Bound by Blood (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 3)

by Carrie Pulkinen

  Bryce’s heart slammed into his throat, and he squeezed the trigger, firing a shot into the wolf’s shoulder.

  Eric paused and shook his coat as if the bullet had merely stung his skin. Then he rocked back on his haunches and sprang.

  “No!” Alexis screamed as she shoved Bryce against the wall and turned into a wolf in mid-air. She lunged at Eric, and Bryce stood motionless as they tumbled over each other snapping and biting at their necks. Alexis yelped, and blood matted in her sandy-colored fur above her shoulder.

  Gripping his gun in both hands, Bryce pointed it at the bigger wolf, but he couldn’t get a clear shot. A gray wolf appeared behind them, but a black one latched onto its neck and dragged it into the living room. Bryce couldn’t tell which one was James, so he’d have to let them fight it out. But Alexis, he would save…if she’d get out of his way.

  “Alexis, move,” he shouted.

  She faltered, whipping her head around to look at him, and Eric latched on to her neck. Lifting her from the ground, he hurled her massive body toward Bryce, and she slammed into him, the momentum busting open the door.

  He landed on his back, with Alexis the wolf on top of him, and the air left his lungs in a gush as the gun skidded across the floor. Alexis scrambled to her feet, and Bryce blinked until his vision focused on his surroundings. Musical instruments hung from the padded walls, and the sounds of the other werewolf fight ceased. This must have been the sound-proof room she’d told him about.

  Eric’s massive body filled the doorway, blood matting his dark fur on his neck and shoulder. Alexis barreled toward him, but he tossed her aside as if she weighed nothing, slamming her into the wall.

  “Alexis!” That’s it. This guy is dead. He scrambled for his gun, but Eric leapt at him, clamping his jaws onto his shoulder. Bryce let out a garbled yelp as dagger-like teeth sliced through skin and muscle, shooting searing pain through his core. With a jerk of his head, Eric dragged him away from the gun and swiped his claws across his stomach.

  The flesh on Bryce’s abdomen ripped open, the wolf’s claws penetrating to the organs beneath. Pain exploded through his gut, first as the pressure of a Mack truck rolling over him, and then the burning, stinging sensation and fear that his guts would spill onto the floor. He groaned as the massive wolf loomed over him, his body growing cold beneath the animal’s heated breath. Paralyzed in agony, Bryce gasped for air and turned his head toward where Alexis had lain, his only thought that she should be the last thing he saw before he left the world.

  She was gone.

  His vision tunneled, and he straightened his head to look into his killer’s eyes. Eric reared back, opening his maw for another strike, and time slowed to a crawl. Numbness spread through Bryce’s body as he stared into the werewolf’s open mouth. Hot saliva dripped from Eric’s canines and splashed onto Bryce’s cheek. His heart should have been pounding as the teeth neared his throat, but the sluggish muscle barely beat in his chest. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight back, so he prayed for a quick ending.

  The explosion of a gunshot pierced the room, and the wolf’s head jerked to the side. Another shot, and it went limp, collapsing on top of him, the pressure shooting another burst of agonizing pain through Bryce’s body. Stars danced in his wavering vision as the weight of the wolf was lifted, and Alexis’s emerald eyes came into view.

  Worry knit her brow as she knelt beside him, and he tried to focus on the beauty of her human face. Her flawless skin. Her cropped, blonde hair sticking out in every direction. Darkness closed in around him as he opened his mouth, and no words would pass from his lips. Alexis was alive—uninjured—and he’d go to his grave with the satisfaction of knowing that she’d survived.

  She rested her hands on his stomach. “He got you pretty good.” Her lip trembled, and a tear slid down her cheek. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, but I’m going to fix you, and then we’ll get you to the hospital. Hold on for me, okay, Bryce?”

  He wanted to nod. To tell her yes, he would hold on. That he’d never leave her. But his head spun and his lids fluttered shut, betraying his intentions. His abdomen tingled where she touched him. He forced his eyes open to meet her gaze, and streams of tears ran in rivulets down her face.

