Made By Design (Blood Bound Series Book 2) (30 page)

Ty took my words as the challenge they were intended to be, and took after me at a dead run. Each powerful running step created divots in the snow under the force of his hammering boots. He launched into the air again, arms outstretched, ready to take hold.

At the last millisecond I dropped to the ground, crumbling under his muscular form as he flew over. He landed as I leapt back to my feet, not hesitating to come at me again.

Just as Ty reached me I ducked. My arm shot up in the same instant and my fist connected hard with his jaw. Ty stumbled and actually looked startled. Instant guilt radiated like lava through my veins. “Oh shit. I’m sorry.”

Without warning Ty sprang. His iron grip curled over my shoulders, flattening me to the ground. My back slammed into a rocky patch, radiating pain through my bones. The rainfall grew harder, drops turning into hail. I struggled to move against his brute strength, but it was useless. I was pinned.

Ty flashed me his cockiest of smiles. His hair blew back off his face with the wind’s growing intensity. “Never underestimate,” he said, loud enough for Kendrick and Dorian to hear as he glanced up at them. “The slightest hesitation could mean your life.” He gazed back at me, loosening his grip. “And we can’t have that, now can we?”

A sudden flash of blinding white light lit up the entire forest surrounding us, like an insane camera flash going off. At that exact moment a crack like splintering wood erupted through the trees. My hands shot up to cover my ears as another crack of light erupted. This one vibrated the ground beneath us while Ty still straddled my body. We leapt up as another went off. This one was so close we could see the strike.

“Get behind me,” Ty yelled over the exploding boom.

Kendrick and Dorian ran straight for us. But the lightning was faster. It struck again, splintering light breaking out in forks that penetrated the ground. The force sent dirt flying up. My best friend and brother jumped back to keep from being hit.

Thoughts and memories rushed through my mind. Worsening weather had dampened each training session. Most accompanied by lightning that seemed drawn to our presence. Ty and I edged away from the continuing strikes.

“Why does this keep happening?” My scream barely registered through the shattering noise.

Even before our training, there’d been close run-ins with lightning. My first day back at school had almost seen me decapitated by a tree that had been split by a plummeting fork. On the cruise, a single strike had broken up the bar fight between Ty and the damned. And there was the lightning storm when I’d tried to bring on a vision.

Over the aftermath of another rumbling strike that kept Kendrick away, he yelled, “This is a sacred site—a beacon of power. Whatever is going on with this weather, the site is amplifying it.”

“It’s where Satan used his blood to create the first vampires,” Ty added, keeping my body protectively behind his.

“Where the Dawn of Reckoning took place,” Kendrick called out. “And where the damned were cursed to darkness and insanity.”

As another strike hit the ground only two yards from the hunting boots on Ty’s feet, something dawned on me. The first lightning encounter and all the others since had one thing in common. Me. I was the catalyst. The lightning was coming for me.

Knowing that in seconds Ty and I would both be fried, I shoved my hands into his back. Having not expected the attack, Ty flew across the clearing. Now the lightning had a clear path to take what it kept coming back for.

“No!” The screams came from all three guys. Ty was already racing my way, but smaller forks kept Kendrick and Dorian back.

What happened next was so fast it was a blur. The energy in the air intensified, crackling with power. Then a new lightning bolt split from the clouds. It forked through the sky. Its thick center headed straight for me.

I braced for the impact, but it never hit.

Instead, crackling energy whipped around me and the tree I was backed up against. Ice raced up the trunk, freezing the wood while a twister appeared out of thin air. It surrounded the tree without touching me. Then a crunch of wood erupted. Ty’s body collided with mine as another crack rang out. The tree came crashing down, absorbing the lightning and exploding in a shower of splinters. It landed like a demolished building, missing me only because Ty had cleared me from its path.

The lightning receded and Ty hauled me into his arms. His face was ghost-white. “What the hell were you doing? You could have died.” The anger left his face and he gulped. “Oh, God, I couldn’t lose you.”

Seeing the fear all over his face stabbed pins into my heart. “I’m so sorry. I…” How could I tell him the lightning had been gunning for me without sounding crazy? The answer? I couldn’t. Because it was crazy. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.” I wriggled free and pulled Ty up as Kendrick and Dorian reached us. My legs wobbled, but I managed to stay upright on my own.

