Page 1 of Blood Bound

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Chapter 1

Rowan

Ash. That’s all that remains of Darick Drake. Ash, and bittersweet memories.

“Oh, my God. What have I done?” I stare at the smoking pile on my bedroom floor, my hands still sizzling with residual magic. The acrid scent of burning flesh fills my nostrils, evaporating the lingering sweetness of the moments we just shared.

His hands. I can still feel them on my skin. But I stop that thought in its tracks.

Mia!

He had pictures of Mia on his phone. My mind reels, torn between the memory of his touch and those damning images of my missing sister.

“What have I done?” I whisper again, my voice breaking. I rub my face with a shaking hand, trying to figure out what to do next.

Gran!

She’s the only one who can help. With trembling fingers, I reach for my phone.

“Pick up. Please pick. up!” I’m breathless as I hear the call dialing through. I need help. I need answers. But most of all, I need to know what to do.

I just murdered the vampire I was falling for.

Bullshit! You weren’t falling for him.

The ringtone on the line ends abruptly as my grandmother answers the call. “Rowan! How lovely to hear from you, sweathe—”

“Gran!” I cut her off, my voice choked. “Gran, I need you!”

“Rowan?” She’s immediately alert. “What’s going on?”

“I- I can’t discuss it over the phone, Gran. Please…I just need your help.”

“Where are you?” she says without hesitation.

“I’m…I’m at home.”

“I’m on my way.” The call ends. God, I love Gran. No demands or interrogations. I sag onto the chair in the far corner of my bedroom, staring ahead in mute disbelief. The smoke has wafted away, but the stench still lingers. It makes my mouth dry. Leaves my stomach roiling.

I’m still there, wrapped in a bedsheet, when Gran arrives just minutes later. She lets herself in and stands in the doorway of my bedroom, taking in the scene.

Our eyes meet. Mine are tortured.

“I killed him,” I whisper. Gran sucks in a breath, looking around us before hurrying toward me. “I killed him, Gran!” I bury my face in my hands just as she reaches me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. And then I weep. Gran says nothing for the long moments it takes for me to compose myself again. Then, leaning back and sinking onto her haunches in front of me, she looks into my face.

“Let’s go over this, shall we?” Her voice is firm but soothing.

I pull in a deep breath and nod.

“He was here. Darick?” she asks, although I’m sure she knows the answer.

I nod again. “Yes.” The word comes out hoarsely.

“And you were…together…?” She looks over at the bed and then back at me. This question doesn’t need to be asked either. I’m still naked beneath the sheet.

Once more, I nod, unable to find the words to tell her that I just spent the past hours having sex with my sister’s abductor.

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