Page 131 of Claimed By Blood

The runto the village is faster this time. Gideon is furious. The emotion is so strong that I can feel it chasing me down our partially formed bond.

He’s ahead, with Draven and me hot on his heels, so when he starts muttering under his breath, both of us can hear him. “We should never have brought her with us.”

“Well, I’m sorry,” I retort, angrily. “She seemed genuine, and it wasn’t like I could ditch her without arousing suspicion, anyway. Cain insisted on Immy going, remember? The only reason I’m not still stuck in New York is because she fought for me to come!”

She’d had the perfect in from the beginning, and I arrogantly thought I could outplay her. Fuck.

He doesn’t have an answer for that beyond a growl which makes my hair stand on end. I find myself wishing I was with Silas or Finn. Hell, even Vane or Frost would be able to give me some kind of comfort right now. But they’re distracted. The quiet sense of purpose that Vane and Finn are radiating forces me to remember that this isn’t the time to dwell on Immy’s second betrayal, or my anger at my own naivety.

That will come later.

Still, I wish I could reach out to them for support.

All I have to lean on is Draven, who remains as impassive down the thrall bond as ever. His calculating calmness is nothing like the hugs that Finn can send me when he chooses, but it’s comforting in its own way.

Then he mutters the words I don’t want to hear: “Doll, you realise we have to kill her, right?”

My heart stops. All of the rage that’s been building flickers for a second as I think about what that could mean. “She’s my sister.”

For as long as I can remember, it’s been the just five of us surviving.

“She’s betrayed you twice,” Gideon growls.

“Forgive me for having an emotional attachment to someone I’ve known for centuries!”

But he doesn’t let up. “The first time, you were tortured for decades. If Cain catches up with you now…”

I’m dead.

He doesn’t have to say it.

Immy knows I’m a witch—even if I’m harmless. Cain has never. Ever. Allowed anyone accused of witchcraft to live. There’s no way she hasn’t told him, which means my sire will do anything to see me dead.

“I wish…” Things had been different. That all five of us had been born and raised apart, by human families, living human lives.

What would we have been like if Cain had never touched us?

Those kinds of wishes are foolish and pointless. Wishing won’t help me survive, and it won’t end Cain’s life. It won’t change Immy’s fate, either. So I shove the fanciful thoughts aside and focus on the buildings which are just becoming visible beyond the trees.

We burst onto the main street at full speed, only to find it just as deserted as it was when Frost and I left.

“Where are they all?” Gideon demands.

“Frost told you,” I grouch. “They all disappeared as soon as we said why we were here. Unless you want to start knocking on doors…”

I trail off as Gideon’s phone buzzes. The alpha flicks it open and then curses. “Imogen escaped via the tunnel,” he announces. “With a tube of your blood. It looks like she’s been planning this for a while.”

My stomach drops. “We need to hurry. If she’s removed herself from the danger zone… it means something big is on its way.”

“Cain?” Draven asks.

I swallow, then nod. “This… he wouldn’t leave this to his generals. Not now that he knows we’ve killed Armin, and Samuel betrayed him.”

God, my brother is in danger now. Immy won’t have forgotten everything about him—although the precise details of our encounter are already starting to fade from my memory. She will have relayed every last detail of his betrayal to Cain.

Which means that my sire might already be here, and when he finds us, he’ll be furious.

“Tell Morwen and Mia to go to ground,” I say. “They’ll be on his hit list now.”

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