What Lies Inside (A Blood Bound Novel, Book 1) (33 page)

Ty folded me in his arms, and I nestled in to him, our bodies molding together perfectly. The now-slowing beat of his heart echoed through my ears. Ty broke the sweet aura of our silent embrace. “Does Kendrick know what happened the other night?” He peered down at the stream below, eyes distant. “Did he see the marks?”

“No. Well, I don’t think so. He was suspicious, but I forced him to talk the next morning. I think he’s finally forgiven me. We actually went to that psychic fair in town. It was his idea.” I blinked, and the beady eyes of the fortune teller formed across the back of my eyelids. She was delusional, I thought again. Though hidden deep inside was a growing unease at her chilling fortune.
You must accept the light. It’s the only way to save him.
A chill transcended my bones, making me want to tremble. What light? Save who?

Ty’s scarred arm squeezed around me, and I realized he was comforting me. My body was actually trembling. “I hope I didn’t frighten you too much.”

Shaking off the memory of her cryptic fortune, I entwined my fingers in his free hand. “I will admit I was shocked at first. But when I realized it was you…” I trailed off in thought. I wanted to know that side of him too. “I guess I was more curious, than anything.”

Surprise lifted Ty’s brows. “Curious?”

Biting my lip, I swallowed my hesitation. I hoped this question would lead to the outcome I’d prepared for. “How does it work? The transformation, I mean. I know you told me when you change, but I want to know you, Ty. I want to know everything about you.”

Ty’s eyes darkened as he stared down to the settling stream. Nervous energy brewed within my chest. Had I asked too much?

My thoughts stilled as he began to explain. “Our bones crack and break to be reformed. Our brains shut off some of the pain receptors, so it’s not so bad.” Guilt turned his face grim. “I just meant to lie beside you for a moment longer. But I was so tired…” He lifted my hand to his lips. “Had you not woken to the sound of my bones cracking, I could have…” His words died on his tongue and desolation rippled across his face.

Touching his cheek, I turned his face to mine. “But you didn’t. And I’m fine, remember?”

Ty shook his head. “Will you ever forgive me?”

“Of course…” I paused. Now was the perfect time. “But there is one condition.” Ty’s now hazel, green-rimmed eyes rose to mine, curiosity questioning within them. “Will you show me?” I asked, then shook my head, hearing the agonizing growl that had plagued him in my dream. “Unless it’s too painful, I wouldn’t want you to be…”

My words broke off as Ty caught my hand in his. “The pain is momentary and dulled, and I would endure much worse, for you.”

“But?” I questioned, sensing his hesitation.

“But, I don’t know,” he said, eyes searching mine. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you. We can lose ourselves for a moment. And I never want to risk harming you, not again, not ever.”

Ty was still worried about hurting me? The concept was almost comical. I planted my hands on my hips. “I thought we already discussed this. I am
not
human. I am a vampire who’s stronger and faster than that. I’ll be prepared this time.” I searched his strained eyes for understanding, but received none. I decided to play dirty and leaned in, running my lips up his neck to his ear. “Pleeeease?”

Ty made a small sound, somewhere between a growl and a groan. “I can’t say no when you do that.”

A smile tugged at my lips. “So that’s a yes?”

Ty rose from the fallen tree and pulled me up beside him, holding me hard against his warm chest. “If I do this, you have to stand back. You have to promise not to come any closer. No matter how painful it seems.”

Excitement and trepidation washed over me as I nodded. “Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”

Ty led me from the log and into the clearing. He turned to face me, tense fingers curling around my shoulders as he pressed his lips to mine. A reserved smiled thinned his full lips and he backed away, putting a few long strides between us. “Now, don’t move.”

I nodded and watched, eyes widening as Ty dropped his pants. He flung them aside to stand scarcely dressed in just a pair of boxer briefs. The sight of his perfectly toned and almost naked body sent searing heat up my neck and across my cheeks. Not that you could blame me. Apart from the many scars that marked his tan skin, the guy was practically airbrushed.

Too soon my moment of ogling was overshadowed. Ty’s muscles corded, bulging and straining. A split second later his entire body began to quake. A sickening crack sounded, followed by a low, deep growl that rumbled from his perspiring chest. He fell forward on all fours, clawed hands disappearing into the soft snow. Terror stung my heart. What had I done? Another agonizing growl tore from his throat as his back arched up, a bone splitting straight through his skin. That’s where the scars came from?

