Blood Bound- Book 1 of the Bonded Series- Complete

Chapter 29

“Leo! What’s going on in there?”

Leo didn’t dare take his eyes off of his bride. He watched her every move as she stood back up and spun around. “Alex, my bride and I are just having a little disagreement, that’s all.”

He saw her grab for the lamp on the end table and instinctively ducked when the blunt object came speeding towards his head. His options were quickly running low. He tried to talk her down, he tried to force her hand and neither of those tactics worked. His next option was to wear her to point of exhaustion- he just had to make sure he survived in the meantime. “Come on sweet, you can do better than that,” he taunted her.

“Leo! What the hell is going-“ Alex barged into the room and closed his mouth when he saw Shelby’s savage state. His eyes went to the human blood slave lying on the floor and the disaster area that she had made of the room. “She’s in blood lust?” he finally asked when he found his voice again.

“That would be an affirmative,” Leo drawled out sarcastically while dodging a large crystal vase. The sound of the glass shattering drew Alex’s attention.

“Can you hold her still?”

“Don’t you think I’ve tried that already?”

Alex furrowed his brow, undaunted by the hissing noises that Shelby was sending his way. “She’s just a newborn; you’re much older and much stronger. Why can’t you holder her?”

“She has a consecration necklace.”

”Why didn’t you tell me?”

“At the time I was too pissed off at you for what you put her through. It didn’t cross my mind.” Leo grunted when Shelby charged him, putting his ass back on the floor.

Alex frowned. A consecration necklace was powerful and one that was strong enough to overpower a vampire as old as Leo had to come from an original coven. That probably meant that Sabrina was involved. She was the head Mistress of all the witched. Alex smiled when he thought about the very beautiful Sabrina. He’s been trying for centuries to wed her but every time that he asks her, she refuses claiming that her duty is to her coven.

Letting out a small sigh, Alex turned back to Leo. “Can you hold her for five minutes? Long enough for me to feed her a few drops of my blood?”

Leo’s head snapped up so fast that the cracking sound it made reverberated on the wind. “Have you lost your mind?” he bellowed. “You’re a good friend of mine and I trust you but hell will have to freeze over before I let you feed my bride. That’s an intimacy that I will share with no vampire.”

Alex flashed in front of him. “Not like that you fool. A few drops of my elder blood will soothe the lust. She will calm down so that you can manage her.”

Leo stood up and snorted. “I’ve quickly learned that there is no managing Shelby, She is her own person.”

Alex grinned. “So she is a good match then.”

“In every way,” Leo agreed. “I can hold her for a minute but not much longer. You feed her from your wrist vampire, not by the vein in your neck or the vein above your heart. Just the wrist- are we clear?”

Leo’s eyes glinted dangerously. He was very serious about this.

“Crystal,” Alex remarked. “But you might want to duck again.”

Just as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Leo felt a sharp sting in his forehead. Glancing behind him, he saw the picture frame that his spitfire little bride just lobbed at him. “Damn it! Where did she get that arm?”

Alex chuckled and watched Leo’s bride. He was surely going to have his arms full with this one. “I’m waiting,” he reminded Leo.

Leo rubbed his temple and grumbled something that was inaudible. Without saying a word, Leo quickened his resolve and stalked towards his bride. He reached out for her but Shelby saw his intent and flashed away from him.

This time it was Leo’s growl that filled the room. “Sweetheart, that wasn’t a very nice thing of you to do to your husband.” His eyes narrowed and started to glow red. His beast finally came out. “I tried to do this the easy way but you’ve left me no choice.”

He stalked forward again and this time, he moved at the speed of light. He grappled with his bride and shackled her with his arms. Her slender, taught body squirmed in his arms and she fought his hold. “Now Alex! Now!” Leo strained against a fighting Shelby.

Alex was already one step ahead of him. He slit his wrist with one of his talon like nails and held it over Shelby’s mouth. She stubbornly closed her mouth, refusing his blood. “Come on child,” Alex coaxed. “open for me.”

Leo growled at the softness he heard in Alex’s tone. Shelby elbowed him hard in the gut. “For God sake Alex, open her mouth and feed her!”

He grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger, forcing her mouth to open. “I’m sorry little one, but it has to be done.” Alex held his wrist to her lips and turned is so that his dark blood flowed freely into her mouth. Leo pinched her nose giving her no choice but to swallow what was being forced into her.

After a good long minute had passed and Alex was sure she had enough, he took a step back and licked his own wrist. “Release her Leo. She should calming down now.”

Hesitantly, Leo let his arms slowly loosen around her. She was stiff in his lap but she wasn’t fighting him any longer. “Shelby?”

“I, I…” Shelby looked around her, confused as to what was happening. There was a strong metallic taste in her mouth and she didn’t know where she was. “Where am I?” she stuttered.

Alex stood in front of her. “You are at the Elders home. Welcome back child.” He smiled slightly and bowed his head to her.

“Welcome back? But where did I go?” She asked. She felt Leo’s arms come around her again and she soaked in his comforting embrace. She was suddenly so tired.

“You were in a state of blood lust my sweet.”

She turned her head so that she could see his face. “But I don’t understand. How did I go into this state of blood lust as you call it? Better yet, what is this blood lust you are referring to?”

“It’s a long story my love. All that matters now is that your back here with me. Your safe now.“

He turned her around in his lap, needing to see her beautiful face. He framed her cheeks with both of his hands and reveled in the silky smoothness of her skin. It was such a direct correlation to the hardened female he had fought with only moments earlier. Unable to resist and dipped his head to place a soft kiss against her lips. “Do you know how much I love you?”

“I …” she started and paused, rapidly blinking. Her eyes looked unfocused. “I feel funny,” she blurted. “Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean something’s not right love? Funny how?” Leo shot a glance over at Alex who looked as baffled as he did.

Shelby closed her eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s really weird-”

Leo was watching her one minute, holding her in his arms and listening to her talk to him and then in the next she was… gone. She just disappeared into thin air for no rhyme nor reason.

He looked over at Alex whose eyes had gone wide with surprise and then back to his empty arms.  Furious, he jumped up from the floor in one astounding bounce and frantically circled the room. “Shelby! Shelby!” he screamed out at the top of his lungs. “Where the hell are you woman?" Leo swung around and slammed his heavy fist through the wall. "Answer me Shelby?” he cried out gutturally.

Now in full blown panic mode, Leo went into a rage. He flipped the bed over and tossed the table across the room. He ripped the closet apart before coming back to the center of the room and falling helplessly to his knees. She was gone. He couldn't find his Shelby and when he tried to lock onto her mind, it was like he was hitting a brick wall.

He turned to his friend, feeling broken and defeated. For the first time in over a century he felt a strange wetness trail down the side of his cheek. “Where is she Alex? Where did she go?”