Blood Melody: Of Wolves and Woods, #2

By Val St. Crowe

Camber Fordham, female alpha of the Northeast pack, is in the capital city for two reasons. One: save her fellow alpha Judah. Two: capture Aston Waterfield so that she can honor the deal she made with the bloodhounds. Aston will remove their kill chips.

But none of that is possible when Camber is blood bonded to the vampires and compelled to forget her past.

It will take every connection she has and every skill she possesses to complete this mission. But first she has to remember the mission exists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Punk Rawk Books
• Release date: May 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393249986

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Camber! called Petal Dunnett, rushing across the bedroom with a little pink halter top. You have to try this one on.

Ooh! I said, grinning. That is cute.

I know, right? Petal grinned, throwing the top at me. "You’re cute, sweetie."

Me? I blushed. Petal, you’re… like the most beautiful woman in the world.

Petal giggled. You’re such a doll. She clapped her hands together. Change! Petal twirled in a circle, shaking her hips to the music that was playing in the room. She wasn’t dressed for the party yet, which meant that she was still wearing a white velour jogging suit with glittery trim. Even when she was wearing loungy clothes, she was dazzling. She truly was the most beautiful woman in the world. I was sort of in love with her, even though I didn’t usually go for women.

At least, I didn’t think so.

Sometimes, I tried to remember what life was like before I came to live with Petal, and I could never really remember much. It hurt my head, and I didn’t really want to remember, so I stopped trying.

Anyway, it felt right to say that I’d been attracted to men. But now, there was only one thing in the world that mattered, and that was Petal.

I had to share her. There were three other companions that lived with Petal. One was another girl named Ashley and the other two were guys named Dylan and Corey. The guys were really hot, which was another reason that I thought that I was straight. I found them attractive. I mean, it was nothing like what I felt when I looked at Petal, because I wasn’t just attracted to Petal, I was overwhelmed by her presence. I would do anything she asked, no matter what it was. I worshiped her.

Sometimes, Petal would let all of us sleep in bed with her, but other times, she was in a bad mood and kicked us all out to sleep on the floor in the living room of her apartment. That was always sad. All of her companions loved her, and we weren’t happy away from her.

Right then, we were all getting ready for a big party, which was being held at Hadrian Dunlop’s place. He had a big apartment a few floors up from Petal’s, and this party was the event of the week. Maybe even the month. Admittedly, there were parties a lot of the time, and every party was trying to one-up the last one, sometimes without much success.

There had been a party a few nights ago that had been a masquerade ball, and we’d all had to dress up in masks and fancy dresses. That had been a lot of fun. Petal had looked amazing.

Come on, said Petal. Change. Why are you not half-naked? She turned to Dylan, who was lounging on Petal’s bed, only wearing his boxers. You want Camber to take off her shirt, right?

Sure, said Dylan, but he was just staring at Petal in adoration. He’d agree with whatever she said.

Sorry, I said, giggling. I yanked the shirt I was wearing off my head, along with the bra I was wearing, because I could see that I would never be able to pull off a bra with that halter top. All the straps would show. I put on the halter top. It was stretchy, and it rolled up in the back, but I managed to tug it into place.

Petal grinned. Nice. I like it. Dylan?

Hmm? He was still staring at Petal adoringly.

What do you think of Camber’s new shirt? she said, pointing at me.

Dylan glanced at me. It’s pink.

Do you like it?

He looked at Petal and then at me. I guess he hadn’t been paying attention. We all wanted to agree with Petal. Sometimes she got mad when we didn’t, and it was the most painful thing on earth to have her feel any emotion other than happiness.

Yes? he said.

Excellent, said Petal. Perfect. She held out a hand and beckoned me.

I crossed the room to her immediately, beaming.

When I reached her, she cupped my face in her hands and smiled at me. You’re such a little sweetheart, Camber. I like you so much. She kissed my forehead.

The feel of her lips on my skin was the ultimate sensation of goodness. I shivered all over, right down to my toes.

