Page 5 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

Chapter Two

Demi

Waking from a broken neck is nothing like getting my powers. Everything hurts and I feel like I’m dying.

That’s probably because my neck is still twisted at a wicked unnatural angle, no thanks to Mateo. I lift my arms, which are tingling and prickling, and set my head straight. I thought I could feel my body and the accompanying pain before, but the sudden wash of agony is overpowering in comparison.

I let out a pathetic whimper. Rough hands brush against my cheek and I slowly open my eyes.

Mateo’s face hangs above mine, worry contorting his features. I pull my lips into a nasty snarl and shove my palm against his chest, gritting against the pain of nerves and bone knitting themselves back together.

“Get away from me, fang banger.”

“Demi.” He reaches for me and I shove him again, this time with a bit more force. He falls onto his ass.

Supernatural healing to the rescue.

I roll onto my stomach and push onto my knees, resting my hands on my legs. “Fuck you.”

“I had no choice.”

The skin beneath my eye twitches. “You had a choice, you chose wrong.”

Sensation has fully returned to my limbs. I need a few more seconds before I deal with him. Lucky for me he’s forming words with his mouth. I focus on his lips.

“—having you attack Iris. If you’d killed her, war would have been inevitable.”

So he killed me to protect her. “Have you no faith in me to control my emotions?”

He presses his lips together.

No. He doesn’t.

I know my past has defined me, especially with killing him after my awakening, but I foolishly hoped our newly formed bond would create trust between us.

Okay, yes, I was considering slapping her, but I wasn’t going to kill her.

“I couldn’t risk it. I’m sorry.”

Words don’t mean a thing.

“So am I.”

His eyebrows barely have time to pull together before I grab a knife from the holster on my thigh and fling it into his heart with excessive force. He drops to the ground almost instantly.

“I know I said I’d hurt you, but given the circumstances, I’ll give you a pass,” Evelyn says, voice full of pity. I didn’t realize she was out here. I glance over my shoulder and see her and the hunters standing behind Colt and Grayson.

My first reaction is to yell at her and tell her where to shove her sympathies. My second reaction is to kill Mateo for good; the impulse is hard to resist given the fact that he killed me. The rational side of my brain rebels at the thought of truly killing him.

She also saysyou killed him, too.

Sucking in a calming breath, I close my eyes and lasso my desire to make him hurt for an eternity.

We have company.

Their energy vibrates around me, waves of aggression rolling over my skin and triggering gooseflesh. Ever so slowly, I turn to look at Iris. She’s standing a few feet away, held in place by a strong arm. The man, a wolf no doubt, watches me with wary distrust. He’s also naked.

Weird.

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