Life Bound: The Shadow World Book 1

by Aubrey Winters

  “Calling you like this. How did she get your number? She didn’t even ask if you’re okay. Wanting you to come to her... it doesn’t feel right, Elizabeth.”

  His eyes bore into mine, and for a moment, I almost called Alice back. But Alice was the only person I knew who had a personal connection to Nana. She was the closest thing to family that I had right now—which, if I really thought about it, was a little pathetic, considering I’d just met the woman yesterday. I didn’t even know her, but I trusted her. No, I didn’t trust her, but I wanted to. There was a difference, but right now, I didn’t want to hear it.

  Before I could change my mind, the passenger door’s window exploded next to my face. My ears rang so hard I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, Kol’s fangs elongated and his eyes glowed a fiery red. He ripped the arrow from where it had buried itself in the driver's door. It just missed us both.

  “Stay here and stay down. Lock the doors,” he growled.

  In an instant, his door slammed shut, and I was alone in the car, heart hammering in my chest and trying to shake the buzzing out of my head. I locked the doors and climbed into the back seat, looking out the window to the field that sandwiched the highway.

  In the distance, two silhouettes stood facing each other, one broad and one lean. They stayed so still that I thought maybe my eyes played tricks on me.

  But then the lean figure grabbed the other by the neck and threw him onto the ground, climbing on top.

  I prayed Kol was on top.

  Suddenly, metal groaned from behind and horror ripped through me when a cloaked male ripped the back door off of the car completely. I scrambled to unlock my side, but just as my hand touched the handle, he yanked the hood of my sweatshirt, choking me as he dragged me out of the car.

  One hand at the neck of my pullover, I dug my nails into his hand, hoping he would let go. My other hand smacked against the back seat, scrambling to grab onto the seatbelt. He pulled harder, and I tumbled out of the car. Stars blurred my vision as my head cracked against asphalt.

  “Who are you?” I croaked, struggling to focus past the white flashing in my eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

  My assailant wore all black; a hood was drawn over his head, and a mask protected the bottom half of his face, leaving his eyes uncovered. Eyes glittering with malice.

  Strips of leather protected parts of his body, but my dazed attention was drawn to the large swords strapped to his hip. One with a metal handle, and one with a wooden grip.

  He put a hand to his ear. “I’ve got her.”

  “Wait—”

  Promises of death glinted against the setting sun, devastation reflected against the metal blade as he unsheathed it from his hip.

  I watched in slow motion as he plunged it into my chest.

  Then he crumpled to the ground, revealing Kol behind him, watching me with wide eyes.

  The metal was cold; its chill spread from my chest outward, freezing my limbs. My breaths grew ragged—was it always this difficult to breathe?

  The world started spinning, and I was so cold. Kol said my name, but it sounded like he was underwater. Was I in a bubble?

  Suddenly, I realized I was lying on the ground. I wanted to get up, but my body wasn’t listening. It seemed to betray me a lot these days.

  Hooded men surrounded Kol, and I wanted to tell him to be careful—

  His fiery eyes met mine, and then looked around me, panicked.

  I moved my fingers, feeling the slickness of the ground—was it blood? Was it my blood? Why was I bleeding?

  I wanted to say his name. I needed to tell him that there was another Hunter behind him.

  But I watched, silent, as a sword ripped through his torso from behind.

  Kol’s face twisted, but I didn’t hear a sound as he turned on his assailant.

  An eternity later, Kol straightened up.

  He was okay.

  I could sleep now, knowing that he was okay.

  The world went dark.

  WAIT.

  Kol shook me.

  Stop it.

  Leave me alone.

  Let me sleep.

  But he wouldn’t stop, so I pried my eyes open to give him a piece of my mind.

  Worried grey eyes drilled into mine. Beautiful eyes—how had I not noticed how pretty they were? I couldn’t tell him that, though. He wouldn’t let me live it down.

