Blood Ties

35

The tellings of a vampire
~
Cadence
~

The aroma of wood and wildflowers welcomed Cadence out of sleep and filled her senses with such a longing she opened her eyes adamant she could inhale the scent for the rest of her days.

She moved ever so slightly but came to a halt as the softness against her wasn't a pillow, but someone else, her head rubbing against another.

His soft waves of hair bathed beneath the sunlight, revealing golden streaks and strands blending against the light shades of brown.

Cadence sat up, a sensation of annoyance pattering through her hazy gaze. How did this happen? Their heads were parted when sleep came over them and then when the sun rose, they connected more than their souls by physically touching.

No.

If Cadence stared at him any longer, the boy who prevailed in beauty and living, she was sure she would have a longer life expectancy than she initially thought.

On the coffee table in front of her, her phone lit up and buzzed against the wood.

Seeing a familiar name, she answered the call and placed the phone to her ear.

"Cadence," Lycus's voice held no sense of greeting. "Where the fuck is my brother, you psychopathic hunter?"

Cadence chortled into the phone and looked over to see Rexton stir over, his peaceful face turning to her.

"How do you know I have him? Maybe he had enough of you and took off."

Lycus growled on the other line. "Accalia told me he ran off with you in the woods at the party. Now where the fuck is he?"

Cadence looked at the clock ticking on the kitchen wall and saw it just passed seven o'clock in the morning. She almost admired the aggressive concern he had toward his brother, enough to want to tip him over the edge with worry for it.

"Got him wasted, pierced his tongue and completely ruined him. I'll see you back at the house. Have everyone there."

"Cadence Larren—"

Cadence cut the call and stretched against the couch, stifling a yawn.

Rexton heard the movement and shot up, scanning the area with prying bloody and obsidian eyes.

Cadence steered back, placing her hands up but didn't close them into fists to protect herself. "Easy, tiger, you're fine. Nothing is around."

Rexton blinked and shook his head, shaking away all the bad. "Did I wake you?" He husked, his face torn with sleep and worry.

Cadence wasn't about to tell him how the sun rose with her head against his and as far as she was concerned, she would be taking that to her grave where it would die with her.

Dismissively, she waved him off and said, "Er, no. But your brother called, the aggressive and dramatic one."

Cadence slanted him a sly look at that, but Rexton wasn't pleased, scratching the back of his neck as his breathing shallowed.

"He will be angry with me," Rexton concluded, closing his eyes a short moment as a waterfall of disappointment ushered across his sleepy features. "I betrayed his trust."

"Been there," Cadence grumbled at the hybrid and clapped her hands together in finality. "Done that. He'll get over it. We'll head back to the pack soon."

Rexton wasn't comforted, but Cadence didn't have time to focus on him as scampering echoed down the halls and Erisa appeared.

The Jaeger hunter didn't skip a beat as she pulled the bow off her shoulder and tossed it to Cadence.