Kendrick went to bring up the
me being a lightning rod
thing, when I gave him a hard look. “Well then, I think we should all take off,” he said, unable to hide his frown. “Before the weather goes psycho again.”

Fear and guilt grew like poison in my gut. I took Ty’s hand and began walking. “I’ve had enough bad weather and training for one day, anyway.”

I bounded into the kitchen the following night, heading for the fridge. Mom would be off to her council meeting soon and we’d have the house to ourselves. Which was good, because Ty was on his way over, and he wasn’t the only one. Troy and Marika were heading over too. The time had come to bring new challenges to our training, and his pack mates were more than equipped. But Ty wanted to try to smooth the vampire/werewolf feud beforehand. Which I guess was rational. Still, I didn’t see it changing how much they despised us.

I took a glass bottle of blood from the stainless steel fridge and sucked it dry. Keeping my fangs retracted while being subjected to their potent wolf scent could only help the hopeless interaction.

As I placed the empty on the ivory limestone counter, going for another, the doorbell rang. My heart stopped. Shit, was Ty early?

“Will someone get that?” Mom called out from her bedroom down the hall. She sounded rushed, like she was hurrying to get ready.

Abandoning the full bottle, I shot through the archway into the foyer. Kendrick met me there, having raced down the stairs. “I thought they weren’t coming for another ten minutes.”

“They weren’t.” I peeked through the tall frosted window to the front steps. Outside it was dark, the marginal moonlight laced by thick, moving clouds. Though with the streaming porch light a car’s outline was visible in the driveway. “And my mom should have left already.”

Dorian strolled up behind us, mussing his hair rather than worrying about the situation. “So what if Mom finds out they’re here? She’s letting you see Ty. What’s a few more wolves?”

“More sets of canines that can kill with one bite.” The doorbell rang again and Mom called out. “Got it,” I replied, unlocking the door and swinging it wide open.

I stepped back at the unexpected woman standing over the threshold. She smiled, looking regal in a floor-length, silk indigo gown. Her complexion glowed under the porch light and her loose golden-brown hair glistened.

“Mother?” Kendrick brushed past me as she stepped inside to embrace him.

“Hello, my son.” Her voice was like wind chimes. She released him and stepped back. “You’ve grown.” Her smile shifted to Dorian and me. “So lovely to see you both again.”

We muffled surprised hellos, then Kendrick cut in. “What are you…” He shifted his weight, looking like he’d just dry-swallowed a pill.

Apart from when his mom dropped him over in the past, I’d never witnessed their dynamics. Although here and now the bond explained everything. Growing up, Serafina had always been too busy to make real time for her son. Without a father—as according to her he’d merely been a sperm donor—she was all he’d had. Still, The Council had always been her priority. The reason she’d had Kendrick was to continue her royal line. And since his stay here, their only communication had occurred when Kendrick could get hold of her on the phone.

“Why are you here, mother?”

Serafina swept her arms open. “I’m back from Russia and in town for the meeting. How could I be in town and not stop by to see you?”

Easily.

High heels clicking across the marble floor behind us interrupted Kendrick’s unvoiced words. “So glad you could make it, Serafina,” my mom said, bowing her head.

“We’re glad we could, too.”

“Who’s we?” I butted in before anyone else could talk. A strain of anxiety swam up my chest cavity, but I wasn’t sure why.

Serafina glanced back to the open doorway as a suited, dark figure emerged from the shadows, stepping into the light. Caius.

My heart jumped into my throat, pounding like it wanted out. Fear drove a lick of dead blood into my mouth. Kendrick stiffened, stepping closer to me. Dorian remained still, his silver-sparking eyes tunneling anger at our enemy.

A devilish smile lit Caius’s face as he sauntered forward, his appearance youthful and bright. He embraced my mom, and I shuddered as his parted lips kissed her cheek. The same lips that had closed over my neck when he’d bitten down.

“Of course,” Serafina said, looking curious, “Caius could not miss seeing his niece and nephew.”