  “James!” she screamed, her voice hoarse and trembling. “If you’re done with Trevor, I could use some help.” Her skin paled, and she swayed as she moved toward his shoulder. She closed her eyes and tipped to the side, catching herself with her hand before her head smacked the tile floor.

  “Alexis.” Bryce’s voice came out as a croak.

  “I’m here.” She sat up and clutched her head. “I healed your stomach. Your shoulder’s in pretty bad shape too.”

  “Stop.” He forced the words through his thickening throat. “You’re draining yourself.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Though her voice sounded calm, it didn’t mask the anguish in her eyes. “Let me heal you so we can go home.”

  He touched his stomach. Cooling blood congealed on his torn shirt, but he couldn’t find a trace of injury. Lifting a hand to her face, he brushed the hair from her forehead, leaving a swipe of red across her skin, and she closed her eyes, nuzzling her cheek into his palm. “Where is home?” he asked.

  She smiled weakly. “It’s anywhere you are, dummy.”

  A werewolf snarled behind her, and as she turned toward it, the wolf lunged, clamping onto her throat. It shook her violently, dropping her on top of Bryce, and her body fell limp. Lifeless.

  The growl of a second wolf and sounds of another fight retreating through the open door barely registered in his mind, and the pain shooting through his shoulder paled in comparison to the agony of his heart wrenching in his chest.

  “Alexis?” His throat thickened, and tears stung his eyes as he tried to move her with his good arm. Her head lolled like her neck had been snapped, and his breath hitched. No.

  She couldn’t be dead. She was his soul mate. The woman he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. “Darlin’, you have to heal yourself.” He stroked her matted hair and then rested his hand on her back, searching for the gentle rise and fall to prove she was breathing. That she was healing.

  She lay utterly still.

  This couldn’t be happening. She had to live. This amazing woman who could heal with a touch had accepted him for who he was, and she’d taught him to accept himself. She meant the world to him; she couldn’t be gone. “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t leave me now.” Damn it, he needed her. Tears rolled down his cheeks, choking his words. “I love you.”

  When she didn’t respond, a sob bubbled up from somewhere deep in his soul—the sound of his heart breaking beyond repair.

  He nudged her, and blood gushed from her wound, flowing into the gash on his shoulder.

  It seared the exposed muscle, and the fiery sensation shot down his arm and into his chest, spreading through his body as if he were being burned from the inside out. He tried to scream, but he couldn’t get any air into his scorched lungs. An inferno raged inside his body, and agony consumed him as a burst of blinding white light flashed in his vision.

  Then the world went dark.

  Chapter Twenty

  Alexis gasped and shot to a sitting position. “Bryce!” Her heart sprinted as she clutched a soft fabric in her hands and blinked her eyes into focus. “Where?”

  “He’s here.” Macey sat next to the bed and gestured to the spot beside Alexis.

  A knot formed in her throat as she shifted her gaze to Bryce. He lay on his back, his arms by his sides, a peaceful expression softening his handsome features. Too peaceful. “Is he…?”

  “He’s alive.”

  “Oh, thank God.” She reached for him, running her fingers down the side of his face, and a tingling sensation seeped into her skin. She cupped his cheek in her hand, and the faint prickling shimmied up her arm. “Why do I feel magic in him?”

  “We were hoping you could answer that.” Luke stood beside Macey and rested a hand on her shoulder. “James
found you both unconscious on the floor. He thought you were dead.”

  She looked from Luke to Macey and finally took in her surroundings. Sheer drapes covered a bay window, and morning sunlight filtered through the glass, softly illuminating the bedroom. She sat in their bed, the alabaster duvet covering her legs. The white cotton T-shirt and flannel pajamas pants she wore didn’t belong to her, and as she ran her fingers through her hair, flakes of dried blood drifted onto her lap.

  Blood. Her breath caught. Bryce’s shoulder.

  She put her hand on his chest and gazed at his unmarred skin. No trace of the bite marks remained. Tugging on the neck of his shirt, she moved it aside to see what should have been a massive gash. He was uninjured. She hadn’t healed him, had she?

