Page 72 of Those That Don't Exist
I’m out into the waning afternoon sunshine before I can think. It's all instinct, get out, get back to the city. Back to Red.
I run into the shadows of the trees surrounding the property and pull on my magic, setting my shadows free. They swarm me, darkening everything around me, providing me protection. I don’t head down the driveway, it's too obvious. Instead I launch myself through the trees, into the thicker forest until I hit the stream.
Panting and dizzy I plunge myself into the water to hide my scent. I pause momentarily to wash the blood from my face, my skin, and then I’m moving again. I stay in the cold water, so my scent can’t be followed, and this way I leave no footprints either. I run through the shallow bits and swim as it gets deeper, turning into a river. My muscles scream at me from the abuse I’m putting them through. My injuries from the fight make everything harder.
I follow the river until I can see the first buildings of the city, the streetlamps sparking on as dusk falls. I scramble up the bank, ducking into the shadows of a suburban house and pause to catch my breath.
I’m free.
I’m no longer bound to the pack. It feels surreal. I want to celebrate, I want to enjoy this moment I thought would never come. But I need to get to Red. I know they’ll go after her now. I must get to her first. Protect her. Claim her. Make her mine.
CHAPTER 26
AURORA
I’d returned home with a stack of books, which are now littered across my bed. I’d settled amongst them and gotten to work. My notepad open on my lap, I’m tapping my pen against it as I flit between two of the giant tomes. I hadn’t wanted to linger in the library in case any of the pack were following me. I’d come home as soon as I checked out the books I needed. Maybe I’d also grabbed a couple that weren’t supposed to leave the library. One of which is what I’mtryingto translate right now. It's an older version of our language, so it's not too challenging, but there are certain phrases and spellings slowing down my understanding.
I’ve learnt more about vampire blood bonds in the last two hours than I could’ve hoped. I’d been searching for something else when this old leather bound book had caught my attention. The author was a vampire pack leader four centuries ago. Even that far back he’d felt the need to record these rituals for fear future vampires would need guidance, had concerns the Fae would succeed in breaking the pack practices and scatter the vampires across the world.
Blood bonds are far more significant than I previously thought. I knew Ty was bound by some form of magic but notthat it’s almost a tangible tie to the person he swears allegiance to. I can't wrap my head around how it must feel. Both Ty, and now this ancient vampire, are firm believers in these bonds though. The stabilisation of their magic and the pooling of the power seems worth it.
I don’t know how I feel about it. It seems like handing over part of your free will. It's a lot of trust. I can’t quite understand the magic stabilisation either. My power has never felt unruly. I had the normal flares during adolescence when your hormones are raging but other than that it’s answered my will. To reassure myself I sit back, changing my nail colour, giving them a glamour of pink polish, then black, before settling on a deep red. I leave it in place.
I look back at the book, reading further. I may have gotten a little sidetracked when I noticed there’s a chapter on mating bonds. It reaffirms everything Ty has told me. These bonds are a two-way connection, unlike pack bonds which are a one way street. They’re between couples, or polyamorous groups, and are formed through a blood exchange as each party climaxes during sex.
Could I imagine bonding myself to Ty? It would be for life. There’s no way to break a mate bond, only death severs the connection. That should scare me considering how I’ve only known Ty for a short while, but something in my chest settles with the thought of having such a connection with him.
The passage I’m currently reading talks of mates who get blessed with additional magical abilities once the bond is in place. Couples who can read each other's minds and mates who can sense each other from great distances, being able to tell their mated partner’s mood or emotions. It sounds insane to me, but then again a year ago I didn’t think vampires existed anymore. None of this information has ever been commonlyknown. Maybe the vampires started hiding things as soon as the Fae started their hate campaign.
Nothing like this exists between the Fae, even with their ability to mate. Theirs seems to be more of a marker, they wear the bite marks like a tattoo and their scents entwine but that's it. If they mate a human their life force gets bonded so the human can live longer, if one dies the other dies too. For vampires it’s almost as if the mates are one soul split between however many bodies are in the bond although if one dies the other does not. I can’t fathom the pain they must feel.
I finish the page before checking my phone again. No new notifications. It's been hours. I had been expecting Ty to message me to say he was coming over. We need to talk about today, about what to do next. I wanted to show him my research too.
I’ve been too afraid to message him in case he’s not alone. Even with the code name I’m stored under on his phone, something tells me not to contact him in case someone sees his screen.
Another hour passes and I’m pouring over a different book when I hear someone out in the hall beyond my bedroom. Bree will still be at practice. Given it’s nearly time for her to audition for actual dance studios, she's rarely home before midnight since term started. The footsteps sound way too heavy for Claire.
I quickly shuffle on the bed so I’m facing the door as I hear them getting closer. Moving into a crouched position, rather than the cross legged one I had been sitting in, I grab the nearest thing I can to use as a weapon. I suck in a breath to centre myself as the door swings open.
“Are you seriously going to stab me with a pen?” The male vampire filling my doorway says as he clocks the object in my hand. He cocks his head, raising an eyebrow. The breath stills in my lungs.
“It's the only thing I have,” I reply.
“Weeks of training, literal fangs and you go with a pen?” Ty stares down at me incredulously, but a grin splits his face.
“You could’ve messaged me, I thought I was about to be murdered, or kidnapped, or something.”
“I’m sorry Red, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says as he steps into the room. “I’m free of the pack.”
I nod at his apology and go to move the books off the bed so he can join me. What he said sinks into my brain and my eyes snap back up to him.
“You broke the pack bond?” My eyes widen.
“Yes, Red. I’m free,” he repeats, closing the door behind him, leaning back against it. A cocky grin plastering his face.
I launch myself at him.
Ty catches me with an “oomph”as my arms wrap around his neck and my legs around his waist. However, the moment he winces away from my left thigh I immediately slacken my grip to drop down. He doesn’t let me go though, his hands flying to grip my ass, holding me firmly in place.