  Liquid metal rushed into my mouth and trickled down my throat. I tried to push him away, but my limbs wouldn’t obey me, and his other hand was at the back of my neck, holding me in place. This position was starting to feel too familiar for my liking.

  Warmth and energy flowed back into my body like I’d just been dipped in a hot tub. Hot pain flashed in my chest before it dulled. I pushed him away and coughed.

  “What happened?” The fog in my mind cleared, but my eyes stung and my lungs felt heavy. He didn’t answer. Instead, the vampire pulled me into a hug, lifting me from the ground.

  “Kol,” I choked out, patting his back. “Kol.”

  “Sorry,” he muttered into my hair and loosened his grip. Gently, he released me and held me at arms-length, studying me. My heart fluttered under his watchful gaze.

  “Kol, you’re bleeding,” I reached up to his shoulder where blood had soaked through his shirt. “You’re bleeding everywhere.”

  “As long as you’re fine, I’m fine.” His voice was thick with emotion. My heart did another flip, and I silently told it to shut up; he meant it literally. If I lived, he would heal.

  “What happened?” I croaked.

  “You almost died,” he croaked. His hands gripped my shoulders tightly, and he stared at me like he couldn’t believe I was here. That I was real.

  It was then that I noticed the glint of bloody metal next to me, and memories of hot, fiery pain and steel crashed down like violent waves.

  Before I could scream, Kol pulled me into his arms, burying my face in his chest and grounding me.

  “Shh, shh,” he whispered. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m here.”

  I fought back sobs against his chest, clinging onto his shirt as green eyes flashed in my mind. Eyes of my would-be murderer.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he murmured into my hair. “I won’t leave you again. I’m here.”

  WE DROVE INTO THE NEXT town in silence. He held my hand the entire way, like he was afraid that if he let go, I’d slip away. The warmth and solidity of my hand in his reminded me I wasn’t alone. It kept me from losing my sanity.

  In case anyone was keeping count, I have had three near-death experiences in three days.

  By far, this was the worst one. I’d looked into my attacker’s murderous eyes. I’d watched as he consciously chose to end my life without an ounce of hesitation. He wanted me to die. He’d looked into my eyes and decided my life was worthless.

  The rest of the day passed by in a blur as Kol encanted another car for us, and we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel—an actual hotel this time. He didn’t let go of my hand as he helped me into the lobby, encanted the concierge, and led me up to our room.

  He’d requested two beds, but he led me to neither of them, taking me straight to the bathroom instead.

  “We’re not making a habit of this, are we?” I asked, hugging myself when he dropped my hand to turn on the bath.

  His blood worked fast. Even though I wasn’t physically injured anymore, I was very aware that shock had likely settled in. It was too bad his healing blood didn’t work with mental trauma.

  “Kol,” I pushed myself off from the wall. His back was turned to me as he tested the water. I gulped. He’d wrecked a few leather jackets. I’d thought his wounds would have healed by now, but his movements were still slow and deliberate.

  “Yeah? The water should be good, but it’ll take a while to fill though.” He turned around to respond, his eyes taking a second longer than usual to focus.

  “I’m just wondering if you’re okay.”

 
; He sat me down gently on the ledge of the bathtub. “I’ll be fine. And you?”

  I nodded, but I trained my eyes on the blood that still seeped from his wounds.

  Kol’s knuckles brushed against my jaw gently, sending small sparks of warmth shooting through me. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but he stood up, seeming to decide against it.

  “I’ll be fine,” he breathed. “I’ll just be out there.” His steel-grey eyes were lighter than I’d ever seen them.

  “I’m going to clean my wounds, so don’t try to sneak a peek,” he grinned weakly.

  “Nothing to see anyway,” I teased him back, relieved to see he was fine enough for jokes.

  As the bathtub filled, I peeled my clothes off, wincing instinctively when the dried blood cracked even though I felt no pain. The once white shirt was stained almost completely crimson. All of that had come from me.

  Tossing it aside and stripping the rest of my clothes off, I was determined not to look too closely in case my mind involuntarily began calculating exactly how much blood I had lost before Kol saved me. Just how close to death I’d been.

