Page 51 of Blood Bought

“No, Brander won’t allow it. He has no other sons to take his place should he die, and their bloodline has ruled over Discipline in this territory since it formed. But for us, there are things far worse than death, Addy.”

I shivered, getting up to grab Alaris’ blanket to wrap it around myself. “What could they do to him that’s worse than death?”

He eyed me, sizing me up like he wasn’t sure how much to tell me. “What do you know about mates?”

The question caught me off guard. “Not much. Alpha Brander mentioned them when I was first brought in, then Azel did, too. I was supposed to meet up with her at some point to ask some of the million questions I still have, but it hasn’t worked out like that. She bewitched my bracelet to make me listen to Alaris and Sloane, and after that, I didn’t really want to talk to her.”

“But you were told about them previously, right? In school?” he asked.

“No. We learned useful skills like farming and hunting, fishing, sewing, that sort of thing. We had one class on Earth’s history that touched on the humans who came before the wars, then how the vampires and other beings came into existence. Beyond that, we were taught to obey our Alphas and that everything we have now is because they saved us and the planet. Nothing about mates. I barely knew the differences between Obsidian and Faux vampires beyond the basic biological things. They didn’t teach us anything like that.”

Kell hummed. “Probably because teaching you more would tip you off to our weaknesses. Can’t have an uprising on our hands, not when the Shield bloodline is starting to become stronger.”

Great. More fucking questions.“That sounds like a conversation for a different day. Can we please get back to Alaris and the thing worse than death that they’re going to do to him?”

“Mates are rare with vampires. With the wolves, they’re given out like fucking candy. But us? Only one vampire in a generation gets a true mate. Don’t get me wrong, we can fall in love and choose to mate with whoever we want, but destiny has nothing to do with that,” he explained. “Like me, for example. I’m pretty sure that Renzo’s mine, but he’s still a baby in vamp years. He’s still sewing his wilder oats and that’s okay with me for now. It won’t kill me if he doesn’t end up choosing me or anything, though it’ll suck. With Alaris, though...”

“I’m his,” I whispered, awe-struck. “That’s why... well, all of it, I guess.”

Kell nodded. “In the generation above us, it was my father, Idris. That’s why Nyx is by his side though the other Alphas don’t have partners like that. They’re mates, the kind you don’t choose.”

So many things made sense. Everything, actually... except for one little detail. “But Alaris doesn’t believe it’s true?” I asked, heart sinking. “I don’t understand. Then why did he save me?”

“I’d call it an overabundance of caution and wishful thinking combined with a pull to you he couldn’t explain, even when you were born. His plan was to save you and never see you again, but unfortunately, our laws dictate that a saved life is an owed life. He worked things out with Brander hoping that your mother would take your place, knowing that at least if it failed, you’d be older by then. More able to handle this, and it would be way less creepy for him to be following you around like a puppy.”

I wanted to ask if he believed it now that he’d had me, but I was afraid to hear the answer. At least if I stayed in the dark, I could pretend that I was safe, that his words were true and he’d protect me no matter what. That he’d never hurt me. That taking the pieces of me that he’d taken had meant more to him than just a conquest or some easily-doused primal urge. “Okay,” I said simply. “I’d rather he tell me the rest, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, but you should know that I doubt he will. Even if he falls in love with you, he’s unlikely to ever tell you the rest. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you at all, but he’s going to need you after this trial, Adalind. And I need you to understand why, even if he takes that secret to the grave.”

The Alaris who had just been holding me like I was precious would have my support no matter what, so I nodded my understanding as Kellian fell silent to listen. His facial expressions as he undoubtedly argued with Alaris would’ve made me laugh if we were under different circumstances, but instead, it left me burning with curiosity and concern for both of them. If Alaris was on trial for this, Kellian and Renzo probably would be soon, too.

They helped just as much as he did.

“Anything yet?” I whispered after a while. His jaw had been clenched so tightly I could see the bumps of his fangs pressing against his lips, and he stayed so silent I wasn’t sure he heard my question at all.

I continued to stay quiet, pacing in a slow circle as I started to seriously regret saving her. Tamsin had been right, she’d made that choice knowing what the potential consequences had been. We’d all made choices that had led us here, and every single one of them trailed back to me. I wished I could go to the courtroom, burst in and demand that Alpha Brander and the others let Alaris go and punish me instead, since I’d been the one who hadn’t followed through with the debt we owed – but logic told me that would only make things worse, so I silently begged Kellian to tell me what was going on.

“He pled guilty,” he mumbled, eyes dancing across the floor. “Said Ciro’s an animal who treats his bloodwhores worse than dirt, and he felt he had control of Tamsin’s future since you were the one who found her. He was resoundingly overruled on that.”

My heart sank. “What does that mean for him?”

“That this won’t be a drawn-out affair. He’ll be sentenced in a few minutes and then taken to the cells. Once it’s over, though... it’ll be over. Ciro won’t be allowed to ever retaliate again for Tamsin and Alaris won’t be allowed to get revenge on Ciro for bringing the charges against him. It’s our law.”

I sat, lightheaded and breathless. “Oh. Well that’s good, right? Tamsin will still be free and no one dies?”

The color drained from Kellian’s face as he ignored me completely, listening to Alaris in his mind. “No,” he said out loud, standing and slamming his fist into the stone wall. It splintered, cracking slowly after the impact as Kellian’s chest heaved and he whirled around to face me. “Say the word, Alaris. I’ll do it right now. Just say the fucking word.”

I whipped my head around to see if he’d come back in already, but the room was still empty except for us.

“I don’t fucking care about the consequences. Let them fucking come for us. Just– Alaris, you can’t be – fine! Goddamnit, fine!” he yelled, letting his fangs out to bite his own wrist and let the blood drip into an empty cup. The conversation after that remained in Kellian’s head until he was sliding that thick, jet-black shit toward me with a dark expression. “You’re going to need to drink all of that, Addy. Every drop, and then more every day for the next week.”

“What? Why?” I glanced at it with revulsion – while I didn’t mind the taste all that much, drinking blood from anyone but Alaris felt like a betrayal to him.

“Because. They set his punishment already. He’s to go a full week without blood or food of any kind, only water, locked in the cells.”

He paused, and I had the terrible sense to relax. “So I need to be strong for him so I can survive feeding him after that long?” I asked. “That’s why I need the blood?”

“No,” he barked, shoving the glass fully in my hand and closing my fingers around it. “You need the blood because that isn’t the worst part of his punishment. When those seven days are up and he’s wild with hunger and need, they’ll keep him behind bars, and you’ll be brought into the room with Ciro. Ciro... is owed the blood he thinks was stolen from him with Tamsin. He’ll be taking that blood from you... while Alaris is made to watch.”

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