I went to rush forward, but stopped. The draw of his spilled blood had my fangs breaking free. And you promised, I reminded myself. Resigned, I kept my feet planted to the ground.

The cracking of bones continued to echo through the silent woods surrounding us. The sound was eerie and totally surreal, forcing a startling realization to tug strings from my memory. It can’t be possible. Still I couldn’t deny the scene before me, the mirrored reality I was standing in.
I dreamed this.
A sudden heat against my chest drew my attention, and I reached up to find the amethyst pendant. Its polished surface was warm to the touch. I twirled the stone between my fingers, frowning eyes returning to Ty’s blurring form.

A distant but clear noise of splintering wood erupted through the trees. A jolt of panic rushed through me.

“Get away from that mongrel!” Kendrick screamed. He burst from the tree line, brandishing a full-sized tree limb fit with branches and leaves. In a single bound he launched, landing to block me from Ty. His chest heaved with fast breath and his eyes glared down at me. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Kendrick tracked me? Resentment crawled beneath my skin, live bugs eating living flesh. I slammed my hands against his chest. “Kendrick, get the hell out of my way! You’re not supposed to be here.”

Confusion creased his brow, while his face burned red. “You want this to happen? You actually want to see what kind of a
monster
he is?”

“He’s not a monst—”

Kendrick seized my wrist with his free hand. “I knew it was your blood,” he spat. “
He
did this to you!”

I followed his wild stare to the scars marking my flesh. Suffocating dread swept through me. “You don’t understand!” I wriggled my wrist free from his painful grasp. “It was an accident.”

A snarl emerged behind Kendrick. He spun, turning to face the huge, black wolf. Ty’s beastly form towered above us, solid and muscular. A force to be reckoned with. His ears were flattened against his skull and his wolf eyes glowed intensely. They were fixed on Kendrick who shielded me behind him.

“Don’t come anywhere near her,” Kendrick hissed. His body braced and his arm held up the tree limb like an oversized bat, ready to swing.

The beast barked out a retort and stepped closer. His hackles bristled and his lips curled back to bare jagged, spittle-covered teeth.

Kendrick’s muscles twitched, but he stood his ground. “I mean it, mutt. Back off!”

This had already gone on too long. There was no way in hell I was about to let them actually face off. With a swift maneuver, I broke from Kendrick’s hold. I jumped over the wooden weapon to land between them. Anger at Kendrick’s intrusion rushed like venom through my veins. I shoved a loaded hand at his chest. “Kendrick, I need you to leave, now.”

“What?” Disbelief etched across Kendrick’s face. “You want to stay here with that…that abomination!”

“Of course I do. I love him!” My lips snapped shut too late. Kendrick’s face dropped and he stumbled as though his legs were threatening to give out. My insides felt like they had torn in two. This wasn’t how I had imagined saying those words for the very first time. Not shouted in frustration at Kendrick. And not laced with boiling resentment.

The misery across Kendrick’s face quickly shifted to rage. “You’ll be sorry.” He twisted and took off, abandoning the tree limb with a powerful sweep of his arm. He was gone before his weapon crashed into the tree line, exploding in a spray of unrecognizable pieces.

I slumped, edging into the curve of Ty’s coarse-haired shoulder. Beneath my ribs, my heart was pounding. Yet somehow the heat emanating from his huge body calmed the storm within. “I’m sorry Kendrick ruined this for us. I could just throttle him!”

Ty’s muzzle nudged my shoulder in a show of support. His teeth were now covered, and his hackles had flattened. I flung my arms around his broad shoulders. As big as he was, I could barely get them halfway around him. I lingered there, wishing I could forget everything that had just happened. But I couldn’t. Kendrick’s hate-fueled words had begun pulsing through my mind.
You’ll be sorry.

Sudden understanding shook me to my core. I understood without any uncertainty exactly what his threat had meant. My stomach lurched with drowning dread as I shot to my feet. “Shit, shit, shit!” Ty pawed my hand in question. “What he said. He’s going to tell my mom. I have to try and stop him!”

Ty stretched on his limbs, ready to take chase. I stilled him with raised palms. “No. Ty, please, it will only make things worse. I have to do this on my own.”

