blood 03 - blood chosen Read online

  “It's not the loving that's the problem,” Jason said with slow conviction.

  “Then what is it?” William asked. “So that we might help you and in so doing, help Julia.”

  He looked at them both and inhaled sharply. “It's not that I don't love her.” His tortured gaze locked with theirs. “It's that I love her too much.” Jason held their gazes for a long moment, then turned and walked out, his broad back disappearing around the corner.

  It was the identical problem for them all.

  Loving Julia is not the issue, William thought. It was sorting through the love that was.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Julia

  Julia had that tight feeling of wanting to escape her skin, of a spoiled fruit before it bursts the confines of its flesh. The hot breath of it lingered and boiled across her like unseen vapor, the press of it almost suffocating.

  Julia folded into herself again, at once angry and resigned. A single shaky breath escaped her as someone fell into step beside her and she glanced to her left.

  It was Reagan. Julia wasn't sure if that was an improvement to her mood. After what she'd done to Tony... Julia wasn't sure that keeping company with a woman as violent as Reagan was such a swell idea. Especially when she was in such a poisonous mood.

  “Hi,” Reagan said, her long arms behind her back, hands knotted.

  Julia gave her a sidelong glance. “Hey.”

  “I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Reagan said and Julia couldn't help the soft chuckle.

  “Maybe. I mean, the whole beating the snot out of your bio-dad was kind of a wow.”

  Reagan said nothing for a moment, but the small smile gave her away. “He's a father by genetics only....”

  Julia stopped and looked up at the taller woman. She was struck by her intense vitality. Even when Reagan stood there so still, somehow- she still moved. It was almost a microscopic energy that she harnessed, a lot of it seeping out without her being aware.

  “I'm not sure what capacity you're going to... be,” Julia said.

  “My role?” Reagan asked, black brows raised.

  Julia nodded.

  Reagan grinned. “You're going to be the Queen bee and I'll be... like an advisor drone.”

  Julia laughed. “So you're not going to be...” Julia waffled her hand back and forth, smiling at the hive analogy.

  “Kind of pervy,” Reagan commented, but her eyes were smiling.

  Julia blushed to the roots of her hair. “I... wow. This is beyond awkward.”

  Reagan nodded. “Better you than me,” she pointed out.

  Julia frowned up at her. “Gee, thanks.”

  Reagan shrugged. “I am glad not to be the Rare One, I'm not suited for it.”

  “No shit,” Cyn said from behind them and Julia turned, throwing her arms around the other girl. “God, am I glad to have you back.”

  “Yeah, since I saved you,” Cyn said as she pressed Julia against her. It was the best feeling. After two years of grief and turmoil, Jules was back. She was back.

  They pulled away and laughed simultaneously, hugging a second time.

  Reagan glanced at the two women then let her eyes wander the forest as the Combatant skulked in the shadows. Reagan supposed she should feel bolstered by their presence. She didn't. They were warriors like herself, but of another ilk. Reagan didn't trust easily. Life had been a fine teacher of that lesson.

  “So,” Cyn began, taking Julia's hand and meeting the gold of her eyes.

  “So?” Julia answered, searching her friend's face, so glad Cyn had escaped Tony there were no words.

  “Jason's being a dick,” she finished without preamble.

  “Oh... I like her,” Reagan enthused, her concentration sliding from the depths of the wood to the women again.

  Julia's face fell a little but she shored up. “Kinda. I mean,” she squeezed Cyn's hand, “he's different than he was. I think he still cares about me but...”

  “He hates you too,” Reagan intuited and Julia nodded.

  “He's just mixed up Jules... he'll come around.”

  There was a minute sound and Reagan turned, a weapon in her hand. It was a blur of speed, one moment it wasn't there and the next, Julia's eyes picked up the glint of the metal against her palm.

  “Or not... and if he does not, you will have to find another Were on short notice,” Jacqueline said from the distance that separated them.

