Page 4 of Blood Bound

As if reading my mind, Gran makes a tutting sound. “Come along, girl! There’s no time for this now.” She puts her hands on my shoulders and scoots me in the direction of my closet.

Pulling in a deep breath, I raise my chin and pull out a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt, and my favorite sneakers. Gran goes back to tidying my room as I get dressed. I hadn’t noticed until now that my curtains are singed.

“Ready?” she asks as I lace up my shoes. I stand and nod, then follow her out of my cottage, my mind reeling from what just happened. The weight of Darick’s death makes each step feel like I’m wading through molasses. As we approach the family home, my nerves are frayed to breaking point.

Inside, the tension hangs over the room like a cloud. Mom, Dad, and Kara are already there, their faces set in grim lines. I avoid their eyes, focusing instead on the intricate pattern of the living room rug.

“What in the name of all that’s magical is going on?” Dad gets straight to the point; his voice is sharp and demanding. I flinch at his tone, feeling like a little girl again, caught doing something I shouldn’t.

Which is exactly what happened, you idiot!

Gran steps up, her presence commanding as always. “Lake, calm yourself. We’ll explain everything, but first, everyone needs to take a breath.”

I chance a glance at Kara. I can practically see the gears turning in her head. She’s always been quick to put pieces together; she’s going to work it out.

“Rowan?” Mom’s voice is soft, concerned. “We need to know what’s going on. Please…help us understand.”

My head spins as I try to figure out where to begin. “It was an accident,” I say, knowing it’s not the right place to start. “He had photos, and I got so angry that I didn’t—”

“Photos?” Dad interrupts. “Rowan, you’re not making sense. Why the hell was there a vampire in your bedroom?”

He knows the answer. I’m guessing he just doesn’t want to believe it.

I freeze. “It…I…he…”

Shit.

“Rowan formed a connection with Lord Darick Drake,” Gran says bluntly.

Dad shoots to his feet. “Drake? The vampire elder?” he barks out. “Are you telling me that—?”

“I said we all need to take a breath, son.” Gran fixes him with a look. She waits for him to sit before continuing. “Recently, Rowan found strange thoughts intruding into her mind. It turned out that she shared a connection with Lord Drake. She was understandably confused.”

“Connection? What kind of—” Kara begins but is cut off by our father.

“I don’t see how that led to what we just walked into.” Dad turns to me. I’ve never seen him so upset. My father is the most kind and loving man I know. But I guess that any father might change his attitude after learning that his daughter’s been sleeping with the enemy. And then killed him.

Deal with this, Rowan. Stop being a coward.

I can’t let Gran take on my problems. I pull in yet another deep breath and stand again. I just fried a thousand-year-old vampire, for God’s sake. I’m more than capable of facing up to my parents.

All eyes are on me, expectant and worried.

“I need to explain something,” I begin. My voice is rough, so I clear my throat. “Like Gran said, it started with these strange thoughts in my head. At first, I thought I was going crazy, but then I realized…they weren’t my thoughts at all.” I pause, gathering courage. “They belonged to a vampire.”

Dad’s face darkens at the word, but I press on before he can interrupt.

“We had this weird psychic connection. I didn’t understand it, and neither did he. We met to try to figure it out, and things got…complicated.”

“Complicated?” Dad scoffs. Gran silences him with a look.

I can see the disapproval in his eyes, but I can’t stop now. I have to get to the important part.

“But that’s not why I…why I…” I can’t bring myself to say it…that I killed him. “Tonight, Darick was at my cottage. We were talking, and then his phone buzzed. There was a message with photos attached.”

I swallow hard, my throat tight. “They were photos of Mia.”

Mom lets out a strangled gasp, clasping a hand to her throat. Kara leaps to her feet, her eyes blazing. Dad looks like he’s been physically struck.

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