Читать книгу Bound By Blood - Elizabeth Valentino - Страница 6

Chapter 2

The lycan barrels into me, fangs snapping, as he knocks me back. My body impacts hard against the wall. There is little intelligence in the vibrant amber eyes; only animal instincts, pure and raw. My skull cracks hard against the wall. Claws scrape across my cheek and blood begins to flow freely down my face. Rolling up into a crouch, I draw my gun.

“Bryce, if that’s who you are, listen to me for a second. I need to tell you what happened with Evan–your brother.”

With a feral snarl, Bryce lunges at me again. Fuck; I need to get through to the man inside the beast, or I’ll have to kill him. I know in theory I should just kill him, but after all I’ve been through with Evan I’d prefer to leave his brother breathing. Half-dragging myself over the carpet, I push the door shut and heave the TV stand in front of it. It might keep prying eyes away for a little bit, but the bestial noises reverberating through the room will draw a crowd.

Claws dig into my arms, right before he flings me across the room. I land hard on the chair I cracked earlier, demolishing it. Claws come in for another swipe at my face. I snatch up a large piece of splintered wood and shove it deep into the paw. The lycan howls and snatches back his paw, mere inches before it connects with my flesh. This madness needs to end soon. The only solution is in my pack, sitting across the room.

Before I can formulate a decent plan to get the hell over there, Bryce bites down hard on my ankle. With a strangled scream I shoot him in the shoulder and kick at his muzzle. The frantic knocks rattling the already-ruined door inform me I have only moments to defuse the situation before all hell breaks loose. Delivering another powerful kick to the lycan’s muzzle, I break his hold on my leg and scramble forward. As my hands close around the pack, he charges me again. The pounding at the door is increasing. Ripping the silver collar out of my pack, I brace myself for impact with the lycan. The collar is open and ready when Bryce envelops me in an angry wolf hug. Teeth and claws tear into my skin as I snap the collar into place.

Bryce howls as the silver starts to take effect, draining his energy and forcing him back to his human form. His coarse black fur recedes, leaving lightly tanned, well-toned naked male flesh in its wake. His golden wolf eyes flash with anger–and it’s all directed at me. Angry shouts accompany the pounding and I fear the door is moments from giving way. This complicates the situation even more.

“Listen, if you want to survive long enough to find out what happened to your brother, follow my lead.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bryce growls, his naked body still twitching under the silver’s assault.

Shedding my coat, I tear off my shirt and hope no stray UV rays make it through when the door is finally pounded in. “Bryce, just lay there. I’m going to climb on top of you. When the humans get in, make it look realistic and grab my ass or breasts or something. They need to think we’re having crazy sex in here, and just maybe they’ll leave without shooting us or asking questions.” This would be so much easier if we weren’t both bleeding profusely.

Not answering, Bryce glares at me as I climb over his warm, naked body–and not a moment too soon. The door heaves one final groan and flings wide open, pushing the TV stand out of the way. My skin twinges as the faintest light brushes it. Without my light-blocking clothing and eyewear, my flesh will burn. I just hope they leave before it starts to show physically. It won’t kill me, but it’ll hurt like hell.

I crush my mouth to Bryce’s. He at least returns the gesture. “Oh, honey! I thought I told you to stay away from him!” Mrs. Novak stands in the doorway, hair fluttering in the breeze, florescent orange skirt whipping around her toothpick-thin legs. She wields her shotgun like a crazy, eccentric avenging angel.

Bryce sits up and pulls me firmly into his lap. I must be delirious from my multitude of bleeding cuts, because resting my cold skin against his smooth, warm body feels divine. “Sorry, Mrs. Novak. You were right, Bryce isn’t his real name. His name is Ethan, and he’s my boyfriend.” I quickly pull my coat over my exposed breasts. I can’t tell if she’s buying my story or not. “Sorry. We haven’t seen each other in a while. He just got out of prison. He was serving a life sentence, but they let all the prisoners go due to the famine and food shortage. We’ll pay for the damages, I promise.”

“Are you sure, honey? I won’t deny anyone their right to whatever freaky sex stuff they’re into. But if you need me to, I’ll shoot him right now.” Mrs. Novak barely holds the motel’s residents outside as she blocks the doorway with her tiny body. She keeps her gun pointed steadily at Bryce’s head. Luckily, with how screwy things are everywhere right now, they’re only mildly interested in our freaky kink-fest.

“No, Mrs. Novak, I swear I’m fine.” I plant a kiss to a still-glowering Bryce’s lips. “Once we get dressed and cleaned up in here, I’ll come up to the office, settle the bill for the damages and introduce you to my man properly.”

“Well, your business is your own dear. But if you don’t make it up to the office in the next hour or two, I’ll be back down here and he’ll be my target,” she says, waving her gun in Bryce’s direction. “Come along folks, nothing to see here. Let’s leave these two alone to get dressed.” Pulling the door haphazardly closed–as best she can after the abuse it’s taken–Mrs. Novak gives the handle a final tug as she turns to walk away. The rest of the crowd reluctantly disperses.

The cool metal of my gun presses to my temples. I lost it while trying to collar Bryce.

“You had better start talking, princess, and fast–or I’ll pull this trigger and leave you here to rot.” Bryce’s voice is menacing and sexy, rumbling low and deep in his chest.

Dread blooms in my chest as Bryce catches sight of the dripping mass under the blanket. The growl rising in his throat is pure beast, despite his hairless exterior. I don’t even think he notices when my gun slips from his fingers as he approaches the bed.

“I can answer your questions, but not if you kill me.” Hastily shoving my gun in my waistband, I grab my jacket and goggles just in case I need to make a quick retreat. Sure enough Bryce turns and lunges at me, his handsome face twisted into a mask of rage without a hint of humanity to be found. I flee for the door. I don’t want to kill the lycan leader. He’s probably one of the only creatures in existence who can take down the vampires.

“Bryce, listen to me! Evan died from a disease engineered to kill off the lycan species.” With a sharp kick, I slam my combat boot into the door and fling it open. “If you decide you don’t want to kill me, come find me and I’ll give you answers.” I don’t care if it looks cowardly; I need to run. In my haste, I have no time to throw on my jacket.

The instant the sun begins to singe my skin, I regret it.