Page 52 of Claim of Blood (Blood Bound #1)
Felix’s eyes went wide, his body swaying toward Lander. Adam’s brows rose slightly as he caught the subtle shift in both their scents. Interesting.
Lander took a step back, something dangerous flickering in his expression. “Was loyalty to Leo the only reason you came here?”
The hunter’s response came as if pulled from a trance, his gaze locked on Lander’s face. “Yes.”
“Why such loyalty?”
“He kept my secrets. And...” Felix’s voice took on a dreamlike quality. “I pretty much hate everyone else. Leo was the only one ever kind to me, even though I was a bastard.”
For a moment, Leo looked confused, as if he’d heard the insult but not the implication. Then understanding dawned across his features. “What?!”
Felix blinked, the spell broken as Lander retreated.
“Oh. Did you not...?” He shrugged, the gesture almost painfully casual.
“My mother, Janice, had an affair. I’m the product.
Technically not a Rothenburg.” His lips quirked in what might have been meant as a smile.
“Did you really not know? Everyone knows. It’s why I’m nearly a decade younger than my siblings.
Father nearly beat Mother to death during the pregnancy. ”
Adam felt Leo’s shock ripple through the air as his claim crossed the space between them in three strides, wrapping his arms around Felix. The hunter stood frozen, like a particularly confused tree.
Lander sighed deeply. “You’re supposed to hug him back.”
“Oh! Right.” Felix’s arms came up awkwardly, as if he was following instructions from a manual he’d only skimmed.
Adam watched the exchange with growing fascination—this gangly hunter who’d tracked his cousin out of genuine concern, who spoke of supernatural theory with more enthusiasm than fear. And the way he’d reacted to Lander... that would be worth watching.
Felix pulled back, his attention caught on Leo’s borrowed clothes. “Why are you wearing... is that a dress shirt? And sweatpants?” A pause as his gaze dropped. “And no shoes?”
Leo’s laugh, the first genuine one since Felix’s revelations about their family, carried a warmth that echoed through the room. “That’s a long story. But the short version is, I’m Adam’s claim.”
The transformation of Felix’s expression was almost comical, academic fervor igniting behind those dark eyes.
“Blood compatible?” His whole body seemed to vibrate with barely contained excitement.
“How compatible? Are we talking basic resonance or full harmonic alignment? The implications for supernatural bonding theory alone...” His hands patted uselessly at his tactical vest. “I wish I had my notebooks. The energetic signatures must be fascinating-”
Adam fought back a smile. The terminology was ridiculous—in all his centuries, no one had properly categorized blood compatibility, let alone developed scientific language around it.
Felix was clearly inventing terms as he went along, trying to quantify something as indefinable as why certain music brought tears to your eyes or why the scent of rain could trigger memories.
“I have no idea what any of that means,” Leo cut in with fond exasperation. “But we have a strong compatibility. A perfect one.”
“Harmonic...” Felix sighed the word like a prayer, his eyes going distant and dreamy.
Adam noticed how Lander shifted uncomfortably beside them, and how Felix’s attention snapped to the movement like a compass finding true north.
The hunter’s pulse quickened, Adam could hear it from across the room, and there was that telltale shift in scent, something sweet and magnetic that made Lander’s nostrils flare before he caught himself.
Felix swayed almost imperceptibly toward Lander, pupils dilating despite the bright parlor lighting.
Adam filed away the observations with clinical interest. Blood compatibility, without question. The signs were unmistakable to someone who’d witnessed it before—the involuntary physical responses, the way Felix’s body seemed to recognize something his mind hadn’t yet processed.
Emilia leaned forward, her dark eyes sharp with calculation. “These notebooks of yours, Felix. What is in them?”
Felix’s hands twitched as if physically restraining himself from reaching for something that wasn’t there. His eyes darted between Emilia and Leo before settling on Adam, something wary flickering beneath his relentless enthusiasm.
“Everything,” he admitted finally, voice quieter than before.
“Every observation, every pattern, every inconsistency I’ve found in hunter records versus actual supernatural behavior.
Weaknesses, strengths, outliers—anything that didn’t match conventional doctrine.
” His lips quirked in a rueful half-smile.
“The kind of things that get you labeled a liability.”
Carl shifted forward, the lines on his face deepening with something heavier than concern. “Centuries of supernatural documentation?” His voice carried the weight of old wounds. “You call that research. My people call it a death sentence.”
Felix blinked. “I—I was just—”
“My great-uncle Aldric tried to do the same,” Carl said, his voice hardening. “He believed in cataloging anomalies—cohabitation, sympathetic courts, peaceful crossings. Wrote it all down. Tried to prove that not all vampires were monsters.”
