Page 24 of Blood Lust
“Let’s do it,” I said with a quick nod.
The tension in the room relaxed, and my vampires—even though still ready to rip a wolf’s heart—seemed more relaxed too.
“Give me your wrists,” Shane said, pulling out a curved bronze blade that looked like it was created at the dawn of civilization.
Zane was the first to offer up. “Let’s get this show on the road,” he said to Shane.
Shane slid the knife over the large vein in the center of Zane’s wrist, and he turned Zane’s wrist over, holding it above the bowl as blood began to drip. I watched the expression of the gorgeous alpha wolf. His chiseled jawline was covered in black stubble, and his eyes watched as his blood pooled into the bowl. The shaman released Zane and handed him a rag to wrap around his would before he looked at me.
“I’ll be going before you touch our girl,” Cole said in his commanding voice.
Zane grinned, “She ain’t your girl like that—at least not anymore.” He licked his full lips and nodded at me, “she owns your ass, buddy. She’s about to own all of us after this is done.”
Cole sighed and looked back at me, “He’s right.” He swallowed and pursed his lips, “You give the orders now, doll. It’s just up to you if you want us to test this out first, or if you’re comfortable going ahead of us.”
“I need the two alpha’s out of each group,” Shane insisted.
“Calm the fuck down, Shane. That blood isn’t going anywhere,” Zac snapped.
“We all need to calm down.” I looked at Zac, “I’ve got this. I’m fine.”
I held my arm out, and the shaman drew out my blood the same way he took Zane’s. One by one, the shaman took all of our blood, filling the ancient-looking bowl a bit more than I’d imagined it would. The room grew silent, and the sun suddenly seemed to be blocked out by a cloud. The shaman started chanting and singing and dancing around the bowl like a Native American at the pow-wows I’d been to back home, and as his song and dance became more intense, an orange glow came from the windows. He was absolutely mesmerizing to watch.
As soon as the shaman stopped, a white flame flickered up from the bowl. Shane formed a claw from his hands, and the flame leapt into his palm. He chanted more words and then threw the ball of energy back into the bowl. A bolt of lightning seemed to strike through the center of the room, and the power thrust into my chest, almost sending me back into Braden who remained standing directly behind me.
Everyone was now tranced out, eyes intently watching the white particles growing into a cloud and streaming out to each of us. I was frozen and utterly relaxed as one of the streams of sparkling smoke headed directly toward me. I closed my lips and inhaled the white smoke through my nostrils. I closed my eyes and felt power streaming into my blood faster than my heart could beat. I stood there and absorbed this strength, my senses growing stronger with each beat of my heart and surge of energy soaring through my body, covering and seemingly bullet-proofing each of my internal organs.
I had no idea how much time had passed before my eyes reopened to find all of us with a unique and stunning complexion of flawlessness.
“Oh my God, Ellie,” Zac said as he caressed my cheek with his thumb and studied my eyes. “You’re so beautiful, and your eyes are blue like the wolves’ eyes.”
“Damn right. She’s gorgeous,” Nakia said with a smirk. “You’re all a part of us now as we are a part of you.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Zane said. “We have a lot of shit to focus on besides appearances if we think we can lure the witch out and kick her sorry ass.”
The once alpha wolf approached me, and I heard my guys breathe in an air of protest, but they settled themselves faster than they would have if this merge hadn’t just happened.
Zane’s eyes were more than just the onyx color that I’d noticed before. Flecks of gold and deep red were scattered throughout the pitch black color of his irises.
“I’m yours to command,” he said as he studied my changed appearance. “We all are.”
I felt like I needed to look to Cole at first, then overwhelming confidence seeped into my innermost being. “We’re all in this together.” I smiled at Zane, “I’m going to need all of you working together so we can stay on track and get to the point of taking out that witch.” I looked at Shane, “So this ritual is complete? We’re all merged?”
“Eternally,” he said with some hesitation. “Even if the witch dies and you become a Life Blood again, you will now nourish the wolves just as you did your vampires. No force can be created to withstand you.” He looked at all of us, “Not even any of you.”
“So this means that bastard Enzo is next on the hit list,” Logan smirked, and I watched him and Bren exchange mischievous smiles. “I’m down for being the ultimate immortals and finally fixing all these bullshit threats we’ve tirelessly been hunting for a fucking lifetime.”
“Let’s take this all in stride,” Nakia said. “We’re merged, but we’re not sealed with the final bond.”
“How is that going to shake out anyway?” I asked the shaman.
Shane’s lips twisted, “This bond will be sealed in time.”
“We don’t have fucking time!” Zac seethed.
“Then you all must learn to quickly and fully trust each other. Elle needs to drink directly from the wolves. Until she is ready for that, it won’t happen.”
I sucked in a breath, “Will that spark things and causeother thingsto happen like it did with the guys?”
