Soul Bound

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The vampire reaches a pale arm through the hole and flicks the lock on the knob. His movements are deliberate and painfully slow as he opens the door, like time has not touched him for so long he's forgotten how to move through it. He's a very old vampire.

His face is all angles and his hair is slicked back off his large forehead. He's dressed in odd robes that resemble a Catholic priest's, but the Roman collar is red instead of white.

"I don't care who the hell you are, yeah? You take one more step and I'll put so much lead down your throat you'll be shitting bullets for a week," Dunn grits out through his teeth.

"Sinner," the vampire says, his accent smooth and unidentifiable, "I give you two choices: repent for your sins or... cooperate."

Dunn doesn't hesitate. I hear the tap of the hammer and the bullet rips through the air, flying through empty space, and lodging itself in the wall opposite the room.

I blink and miss it.

The vampire's hand is coiled around Dunn's neck and in an instant he pulls him over the desk and lifts him into the air. I jump onto the desk, which creaks under the weight of the grizzly I shift into. I'm ready to launch myself at him when suddenly Finn is there, one hand firmly on the vampires shoulder and the other wrapped around my muzzle, keeping it shut.

"Judge," he says, in his polite but persuasive way, "please put my employee down."

I shift back, urging my heart rate to decelerate before it ruptures my veins.

"Mr. Byrom, I suggest you restrain your dogs before I do something irreversible," Judge says. He turns his head in that same impossibly slow manner to look at Finn then releases Dunn, who drops to the floor. His neck is already bruising.

I scramble down from the desk and kneel beside Dunn who is coughing and rubbing at his throat.

"Falon, this man needs to speak with you about this morning's events. He has twenty minutes to do so." Finn smiles, but pronounces each syllable of the last sentence with a sharp tongue, eyes locked on Judge.

I stand and square my body to look at the man. Wolf encourages me to bare my teeth, but I resist. My nostrils flare and my lips close in a tight line. Judge eyes me with something that resembles disgust. His upper lip curls slightly toward his nose and his eyebrows pull toward each other, smushing the skin in between into a crease.

"Don't, Mr. Byrom. Don't let her go with him," Dunn says from the floor. "Stupid bastard thinks he can-"

"Tobias," Finn cautions.

The muscles in Dunn's jaw go taut at the use of his first name. He rises, eyes trained on the ground.

Finn turns to Judge and says, calmly, "We had an agreement. The Order was supposed to leave us be. You may talk to her, but you may not break our deal again." He's telling, not asking.

"Very well. The Order will not forget your cooperation, Mr. Byrom. I assure you she will come to no harm... on this day," Judge says. His gaze flicks to Finn then back at me. "Come with me, binder."

No. Wolf refuses. She cements my feet in place.

There's not enough time to play tug of war with her over my body. I shove her hard, back into my subconscious. But when she's gone I feel alone and vulnerable. I hesitate, looking from Finn to Dunn, neither of whom will look me in the eyes.

"Go, Falon," Finn orders.

He must trust this vampire not to hurt me. But he's wrong to trust me not to hurt him.