The Blood Bundle, Books 1-2: Blood Singers and Blood Song (New Adult Paranormal Vampire/Shifter Romance) (8 page)

Another girl beside her leaned back and said,
“Ah, what are you doing?” she asked, snapping gum, watching as the
hair piled at Julia's feet in a heap of spun honey.

Julia met her eyes in the reflection of the
mirror. She asked, “What does it look like?”

The girl's eyes narrowed. “Butchering your hair
like a dumbass,” she said logically.

Julia smiled, she couldn't help it. Yeah she
was. But it was necessary.

The girl took a hard look at Julia, then,
shaking her head, she walked away. Giving her a last look that
clearly said,
crazy bitch
.

Yeah, that was her alright. She guessed the
plastic scissors didn't help with that. Can't get the real ones on
the plane. She stopped up the sink and mixed the black dye.
Lathering it in her hair she watched as her almost blond hair with
a hint of red became a mass of black. It utterly changed how she
looked.

The boots made her five-seven instead of
five-four. She was taller, wearing different clothes and had black
hair that was eighteen inches shorter than when she entered the
bathroom.

She had the money she'd had on her the day that
she was taken. Julia opened her palm and looked at the lonely
thirty dollars and five dimes.

And one penny.

She made a fist with her hand and stuffed the
change back in the pocket of her skirt. She grabbed her toiletry
bag like a purse and made her departure when there was a pair of
women exiting the bathroom.

Julia dipped her head and walked out, the hair
still wet underneath, clinging to the nape of her neck like cold
fingers.

*

Julia kept her head down and her legs moving,
her heart racing far beyond the effort she was expending. She had
her toiletry bag clenched under her arm and kept moving.

She was exiting security just as William and the
runners were passing through. Julia could hear his voice and she
didn't turn. But she swore she felt a hesitation in his speech, a
scorching gaze that she did not see but felt pass over her.

And then she was outside in the drizzle, the
clouds making shapes across a full moon, twenty cabs in sight.

Julia hailed the first one. Closing the door
behind her she said, “Get me to the closest bus depot.”

The cabby turned around to look at her. “To
where?” he asked, his voice accented, a turban on his head. Julia
tried not to stare.

“Away,” she said cryptically.

“Humph!” he huffed, slamming the flag that
started the meter at two bucks.

They pulled away from the curb and Julia
hazarded a look behind her.

Her mind recoiled in terror as she saw William
and Pierce. And beside them, two runners.

Vampires.

Their noses were in the air. Scenting it.

Scenting for her.

Vegas

Julia and Jason were kinda arguing. He thought
Elvis was classic and she thought he was... well, kinda creepy.

“Listen Jules, everyone who comes to Vegas has
to get married in front of Elvis, I'm just sayin'.” He spread his
hands out at his side like,
you see my logic.

Actually, she didn't. She looked up at the
oversized pudgy Elvis rendering. His clown red mouth, his tassels
and studs on a grotesquely distended belly in an unflattering white
was not something she wanted in attendance. Even if they
were
in cheesy Vegas. Even if they had stolen away to get
married.

Jason huffed, planting his hands on his hips.
“Okay, I see you don't see that as a sign: Elvis is the Symbol of
Vegas.” His eyebrows raised and Cyn giggled.

“I think he looks pretty gay, Jason,” Kevin
agreed, smoothly siding with Julia.

“Thanks for the love, ya ass,” Jason said.

Kev barked out a laugh. “Anytime, pal.”

Beaten, Jason looked over the small pamphlet of
chapels, finding a few more on the list. His eyes shifted to
Julia's, hazel with flecks of green in the brown. “The only thing
you don't want is him?” he jerked his thumb toward Icky Elvis.

Cynthia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Jason. No chunky
monkey in white polyester. It's a no-go.”

He glared at her and Julia said, “Yeah,
that.”

Jason sighed. He and Kevin put their heads
together as Cyn came over to Julia, giving her a look from head to
toe. “Glad I could get you out of those fugly boots, Jules.”

