Page 61 of Blood Bound

GABRIEL

I’m standing in a darkened alleyway, the blood of a bounty hunter slipping down my claws, while Katherine is on her knees in front of me, waiting for death. I can see her body stiffen and her heartbeat pick up… she knows I’m here.

“Hello, little lamb,” I murmur, but she doesn’t turn around when she gets to her feet, so I move closer and lean my head towards her ear. “Found you.”

I can hear her mournful whimper right over the storm and it takes everything in me not to take her in my arms and hold her close. I don’t want to force myself on her if it will make her run again.

She turns around with a hand clasped tightly over her mouth and tears shimmer in her eyes when she sees me.

“Gabriel?” she says, removing her hand to reveal a trembling bottom lip. The sound of her saying my name knocks the wind out of me and I ball my hands into fists to compose myself.

I give her a smile and nod, hoping she can see the gesture, but what she does next pushes the thought of not forcing myself on her right out of my mind.

She runs straight into my arms, sobbing.

I wrap my arms around her in a tight embrace, holding her close and inhaling her familiar caramel scent; a scent I thought I had lost forever. The blood on the side of her head beckons to me and will need to be cleaned up, but right now, I’m savoring the moment with my sweet girl.

“I’m right here,” I murmur, stroking her hair. “I’m right here, little lamb, and I’m not going anywhere ever again.”

When I say this, she pulls away from me and peers up into my eyes.

“Why are you here? Why have you been looking for me if… if you’re... if you had someone else already?” she whispers, shaking her head.

I sigh at this question, knowing she’s probably seen bulletins of me with Amara and thinking the worst of me. But she hasn’t taken the potion yet, so hopefully, I am not too late to win her over.

“Because you’re my Fated and I’ve come for what’s mine.”

Her lips slightly part when I say this, so I reach out and stroke her bottom lip with the pad of my thumb.

“How I’ve dreamed of this mouth and what I’d do to it once I find you. But I think we need to have a discussion before anything else happens, even though I am dying to have a taste of you. Follow me.”

She swallows hard, and a slight blush creeps into her cheeks when she nods. I take her hand and lead her back to where my Phantom is waiting for us, and when she’s in, I place a separate dry overcoat on her shoulders and raise the partitioning.

“Woah, snazzy car. What happened to the Harley?” she asks with wide eyes while looking around the interior, then her eyes settle on me and narrow. “In fact, what happened to you?”

“Long fucking story,” I grumble, slipping off my drenched coat and sighing. “Everything you see; the car, the new look, the wife - all came with the part I have to play as Vampire King. It was the conditions I agreed to once I stepped up and took the title.”

She frowns. “Conditions? Why?”

“So the council can have a foot in the door when it comes to the government. The previous King had done a lot of shady dealings in his tenure and they needed me to find out exactly what he did. With that comes all of this and keeping up public appearances,” I explain.

“And… your wife?” she asks, not looking at me.

“As I said, keeping up public appearances. I needed to show that I am a so-called ‘family man’ so I can be accepted,” I explain, then I lean over and turn her head so I can look into her eyes. “But I only need her until I find my Fated.”

Katherine remains quiet for a few seconds, then her eyes widen. “What? Only until you find…but then what happens to her?”

My smile drops. “She won’t be needed anymore–”

“What exactly does that mean? They’ll get rid of her?”

“Katherine—”

“Oh my God, they’ll kill her, won’t they? Christ, Gabriel and you’re fine with that?!”

Ah, there’s my feisty Katherine.

I sigh and sit back. “It’s not something I wanted, you need to understand that. I only took on this role to keep my family safe, to keep my nest safe, and to have enough power to achieve that. Whatever else comes with it to ensure my place as King is merely a formality, and Amara knows that.”

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