Blood bound, p.1
Blood Bound, page 1
The book is a work of fiction. Characters, events, and locations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to other events, other locations, or other persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 Renate Rowland
Published by Runik Press
Cover image: pixabay.com user Smimbipi
Norse font by Joel Carrouche www.joelcarrouche.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without the copyright owner’s written consent.
Runik Press
Author’s Note
Dear reader,
Thank you for picking up my book. Before you venture into this web of Wyrd—commonly known as the matrix of fate—with me, I would like to warn you about certain triggers contained in this novel. If these are in any way detrimental to your mental health, you might want to reconsider.
Blood Bound is a suspenseful romance with a splash of paranormal. It is the first title in the ‘Bound by A WEB OF WYRD’ trilogy, a dark-themed retelling of vampire origin based on Norse Gods in a modern, post-Ragnarǫk setting. It contains explicit sexual content recommended only for an audience of 18+, mentions and scenes of suicide, self-harm, murder, and death, as well as mentions of sexual assault.
As I hold the story of this series very dear to my heart, I hope that you will consider getting to know my characters and joining them on their search for love, destiny, and honor.
Thank you.
Playlist
Make Believe – Memphis May Fire
Panic – From Ashes to New
Voices – Motionless In White
Leap Of Faith – Bullet For My Valentine
Hopelessly Hopeful – Asking Alexandria
Sex & Stardust – ZZ Ward
Threat To Society – Beartooth
If I Could Be Her – ZZ Ward
Scars that I’m hiding – From Ashes To New
Drag The Lake – The Amity Affliction
Breaking Down – I Prevail
Somebody – Memphis May Fire
Alone in a room – Asking Alexandria
All I Want (Eve’s them)– A Day To Remember
Popular Monster (Kjan’s them) – Falling in Reverse
Under Again - BFMV
Bag Of Bones – ZZ Ward
Help – Papa Roach
Take Some Time – Asking Alexandria
Terrified - Atreyu
High Diving – A Day To Remember
Give you up – Asking Alexandria
Looks Like Hell – A Day To Remember
Fighting Gravity – Of Mice & Men
Save My Life – ZZ Ward
House on Fire – Asking Alexandria
Anchor – Of Mice & Men
The Very Last Time – BFMV
Alone Again – Asking Alexandria
Torn to Pieces – Pop Evil
In between – Beartooth
Breath underwater- Bullet For My Valentine
Hanging on – Falling in Reverse
Here’s To Starting Over – Asking Alexandria
Better off this way – A Day to Remember
Masterpiece – Motionless In White
Just Pretend – Bad Omens
Resentment – A Day To Remember
My Heat’s To Blame – Falling in Reverse
I don’t need you –Asking Alexandria
End of me – A Day To Remember
Miracle – A Day To Remember
Lifeline – Bad Wolves
Table of Content
Author’s Note
Playlist
Proverb
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Epilogue
Acknowledgment
Bonus Material
Author Bio
― Völsunga Saga, c. 5
Bjarkan
(Birch Rune)
It symbolizes:
Birth
Female fertility
Mental and physical growth
Liberation
Regenerative power and light of spring
New growth
Renewal
Promise of new beginnings
It predicts:
Arousal of desire, a love affair, or new birth
The prospering of an enterprise or venture
ow long had he been standing here?
Unmoving. Alone. Nothing but the thumping of his pulse in his head keeping him company.
The rhythm was steady. Too steady for what he was about to do. It ought to have been frantic, running amok with the need for survival.
But his heart had lost the strength to fight.
He was numb.
The steel of the gun in his hand should have caused some kind of sensation. Cold. Rigid. Heavy even. Yet he barely felt it in his grasp.
His hypersensitivity had de-escalated, and all his senses seemed muffled now. The crunching of dead pine needles and twigs beneath his boots had ceased some time ago. Not a single sound broke through the dead silence. The shadows of the trees that melted into the ground by his feet created an imposing abyss of solid black all around as they towered over him.
He hung his head, staring at the space between his boots. It was March, the first day of spring right around the corner, and the change of season already in the air. It was ironic that the only thing that did register in his catatonic state was the faint scent of spring’s arrival as it carried to his nose. It would usher in the rebirth of life after the dead of winter.
Although not for him.
For him, this was the end. Salvation, really, because it would render peace. Something he hadn’t felt since betraying the one person who depended on him. The one he was sworn to protect.
As the last of a rare breed, he was living proof of the existence of the Old Gods. His blood was so powerful, it could rip someone back from the verge of death. A fact he had already proven once, with dreadful consequences.
