Blood Bound

By Eshelle H Butler

Sisters Tia and Layla Montgomery learn to become hunters after a pack of werewolves attack and murder their friends and relatives at a party for their parents in Boulder Colorado. Many lives are forever changed during the uprising of The Silver Claw Wolf Pack with the agenda of killing everyone who founded the Kill Squad, a secret society of hun

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eshelle Butler
• Release date: Oct 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780578304205

Book preview

Chapter 3

At two in the morning, only two nurses were on staff at Boulder Clinic Hospital. Both of them sat at the nurse’s station yawning in front of their computer screens while one of their patients was finally waking up.

Sebastian slowly opened his eyes. He was a little disoriented as he looked around the room in the ICU. The curtain was drawn so nobody saw him wake up. It was quiet with everyone asleep and only the beeping of his heart monitor filling the room. He hated that sound and looked down at the monitor, and then he noticed the patches all over his chest. He quickly ripped them off and sat up.

How did I get here? For some reason, the attack at the party seemed fuzzy. He tried to remember what happened to him, but he could only remember kissing his date, Mila, before all hell broke loose. His throat hurt so bad that he could barely swallow his saliva. He touched the heavily bandaged area near his Adam’s apple and that’s when he started flashing back to the attack. A wolf jumped on him after he pushed Mila out of the way. It was so heavy and strong as it sank its sharp teeth into his flesh. There was so much blood that it sprayed his face. He could barely yell for help. He slowly began to lose consciousness once the pain became unbearable, and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was a bullet hitting the wolf’s head, killing it, and the moon. Then it was lights out.

He moved to the edge of the bed. Something didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel right. He could hear the blood pumping through other people’s veins, and smell things from far away. Like alcohol, urine, medicine… Blood.

Suddenly as his eyes began to burn, they changed from dark brown to gold. Nothing like the eyes of a human. He walked over to the mirror, looked at his reflection, and gasped when he saw his eyes. After a few seconds, they changed back. He put down the silver tray and stood up. I’ve got to get out of here.

He peeked through the small opening in the curtain to see if anyone was around. The two nurses were tending to other patients who woke up during the night. Now was his chance to sneak out. He quietly walked as fast as he could toward the hallway but was struck by this sharp pain in his legs. It was terrible. The worst pain he had ever felt. He tried to stifle his screams and his knees weakened. He ducked into a storage room and locked himself in. And just when he thought the pain couldn’t get any worse… It did.

The cracking of every bone in his eighteen-year-old body consumed him with unthinkable pain; he couldn’t have screamed loud enough. People throughout the hospital heard it but figured it was just a patient in normal pain. But there was nothing normal about this. He lay on the floor in a fetal position, begging God almighty to make the pain stop. Arms were bending backward, knees and back contorted in impossible ways and sharp fangs grew out of his gums and revealed themselves.

Sebastian was sweating profusely as his body temperature rose to a dangerous one hundred and twelve degrees. He felt his hands and feet growing and his nails turning into claws and hair growing rapidly on every inch of his body. The pain was so bad that he passed out and regained consciousness forty times. It was unclear how long the transformation from man to beast took. But it didn’t matter. To him, it felt like an eternity. He wanted to die more than anything else in this world, just to be rid of the ongoing pain. He feared someone would open the door, and he would harm them. God, please don’t let anyone find me like this.

A man wearing a grey janitor uniform approached the door. Once he turned the knob and saw that it was locked, he used a set of keys to unlock it and flipped on the light switch. He went inside and looked for his mop and bucket. When he finally found it in the back of the closet, he grabbed the mop handle and came face to face with the golden eyes staring at him in the darkness.

What the…

The man screamed and whatever happened after that, Sebastian didn’t remember, because he blacked out.

***

At the Boulder Police Department, Detective Elijah Brooks sat at his desk talking on the phone with Security for Boulder Clinic Hospital. He casually finished off a cigarette that he held between his two fingers and emptied the ashes into the ashtray on his desk. A small framed picture of his five-year-old son, Noah, sat just a few inches away, smiling at him.

You’ve got a what on the loose? One man is dead so far. Okay put everybody in the building on temporary lockdown, I’m on my way.