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Macey put her hand on Alexis’s leg.

  Alexis blinked, her mind reeling to understand. “I was healing him. Eric had torn him up, and I healed his stomach. I shouted for James, and I was about to heal his shoulder when…” She cupped her neck in her hands. “Trevor tried to rip my throat out. He broke my neck.” Her body trembled as the memory ran through her mind. “What happened to James?”

  “I’m fine.” He stood in the doorway, leaning against the jamb. “Sorry, Trevor got away from me. I took care of him, but I really thought you were dead. There was blood all over you. All over him. I thought it was Bryce’s blood, but when I rolled you off him, he didn’t have a scratch. Your neck healed pretty quick after that, but neither of you would wake up.”

  “How did we get here? What’s going to happen?” She took Bryce’s hand, lacing her fingers through his. The same faint tingle of magic seeped from his warm palm. “Is Bryce…did Eric turn him?”

  “Rain is on her way over to read his aura.” Macey squeezed her leg and stood.

  Luke put his arm around her. “I don’t think Eric turned him. The shot to the head killed him, but he didn’t lose much blood before that. Only werewolf blood—a lot of it—has the power to turn a human into a shifter.”

  Blood. That was why Eric’s plan didn’t work. It never would have worked, no matter how violently he attacked his victims, but… “Then why does Bryce have a magical signature?” She rubbed her temple, trying to put the pieces together, but it didn’t make sense. Bryce had lost too much blood. Even with her healing powers, she couldn’t have saved him without a transfusion. He’d needed a hospital.

  “We think you turned him.” Macey gave her a sympathetic look.

  She gazed at Bryce. “But it’s not possible.”

  “It’s possible,” Luke said. “If he lost enough blood, and then yours mixed with his…with your healing ability…he could have magic in his veins now.”

  Magic in his veins? Her magic. What had she done?

  Bryce drew in a deep breath and mumbled, “Alexis.”

  “I’m here.” She put her hand on his cheek and hovered her face above his.

  His lids fluttered open, and his brow pinched in confusion. “How? I watched you die.”

  “I’m not that easy to kill.” She smiled and stroked the hair away from his face. She may have forced him into a supernatural life, but he was alive. That mattered most. “How do you feel?”

  He rubbed his shoulder where the bite had been and glanced down at his body. “Not hurt.” He pushed to a sitting position and leaned his back against the headboard. “But not quite…right.”

  He looked at Luke and Macey, and his eyes widened as if he’d just realized they were there. “Where?” His gaze danced around the room, and he clutched his shirt.

  “You’re in our house,” Macey said.

  “Whose clothes are these?”

  “They’re mine.” Luke shuffled closer to him and bent down to look into his eyes. “You’re not in any pain?”

  “Surprisingly, no.” He tossed back the blanket and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I feel weird though. What happened?”

  James pushed from the wall and sauntered toward him. “We got your girl.”

  Bryce looked over his shoulder at Alexis and took her hand, pulling her toward him. “We sure did.”

  She moved to sit next to him, holding his hand in both of hers. “Eric is dead.” Her chest tightened, and she looked at Luke. “I don’t want to cause any trouble with the pack. Should I…leave?”

  Bryce’s grip on her hand tightened. She didn’t want to go anywhere without this man, but if killing Eric would bring war to the pack, she’d have no choice.

  Luke shook his head. “You stopped a madman who was breaking the law. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

  She let out a slow breath and leaned into Bryce’s side.

  “We found a body in Trevor’s fridge,” James said. “Found his roommate casing Michael’s house, and he was in on it too. Confessed to the whole plan.”

  “I’ve contacted the national congress and Biloxi.” Luke crossed his arms. “We’re in agreement that Eric was to blame and he was killed in self-defense.”

  Alexis nodded. The ordeal had been messier than she’d planned, but it was over. Eric couldn’t hurt anyone else.

  The doorbell rang, and she glanced at Bryce. “That’ll be Rain.”

  “I’ll let her in.” James strode out of the bedroom.

