Bonded With Love by Tiffany Heiser (digital e reader .txt) 📖

hold of my sanity.
In my peripheral, Drake's smirk grew to a full blown smile like he knew of the mushiness growing inside me. He opened my car door and asked. “Shall we go in, my dear?” Without hesitating, I turned toward him, nodded, and stepped out of my car.
Each step felt like concrete filled my shoes. Stepping closer to Cryder meant getting closer to the truth, but something inside of me kept screaming that this was a bad idea. I didn't listen.
I took my first apprehensive step onto the stairs up the wrap-around porch. My heart drummed at my temples, and with each step it grew louder. I made it to the top before making eye contact with the angelic monster standing in front of me.
Cryder extended his hand for me to hold onto, and helped me through the front door. “Please come in.”
Finally looking into Cryder's trusting gaze, my knees weakened. Every bad thought I had about him melted away like ice cubes on a hot summer's day.
An electric shock traveled through me by his touch, and I yanked my hand free from his. I saw a slight hint of hurt cross his face, but in the small instant it appeared it disappeared.
We took a few more steps inside, and he closed the large wooden door behind us. It shut with a loud click as the lock fell into place. I jumped.
“Head to the right. That's the living room. Have a seat.” Cryder gestured with his head to the right, “I'm going to get us some drinks. I'll be right back.” He walked away, and I headed to the living room, leaving the foyer that we had stepped into and admired the furniture.
Crisp brown leather filled the space, and everything looked newly purchased. I stood uncomfortably against the wall. How did you act in a vampire's house? I had expected coffins, or darkness, but they had normal furniture- from what I could tell- and their lighting was the norm as well.
The room smelled of a freshly put out fire, and it reminded me of Cryder's sweet woodsy scent. Cryder came from the kitchen with two blue water bottles, and tossed one at me.
“Thank you.” I squeaked out. What was with the bottles?
He gestured with his hand for me to sit, and I did very slowly into the love seat. My legs stuck to the leather as they slid along the furniture with a ripping noise, which stood out in the uncomfortable silence.
“Please Rena, get comfortable.” He collapsed into the tan recliner in the corner of the room.
I couldn't even fake being calm, apparently.
“I didn't think a place so run-down on the outside could actually look nice on the inside. This furniture is a lot comfier than it looks. I mean it looks brand new, do you not sit in it often? It's comfier than the one I have at home. Where did Drake go? Is he not coming in?” I zipped up my lips and grinned stupidly at him.
Cryder didn't treat me like a rambling idiot though, which is the way I felt. In fact he answered me. “Drake decided to give us our time to talk. He did not want to interfere but he may come in later. I like the furniture in my room better than this.” He shrugged his shoulders, and sat with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Um...okay then, well get comfy here because we might be pulling an all-niter.” I blushed. “I meant...I have questions that's all.” I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “Anyway, let's start at, why did you do this to me?”
“The thing is Rena, as I told you before, I had begun the bonding ritual without waiting to talk to you first. I should have waited but you see I have been waiting for you all of my life. I was so overwhelmed by finding you, that I didn't want to risk the chance of losing you.” He dropped his arms into his lap, and took a deep breath expanding his broad chest. His eyes fixed on mine, waiting for a response.
“All your life? How old are you exactly?” “Not the oldest, that's for sure. I'm forty-nine years old.” When I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say, he continued, “by the way, the headaches and nausea are part of the process. They are connected to the change from human to vampire.” “How did you know about the headaches?” “I have seen the bond process before. They will only worsen, until you succumb to the sacrifices required to be bonded.”
My jaw dropped. How could I be expected to believe any of this? It continued to sound more and more like the fantasy novels I enjoyed reading, except right now life felt more like a horror movie instead. All this time I had wanted a handsome stranger to whisk me away, but now that it could possibly happen I felt like running away or crawling underneath my covers- curling into the fetal position and never leave.
“Um...sacrifices?”
He stared at me with his golden-blue eyes, watching my reactions. “It will end the pain. All you have to do is accept what you are, and go through a biting ritual. It really is not as bad as it sounds.”
I grimaced, “well, let's just start from the beginning and go from there. I want answers, that's what I came here for.” I bit into my lip to bring myself back down to earth. We're just talking, nothing else will happen. “How did you know I was your...the one?”
