Bloodborne Awakened (Borne of Blood Book 1)

by Tracey Laviolette

  I bent down and gave her a big hug. “You take care of your mommy.”

  She giggled then clasped her mother’s hand. “I will.” She waved cutely as they turned to leave. Suddenly, the little girl stopped and turned to me. “You look beautiful in your wedding dress.” She turned back around and continued with her mother.

  I watched as Mia slowly walked away and disappeared behind the two towering wooden doors. I slipped the bangled bracelet over my hand and admired it for a long moment, thinking it did match my necklace in some way. The bracelet was a lovely gift, and perhaps it was her way of sealing a friendship, bond even with me. I knew something terrible had to have happened in her life, not just the loss of the battle, but something more profound. Turned out, sadly enough I had been right in my hunch.

  I felt bad for Mia but understood her concern for her brother’s heart. A bad situation happened to her, but that didn’t mean it would happen to Jacob, or me, for that matter. My plans were not to be killed by a demon or even a demon hybrid. Worse yet, some wicked witch who used demons as pawns. I had a little understanding that this life was only borrowed for a short time until we moved on to the next one.

  The door opened, and Tristan popped his head through. “OH! There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  “Well, I’m here, saying goodbye to the plants.” I chuckled.

  “Aw—” Tristan walked over and gave me a big hug. “I’m going to hate to see you leave.”

  “Thanks, Tristan, but I want to learn more about my other side, the Dragonbornes. There’s so much I don’t know yet.”

  “I feel ya. I’m just going to miss you. But—I guess we can still text one another. If you need any advice on anything—” Tristan’s lips curled up into a sly smile as he batted his eyelids at me.

  I chuckled. “I think I can handle a long-distance relationship with Jacob just fine.”

  “Well, then help your bruh out! Put in a good word for me with Kyle.” Tristan folded one arm over his chest, then placed his elbow on top of it with his finger against his lips.

  “Tristan, I don’t know about Kyle, but I will mention it. That’s all I can promise.” I laughed.

  “Do your best. Do your best.” He walked over to my side and slipped his arm around mine. “Shall we? There’s a limo out front waiting on you, courtesy of The King. The driver will take you home to your Grandmother.”

  My heart raced and almost came to a fluttering stop. “You are kidding? This early? I didn’t have much time to spend with Jacob.”

  “Calm down, you still have time to say goodbye to him. He’s waiting for you outside.” Tristan urged me toward the doors.

  Tristan escorted me through those massive doors, down the hall and to the front of the Sanctuary. I had all my things packed last night and even managed to borrow a suitcase from Karina. Of course, she said I could have it on one condition—I returned. They all knew it was important to me to finish high school, and then I could join them at the Sanctuary. Perhaps take up a study that would help people, like Mia and Karina. Maybe. I had a year to decide, and with that, I’d make the best decision I could for my future.

  As Tristan and I made it outside, Jacob stood beside the limo dressed in a black suit and tie. I’d never seen him look so handsome before. Maybe it was the suit, perhaps it wasn’t—but he looked adorable.

  Jacob reached out his hand toward me, as Tristan unlinked himself from my arm. “Jessie, I wanted to thank you for coming into my life and making me feel something I’d never felt before. I know in my heart that we’re—we’ve always been destined for one another.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a little ring, then knelt down on one knee.

  Okay—honestly, my heart really did stop for a moment. When it jumpstarted again, it flew into the back of my throat, and I lost all concept of how to breathe correctly. I couldn’t imagine that Jacob would even think about or consider proposing this early. I mean—yeah, I knew we were destined and all, but it just seemed too soon. I didn’t know what to do or say at that point. I stood there, shocked, and had no redeemable qualities in myself at all.

  “Jessie, I’m giving you this ring as a promise, that one day I will replace it will a real engagement ring. Will you accept it? Accept me and my promise that when we are ready, we’ll be husband and wife?”

  I stood frozen, not moving—shocked and stunned, my mind had gone numb. Tristan suddenly slapped me on the back of my head—which jump started my brain again, and I took the ring from Jacob.

