Blood Bound [Book Two, Lady and the Wolf] (EDITING)

Chapter One: Change

Van watched as he walked away, heading towards the church that rested west of the large graveyard.

Van's lips turned into a small smile. The kindness humans showed constantly surprised him.

It was time he left as well. He had come back to America to take care of some personal business regarding his company, and now that it was settled, it was time to head back home.

Home – no, not his home, just the place where he served Konstantin's debt. That was it.

*******

"She's going to break her neck!" Emma shrieked as she watched in horror as her daughter neared the top of the gigantic tree. The trees that grew in most of the forests in Russia were larger than even some buildings, making it a lethal drop to the ground below. "What exactly are you teaching her, Nikolai?!"

Nikolai stood at the base of the tree, arms folded and watching Aira carefully. "Don't worry, she falls, I catch," he answered the irate human. "Maybe," he added as an afterthought.

This just made Emma more furious. "Go up and get her!" she demanded.

Emma was two screams away from being tied and gagged by the wolf next to her. "Keep shouting, woman, and I'll make you climb the tree next," he muttered in Russian, glaring at her.

Emma, although not fluent in Russian, caught the gist of his threat and gasped, "Why on earth is she even doing this? You're supposed to be teaching her how to protect herself!"

Although she didn't like the idea of Aira learning how to fight, Drake and Van had insisted she learn to protect herself. After all, they weren't in the human world anymore. They were in a world where danger could strike without warning.

Nikolai held up one finger in front of Emma's face. "Problem – fear. Fear is death. Fear of falling is training how to control fear itself. She freezes when in danger."

Now he was just making stuff up, she was sure of it. Emma frowned, continuing her argument that Aira was going to kill herself, while Nikolai tried to control the urge to tie her to the trunk of the tree until he was done.

Aira had finally reached the thickest branch of the tree when she noticed her mother down below. The poor woman looked as if she were moments away from a coronary.

At first, it had been frightening when she started to climb. She had fallen twice, but Nikolai had caught her. The higher she got, the further away the real world below became.

Aira finally took a good look at the view as she situated herself on the branch, holding on tightly to the trunk of the tree that had thinned out considerably. She stifled a gasp as the wind jolted her, nearly blowing her off.

But it was worth it, the view was stunning. She could see miles upon miles of untouched terrain ahead of her. Miles of beauty that only few would get to see in this sort of manner.

Smiling to herself, her thoughts turned back to that night over a year ago. The night she had thrown every bit of self-control out the window and kissed Van. For days after she had wondered if it were just a dream. Everything went back to the way it was. Van treated her no differently, although he was somewhat kinder – not that he had been cruel before.

So much has changed since then. She had started college, and her nineteenth birthday was just around the corner. She had quite a few human friends to speak of and, for the first time in her life, she enjoyed school. Van had gone out of his way to enrol her into an English-speaking college, where army brats, rich kids, and students studying abroad attended.

For the first time in a long time, she could truly say she was happy, even if Lillya and Innochka still gave her a hard time anytime they encountered her.

Aira supposed Lillya had calmed down somewhat with being pregnant and all. It was still hard to believe that Aiden was going to be a father to not one, but two babies.

Or pups, as everyone calls them, she thought, laughing. No matter how hard she tried she just could not call her niece's and or nephew's pups. Even if they were shifter wolves, they weren't dogs.

It still made her smile when Aiden would come to her asking what she thought of names he had picked out that day. Aiden was adamant he wanted something that depicted both his Russian and American heritage. Lillya was just as adamant she wanted to name them after her mother or father.

"As long as they're happy and healthy you can name them Dung Beatle and Drum for all I care," she had joked. The joke soon turned serious when Aiden stated he liked the name Drum... Lillya wasn't very happy with Aira after that.

Not that Lillya was ever happy to see or hear about the human, anyway.

And then there was still the issue of marriage – Aiden wanted to marry Lillya, but the she-wolf would have none of his 'silly human ideas and rituals'. It was true that shifters and lycans did not marry. They mated to seal their bond to one another. Marriage was just useless to them.

A car suddenly caught her eye as it drove hastily up the drive and passed the many finished houses. Excitement grew in Aira's stomach as she realized Van had returned from America. She hadn't realized that today was the day he was returning.

However, something seemed wrong as Ivan drove faster than he normally would. Coming to an abrupt halt, she watched as Ivan got out of the car and ran to the back. As he opened the door, she watched with fright as Van staggered out, looking tired and sickly.

And then, as if gravity was against him, he abruptly collapsed.

Aira looked down, her heart hammering as she called out, "Nikolai!"

The red-headed wolf looked up at her, tearing his eyes from Van, and nodded. Aira jumped from the branch, Nikolai grunting as he caught her, struggling not to fall back. Aira ran to Van just as her father exited the main house, his face stern and void of the panic she knew he must have been feeling.

Emma and Nikolai came up behind Aira but kept their distance.

"Van?" she whispered, gently touching his face. He was incredibly pale.

His eyes opened for a moment as he grabbed her hand to stop her from touching his face. His eyes flashed briefly as he looked at her before Aira saw them roll into the back of his head once more.

"Ivan, help me get him inside," Drake snapped, taking one arm while Ivan moved to grab the other, both lifting him.

She watched as her father and Ivan carried Van inside, one arm over each of their shoulders. Nikolai quickly followed.

Emma put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"He-he's-" she stuttered, looking into her mother's blue eyes, "-what's going on?"

Emma shook her head, just as stunned. Aira looked around, noticing the shifters around them looking on in stunned silence. She knew lycans didn't get sick.

She moved quickly towards the main house, following her father and Van, her heart still hammering in her chest.