Blood Ties (Blood Lust Sequel)--COMPLETED

Chapter Fourteen: Not So Different (Linc's POV)

I watched Aud's back until she got to the school. Her attempt to Influence me into leavin' was a bust, but I could still sense the hurt and anger behind her command. And it made me feel like shit, knowin' I caused those feelings.

"Damn it!" I snarled. "Damn it all to fuckin' Hell!"

Why was I like this?

Why did I always say the wrong thing?

All I wanted was to keep her close, keep her safe. But every time I turned around I was doin' dumb shit to push her away. "Damn it!"

"You're still here?" The half breed Aud was playin' tonsil hockey with cleared his throat, givin' me the stink eye. "I'm pretty sure she told you to leave."

Can't say I blamed him for the attitude. I did jump him, literally, not long after my people held him captive. Still, he was monster.

A monster that was using Audrey...

Fuck that purple haired prick!

"You gonna do somethin' 'bout it?" I shot back, hopin' he would. Having something to hit would be a sight better than beatin' myself up. My muscles tensed, ready for action. But it never came. The monster looked at me, his pale face only a little bruised and in the process of healing.

And then he sighed. "Why? You look like you're doing a great job of beating yourself up to me."

He turned to gather up an arm load of firewood, as if I wasn't a threat.

That pissed me off even more.

"You really gonna turn your back on an enemy?" I seethed. "Do you have any idea what I am? What I could do to you?"

He heaved a heavy sigh, and turned back around to face me. Instead of speakin', he let out a whistle like he did before. It felt like millions of tiny pieces of glass were scraping my eardrums, and I covered my ears with tears in my eyes. I was hollering, though I couldn't hear it over his whistlin'. Finally, he stopped, standing above me with a tired and smug look on his face.

"I don't care what you are. I can take you out before you have time to blink." He stepped past me, packing the wood around front. "Now, I suggest you do as Audrey says and leave before the others hear of what you said to her."

It wasn't 'til then that I noticed I was on my knees. Scramblin' to my feet, I followed him to the front, and snorted.

"Shit. Like any y'all motherfuckers scare me."

"We should." His voice was sober, his back still to me. "One on one, a vampire against you, I take is more toward your favor. You might even be able to hold your own against two. But more than that?" He stopped to kick his door open. I could hear him drop the wood in a box somewhere inside before he reappeared in his doorway. "You really should be afraid. If you were a wise man, you would be."

I chuckled without humor. "Well, I ain't never been accused of bein' wise."

"I can see why."

"Says the man runnin' around barefoot and shirtless in the middle of winter."

He let out a short laugh. "Touche. But I'm only dressed like this for convenience. If I have to go into the water, the less clothes I have to take off, the better." 

"So, what, you're half mermaid or somethin'?" I was trying for casual, but I was actually eager to know. Not even Havoc, with all the intel he'd gathered on the vamps of Lachlan Island, knew what mothered the child of Gildoroy.

Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

"Close." He nodded. "I'm actually part siren."

I could've smacked myself.

Of course he was part siren. His whistle ability, the way he was drawn to the water. Bein' part siren made complete sense!

But that still left me with one question. "Why you tellin' me this? Ain't you afraid I'm spying for the AOD?"

Could he really be so foolish to trust me? Or maybe he was feedin' me false info, just in case I actually was a spy?

He rolled his eyes, which were a shade darker than his purple hair. "If any of us thought you were a spy, you'd be dead. Besides, I can see myself in you."

"Whoa, pal, I don't swing that way!"

"What the fuck? No!" He shook his head, disbelief and disgust twisting his face. "No, I mean, we're not so different, you and I."

I squinted at him. "How ya get that?"

He shrugged. "Well, we both love Audrey."

I gulped, heat stingin' my cheeks. I looked away and down, trying to hide my face.

"And we're both half breeds." He added.

My eyes jerked up to meet his. "How'd ya know?"

I never met a vamp that could detect my human side, just my...otherness. And I sure as shit didn't advertise what I was. So how'd he know?

"I can sense it." He simply answered. "How you're a part of two different worlds, yet you belong to neither. I can recognize the anger and sadness that goes with that, because I've carried those same feelings all my life."

My eyes widened, too stunned to speak. But it didn't last long. I brushed off the relief of havin' someone finally understand how I felt, and asked, "is that why you're doin' this whole sharing and caring act? Because we're both pathetic loners?"

His gaze hardened. "No." He snapped. "I'm telling you all this because I need to know that we can trust each other."

"And why would we need to trust each other?"

"Because we both want the same thing."

My eyebrows scrunched together, confused.

He leaned in close and whispered his answer. "To get Audrey off this damn island."

A/N*

Sorry for the short chapter, but OMG! Did y'all see that ending coming? How do you all feel about an alliance between Linc and Nero? Let me know in the comments! As always, thanks so much for reading ❤