Fate Bound (Fate Bound Trilogy Book 1)

by Madeline Freeman

  My wolf takes the insult personally. She doesn’t like that her partner’s strength is being challenged. “Not at all,” I snap. “I just don’t like the idea of standing by while someone tries to grab my half.”

  I wasn’t planning to say it, and it’s clear by the way Luke tenses that he wasn’t expecting to hear it. His gaze flickers to Jack’s face. “She’s your…”

  “Half,” Jack says, sliding his hand protectively around my abdomen.

  Luke takes in a deep breath and releases it slowly. “Félicitations, Jacques,” he murmurs.

  Jack sighs, and some of the tension in his muscles drains. “Merci, Luc.”

  I step from between them, legitimately baffled. I’ve heard Cassandra call Jack Jacques before, but it’s the way he says Luke’s name that I can’t wrap my mind around. The vowel sound is rounder, but that’s not all that’s different. The tone of his voice is entirely changed, like he’s speaking to a dear friend, not a vampire he appears to loathe.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” I demand.

  Luke quirks an eyebrow. “We’re speaking French. A language spoken in the European country of—”

  I wave my hand dismissively. “I know you’re speaking French. What I can’t figure out is why you decided to switch from English, or why you both sound…” I grasp for the right words. “Why you suddenly sound like you care about each other. Were you two friends once a hundred years ago or something?”

  Luke sighs. “Are you going to tell her, or should I?”

  Jack runs a hand through his hair, his shoulders slumping. “Friends? Not exactly. Luke is my brother.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  It takes a considerable amount of time for me to come to terms with what Jack has told me.

  Brothers. Luke and Jack are brothers.

  The more I think about it, the more it begins to make sense. Despite the superficial differences in their appearance—Jack’s darker hair and complexion versus Luke’s fairer skin and hair—the two bear resemblances. Their builds are similar—muscular, with broad shoulders and slim waists. Their jaws have the same curve. Their eyes even crinkle in the same way when they smile.

  I watch the way the two of them move as we walk through the forest back to the enclave after Jack alerts the pack about our visitor. The way they duck around branches is nearly identical, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize the two were related before now.

  No one speaks until we’re about halfway back to the enclave. Dakota, Sawyer, and a handful of other weres stand in a line, their bodies tense like they’re ready to spring into action in case their alpha was under duress when he indicated he’d be bringing a vampire to our home. Jack holds up a hand. “It’s fine,” he says, and the group visibly relaxes. “Luke is the one who bit Ava, and he came to tell us she’s in trouble.”

  “Which we already knew,” Dakota says. She won’t make a move against Luke, but it’s obvious from the look in her eye she’d like to. Still, she respects Jack’s authority.

  “And he’s willing to help protect her,” Jack adds, the additional information causing those assembled to murmur with surprise. “He’ll be sequestered until we have a plan. Ava, Sawyer, and Dakota, I’ll meet you at the meeting house in ten minutes—after I get Luke situated.”

  “I can’t wait,” Luke says drily. “Garlic-soaked ropes, a cage with silver bars. Is that about right?”

  “Something like that,” Jack grumbles.

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You can’t lock him up like he’s some kind of prisoner. He’s—” I bite back what I want to say. “Our guest.”

  He raises his eyebrows like he knows exactly which words I wanted to use. “He may have our conditional trust, but I won’t put the rest of the pack in a situation where they feel unsafe.”

  “I’ll watch him,” I say immediately.

  A muscle in his jaw jumps. He doesn’t like the idea—I can see it in his eyes—but after a moment, he relents. “Fine. But I’m posting a guard outside your house.”

  A smile spreads across Luke’s face. “You afraid she and I are going to pick up where we left off last time we were alone?”

  Jack growls, but I’m faster. I round on him and give him a quick jab in the stomach, the way Sawyer has been teaching me. Luke doubles over, his breath escaping in a loud gush.

  “Whoa,” he says when he’s able to stand straight again. “Stronger than you look, aren’t you?”

