Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Read online

  We had to find the room with only one vampire. Ileana would never rest with other vampires around her. Did I know that for sure? I had no idea why I believed that but knowing Ileana, she had a throne somewhere. Alder would be nearby, just not in the same room.

  Our party moved down the hall and now I was keenly aware that we were cradled in the middle of five leeches of unknown origin. What if there was more than one ancient here?

  Without warning, Vanessa reached across me, grabbed Xany's arm and tilted her crossbow toward the ceiling. The spring released, sending the wooden arrow into the shadows above. Vanessa grabbed me backward as something dropped from the ceiling, hitting the floor with a bone-crunching clatter. Skeletal remains scattered around our feet, Xany's arrow jutting from between two rib bones. She ripped it out and reloaded her bow. Vanessa saved us from an aerial attack but we were now exposed. I couldn't tell if the vampires awoke but I was sure the Changers could.

  Break, go, Caden commanded as he led Mal, Vanessa, Xany and myself toward the room with two leeches. Hank took the others to the left. As Caden opened the unlocked door, we were met with an onslaught of high-pitched hissing. Xany fired and Mal lunged. Vanessa shoved me behind her and swiped at something ahead. A scream and splatter told me she made contact. Light flooded the room when Mal ripped the heavy curtains from the window. I squinted and raised my gun now that I could see. A rotting corpse lay at Vanessa's feet, its head still rolling across the floor. Mal stomped it into a flattened blob. Caden had the second leech by the neck, both of its arms torn away. She kicked and screamed as the sun burned her skin. I recognized her as Raven. Caden held her out in front of him and Xany took the shot. Silence met the vampire the instant the arrow pierced her heart. Xany's shot was perfect. The leech crumbled to bones in Caden's hands.

  "She's coming," Caden said, his voice deep in his mid-shift form. He led us out of the room to where the others were trying to gain control of the remaining leech in the hall. This vampire moved quickly, and battled June in a hand-to-hand duel. Her mate and Hank fought for a clear shot. Xany took a distant stance, aiming for the male leech as he tossed fast blows in June's direction. She dodged, ducked, and made for a grapple around his middle.

  "I knew you'd return to me," Ileana's voice called to me from down the hall. Her eyes flashed in my direction. No one else seemed to hear her. "You've brought me what I've asked. A childe with skin as copper as yours. She will make a fine vampire."

  "Fuck you." I turned in the direction of the voice and shot blindly.

  No one else seemed to follow me until I fired. Vanessa's blurred white appeared beside me and growls filled the hall. June dropped the corpse of the vampire she dueled to the floor. It shriveled into what looked like a giant mummified rodent. I kept my gaze from Ileana but fired another round. I heard her grunt but it didn't stop her. All four of the crossbows now aimed in her direction. Somehow, Ileana appeared in front of us, her fluffy boots stopped just beside the line of daylight that streamed in from the bedroom.

  "You ruined my blouse, Doctor Twofeathers. That's going to cost you," her voice seemed to sigh. The hole in her shirt hung just above her heart. I had hit my target but it didn't seem to stop her.

  Arrows sliced the air around me, thwacking into her chest with a velocity that sent her backward. She stumbled once and caught herself. "Now this is just damn annoying. Do you know how many humans I'm going to have to drain to fix these holes?" She yanked two of the arrows out and dropped them on the floor. "At least five and a half."

  My heart slammed in my ears as the bonds inside me raged. They had been still all this time, calm with focus and determination. With danger so close and our attack a failure, fear pulsed through them. Caden pulled Xany backward as he and Hank took position in front of us. Ileana ignored them all, addressing only me.

  "Doctor Twofeathers, your mutts have soiled my carpet. Could you kindly leave now? You won't find what you're looking for here." Ileana pulled the final arrow from her chest. "You're a fine shot, though, Doctor."

  The Changers growled around me, Vanessa gripped my shoulder, her claws digging in slightly. Barron lunged over the group and tore off toward Ileana. Her image shuddered for a moment as it had done in the ambulance when she got in my face. Barron landed where Ileana once stood. She was now a foot to his right. In beast form, he punched and snapped at her but she moved too quickly for him. Not far, however, only a foot or so in either direction. Barron's attacks seemed in slow motion compared to Ileana.