  “I—yes,” I uttered softly.

  Jacob rose and took me into his arms, where he placed a long kiss on my lips. Behind me, I heard Tristan clapping a round of applause, then his arms wrapped around us as he yelled something about a group hug. How I would miss that silly guy.

  It seemed everyone stepped outside after that to give me a hug goodbye. Karina, Gordon, Jen, Donna, and Becky. Even Mia’s little daughter wanted to say goodbye as she wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

  Tears had formed into my eyes when Jacob opened the door to the limousine, where I found Kyle sitting and waiting on me. This was it—the goodbye. I gave one last look at the Sanctuary and the beautiful foliage. I wanted the scenery to be burned in my memory forever. My gaze drifted back to Jacob’s handsome face. Slowly, I lifted my hand and ran my forefinger down the side of his face. I would miss him most of all.

  “I don’t want to say goodbye, because I’m not going to be leaving forever.” A solemn tear fell down my cheek.

  Jacob ran his forefinger up my cheek and wiped my tear away. Slowly, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips, then ran his hand gently down the side of my face.

  “We’ll keep in touch, texting, messaging, and phone calls. I think I can manage to persuade my Grandfather that we could all use a little communication with the outside world. I’ll come and visit when I have the chance. You won’t be without me, Jessie.” Jacob gave me one last kiss and allowed his lips to linger on mine for a long moment.

  Then Jacob backed away from the door and closed it. I rolled down the window and waved at everyone as the driver pulled off. A sadness I didn’t expect overcame my heart, but I knew that my decision to leave was the best for us. It gave Jacob a chance to work with his family to rebuild the Elders.

  For me, I had the chance to finish what I started with high school—graduate. Also, Grams promised to tell me more about the Dragonbornes. If I were to help Jacob make any real improvements between our clans, I needed to know everything. I had a long list of theories and ideas that I wanted to talk over with Grams. Maybe she could answer some of those questions.

  After we pulled off a distance, I rolled up the window and looked over at Kyle. He didn’t look too happy.

  “What?” I sat back with my body firmly against the seat.

  Kyle shook his head. “I already told you what I thought. Your people need you, and that’s all I’m going to say. I’m going to take a nap if you don’t mind.” He stretched out across the seat and closed his eyes.

  I was so irritated with Kyle that my natural instinct kicked in and I growled at him. He opened one eye and hissed back at me. At that point, I snapped my attention to anything outside the car window.

  During the ride to Grams’, I didn’t talk much—mainly just kept silent in my thoughts. Kyle sat across from me and fell asleep—which was kinda cute, because now I didn’t feel obligated to entertain him during the ride home. He also snored a bit, which drew my attention back to him from time to time.

  Kyle appeared to be trustworthy—especially since I had learned he had been given the position to protect me. Grams apparently trusted Kyle with my life, which made me wonder how she knew him in the first place.

  My gaze drifted outside, beyond the heavily tinted windows as we passed the tall palm trees. I recognized the area, and we weren’t far from Grams. It would be so nice to see her again, especially to talk with her about the Dragonbornes. There were so many questions
I had for her and so many things to tell her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ∆

  Kyle woke up a few minutes before the driver pulled the limo up into Gram’s driveway. As soon as I stepped out the limo, Grams was there at the door waiting with welcoming arms.

  “OH! I’m so glad you’re back!” She grabbed me tight and held me close.

  I gave her a tight squeeze, then patted her on the back. “Grams—I can’t breathe.” I half-chuckled, but the woman had a firm grip.

  “Oh! I’m sorry, honey.” She released me, then stepped back with her hands still on my arms. “Let me see you now—” She pursed her lips together and nodded her head. “The new look suits you.”

  “Speaking of which—” I pulled a piece of my hair forward. “I thought all this time you had your hair done professionally.” I gave her a hard glare.

  Grams lifted her brows, then chuckled. “Oh, well. Now you know my secret wasn’t Miss Clairol number—” She paused, then her attention snapped to Kyle. “Thank you for bringing my granddaughter back to me.”