  I can’t quite suppress my smile as I turn to Jack. “Pretty sure I can take care of myself, should it come to that.”

  Jack doesn’t look entirely convinced, but he nods. “I’m still stationing guards.”

  I step in close and rise up on my tiptoes to meet his lips. “I would expect nothing less.”

  I’m about to plant my heels again when Jack circles me with one strong arm and presses me close to him again. When our lips meet this time, my whole body tingles. I know there are things to be done, plans to be made, but for the moment, all those tasks fade into the back of my mind. The only thing that matters is Jack and the way he makes me feel. I wish we could stay like this forever. Too quickly, Jack releases me, and calls for Duncan and Angela to accompany Luke and me.

  The weres keep their distance as I lead the way to my house. I’m not sure if they’re trying to give the two of us privacy or whether they’re simply uncomfortable being so close to a vampire.

  “Thank you,” I say as we walk along the dirt road.

  “For what?” He kicks at some gravel, sending it skittering along ahead of us.

  “Coming to help me. You didn’t have to do that.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t want you operating under the false assumption that my presence here is entirely altruistic. Members of my brood are showing up dead. If I can help you stop whoever’s trying to make more hybrids, it decreases my chances of ending up face down in a dumpster.”

  “Oh.” I bite my lower lip. I don’t know what I was expecting. I suppose I’ve grown so accustomed to Jack’s unconditional protection that I took for granted that Luke might have his own reasons for wanting to help.

  We come to the bend in the road and I nod up at the cabin that’s become my home. “There’s my place.”

  The corners of his mouth quirk. “Let me guess: The one on top of the hill is Jack’s.”

  I nod and Luke gives a soft snort.

  Duncan and Angela elect to stay out on the porch when Luke and I go inside. As he takes a seat on the couch, I can’t help remembering the way it felt when he kissed me in the mansion. A shiver travels down my spine, but I shake it off.

  Even though I’m not thirsty, I go to the kitchen for a glass of water. I feel Luke’s eyes on me the whole time. “So,” I ask as I turn on the tap, “how’d you die?” It’s not until after the question is in the air that I realize it might have been inappropriate. While he asked me the same thing, circumstances were a bit different since he knew me when I was still alive.

  I fill the glass and turn off the water, but he doesn’t speak until I’m back in the living room. “Consumption. You know—tuberculosis? Big-time killer back in the day.” The corners of his mouth quirk up. “There were rumors of a woman who could heal any illness, and my—” His lips twitch and his gaze drops for a moment. “Suffice it to say she wasn’t really a healer.”

  I nod, sorry I brought it up. Still, I can’t help wanting to press further. While I’ve learned more about who Jack is, I still know so little about his past. How much does Luke know? Were the two of them close when they were both still human? Jack said Luke is the reason he became a hunter—but why would Jack want to hunt his own brother?

  Somehow, it feels like learning these things from Luke wouldn’t mean as much as hearing them from Jack. Instead, I settle on another question I’ve had since before we came back to the enclave. “How do you know Cassandra?”

  Luke shakes his head. “Wow. Jack really hasn’t told you anything, has he?”

  I bristle. “Of co
urse he’s told me things.” I find myself wanting to defend Jack, despite the fact that there are clearly a host of details he’s been keeping from me. In a way, it hurts, but I suppose if I had more than a hundred years of life experience, there would be too much for me to share all at once.

  He surveys me for another moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know Cassie the same way Jack does—or at least for the same reason. She’s our cousin.”

  I can’t hide my shock. “No.”

  “Yes. I mean, close enough, you know? Our father’s youngest brother married a witch. Cassie’s that witch’s granddaughter. I met her one day completely by chance.” He smiles at the memory. “I tried to compel her to give me her horse and she stared me in the eye and told me no. It was the first time I’d come across a witch—or anyone—strong enough to resist my compulsion. She knew what I was, but she wasn’t afraid. As a witch, she’d heard of vampires, of course, but she’d never met one. She wanted to understand me, so she invited me back to her house for a meal.”

