Bound By Blood- Chapter 22

Angelo pushed the air fryer basket back in place after checking the fries and hummed lightly under his breath as he turned back to the stove. Picking up a spatula, he twirled it between his fingers thoughtlessly as he stared down at the burgers that were sizzling in a pan. The heady smell of seared beef filled the kitchen, making his stomach rumble in hunger. Having skipped lunch and worked late to clean up Ashford, he was tired and really looking forward to sinking his teeth into the food he was preparing.

As it had a hundred times in the last two days, Angelo’s mind turned back to Kassia. When he and Cyrus had woken her up that morning, she had obviously still been tired, and all the hard work she had spent the day doing had taken an even greater toll on her weakened body. Which sent him on a whole other path of thought. Why, as some sort of uber vampire, was Kassia so weakened after everything that had happened? Was it because she was basically human with a little extra oomph? Was she getting enough protein? He thought back to breakfast, where Cyrus and his big mouth had made her lose her appetite, and she hadn’t finished eating. A crease formed between his brows and he went to the fridge, opening it up and snagging the last bit of bacon left in the package from breakfast. It would be delicious on the burgers and give Kass a little more protein.

Just as he tossed the bacon into the pan with the burgers, Angelo heard the unmistakable sound of the kitchen door opening and swinging closed. He didn’t need to look to know it was Cyrus. His smell warred with the burger smell, but Angelo would know Cyrus’s presence anywhere. “What do you want, wolf?” he asked lightly, flipping one of the burgers.

Long silence greeted his question but Angelo didn’t bother turning. Cyrus would answer when he wanted. A few moments passed, then he finally spoke.

“Your vampire is asleep on the couch.”

“My vampire?” Angelo asked, still not turning, mostly just to hide the smirk that threatened to appear. “What makes you think she’s my vampire?” He wasn’t surprised that Kassia had fallen asleep.

“You two seemed awfully friendly back there,” Cyrus grumbled, and Angelo got the impression he had leaned against the far wall.

Probably crossed his arms and everything, Angelo thought wryly. Out loud, he said, “I would like to be friends with her. How often am I going to meet a vampire that doesn’t immediately try to rip my face off? Besides,” he twisted his head to give Cyrus a shit-eating grin. “She’s pretty cute.”

“She’s a blood drinker, Angelo,” Cyrus growled between his teeth. Angelo just shrugged, flipping another burger.

“Not like I haven’t had my blood sucked out of me before. What we should really talk about is the way you spent most of the day staring at her.” Satisfied with his burgers, he tossed them onto a plate and turned to face Cyrus. The big man’s face was stiff, but it was impossible to hide the pink tips of his ears- his usual tell when he was embarrassed. Angelo set the plate with the burgers down on the kitchen island, leaning against it to give Cyrus another mischievous grin.

“You can’t pretend you weren’t, Cy.” He tapped his temple with a finger. “If there’s one thing I am, it’s observant. You watched her all day.”

Dropping his arms, Cyrus stalked to the island and yanked out one of the stools, taking a seat. “I was…concerned…that she would try to escape.” The last part came out rushed.

Angelo just snorted. “Yeah, sure. As if she would get past half the fucking pack that was also staring her down all day.” He gave Cyrus a droll stare. “Lie to your mother, not me. What’s really going on?”

Cyrus leaned back in his seat, dropping his head back. “I don’t know what the fuck to do, Angelo. I had this whole picture of her being a monster, but she just seems like she’s scared of everything. Most of the pack blames her for the whole disaster and some part of me does, too. A bigger part blames myself. If I would have left her there on the road I found her on, none of this would have happened. If I would have killed her like I have countless other vampires, our pack mates wouldn’t be dead right now.”

Angelo didn’t miss the way Cyrus looked unhappy at the thought of killing Kassia. Truth be told, he didn’t like it, either. Neither of them enjoyed killing, and certainly not women. Breathing out heavily, Angelo drummed his fingers on the counter in thought. “I don’t think anyone is really to blame here, Cy. Maybe that dandy-looking motherfucker. But the whole situation could’ve been handled better by everyone. Even me. Hell, I think the only person that wasn’t behaving like a jackass was Jack.”

“Jack?” Cyrus asked, leaning forward again.

Angelo nodded. Behind him, the air fryer pinged again, and he turned to check on the fries, satisfied that they were cooked. “Yeah. The kid was hanging out with Kassia every day. They had a plan to show everyone that Kass was actually friendly so you might be convinced to let her go.” Shaking the fries, Angelo dumped them onto another plate. “Kassia was reluctant, of course. She wants to go home, but I think she was wary of trusting anyone, even Jack. That girl has some serious trust issues.”

