Feral Bonds

Chapter 17

It was a long drive to reach Ephelia's house. Natania dozed off for most of the ride, which made it really hard to sleep when they stopped at a hotel for the day. Natania curled up on the edge of one of the beds in wolf form while the vampire's died. It was made worse by the amount of noise the other guests were making as they got up and went about their day. It was a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, so hopefully most of the guests would be gone before long.

She had to shift at one point to snarl at a maid who had ignored the "do not disturb" sign hanging on the door and tried to walk right in. "We're sleeping," Natania snapped.

"It's twelve in the afternoon," the maid complained.

"We work nights," Natania replied, then slammed the door in her face.

"Problems?" Vincent asked when she returned to her spot on the bed and she almost leaped out of her skin.

"Go back to dead," Natania growled, irritated that she had already forgotten that he could wake whenever he wanted. "You can't go anywhere yet anyway."

"You seem bored," he replied, opting to ignore her disrespect.

"I've never been so bored as I have been since I bargained with you," she said dryly. "Feels like being trapped in a damn zoo."

"Do you want more meat filled pumpkins to push around your enclosure?" he said, equally dryly.

"At least that would be mildly entertaining," she grumbled.

He rolled his eyes. "Go for a run, wolf. I'll put the fear of god into any other maids that can't read."

Natania snorted, but wasn't going to turn down that offer. Once outside, she looked for a secluded place where she could shift without being seen. It wasn't hard, they were surrounded by wilderness, except for the single, empty roadway. There were only two cars in the lot aside from Vincent's.

Natania sprinted into the woods, ducking behind some bushes to shift and tried to pull the magic around her. It didn't answer her call, and she growled with frustration. Guess she would just have to avoid being seen the old fashioned way.

She ran through the woods, taking in all the smells and sights, and fresh air that didn't reek of vampires or humans. Catching and killing a rabbit that crossed her path, she sat down to eat in quick, eager bites. Fresh prey was better than anything prepared.

She ran until she ran out of breath, a little disappointed at how little distance that had become. Being cooped up in that house was ruining her stamina. When the sun started to go down she returned to the room, feeling better than she had in months.

"Better?" Vincent asked after she closed the door.

"Loads."

Vincent took her blood and Ray muttered to himself about having to find food in the middle of nowhere.

Natania sighed heavily. "If you behave yourself, you can have some of mine."

"I wouldn't," Vincent warned. "Too much blood loss."

Natania shrugged. "Do you need me to be awake for the ride?"

"No," he said, reluctantly. "Very well, it's your call."

Ray gave her a puzzled look and Natania raised an eyebrow. "Just let me get in the car first."

"You're offering to give me your blood?" He frowned at her. "And you tried to save me from the fire as well."

Natania growled. "Don't remind me." She threw her pack over her shoulder and headed for the door. "I'd rather have watched you burn to death," she called.