  I eased into the bathtub carefully; even though my wounds had healed, both my body and my mind still remembered the pain. It was silly, but I felt delicate. Part of me believed that I was still out there on the side of the highway, bleeding out and dying.

  The hot water was a great distraction, and it took several minutes before I realized that he’d added bath salts. I supposed that was the difference between hotels and motels.

  I wanted to say it seemed oddly considerate of him to do anything extra for me, but things seem to have changed since last night.

  My life moved a lot faster since Kol entered it. Even without the daily near-death experiences, I felt like such a different person that I wasn’t sure I could ever go back to my old life, even after I re-united with Nana. If I re-united with her.

  But with each passing day, with each new thing that I learned, I was a little closer to accepting this new life—this new me. Maybe I couldn’t return. Maybe I didn’t want to anymore.

  I was getting ahead of myself, though. Focus on finding Nana, then figure out my life. Take things day by day.

  Letting myself enjoy the moment meant that the moment passed by sooner than I’d expected; the water was lukewarm by the time I pulled myself out to take a quick hot shower before drying off on towels fluffier than any from our other motels. Pulling on a black t-shirt and jeans, I exited the bathroom to a horrific sight.

  Kol hunched over the table, reaching as far over his shoulder blade as he could. Blood soaked towels lay forgotten on the floor in a pile with his shredded jacket and shirt. He paused when I entered.

  I waited at the door for him to speak, but he seemed to realize nothing would make this situation sound better than it looked, so he returned to grabbing at his back.

  “Can I help you?” I asked warily.

  “I’m fine,” he grunted.

  “If this is what ‘fine’ looks like, I must be doing it wrong.”

  He glared. Not in the mood for jokes, then.

  “Like I said before, it doesn’t seem like ultra-flexibility is one of the powers you got when you became a vampire.”

  He growled under his breath, but let me approach.

  “There’s a good vampire,” I cooed, teasing him to distract myself from the bloody scene. It wasn’t the first time I picked wood out from his back, but it seemed different this time, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. A quick search revealed a well-stocked emergency kit which included a pair of tweezers and alcoholic wipes.

  “Are we ready?”

  He tensed like he was going to say something, but gripped the wooden table instead.

  “Alright, take a deep breath,” I prepared him. In truth, I needed it too.

  He grunted when I pulled out the first shards, and I realized why this seemed worse than the last time.

  He’d already managed to get the larger pieces out, but it wasn’t healing. Ten agonizing minutes later, with his groans still echoing in my mind, his back was finally clear of wood, though it was still a mess. None of the wounds from the pieces I’d removed had healed over, either.

  I dropped the tweezers onto the table, not bothering with a towel. “I guess they’re charging us the room deposit,” I said weakly.

  He was breathing hard but managed a grin.

  “I’m going to get you some water, and then you’re going to tell me why your back isn’t healing.”

  He grabbed my hand. “Water won't help, but I appreciate the offer.”

  I paled. “It’s blood you need, isn’t it?”

  He nodded slowly. “You don’t have to—”

  “Okay,” I presented him my wrist, free of evidence from the last time he drank.

  His eyes met mine and a moment of understanding and of pure trust passed between us. It was a strange thing to place so much trust in someone I’d only met days ago. If Bella and Rose were to see this, I was sure they would have disapproved. But this man had saved my life multiple times, and whether he did it to ensure his own survival or mine, I finally realized that it didn’t matter. The sooner I accepted our situation, the better we could work as a team.

  My eyes closed as his warm lips wrapped around my wrist; I watched it happen once and wasn’t excited to see it again. As euphoric as it felt the first time, it wasn’t real. It was a sick illusion meant to make the prey experience easier for humans. A small sting shot up my arm when he broke skin, but as expected, the pain quickly dulled to a heady, joyous feeling of power. Of ability. Of being.