He returned back to the island, placing the plate of fries down. Cyrus reached out, snagged a fry, and took a thoughtful bite. “So,” he started as he chewed the still-steaming fry. “What was your part in all of this? How did you two get so close in the few days I was gone?”

Angelo rubbed tiredly at his eyes as he leaned his elbows against the island. “I watched her, Cy. For the entire time. When I had to sleep, Hawk or Pierce took over for me. I couldn’t figure out how she was so obviously a vampire yet somehow not a vampire. She likes reading and music. She likes to spend time with Jack, no matter how annoyed she pretends to be.” He fixed Cyrus with a pale stare, willing his friend to understand. “Kassia isn’t our enemy, and she never has been.”

Cyrus looked uncomfortable, his eyes tightening and his hands reaching up to restlessly tie his hair back. “I know that. At least, now I do. But the tribunal is in a few days and the elders are going to want more than me saying how she isn’t threatening at all. They’re not exactly known for their leniency.”

Angelo just grunted in response. His hair fell back over his eyes and he brushed it away immediately. The elders were all a bunch of decrepit hard-asses that liked to wield the power they thought they had. When John was around, they were perfectly loyal little subjects, doing whatever it took to get his approval. When John was out of town, they behaved like they ran the pack. Angelo wasn’t a wolf so he technically wasn’t held to the same laws they had, but, as much as he had wanted to wipe the old fools off the face of the earth, Cyrus would take the punishment for it. That was unforgivable. He and Cyrus had been good friends for centuries, and Cyrus was the one and only person that Angelo was loyal to. He had sworn his loyalty long ago and hadn’t wavered once in all that time.

The door to the kitchen opened and a freshly-showered Jack walked in with a sleepy, rumpled Kassia. Her black hair, which usually seemed to be messy, was flattened on one side and going in every which way on the other. Red sleep lines showed brightly on her pale skin, and her eyelids drooped low as she stumbled in. Without a word, she clumsily scrambled into one of the island chairs next to Cyrus, seemingly not noticing the way he stiffened beside her. Jack took the seat on the other side of Cyrus, running a hand over his wet hair and making it stick up in almost the same chaotic way as Kassia’s. He gave a broad, boyish grin to Angelo.

“Man, it smells so good in here. I’m starving!”

Giving Kassia a bemused glance, Angelo returned Jack’s grin and went about pulling down plates and setting them down in front of the others. He then pulled condiments and sodas from the fridge, lining them up in the middle of the island so everyone could grab it. When Kassia, weaving in her seat, made no move to grab food or her drink, Angelo made an annoyed noise before snapping his fingers in front of her sleepy face. “Kass! What do you want on your burger?”

Kassia gave him a small, beatific smile. “Hmm…Just ketchup and mayo. And cheese…pickles….”

Angelo paused. Kassia blinked blankly at him, one of her eyes shutting before the other, giving her the appearance of some skinny, exotic frog. Forcing himself to not laugh, Angelo went about making her two burgers the way she asked, adding a heap of fries to her plate. He slid the plate in front of her. “Eat your food, then you can go back to sleep.”

He watched her consider the food before slowly picking up her burger and taking a bite, chewing automatically without much thought behind it. Her eyes remained unfocused as she nibbled her way through her burger. Jack leaned around Cyrus to watch, while Cyrus started going over the details for the run. Angelo kept a close eye on Kassia as he listened, noting the way she swayed gently in her chair. She finished off the first burger and picked up the second, moving on autopilot as she started on it. Halfway through the second burger, she was pretty much asleep sitting up. Tilting to the side, she slumped against Cyrus’s arm. He tensed in his seat, but made no move to push her away from him. If anything, he adjusted the way he sat so she could lean more comfortably into his side. He polished off his last few fries and, in a move that was so smooth it almost looked natural, Cyrus leaned back in his chair and rested his arm on the back of Kassia’s chair, gently moving her so she was supported in the crook of his arm and side.

Angelo gathered their plates, emptying the scraps in the trash can and placing them in the sink before turning back to Cyrus. “I’ll carry her out to the couch so she can sleep.”

Cyrus grunted. “You can take the couch, she can take my bed. I won’t be home to use it anyway.”

At that, Angelo’s brows shot up, mirroring the way Jack’s brows did the same. “Alriiiiight,” he drawled. “I’ll put the little monster to bed, then.”

Cyrus looked down at the watch around his wrist and sat up, again carefully moving Kassia so he didn’t jostle her. She made a small noise of protest but settled down with a soft snort that made Jack laugh. “We’ve got to get a move on. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, he stood, clapping Jack on the back as he did. Jack got up and followed after giving Kassia a final, concerned look. Angelo made a shooing motion at him and Jack reluctantly waved as both he and Cyrus exited the kitchen.