  “More company?” Bryce gestured to the sweatpants he wore. “I’m not dressed for guests.”

  “We need her to read your aura,” Macey said. “If you’re both feeling okay, let’s move to the living room.”

  Bryce stood. “My aura? That’s really a thing?” He shook his head. “Of course it’s a thing. I keep having to remind myself this is all real.”

  Alexis held tight to his hand as Luke and Macey shuffled into the living room. The guilt of not revealing her secret to Bryce herself gnawed in her gut. She was done keeping things from this man. Moving to face him, she rested her hands on his shoulders. “I need you to know something.”

  He grasped her hips and gazed into her eyes. “Tell me you didn’t mean what you said before about wanting to be with Eric.”

  The lies ended now too. From this moment on, she planned to tell him everything. She swallowed the thickness from her throat. “I didn’t mean a word of it. I was trying to stop him.”

  His lips tugged into a smile. “That’s all I need to know.” He flicked his gaze to the door and leaned in, taking her mouth with his. Vibrating energy danced across her lips, shooting straight to her heart.

  She’d been an idiot to think she could handle Eric on her own, defaulting to her old ways when her future stood right in front of her. When she’d held her fate-bound in her arms. She didn’t have to be alone anymore. She had her sister, a pack who would accept her, and a man who loved her.

  She brushed his lips once more and pulled away to look into his eyes. “There’s something else you need to know, and it’s something I should have told you a long time ago.” Brushing his hair from his forehead, she cupped his face in her hand. “I love you.”

  He smiled. “I love you too.”

  She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight, the wolf and the woman rejoicing in her acceptance of what she’d known deep down all along. She belonged with him, and now, she could spend forever with him. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you before we go out there. It might come as a shock.”

  “In the past twenty-four hours, I found out that werewolves are real and I’m in love with one. I don’t think anything you can say will shock me.”

  She pulled from his embrace and furrowed her brow. “You might be a werewolf now.”

  He blinked.

  Macey popped her head in the doorway. “Rain’s ready.”

  “How?” Bryce cocked his head and narrowed his gaze at Alexis before following Macey into the living room.

  Alexis held her breath as she sank onto the couch by Bryce. Rain sat on a chair next to the sofa, and Chase stood behind her. Macey perched on the arm of the couch, and Luke stood in front of them.

  “What do yo
u see, cher?” Chase asked.

  Rain’s eyebrows pinched as she studied Bryce, and she opened her mouth a few times as if to speak, but then she clamped her lips together.

  Alexis’s stomach sank. Why did she get the feeling the witch didn’t have good news?

  “He’s…” Rain tilted her head. “He has two auras. I see a pale-blue hovering around an orange one like a halo. It’s…I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Bryce swallowed. “What does that mean?”

  Alexis took his hand. “It means you have werewolf magic in your blood now.”

  He looked at Luke. “You said it wasn’t possible. You said no one would survive the kind of attack it would take…”

  “You shouldn’t have survived.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Your stomach was…” A shudder ran up her spine at the memory. “You’d lost so much blood.” She bit her lip to hold back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

  His eyes widened. “It was your blood…from where the wolf bit you. It burned.”

  “Burned?” James gave Luke a wary look. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Can you describe the burn?” Luke asked.

  “It felt like my whole body was on fire. I thought I was dying.” He rubbed his forehead. “What does this mean? Am I going to be like you?”

  “You might.” Alexis put her hand on his leg and gave him a squeeze. “Or the magic might not hold, and the moon will draw it out of you. Either way, we’ll find out soon. The next full moon is tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t mind having super strength like you guys. That’s not so bad.” He laughed, but it sounded forced. “And the night vision would come in handy at work.”

  Luke’s expression turned grim. “The magic could also be too much for your body to handle. You might not make it.”

  Macey gasped and covered her mouth. Rain lowered her gaze to her lap as Alexis tightened her grip on Bryce’s hand. He had to make it. Her blood coursed through his veins. Her power. Her healing ability. The magic—the wolf—in her blood was bound to Bryce as much as her heart was. Her wolf would never hurt the man she loved.