Caius’s smile was calculated, revealing his gleaming white teeth. He held out a perfect black calla lily to me. “For you, my dear Amelia.”

“Well don’t be rude,” my mom said, ushering me forward. “Welcome your uncle.”

I exchanged a mashed look of concern with Kendrick and Dorian.
What the hell is he up to?

Kendrick replied through the bond, eyes refusing to shift from watching Caius.
He won’t try anything here in front of everyone. Too many witnesses. And too many of us to compel at once.

I nodded and took a shaky step forward, burying the hate and fear I felt on the surface, at least. “How wonderful for you to grace us with your presence.” My ability to hold a level tone amazed me, given that my insides felt like tearing themselves from my body to race in the opposite direction. I snatched the flower, holding back a shiver. This was the flower Caius always gave me when he visited. It was also the same type he had laid across my chest after killing me.

Dorian moved in front of me, blocking my body from Caius. He extended a firm and level hand. “Caius,” is all he managed between gritted teeth.

Kendrick managed a nod, hand going around my waist. “Lord Bathory.” As he turned to his mother the vehemence drained from his face. “I am glad you could come. Will you be staying long?” The question was a double-edged sword meant to track Caius’s movements.

Serafina shook her head, somewhat apologetically. “We flew in for the meeting. Then I’m back to Russia, and Caius to the Armaya.”

Mom eyed the three of us, picking up on the tension strangling the air. Though in her elegant
don’t create ripples
way, she changed the subject. “Kendrick, did you tell your mom about your camping trip?”

Kendrick smiled and crooked his neck to face his mother. He began detailing all the fun we’d all apparently had while away, save for the part about being attacked by Caius’s henchman. And while I could hear everything he said and thought, my own thoughts were elsewhere. The sickening feeling in my stomach refused to shift while I watched Caius from the corner of my eye. He looked so freaking casual, pretending that this was like any other normal visit. He even made normal conversation, questioning Kendrick and Dorian on the trip. Like any close family friend or true uncle would. Each answer they gave him was clipped and to the point, never encouraging any further discussion. To me the tension was obvious, but my mom and Serafina both seemed too interested in the details.

As the subject wrapped up, Caius caught my watching eye. His head twisted to face me. “So,” he said, clearing his throat. “How did you enjoy your trip to the woods? Was it an
eventful
getaway?”

Caius’s piercing gray eyes made me want to punch him. It was a confession without words. We all knew he was behind our attacks. His unprompted question would seem harmless to anyone not in the know. But we knew better. He was toying with us.

I reined in my blooming anger that made me want to take him on here and now. “Well.” I fixed my steely gaze on him, wishing my hatred could melt him like a witch dipped in water. “If by eventful, you mean being able to relax in nature, hunt and kill…” I paused, ready to take my verbal punch. “Oh, and of course being able to spend my every waking minute with Ty. Then yes. It was
eventful
.”

Instead of Caius’s smile vanishing at the mention of Ty, it widened. “Yes, my dear. I know. And I am pleased you all enjoyed my Christmas present. Vacations can be so life altering.”

“So you admit it?” Dorian fists clenched, his forearms corded.

“Of course I do. Did you not know?” Caius stroked his chin. “Perhaps I forgot the personal note.” He chuckled, glancing at me. “It may also interest you to know, Amelia, that it was my advice that convinced your mother to let you go away with that
boy.
”

I stepped back like he’d slapped me. Everything suddenly made sense. The call. Mom’s sudden change of heart. Caius had compelled our mom over the phone to let us all go away. And he’d used the alchemist mark on her shoulder to do it.

“You—” Dorian’s face fumed like he was about to out Caius in front of our mothers.

Caius ignored him and nodded to the town car idling in the driveway. “We best be off. The Council will be waiting.”

Still oblivious to the tension, Mom retrieved her briefcase from the foyer table while Serafina hugged Kendrick goodbye.

Caius hovered behind as they got into the slick, black car. “Mind your tongue, boy.” He stepped closer to Dorian who didn’t even flinch. “Or the next ones will come for your mothers.”

~

I watched as the town car Caius and Kendrick’s mother had appeared in rolled from the driveway and out the front gates.