  Great. “Thanks for reminding me,” Julia said, her eyes on the greatest enemy of her life. Julia didn't vie for power, she wanted what was best for both herself and the Singers. She didn't think Jacqueline would be taken seriously. Even if scripture gave the illusion of choice, there really wasn't any. The bottom line was that if Julia did not have a true inter-species marriage, her protection would be vulnerable and Jacqueline could worm her way into the hierarchy by a loophole of default by non-consent. The Combatant would not be sufficient. They were meant to protect until the power structure solidified- not indefinitely. She understood that now.

  Julia didn't want Jason to go through the ceremony out of obligations that he no longer felt. She didn't want Scott to be with her because of chemistry. And William was too old-school to let go of her.

  Jacqueline watched the kaleidoscope of emotions move across Julia's face. “So conflicted... so undecided. That is most excellent.”

  “Shut your yap, Singer,” Reagan said. “I don't feel the least bit charitable toward you. You see what my anger has done to your companion?” she asked in clear warning.

  Jacqueline tried to raise a shoulder but her hands were bound behind her back, so her feigned nonchalance lost some of its bite. The Combatant tightened his grip on her upper arm and she went on as if unaffected, “Anthony... your werewolf sire? Yes, he is most useful. And for all your violence against him, he heals even now.”

  “Your point?” Reagan asked like she didn't care, her lithe and muscular arms folded across her body. Reagan's weapon was sheathed for the moment, but at the ready should the need arise.

  “Have you not asked yourself why he did not defend himself more strongly?” Jacqueline queried.

  Reagan hesitated, her mind skimming the memory of beating Tony. Had he only gotten two strikes on her? Three? “He was bound,” Reagan said, and even to her ears it sounded more like an evasive defense. She gave Jacqueline more of her attention, not less. She bore watching. Of that, Reagan was sure.

  “No,” Jacqueline commented softly, “if he were bent on hurting you, even now you would lay bleeding.”

  They looked at each other.

  “How does she matter?” Cyn asked, a confused look on her face as she swept her palm at Jacqueline. Then she answered her own question, “Right.... she doesn't matter. That's it!” Cyn half-yelled, throwing a finger straight up at the sky. “We were all listening to you like your bullshittery mattered. Doesn't. Matter- Just sayin'.”

  Reagan smiled.

  Jacqueline focused her eyes on Cyn. “You are a very new Singer, so I will let your rude ignorance pass.”

  “Oh horseshit. You don't have a choice. You're bound, you're 'jailed',” Cyn said, giving Jacqueline eyes that were dead serious, her voice pleasant when she explained, “You tried to kill Jules and should be euthanized, just like Tony.”

  Reagan laughed. “That's awfully harsh, Singer.” But there was a smile hidden in her voice.

  Cyn nodded as Jacqueline regarded her. “It's fair. The Rare One is here, ready to take over and this arrogant wench tries to pull out the scripture that no one probably gives a ready shit about just so she can have a chance at the throne. Nevermind that she tried to murder the true future ruler, and myself!” Cyn splayed her fingers on her chest, drilling everyone in the eyes with her logic. “Why don't they just kill her ass?”

  “They cannot,” Jacqueline purred. “For I have royal blood. What if the Rare One were to die of accidental causes? And the Combatant has already formed the circle.” She tsked Cyn like she was an idiot.


  Cyn huffed, crossing her arms and muttered, “Accidental causes my ass.”

  Reagan nodded at Cyn. “Tick tock,” she said and Jacqueline gave her a sharp look.

  “You grasp things very well for a Were,” Jacqueline said as an insult.

  “I am a Moon Warrior. I am more than a Were, half-breed.”

  Jacqueline gritted her teeth, her dark eyes spilt ink in the cast moonlight of her face. “You do not tell me from whence I came, bastard child.”

  “Do you know what it means to be Moon Warrior?” Reagan asked softly and Julia watched the women look at each other like two opponents in a match to the death, their only weapons were the words from their mouths.

  “I do not concern myself with dogs when I can occupy my thoughts on the rightful and primary species.”

  Julia felt embarrassed, though Jacqueline's words couldn't be owned by her, she was a Singer. Her representation was so selfish and condescending it made Julia want to crawl underneath a rock.

