Bound to Blackwood (31 page)

An unexpected calm descended on Kaden as the smell of ripe peaches breezed over him. Every muscle in his body relaxed and his mind cleared in an instant. Kaden sighed.
Soraya.
 

"Kaden? Is everything alright?" Her voice was like honey, soothing and calm.

Kaden had to clear his throat before he could speak. "I really want to say yes to that, Soraya."

Her beautiful caramel eyes widened with concern. "Are you ill? Has the weakness returned?" Her voice rose in a panic as she reached for him.

Kaden gave a soft laugh, her concern for him only endearing her to him further. "I am quite well…physically at least."

Confusion skirted across her face, pulling her brow down. "Then what ails you, Keeper of the Watch?"

Kaden lowered his eyes, wary of her reaction. "Thorn."

"And Lena?"

Kaden nodded, still waiting for her reaction. A delicate hand landed on his forearm and some of the tension dissipated. "It's alright, Kaden. Thorn may be the King but he is still my brother and your friend. We are both allowed to disapprove of his actions."

Kaden smiled. "Disapprove is putting it mildly."

"Indeed."

"He's hiding behind the law."

"He's afraid, Kaden."

"Thorn Blackwood is afraid, of a girl?"

Soraya gave a gentle laugh and pushed him. "That's mean, Kaden!"

"I suppose; Lena isn't your average woman." The joviality left him in an instant.

"Mating is a natural process, Kaden, and we none of us can fight nature. Thorn is stubborn and pig-headed. You know as well as anyone, he has to do everything the hard way."

Kaden pushed his hair out of his eyes. Mating may be a
“
natural process”, yet none of them seemed to have the first clue how this all worked. Except Soraya. "How do you know all this, Soraya? There have been no new matings in nearly half a millennium, no younglings in over fifty years."
 

A shy smile spread across her face as she looked up at him. Her golden eyes met his and he stopped breathing as the blood tie between them ignited. He had blood ties with the entire Order, yet this was different. This was private. This was personal. This was his.

Soraya reached up and stroked the side of his face and he closed his eyes, afraid the tenderness of her touch would rip him open. Big strong warrior that he was.

"I have always known, Kaden."

Well, what was that supposed to mean?
Known about matings? Known about Thorn and Lena?
 

"Our race is in crisis, Kaden. Like any species, we must look to our leaders to show us the way," Soraya continued, sorrow reflected in her honeyed eyes.

"That's nothing new, everyone depends on the Order to protect them and…"

"That's not what I mean," Soraya interrupted.

"Huh?" was all Kaden could manage; he was beyond confused.

Soraya sighed. "If Thorn does not take a mate, our race will continue to dwindle. Without the glory of Faerie, our magic is waning. Mating lore has all but disappeared and if Thorn and Lena ignore nature's call, then no one else will hear it either."

Kaden felt his jaw drop, his mouth flapping around like Big Billy Bass as he struggled for a reply. Nothing but a strangled moan reached his lips. She couldn't be serious! If Thorn didn't mate, then no one else would either?

"Are you joking?" he asked, voice hoarse.

The bitterness of sorrow touched the air as Soraya shook her head, not able to meet his gaze.

"But…how?"

Soraya swallowed.

"A vision?" Kaden asked.

She nodded. "We were never meant to stay so long on this side of the gates. Our magic flows from Fae, through House Blackwood and on. With the gates closed…"

"Fuck!" Kaden shouted and regretted it as he saw Soraya's shocked expression. "Sorry. It's just... fu... I mean... bloody hell."

Soraya gave a small smile.

"What do we do?" Kaden asked.

"Nothing. There is nothing we can do."

"Sorry, but sod that! I'll drag Thorn to Lena's bed if I have to!

"No!" Soraya shouted. "We cannot tell him. He struggles with his responsibility and the race's expectation as it is. He must do this on his own."

"But Lena's not of noble blood. He won't do it."

"He will, Kaden. Of that I have no doubt." Soraya replied as she turned to leave.

