Blood Bound

By Lacey Weatherford

Grab onto your seats and hold on for this rocket ride chocked full of fear, longing, bloodlust, and desperation as good and evil struggle for ultimate power. Caught up in a web of intrigue, lies, and deceit, Vance is just trying to make it out of this with Portia alive. But not everyone will survive. Who lives and who dies? Find out in Blood Bound, book 5 in the Book of Shadows series, from #1 International & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lacey Weatherford!

Note: Book of Shadows is a standalone companion series to the #1 Young Adult Bestselling Paranormal Romance series, Of Witches and Warlocks. It is the same story but told from the main character perspective of Vance Mangum. While the general storyline will be the same, there are new chapters, scenes, and additional dialogue included, making for a fun and unique retelling. You don’t need to read Of Witches and Warlocks to read this series. Fall in love all over again and get to know best character nominee, Vance Mangum, like you never have before!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lacey Weatherford
• Release date: Sep 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463295168

Lacey Weatherford

Lacey Weatherford was born in Ft. Meade Maryland while her father was serving in the military. She has been a life long resident of Arizona, spending most of her time growing up in the small rural town of Clay Springs.It was while she was attending the small country school in Clay Springs, that she read her first "big" book at the age of eight. It was a Nancy Drew novel and Lacey was instantly hooked. She read every book that she could find in the series and decided that she wanted to write stories too.Lacey spent a lot of time at the library from that time forward, even volunteering in her later teen years and early twenties. She would don a crazy clown outfit for the Friends of the Library fundraisers in an effort to help get the new town library built.When she and her husband moved away from the area, Lacey took the opportunity to take some creative writing classes at the local college to help further along her interests. Several years later, they were blessed with the opportunity to move back to Clay Springs with their family. The town had finally succeeded in building their library and Lacey had the opportunity to be President of the Friends of the Library for a very short time, before relocating.Lacey and her family still live in the White Mountains of Arizona, where she continues to write young adult novels that have a fantasy/fairytale or paranormal bent to them, as well as being sure to include a great romantic storyline

Book preview

1

Something was really wrong. I knew it the second my eyes popped open, and I dragged a deep breath in. I couldn't move, feeling restrained, but when I tried to look, my head wouldn't obey the command.

A dark ceiling soared high above, and I realized I was in a cave. The light inside cast strange, flickering shadows over the uneven stones, and the heavy smell of wax suggested it was coming from candles.

Calling on my magic, there was a slight fizzling feeling and then nothing. Experiencing a moment of panic, I couldn't get my powers to respond, similar to the sensation I had when the demon imposter posing as my mom tried to change me.

Licking my dry lips, I didn't even have enough saliva to wet them. How long had I been out of it? Memories of my rampage outside the mansion danced through my mind, as well as the very last moment. I couldn't have seen my dad. It was impossible. Still, his face was the only clue I had.

Dad? I croaked out, the word sounding both soft and strained.

Welcome back, son! he replied, the familiar voice drifted over me, and I swore goosebumps rose over my skin despite my frozen state. Footfalls sounded as he came closer.

Let me go! I demanded. Portia's in danger. I need to go get her.

Don't worry about your pretty wife. I've already seen to her needs for you.

The idea of him even touching her sent the creeps through me. "Where is she?' I demanded.

She's fine, Damien replied in his silky, smooth voice. She's lying on the bed over there."

Instantly, my head was freed from his hold so I could turn it. Beyond my dad, Portia lay unmoving. Even in the dim lighting, I could tell she looked dirty, her body covered in black streaks and her hair tangled and messy.

My heart rate increased dramatically. What have you done to her? I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

I saved her life from that asinine demon coven of yours. You need to be careful of the company you choose to keep. She'd be dead if I hadn't arrived.

I swallowed thickly. I'd have been there to protect her myself if you hadn't interfered in the first place. He didn't say anything, so I continued, pretty sure I didn't want to know more. What happened?

Well, I'm not exactly caught up on all the names of everyone involved, but the leader—

Mayla, I interrupted him.

Yes, Mayla. She called a meeting in your house, setting Portia up as bait. He gave a strange laugh. That is one delusional woman.

I was discovering that, I replied wryly, not that I was in any less psychotic hands now.

"You're lucky I stepped in, or you might be off having sex with her in a field of crazy as we speak.

I snorted. I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole.

Are you sure about that? How do you know you haven't slept with her already?

Because I know me and my vows to Portia. I would never break those! I snapped.

Mayla was playing you for a fool, son. She's been drugging you with food, blood, her touch, even the incense she lights in a room. You've been persuaded to do all kinds of things you might not normally do. Hell, even I almost succumbed to her delusions during the ritual.