***

Kassia woke slowly, blinking at yet another unfamiliar white wall. She wasn’t sure how long she had slept but her limbs felt leaden and sore, and she really just wanted to roll back over and go back to sleep. The bed was cozy, and the comforting scent of Cyrus and detergent cocooned her. Just as she was about to fall asleep again, a rustling sound at the end of the bed drew her attention. Suddenly wide awake, she sat up, holding the blankets up to her chin. The pale light of sunrise lit the room so she could clearly see the broad, tattooed expanse of Cyrus’s back as he dug through his dresser. He was wearing fresh black fatigue pants he usually wore with a holstered gun already tucked in the back waistband. On his back, black swirls of ink drew her eyes. High on his right shoulder blade, there was the tattoo of a snarling wolf with fur that bled into black feathers and an odd, stylized symbol that almost looked like some sort of arcane sigil. Down his spine was a line of runes that spelled out “Until Valhalla”. Along his left side was a dark, grinning skull with spiders crouched in the eye sockets. His arms were heavily tattooed in a dizzying puzzle of angels, demons, running wolves, peering eyes, and crows, all depicted in exquisite detail. How she hadn’t paid closer attention before was beyond her, but having it all laid out, lovingly lit by the first touch of dawn, made something tighten low in her body.

Tendrils of thick black hair hung in a messy bun low at the nap of his neck, a few shorter strands having escaped around his face. They fluttered as he shut the drawer quietly and turned, a black shirt held in one of his hands. Cyrus’s face was both thoughtful and grim at the same time, like he had a lot on his mind, and none of it was pleasant. Kassia’s eyes swept over his face, his shuttered amber eyes, high cheekbones, proud nose, and sharp jaw that was dusted in stubble. She imagined what that stubble would feel like scraping against her skin, what it would feel like to run her hands along his wide, muscled shoulders. How his skin would be both silky and incredibly warm to the touch. She had a sudden, visceral idea of exactly what it would feel like to brush her lips against his, then down to his jaw, to press against his strong neck.

She swallowed hard, her mouth dry as her hands tightened around the blanket she clutched. She couldn’t look away as he held up the shirt and bunched it up, preparing to pull it over his head. Cyrus looked up then, so deep in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed she was awake and watching him. He paused for a moment, the shirt still around his arms.

“Did I wake you?” he asked, his voice husky. He pulled the shirt over his head, settling it down around his body and obscuring it from Kassia’s appreciative gaze. She nearly whimpered at the loss, but pushed the blankets away so she could crawl to the end of the bed. He watched her, eyes sparking with something undefinable. The closer she got, a new scent tantalized her. His usual smell of deep forests and spice was there but over that smell was a layer of smoke and sweat. It wasn’t unpleasant, but wholly masculine, and it drew her inexorably in.

“Kassia?” His deep voice rumbled through her as she agilely climbed out of the bed. Something was driving her on, pushing her to move to Cyrus. Kassia prowled closer to him, hyper-focused on his every movement, on the way his hands flexed and his body tensed, winding tighter and tighter the closer she got.

She felt almost manic, her mind gone alien and hungry. She wanted him to run, she wanted to chase him down. She wanted him to chase her down. A game of predator and prey played between the towering trunks of watchful trees, a game not for food, but for sport. It was maddening, wanting to be both the hunter and the hunted, but she had the idea that Cyrus would be the perfect match for her to play that game with, her perfect match.

Her body swayed to him until they stood a breath apart, barely touching. Heat radiated from him like warmth from a flame, as hot as the fire burning in his molten eyes that swept over her. Kassia slowly reached out, her hand hovering over the rigid plane of his stomach. Just as she went to touch him, sanity returned and she jerked her hand away, staring up at him in embarrassed shock. “I-I’m so sorry!” Whirling on her heel, Kassia fled for the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her.

Back in the room, Cyrus stared at the closed bathroom door in a mix of confusion and surprise. His pulse thudded thickly as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. When he had come in, Kassia had been nestled deep in his bed, snoring softly, and he had tried to be as quiet as he could so as to not wake her. As he had grabbed a shirt that didn’t smell like a campfire, he hadn’t noticed that she was awake until she had made a small noise behind him. He had turned to find her staring at him with wide, lilac eyes. Her hair wasn’t whitening, but he could see a hint of red bleeding into the blue of her irises. That, combined with the look on her face, held him still when she had crawled slowly to him. She was still wearing his clothes, the black material making her skin seem even paler than it was. The sensuous sway of her body had also surprised him, as had the way his body had gone taut when she had reached out to touch him. Then she ran off to hide in the bathroom.