He hung up the phone and picked up the picture of his son. He felt guilty because it was the seventh night in a row that he hadn’t been able to read his son a bedtime story because of work. If only his wife, Jenny, were still alive, then he would at least have one parent at home to kiss him goodnight instead of a damn babysitter. Elijah put the picture down, got up from his chair, and grabbed his travel mug full of hot Columbian dark roast coffee. It was going to be a long night. As he headed toward the exit of the busy office his coworker, Detective Rian Mooney, stopped laughing and talking with a couple of other cops and said, Hey Brooks! I heard you’re on the werewolf case. How come they always pick you for the weird-ass cases, huh?

Because I’m a freak like that Mooney, you know that, he said with a sly grin as he walked out.

He and the other cops just laughed and continued their conversation.

***

As Tia and Layla slept, something climbed in through the open window. It knocked over the lamp as it jumped onto the floor and woke them up. Layla opened her eyes to see a werewolf standing at the foot of her bed with fresh blood dripping from his fangs. But for some reason, he didn’t appear threatening, even though he was growling at her. His fur was grey, and he had an unusual yet familiar scent. It smelled like… Ammonia.

Layla don’t move, Tia said as she stood behind it, aiming her rifle at it.

She fired one shot at him and hit him right in the back. The wolf cried out and fell over, whimpering in pain.

Why did you shoot him, Tia? Layla asked as she got out of bed and rushed over to him.

Because he’s a werewolf getting ready to kill your ass!

There was something familiar about him. Layla wasn’t scared of him. Layla raised her hand when Tia attempted to shoot him again. No.

You’re crazy, I’m not going to let him live after what their kind did to our family, Tia said as she angrily aimed the gun at his head and prepared to finish him off.

Tia, wait! Layla shouted and used her own body as a shield to cover him.

He began to transform into a human again. The girls were both mortified when they saw who he truly was.

Their brother…

Sebastian, Layla whispered as she pulled away from him. She immediately grabbed her blanket from the bed and placed it over his exposed body. Tia finally put the gun down and left the room. So, this is what happened to you. You were turned? The hospital called and said you disappeared.

Sebastian opened his eyes and sat up, I’m sorry Layla, I know I shouldn’t have come here. But I didn’t know where else to go.

It’s okay, your safe now.

Tia rushed back in with Sofia’s first aid kit and sat on the floor next to him, preparing to treat the gunshot wound that she inflicted on him. I’m so sorry brother. I didn’t know it was you, she said as she poured alcohol on a cloth and tried to sterilize the wound only to find that it was already healed. Whoa…

What? Layla said.

The wound… It’s gone.

Sebastian touched his back and looked relieved. He stood up and so did his sisters. I need to get out of here. The cops are looking for me.

What, why? Layla asked as they followed him outside.

Because I attacked an innocent man tonight.

Tia and Layla looked at each other and then at him.

Did you kill him? Layla asked.

Yes, Sebastian said as they got to the clothesline with some of Joe’s clean clothes hanging off it. He didn’t look at them and became quiet as did they.

You killed a human? Tia appeared disappointed.

Layla didn’t want to believe that her brother could do such a thing. That he could take an innocent life. Did you enjoy it?

Sebastian appeared nervous as he turned around and looked at the two of them. Like he didn’t want to answer her. Yes… I’m sorry, but I can’t lie. I did enjoy the kill. But you must know that when I am the wolf, I can’t control what I do… Or who I kill. That’s why I can’t stay here. I don’t want to hurt any of you. If I did, I’d never forgiven myself. He began pulling a shirt and pants from the clothesline. I need y’all to turn around.

The girls did what he said and turned their backs. He let the blanket drop and began getting dressed as fast as he could.

But where will you go, what will you do? Layla asked him. When the pack that killed Mom and Dad find out about you, they will hunt you down and…

I can take care of myself Layla! he slipped on Joe’s old red plaid shirt and jeans and tightened the baggy pants with one of his belts. I’m more worried about what they’ll do to you guys if they find out you're still alive. They think they killed off our entire tribe and will stop at nothing to get the rest of us once they find out that some of us survived. Why? I don’t know… But I intend to find out, he