She ran her fingers over my neck, over my shoulders. She ran her hands down my back. The halter top only had stretchy straps there, so I could feel her cool fingertips against my skin.

I let out a harsh breath of pleasure.

She chuckled low in her throat. That feel good, sweetie?

I nodded.

How about this? she said, kissing my cheek.

Yes, I breathed.

And this? She put her lips to my neck.

Mmm. I shut my eyes, lost to ecstasy. It was so nice to be this close to her, to have her touch me. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to know Petal. Every time she even paid a little bit of attention to me, I was blessed. How had I managed to have such a wonderful life? I was sure I didn’t deserve to be this happy.

Petal wrapped an arm around me, pulling my body against hers. She fitted her teeth against my neck, and I felt a tiny burst of pain as her fangs sank into my neck.

But immediately, it was all washed away in a perfect rush of bliss.

I loved it when Petal fed on me the most of all. Being a companion to a vampire, it was an amazing feeling. I clung to Petal, grateful for every moment of it.

* * *

I woke up on the floor of the bedroom.

Shh, sweetie, came the soothing voice of Petal. She was handing me an iron tablet and a glass of water. Drink this, baby. I got a little carried away. You taste too good. She brushed her fingers over my forehead, and she looked at me with wide, concerned eyes. You’re all right, aren’t you?

My head was pounding. My head… I murmured, taking the iron tablet.

Oh, sweetheart, I’ll get you some ibuprofen, okay?

I beamed at her gratefully. Thank you, Petal. You’re so good to me.

No, baby, you’re good to me. She patted my cheek. Just the sweetest thing. Then she frowned. Oh, no!

What? I didn’t want Petal to be sad.

We got blood on that cute halter top, she pouted. You’ll have to change again. She stood up. Oh, hell, we are going to be late for the party. She gestured around at her bedroom. The floor was littered with discarded items of clothing, some that she had worn, some that had only been tried on by one of us. Just wear whatever you want, okay, sweetie? Let me go get those painkillers.

I found a shirt, and I wriggled out of the halter top and struggled into it.

Petal reappeared, kneeling down in front of me. Hey, doll. Here’s your ibuprofen.

Thanks, I said, taking it from her.

She patted the top of my head absently as she got up. Okay, everyone, we are leaving, like, right now. We are so, so late.

I got to my feet, and the room was spinning a little. I blinked hard and it righted itself.

The other companions fell in behind Petal. I brought up the rear. We walked out of her apartment and out into the hallway. Together, we all got into an elevator and went up a few floors to the party.

Inside, the music was loud and the place was crammed full of dancing companions and other vampires. I hoped the ibuprofen would kick in soon.

And then, across the room, I saw someone I knew.

Judah!

I felt a jolt, some kind of memory. All this was about Judah. I was here because of Judah, at least that was part of why I was here. I was also trying to… I couldn’t remember. It hurt to try. And I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to do with Judah.

Maybe if I got closer, maybe if I talked to him, it would all come back to me.

Judah was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue shirt, which was unbuttoned to bare his chest. He had muscular pecks, outlined by a bit of dark hair, and I felt another jolt at his bare skin, as though there was something about Judah that I should remember…

I made my way through the party to get next to him. Judah, I said.

He looked at me blankly. Do I know you?

It’s Camber.

He narrowed his eyes. Right, he said slowly. Camber.

Is… is, um, everything okay? Maybe he knew what was going on.

Yeah, said Judah. It’s a party, Camber.

A party, I repeated, as if I was trying to convince myself of that. But why… why do we go to parties?

Because they’re fun?

Right, I said softly. We were vampire companions—

Blood slaves, whispered a voice in my head. A voice that sounded like Landon.

But wait. Who was Landon exactly?

Judah furrowed his brow at me. Camber, he murmured again.

I cocked my head at him. I feel like we met each other somewhere else, somewhere completely different, and that… that things were different between us.

That’s, uh… that’s… He looked worried.