  “So you presume,” Reagan stated in reply.

  “I gotta hear this,” Cyn said and moved closer to Julia. Julia also wanted to hear what they knew about each other. It was a great distraction from the difficult choices she had to make.

  “I do not presume, mongrel—I know.”

  Julia's heart beat a single time and Reagan was suddenly inches from Jacqueline, who never moved, the Combatant stiffening beside Jacqueline. It was interesting that he wasn't sure what Reagan would do either. Even after she'd seen what Reagan was capable of, she stood, unruffled and with an utter lack of concern.

  “Gawd she's a ballsy broad,” Cyn said and Julia could only nod in agreement.

  “Yeah.”

  Reagan ran her nose inches over the shorter woman, dragging deep of her scent and when she leaned back there was an expression of triumph on that starkly beautiful face. “You smell of wolf, and something else. If you are pure blood then I am a male.” Reagan stepped back as the two Combatant who held Jacqueline chuckled.

  Julia gasped and Jacqueline's face turned to hers. “I am as I said I was: a pure blood. I do not have mongrel or any other in my line.”

  “My nose can't lie,” Reagan stated as fact, completely unruffled.

  “So what does it matter?” Cyn asked, looking from one face to the other. “So she goes bow-wow at the full moon? Or could... whatever.” She threw up her hands in irritation.

  “It is not 'whatever',” William said as he walked into the loose circle of prisoner and Combatant, his eyes finding and resting on Julia. He was glad to see her expression resolved. Not unaffected but resolute. William swung his gaze away from her to fall on Jacqueline. “If it be that you are not of pure Singer lineage, you cannot claim title to the throne. You know this.” William was actually familiar with the other supernaturals’ histories. He felt it was part and parcel of being a victor in all things. Know thine enemy.

  “The responsibility of proving this outrageous claim falls on all but me,” Jacqueline said, her eyes running over the growing crowd.

  Julia would have claimed Jacqueline was nervous if she knew her better.

  “What is Jacqueline saying?” Marcus asked as he strode up to the group, concern on his face... but something else as well- hope.

  The circle had broadened to include Jason and Scott, who kept their distance from Julia. Both felt, in their own way, they might have abused her emotions enough for one day. Cyn looked over at them and away. Her expression said more clearly than words, back off.

  Scott turned his sour expression on his real mother, hating her presence, knowing she was here to stay. If not at their Region, then going back to Region Two with nothing more than a slap on her wrist for trying to kill the one chosen for him. He guessed when their ancient laws were written, there'd been no concept of someone this treacherous.

  William gazed at Jacqueline with thoughts which echoed Scott's. If everything went as it should, Julia would become so powerful that Jacqueline's nefarious machinations against Julia would be like an irritating gnat as opposed to the sting of a wasp. It was the interim that concerned William most. Jacqueline was a threat. Her very existence was a problem as William saw it, in addition to her try for Julia's throne. He thought and voiced it in the growing silence, “If a vampire were to take blood, he or she would know instantly where your ancestry lies.”

  The silence grew deeper, it had a taste to it, a weight.

  “I love that,” Cyn said. “Anything to get the wicked witch of the east out of here.”

  Scott agreed. “Yeah, let William sink fang and then we'll know.”

  Marcus palmed his chin. “It amazes me, that if it were true, that we had a son that is Combatant.” His eyes were steady on Jacqueline. “Of course, you would never have revealed a mixed lineage to the council. It would have impeded your bid for power. Obscuring your ancestry is tricky but...”

  “Doable,” Adi guessed, coming to stand next to Cyn. Cyn looked at her and they gave each other a high five.

  “No drinker will pierce my flesh,” Jacqueline seethed.

  “Only Julia could show you that bit of mercy, Jacqueline.”

  Jacqueline's eyes met Julia's. There was no softness, no pleading. But if there had been, Julia would have ignored it. She tried to kill her. Julia didn't want to be cruel but if it would give her time, then she would do it. Fleshing out the damn truth sounded pretty good about now.

  Julia met William's eyes. “Do it.”

