Page 66 of A Bond Beyond Blood

I wanted to be fearless, and this was the first step.

Once I made it to the rooftop, I charged toward the edge of the building and leapt over it, grinning as I plummeted downward, then I curled my body in on itself like a cannonball, wrapped my arms around my legs, and—

Holy shit.

Istilllanded on my feet.

“How the fuck?”

Shaking my head, I jumped over the windowsill and raced upstairs again.

This time, I changed my tactic.

As I ran toward the edge of the roof, imagining the way my skull might crack open this time and splatter my brains across the snow-dusted ground below, I dove head first, tucking my arms tightly against my body like a torpedo, and holding my breath as I waited for the impact—

And, once again, I landed on my feet, the soles of my sneakers making a softthumpin the deserted alleyway.

“Oh,come on,” I grumbled—

Behind me, someone cleared their throat and I spun around, bracing myself for a fight.

A tall, slender man emerged from the shadows, his eyes a striking ice-blue and his shock of white-blond hair slicked back neatly.“Do you wish to die the final death?”

My brows furrowed, then I straightened and shook my head, hands curling into fists at my sides.“No.”I braced myself for whatever came next.He’d witnessed me propelling myself off the roof, sticking the landing every single time, then easily determined I was a vampire—which, from my experience, meant he’d either leave me the fuck alone, or make a move.

Growing up where I did, I’d fought plenty.But since I’d turned, I didn’t enjoy brawling like I once did; humans were no match for me, which made the fight end too damn fast, and other vamps tended to kick the ever-loving shit out of me.

But that didn’t mean I was going to bow out if this guy wanted to throw down.

His eyes narrowed as he approached me, then his nostrils flared and he tilted his head back, closing his eyes as he breathed deeply.When he met my gaze again, his lips quirked up to one side.

His presence threw me off kilter almost as dramatically as the drop from the fourth floor.My blood vibrated as he grew closer.My knees felt pulled to buckle, to give out on me and drop me to the ground.To fail their one goddamn job.

What the fuck—

“Tell me what you know about the butcher’s daughter.”

I tensed, eyes widening as my pulse sped.How did he know Jackie?“W-what—?”Annoyed by that tremor of fear in my voice, I cleared my throat and shrugged.“What butcher?”

The man—vampire—leveled me with a look of amusement, then rolled his eyes.But in the blink of an eye, his features hardened; the planes of his face looked chiseled from actual stone, his eyes so cold a shiver actually raced down my spine.

My useless knees tried again to force me down at his feet.

“Let’s not pretend.I followed you from her home.”

I swallowed hard and took a step back, but when he lifted his chin, looking down his nose at me, I froze.I couldn’t saywhyexactly, just that I knew.

Iknew.

Somewhere inside, deep within my very core, Iknewnot to run from this vampire.Not to try a goddamn thing in his presence.

Somehow, my body recognized the need to remain still.

Tokneel.

Self-preservation on a cellular level that I didn’t understand, but couldn’t ignore.My legs ached painfully as I battled to remain upright even as every cell begged me to kneel before him, and so I finally did.

I could beat myself up about that later.

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