  Somehow, I have no problem imagining a much younger Cassandra demanding Luke tell her all about his kind. “When did you figure out you were related?”

  He shrugs. “It came up in conversation.”

  While it’s not exactly an answer, I don’t press. “So the two of you are close, huh?” I ask instead. When his eyebrows draw together, I add, “You called her ‘Cassie.’ I figure if you’ve got a nickname for her, you must be close.”

  “It was a long time ago.”

  I bite my lower lip. More similarities between Jack and Luke are presenting themselves, although I suppose it’s possible a tendency to under-share is more a consequence of being immortal than of blood relation. “If you’d like to go see her, I could arrange it.”

  “I don’t think Jack would like that very much.”

  Indignation swells in my chest. I don’t need to run every decision by Jack. I may still be new to this way of life, but his claim of alpha status is no greater than mine. “If Cassandra wants to see you, it doesn’t matter if Jack likes it.”

  The coldness in my voice gives me pause. Why am I getting so worked up? Adrenaline courses through my veins. I feel ready to start a fight at the slightest provocation.

  Something Cassandra mentioned about the sire bond between vampires floats to the surface of my mind, and I look at Luke. “What are you doing to me?”

  “What do you mean?” he asks, but I easily detect his feigned innocence.

  I set my water glass on the nearest counter before stalking toward him, my finger in the air like a parent issuing a warning. “Obviously you and Jack have a ton of history I know nothing about. That doesn’t give you the right to project those feelings onto me. He’s my half, and I—” I stop short, not entirely sure how to put my feelings for Jack into words. When Luke lifts his eyebrows, I continue, “I care about him—a lot. And I don’t want you getting in my head and making me think otherwise.”

  He covers my hand with his and gently pushes it out of his face. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t trying to make you think anything. This sire bond thing is a new experience for me too, you know.”

  The fight goes out of me and I sit on the cushion beside him. “You mean I’m the first person you ever turned?”

  “No. But there haven’t been many.” He leans back, lacing his fingers behind his head. “No use having a harem of lovesick women following me around for all eternity.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and roll my eyes. “Is that what you think of me?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t know what to think of you.”

  His electric blue eyes lock on mine, and for a moment my brain refuses to work. I can’t think through the heavy fog clouding my mind. Luke is the only thing in the world, and part of me wants to lose myself in him forever, but something in the back of my mind stops me. This isn’t right. I don’t want Luke—not like this.

  I stand, covering my face with my hands. Whatever weight had been pressing down on me dissipates, leaving my mind clear. Once I’ve collected myself, I drop my arms to my sides. Staring across the room at the glass of water, I ask, “So, do you want to see Cassandra or not?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Lillie pulls me into a hug so tight it’s hard for me to breathe. “I’ll be back before you know it,” I say. My assurance only makes her pull me closer.

  It’s only been a couple of hours since Jack and I returned to the enclave with Luke, and already the three of us are preparing to leave. Jack was able to find a sympathetic friend who will give us a safe place to stay—at least until we can figure out our next move. Now, Jack is in Cassandra’s room, bidding her farewell, I imagine—he wanted a few minutes alone with her. Luke lingers by the front door, a disgruntled look marring his features. He spent the better part of the last hour catching up with Cassandra and was none too pleased when Jack arrived and kicked him out.

  Maggie eyes him warily as she displaces Lillie to embrace me. “We’ll take good care of Cassandra while you’re gone,” she murmurs.

  “I know you will,” I say.

  Before either of us can go on, the bedroom door swings open and Jack emerges, his expression clouded. He glances at me before jerking his head toward the front of the house. “Let’s get going.”

  While I’d like the chance to say goodbye to Cassandra myself, I understand we’re on a schedule. I join him as he walks through the house toward his brother, but he doesn’t reach for the doorknob. Jack holds out his hand; resting in the center of his palm are three small bags suspended from silky black cords. Although I can’t see through the black fabric, I smell the mix of herbs inside.