He wished he shared her conviction. She was right about one thing; there was no telling Thorn what he should and shouldn't do. Damned arrogant idiot that he was.

"What if he doesn't?" he called after her.

Soraya stopped but didn't turn around, looking over her shoulder at him instead. "He will," she said with a small smile before continuing on her way. As she left, the fresh smell of peaches bloomed in Kaden's nostrils and he found he needed to steady himself under the heady weight of it.

Swallowing hard, he righted himself, and started towards the garage, then cursed again as he realised he hadn't even told Thorn what was going on. He turned on his heel to head back towards
Thorn's office then stopped again. Shaking his head, he jogged back down the hall. He didn't think he could be civil enough to tell Thorn anything. Right now, Thorn Blackwood could go fuck himself.
 

"You're gone a couple o' hours and you come back lookin' like your world just ended. What the hell happened?" Mercury asked from his position leaning up against his beloved four-by-four.

Where did he start?

"You ever gonna tell me what's going on?"

"Yes."
No.
 

"So?"

"It's not important," Kaden replied.

"Yeah, 'cause Thorn's locking himself in his office, Lena… well let's not go there, Soraya lookin' like someone ran over her kitten, Ryver not talking to anyone; that's all pretty normal around 'ere. Right? None of that can be
that
important," Mercury scoffed, but the scowl across his face was anything but jovial.
 

Kaden puffed out a breath. Damn it, but Mercury was right. None of it was normal and what Soraya just told him was pretty fucking important. He just couldn't bring himself to say the words.

That's how it worked. Soldiers complained up the chain of command, not down and Kaden was first and foremost, a soldier. Kaden desperately tried to find some words, anything that would explain everything without giving away secrets that weren't his to tell. Mercury cocked his eyebrow, still waiting for an answer.

Phoenix's heavy boots hitting the floor broke Kaden's train of thought.
Thank the Mother of Faerie
!
 

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Phoenix grinned.

"Another Breakfast Club re-run?" Mercury asked with a smile.

Phoenix shook his head. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Kaden rolled his eyes. Every Vampire had their favourite era, but it had taken Phoenix nearly six-hundred years to find his. "You ever get tired of that crap?" he asked.

"Nope!" Phoenix replied, still smiling.

"Whatever. Let's get goin'," Mercury said.

"Where are we going anyway?" Phoenix asked.

"To see a man about a bannerman," Kaden replied as the automatic door to the garage swung open. All three of them stepped outside and dematerialised.

Chapter 21

Lena was out of bed. She didn't have the courage to leave the room just yet, but she was beginning to feel more herself. Soraya had been lowering the dosage of the wonder-drugs to the point where Lena had been able to refuse the last prescription. Soraya hadn't really explained what was happening, and Lena had been too much of a mess to ask.

Now that the fog had lifted and her mind was clearer, Lena knew one thing with complete certainty. What happened between her and Thorn had changed everything. Irrevocably.

Mixed with incoherent thoughts, indistinguishable from dreams, Thorn Blackwood was at the forefront of her mind. Golden eyes and jet black hair all she could see, his rich musk all she could smell. He was everywhere. And so was the pain.

It hadn't really diminished; it was just different. The time she had spent away from him made it somehow more manageable. She still needed the cold showers, but that was as much to do with her raging libido as it was to do with her core temperature. Once she got that under control, everything would be fine. Everything would go back to normal.
It had to.
 

She knew Kaden was out. Her blood bond with him, Mercury and Phoenix put them somewhere in Hertfordshire. She hoped that meant he was better. She was out of the loop, but she hoped to God they were on the Greenshire case.

When he got back, she was going to speak to him about leaving the House. She'd go back to her own home. She'd go back to doing things her way and she didn't have to see Thorn Blackwood or his House ever again. It was the perfect plan.
Wasn't it?
Yes, of course it was. Bordering on genius.
 

Of course, that was until she started to shake.