  Unload! Caden's command pulsed through me and everyone fired at once. Ileana took the hits, jerking left and right as the ammunition riddled her body. She laughed through it and snatched one of the arrows out of the air. At that moment, all movement ceased. Ileana's blood splattered on the floor. Crimson streaks trickled down her furry white boots to pool around her feet. Barron eventually, and smartly, backed away.

  Ileana never once fought back.

  Retreat. Now. This time Hank's voice rang through me like nails on a chalkboard. Vanessa grabbed me around the middle.

  "See you soon, Shawnee." My name slithered from her lips and, even as Vanessa began bending us back home, I emptied my clip in Ileana's direction.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  "That bitch!"

  "What did she mean we wouldn't find what we were looking for?"

  "How can a leech still be standing after all that?"

  "Why did she only address Shawnee?"

  "This whole fucking plan backfired."

  "No it didn't. We killed five of her fledglings."

  "She was our target!"

  "We need to rethink this."

  "We'll never get back in there now. It was our only chance!"

  "Hey," Imogene's voice pierced the crazed werewolves. "Hey!" She shouted over the noise. "There are cubs sleeping in this house. Get a hold of yourselves."

  "Sorry, sorry." Hank raised his hands and the group quieted.

  Vanessa's hold on me remained tight and nearly desperate. I stroked her arms. The soft short fur stayed for a while. In the light of the kitchen, her white and black feline ears poked through her hair. She was the only Changer that I had ever encountered who stuck around in mid-transformation for extended periods. With her nose shortened and whiskers poking out around it, her face appeared like a canvas of calligraphy. The swirls of her black stripes over the snowy-white had me staring. She peered down at me, her eyes a sharp yellow. In this form, she looked like a comic book drawing. Her dress melded over her figure but her pregnant belly was nonexistent.

  "I'm okay, baby," I whispered. "You can let me go." She hadn't said a word since the fight but she loosened her grip only slightly. Vanessa's body shrunk behind me until she returned to her normal human form, her rounded belly pressed against my side.

  Adia appeared by the front door at the same time my mother entered from the hall. June was the first to address Adia.

  "Now what are we supposed to do? We tore her up. Staking obviously isn't her weakness," she spat.

  "You are a rude purple-haired person." Adia frowned at June and turned her attention to Hank. "What went right?"

  "Er… well, we infiltrated her house on target, took out a handful of fledglin's," Hank said. His brows lifted, smoothing out his forehead as he stared at Adia.

  "Yeah. Other than that ninja one, they were useless," Henry chimed in.

  "Those arrows should've ripped her heart to shreds," Xany said, a pout lingering on her lips. Caden rubbed her shoulder, a smirk tugging the corner of his mouth.

  Mal stayed quiet along with Vanessa. They didn't seem to be mind-talking but I couldn't help wondering what had their tongues.

  "Maybe she's defected." Adia looked at my mother.

  "It is possible. Her heart may be opposite," Mom said, moving in beside me and carefully prying the gun from my hand.

  "Sorry, I didn't realize…"

  "I know, Dodi." She nodded and placed it in the holster at my hip. I smiled at her and she kissed my cheek.


  "Between all the arrows and bullets, no matter where her heart was it should have been hit. A few more blows and she would have a hole in her middle or something." Barron sounded peeved.

  "None of this makes any sense," Mal finally spoke. "Barron's right. That leech looked like an overused target. Something is off."

  "What the hell do we do now?" June asked. "We're all targets for her wrath now. Not just Shawnee."

  "Shawnee's still the main target. You saw how she ignored all of us." Henry's words had my stomach twisting.

  "There's gotta be more to this. I agree with Mal." Xany's nodded toward her brother.

  "That's a first," Mal teased.

  "Shut it, bub."

  While I listened to the others, the bonds inside me began to cool. Suspicion niggled at the back of my mind, settling beside the mate bond that belonged to Vanessa. When I focused on our connection, her worry pulsed through me like a familiar foe. Clarity followed the nervousness and I looked at her. She met my gaze as if she'd been expecting me.