  “You shouldn’t have let her make these,” he grumbles as Luke and I each take one of the charms. “She’s too weak to be working magic. She needs to devote all her energy to getting better.”

  Luke snorts. “You know her just as well as I do—probably better. No one lets Cassie do anything.”

  “What are these for?” I ask, slipping the necklace over my head.

  Jack stops staring daggers at his brother long enough to answer my question. “She says this is the same magic that made it possible for Xander and his friends to sneak into the enclave without us detecting him. She thinks these will help us get to where we’re going without anyone noticing we’re on the move.”

  “She thinks?” Luke asks, cocking an eyebrow. “Since when is she unsure about her magical abilities?”

  “In all the time you spent with her just now, did you somehow miss how weak she is?” Jack snaps.

  I step between them. “Boys,” I say, doing my best imitation of a teacher attempting to diffuse a fight. “We should probably get a move on.”

  Jack closes his eyes and exhales through his nose before leading the way out to the SUV in front of the house. Lillie and Maggie wave from the porch as the three of us climb in.

  Buckles click as Jack and I fasten our belts. He peers in the rearview mirror at Luke. “Put on your seatbelt,” he says as he puts the car in reverse to pull onto the road.

  “What part of immortal don’t you understand?” Luke asks, making no move to comply.

  Jack starts up the road that will take us out of the enclave. “I’m not looking for a reason to get pulled over today.”

  Luke shrugs. “If someone tries, just pull over, and I’ll compel him to let us drive away.”

  Jack slams on the brakes and Luke jolts forward, his head banging against the back of my seat. “Buckle up,” he says as his brother curses.

  I can’t quite cover up my snort of laughter. “Let me guess,” I say as I hear the click of a seatbelt in the back seat, “Jack is the older brother?”

  “You guessed wrong,” Luke grumbles.

  The next few minutes pass in silence. It isn’t until we merge onto the freeway that Luke speaks up. “Are we going to drive all the way to wherever it is we’re going?” When Jack doesn’t respond, he continues, “What? I’m not allowed to ask questions?”

&nbs
p; I stare at Jack’s profile. I know the plan only in broad strokes, but I could answer the question myself. Still, something stops me. I need to know whether Jack actually trusts his brother or if Luke is here only at my insistence.

  As if he can feel my gaze on him, Jack glances at me. He releases a sigh. “It’d take too long by car. We’re flying.”

  “You really think now is the time for commercial air travel?” Luke scoffs.

  “I assume the pack has its own plane,” I say. This part of the plan is nebulous even to me.

  Jack sighs. “We do, but it’s not exactly a secret. It’s too big a risk to assume Xander or whoever’s after Ava wouldn’t be watching it. My friend is sending his pack’s plane to pick us up at an airfield in neutral territory.”

  “It’s not the worst plan I’ve ever heard,” Luke says. “Maybe you’re not as stupid as you look, little brother.”

  Jack growls, and I get the feeling if he weren’t driving, his reaction might have been a little more forceful. Has their relationship always been strained, or did something happen to make it like this? Jack told me he became a hunter because he knew what kinds of horrors vampires were capable of. What could Luke have done to make his own brother see him as a monster?

  No one speaks until we arrive at a small airfield less than an hour later. It’s late afternoon, and people dot the area. My body tenses involuntarily each time we pass a person or a car, but no one seems to be paying us any notice. I crack the window and sniff the breeze as we go, but everyone we pass smells human. I try to tell myself that means we’re safe, that our plan will work, but my muscles remain coiled.

  Jack pulls to a stop by a runway toward the back of the airfield. He checks the time on the dashboard. “They should be here soon.”

  My eyes flick to the sky. I’ve never ridden on a plane before, and the thought of being a passenger on one of the small ones we’ve been passing makes my stomach churn. Maybe it’s ridiculous. Air travel is supposed to be super-safe, and even if we were to crash, I get the feeling I would survive the impact.