Judah, this isn’t right. I was starting to get chunks of memories, assaulting me. I was remembering kissing Judah, mating with Judah, and then Judah with Tempest, and then me with Landon, and then the raid on the bloodhound’s headquarters and… Judah, we’re werewolves. We’re the alphas of a pack, and you’ve been captured, and I’m here to rescue you. Come on, we have to get out of here.

He shook his head hard, as if he was trying to shake something free.

I grabbed his arm. Now, while they’re all busy with this party. We can sneak out. Come on.

But… I don’t want to leave, he said. I like Hadrian. I think I love Hadrian, which is kind of weird, because I don’t think I’ve ever really been into guys before, but Hadrian is just—

You’re compelled, I said. We both are. But for some reason, it’s wearing off a little. Maybe it’s because of our alpha bond. I tapped my chin. You know what I bet would totally break the compulsion? If we shifted. Which I don’t want to do in the middle of the party, because that would attract a lot of attention.

I have no idea what you’re talking about, said Judah.

I sucked in a deep breath. I needed to think fast. I was still reeling with my memories returning. I knew that there was more to my mission. I needed to rescue Judah, but I also needed to capture Aston Waterfield, who was the scientist who had created the bloodhounds. I’d made a deal with the bloodhounds that I’d get him to remove the kill chips that were embedded at the base of their skulls.

Bloodhounds were humans who had been put through a process that spliced werewolf and vampire DNA into their natural makeup, changing them into beastmen. They were controlled by the vampires and forced to hunt down werewolves, which were seen as a menace.

Yeah, I said to Judah, pretending to be airy and giggly. I don’t know what I’m talking about either. But you know what we should do? We should leave and go out into the hallway.

Why? said Judah.

Because, um, Hadrian is there, I said. And you really like him, don’t you?

I really do like Hadrian, said Judah sincerely. I adore him.

Well, I think he wants to see you, I said. He wants you to come out into the hallway.

Okay, said Judah. He shrugged and got up and followed me.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowded room to the door to the hallway. It would have worked, except for the fact that Judah saw Hadrian on the other side of the room, dancing with Petal.

Hey, said Judah. Hadrian’s not in the hallway. Look. He’s right there.

Okay, I said, but he’s going to be in the hallway in a minute, and he wants you to be there, waiting for him.

Judah furrowed his brow. Really? Are you sure?

Yes, I said. I’m positive. So we have to go now. Right away.

Well… all right. He still didn’t seemed convinced, but he was listening to me.

I tugged on his hand.

But then someone came up behind me and ripped me away from Judah. Camber, you’re coming with me.

CHAPTER TWO

I knew that voice! I struggled, trying to see who had grabbed me. Whoever had done it was strong, because I had been picked up and carried away from Judah. The person was moving quickly, as if it was no effort at all to hold me up.

I managed to wiggle around. Desta! I said. It was my sister.

Shh, she said, yanking open the door and pulling us out into the hallway.

Desta, put me down, I said. We need to get Judah.

Shut up, she said. I’ve been waiting for a chance to grab you, and it hasn’t been easy. This is our best chance. I don’t know what you’re doing here in the city, but you have to get out. If they find out you’re a werewolf, they’ll kill you.

I struggled against my sister’s arms, but she was stronger than me. I was strong too, strong enough to rival a vampire, but only in my wolf form. I could shift, but I didn’t think that was the smartest idea right now, not when she’d just pointed out to me that they killed werewolves on sight here. It made me realize that my plan to force Judah to shift hadn’t been the greatest idea. So what was I going to do now? How was I going to get him free of his compulsion?

I guessed I was going to have to get back to him first, and I couldn’t do that, because Desta was going down the hall at warp speed.

She stopped at the elevator, and we hurtled inside.

Let go of me, I said, as the elevator doors closed.

Well, I guess you can’t go anywhere in the elevator, she said. She let me go. She went to the control panel and hit buttons.

I tried to reach over and hit the button to open the door.

She blocked me. I’m trying to save your life here, Camber.

The whole reason I’m here is to save Judah, I said. Well, that and to capture Aston Waterfield.

