Soul Bound

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The blood lust I had before sits in the pit of my stomach like a disease as I run. I had wanted to do that to them. Wanted to rip them apart. Never wanted to kill so badly in my life. And that's what it looks like when a hunter catches its prey.

My chest tightens and I can feel it. Something—someone—is chasing me. I can hear the breath behind me, the panting, the heavy footfalls. It'll be on me soon. I'll fight. I'll fight it, damn it. I'll—

There's someone ahead of me. Come out from nowhere. A pale man with long, black hair. I skid to a stop, my jaw clenching so tight my teeth feel like they might break. The one chasing me catches up to us. He's behind me. What the black-haired man lacks in smell, this one makes up for ten-fold. The anger and excitement earlier was all from him. His stench is wild and dangerous.

It's familiar, but I can't place it.

The black-haired man walks towards me, movements as fluid and purposeful as a stream of water. His snake-like grace is something I recognize. They all have it.

The puncture wounds in the poacher's neck should've given it away. He's a vampire. Shit, he's a vampire.

"And here we were, thinking that gun shot would scare you away," he says.

"I know what you are." I square my chest and push my shoulders back.

"And we know what you are, soul binder," he replies. His black eyes widen with his smile.

"Then you must know Finnegan Byrom too." Every vampire in North America knows who Finn is.

The threat doesn't seem to deter him as he walks closer. "I've not had the pleasure of meeting him in person. But we were told to come after his intriguing little pet." He smiles and runs the back of his pale fingers down my cheek. "Very intriguing, indeed."

"I'm no one's pet." I jerk my head away from his touch.

He circles behind me and I turn to keep him in my view, catching sight of the man who had been chasing me. My eyes flick between them. The other one is huge. The biggest man I've ever seen in my life: bigger than Hicks, bigger than Finn, and bulky as a bull. His hair is buzzed close to his head and a shining white scar is slashed across his skull. There are at least ten other scars covering his skin. He's seen his fair share of violence.

There's no way I can win this fight. Not against both of them. I need to bluff my way out of this.

"While I appreciate you taking care of my poacher problem, Finn's on his way. So if you don't want him to shred you up like my wheat cereal, you better run along."

There's a brush of air as the vampire moves behind me. "Finn's not coming for you. He thinks we're after his scientist." His forearm presses against my throat, his other hand sinks into my hip, fingernails scratching over the material on my hipbone, his breath is wispy in my ear.

"What a charming young lady you are," he whispers, nosing my hair, "but I believe you are a bit of a bluff. All bark and no..." he nips at my earlobe, "bite."

Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down. "Go on, have a taste," I dare.

If he drinks my blood he'll be dead in seconds and half of our problem will be solved, right?

Wolf is silent in my head, assessing our options for fight or flight. I hope she figures it out soon.

"Careful who you make a snack of," the big one chides.

"Oh, but she smells so... palatable." The vampire slides his fingers along the juncture of my neck and shoulders. "I'm sure just a taste would be fine. Just to whet my appetite." His tongue traces the path of his fingers, licking up the sweat gathered there.