Blood and Lust (The Blood Chronicles Book 1)

by Vicki Cross

  “It is very nice to meet you all.”

  “Sebastian takes my hand in his and leans in to whisper to me. “You made the right choice.”

  I smile and bring my attention back to men before us. “What are you all doing here?”

  “Nothing that concerns you princess,” Daniel sneers. Sebastian immediately shoots him an angry glare Causing Daniel to back track.

  “What I meant to say Princess, you shouldn’t concern yourself in the war of men. It may prove too taxing for you.”

  I raised my brow in disbelief. He couldn’t be serious. “I can promise you Daniel, that talks of war doesn’t tax me.” I snapped.

  He scoffed and turned his head back to the others.

  “I think what Daniel is trying to say, that we wouldn’t want to stress you especially when you will be trying to conceive an heir.” Gabe adds. I swear my jaw must have hit the floor because I suddenly can taste the carpet. An heir? I didn’t think about that. I haven’t even finished processing being bound to Sebastian let alone carrying his child.

  “I-I,” I stammer unsure what to say.

  Sebastian breaks the tension by letting out a deep forced laugher. “It sounds like you don’t think Shay is worthy of knowing our plans, Daniel” he seethes.

  “N-no of course not. I’m sorry my prince, but her clan isn’t known for the level of work in war.”

  I gasped at the shock of his statement and let go of Sebastian’s hand. It was clear, not all agreed with his pending marriage to me.

  “Excuse me?” Sebastian growled. He was upset now and I knew he was doing his best to hold back. Daniel folded his arms across his chest in an attempt to show that he wasn’t backing down. Sebastian went to stand and I held his back. Instead I stood to my feet and decided that it was my time to speak.

  “Daniel, you may be an expert in war strategy but my father has successfully out bested your clan for years. We’re were the first of the clans to not reduce ourselves to taking human life. You need us, you need me. I may not be a male heir, but I am still an heir. If you don’t like that then I assure you, your responsibilities can be reassigned to something else. Perhaps you could serve as my wet nurse and share all your talents with our heir!” I countered.

  The entire room fell silent and before I knew it I was surrounded by a round of applause and laughter. I couldn’t believe I had just said our heir. As I sat down, Sebastian found my hand again and leaned in to kiss my cheek. I swallowed hard and felt as though the air was leaving my chest.

  “Now, that we got that out of the way.” Sebastian smiled. “Next week we will attack my father camp to the north of Jackson. Gabe will come with me and Eli will lead a group of his men to the north base side of the camp. Daniel, have two men stay behind with Shay while we are gone.”

  “Yes, my Prince.” They all said in unison.

  Sebastian excused them all except Eli who stayed behind to talk with him.

  “Are you sure, that Father will be at that camp?” Eli questioned once the door closed behind Gabe.

  “Yes. Daniel and his scouts have spotted him there since last week. It may be the only opportunity we have to sneak up on him.”

  Eli sighed and placed his hands on his hips. “I just find it odd that he would stay out in the open like this. He’s never done that before. I fear it may be a trap.”

  Sebastian ran a hand through his hair folded his arms across his chest. “Then that is the risk I’m willing to take. If he takes me down, you will be safe and you can continue the work we started.”

  Eli forced a smile and clasped Sebastian on the back. “With my luck, you’ll always be around big brother.” Eli smiled and winked at me before heading towards the door. I could tell that Eli wasn’t as serious as Sebastian and I found comfort in that.

  When he left, Sebastian turned towards me and cleared his throat. “Do not take what Daniel said to heart. His father died a long time ago in one of the wars your father started.”

  “And you trust him?” I questioned in shock.

  “I do. Because he doesn’t like the bloodshed as much as me. He’s proven himself loyal to me many times.”

  “Well if you trust him, then I will.”

  “There is something I need to talk to you about.” His tone is low and cautious and I know he wants to tell me something I may not want to hear.

