Blood Binds: Wyrd Blood Book Three

by Augustine, Donna

  Blood Binds

  Wyrd Blood Book Three

  Donna Augustine

  Copyright © 2019 by Donna Augustine

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For Camilla, whose brutal honesty is both scary and invaluable. I've lost count of how many books you've helped me with. It's only fitting you should get this last book in the Wyrd Blood series and the happily ever after.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Also by Donna Augustine

  One

  My ragged breathing muffled the noises around me as I sucked in more air than my lungs could hold. Twigs hung from tangled hair. Rocks dug into my palms and knees. There was a rip in my leather pants, my shirt was torn, and I had scratches everywhere my flesh was exposed.

  Burn dropped to the ground beside me and then flipped to his back, his lungs needing more clearance. Sneak was bent over, hands on his knees, the flesh of his neck sucking in with every labored breath.

  “Damn, that was close,” Burn said in between gasps.

  My fingers tightened around the stone, its magic throbbing in my hand. I’d barely lifted it past the ward when a horde of stinging nettle beetles were unleashed. One second there had been nothing, and the next, we’d been running for our lives.

  Ryker had yanked me back and then yelled for us to run and get out of range. As soon as we did, wave after wave, the beetles had dropped while we dodged the few that managed to keep pace with us.

  It was a good thing my legs hadn’t failed me, because within seconds of taking off, I’d been robbed of my magic. This was the second time Ryker had done it. It felt exactly the same as the first time, like a great vacuum had sucked out my insides and then scraped the lining. I knew from past experience that I wouldn’t feel human for another few hours.

  Ryker stepped into the clearing a few minutes later, looking like a lion after a leisurely stroll. Magic was still pouring off him, his eyes deep and feral. The Cursed King in all his glory.

  I wanted to plow into him and knock him on his ass. Anger erupted inside me, ready to explode. We were up to six stones in the last three months, and this was the second time he’d crossed the line and taken my magic, and I no longer cared if it was by accident.

  “Let’s get going. We don’t know what else might be coming,” Ryker said.

  He was right about moving on. I swallowed the anger, feeling as if I’d choke upon it but holding it down anyway. This wasn’t the place or time to have an all-out, throw-down fight.

  We weren’t sure who the latest stone belonged to, but it hadn’t been buried out here in the middle of nowhere by accident. The owner might have felt his ward getting cracked open like a bad egg and come sniffing around for the stench of intruders.

  Ryker held out his hand, offering to help me to my feet. I ignored it, standing on my own. We might not be brawling now, but we would be soon. I saw no reason to pretend otherwise.

  I threw my discarded bag back over my shoulder and began walking in the direction of the stashed chugger that we’d drive home. Burn and Sneak felt the tension in the air and were staring, mouths hanging open, wondering what they’d missed. I didn’t tell them as I walked. If I spoke, I’d be cracking open.

  We made it to the chugger in record time, my weakened legs fueled by anger.

  I’d almost made it to the door when Ryker walked up behind me.

  “Things happen. It was an accident,” he said.

  His words didn’t ring of an apology.

  On the trek over here, I’d convinced myself it would be better to not hash this out until we got back to the Valley. But if he was going to rip the subject open, I wouldn’t slam it shut. My rage was still boiling over, the emptiness I felt inside giving it that much more room to burn.

  I spun. “You said it wouldn’t happen again.”

  After the merge, he’d promised me he’d never take my magic without my permission. He’d done it. Twice. The first time I’d accepted it as a slip. I’d buried the hurt and ignored the gnawing ache it had left for hours. I hadn’t made a thing over it. After all, I’d made more mistakes in my life than I wanted to recall. Who hadn’t?

  But how many times was I supposed to look the other way? He couldn’t possibly understand what it felt like, to be standing there, stripped of your magic, feeling utterly defenseless in the worst possible moment.

  I turned and walked off, putting as much space as I could between us before things took an ugly turn.

  He followed behind me, his hand landing on my shoulder and spinning me around. “You’re overreacting.”

  There was nothing he could’ve said that would’ve made the fury burn hotter. He’d stepped all over my magic, plowed past my line in the sand, did what he said he’d never do again, and acted like it was a tiny slip-up? As if I was the one out of line?

  My fist connected with his gut. I heard a groan. It wasn’t from Ryker but Burn, who was cringing as he looked on. Burn and Sneak were off to the side, staying well out of range.

  Ryker grabbed my wrist, holding my hand in between us. “You get one shot. That’s it.”

  I narrowed my eyes and jerked my hand from his grip. “I want this connection between us severed. If there’s a way to do it, there’s a way to undo it.”

  I tried to walk around him and head back toward the chugger.

