Page 24 of Blood Bonds
I don’t really want it fixed. I want them all naked and writhing here with me, my blood covering us all and marking them; to stop playing these childish, fearful games.
His head tips back a little as his breathing deepens, his chest expanding as he reacts to my lust, and this is exactly what I want.
The Dark One steps forward past the other two without hesitation and offers me a hand, his own eyes staying the deep blue color as he keeps his own bond under control.
I want to break it.
I want to break him open and pry my Bond out of his careful casing, get the power that belongs to me unleashed and revel in our shared Bond.
He reads me a little too well and speaks slowly, measuring every word as he lets it out of his mouth, “Let us get you home and then you can have whatever you want. Whatever you need, whatever whim you have, it’s all yours. You’ll die if we don’t get the bleeding under control soon.”
I curse the useless meat casing I’m trapped in, and then take his hand. I let him move me over to the desk and lift me gently onto it to assess the damage and make adjustments to the tourniquet.
The Shifter comes back over and, hesitating just a little, he takes my other hand, threading our fingers together like he’s trying to… comfort me. I won’t break it to him that I do not need comfort.
I need to complete my Bonds and destroyeverything.
My Bonded clicks his tongue at me and murmurs, “And I’d wager that’s the exact reason Oli doesn’t want to. Maybe you should calm down with the murder plans, and then you might just get what you want.”
I give him a look, but he just shrugs back at me. Infuriating. The Shifter glances back at him with a confused look, but I move my focus back on the Dark One. His fingers are firm and sure as he looks at the mess my leg is in, his body shielding the other two from the sight of it. When he notices me watching him, he murmurs, “We need to get you to a Healer. The cuts are close to the artery, and you’ve been walking on it too much. Let one of us carry you to a Transporter, and we can get you to someone.”
I cock my head at him and sigh. “The Fire girl’s Bonded. No one else.”
The Dark One nods, reaching out to stroke a hand down my cheek. “We’ll take you to Kieran, and he’ll get you to Felix. We’re only trusting our inner circle right now. I’ll get you out to him now.”
I want him, but I need strength right now and it flows through my Bonded and into me easier, thanks to our connection, so I say, “No. I want him.”
The Dark One nods without hesitation, stepping back, and my Bonded steps in to lift me up into his arms. He’s careful about the wound, one arm cradling my thigh protectively to his side, and he tucks my chest into his closely.
There are far too many layers of clothing between us for the power shift I need, but we’re moving out of the tent before I can demand he strip down and give me what I need.
The moment we’re out in the open, there are too many eyes on us.
The survivors and the cavalry alike, they all stare as we move through the camp. It’s obvious why we're having to step over dozens of bodies to pick our way back over to the Transporter, but all of it is irrelevant to me. I don’t care about their thoughts on what I’ve done here, but from the shuttered look on my Bonds’ faces, they do.
I feel like I should point out that I’m a merciful god and I only kill those who torture, maim, and murder for their own nefarious gains. The little beings living quietly mean nothing to me.
“Jesus fucking Christ, be glad none of you can hear what’s happening in her head right now. A lot more shit about our Bond and her fear ofthisis making sense,” my Bonded says, and I fight the urge to reach into his chest and pull his heart out.
“You wouldn’t. You need me and we both know it.”
Still. It would be fun to do.
When we get to the edges of the tents and the small clearing, we find the Transporter waiting there for us with the other Dark One, thedamagedone.
He doesn’t react to our arrival, barely looks my way, but the Transporter fumbles over himself in his relief. “Oli! Thank God! I thought—Jesus, Gryph, what happened to her?”
“She needs to get out of here, and now isn’t a great time to talk to her.”
“Oli isn’t really in right now, and her bond is trying to plan how to take over the world, so maybe give her a minute,” the Shifter says with a smirk, cocky and confident now that he knows what’s going on.
I turn my face against my Bonded’s chest to meet the Transporter’s eye, acknowledging that his words have pulled me out of the girl and wrought this destruction, and he looks back at me with such relief, like he really was sitting here with bated breath, waiting for them to find me.
I decide to keep him alive. The Fire girl, her Bonded, and this one. Maybe the mouthy Techno boy, maybe. But I’d choose them to die last, right before my Bonds and I, if it were to come down to that.
“I’ll be sure to let Sage know that too, Bonded.”
I give him a withering glare that does nothing to remove the smirk on his lips. “Get out of my head, nosy Bonded, or maybe I’ll rethink my plans of tearing your heart out.”