  “We must move the binding to the end of this week. I need to bound to you before we go out to attack my father north campsite.”

  I want to protest. Every part of my body is aching to turn and run. That is only four days away. “I thought you said in two months?”

  “That was before you gave yourself to Jude.” He snapped in an almost annoyed tone.

  I chewed my bottom lip in despair.

  “For all we know you could be carrying his child. It will be extremely difficult to protect you if you’re found to be carrying a half-breed. Not eating them is one thing, but breeding is something that we’re aren’t supposed to do. Royal blood was never meant to cross over with humans. There will be those that want you and the child dead.”

  I move away from him trying to hold myself together. I was so careless and so caught up in the moment that I didn’t think about the possibility of getting pregnant. But if Sebastian was saying what I thought he was saying, then he was willing to lie to cover up my mistake.

  “Why would you do that for me?” I asked. “You don’t love me. All the things I’ve done stay away from you and get out of this binding you would protect me like this?”

  “Because it is the right thing to do.”

  “No,” I shouted back there was more to it I could feel it. “That’s can’t be all. You despise Jude and yet you would claim his child as your own.”

  “I told you, you’re always my first priority.”

  I pushed at the walls of chest knowing that he would get upset.

  “Don’t lie to me. Tell me why?” I cried and this time I could feel the tears flowing down my cheek.

  Sebastian’s eyes turned a hazy yellow and walked closer to me and for some reason all I could do was match his strides with my own as I backed away. He stopped just inches in front of me, when my back hit the wall.

  “Do you really want to know why?” he questioned moving his hand up the side of my arms.

  I nodded a yes and he gave me a wicked grin. “Because when I see you, I see her. I see Lou and I want her so fucking bad. Every inch of your brown skin reminds me of her and I can’t help but get hard just wanting to rip your clothes off and show you just how much I want you to be her. He pressed himself closer and I could feel his hard cock throbbing against my belly.

  He grabbed my neck and tilted my chin to meet his gaze then slowly brushed his lips against mine.

  “But you’re not her,” he whispered. He stepped back as if coming to that realization took him back brought him back into reality.

  It took me a while to regain control of my breaths as I stayed against the wall afraid to move.

  “You should go, until it is time for us to go hunting. He stated as he walked around his desk to sit back down. I still didn’t move instead I swallowed hard and licked my lips.

  “Will you tell me about her?” I questioned knowing I was pushing my luck. He ignored my question as he shuffled a few things on his desk to look busy.

  “There is nothing else to tell, Princess”

  Again I licked my lips and forced the issue. “Is she human?”

  He stopped immediately, and I knew I had my answer. So it appeared that I wasn’t the only one who had fallen for a human. But I finally understood why it was so difficult for him to accept me wanting Jude. He wasn’t able to be with the person he loved and I couldn’t be with the person I loved.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  He paused before looking up at me. “Because I need to keep her safe. The more people know the increase of her being found and hurt.” The pain in his voice was evident and for the first time, I felt sorry fo
r him. I felt as though we both had to commit to something we didn’t want.

  “Okay” I finally spoke after a few moments of silence. “We can move forward with the binding at the end of the week.”

  He looked at me and forced a smile and I knew it was time for me to leave. The sun would be down in a few hours and I needed to get ready for the hunt.

  Chapter 14

  Jude

  Hello everyone. Time for your action weather update. We’ll be seeing some heavy rain showers and thunderstorms over the next few days coming down from Jackson. Make sure you keep an umbrella with you for the next few days. I’m Chuck Renaldo with your WXY-D weather update.

  I turned the radio off in my office and reached for my jacket. We had seen a lot of warm weather the last few days, so it didn’t surprise me that we would be getting the showers soon. But that was the least of my worries. All I wanted to do was head down to Reed’s and get lost in a bottle of whiskey.

  Turning off the lights and locking the door, I quickly made my way to the center of the station to say my goodbyes. My hope was to leave out of here without causing too much of an interruption. I knew the night crew could handle everything without me sulking about.