Ritual? What ritual? Apparently, I was missing some critical facts to this story.

The one where you were supposed to sacrifice Portia's life. I fought her magic hard, but still managed to draw blood on Portia's throat with a knife before I came out of it.

"You cut Portia?' I thundered, everything in my vision going red, signaling the return of my demon eyes. At least those still worked. Oddly, I felt relieved.

Be grateful that I did. It was the scent of her blood that brought me back to reality. I might have killed her otherwise.

How come you were even part of the ritual? Mayla isn't very trusting.

She thought I was you.

I glanced at him with disdain. We don't resemble each other that much.

My dad grinned. Sometimes we do. In the blink of an eye, I was staring at myself where my father had been one moment before.

What the hell? How are you doing this? I managed to ask, feeling more than dumbfounded.

A shimmer filled the air, and he looked like himself again. Good, because I was flippin' creeped out right now.

I've acquired a few new tricks since we've last seen each other. This one came in handy since it allowed me to take your place and kill everyone before they realized what was going on.

Everyone? I asked, my eyes going wide, and he nodded.

You are the only member of that coven left. The rest were killed or perished in the fire.

What fire? I was so confused right now. Nothing was making sense.

I kind of burned your mansion down after I threw some fireballs around. Sorry.

I must be dreaming. Fire isn't your natural magic.

I performed a demon kiss on you, right before I killed you.

What? I could feel my face draining of color. Was this why I couldn't call my magic? Was it gone forever?

Don't worry. All is well. You still have your magic, and you're alive again. I just had to try a little experimentation on you.

How is that even possible? I asked, iciness crawling through my veins.

He shrugged. I'm not sure, actually. You and I seem to share something genetic that allows us to reanimate with full powers, regardless of what happens to us.

Well, that's going to make my killing you a bit more difficult.

He laughed heartily. I suppose it will.

How'd you figure this out? I asked, needing to pump him for as much information as possible.

He sighed. After you killed me in Las Vegas, Sean sent a tactical team to gather my remains. I was kept frozen in an underground, concrete vault, and used for study by the government, in Area 51, no less. It looked like a normal graveyard from the top, but the massive headstone moved to conceal the opening. There were many other headstones there, making me wonder if they all contain test subjects.

My brows shot up. Are you serious?

He laughed and nodded. I am. Near as I can tell, someone must've cut themselves and got blood on my corpse. It had to be a witch for it to start the reanimation process, I would think. Unless I just started regenerating on my own. I was unconscious for all that, so what I know is from retesting things on you and getting the same results.

What? I could feel my blood boil.

Apparently, you and I can reanimate. It takes only a small amount of blood to do so, but even without the blood, regeneration can occur, but it takes much longer. Months, or even years, I would imagine. And for reasons I can't explain, we regenerate with our full powers intact.

I can't call my magic. Trust me, I've been trying this whole time.

He chuckled. That's because I'm trying a new binding serum out on you and Portia right now. It seems to be working pretty good so far.

I hated this man. Leave Portia out of this, I growled, clenching my teeth.

I wouldn't dream of harming her, son. I love her too.

Rage flowed through me. You are one sick bastard. Go find someone your own age.

There's no one else out there who excites me the way she does. She’s quite the unique witch, you realize.

You touch her, and I'll kill you!

I'll just come back again, he replied smugly.

And I'll kill you again, no matter how many times it takes.

You can't stop me. I could go have my way with her right now, and you wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it.

Nausea flowed through me. Don't touch her. I mean it!

An evil grin crossed his face. How do you know I haven't had her already? He glanced across the room. Her sweet body is so luscious, spread out nice for the taking.

I'm not kidding. I will rip you to shreds, piece by piece.

You could try, but you wouldn't succeed. I may have neglected to tell you that Mayla inadvertently gave me The Awakening during her ritual.

I felt the color drain from my face. What? How is that even possible?

He glanced at his nails and shrugged. I had your blood running through my veins.

My blood is tainted now. The Awakening goes to the purest white witch.

Yes, but you forget that The Awakening already belonged to you before your conversion was complete. It recognized you as the owner. You cannot lose the power unless you're dead. While you were hidden away and unconscious, it recognized your blood inside me and bonded with it.

This was bad. So, so bad. But you said Portia was there. The Awakening had split and gone into both of us before. Did it go back into her again? I was frantic for the answer, hoping, on the one hand, she did have it to protect her and knowing on the other that meant she could outlive me by thousands of years. Once again, my dad was messing with my life and my girl.

