Page 24 of Bonded By Blood (Sweetblood #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

D om leaned against the cabin’s deck rail, the cup of tea now lukewarm in his hand, and stared into the darkness.

“My brother, Alfonso.” A bitter taste filled his mouth. He could hardly stand to form that name on his tongue, but the need to open up to Mackenzie was something he couldn’t fight any longer. “He used to date a sweetblood woman. He ended up draining her dry one night and left her for dead. I discovered the body and had to cover up the whole goddamn thing from the human authorities. It was difficult—her family was very influential. The Agency tried to locate Alfonso, but he was never caught.”

“Were they bonded like we are?”

“I don’t know anyone who is like us,” he replied.

“Have you talked with him about what happened?”

He scoffed. “No. A long time ago, he betrayed our parents to Pavlos and joined the Alliance. Or maybe it was the other way around. In any event, all he cared about was himself and getting his hands on more Sweet.”

Mackenzie set his cup on the table behind them and took his hand. “So why do you blame yourself for your parents’ deaths?”

“I knew about the threat, but I left them unprotected anyway.” Her calm energies soothed him and the familiar angry knots that balled up in his shoulders whenever he thought about his family didn’t feel quite so solid.

“You said your father was on the Council. How did he not know about the threat?”

“He actually knew about it before I told him. All Council families were in danger, and I urged him to take Mother to London, far away from Madrid, until we got a handle on things there.”

Mackenzie pursed her lips, lost in thought for a moment. “Did you have extra knowledge that you didn’t act on?”

“No.”

“Did your father not believe the threat was real?”

“He knew it was real, but I’m not sure he thought it was imminent. He planned to take my mother to Casa en Las Colinas, our family’s estate overlooking the Cantabrian Sea, but Alfonso brought Pavlos the night before they were to leave.”

She gasped. “Your brother?”

“He waited out in the coach while Pavlos, the Darkblood Overlord, slaughtered our parents. The guards only let the coach through the gates because my brother was inside.”

Tired from the late night, Mackenzie awoke midmorning, wrapped in the protective cocoon of Dom’s arms. During the night, she’d awakened occasionally to find him caressing or lightly kissing her hair. She had hoped to roll over just once and hear the sound of deep, sleep-induced breathing, but she never did.

“What’s bothering you?” Her hand ran absently over his chest.

“Darkblood concerns. Nothing for you to worry about, but we do need to go soon.”

She stiffened. “Didn’t you find that other guy?”

“Lily did. She took care of him.”

Her muscles loosened again, and she nestled deeper into his arms. “Then what’s wrong?”

“We’ve uncovered a new Darkblood plot.”

She propped herself up on one elbow to find him staring at the ceiling, his thoughts clearly focused elsewhere. “Do we need to get going so you can get back to work?”

“We’re waiting for other Guardian teams to arrive later this afternoon.”

That explained the faraway look, but why was she picking up his reluctance to say more? Did it somehow involve her? Was that it? She couldn’t imagine how things could get any worse than having two vampires hunt and almost kill her. But those two were gone. Dead. So why was he worried?

And then the realization hit her. Because the threat wasn’t gone after all.

“Tell me, Dom,” she said. “I deserve to know.”

The small muscle at the base of his jaw tensed. “I suppose it’s only fair you know, but I don’t want to frighten you further.”

“Well, if it helps, I’ve never been more un-frightened—is that even a word?—than I am when I’m with you.” She felt him relax, sensed some of the tension seep from his shoulders. “Tell me,” she repeated.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “We’ve discovered the Darkblood Alliance has created a genetic breeding facility, and they’re searching for sweetblooded humans to be their test subjects.”

“A breeding facility? Why?”

“To harvest sweetblood. They want to create a group of selectively bred humans to produce unlimited supplies of the blood. More Sweet means more power.”

Humans as breeding stock? Like animals? The...the babies?

Her legs were rubber bands as she jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Dom was there, his strong arms supporting her as if she were a small, sick child. He held her hair away from her face, gently stroking her back as she retched. When she was finished, he gave her damp cloth and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m here, love. You’re safe with me. You’re okay.”

“It’s just...so...awful.” She could barely wrap her mind round it. The cruelty was impossible to comprehend.

His shushing in her ear soothed the gnawing ache in her belly, and she melted into his embrace. She didn’t know how long it took to finally calm down, but he held her the whole time.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” she whispered as she pulled away. “I’m okay now. But you really must get back. Your work is out there—not here with me.”

He wanted to catch the next ferry, so she didn’t have time for a shower. After brushing her teeth and splashing her face with water, she pulled on some of the clothes Shirl had brought for her. Black leggings and a Washington State University Cougars sweatshirt. Great. As a Husky, it killed her to put it on, but her only other set of clothes was damp and caked with sand from clam digging.

When she exited the bathroom, she heard the washing machine running. Dom had pulled the linens off the bed and started the laundry.

When they got to the main house, Shirl stood up from a flower bed where she’d been tending to the rose bushes. Taking one look at Dom, she said, “Chuck’s in the kitchen.”

“Wait here,” Dom told Mackenzie, and he disappeared inside.

“Told you he’d come back,” Shirl said to her. “To travel all this way in the bright sun...” She shook her head and whistled. “That man is uber-crazy about you.”

Before Mackenzie could respond, she heard footsteps on the porch behind her.

“Hello, Mackenzie,” Chuck said, giving her a brief nod. Dom was right beside him. This was the closest she’d come to the older vampire.

“Kenz, walk to the bottom of the steps,” Dom said. “Okay, now turn around a few times.”

“What for?” She felt like a ballerina as she twirled for them.

Dom kept himself between her and Chuck. “Good. Now slowly come up to the top step and stop.” His eyes were glued to the man as she complied. “Chuck?”

“I can tell, but it’s not as distinct,” he said, sniffing the air.

“Hmm. Interesting,” Dom said.

They murmured a few words she couldn’t hear, then Chuck laughed—guffawed, actually. As Dom turned around, he held his chin a bit higher, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

“Okay, what’s going on? Is this some sort of joke?” Both men laughed this time. “Guess so,” she muttered to Shirl.

The woman responded by rolling her eyes. “Men.”

“Thanks for everything,” Dom said to Chuck. “We’ll be in touch.”

Shirl grabbed Mackenzie in a bear hug, then led her to the car. “Everything will work out, honey. Just you wait and see. It’s like you’re the spark that lit Dom’s world on fire.” The woman gave Mackenzie one last squeeze and released her. “Nice sweatshirt, by the way. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks for everything, Shirl. But did you know I’m a Husky?”

“Yes, I did. Rawr.” She clawed the air with her fingernails, and it was her turn to laugh as Mackenzie climbed into the car.