  “My shift is done. Ya’ll have a good evening,” I called out in the station as I headed towards the door. I was doing my best to get out quickly before Deputy Wilson could say anything. He’s been itching to talk to me all week and I knew exactly what it was about. Ever since Shay disappeared a few weeks ago, I’ve spent nearly every night down at Reed’s. It was a desperate attempt of feeling sorry for myself.

  Before my hand could reach the door knob, I heard his heavy footsteps behind me.

  “You got a moment to chat?” he asked.

  I pushed the door open and headed outside knowing that he was going to follow me. “Not really,” I replied in a cold tone. I hated myself for that but I didn’t want to be bothered with any of his fatherly advice.

  “Jude Alexander Monroe.” He called out giving me his biggest fatherly voice he could muster. I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around on heels.

  “What is it Wilson?”

  He closed the distance between us quickly and I could see he was upset.

  “Now look, you’re old enough to make your own choices. But dammit son, you’ve been going to Reed’s place every night this week.”

  I scoffed and threw up my hands. “C’mon Wilson, give me a break. It’s Friday. Can’t a guy go out and drink some Whiskey without being hassled by somebody.”

  He dug his heels in the dirt and I could see his disappointment. “You know your daddy use to say the same thing.”

  I cursed under my breath and ran both hands on the back of head. I knew he was going to go there, and tonight wasn’t the night to compare me to my father. “Yea well I’m not like him. I can handle my liquor.”

  Wilson let out a mocking laugh before placing his hands on his hip and shifting his weight to the left. “Yup, that’s another thing your old man use to tell your mother and I right before he drives down to the bar. Most nights she called me to drag his sorry ass back home.”

  “Dammit Wilson!” I shout before turning my back to him and heading towards my truck. I didn’t want or need this conversation. I wasn’t my father and I didn’t need to prove it to a man that wasn’t my father. I reached for the handle of the car and pulled the door open.

  “You know what he said that night he drove into through that stop sign.” He paused and I found myself standing there as if the soles of my shoes were stuck to the ground.

  “I’ll stop after tonight,” he added in a low voice. A part of me wanted to walk up to him and tell him everything that was going wrong in my life. But I knew I couldn’t. Drinking was the only way I could fix my pain. I hoped in the car without a word to him, and headed down the road to Reeds.

  Once I made it to Reed’s I ordered a double shot of whiskey and sat at the end of the bar It was my dad’s old spot, and hell it felt good to be him for a night. I had a sudden itch to have a cigar even though smoking wasn’t really my thing. It felt like I was bonding with him, but that could have just been the liquor.

  “You alright suga?” Sue questioned as she poured me another drink.

  “Yea I’m fine.” I replied before taking a sip.

  She forced a smile and I knew she wanted to give me a talk as well. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Wilson to call her up and tell to not serve me too much. But Sue was smart enough to see that I didn’t want to be bothered tonight. I just wanted to enjoy my Whiskey and let everything else fade away.

  I spent every night missing Shay. I wanted her badly I could feel the anger inside of me building up. I hated Sebastian. I hated everything about him. He didn’t give a shit about her. He was probably using her for his own sick twisted games. The thought of him touching her made my insides burn.

  I swallowed down the shot of whiskey and slid my glass down the bar towards Sue who was quick to refill it and slide it right back down to me.

  The bar was always busy on a Friday night. Most of the regulars enjoyed Fridays for the conversation and the ladies. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a beautiful blonde woman watching me as she played pool with what I could only assume was her boyfriend. But the way she eyed me made me rethink that idea. I couldn’t help but wonder about having her in my bed. Maybe it would get out the warm smell of honey and flowers Shay left behind. I found myself sleeping on the couch since she left. I wouldn’t dare touch my bed. Every part of it reminded me of her. I just needed to forget about her.

