Page 136 of Claimed By Blood

She must’ve used venom from the ghouls which were hiding in the mausoleum, and now she’s transforming.

A slow clap answers my revelation, and both Gideon and I freeze in place as Cain strides out of the forest before us. Behind him, a small legion of his men files out in an unbroken line. They’re armed with crossbows which are all pointing directly at us, and there are silver swords at their waists.

My heart stops in my chest, and I back up a step automatically. The alpha places himself at my back, putting the two of us firmly on the defensive.

“If I make an opening, you run,” he growls. “Your survival is the most important here. Promise me, Evie.”

But I know it’s a fool’s notion. Cain has us surrounded, and with him—the most powerful vampire—right here, winning a physical fight, or outrunning him, is impossible.

“Wait,” I whisper. “We might be able to get out of this…”

Or at the very least, I might be able to get Gideon to safety.

“Promise,” the alpha demands, meeting my eyes and imbuing the command with the force of his stare. “No matter what happens, stay alive and protect Finn.”

In answer, I rise up and claim his lips with my own. I don’t know why I do it—maybe it’s simple desperation—but the effect is instantaneous.

The second our tongues meet, the thrall bond snaps into being. Neither of us can acknowledge the tiny miracle without putting ourselves in more danger. Gideon’s presence hums through me, a bossy, commanding thing that holds hints of the same wildness that lingers in Vane and Finn but is tempered by so much responsibility that it makes it hard to breathe. I can feel his determination, his unshakeable faith, and then his shock as he realises what’s happened.

“How sweet,” my sire croons, a hint of anger in his voice as we jerk apart. “One last kiss? Pathetic. I raised you better, Evelyn, but lately all you seem to do is disappoint me.”

Cain is dressed in his usual style, having forgone the tactical wear of the vampires behind him in favour of a sleek dark suit. Unlike normal, however, there’s something dangerously unhinged in the way he stares at me. Something terrifying.

The view behind me isn’t much better. We’re surrounded, with vampires ahead of us and Immy and her ghouls behind us. Nowhere to run.

“Poor little Imogen,” he says, but his tone is anything but sympathetic as he finally stops a few feet away from me. “Imagine my surprise when she contacted me out of the blue in tears because she’d been led astray by her elder sister yetagain.”

He pauses, then looks past me at my sister, frowning. “Did you really think I was so stupid as to fall for such a lie?”

Immy falls over herself to defend her actions, but her teeth make her words lispy and hard to understand. “It wasn’t, Sire. I kept an eye on Evelyn, just like you said—”

“You went along with her plan because you thought she could win and you resented me for not taking you as my favourite in her absence.” Cain dismisses her with a wave of his hand. “And then, when you learned how special Evelyn truly is, your jealousy got the better of you. Hence this little unauthorised stunt where you polluted the purity ofmybloodline.”

His words have turned harsher and colder, but I don’t make the mistake of thinking he’s forgotten about us.

No, he’s just making a point. He has always loved drama, and this must be catnip to him.

“But, Sire, you always wanted a way to create more half-ghouls,” Immy protests. “I saw the opportunity and—”

“And you weakened yourself,” Cain snaps back, drawing a small torch from his pocket. “What’s the problem with hybrids, Imogen?”

Her eyes widen.

“Half of them have the strengths of both races…” she whispers.

He flicks the torch on, and a powerful beam of violet light cuts the space between us, hitting my sister squarely on the chest.

“… and the other half have all of their weaknesses combined,” he finishes for her.

Immy squeals, collapsing in on herself as her chest burns and the sound of crackling flesh fills the air. She’s an elder, like me. Sunlight shouldn’t have that effect on her.

Except by becoming half-ghoul, she’s brought it on herself. Pity stabs at me as I realise Immy has become one of the unlucky fifty percent. That explains why her appearance is so much more ghoulish than Frost’s.

It’s not until his nails dig bitingly into my other arm that I realise my mistake. I’ve allowed Immy’s punishment to distract me from the threat at my back. Cain wrenches me away from Gideon and drags me to the vampire side of the circle, ignoring my futile struggles.

I reach for my dagger, only to have it wrenched away and tossed carelessly into the group of ghouls. Cain’s aim is impeccable, striking one’s head from its shoulders. A second later, he rips my belt away and tosses that aside too, confiscating my sword and the other dagger.

It leaves me weaponless, and my alpha alone, surrounded by enemies. Cain jerks his head at one of his vampires, who steps forward, holding a pair of silver manacles. My sire forces my wrists out, one at a time, to allow them to cuff me.

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