  Warmth spread from my arm to my chest. Every part of me was alive. I struggled to remember that this feeling was not real. Real was the pain from his fangs. Real was—

  I gasped when cold air brushed against my wrist where his mouth once was.

  “Thank you.” He took a shuddering breath, his fangs retracting.

  I caught my breath, waiting for the rush of dizziness. When it finally hit, I barely even swayed on my feet. It wasn’t as bad as last time.

  The clink of a glass on wood refocused my vision. Kol placed a glass of water on the table and jerked his head toward it. I hadn’t even noticed him stand up and leave. “Water will help you, though.”

  “Tell me why you aren’t healing.” My fingers still tingled a little, but the cool glass helped. The water’s chill made its way down my throat, and already I could feel the effects of letting him drink subside.

  “You won’t like the answer.”

  I shook my head. “I need to know.”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve had a full drink,” he finally admitted.

  “But you—last night?”

  It was his turn to shake his head. “Not nearly enough.”

  “How much is enough?” I was afraid of the answer.

  “More than that,” he shrugged. “Not necessarily enough to drain a human, but definitely more.”

  So that was why he looked like he struggled to stop both times he drank from me. I gasped. “We left the blood bags in the car.”

  “Yes,” he looked at me warily. “We left them. We were a little preoccupied. I have another theory, though.” He rolled his shoulders stiffly.

  “Normally, drinking so little wouldn’t be enough to heal me completely and so quickly. But I have a feeling because we’re bonded, your blood heals me faster. See?” He turned around, and I could see he was right. Smears of red stretched across his back, but no open wounds marred his otherwise perfect skin.

  Without realizing it, I placed a hand on his back, feeling the smoothness beneath my palm. He shivered at my touch, but didn’t pull away.

  The heat from his body warmed my hand, and I wondered how many had seen him vulnerable and exposed like this. He’d lived a thousand years, and yet his body was unmarred, untouched by age, or scars, or even time itself.

  He was beautiful; I had to admit—more so than any other male I’d met. How ironic it was that this body and
this face belonged to someone so ruthless, brutal, and distrusting. And so lonely.

  I could feel how lonely he was. What good was ageless beauty and timeless power if you were so alone? Though he hadn’t told me much, I could piece together how he grew to become so distant. He made a lot of jokes and rarely said what he meant, but I had a feeling that I’d broken some invisible wall I hadn’t known existed—without even knowing it.

  I’d read my fair share of romance novels, and I’d always hated the instant-love relationships in them. They never seemed realistic to me. And yet, for the first time in my life, I was fighting levels of attraction for Kol that I’d never felt before and I’d only known him for mere days.

  I’d had boyfriends for longer, for whom I felt less strongly.

  A part of me said “Stockholm Syndrome,” while another part of me wondered if it was the raw power and mystery of Shadows that attracted me.

  Either way, it had been days, and I was being ridiculous.

  I pulled my hand back.

  He wanted to say something, but paused. Seeming to think better of it, he turned back around. “We should at least pick these up.”

  Letting out a breath I hadn’t known I’d held, I agreed and grabbed the laundry bag to fill with bloody towels.

  “You should probably shower,” I said without looking at him. “You’re just going to leave more mess.”

  He grunted and left me alone with my thoughts. The towels themselves were easy enough to pick up, but the blood was not something I’d be able to scrub out. I’d have to remember to leave an extra tip for the troubles.

  I was so exhausted that by the time Kol emerged from the shower, I’d almost fallen asleep. Blinking the weariness out of my eyes, I watched as Kol entered the room, steam behind him. His blond hair, pushed back, was darker when damp.

  He had put on another black long-sleeve with buttons that went halfway down his chest and paired it with dark jeans. It seemed impossible that he was a bloody mess just twenty minutes ago.

  “Take a photo,” he smirked.

  “Shut up.” Heat rushed to my face as I banished my previous thoughts of attraction. He didn’t need to know about them, and they had no business being in my mind. Part of me was pleased to note that nothing seemed to have changed between us, though.