  I turned around and gave her a playful wink to see if my instincts were right I could persuade her to come home with me. She quickly gave me a wink back and spun around in chair to face the bar.

  “Pretty girl coming your way Jude,” Sue leaned in and smiled.

  I felt a hand touch my back and glide its way down my arm.

  “Hello,” the woman replied as she found her seat next to me.

  I took a quick sip of my drink and looked her over. She looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite pin it down where I may have known her from. Her bright red dress mirrored every inch of her body and I was couldn’t help but enjoy the view.

  “Hi beautiful,” I smiled

  The girl brush some of her blonde hair out of her face before giving me a wide grin. “Well I thought that since you winked at me, I would come over and say hello.”

  “Oh you noticed that?” I teased. She laughed and ran her hand down her towards her thighs.

  “Jude, I’m surprised you don’t remember me,” she giggled.

  I raised my brow and gave her a closer look and when I couldn’t guess who she was, she gave me a playful smack on the shoulder. “It’s me Miranda Headley, we went to high school together.”

  My eyes widen as memories of her following me around in high school came back to me. The Miranda I knew wasn’t blonde but I could tell she had a dye job. She had a crush on me back in high school, and I did my best to let her know that it could never work between her and I.

  “Oh right. How ya been?”

  She giggled and flashed a smile. I could tell she was a bit tipsy from the way she twirled the ends of her hair. “I’m good, just out with a few friends. I actually moved out to Atlanta, right after high school for college.”

  I nodded remembering hearing something about that years ago. “Whatever happened to that Joey fella you were with senior year?”

  “Oh he and I broke up my sophomore year. You were right about him. He was bad news.” She sighed. I could tell there was more to the story but I wasn’t quite in the mood to hear about it, so I didn’t press the issue.

  “What about you and Shay?” she questioned. “Last did you two finally get together?” she pushed.

  I took a good sip of my whiskey before answering. Part of me wanted to say yes, but I knew better than that. “No.” I replied dryly.

  Her smile widens and she placed her hand on my knee giving me a slow caress up and down
.

  “Well since we’re both single, what do you say about getting out of here and sneaking out to Beacon farm.”

  I couldn’t help but smirk when she brought up Beacon farm. It was where all the high school guys brought their dates to make out and get to third base if they were lucky. I had dreamed of bringing Shay there the night of the spring dance. Instead I took an oath for her that night.

  I turned towards Sue and laid some money on the bar then finished my glass. “Alright,” I smiled.

  Miranda jumped out of seat and ran to grab her purse. When she got back to me, she linked her arms with mine and we headed to my truck.

  “I gotta say, I never thought I would be heading to Beacon farm with Jude Monroe,” she giggled as she crawled into the passenger side.

  “Well, anything can happen,” I said in my more than tipsy state. I wasn’t as good to drive as I wanted to be, but the farm was only 5 miles down. I was sure we could make it.

  As soon as I started the engine, Miranda scooted herself closer to me and placed her hand on my knee.

  “You’re so sexy,” she breathed and inching her hand closer up towards my thigh. I let out a low groan and tried to push Shay out of mind. I wanted to feel something for Miranda. I needed to feel something for her. For all I knew, Sebastian could have already had his way with her.

  “Fuck,” I blurted out. The thought annoyed me. Miranda let out a playful giggle as she thought I was reacting to her hand grazing my cock.

  “Do you like that baby?” she cooed.

  I didn’t look at her, instead I relaxed and hurried my way down the road. She leaned in closer and placed a kiss on my neck.

  “We’re almost there,” I smiled moving out of her way.

  “Maybe I should slow down,” she giggled.

  “Just a little,” I replied.

  Once we made it to the farm I parked right by the old wind mill. As soon as I shut the car off she hiked up her dress made her way onto my lap.

  “Howdy sheriff.” She giggled. This close I could smell the liquor on her breath, but I knew mine smelled just as much.

  “Howdy darling,” I smiled gliding both my hands up her arms to find the nape of her neck.