Rage so intense billowed through me that I felt my magic suddenly activate. I shifted beneath the restraints and was rewarded with a moment of fear on my father's face. He grabbed a needle off a tray next to me. Time to go back to sleep, he said, jabbing me hard in the neck.

I will kill you! I promised weakly, but all I heard was his laughter as I drifted off again.

Over and over, he tortured and taunted me. Sucking my powers, killing me in a variety of ways, and bringing me back with drops of Portia's blood, testing how long it took for me to reanimate. I hated waking up each time, knowing he'd devised some type of new agony to experiment on me with.

My only salvation was seeing Portia laying in the same place, hair and clothing unchanged, seemingly untouched. I hoped that meant he wasn't doing anything to her other than harvesting her blood. She had to be drugged or functioning on a diminished blood supply to stay asleep the way she was. She looked pale, but Damien wouldn't elaborate on her condition, other than to say she was alive. I often caught him staring at her with hunger and longing, and it made me sick. I needed help. We needed help.

I wondered where Sean and the others were now. Did they know my dad was back wreaking vengeance? Or did they think we'd died in this fire Damien spoke of? There were so many ways he could've covered his trail.

I'd lost track of time long ago. I had no idea if hours or days had passed. Truthfully, it felt like years. Sometimes I'd notice my father was wearing different clothing. Other times I was in too much pain to see anything. I'd been stabbed, poked, prodded, even had my arm cut off at one point, but somehow, I always ended up back together, looking as whole and unscarred as before. Damien was like a serial killer on steroids, and for the moment, I was his only victim. He got off on his extreme torture of me, joy written on his face. He was making me pay for everything I'd done to him.

Mayla's words about him being a loving demon father came back to me, and I snorted derisively. I was glad he killed her. I hoped she suffered. It served her right for championing him since this man was nothing but evil incarnate. Most witches didn't believe in Satan, but they were wrong. My dad was the devil himself. The better I knew him, the worse he became. How had I never realized what he was when I was a child? I heard my parents fighting, but never questioned his love for me. I was the dumbest warlock around, unable to see what had been staring me in the face all along.

I knew Portia was really out of it when my screams didn't rouse her. I started fearing that maybe she was actually dead and being preserved somehow. Regretfully, I started wishing she was, just to keep her from being tormented like this. But there was no gnawing ache inside me like I'd experienced in past separations, suggesting she was still very much alive. I didn't know if that made me feel relieved or terrified. I couldn't let him hurt her.

I wasn't afraid that he'd torture her like me. I was scared he'd rape her, knowing that would destroy both of us at the same time, so I did my best to keep his focus on me instead. I'd take it all if it meant she'd survive this without him forcing himself on her.

Just the thought made me feel ill, and I gagged, needing to vomit. This was the worst kind of perdition. I looked forward to the moments when death finally overtook me, just to have some blessed relief. I struggled to make some kind of plan for escape when I was coherent but couldn't focus enough to get things together. I was a puppet, dancing on the end of the strings Damien had me tied to.

There was no way out. I was living—and repeatedly dying—in this hell.

2

The smell of her blood overwhelmed me. Gasping, I sat up, grabbing Portia and dragging her to me. My teeth elongated, and I bit her.

Sweet, delicious blood welled into my mouth, laden with incredible power. I drank with relish, knowing the truth with every swallow. My unanswered question was now revealed.

Portia had The Awakening again. It meant I couldn't kill her, and I was glad for that because I was going to need every drop of her blood to regenerate from the hellish torture I'd been going through.

She grew weaker much too quickly, and I growled with frustration, lifting her into my lap without breaking my hold on her. I continued to drink, feeling so weak and depleted that I didn't even know how I had the strength to hold her up.

This wasn't how I'd wanted to be reunited with her. Her arms and head flopped back, and I forced myself to stop, needing to hold her, question her, make sure she was okay. I cradled her to me, trembling.

You received The Awakening again, I said, my voice raspy. I can taste it in your blood. You have it. You and him. I didn't even want to defile her with his name. Head drooping, I pressed my face into her hair. She didn't reply, and I knew she couldn't. I hated that I hadn't been able to stop myself sooner. So, he wins in the end. I'm mortal, and you're not. He can kill me and keep you too. I've failed completely. In so many ways, I'd let her down.

No. Her voice was so soft I barely heard it.

I lifted her chin so she could see me, unable to stop the tears that ran down my face. She seemed so small and weak. I had no idea what my father might have done to her.

What do you mean, no?