  "Tell them what you're thinking, baby. I know you have something to say." I slipped my hand into hers and she squeezed. Relief pushed back through our bond.

  "Yeah, go on, Ness." Xany hopped up sitting on the kitchen table, the crossbow draped across her lap.

  "It's the same as before," Vanessa said, which offered us absolutely nothing. The wolves stared at her, awaiting more.

  "What's the same?" I asked before anyone else could. June was the last person I wanted questioning Vanessa, so I had to beat her to it.

  "As when you were taken last." Vanessa's emerald eyes gleamed as she spoke directly to me, desperation flooded our connection. With all eyes on her, discomfort fueled her poor speech. In all my years knowing her, I hadn't realized how much emotions stunted her language. At least not this deeply.

  "The gathering is the same, the planning. I understand that. What about Ileana is the same?" I stroked her arms as we talked. Mal stood beside us. His eyes searched Vanessa's expression. He startled, his brows flicking upward and a surge of excitement shot through him into me.

  "Magic. You sensed magic, didn't you?" Mal asked.

  Vanessa responded immediately, her postured loosened and she nodded to him. "The leech had…" She looked between us. "Borrowed magic. It was old and…" She glanced at Xany. "Gold."

  "And fairy magic is pink and wolf magic is brown, I remember." Xany giggled softly.

  "Leech magic is gold?" I asked.

  "No. Ileana's borrowed magic is gold." Vanessa grew quiet as the Sept began talking amongst themselves.

  "Vampires steal magic all the time. We should've considered this," June's voice rumbled as she paced. Her mate watched her, his silent, passive nature was unnerving at times.

  "What kind of magic is gold?" Xany asked, tilting her head, her gaze remained on Vanessa.

  "Voodoo," answered Vanessa.

  My mother offered an approving nod as Adia crouched beside the sofa. She spoke under her breath to nothing in front of her. Whatever she could see wasn't much taller than three feet high.

  "Voodoo?" Xany's mouth hung open. "That really exists?"

  "Sitting in a room full of werecreatures, talking to a teenage Shaman after fighting a nest of vampires, and you ask if voodoo really exists?" June gawked at Xany. "Everything exists, Xany. Everything. You're ignorant if you think otherwise."

  "Hey," I said, frowning at June. "I've had just about enough of your obnoxious mouth for one lifetime. Could you please refrain from insulting people in my house?"

  Vanessa snickered, Mal snorted, and Caden chuckled all at the same time. Xany beamed at me, wide-eyed with a bright smile. Hank fought a grin while June glared at me and resolved to ignore me for the next several minutes.

  "We'll need a piece of her." Adia stood up and rejoined the group.

  "Of who?" Caden asked.

  "The vampire called Ileana. Dia say we need a piece of her. Like the ones I got." She patted one of the pouches at her hip.

  "It's not like we can walk up to her and tear out her tongue or something," Barron didn't sound amused by the Shaman.

  "Nope. You'll have to be more clever than that," said Adia.

  "How are we supposed to do that? We've missed our chance. She'll gather fifty leeches in her house before we could bend in safely again," Henry said.

  I liked the fact that the youngest wolf of the group had a lot to say tonight. He had the makings of a leader just like his father.

  "All of this will take some thinkin'." Hank stepped in front of the group. "An' all of us are stressed and hungry. Let us rest and eat, then meet at Caden's again in the morning."

  "All of your homes are protected with repellents. Encourage your families to remain at home during the dark hours," Mom spoke up and Barron's shoulders relaxed.

  "Thank you, Miss Ana." Hank nodded and escorted the wolves who didn't leave via bending, to the door. "Check in every two hours."

  ***

  "Come eat, NeeNee." Xany waved me over to the table as I walked down the hall.

  "There's not much hot water left," I said, joining the rest of the pack at the table.

  "It's all right. TB and I can wait." Xany set a plate full of fried shrimp and chips in front of me as I helped myself to Mal's lap. Tension left him the moment his hands met my thighs.

  "Vanessa's enjoying the fish-themed meal, in case anyone was wondering," I said, giving Vanessa a cheeky smile. She flicked my knee and grinned.

