Blood Rule (Book 4, Dirty Blood series) (23 page)

The vibrating continued. I debated
whether to answer. Before I could, the sound abruptly cut off. I
sat up in bed, unsettled.

The buzzing began again.

I threw the covers back. Wes mumbled
something before rolling over. I crept to the table by the door and
picked up the phone. The readout listed the city and state of the
caller. I darted out the door, pressing the button and whispering,
“Hello?”

“
Tara? Is that
you?”

“
Angela? What’s wrong?”
Something was off about her voice. It sounded too …
contained.

“
Nothing. Absolutely
nothing is wrong, promise. I have news.”

Definitely holding something back.
“What news?” I asked, hurrying downstairs and out of earshot of the
others. A thousand possibilities ran through my mind. News of what?
Steppe trying to kill her, evil hybrids spotted in the hospital, my
mother had finally used her speargun—

“
He’s awake,” she
squealed.

I went still.

There was a shuffling noise on the
other end of the line. I tried to make sense of her words. Maybe
the nightmare had jumbled my thoughts. What was she—?

“
Hey.”

The smooth baritone voice washed over
me and my knees buckled. I slid to the floor somewhere between the
front door and the living room. The hardwood was probably cold
against my bare legs. I couldn’t feel a thing. My breath was gone.
I couldn’t remember how to get it back.

“
Breathe,
Godfrey.”

From fingertips to scalp, my body
tingled in barely contained excitement. And relief. And fear. And
not a little bit of anger.

“
We’ll get to that,” he
said.

I pulled the phone away from my ear
and stared at it.

“
Can you … read my mind?”
I asked, stumbling over the words in order to get them from my
brain to my tongue.

He laughed and a wrecking ball of
emotion slammed straight through me. “Um, no more than I always
have. You’re easy to read.”

“
I’m easy to …? You’re
awake.” I’d made my tongue work. Now, I needed my brain to catch
up.

“
You’re quick.” He was
obviously having fun with this. And he sounded so …
himself.

“
Alex.” My voice caught. I
gave up on uttering anything beyond his name.

“
It’s really me,” he said
softly. When I still didn’t answer, he sighed. “On a scale of one
to ten, how much do you want to kill me?”

I tried holding back the sob that rose
but it was no use. It leaked out, one after the other, and within
seconds I was bawling. The phone shook in my hand as I tried to get
it together.

“
Whoa, okay, okay, so an
eleven it is.”

“
Alex, you can’t … joke. I
thought … you weren’t … going to …wake up … ever.”

I sniffled between words, sounding
like a mess. But the message must’ve been intelligible because all
traces of humor vanished as he said, “I’m sorry. I know it must’ve
been rough. Angela told me you’ve been here every day.”

“
Not anymore. I had to
leave for a while.”

“
I heard. Steppe really
rescinded the amnesty treaty?”

“
Yes. It’s open season on
anything with fur.”

He didn’t respond to that and I wasn’t
sure whether I was grateful or disappointed not to have that
conversation. “St. John was on the news,” he said. “The humans are
looking for him.”

“
I know. We
left.”

“
Tara—”

“
You have to be okay. Are
you okay?”

“
I’m okay,” he assured
me.

“
I’m so sorry I bit you,
Alex. I didn’t know—”

“
Stop. We’re not doing
this.”

“
Don’t tell me it’s not my
fault, because it is. I bit you, Alex. Sank my venom-coated teeth
into your skin and infected you. You’ve been in a coma for weeks.
Don’t act like it’s no big deal.”

“
Fine, it’s all your
fault. I’m so pissed.”

“
Don’t mock me. I’m
serious.”

“
Me too. I’m angry as
hell. I can’t believe you bit me. What are we, five?”

I scowled. “Whatever. You’re the one
that attacked us.”

I froze, waiting for him to comment on
how I’d lumped myself in with the hybrids he’d come to kill.
Instead, his voice tightened as he said, “I’d like to have this
conversation in person.”

I fidgeted with the hem of my shorts
to keep from reacting too quickly. The idea of seeing him in person
made something in my chest jump up and grab my throat. I wanted to
see him awake, alive. I wanted to watch him talk and laugh and
interact with open eyes. I needed that. Maybe for my own guilt, but
no matter the reason, I couldn’t deny how badly I needed
it.

“
Will you explain
everything?” I asked, keeping my voice as neutral as
possible.

“
Everything,” he
agreed.

I barely hesitated before I said,
“Deal.”

“
Good. In the meantime,
are you somewhere safe? This thing with Steppe sounds
serious.”

“
Yes. I’m with Wes and
George. No one will find us.” I left out Emma, unwilling to explain
her—or the rest of them—just yet.

“
Good.”

“
I’m not going to tell you
where I am.”

“
I wasn’t
asking.”

“
Good.”

He snickered. My stomach flipped.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” I said.

“
Funny. I heard yours even
before I was awake.”

I thought of all the times I’d pleaded
with him to wake up, to come back. Not just to life but to me
specifically. What would he think of that if he knew? “Do you
remember any of the words?”

“
No, a sound. Like a song
without lyrics. Weird, right?”

“
Weird,” I
agreed.

There was a moment of silence and I
tried to think of something else to say that wasn’t better left for
a face-to-face conversation. There was so much I wanted to know
from him. The anger and excitement alone were enough of a battle.
It took me a while to realize the raw feeling in my gut wasn’t
necessarily my own. When I understood the possibilities, my fingers
tightened around the phone and I went rigid.

“
Alex … how do you feel
right now?” I asked slowly.