  Jacqueline actively struggled as William glided closer while Marcus remained silent. “If he pierces my vein and finds nothing I claim recompense!” she yelled in a clear and ringing voice.

  Marcus nodded once. “Granted.”

  “I hear and obey,” one of the Combatant at her elbow responded.

  Jacqueline screamed, a full-throated desolate shriek of rage and frustration. Her eyes glittered on William's, and Scott fought not to stop it. Though he hated what Jacqueline had done, some scrap of their combined genetics forced a response from deep inside him that he couldn't shut down.

  Julia felt a tug of grief and uncertainty from somewhere behind her and knew it was Scott. She felt rather than saw his feet move before she realized she'd moved and he opened his arms as she walked into them. It was perfectly coordinated though neither had planned it.

  “It's okay,” Julia soothed. “He won't hurt her.”

  “It's not okay,” Scott said. No drinker had the right to touch a Singer. He squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment, thinking about Julia with William. Thinking about Jacqueline trying to poison his soulmate. They were owed the right to know the truth.

  Julia tipped her face back, studying this man who felt so right it was as if he was part of her body. Some of what he felt bit at the edges of her mind and she studied him a little more thoroughly. “I would have killed her if I had caught her trying to murder you,” he stated in a flat voice and Julia nodded. She knew he was telling the truth. “But I can't watch her be used by the drinker.”

  “It's William,” Julia reasoned and he gave her a small shake, turning her around and forcing her to watch William.

  Scott bent down next to her ear and whispered. “He is vampire, Julia. He is always that first. Everything else comes second.”

  Julia watched as Jacqueline startled like a deer caught in headlights, falling into his gaze, stilling. “Do not,” she gave as a final plea and it sounded to Julia very much like what it was- begging. She watched as one by one every Singer turned their backs on Jacqueline and faced away.

  “It will be only pain... or you can allow me to soften it for you,” William said, giving her the choice.

  “I want the pain,” Jacqueline answered.

  “Very well,” William replied.

  Julia watched him grip her shoulders as the Combatant's hold fell away, only Scott, Jason, Cyn and Adi watched. The Singers held silent communion with the forest. Their gaze was on the lush vegetation that surrounded the Region instead of the scene at hand.

  Jac
queline tensed before he struck and one of William's hands went to her jaw, bringing her chin up, lengthening her neck and his fangs grew to fine points before his head jerked back minutely, then moved forward with a blur of color. To Julia it looked like a watercolor painting smeared, superimposed as his mouth landed on her neck and Jacqueline wailed the injustice into the air and Scott tensed beside Julia as she put her hand on his arm. “We have to know... it could change everything.”

  “I know,” he said, his expression of passive guilt never changing.

  William's lips lay at her neck for an impossibly short time that seemed also long... stretched out like a rubber band about to break.

  Finally, he lifted his mouth from flesh that had the puncture wounds of his kind imprinted on her throat and the Combatant moved in. Her face was shut down, white with blood loss and an anger that simmered without energy, much of it stolen from the unwanted bloodletting.

  Marcus stepped nearer as did Julia. “What?”

  William looked at the group but it was Marcus he answered. “Vampire.”

  That one word meant so little and so much. “What do you mean... what are you saying, William?” William looked from Julia and back to Marcus. “The Moon Warrior is correct, Jacqueline is Were.” Reagan gave a fierce smile of triumph, tapping her nose once as if to say, See? I was right all along.

  Marcus hadn't taken his eyes off William, the ring of Singer blood circled his mouth and Julia watched him lick it off and shivered while Scott's hands became fists. His eyes flitted to Jacqueline, slumped between the two Combatant's and the vampire that would take blood from a Singer then proclaim her Were.

  The next words made all who gathered turn back to look, turn back in shocked silence.

  “Jacqueline, ruler of Region Two, has been hiding a great many things.” When William captured the focus of all who had gathered he stated what he'd found, “She is Singer, this is true- very pure. But she is also Were and... vampire.”

  Marcus spoke into the well of stunned silence that ensued, “That is not possible. We were united and Scott was a product of that. He is Combatant and blood chosen of Julia.”