Bound to Blackwood (28 page)

Visions of Thorn's naked body flooded Lena's mind. His golden eyes burned white hot as he looked down at her, his hard body pounding into her. Lena's hands clawed at his immense shoulders willing him to take all of her. Lena gasped as she remembered him coming, his face beautifully strained, his enormous fangs fully extended. He came inside her in great bursts…and the agony was gone.

"Lena?" Soraya asked again.

Lena gave the only answer she had: "Thorn."

The room started to spin as Lena struggled to hold on to reality. The agonising heat was back with a vengeance and it roared into every part of her. She bucked off the bed as she screamed. She heard a voice, soft and gentle, but it was so far away and she had no idea what was said. The voice continued but it did nothing to allay her torment.

Slowly, the room stopped spinning and the light started to dim. And then there was darkness, and finally, peace.

The rest of the team were busy searching the Vampire archives, the internet, even the damned phone-book to find any trace of House Clayden. Thorn had filled Kaden in on what Crane had said; Eden had been taken in by Oscar Clayden. The problem was, of course, the guy was dead and had been for a very long time. And to make things worse, he died without issue, and House Clayden had been consigned to the history books.

Kaden was supposed to be helping, or supervising, or whatever, but his mind wasn't on the job. Something weird was going on. Thorn had raced through the debriefing and promptly disappeared. Lena hadn't said so much as how-do-you-do since they'd been back and Ryver was nowhere to be seen.

Kaden drummed his fingers on the battered wooden surface of his desk. Something was bothering him. An uneasiness he couldn't shake had taken root in his mind. He closed his eyes, immediately seeking out Thorn and found him in his office. He recognised Lena's unique signature; she was in her bedroom, where she'd been for the last twenty-four hours.

Frowning, he checked for Ryver. Well that was odd; he was outside Lena's room. Then again, Ryver had been pretty weird with Lena, so maybe he was working up the courage to apologise.

He shook his head. There was only one other person that could make him feel this uneasy. He sent his senses out, flying through the house to find Soraya. His mind took a direction he didn't expect; Soraya was with Lena. His brow furrowed wondering why he hadn't noticed her there before, but then he supposed he wasn't looking for her.
Why would she be in Lena's room?
 

He concentrated on Lena again, using his
sight
, but also his blood bond with her. She wasn't injured, but something was very, very wrong. The chair clattered to the floor as he pushed himself up in a rush.
 

Kaden was vaguely aware of the others snapping their heads round at the noise, but he didn't stop to explain. He raced out of the Command Centre, the osmium mesh behind the walls making it impossible for him to dematerialise, and climbed the stairs, two at a time.

He ran into Ryver in the corridor outside Lena's room and the guy looked like shit. "What's going on?" Kaden asked.

"It's Lena," Ryver croaked.

"I know it's fucking Lena. What's happened?"

"I don't know." Ryver rubbed a shaky hand over his short hair. "She begged me not to, but I had to call Soraya."

Kaden puffed out a breath, willing his heart to stop hammering in his chest. "Just tell me what happened."

"Jesus, Kaden, I've never seen her like that. Shit, I've never seen
anyone
like that. She's doubled over in pain, and she's sobbing. I don't mean girly crying; I mean proper, gut wrenching sobs. I tried to comfort her but she screamed when I reached for her."
 

The scene at House Bowman replayed in Kaden's mind and that weird-as-hell feeling he got when he tried to hug Lena came back to him. "Did you feel weird?"

"W-what?"

"When you tried to touch Lena, did you feel weird?"

Ryver's hazel eyes widened. "I thought I was going to throw up. How did you know?"

'Cause the same thing happened to me.
"It doesn't matter." Kaden reached for the door handle, intent ongoing in.
 

Ryver's hand came down on his. "Soraya said I should wait outside. I'm not sure you should go in either." When Kaden arched his eyebrow at the young Guardian, Ryver released him. "But it's up to you, Boss."

Yeah, it is.

Kaden eased the door open, not wishing to startle either woman. Soraya was leaning over the bed but turned her head as Kaden came into the room. Her sharp, narrowed eyes, softened a little when she realised who had disturbed her. She put a finger up to her lips to tell him to be quiet and Kaden nodded his understanding.

Soraya turned back to the bed and smoothed the blankets before moving away. She spoke in soft tones when she got closer to Kaden. "She's sleeping now."

"What's going on?"

"I had to sedate her," Soraya replied.

"What?" Kaden asked, his voice rising.

"Shh!"

"Sorry. I'm just surprised," Kaden whispered.

"As was I, Keeper."

"What's wrong with her?"

Soraya didn't answer, looking down at her pink ballet shoes instead.
God, she was cute when she did that
.
 

"Soraya?" Kaden's voice got huskier.

"I need to speak to Thorn."

"Don't you mean Phoenix?" Phoenix was the other medic, after all.

"No, Kaden. I mean Thorn," Soraya replied as she made a move for the door.

Confused to hell and back, Kaden let her go.

Thorn drained the last drop from his blood box and still didn't feel sated. The box crumpled in on itself as he crushed it in his palm. Frustrated, he threw it across the room and watched as it skimmed the bin full of already-used containers and fell on the floor.