With one last panicked glance, I took off after Kendrick, following his trail back through the dense scrub. The sun had long faded, and a fresh blanket of light-falling snow caught my face and hair as I sped on. The dread in my twisted stomach grew with every leap and bound. I wouldn’t make it.

I exploded through the front doors of the house. “Kendrick!” I screamed, making for the stairs. It was way too early for Mom to have left for work, though there was a slim possibility that she could be out shopping with some of her socialite friends. “KENDRICK!”

“We’re in here, Amelia.” My mom’s irate voice flowed through the archway to the kitchen. “And I need to speak with you, now.”

Fear-fed adrenaline pumped through my body. I’m too late. Hurt from Kendrick’s betrayal choked up my throat. I wished the ground beneath my feet would crack and open, swallowing me whole. Any diversion to keep me from having to face the onslaught, the questions, and the punishment to come would do. But wishing couldn’t help me now. I swallowed my fear and dragged my feet into the room.

Mom stood behind the island in the center of the kitchen. Her blouse quivered over her shaking chest while she drummed her French-tipped nails against the limestone counter. Her eyes were frozen on me as I entered. Kendrick was standing to the side, body motionless and eyes strained.

Mom’s impetuous tone struck fear through my heart. “Amelia Athobry-Lamont, do you have something you would like to tell me?”

I glared at Kendrick. “What’d you tell her?”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and turned his head away. His lips tightened into a straight line.

“Kendrick, how could you?” I shouted, tears beginning to well up my eyes. “I trusted you!”

“Leave Kendrick out of this,” Mom demanded, pointing a thin finger at me. “
You
are the one who’s been lying to me for weeks.”

Defeat clouded my emotions. I’d lied to everyone, and brought all of this on myself. My chest constricted and my boiling anger began to subside. I looked up apologetically. “Mom, I didn’t want to keep this from you. But I knew you would over-react like this.”

“How did you expect me to react?” Losing her control, Mom’s hands clenched into fists and belted down against the bench-top. The force sent hairline fractures straight through the limestone. “When you’re seeing that…that filthy mongrel?”

D éjà vu slammed into my chest like a ton of bricks, striking the wind from my lungs. My eyes flickered to the stacked, dirty plates and blood-tinged glasses collecting beside the sink. I’ve been here before. I’ve seen this play out. Still, an uncontrollable fury at her insult of Ty ignited within me. “Don’t speak about Ty like that,” I hissed mechanically. “You know nothing of what he is.”

Mom shook her head causing her hair to fall over her face. Still I couldn’t miss the glimmer of guilt in her eyes. “You knew,” I accused, freezing her in motion. “You knew werewolves existed. Why didn’t you tell us?”

Mom folded her arms over her chest. “What I have or have not told you and your brother is my prerogative, Amelia. I have sacrificed more than you know to give you both as normal an upbringing as possible.” Sorrow colored her eyes. “Without your father, I have done the best I could.” She placed her hands on her waist. Her nails dug into her blouse, but her face remained soft. “Amelia, you must understand that this cannot continue. Caius
will never
allow it.”

I threw my arms onto the bench-top in desperation, clutching my hands together. “Why do you need to tell him? Mom, please. He doesn’t have to know!”

Mom shook her head almost regrettably. “I cannot keep this from your uncle. He is the only family we have, and he’s always looked out for our best interests. In his position
he
will know how to handle this.” She stepped around the island, about to lay a hand over my shoulder when she paused. Her eyes scoured my scarred flesh.

I cursed myself for not being more careful. How could I have run into the house without even the thought of a plan? Or even the sense to cover up the evidence?

“Amelia.” Mom sighed and covered the scars with her hand. “Sweetheart, you know this must end. It is not safe for you to associate with one of theirs.”

I threw my hands in the air violently, batting my mom’s arm away. “Not safe? That’s a load of prejudicial bullshit. You don’t even know him. And I won’t stay away from him. You can’t make me!”

I stormed off, glaring at Kendrick as I flew up stairs to my room. Every fiber within me screamed for me to flee, to seek out Ty. But I couldn’t. My immature secret-keeping had created this mess I was in. Acting like a child now would only make things worse. Instead, I snatched my iPhone from the back pocket of my jeans and tore off the Three Days Grace cover. Being from Kendrick, it reminded me of him. I let it fall form my hand then smashed it to pieces with the heel of my Vans. Then I stomped to the window ledge and dialed Ty’s number.