Page 110 of Blood Bound

“Wow, you’re really not scared of me, are you?” I chuckle, still not believing that someone like this little human exists.

Most of our Prospects wouldn’t even dream of talking to me like this and here this woman does it without a hint of fear.

“I’m pumped full of baobab and know how to fight, so no I am definitely not scared of you, Valentine,” she says, smiling sweetly again, but it hits me in the gut when she says my name.

“You know who I am?” my grin falters.

“You’re asking me if I know who Gabriel Priest’s right-hand man is?” she chuckles. “Honey, it’s my business to know who’s who in the supernatural world. So can you imagine my shock when I see you laying on the side of the road before dawn?”

“So, you knew who I was and still helped me?” I frown.

She nods. “Of course I helped you, you were close to death! I knew I didn’t have to worry about anything like you jumping up and killing me, so I rushed over here as fast as I could. Besides, I have informed Gabriel Priest of your whereabouts and Church will collect you in about an hour.”

I look at this petite redhead with the brightest green eyes I have ever seen, and I am blown away by her kindness.

Surely she’s heard rumors about Gabriel, rumors about me and what we’re capable of. But that didn’t seem to hinder her; she still helped me, then she fed me blood to fast forward my healing.

“Well, thank you—”

“Autumn. My name is Autumn,” she says, echoing a name that fits her perfectly.

I smile, then walk towards her and see her reach for the syringe in her pocket; but I take her hand anyway and kiss the back of it. “Thank you, Autumn. I’m forever in your debt.”

A blush covers her cheeks, and she giggles nervously. “Ha, don’t… don’t mention it,” she says.

This close to her face, I can see a little dimple on her right cheek and a nervous twitch below her eye, but it all adds to the allure I don’t think she even knows she possesses. There’s a naïve innocence in her flowery scent, an innocence that the wrong person can easily corrupt.

A person like me.

Thankfully, someone knocks at the door and calls for her, snapping me out of whatever nonsense was running through my head. “Doctor Hayes? Your six o’clock has arrived early.”

“I’ll be there in a jiff, Carla,” she says, clearing her throat, and I let go of her soft hand. “Uhm, you’re more than welcome to stay until someone arrives to come get you.”

I nod. “Thank you again for saving my life,” I say, offering her a genuine smile, which she returns.

“Just doing my job and please, don’t put my efforts to waste and end up back here, okay? Darn it, it took me forever to get those bullets out.” She says, winking before she walks out of the room.

I stare at the door, hoping she would return and kick that thought right out of my mind. She was merely doing her job; helping a person in need and nursing them back to health.

There’s no way I’m going to ruin another innocent person’s life, especially not someone to whom I owe my life to… especially not an innocent like Autumn Hayes.

VALENTINE

“It’s about fucking time,” Church says with a grin as he walks through the clinic doors. “I thought you were a goner for sure!”

I roll my eyes and catch the shirt he throws toward me. “I thought I was, too,” I admit while slipping the shirt on. “Good thing she found me.”

Church crosses his arms. “Might wanna dial back on being thankful so soon after what Amara did. For all we know, this doctor has something to hide too.”

I don’t want to admit to him that I thought the same thing, so I keep quiet. Amara had me fooled; she knew through me ingesting her blood, I’d be able to see her past.

Little did I know she used Fae magic to tamper with flashes of her past. Yes, Kazimir killed her husband and took her daughter hostage, but she’s not too cut up about it.

Because she fucking sold them for a chance to be Gabe’s wife. When that didn’t work, she came after me and that’s how I ended up here - so lonely and starved for love that I didn’t see the snake she truly was.

By allowing her to creep into my heart, she made me trust her and got me to get Gabe to trust her too. I’m more than a fucking fool. I deserve the Dawn after this.

“Let's get going—”

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