He pushed his hand through his dishevelled hair as he stared at the overflowing basket. It had been empty when he came in here. His brow furrowed.
When was that?
He checked his watch-quarter past two. He knew instinctively that it the middle of the day. He just couldn't remember
what
day.
 

His thoughts kept returning to Lena and shifted from the look on her face as she orgasmed beneath him to the disappointment in her voice when he'd been unable to say the right thing afterwards. A continual, never-ending reel that played unrelenting in his mind. He knew why he hadn't been able to speak to her afterwards. Blood lust, unlike anything he'd ever known had roared, damn it, still roared through him. An inner voice he'd never heard before, told him to take Lena's vein, to take her as his own.

But he couldn't do it.

Lena was a warrior; strong of body and mind, and Thorn couldn't bring himself to take her like that. He never saw Lena look so vulnerable as she did when…
Jesus
. He had to close his eyes as the
memory replayed again. She gave herself to him so completely. Who the hell was he to ask for more?
 

And wasn't that the question? The problem was that he wanted more. He
needed
more. He needed it all.
 

Thorn stiffened as he heard a gentle knock at the door. He sent his senses out and relaxed a little. "Come in, Soraya."

He did his best to appear calm as Soraya came in, closing the door behind her with a click. His serene facade started to crack as he regarded her face. Her brow was knitted in a deep frown and lines of worry tugged at the corners of her mouth.
Be calm, be calm.
 

"How are you, brother mine?"

"I am well, as always, dearest sister. You on the other hand, do not look well," Thorn replied, his voice rougher than he would like.

"I'm fine, Thorn. I assure you. And I know you are lying," Soraya replied, her voice soft as usual.

Thorn smiled. Soraya always knew when he was lying. "Soraya, I'm fine, honestly."

"Suit yourself," she replied as she came up to the desk. For the first time, he noticed the heavy tome she carried with her. It gave a loud thud as she dumped it on his antique partner's desk. "Have you read the chronicles?" she asked.

Read the chronicles?
Of course he'd read the bloody chronicles; every Vampire had. "You know I have. What's this all about?"
 

Soraya gave a small smile. "I think you should re-read them." She traced her finger across the engraved leather on the book's cover. "This volume in particular. I've marked the most relevant sections"

Thorn's brow shot up in surprise. "Whatever for?"

"Just trust me, Thorn."

She's lost the plot
. That was the only possible explanation. Thorn sighed, pushing the book towards her. "Look, Soraya, I don't have time for this. We have an
Onærelen
to settle and a missing…"
 

Soraya cut him off. "Trust me when I tell you, that you will be no use to any of us, or young Eden, until you've read that."

"Soraya, I'm serious. I haven't got the time for a history lesson. Just tell me what this is all about." Thorn didn't mean to do it, but the power behind his voice rose as he spoke; he was dangerously close to giving his own sister an order. He saw Soraya's eyes widen as she realised it too.
Damn it, what the hell was he thinking?
"Ah shit. Soraya, I'm sorry."
 

Soraya gave a slight nod of her head, her eyes now burning with sadness. "It's alright, Thorn. Just do it for me, if no one else. Please?"

She had him. She knew very well he couldn't refuse her anything if she asked. Thorn puffed out a breath, "Alright, alright. I'll read it."

"Now?" she asked.

Thorn shook his head as a rumble of laughter made its way up his throat. "Yes, I'll read it now."

"Thank you." She smiled properly for the first time. "I'll leave you to it then."

"You're not going to supervise, make sure I don't skip any of the important bits?" he asked.

Soraya looked down at her feet.
Why did she look embarrassed?
"Ah. No. This is something you need to do by yourself, brother mine."
 

She made her way towards the door, still looking uncomfortable and Thorn had no idea why. Thinking that he might be imagining it, he pushed the thought aside. "I'll see you at dinner?"

"I'll be there," she replied, and then she was gone.

Still convinced his sister was as mad as a box of frogs, he drew the book off the desk and into his lap. He leaned back in his chair, stretched his long legs out and hefted his boots up on the corner of
his desk. He mimicked Soraya's actions and traced the intricate leather work on the cover. The
swirls and curlicues really were a work of art. The gold lettering across the centre were beautifully inscribed but Thorn frowned as he read the old language title —
The Ties That Bind Us.
 

He didn't remember reading this. Then again, who did remember the stuff they were made to read at school? Thorn remembered the important parts, which for him centred mainly on combat and the art of war, the bond of honour, the fight against the Fallen, the vows of a Guardian, that sort of thing.

Sighing, he found one of the gold-ribbon book marks and opened to the first section Soraya was so keen for him to read. What he found made him curse-
Blood Ballad, a True Mate's Call.
 

Chapter 19

This was a strange house. From what she could see, which was not a lot as she cowered behind the dark skirts of the woman in front of her, she knew she had never been here before. Nothing she could see was familiar.

The painting high up on the wall just to the side of her reminded her of home, but it wasn't the same. The man staring out at the room had blonde flowing hair and hard green eyes; not a bit like Papa. Papa always smiled, especially when Mama was in the room. The man in the painting wasn't smiling.