What the hell was that? He took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose while squeezing his eyes shut. He was tired, beyond tired. That had to be why he had reacted the way he had. If not that, maybe because he was tense and had refused Petra when she had tempted him at the farm house. Scowling, Cyrus rubbed his hands over his face, then jerkily tucked his shirt into his pants, pointedly ignoring the erection he currently had. There’s no fucking way the vampire had anything to do with that, he told himself. She just smells good and it’s been a while since I got laid.

Kassia did smell good, and that was part of the problem. She was also small and soft, yet he knew she was capable of incredible violence. That incongruence intrigued him, as had the dark heat in her eyes when she had stared up at him, her hand hovering torturously close to his body. The worst part of it was the way something inside of him had wanted to reach out to her, like he would die if he didn’t. The bitter taste of disappointment made him shake his head. He was disappointed that she hadn’t touched him and had run away instead, locking herself away like she was scared he would hurt her.

Cyrus moved to the bathroom door. Clearing his throat, he gently knocked at the door. Though he could clearly hear Kassia’s small intake of breath, she stayed silent. “Kassia? I’m going downstairs to make breakfast and some coffee.” Still, no answer. Cyrus sighed to himself. “I had Hawk bring your spare clothes so they’re on top of the dresser….”

After a second of silence, Kassia answered. “Okay. Thank you.”

Cyrus hesitated, unsure of what to say next, what to do next. The urge to see her face, to coax her out of the bathroom so he could see if her eyes were still lilac, was a foreign feeling that had him reaching for the doorknob before he realized what he was doing. When his fingertips brushed the cold metal, he quickly pulled his hand back, glanced once more at the door, then forced himself to leave the bedroom. He made his way slowly downstairs, all the grief pushed from his head in a confusing tidal wave of lilac eyes, pale skin, and unexpected need.

When Cyrus reached the living room, he spared a glance to Angelo, sprawled out on the couch, and walked past him to the kitchen. It was definitely better that Angelo was asleep and hadn’t witnessed the disaster upstairs because he would never let Cyrus live it down if he had.

While Cyrus went about fixing an easy meal of toast, fried eggs, and sausages, his mind returned to Kassia. It was like a fucking revolving door. He tried to think about anything else and, boom, there was Kassia again. What types of food does Kassia like? Has she been eating enough? How can he get more protein into her diet so she recovers faster? Angelo said she liked music so what type of music does she like? She was good at fighting so who taught her how to fight? Then his thoughts would turn darker. Was she playing a game with them, pretending to be harmless? Did she want them all dead? What was her end game? Was she actually in league with Ambrose this whole time in some new, fucked up way of hunting? Then the thoughts would go to a different type of dark. What did her lips feel like? What would have happened if she had touched him upstairs? What did she sound like when she was being fucked? Did she prefer rough or gentle? Would she let him hold her down with his teeth while he fucked her from behind?

“Hellooo? Cy? You’re about to break the pan.”

Cyrus blinked rapidly as he twisted around from the stove to stare at Jack, who was giving him a concerned look as he stood in the doorway. In Cyrus’s hand, the metal handle of the pan he was frying sausages in was groaning beneath his tightening grip. The sausages were darker than he intended them to be and he swore under his breath as he flicked the stove eye off and moved the pan to the back eye. He turned back to Jack, stepping quickly to the island to hide what he knew would be an obvious statement of his thoughts.

“Hey, kid,” he said lightly. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home to get some sleep?”

Jack had rode home from the training grounds with Cyrus and he knew the teen was exhausted. His gray eyes were ringed in circles and were bloodshot from the smoke and the tears he had shed throughout the night. His usually tan skin was wan and pale. Still, Jack shook his head and ran a hand tiredly through his hair.

“I have tutoring today, and I wanted to see Kass before I left.” As Jack moved to the island and sat, Cyrus could smell the fire they had spent the night sitting around. Jack didn’t seem overly bothered as he yawned widely and leaned his elbows on the counter top. “I thought I would pick her up some extra clothes today so she doesn’t have to wear your giant shorts anymore.”

Cyrus made a noncommittal noise as he made Jack a plate and pushed it towards him. “Kassia is upstairs in the bathroom. She’ll probably be down soon.”

Jack dug in with abandon and nodded. He swallowed, then continued. “I’m happy that you don’t want to kill her anymore. She’s pretty cool if you spend enough time with her.” Standing, he marched to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before returning to his seat and drinking half of it in one swallow. Cyrus made his own plate and sat beside Jack to eat.

“No one said anything about not killing her anymore, cool or not,” he said absently as he started eating. Even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t true. If Cyrus had anything to say about it, no one would be killing Kassia until he learned everything there was to learn about her.