feelings for her,” Wes said.

Alex hesitated for only a split second.
“Yes.”

“Would you die to protect her?”

“Absolutely.”

The question itself, and the certainty of
Alex’s answer, startled me. I didn’t know what to say.

“Hmm,” was all Wes said.

Cord crossed to Wes and started whispering
to him too low for me to hear.

A sniffling sound from across the room drew
my attention. Logan had his arm wrapped around Victoria’s
shoulders. She was leaning into him and trying in vain to keep the
tears in check. I went back to the coffee table and sat down in
front of her again. Just like that day in my dorm room, comforting
her felt awkward. But I couldn’t just sit by and watch her cry.

“We’ll find them,” I said.

She blinked until the tears receded, then
stuck her chin out. “If my parents are … violent, and can’t be
reasoned with, we’ll have to deal with them,” she said. “You have
my permission.”

“Victoria …”

“Don’t apologize again. It’s giving me a
headache.” Her eyes flashed and for once, I didn’t mind her
snapping at me if it meant she wasn’t falling apart. “All
right.”

I looked at Logan. “I should’ve told you
what was going on back at school. I’m—” I started to say sorry and
stopped when Victoria hissed at me. “I should’ve told you about
George,” I said instead. “How mad are you?”

“Not very,” he said. “Cambria called after
you left and told me most of it. I understand why you did it,
although for future reference, I can keep a secret. Besides, for
the record, it looks to me like whatever you did worked.”

I smiled, relieved and grateful. “Thanks.
How did you guys find me, anyway? I thought Grandma was
coming.”

His brows crinkled, the brim of his hat
lowering on his forehead. “I don’t know anything about your
grandma. Cord called me a couple days ago and asked if Victoria
could use her, um, locating skills to find you. Cord picked us up a
few hours later, and we drove here.”

I looked at Victoria. “You agreed?”

She smirked, looking suddenly like the real
Victoria. “Anything to see you catch some heat.”

Her words lacked the same acidic coating
they usually held, and I wondered if things were changing for us.
It felt good telling Victoria her parents were alive, although I
still didn’t understand how they weren’t in CHAS custody
anymore.

“Wait, so you … located me? With your gift?”
I asked. “Do you think you could use it to find Olivia?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d need
something personal of hers to use. Something she’s touched. And
I’ve already tried finding the hybrids.” She teared up again. “My
parents … all of them are off my radar. I think it’s their lack of
humanity. Whatever it is, they’re outside my scope.”

Hmm. So much for that idea.

“Wait, what did you use of mine? To find
me?” I asked.

Victoria’s twisted smile returned. “At least
something good came out of you wearing all my clothes. But I have
to say … you shed like a dog. All I needed was a strand.”

“You used strands of my hair?”

“Try hairballs.”

“Knock it off, you two,” Cord said, eyeing
me. “You still haven’t explained how you cured your pet hybrid. And
your story better be good, because I drove across the country to
hear it.”

I stood and faced them. My gaze flickered
over them one by one, each waiting for my explanation. Behind them
all, Professor Flaherty nodded at me, and further back, shadowed by
the open door, Astor stared at me, unblinking.

“I gave him my blood,” I said, rushing on
amidst raised eyebrows, needing to get it all out. Especially with
Astor staring back at me like this was some sort of test, some big
moment. “I let Astor draw it and transfuse George with it.”

“Why your blood?” Cord asked, making the
words sound like a challenge.

“Because it’s a mixture of both. My blood is
the balancer for the hybrid serum. It allows the human side to
control the animal.”

“Is it something you could do with the other
hybrids?” Victoria asked.

“Probably. If they’d sit still long enough.”
I frowned. Did that mean I’d bond with any of them I tried to heal?
I hadn’t felt any different toward George yet.

“Maybe we could get them to come back,”
Victoria said. We all knew who she meant.

“It sounds like they didn’t want to be
helped.” Logan’s tone was gentle but Victoria’s face fell and she
nodded. I didn’t bother correcting him.

I sucked in a breath, looking specifically
at Alex. Too afraid to look away, terrified of what I was about to
see reflected back at me. “There’s something else. I’m immune to
metal.”

“What are you talking about? How is that
possible?” Cord asked. I could hear the skepticism, the suspicion
in her voice, but I held Alex’s gaze a moment longer.

Shock flooded his features, but it didn’t
last long. Behind it was an expression that could only be
worry.

I scanned the faces in front of me.
Professor Flaherty, her hands folded in front of her, watched
serenely. Cord stared at me, her expression a mixture of disbelief
and awe. Logan, and Victoria, who’d stopped sniffling to give me
the evil eye she was so good at. Astor, still hunched in the
shadows just outside the door. His eyes sparkled with mischief; he
was enjoying the show. And Wes, blinking rapidly over and over
again, as if struggling to process the words. Our eyes met.

Then Cord recovered, and so did Logan and
Victoria. They all began talking at once.

“I don’t believe you,” Cord said, though her
tone implied she was on the fence. “It’s not possible.”

“How exactly does it work?” Logan asked. He
didn’t wait for my answer before he began listing scientific
possibilities that sounded foreign to me.

And Victoria: “Your blood can work on any
hybrid?”

“Yes.” I answered her question since it was
the easiest. They all continued to chatter, more to speculate
amongst themselves than demand a response. I ignored them and
turned to Wes. “You’re freaking out,” I said.

He looked at me like he’d forgotten I was
there. “You’re serious. About all this.”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“Astor tested me. I passed,” I said,
simplifying it. At some point I’d explain to him how my dad had
given me a secret formula to make it all possible. Maybe by then,
I’d understand it myself. Wes nodded, still looking lost.

“Astor, can you come in here?” I said.

It took a moment for them to notice him
hovering in the doorway. He wore flannel pajama pants and his usual
slippers, but over his T-shirt he wore a lab coat that at one time
must’ve been white. Now, it was tie-dyed, splatters of red, blue,
green, yellow, and every color in between.

“Painting again?” I asked.

“Chaos is good for the soul.”

I laughed. Cord looked at us like we were
crazy. “Logan, there’s someone I want you to meet.” I waited until
Logan came up beside me and then made introductions. “Astor, these
are my friends, Alex, Cord, Wes, Victoria, and Logan. Logan’s very
interested in your metal stuff—what’s it called?”

“Metallurgy,” Logan provided, extending his
hand. He stared at Astor like I might an ice cream sundae. “It’s an
honor, sir. I’m a huge fan.”

“A fan, huh?” Astor shook Logan’s hand and
then wiped his palm on his pants, as if the whole thing grossed him
out. “What, in particular, are you a fan of?” The question was
meant as a challenge, but Logan answered without hesitation.

“For one thing, your theories about
analytical chemistries and how it relates directly to extractive
techniques. I did a term paper on the differences between liquid
and gaseous leaching, and I think your paper on raw and precious
metals is spot on.”

“You read that dusty paper? I wrote that
thing twenty years ago,” Astor said, though he looked slightly
pleased.

“Twenty years ago or twenty minutes,” said
Logan with a shrug, “doesn’t matter. It’s still the most
forward-thinking theory on metal stimulation and second spirit
domination I’ve ever heard.”

“Huh. You just might be able to carry on an
intelligent conversation. Unlike these nitwits. I’ve had to explain
everything eighteen times till Sunday with them. Come on.” Astor
turned on his heel and headed for the door. Logan looked back and
forth between Victoria and me like he didn’t know what to do
next.

“Go,” I said, waving him out.

“Logan?” Victoria pouted.

“Take her with you,” I said.