He looked at Adam briefly, not accusing, but not forgiving, either.
“Your daughter found those records. Victoria, Master of the New York City Night Court.” He paused. “She burned their house, with them and their children locked inside, to the ground. She slaughtered nearly the entire branch family.”
The air thinned. Even the shifters stilled.
“She thought Aldric’s notes could fall into enemy hands.
So she erased the source. Erased us. We lost two generations that night.
The rest of the family fled to Porte du Coeur.
And now I find myself here, listening to this—” he jabbed a hand toward Felix, “—bragging about collecting the same kind of data. Right under your roof.”
Adam’s jaw tightened. He remembered that purge. Victoria called it “surgical necessity,” eliminating threats before they could metastasize. He hadn’t condoned it, but he hadn’t stopped her either.
Felix’s face had gone ashen, his hands dropping to his sides. “I... I never thought...” His voice cracked. “I just wanted to understand. I never considered that someone might—that my work could—” He swallowed hard, staring at Carl with dawning horror. “Your family. Because of research like mine.”
The enthusiasm that had animated him since his arrival died completely, replaced by a stricken sort of silence.
Carl’s voice softened, but it didn’t lose its edge. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to see your family reduced to smoke because someone decided your knowledge was too dangerous to exist.”
Emilia’s hand came to rest gently on Carl’s arm, her presence a steadying weight. “Carl,” she said, and though her tone held gentle reproach, her eyes never left Felix. “Knowledge can be a weapon or a tool. The wielder makes the choice.”
She turned her attention fully to Felix, her voice carrying the authority of centuries.
“The question is whether you understand that your notebooks aren’t just research—they’re a loaded weapon pointed at everyone in this room.
And if they fall into the wrong hands again, we may not survive the trigger pull. ”
Felix looked stricken as the reality of what his research could cost crashed over him.
Lander shifted restlessly, clearly uncomfortable with the heavy atmosphere. “So what now?” His voice carried an edge of irritation rather than the venom of his earlier words. “You collected all this data—for what? Understanding?”
Felix nodded slowly, his voice subdued. “Yes.” His gaze flicked to Leo again, then back to Lander with that telltale spike in pulse that Adam noted.
“I’ve spent my entire life surrounded by people who treat supernaturals like threats to be eliminated.
But it never lined up. Leo wasn’t a monster before he disappeared, and he isn’t one now that he’s claimed.
I wanted to know why the world our clan described didn’t match the world I saw. ”
Adam studied him, weighing the potential against risk.
Felix von Rothenburg was no ordinary hunter; he was something new.
A scientist caught between warring paradigms, torn between the family that raised him and the truths he couldn’t ignore.
And if Adam’s suspicions about blood compatibility proved correct, Felix might not have much choice in staying, anyway.
Lydia leaned forward, her amusement undimmed. “And did you reach any grand conclusions?”
Felix’s brow furrowed. “That the old classifications are useless,” he admitted.
“That the difference between predator and protector isn’t what you are, but what you choose to be.
” His gaze flickered briefly to Lander before skittering away.
“That some of the most dangerous monsters I’ve ever met were human. ”
Nathaniel stretched lazily, his grin all sharp teeth and knowing amusement.
“And where do you land in all this, little hunter? Still searching for answers? Or are you ready to pick a side?” His tone carried mock concern.
“Because housing one hunter was already pushing my pack’s tolerance.
Two feels like we’re collecting strays.”
“Nathaniel.” Adam’s voice held a mild warning.
The pack leader raised his hands in surrender, but his grin didn’t fade.
“Just saying. Next thing you know, we’ll have the whole clan camping in the guest wing.
” Nathaniel’s gaze sharpened as he studied Felix’s expression.
“So I’ll ask again, little hunter.” His voice carried a predator’s patience.
“Where do you land in all this? Still searching for answers? Or are you ready to pick a side?”
Felix’s expression turned thoughtful, but it was Leo who answered, his voice quiet but full of certainty. “He already did.”
Adam smiled, slow and knowing. Strategic possibilities crystallized in his mind. Felix’s notebooks could provide invaluable intelligence, his genuine concern for Leo created natural loyalty, and the likely blood compatibility with Lander would ensure he stayed willingly.
“Then, welcome to Innsbrook, Felix von Rothenburg. I suggest you make yourself comfortable.” He stood from the couch, meeting Leo in the center of the parlor, fingers tightening around Leo’s hand. “Because you’re not leaving anytime soon.”
Felix blinked, then exhaled sharply. “Oh,” he murmured. “Oh dear.”