Don't give up, she whispered. Not yet. It was all she could manage before passing out from blood loss. I held her tightly, and wept, not caring who might hear me as the sound echoed off the walls. I had so many regrets when it came to Portia. There were times I wished she'd never met me. Her life would've been happy and carefree, not entangled in this terrible mess. I'd made too many errors, and she was constantly paying for my mistakes. I couldn't do this to her anymore.

But I was a greedy bastard too. Her love was the only light in my life. I didn't want to lose it. I still wanted the dream; a happy marriage, filled with love, laughter, and children.

What a pipe dream that was now. I didn't even know how to survive the next minute, let alone build a future with her.

Raising my head, I glanced around the latest dungeon we found ourselves in. It was indeed a cave, and a fairly massive one at that. High ceilings soared overhead, and the walls glittered with some kind of crystal. Candles were everywhere, massive clumps of all sizes lighting the cavernous space. It would almost be romantic if it weren't for the danger we were in.

There were a few pieces of furniture scattered about the room, a red tufted Victorian sofa, and a massive bed draped in purple silks. Portia had been laid out there before, though I'd failed to notice the fanciness of the bed. I really hoped nothing terrible had happened to her there, but I couldn't ask her until she woke up.

Glancing around my immediate position, I realized I was sitting on a massive stone altar, with steps leading up to it. I'd been sacrificed many times on this slab, the bloodstains evident in the glow.

Sighing, I carefully checked the room. I didn't see my father or a door out of this place. He must've concealed it somehow. I was glad he was gone though. I was tired of his gloating and leering glances at Portia.

Holding her carefully, I slipped off the altar, making my way down the stone steps and over to the bed. I flicked my hand, surprised when my magic actually responded, sending the throw pillows flying everywhere as the covers peeled back. Gently, I laid Portia in the middle and climbed beside her.

I took the time to pull the blankets over us, grateful for any kind of protection they might offer. Dragging Portia into my arms, I needed to know she was safely tucked beside me.

Staring at her, I was content to have her back in my arms, but it didn't take long for events to catch up with me. I soon joined her in an exhausted sleep.

A soft movement stirred beside me, and it was the sign I'd been waiting for. I'd checked her repeatedly over the last several hours—at least I assumed it was hours since I had no way to tell the time. You're awake, I said, happy to see Portia coherent. You were asleep for quite a while this time.

I'm sorry, she replied, and I thought her voice was the most beautiful sound in the world. She ruffled my hair, and I rolled away, scooting to sit against the headboard. I pulled her into my arms.

Stop apologizing; you've done nothing wrong. I'm the one who should be sorry.

But you needed it. She slipped her arms around my waist, creating an incredible sensation inside me. I wondered if she knew what her touch did to my body. I know that.

But I hate what it does to you. It knocks you out cold every time. It was the truth. I might enjoy the taste of her, but I'd give anything to never drink from her again. I didn't like causing her suffering.

I'm—

Don't you dare apologize again, I snapped, immediately regretting my forceful words. That wasn't how I meant it to sound. Irritated with myself, I banged my head against the headboard. Portia stared at me, concern evident on her pretty features. What do we do now, baby?

Climbing to her knees, she took my face in her hands, gazing intently into my eyes. Talk to me, Vance. Tell me what you're feeling.

I struggled with this request, not wanting her to be further tainted by all the darkness that lay inside me.

Please don't shut me out. If we're going to get through this together, then we need to learn to operate on the same wavelength again.

Anger flooded through me at her words, bringing up all the differences between us. Gaps my scumbag father had managed to make even wider. That's exactly what the problem is! There is no together anymore. He's taken you from me! Just like he promised he would.

Surprise lit her face. No! He hasn't taken me from you. I'm still yours one hundred percent, and I'm here with you now.

For how long, Portia? I grabbed her hands and removed them. A day? A week? A month? Until he decides to kill me and not allow me to wake up again? Then we are separated for a long, long, time. He'll have you all to himself, to bend to his mercy, and there is nothing I can do about it! I can't protect you because he's stronger than me now. I've failed you in every way possible! My voice cracked on that last word, conveying my vulnerability. I hadn't meant for her to know how badly broken I felt.

Oh, Vance. She wrenched her hands free of mine, retaking my face, surprising me when she plastered a hot kiss against my lips.

Damn, I missed her. Wild horses couldn't have stopped my arms from wrapping around her, and I quickly rolled her over, so I was on top of her. The fact that she even wanted anything to do with me was my undoing. Tears fell from my eyes, splashing to her cheeks, or maybe she was just crying too.

I kissed her deeply, fire racing through me. I couldn't get enough. Needing to hold, have, and protect her, I crushed her even tighter to me. My lips moved across her cheeks, kissing