Page 1 of Crimson Bond

1

Midnight Drive

Reece

Running through the hills above the Bastion, I navigated trees and rocky terrain and a few patches of snow left over from the last storm.

It was my nightly routine—rain, shine, or sleet. I wasn’t doing it for the mountaintop view, so the weather was of no consequence.

Rather than admiring the natural beauty of Northwestern Virginia, I kept my eyes down and focused on the burn in my leg muscles, the cold air moving in and out of my lungs, pushing my body as hard as possible.

Not only was it good training, it was the only way I could manage to quiet my mind and keep from thinking.

I’d been going for two hours at a punishing pace before I paused to catch my breath and look up. There was a full moon.

A bittersweet pang echoed through my chest in the empty space where I used to have a heart. Technically, I supposed it was still there, but it never beat anymore.

Not since Abbi left.

I’d been so sure it had meant something monumental, meeting her that night with the mysterious crimson moon coloring the sky.

Practically floating to my car after she’d left with her friends, I was already anticipating seeing her again and getting to know her better. I was almost back to the athletic dorm on the HACC campus when it hit me—I should have gotten her address or at least the name of her village. Amish villages were a dime a dozen around there in rural Pennsylvania.

Instead, I’d left it up to “destiny.” What a dope.

It was late, but I’d pulled off at an exit and turned the car around. Abbi and her friends were traveling by horse-drawn buggy. They couldn’t have gotten that far. I planned to intercept them on the highway and get her contact information—no doubt under the glare of her little wannabe boyfriend.

Backtracking toward the party, I kept my eyes peeled for lamplight or the orange reflective triangle stickers that marked the traditional Amish vehicles. The two-lane highway was straight and empty—extraordinarily dark, too.

After a few miles, my lids began to sag. I’d gotten up early, worked out hard, then stayed at the party far too late.Worth it.

And it would certainly be worth this midnight drive when I secured Abbi’s address—and her promise to see me again—soon.

Blinking hard and rolling down my windows to let in the cool night air, I focused on staying awake and finding the buggy. I was nearly back to the Miller farm now.

Maybe I’d passed them without noticing? Those Amish buggies were hard to see at night. Hopefully hers hadn’t turned off on a side road already.

Damn, this road is dark.

I leaned over the steering wheel, searching the blackness. A vision of Abbi’s pretty face filled my mind. The fullness and natural berry color of her lips. Her shy green eyes that held an alluring spark of strength and strong will.

And then the beautiful picture had been shredded by noise and sickening motion and flames. I’d awakened to find myself hanging upside down by my seatbelt, the windows and windshield of my Dodge Charger Hellcat obliterated, and the ominous smell of hot motor oil mixed with the scent of blood.

That was the totality of my memories until I woke up again in my parents’ backyard. What happened after that I’d rather not remember. I wasn’t sure how I’d even made it the next few months until I’d been captured and brought to the Bastion.

That was when life had begun again. Because of Abbi and her unshakable conviction that I was worth saving. She’d been wrong, but God love her for believing it.

Of course in the end, she’d realized the truth, and she’d left. Now we had our own separate lives—hers as an activist for the Vampire-Human Coalition, promoting peace, and mine as a member of the Bloodbound, preparing for war.

I started back down the mountain toward the Bastion where I would join my brothers and the recruits who’d been assigned to me for our nightly drills. They were the only family I had left, and I was grateful for them. But I didn’t feel the way they all seemed to about the job.

They talked about the adrenaline rush of using their enhanced strength and skills, the pulse-pounding excitement of the hunt. My pulse never pounded—not anymore. In fact, the only times I’d really felt alive since turning were the times I’d spent alone with Abbi.

Those days were long gone. I’d likely never see her again—unless we happened to bump into each other when I went out to LA on my mission. There was an annoying flutter in my chest at the thought of it.

It had been several days since I’d proposed the idea to Imogen, but she still hadn’t given me the go ahead to start my journey to the West Coast and the Vampire-Human Coalition headquarters.

When I neared the entrance to the caverns, I spotted two young females running toward it. Were they just playing around or were they in some sort of trouble?

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