But he would never repeat that mistake. His failure as Andromeda’s guardian still haunted him more than a century later. The nightmares…the darkness swallowing him…
He knew he didn’t deserve absolution. Didn’t deserve forgiveness for his sins. Killing was in his nature, in his very DNA, since the day he was born, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep the people he cared about alive.
HE was the curse. He had an obligation to end things before his cycle of destruction repeated itself. A responsibility to protect others from the agony and devastation that followed him.
He was ready.
And prepared.
He had kept himself in check and stayed off the emotional rollercoaster, stretching the time in between feedings to sabotage his body’s rapid healing abilities. The hunger was agony, but it was all worth it. At last, he would be free. No more nightmares. No more skull-crushing headaches.
His fingers twitched around the gun as he thought of the mighty gates he would never be allowed to enter. There was no honor in his final act. But he had been worthy once. When he still had a heart filled with hope. A millennium of darkness had ripped that away from him. He would never be worthy again. The dark had eaten too much of the man he once was.
He was accepting his fate, wherever it would take him now.
The sensation of a hand settled on his shoulder. A soft touch that didn’t riddle him with the familiar pain. Because it wasn’t real. But he had felt it before, in his darkest moments, imbuing him with courage.
It did the same now.
Thumb on the trigger, he raised the Colt to his chest. He took his time to align it perfectly, ignoring the command in his head to look when there was a snapping of branches, too heavy to be a forest critter.
Someone was racing toward him.
The starved monster in him writhed. For months, he had prepared for this moment, yet the human equation always had an unpredictable variable. This one was
Footsteps were closing in quickly, but the gears were already in motion. He didn’t care who found him or what happened after. He just wanted it to end.
Now.
As he squeezed the trigger, he recognized the voice calling out to him. His body jerked. The angle was off. The little wooden bullet missed his heart.
So much for his perfectly laid-out plan. Nope. No death for him tonight. Just. More. Pain…
1
gh! The alarm clock next to her bed read 7:13. Too early for a Saturday. Her neck was stiff from sleeping wrong, and a guy with a jackhammer pounded away at her skull.
Eve had no desire whatsoever to leave her warm and comfy bed. Rolling over, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to go back to sleep. A sense of foreboding crawled over her. She was going to break up with Bobby tonight, and the thought of it made her stomach churn―
The sound of the gunshot ripped her out of her haze. Her eyes flew open, and she jerked upright.
Wait! How did she know it was a gunshot? She’d never heard one before.
A flutter outside her window chased the bang. Tossing the blanket aside, she flung herself across the room and ripped the curtains open.
What the hell! It was dark outside.
She looked back at the clock on her nightstand, which now showed 8:25 p.m. and not a.m. as she’d initially thought.
Eve rubbed her temples and frowned. It didn’t make any sense.
And now she was late.
Her heart still beating out of her chest, she rammed her feet through her jeans in a hasty attempt to get dressed.
Why had her mind told her it was a gunshot?
She swiped her black hoodie off the floor and tugged it down over the Falling in Reverse tour shirt she’d slept in. It was the one she’d bought at the concert in Seattle with Bobby less than two weeks ago. All the tour dates and cities were listed on the back.
The show had been epic, with Escape the Fate on the lineup as well. She was still listening to the setlist on repeat: I’m Not A Vampire, The Drug In Me Is You, and Popular Monster topped the list with Escape The Fate’s Gorgeous Nightmare, Something, Live Fast Die Young.
But there was never enough time for everything you wanted, was there? Too many good songs had been missing from the concert’s lineup.
Earbuds in, she clutched her phone with both hands inside the hoodie’s front pocket. The thing rarely left her grip. She needed music like she needed air to breathe.
The white cable swayed with her stride as she watched her sneakers hit the sidewalk. It was a brisk fifteen-minute walk to the residential housing district, and by the time she made it to the frat house on foot, her nerves had calmed down.
When she looked up and saw the line of cars wrapped around the block, the flush of heat came back. They were parked bumper-to-bumper along the street, Bobby’s bright blue Jeep taking up the entire driveway on its own.
Eve slapped her palm against her forehead. The party! She’d totally forgotten about it.
Her eyes darted over the crowd that was gathering on the front lawn. The guys were kicking off spring break tonight, and from what she could see through the windows, people were already crammed in the small living room.
Crap. She didn’t want to do this with an audience.
The door stood wide open, but a couple of guys pressed against the jambs. Eve was forced to maneuver through the narrow opening they left in the middle by turning her body sideways.