Julia smiled, Cyn had outdone herself. Julia
didn't look great in white but as Cyn had explained it, “you've
earned white, virgin princess, but let's work with the weirdness
that is your complexion.” Julia had rolled her eyes, letting Cyn
transform her.

Julia caught sight of herself in what could only
be described as a fun house mirror, her long dress, grazing the
floor, spiky ivory heels peeked out from underneath the hem, a
platform gracing the bottom. Cyn had pinned her hair in an elegant
up 'do, leaving a few wisps hanging down.

A row of creamy pearls with a champagne-colored
wash encircled the base of her throat. Her mother's.

A lump gathered in her throat and she looked
away from the reflection of her sweetheart neckline, satin and lace
colliding in a fine webbing that cradled her breasts.

The absence of her parents on this important
occasion was best left to future reflection.

Like never.

Jason had dressed in a deep navy suit, his tie a
subtle crimson. A slash of color against the whiteness of the
shirt.

Julia thought it looked a little like blood
against the backdrop of white and shivered as a subtle feeling of
foreboding stole over her. It was shattered when Jason flashed his
smile, stabbing the pamphlet with his finger. “Found it, babe!”

Julia leaned forward and he drew her in next to
his body, looking at where he pointed.

“Gnome Chapel.”

She cocked her brows. “Really, Jason?” He smiled
nodding.

“That's just switching out one creepy audience
member for another,” Cynthia said with revulsion.

“Nah, baby,” Kevin said, pulling her tight
against him and pressing a kiss to her temple, almost crushing the
bouquet of lavender flowers she held.

“Hey! Watch the flowers, graceless.” She
giggled.

Kevin grabbed the bouquet, jerking it up over
his head, slamming his lips against hers, his free arm coming
around her back and pressing her harder against him.

Julia agreed, gnomes were creepy too. She looked
up at the bigger than life-sized Elvis statue and sighed. Choices,
choices.

Anything was better than Elvis.

****

now

Julia leaned her head back against the scummy
seat of the cab, fingering the fine chain at her neck, the sterling
sliding with her restless stroking, the ring at the end.

Tears threatened as Julia thought of the symbol
of eternal love. Jason had insisted on buying the bands. He had
purchased indestructible tungsten bands. A metal made of carbide,
gun metal gray, polished to a mirror-like shine. He had said it
couldn't be scratched, dented or bent.

Like their love.

Perfect, he'd said, squeezing her as he had
slipped it on her finger, their clergy in the Chapel of the Gnomes
had been smiling at them, his mouth full of missing teeth.

Vegas, a class act.

She didn't want a big diamond. She just wanted
him. He'd said that later, after they got settled, he'd get her
something to go with the plainness of the band.

He would never have the opportunity.

The cabbie stopped a scant five minutes after
they'd left the terminal.

“I let you off here. Eight dollars,” he said
without verbs.

Julia frowned. Don't speak English, fine by her,
but be civil. She handed him a twenty and he gave her the
change.

She slid out of the taxi and found herself on a
cement sidewalk surrounded by a wall of people. She didn't make eye
contact with anyone but went to the first bus she saw and showed
the driver her five bucks, six dimes and one penny.

“How far?” she asked.

He searched her face. “How far do ya need to
go?” he asked, a kindness in his eyes.

She paused, aware of a line forming behind her.
“As far as this will get me,” Julia said, leaving it in his
hands.

He nodded. “Let's play it by ear, okay
miss?”

She nodded, so grateful for the unexpected
kindness she felt her eyes glisten again. She had turned into an
absolute crybaby. All it took was him saying that one phrase Aunt
Lily had used, Julia's home that was so far away came to the
forefront of her consciousness without mercy. She swiped at the
wetness on her cheeks and gave him a watery smile as she moved to
the back of the bus.

She sunk down in the seat, putting her knees up
on the seat in front of her and looked out the window. As she gazed
through the filthy glass the bus pulled away in a plume of noxious
exhaust, leaving the depot for parts unknown.

Julia shut her eyes, remembering.

