Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition (36 page)

I stopped brushing and looked at him, raising my eyebrows. “I’m sure I would find something to eat. You said there are blood banks and doctors everywhere.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” he nodded. “But you have to know where to look. Besides, there are other things as well … like money, credit cards, identification, passports, and the most important … the Amalric. You don’t know how to find them. It’s not like trying to find a post office or something. Even if you did get lucky and find them, they won’t see just anybody.”

“So, what are you saying, William?” I asked, and pulled my hair into a messy bun. “That I shouldn’t even try to save my mom? That I should let that monster hurt my mom and others, too?” My eyes felt hot and started to sting.

“Of course not.” He went into the other room, and returned a few minutes later on his phone. “Thanks, Dad. Appreciate it.” He quickly snapped his phone shut, and walked over to a large walk-in closet.

“Exactly what it looks like. I’m going with you.” He walked to the bedroom door and turned to face me, holding out his arm. “Let’s get a move on. The jet will be ready in an hour, and after we leave your house, we still need make one more stop on the way to the airport.”

I was stunned, so it took me a minute to move. He had thought of everything. Was his love for me so great he was willing to risk his life for me? In the end I hoped to prove myself worthy of that love, but for now my focus was getting to Prague to save my mom, and to kill Zane.

Three hours later, we sat side by side, fingers entwined and my head nestled against his shoulder. The song, “Marry Me” by Train played softly in the background. William stopped kissing me and gazed into my eyes. “I love you, and I promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you as long as I have a breath in me.”

I traced my finger along his strong jaw line and pulled him closer. “You better.” I smiled and kissed him softly. “I’m counting on a whole lot more of that.”

###

Keep reading for chapter 1 of the second book in the
Ties To The Blood Moon series.

Book 2

Chapter 1

Someone was following us. I knew it and William knew it. He didn’t say anything, but I watched from the corner of my eye as he continuously checked his mirrors. I had the distinct feeling it had everything to do with a man I spotted openly eyeing me standing at the curb just outside the airport exit. The same headlights had been behind us since we left the airport. Staying back far enough to be inconspicuous, but close enough to never lose sight of our car.

After we had stepped off William’s father’s jet, we walked arm in arm inside the airport and waited in line to go through customs. We had depleted the last of our blood supply while in flight and he acted somewhat worried. He had good cause though. He knew I would be getting hungry soon.

Vampires normally ate only every five to seven days. But newly turned vampires craved blood much more often. And for some reason with me it was even worse. It was like I just couldn’t get enough. The more I drank, the more I wanted. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that before William turned me I had been an Adlet werewolf. A werewolf’s sense of smell was many times more sensitive than even that of a bloodhound.

William said it would take my body some time to adjust. Until then, being around humans would almost certainly prove to be a challenge. All the different smells of fresh blood drove me mad. Just thinking about it made my mouth water and my heart beat faster.

“Remember what you learned? Hold your breath as much as possible to help block out the smell,” William nudged me and whispered as we neared the line of people.

He had spent time on the plane helping me to train my mind to accept the fact that vampires didn’t need to breathe nearly as much as humans. But, at the same time we held our breath, we still needed to move our chests in and out to simulate breathing, just in case someone took notice. I really had to concentrate hard to make my chest move while also remembering to not take in a breath.

The airport was so crowded and the smell of fresh blood lingered everywhere. Each time I did take in a necessary breath my mind went crazy with excitement. William quickly took notice and squeezed my hand so tight I thought my fingers would break. He was only doing it to help keep my mind off of a slightly older couple standing in line in front of us.

“Concentrate, Genevieve,” he whispered. “We’ll be through in a few minutes.” His soft lips tickled my ear as he spoke, and the woman who stood in line in front of us, glared at me over her shoulder when she heard me giggle.

Once we made it through customs William scooped up our bags and started leading me through the crowd. There really wasn’t much difference between Prague’s International Airport, and LAX except I could understand
most
of the people at LAX. I couldn’t understand anything these people were saying.

I stopped when I spotted the same woman who had been so rude in line walking into the bathroom. “William, I have to go to the bathroom.” FYI—vampires still pee. Blood is a liquid, and our bodies don’t absorb all of what we drink.

William hadn’t seen her enter the bathroom or he would never have allowed me to go. His forehead wrinkled when he kissed my hand and then reluctantly turned it loose. “Remember, don’t breathe,” he said, staring intently into my eyes.

The bathroom was much different than in the states. They were small enclosed closet-like rooms instead of regular stalls. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose and knew instantly which room she was in. I walked over to the sink and pretended to wash my hands while I watched the doorknob to her stall through the mirror.

When I saw the knob begin to turn I flew across the room in a blur, my hand covering her mouth as the door opened, pushing her back inside. The moment she looked into my eyes she stopped trying to fight. As I sank my teeth into her neck her body went limp. Her blood was richly thick and tasted as sweet as honey. I had only meant to drink a little, but the taste of fresh blood was much more delectable than bagged blood. I continued to drink and probably wouldn’t have been able to stop before killing her, but a sudden terrifying vision of torture and murder quickly brought me back.

I sat her on the toilet, propping her against the wall and hurriedly cleaned her neck with tissue before disappearing from the stall. My saliva would make the wound heal in a matter of seconds.

I stopped for a second just inside the door, smoothing my hair and wiping traces of her blood from my mouth. I tried to act calm when I exited the bathroom. “Okay,” I said to William while forcing a smile. “I feel much better now,” I said, purposely avoiding his eyes.

I felt his eyes on me for the longest before he quietly grabbed my arm, jerking me through the airport, not saying a word until we were safely outside. That was when he spun me around to face him. “What did you do, Genevieve?” He had this wild look in his eyes. A look I had never seen before, and it frightened me.

I wrinkled my brow trying to appear confused. “What are you talking about?” I asked with my most innocent voice.

“Your heart sped up while you were in the bathroom,” he scoffed and quickly reached for my face. I thought he was going to slap me, but instead he rubbed at the corner of my mouth and held up his finger. When I had wiped the woman’s blood from my lips I had missed a spot.

“Well, she…she deserved it,” I justified in a hushed voice. “You saw the way she looked at me—like she somehow knew what I was and thought she was better—and I told you I was starving!” I had no intention of telling him about the terrifying vision I’d had.

“You can’t do that,” he said severely through a clenched jaw. “Not here. Not in this country. These people are different, Genevieve. They know all about vampires and they still secretly hunt them here.”

My eyes widened with alarm. “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “You’re right. It was stupid and I didn’t think it through. I knew I could hypnotize her and she wouldn’t remember anything. I made sure the wound had closed up, and she was sleeping peacefully when I left her.”

William kept looking behind us. “What are you looking at,” I said and tried to turn around to see, but he tightened his hold on my elbow and quickened our pace toward the curb.

“Get in,” he said, holding open the door of a waiting car he’d rented before we left Haven. He tossed our bags into the back seat and slammed the door before rushing around to the driver's side.

As we pulled away from the curb I kept feeling like I was being watched. When I turned I locked eyes with a man in a long black coat with the collar pulled high. He just stood at the curb staring at me as we drove away. I turned my attention to William for a brief second and when I looked back where the man had been standing, he was gone. I sat forward and looked all around, but he’d somehow slipped away.