  Kyle yawned, then stretched as he nodded to my Grams. “No problem. The Bloodbornes have an interesting place there.”

  Grams looked from Kyle to me. “Well, you don’t have to go back to that place ever again.”

  “Oh! No, Grams, it wasn’t bad. They were, well, after—um—the beyotch—” I had sort of gave up on how I wanted to tell Grams about the Sanctuary. “It wasn’t bad, really. They have classes there.”

  Grams’ brows drew into a frown. “Classes?”

  “Yeah—they actually have some type of training there for the Bloodbornes. It’s like a private school or something. They even have combat training.” Kyle rubbed the back of his neck, then stretched again.

  “Educational and combat classes?” Grams wrapped her arm around my shoulder, then motioned for Kyle to follow us into the house. “I want to hear all about this place.”

  Once we all got inside, the driver brought what luggage Kyle and I had into the house. I missed my clothes and the very comfy bed that Grams had in her guest room. Well, now that I would be staying here for a bit, I guess I could call it my room. As I looked around the room, with the one large oil painting on the wall directly across from the bed, and the long deep wine-colored drapes, I felt unsure. Maybe it was me, and I just didn’t like the décor, also known as the one vase on the night table beside the bed. I had wanted it to feel more ‘like me’, instead of just some house guest room. That was why I decided to make the change.

  “Grams!” I called out as I heard her still in the kitchen with Kyle, talking amongst themselves.

  “Yes, darling?” Grams called back with a heavy southern twang.

  “I have an idea. Since I’m going to be staying here and finishing out school, perhaps I should get a job and buy myself a few things for my room.” I walked out of the bedroom and headed straight toward the kitchen. “Maybe get a car.”

  Gram’s lifted her brows, then a soft smile crossed her lips. “You know, that does sound like a good plan. I think it will be a good idea, and I’ll help you.”

  I pursed my lips together and twitched them slowly from side to side. “Grams—thank you for wanting to help, but I really want to try and see if I can do this on my own.”

  Gram’s expression softened, and she gave me a nod. “I understand, Jessie. If you need my help, I’m here.”

  I walked over and hugged her tightly. “Thank you for understanding.” Then I pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Oh—we can’t tell dad I’m going to get a car. He’ll have a stroke.”

  Grams laughed, then patted me on the head. “I’ll handle him, don’t worry. It’s one of those ‘on a need-to-know basis’ things.”

  “I’ll see you guys later. I’m going to head back to my uncle’s.” Kyle turned his attention toward me. “Jessie, I’ll see you again when school starts.”

  I lifted my brows, then drew them into a frown. “Wait, you’re coming to school with me? Why?”

  “Jessie,” Grams started as she softly touched my arm, “it’s important that Kyle stay close by with you—especially at school.”

  “Jessie, I get it,” Kyle stated in a half-irritated tone. “Later, guys.” He turned and left out the kitchen door.

  Grams and I stood there for a quiet moment as we watched him leave. I didn’t want to say anything—Kyle was cool and all, but I didn’t see the need for him to be around me all the time. Slowly, my gaze shifted toward Grams, who seemed a bit shocked.

  “Does he really need to do this? I mean—like a school bodyguard?” I narrowed my gaze at her and crossed my arms.

  Grams lifted a brow. “Listen to me, Jessie. You have no idea who you are, and Kyle is going to keep close to you—he’s your High Guard, for heaven’s sake!” Her southern twang had a hint of lemon to it, but I still didn’t understand.

  “You’re not making any sense to me. I mean, what, he’s going to attend the same school, take the same classes—Grams! COME ON!” I rocked back on my heel with my arms still folded over my chest.

  Grams shook her head. “I’m not going to argue with you, Jessie. This is just how it’s got to be. You’re a Dragonborne, and not only that, you’re also Awakened.”

  “Grams, this makes no sense to me. I mean—I was attacked before I was Awakened. Suddenly, I need protection. Why now? I mean, why didn’t I have protection before?”