Oh, for heaven's sake I couldn't bring myself to say 'bond-mate'-too permanent. It sounded old-fashioned and dominating. It's my choice on who I bond with or mate with. Not that I would mate with anyone right now, not until I found that right person that I wanted to... mate with. It had to be right. My mating conversation was cut short when I heard his voice in my head.
You can read my thoughts, and I can read yours. I gasped.
“No I can't!” Wait...I can read thoughts? I just read his thoughts. He can read mine? Oh, dear god did he just hear my whole mating spiel? Great.
“You see? I can hear yours and you can hear mine, when I allow it.” He laughed just then, a soft quiet one, it brought music to my ears. “Normally that does not work until after you have bonded with someone, however you are special my Rena. Your strengths are more powerful than expected, which means you belong to me.”
I stood with sure speed the sofa moved back a couple of inches. Frustrated by his matter-of-fact tone. “Now you just listen here vamp guy. You don't own me, you never will, got it?” Fuming by his words, I thought I was blacking out because my vision started to flicker in and out. Until I saw the light bulbs flicker. That caught me off guard, and I collapsed back onto the sofa. The lights shone brightly when I took one last big deep breath. “What the hell is that? Is that me?”
Cryder chuckled and leaned forward in his chair with a gleam in his eyes like a child with a new toy. “Oh yes. That was you. Drake told me about what you did earlier and now I had a front row seat.” He grinned from ear to ear. My hands were clasped over my mouth. Cryder sat still, in awe.
“What is it? What do I have?”
“That, my darling, is not an illness but a vampire given power called telekinesis. You are able to move things with your mind. When you become fully bonded no one will be able to control you or your mind. They were given to you by our ancestors, something that is already a strength of yours.”
“So what's my power then? Control?”
“No, your mind is your strength. It is just remarkable. You want to know about vampires?”
I nodded, and popped the lid on the drink bottle I had been holding in my hands this whole time. When it opened a strawberry aroma filled the room. My mouth watered. “What is this, honestly? Because strawberries have never made my mouth water. Please, be honest to me.”
“Ah, yes that. It may make you run away from me again, but I won't lie to you. It's a mixture of the freshest fruit grown in our community.” It dawned on me then. I felt like I had been on the slow bus this whole time as I figured it out, it was... “and a couple drops of my blood.” His eyes moved quickly to mine and I could feel the look of horror forming on my face as the color drained out of me.
My vision went spotty and the feeling of nausea wrung itself around my stomach. I had figured out the answer, but it still didn't make me feel any better.
In a flash, Cryder sat down beside me, fanning my face and handed me the water bottle. I wanted to deny the need for the drink, but then my stomach rumbled with need. Almost instantly after taking a few sips, my stomach settled and my vision cleared. My heart rate sped up like a Lamborghini on a back road.
It wouldn't slow once I realized Cryder's arms were wrapped around me. With the closeness, I caught his scent and it filled me with contentedness. A combination of smells calmed me, but the slight hint of firewood grabbed my attention every time. It reminded me of my family and our summer camping trips. That particular smell relaxed me enough so that I could catch my breath and actually look him in the eyes.
“Are you still frightened?” He asked.
Sitting up straight, I ran my fingers through my hair. “No...yes...I don't know. That was the answer I had expected, but still hard to accept. I'm learning that most things are different with you.” Concern filled his eyes. “Oh, stop looking at me like that. I said I'm not going to run away, and I meant it. But you have to give me time to soak it all in. You say this is all inevitable, and there is no way around it. And we are supposedly destined to be together and I have been drinking your blood?”
“Yes.”
“I absolutely love the thought of becoming a queen. However, I am not going to jump into something so...so definite without getting to know you.”
He nodded. “Let me explain from the beginning. And then maybe you can get a better understanding for our...situation.”
“Yes that could help things.”
“The originals, are the natural born. I am one and Drake is one. We were born by true vampire parents. You, however, are an original-made. Meaning only one of your parents was an original. All of the originals and original-made have come together and formed a community. A family, if you will, and in this family we are governed by a king. I am that king, well, the next to claim the throne at least. My strength and powers are hereditary. I can control people with my mind. I can make anyone move to where I want them to, except without truly bonding my powers are very weak. It is my birthright to become a king and to keep peace in our community. Together you and I will keep the equality as it has been done for many generations before us. To keep the secret of the vampires from humans, and to keep our rogue vampires from causing any problems. That is how it has been done, and that is how it must stay.
“For each generation, there is a queen