“
Fine. Why?”

“
Not medically. In your
head. Or your heart. Or whatever.”

“
Um … well, if I’m being
honest, I miss you.”

I had to bite back another round of
tears. “Put Angela on.”

“
Why? What’s
wrong?”

“
I can’t— Put her
on.”

There was some shuffling and then
Angela’s voice came over the speaker. “What’s wrong,
Tara?”

“
I’m coming
home.”

“
What? When? You
can’t—”

“
It’s important. You have
to stay with him until then. Don’t let Steppe get to him. Or you.
Okay?”

“
Okay—”

“
I mean it. Be careful,
Ang. If you think Steppe is going to try something, get out of
there. Take Alex with you.”

“
What is this about?
You’re acting crazy.”

“
I can’t talk about it
right now. I need to figure this out. I’ll call you when I know
more.”

I hung up and powered the phone off
before she could argue. I stayed where I was on the floor and
folded my knees into my chest. Then I pressed my hands to my
tear-stained cheeks and wished like hell the word ‘bond’ didn’t
exist.

“
You should maybe sound
less determined when you voice your intention to your alpha
boyfriend. At least make him think he gets a say in the
matter.”

I whipped my head around. “George, you
scared me.”

“
Good. You need a healthy
dose.”

George brushed past me, his back
rigid. I scrambled to my feet and followed him into the living
room. “Alex is awake,” I said.

“
I know.”

“
He seems all
right.”

“
I know.”

I lowered my voice and added, “Except
that I felt him missing me.”

His voice dipped in a way that was
more from anger than an attempt to keep the conversation quiet. “I
know.”

I stopped. “Well?”

He threw his hands up. “Well, what,
Tara? You want me to give you permission to leave the complete
safety of our current location and march right back into the lion’s
den to lay eyes on a boy you recently decided you love only
slightly less than your current boyfriend, just to satisfy your own
guilt over almost killing him?”

I blinked at him.

“
Is that what you want
from me right now? Because that’s what it sure as hell seems like
and it’s not going to happen.”

“
George, I …”

“
Don’t try to lie to me,
either. I’ve heard it all already.” He tapped his temple with one
finger. “One too many times.”

I folded my arms across my chest,
unable to help the stubbornness that rose to the surface—or the
argument before it slipped out. “It’s not like I can be hurt. Their
weapons are metal. I’m immune.” It was a weak argument at best,
reckless at worst. But it was all I could think of. George’s words
riled me: he could hear it? As in, hear my exact
thoughts?

“
And what about Wes? Is he
immune too?”

“
I … don’t know.” And I
realized then I really didn’t know. After I’d learned about my
immunity, I’d spoken to Wes about letting Astor test him as well
but I’d never asked him if he’d done it or what the outcome had
been. It wasn’t surprising I’d forgotten about it with everything
else that’d happened afterward. Olivia, the hybrids, Alex. But why
hadn’t Wes said anything?

“
Maybe you should find
out,” George said. “Because you’re crazy if you think he wouldn’t
follow you wherever you run. Even straight into the fire.
Especially then. And I’ve lived through your guilt over almost
killing one person you care about. I don’t think you could handle
it again.”

I hated so very much that George was
right.

George gulped the milk from the carton
and disappeared upstairs with the makings of cereal. He said
something about checking on Emma but I barely heard him.

George was right. Wes would never
agree to go back. Not for this. Not for the ‘other guy,’ and I knew
no matter what I said, that’s how Wes viewed Alex. The competition.
The other choice. It was a conversation we’d been avoiding, but if
I brought this to him, there was no way we’d be able to shove it
aside any longer.

But even knowing that, I couldn’t make
myself stop wanting to find a way to get to Alex. I told myself it
was because of the possibility of a bond. It sounded weak, even to
me.

I paced the length of the hallway,
back and forth between the entryway and living room, until Wes came
down. His hair was in its usual disheveled state after waking and
his lids were heavy. He smiled when he saw me and kissed my temple,
his hand brushing my shoulder. Underneath his fingernails was a
layer of dirt. There’d been no shovel so he’d dug the hole for
Janie’s burial in his wolf form.

We hadn’t spoken of her since
yesterday when we’d carried her blanket-clad body to the edge of
the clearing and placed her in the ground. Emma had cried silent
tears while George held her. I’d stood rigidly beside Wes and
pictured ripping out Steppe’s throat until the urge to cry
disappeared. It was too much, this loss of another pack member. The
darkness was an intangible force, but Steppe was something solid.
Something I could exact vengeance from. And I fully intended
to.

“
Morning,” Wes murmured
against my ear, forcing me out of my runaway thoughts.
“Coffee?”

“
No, thanks,” I
said.

He disappeared around the corner.
George’s disapproval came through loud and clear. I did my best to
mentally shove him out. Then I followed Wes into the
kitchen.

“
Can I ask you something?”
I said.

“
Shoot.”

“
Did you ever let Astor
test you for the metal immunity?”

He blinked, looking a little surprised
by my question. He didn’t answer until he’d turned his back to me
and busied himself with the makings for coffee. “No.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because I don’t want to
know.”

“
But that’s silly. If you
can’t be hurt, then—”

He swiveled to face me and cut me off.
“I could still be hurt, Tara. So can you. Just because the metal
itself won’t hurt doesn’t mean the placement of a stake wouldn’t
have the same effect. You’re not invincible.”

“
I didn’t say I was, but
the immunity makes it harder at least.”

“
I don’t want to operate
under the assumption I’m harder to kill. It would make me
reckless.”