  Ryker stepped in front of me. “What about the problem that someone might still want you dead? What do you plan on doing about that? Our merge is the only thing keeping you alive.”

  “We have plenty of stones. We don’t need to be joined. We can kill whoever we want now.” I moved to the right.

  He moved with me. “We don’t know who to kill.” He stared at me as if I were insane.

  Maybe I was crazy, but he was the one driving me to it.

  I plowed past him and tossed my bag into the chugger. “I’m willing to take my chances,” I said, letting my rage answer.

  “You’re being an idiot.”

  “It’s not only your call,” I yelled.

  He crossed his arms as he stared at me. “I’m not going to help you get yourself killed. Once you calm down, you’ll see it’s the right choice.”

  Those words did the opposite of calming me. They enraged me. “You don’t own me. You don’t make my decisions. Do we have that clear?”

  “Very clear. And you don’t make mine. I’m not doing it.” He walked around to the driver’s side of the chugger, yelling, “Get in or walk. Your choice, but I’m leaving.”
>
  I jumped into the back of the chugger, preferring to be bounced around than sit next to Ryker the entire way home.

  Two

  One week later…

  I glanced up at the clock.

  “I have to go.” I dumped my bacon, sausage, and half a biscuit into a napkin, shoved my plate toward Ruck, and stood. “Can you get rid of my plate? I don’t have time.”

  Ruck threw his hands up as he leaned back, watching me about to run for the exit. “Why do you have to run out? You just got here. This constant dodging is insane.”

  “It’s three minutes after eight. I don’t have time to argue about this right now.” I hissed the words through my teeth so the busybodies at the table over, who were leaning as close as they could, wouldn’t hear me. It seemed like all people did since I’d merged magic with Ryker was try to stare and listen to every damned thing I said and did. Once I’d begun avoiding Ryker, they’d quadrupled their efforts.

  “You need to sit down and work this out. It’s getting crazy. It’s been a week already.”

  “Not now.” I needed to be out of here three minutes ago. Ryker had been showing up earlier and earlier, and it was getting harder and harder to dodge him.

  I shoved my food in my pocket and ran toward the door, leaving Ruck behind. Another minute and I’d be out of there. Almost gone, almost safe.

  And then Ryker walked in.

  Our eyes met, and his steps slowed. He wanted to talk to me; I could see it on his face. He wasn’t interested in severing the connection. I had no interest in continuing on as is, not when I was getting laid low by my magic being robbed. Things had to change.

  There was a large dude in front of me. I darted to the right. I’d duck around him, using the big guy as a human shield, and skirt out.

  Then the big doofus noticed Ryker staring. He glanced behind him and must’ve realized he was in between Ryker, me, and maybe the juiciest encounter he’d seen all week. He stopped short. Instead of plowing into his back, I veered to the right and stepped onto something mushy that was also incredibly slippery. Who the fuck had dropped butter on the ground?

  My legs swung up and my back slammed into the ground. The floor stole my breath.

  I was sucking wind when Ryker stepped in front of me. I could feel his magic brushing against me, wave after wave. His magic hit like an emotional tsunami, churning up every ounce of mine.

  “We need to talk.”

  The last time I’d been this close to him, he’d offered me a hand up. Not so much this time around. That was fine by me.

  I got my air back and my feet underneath me. I wiped my hands on the back of my pants.

  “You ready to discuss undoing the merge?” That was all I wanted at this point, a discussion. I might’ve been hasty in my demands, but I wouldn’t live with a dictator. If he couldn’t at least discuss it, how was this partnership ever going to work?

  “No. I’m not.” His arms crossed. Ryker was going to be Ryker. Unmovable to the last.

  “Then there’s nothing to talk about.” Damn him. Didn’t he see how he was pinning me into a corner? How he was trampling all over me? Maybe this was why things had never worked out with us. Why it had never moved past a kiss. He wanted a woman I would never be. He wanted one of the girls that would flock to his room and do as told.

  I stepped around him with a look that told him we’d be brawling in the middle of the food building if he tried to stop me. He didn’t.

  I broke out of there and took off, not stopping until my lungs burned and my legs wobbled and there was no one in sight. The only thing I heard were the birds singing, the bees buzzing, and Ruck gasping for air.

  The trees rustled as he stepped forward, his chest heaving. “Don’t…” He held up a finger and then sank to the ground, his head flopping down in the grass and his knees bent. “Don’t run anymore,” he huffed out.

  I walked over to him, my breathing still labored, but feeling quite good in comparison to how he looked. “You need to get a little more exercise. You’re falling apart since we got here, eating biscuits all day. You’re losing your sharp edges.”

  “Hey! You eat your fair share of biscuits.” He reached over and gave my leg a halfhearted whack. He might’ve meant to punch it. Couldn’t quite tell.