What? She looked horrified. You can’t do something like that. And… don’t tell me anything else. I don’t want to know. If Viggo were to find out that I was helping you, he’d be furious. Viggo was the vampire king. He ruled everything, and he had for generations, since even before my grandmother could remember. Desta was one of his favorites, which was she’d been kept alive as a new vampire. The making of new vampires was forbidden. She was an exception that Viggo allowed to remain alive because of his fondness for her.

Would he hurt you?

I… Desta looked flustered. With Viggo, you never know what he’s going to do. But this isn’t about him. This is about you. Here. In danger. You have to get out of here, and I’m taking you to the woods, and Landon is waiting—

"Landon is working with you? He’s supposed to be helping me."

Yeah, he seems pretty worried about you. Desta’s tone was a tad brittle.

Hmm. Probably shouldn’t tell her that I had kissed him, should I? Or, well, he’d kissed me. I was pretty sure that couldn’t happen again, anyway. If bloodhounds got too, er, excited, they raged out and destroyed everything in sight.

Under normal circumstances, Landon would be off limits, since he had been my sister’s boyfriend.

Except he hadn’t really been her boyfriend, he’d been her blood slave.

Okay, the way I thought I understood it was that Desta hadn’t realized how strong the compulsion put on Landon was. She thought that he was her boyfriend. Landon, on the other hand, thought of her as the oppressor who had forced him to love her against his will. He was pretty pissed at her.

Clearly, however, Desta still had feelings for Landon.

Great.

This wasn’t complicated at all.

I should never have trusted him to help me, I said. He doesn’t care about the pack at all. He only cares about keeping me alive. He’s horrible.

He’s not horrible, said Desta. Go easy on him. He’s been through a lot.

What? You mean how he was brought in as a blood slave because his entire family was killed, and then you tried to let him go free, but he was captured and injured so badly he was on the brink of death, but then turned into a bloodhound at the order of the vampire king? Is that what you mean by a lot?

Desta made a face at me. Yes, she muttered.

I think he’s handling it pretty well, all things considered, I said.

She sighed. I only wish I could have done more for him.

Yeah, it wasn’t very cool for King Viggo to turn him into a bloodhound, I said. I guess it was better than dying, but it was still awful.

Viggo did it because he was jealous, Desta said. Viggo doesn’t want me to care about anything except him.

I grimaced. You know what? You should come with me. When I get Judah, we can all leave. You don’t have to stay here with the vampire king. He sounds kind of awful.

How could I leave? she said. Viggo would find me anywhere I went.

You don’t know that, I said. Maybe we could get far, far away from him.

We? You, me, and Landon? She laughed, and it was that same brittle sound. I don’t think so, Camber.

Look, I don’t know why we’re talking about this, I said. Take me back upstairs. I need to get Judah.

I don’t even know who Judah is, she said.

Judah is my mate, I said.

Her eyes widened. Wait, what? You have a mate? Why didn’t Landon tell me that?

Well, we’re not really together, I said. Judah has a girlfriend.

Her eyes widened even more. Camber, that doesn’t make any—

It’s complicated, I said. But the pack needs him. I have to rescue him.

The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened.

Desta grabbed onto me again.

Wait, I said. "No. Please, I came here to rescue him."

Too bad, said Desta.

Desta, I am not going anywhere without Judah!

But she was speeding out of the elevator with me. We went through the halls fast, fast, fast. Vampires could move really quickly. In seconds, Desta and I were outside, hurrying across a well-manicured yard and heading towards the fence.

Chain-link fences surrounded every city and every road. They were there to keep the werewolves out. The vampires told humans that the werewolves were a danger. They claimed to protect the humans from the werewolves. In exchange, the humans had to provide the vampires with blood donations. But the truth was that the danger that werewolves posed to humans was greatly exaggerated.

Werewolves were only out of control when they shifted if they were under emotional stress, and even then, only when they did not have the guiding power of an alpha. Sometimes, whole packs could lose control, if their alpha was killed and they were grieving or if their alpha ordered them to attack mercilessly. But by and large, werewolves posed no true threat to humans.

To vampires, however, we were dangerous. A werewolf