*

Jason kicked open the door and it slammed
against the wall. Julia shrieked laughter as he crossed the
threshold, her dress swirling around their bodies. He slapped it
closed behind them and dumped her on the bed.

She almost bit her tongue she was laughing
so hard, but managed not to by a slim margin.

They'd had fake ID's and had quite a bit to
drink and Jason was stubbornly hanging onto the notion that they
could wait one more night until they were in their new apartment in
Anchorage.

“
I don't want our first time to be in a seedy
motel in Vegas, Jules,” he'd said, dragging his lips down her neck
in a path to her collarbone, then pressing them against her mouth
again. The pearls getting in the way of his mouth, he moved them
aside with a finger and lavished her with his attention.

Julia didn't care that it was seedy. She
pulled him down into the cradle of her body.

Her husband.

It had a surreal quality, she tried to grab
onto the newness of it but it slid through the fingers of her mind
like smoke.

He smiled down at her, his tie askew, his
muscular arms pressing her to him.

He nuzzled her neck, “No,” he whispered. “We
wait until we are in our home.” Jason wanted everything to be
perfect for her, she was worth it. No booze to interrupt the
clarity, their own digs. Yeah.

Julia sighed with frustration. “I had
awesome lingerie!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Cyn?”

Julia caved. “Yeah, it was her idea.” She
smiled sheepishly.

“
But you still bought it?”

She nodded, blushing. Just thinking about
the skank-ensemble Cyn had given the nod to made her flushed with
embarrassment.

“
Wow, it must be hot, judging by that look,”
he searched her face, running a tender finger over her cheekbone,
on fire with her thoughts.

“
We have the rest of our lives. Let me hold
you next to me all night. That'll be a first, along with a ton of
other stuff.”

They grinned at each other.

Julia thought she could live with that one
thing. Patience, she thought.

But they didn't have the rest of their
lives.

It was her biggest regret. She'd never been
with Jason.

Even once.

*

Julia woke with a start, darkness all around
her. She was completely disoriented and swallowed the scream that
rose in her throat as someone leaned over her, gently shaking her
shoulder.

It was just the bus driver. Her memories came
flooding back.

Escape.

No money.

Going nowhere.

“We're here,” he said softly.

Julia rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?” she
croaked out, her voice rusty after sleeping so hard.

He looked at the humungous watch on his wrist
and said, “Straight up five o'clock.” He looked at her,
straightening. “My shift's done and we've traveled my whole route.
Twice. This is the end of the road.”

Julia looked up at the sign that read,
Valley
Bus Transport. Welcome to Kent.

“Where is this?”

He looked around. “It's Kent,” he pointed to the
sign. “Outside Seattle.”

Julia had familiarized herself with the Seattle
region and understood immediately the driver had just kept her safe
and warm in the bus while she slept part of the night away, driving
in a big circle.

She stood, looking at him. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “You got a place to go?”

She shook her head.

“I can give you a ride to a woman's
shelter.”

Woman's shelter? Is that what he thought she
needed? He watched her expressions wash over her face and slowly
nodded. “Yeah, I think you're running. I think you're running from
a man.”

No, not a man, she thought. But it was close
enough.

He didn't want to know what she was running
from.

“It's a deal,” she said, deciding to take her
chances with the human.

It was better than the alternative.

She walked out of the bus with him.

Still running.

William

William took in the filth of the air, his acute
senses filtering the smells that did not concern him.

There were many, but amongst those, there was a
faint taste on the air.

Julia's.

He swiveled his head in Pierce's direction,
his nostrils flaring as they transitioned between scenting to
anger. Pierce had been a dolt, letting her slip by. His anger rode
him hard, his body tenser, more than was even typical for him.

Every moment she was alone left her
vulnerable to attack. Judging by the pungency of her aroma, his
blood still in her to the vaguest degree, he judged she was within
a fifty mile radius east of their current position.

He opened the door to the SUV, leaving the
bus depot behind them without a backward glance.

“
East,” William commanded to
the runner who had met them. His eyes meeting Pierce's in the rear
view mirror, settling against the passenger seat.