  I sat down next to him. “You’re right. I like my biscuits, but I’m not about to blow out a lung after a short run. What if we were getting chased? What if running was our only chance of survival?” If we were back in the Ruins, raiding for a living, we wouldn’t stand a chance anymore.

  “Trust me, if a monster was chasing us, I’d be able to run. I didn’t see a monster. All I saw was Ryker.” He leaned up on his elbows, getting his lungs back under control. “You went from watching his every move to running from him like he was going to gut you alive. I know you’re pissed off about his slips—”

  “Twice. Two times isn’t an accident.” Slips. Everyone liked to make it sound so innocent, like my magic hadn’t been violently wrenched from me. If they could feel it, maybe they’d understand.

  “Why are you taking this so badly?”

  “You don’t understand what this magic merge is like or how horrible it feels when that happens.” The memory of it still sent a shudder through me.

  “Then explain it.”

  I lay down on the grass beside him, wondering how I could put into words everything I’d felt, when I knew even another Wyrd Blood wouldn’t understand.

  “When the merge first clicked into place, I could feel his magic opening up to me, and it was invigorating to be that close to it. I was scared shitless in one way, because there was so much that it lets off a constant sizzle inside me that is intense. Even now, I can feel it.

  “It’s like I’m walking around with the blueprint of what makes him him inside of me. But he’s got the same access. It’s like my soul is a book and he can come flip through it anytime he wants. But it’s worse, because twice now it’s felt like he’s yanked it right out of my chest.”

  Ruck was silent for a few seconds. He reached up and scratched his head before saying, “Damn, that sounds horrible.”

  “It’s worse than horrible.” I dropped my head into my hands and then dragged my fingers through my hair. “It’s like he steals my soul and then has it to peruse while I’m withering away with nothing for hours. It’s intimate in the most unpleasant way. Vulnerable.” Even the memory of it made me want to get up and run again. But run where? To what?

  I was drowning so deeply in my own misery that it took me a few minutes to realize Ruck had fallen silent. That was never a good sign from him.

  The silent judgment was a killer. I let it roll on for another few minutes before I pressed him. “Can you say something?”

  “I don’t know what to say. That doesn’t sound good.” He let the silence drag out for another few painful seconds. “That’s why neither of you kissed again, isn’t it? It’s too much?”

  I shrugged, letting his question go unanswered. I didn’t know myself. I just knew Ryker hadn’t tried to take our relationship to that place again, and neither had I.

  “Well, for the record, it sounds wretched.” Ruck patted my back.

  At least he understood now. In our lives, there were a few things you feared. Torture, starvation, and lagging only slightly behind was intimacy.

  Ruck had fucked more men than I could count, and he’d been truly intimate with none. I knew this firsthand, since he’d fucked a lot of them in whatever shack we’d been holed up in, and most didn’t have doors. Some didn’t have complete walls, either.

  Intimacy made you vulnerable. That kind of weakness could land you in a shallow ditch. I could count on one hand the people I trusted enough to be vulnerable with, and that number had diminished significantly.

  Ruck grabbed a shedding dandelion, pulling one fuzz out at a time. “Look, you still have to figure this out. You gotta get past this with him. I never thought I’d be the one who’d have to tell you to do the hard work. You’ve
always just done it. You have to make peace somehow. You can’t fight with him forever, not if we’re going to live here. And what about the stones? Don’t you need to get more?”

  “We’ve got enough. When I’m in the same room with them all, I can nearly feel my skin tingling from all the power they’re cranking out.”

  He plucked up another dandelion and handed it to me. He knew how I liked to watch the fuzzies float away.

  “You can’t go on like this. Go talk to him and explain it like you did with me. He’ll understand. He’s not unreasonable. If you can’t stand him after that, we can always kill him.”

  I laughed nervously. “If I’d ever had any delusions of killing Ryker, they’re gone now.”

  “Really?” he asked in the hushed tone of someone greedy for gossip. Ruck ate gossip the way others ate cake. Luckily, he didn’t dish it out the same.

  “His magic is vast.”

  “What’s it feel like?”

  I leaned my head back and pointed at the sky above. “Like that. It feels like I’m standing on the threshold of the universe and can’t even imagine where it might end. If there’s something out there worse than him, might as well pack it up and call it a day.”

  “Good thing he’s on our side. You better go play nice with Mr. Universe, because accidents or not, unless you want to move, it’s going to be tough living here and waging war with him.”

  I let out a long breath with a curse or two floating upon it. He was right, and I knew it. There wasn’t even a sliver of doubt. If I stayed here, Ryker and I had to come to terms, and right now, I couldn’t see a way to leave.