  Grams inhaled a quick breath, then placed one hand on her hip and waved her other hand around in front of me as she talked. “Will you just listen to me, please? The thing that happened at the campsite and at your school was an indication that those creatures were looking for you. Dragonbornes have a certain scent about them, humans can’t detect it, and most animals can’t. But demons and dragons can.” She motioned for me to go into the living room. “Come here, sit down, and I’ll explain everything from the beginning. At least when I’m done, you’ll stop this fussing about Kyle.”

  I followed Grams into the living room where we both took a seat on her sofa, and she inhaled a long breath, and released it slowly as she placed her hands on her knees.

  “All right, then, let’s start at the beginning. Dragonbornes put off a certain scent when they’re—well, around your age. It’s kinda like your hormones are tied to this scent. So when you reach a certain age, and your hormones begin to flux—it attracts demons.” Grams gave me that look—the one where the parental figure didn’t really want to talk about something, but they had to. Still, I listened and motioned for her to continue. “Okay, good—you got me. Demons have always been at war with Bloodbornes and Dragonbornes, since the beginning of our time.”

  “Grams, I don’t mean to cut you off, but I already know how the Dragonbornes came into existence. I just want to know why Kyle has to be with me all the time.”

  Grams released a sigh. “I see. All right, then, he must protect you. It’s that simple. The demon-hybrids that he told me about are meant to kill the Bloodbornes, but they seem to have taken an interest in the Dragonbornes for some reason. Normally, from what I understand, these creatures are tracking by scent—which made it possible for that one to find you at your school. Jessie, a dragon is more powerful against a demon.”

  “I know—I’ve already seen them in action.”

  Grams frowned, then leaned closer. “You saw a dragon? Where?”

  “We were tracking down these hybrids, and it led us to this island where we ran into two dragons. One of them put itself between me and the demons—like, it protected me.”

  Grams sat back on the sofa and placed both hands in her lap. Her expression was off—as though she’d seen a ghost or something.

  “Grams? You okay?” I reached out and touched her hand.

  “My word.” Her voice softened as she turned to me. “He’s still alive.”

  “Who? Who is still alive?” I sounded exactly like that owl I’d heard when we went camping that night—and that kinda frightened me. Well, it brought back the dark me
mories of a horrid night.

  She shook her head and drew up her bottom lip. “After all these years. I had a feeling he would be too stubborn to die—the old goat.” Suddenly, her attention snapped toward me. “Your grandfather, dear. See, we live a prolonged life in the shells that you see. We age slower than normal humans, but as we age, because of our dragon blood, we eventually turn into dragons. Of course, you have a long time to go yet. Most of us go to that island to change, then eventually we die as a dragon and become what you probably saw there—the Dragon Blood trees.”

  My heart suddenly saddened. “That—really sucks, Grams. I mean, I hadn’t thought about dying and stuff—but dude—I’m going to become a tree?” I drifted off into some odd space, right alongside Grams. We both remained silent in our thoughts for a long time, definitely longer than a usual pause. Then it suddenly dawned on me about what the dragon had said. “Now it makes sense, why he told me he would see me again. Something about joining him there.”

  Grams cut her gaze toward me. “Yes, he’s right. How did he look?”

  I slowly looked at Grams and smile. “Grams—he was a huge red dragon, very majestic.”

  Grams smiled as a tear sprung from one corner of her eye. “That old fool.” She sniffled. “I had told him that he’d be a big-um.” She chuckled. “I miss him so much.”

  I squeezed Gram’s hand, then reached over and gave her a tight hug. “I miss him too, Grams. You’d be proud of him—he saved my life, and Jacob’s.” I pulled back.

  “Jacob saw him?” She pulled her head back and dropped her mouth. “How on earth did that happen?”

  “Oh—speaking of which. What’s the deal with you and Bernice? She’s Jacob’s grandmother, and I’m guessing she’s a Bloodborne?”

  “Jessie—” Grams sighed. “Yes, Bernice is a Bloodborne, we’ve been friends for a long time. She knows that I’m a Dragonborne, but that never stopped us. We made a deal with each other to protect our offspring.”