She raised her hands in front of her chest protectively to keep from getting groped and gave the guy facing her a warning look in case he was tempted to try his luck. She recognized his face as one of the lacrosse players on Bobby’s team but had never met him personally.
The second she slipped through, two firm hands cupped her ass, making her jump forward on reflex―aaaand right into the guy, who was more than happy to catch her tits with his palms up.
“My bad,” the one behind her called out, his hands still roaming her hips.
The boys both snickered as they had her sandwiched between them.
“You feel real nice, baby. Why don’t you let us show you a good time?”
His voice was too close to her ear and the smell of beer too much to handle. Eve fought the urge to throw up. She wasn’t going to become the next rape victim at this shindig. She had to get away before they wedged her in further.
“Let go of me!” she hissed, planting her palms flat on the guy’s chest to give him a shove.
Her elbow swung backward, and she jerked out of their grasp, shuddering in disgust. “Immature assholes.”
“Ha! Told ya she wasn’ gonna let you put your dick in her.”
“Shame. She’s feisty. Would’ve been fun.”
The two laughed it up as she stormed off. Eve couldn’t wait to get out of this goddamn town.
Stuffing her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie, she squeezed her way past the kitchen to the stairs in the back. His room was on the left at the end of the hall, and every step she took made her a little queasier.
There was no turning back, though. Scraping up all her courage, she wiped the sweat from her hands on her thighs and knocked on Bobby’s door.
“You’re late,” he snapped at her as he flung it open. “I said eight-thirty!”
Eve cringed and stepped through. Great. He was already drunk. His dark blond hair was tousled like he had been running his hands through it 85 million times, and his usually bright blue eyes seemed dulled and bloodshot. Apparently, the ‘party’ had started early.
His room was a disaster zone of equal proportions. At least the clutter in her own room had its limits.
She maneuvered around the piles of clothes on the floor. “I’m sorry. I um, overslept.” Or something like that. She had no idea how to explain the scene in her room earlier.
Bobby scrunched his nose with a confused look. “What?”
“Never mind,” Eve muttered under her breath and shook her head. They had that reaction in common. The strange wake-up call was still replaying in her mind on a loop.
He held out the red Solo cup for her that was usually filled with something from his personal stash, and she gladly accepted it. Liquid courage was exactly what she needed tonight.
She took a big swig and immediately regretted it. “Ew, what is this? It tastes weird.” She held the cup away from her face.
“A new concoction of mine. You’re the first to try it,” he replied proudly, wiping his palm on his jeans like he was trying to start a fire.
What was he so nervous about? Wasn’t she the one dumping him?
She shot him a suspicious look. “Well, don’t patent it yet.”
Déjà vu! her mind went off. She felt like she’d said that before. Come to think of it, she felt like she’d done all of this before too. This night was getting stranger by the minute.
Eve walked over to the bed and sat down. Bobby slumped into his desk chair, leaning back with his hands behind his head as he watched her.
This was so much harder than she expected. She took another sip and shuddered again. It still tasted awful, but maybe it could help her get through this.
Holding on to the cup, she gazed down at her hands in her lap, fidgeting with the clunky ring. She watched it spin around her thumb. She didn’t trust herself to look him in the eye and was afraid of losing her resolve.
“I’m leaving town,” she spat out after what seemed like an eternity.
His eyes bulged in her periphery. Had he really not seen this coming? “What are you talking about?”
She’d been toying with the idea for months; not that she’d ever mentioned anything to him, but her uncle. Joe was very aware that she’d never been happy here.
“I can’t be stuck in this town any longer. I have to get out.”
He unclasped his hands from behind his head and leaned forward on his chair. “Where is this coming from? How long have you been thinking about this?”
“A year,” she admitted without looking up.
Shoving hard against the armrests, he shot out of his chair, knocking it backward. The wheels skidded on the carpet, and it hit the desk. His lacrosse trophies tipped over, as did his cup, with his drink leaking over the edge onto the carpet.
“A year?” he repeated, glowering down at her. “And you’re just bringing this up now? I thought we were in this together, Eve. I thought we were gonna get married, and―”
“Exactly!” She put the solo cup on the nightstand and stood up too, jabbing her finger at him and finally meeting his eyes. “You thought! You planned! But you never asked what I wanted. Everybody keeps making plans for me like I have no say in them. You, and Joe…I want to make my own decisions. Live my own life. I’m not happy here, Bobby.” And if she was honest with herself, she’d been contemplating it for more than a year.