  "That's no secret at all," said Mal as I offered him a shrimp. He took it then nudged my cheek with his forehead. I stroked his damp hair and his breath puffed softly against my neck. Our bond fluttered between us, dragging me into his fatigue. "Tired, love?"

  "Not yet. We need to have a talk," I said.

  "Who?" Xany asked.

  "Me and my mates."

  "Now?" Mal leaned back to look at me again.

  "Yeah, now." I looked between them. Vanessa looked a bit green as her gaze flickered from me to Mal then back again. I stood from his lap. "Let's go in the clinic."

  "Can't you talk here?" Xany asked, a hint of whine in her voice.

  "Sorry, Xee."

  Mal and Vanessa followed me into the clinic, neither one of them spoke. I perched on the desk as the two of them took position in front of me, images of a jury trial flashed through my mind.

  "Is something wrong?" Vanessa asked, her bond stood out strong in her worry.

  "No, not wrong. But I wanted to let you both know that I heard what Mal said to you." I turned my attention to Mal. "Before we bended into Ileana's, I heard you tell Vanessa that I was her responsibility." My mates glanced at each other before looking back at me. I spoke before they could. "It's happened once before, or at least I think it was once. I think our bonds can leak some of your telepathy, Mal."

  "I didn't mean for you to hear that," he admitted.

  "I know. That's why we're here."

  "Are you mad?" Vanessa asked as she picked at her fingernails.

  "I'm not mad but I am concerned." I looked between them. "The worry you two harbor for me is crippling at times. Not for me, but for both of you. I can feel it. Mal…" He met my gaze. "Making Vanessa responsible for me because you think you aren't going to be able to control yourself isn't okay, and Vanessa, we've already been through this, and I know you understand what I'm saying. You were so afraid to tell me that you were pregnant, like it was the end of the world. End of us." I sighed, struggling to find my point. I didn't want to hurt or upset them but there were things I needed to say. "Ultimately, I am the only person who can be responsible for me. I'm an adult and it's my job to take care of myself now, Vanessa. You've done it for so long, and I know you struggle with trusting me with myself. And Mal, you can't protect me from bad things happening in the future, no matter how many of my enemies you hunt down. I love you both so much and I know you're equally as scared to lose me as I am to lose either of you. We can't move forward together if we're constantly living in fear. This is s
omething I learned a long time ago. All right?" I looked between them.

  Mal's eyes twinkled with the reflection from the window behind me. A light smile played on his lips as if he was happy to hear my babbling. The tip of Vanessa's nose reddened from the tears she fought back. Any mention of this sort of thing usually overwhelmed her, her response didn't surprise me. "I think I've proven that I'm not going to die that easily. Neither are you two."

  "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time," said Mal with an airy tone to his voice.

  "Well… it needed saying."

  "It's all true," he said. "We're the same way, except you're not as consumed by it."

  "You needn't be either." I offered him a soft smile, which he returned. "I know saying it isn't going to change much but it needed to be said. Neither of you is responsible for me. I am."

  "We're still going to worry," Vanessa said, strained from the effort.

  "We're all going to worry."

  ***

  "What are you listening to?" I asked Vanessa, my voice cracked from the haze of the sleep I had left. With her arm around me, I caught her staring heavily at the ceiling while she listened to something, her expression hinted with distance.

  "They're talking in the kitchen." She drew her gaze to me, her lips pursed.

  "Who?"

  "Everyone and the Shaman." She stroked my hair. "Gavin's here, too."

  "Your mom hasn't been by in a while." I yawned and snuggled closer to her. Light snow fell past the window, canvassing the old snow in a fresh white blanket.

  "She's busy taking care of Erin and helping Jarleth rebuild the Pride." The faraway gleam remained in her gaze. I couldn't help but wonder what had her so distant.

  "Are you sure you're not avoiding her?"

  "No."

  "No you're not or no you're not sure?"

  "I'm not sure."

  "Well maybe we should find out if you are." I stifled a small laugh and Vanessa looked at me again, her brows flicked upward as if she'd just noticed me. "What are they saying?"

  "I don't like their plan."