Oh Sweet Mother of Faerie!
Thorn was outside the door.
 

This cannot be happening
.
 

Lena's body belied her earlier confidence and heat washed over her. She held her breath as she zeroed in on the door handle, waiting for it to turn.

Like an idiot, she stood there frozen in indecision. Her mind wanted her to rush over and lock the door, to never again lay eyes on Thorn Blackwood's exquisite face. Her heart and body had other ideas.

Like a slow-motion action scene, Lena watched as the doorknob turned, millimetre by millimetre. Her keen hearing caught the almost silent click as the catch disengaged. And then the time for indecision was over.

The breath Lena was holding came out in a slow sigh and her eyes appraised him from his leather boots, up his long, jean clad, legs, over his muscled stomach and chest to his broad, angular face. Thorn filled the doorway, his shoulders nearly too wide for the opening and his long, lean legs meant he'd have to duck his head to pass under the lintel. Lena just stood there, waiting, not daring to move or speak.

What the hell is he doing here?
Lena scanned his handsome face and saw a myriad of emotions there. She felt her own eyes widen with surprise; the King was never so unguarded. Ever. As she met his eyes for the first time, she saw the answer to her own question. Thorn didn't understand what he was doing there either.
 

With him still hovering in the doorway, Lena found her voice. "Do you need something?" Okay, so it was more of a croak than a voice, but it was all she had.

Thorn inhaled deeply, something she was getting used to. What she wasn't used to was the pained expression on his face as he gripped the door frame. For a brief, fleeting moment it looked to Lena as if Thorn was in complete agony. All other concerns left Lena's mind as her blood-bound duty raised its head. In a panic, she started towards Thorn.

"Stay. Where. You. Are." Thorn's voice sounded raw as he whispered his order.

Lena gulped as she searched his face and saw the agony in his eyes. "What's wrong, Thorn?" she asked, moving forward regardless. She couldn't help it.

The pain on Thorn's face turned to anger. "That was an order, Steward."

Lena felt her brow knit as she considered what he said. Yes, it was an order, wasn't it. The order still echoed around her head, yet for the first time in her life, she didn't feel herself bowing under the weight of it. The rebel in her took another cautious step towards him. Then another. Captivated by the pain and anger in Thorn's white-hot eyes, she crossed the room until she was only a few millimetres from him.

Rooted to the spot, Thorn hissed as she approached him. With confusion, fury and pain painted across his proud face, Lena found she wanted to comfort him. Which was ridiculous. Thorn had made it abundantly clear that he didn't need her around. Damn him, he'd even just ordered her not to come near him.

Lena's brow furrowed further and she chewed her lip as she thought about it more. Thorn Blackwood had given her a direct order, yet she brushed it off. How was that possible? No one, not even Kaden, could ignore a direct order from the King.

That was how it worked. Kaden commanded the Order, but Thorn Blackwood held dominion over all of them. He was the strongest of them all. Yet Lena had literally just walked through his order.

"What is happening to us, Thorn?" she asked.

Thorn squeezed his eyes shut as she stared up at him, uncertainty planted in every line of his handsome face. "I don't know," he replied, his voice still hoarse.

As soon as he said the words, Lena knew he was lying. Thorn normally guarded his emotions with an impenetrable wall of iron, yet the first real emotion he directed at her, was deceit. It hurt. A lot.
Well fuck him then.
 

Raising her chin in defiance, Lena looked him square in the eye. "I'll ask you again then. What the hell are you doing here?" Thorn's brow shot up in surprise and Lena couldn't help but feel a bit pleased with herself. "If you have something you'd like me to do then tell me. If not, get the fuck out of here, 'cause I'm going home."

"Lena…" Thorn started, but his voice trailed away.

"That's what I thought," she prodded him. "Now, go away." Thorn's jaw went slack as Lena pushed him out of the doorway and slammed the door in his face.

A red mist descended on Lena as she stared at the oak door. A roar of fury erupted from her as she punched the antique panelling.