Blood Bond, page 21
“And that’s my cue to exit.” As Cressida ducked out and closed the door behind her, Christopher’s smile was crooked.
“Of all the questions to have right now.” His laugh was low and private. “I think he did say that, yes. On paper, we’ll be married by the time we get to Beta.”
Matra had never truly thought about marriage. In fact, she’d spent quite a number of years pointedly avoiding the subject, but now, she was surprised by how the idea of it made her feel lighter. It was proof that all of this would soon be behind them, and then she’d have years and years of happiness ahead of her—wedded bliss, that’s what it was called, right?
She squeezed Christopher’s hands and swallowed down all of her fear for the lurking unknown. “Well, I guess we ought to at least try and enjoy this time together then, shouldn’t we?” Maybe if she put her mind to it, she could begin to enjoy that ephemeral bliss now, instead of waiting for everything to be perfect.
Christopher’s smile spread. “You’re a force to be reckoned with, Matricia Christopher-Mate.”
Christopher-Mate. That would be her last name now, according to Vampire tradition. She’d never had a last name before. It was a revelation to find one now, like knowing, for the first time, that she belonged somewhere. To someone. “Does that make you Christopher Matra-Mate?”
His smile spread. “Matricia-Mate, but yes. No longer Topher-Son, I’ll be Matricia-Mate forever more.”
She loved that, except... “I like Matra-Mate better. Can we change it to that?”
Christopher laughed and drew her into his arms. “Love, it can be whatever the hell you want.”
Epilogue
Zackery
Zackery shifted Luceam so she was sitting in his other arm, not because he particularly needed to but because it comforted the humans for him to shift the way he was standing from time to time.
Christopher and Matricia were in the row house he’d once, years and years ago, called home. They were safely away from the myriad of officers who now filled the alley, searching the cement, taking pictures of the scene, and talking. Like the one in front of him now.
“Your story checks out,” the officer said. “There’s only the one bullet casing by the body, so it looks like he didn’t get another shot off. Lucky you.”
“Lucky me indeed,” Zackery intoned as he fingered the bullet casing he’d plucked off the ground and was now stashed in his pocket. Never mind that a bullet wouldn’t have hurt Zackery in the slightest—though it had almost killed the mother of the child in his arms.
Matricia was a bit more than human, having benefited from carrying a Born Immortal child, but she was nowhere near the Turned Immortal she would have needed to be to survive a bullet. Christopher, Born Immortal that he was, might have survived it but he’d have been stopped in the moment had it been him who’d been shot. If it had only been Zackery that idiotic human man’s gun had aimed at when it discharged, they could have avoided this whole mess.
It was a miracle Matra’s blood hadn’t created a puddle on the cement—he supposed Christopher’s shirt was to thank for that.
“Tell me again what the guy was saying when he attacked?” the officer asked, flipping through screens on a tablet held in the crook of his arm. “I want to make sure we get that down in the notes.”
“Something about not wanting to do this,” Zackery replied slowly. “It was difficult to make out, and it all happened so fast.” It had all been quite clear and had happened as if in slow motion.
As he’d watched Luceam play, he’d heard someone step into the alley. He had turned as Matricia had begun to argue with the man who’d been as dirty and malnourished as she had been when she’d arrived to them. Christopher, who’d scooped Luceam into his arms as soon as the man had appeared, handed her off to him and crossed to where Matricia continued verbally sparring with the dirty man. Then he’d begun to bring a gun to his temple—which was when Zackery had turned his back on the scene to protect the child. The first gunshot had made the Luceam jump. The smell of Matricia’s blood had made her struggle in his arms. He’d expected Christopher to rage—and he did, in a way, giving Matricia his blood to save her life though there was no reason he knew he could do it.
Most wouldn’t have been able to. Reversing death was not a common trait among Born Immortal blood. So rare in fact, that the act, if discovered, would paint a target on his back. That’s what had led Zackery to make the rash decision to send them away instead of turning them in—that and he had a soft spot for Christopher. Also, he hated Mythological Affairs.
Luceam had cried and struggled to get out of his arms while Matricia was on the ground, but a soon as it was clear her mother was safe, she’d stopped her struggle. She hadn’t been upset when Matricia and Christopher had left, either, as though she knew their departure was necessary and temporary.
Hopefully only days.
And now she was quiet, sleeping against his chest—or pretending to sleep, perhaps. He wasn’t sure how she could rest in all the commotion. Then again, perhaps that’s what children did. He really had no idea. She was a sweet little thing, though. He hoped she wouldn’t become a stranger once Christopher and Matricia arrived in Beta and were united with her once again. It was rather enjoyable having her toddling around the apartment for the last days.
He was getting soft. Gabriel, his longest friend and advisor, was going to have a heyday with this when he discovered the child would be staying at Forest Noir for a short time. Gabriel had always liked children. Perhaps, Zackery thought, he should call ahead and ask Gabriel for assistance. Time would only tell for how many days Luceam would be with him, exactly. Time and, as it would turn out, the conversation Zackery was currently involved in.
The officer looked up from his tablet after typing for a moment. “And the child’s mother and father—you said they’re on their honeymoon?”
“They are,” Zackery replied easily. “It was a sudden change of plans. I’d intended to have their shuttle tickets adjusted once I arrived at the station. You’ll find they were scheduled to travel with me and the girl today. I gave them leave to stay in Alpha for a short while and agreed to watch their daughter as a wedding gift.” He was permitted to allow a small number of Immortals into Alpha at any given time. It was lucky none were currently on record as visiting—other than Matricia and Christopher, now.
“I see that here.” The man grimaced. “I’m afraid you missed your—”
“Whoa!” One of the officer’s shouts drew Zackery’s attention, and that of the officer he was talking with as well. “Guys, he’s moving! Mister, you okay?”
“Call the EMTs back!” another officer shouted.
Zackery’s eyes snapped to the man he’d last seen crumpled on the ground—only to watch him lift his head and look directly at him.
“Where is he?!”
The officer Zackery had been speaking to whipped back around with a questioning expression and over his shoulder, Zackery watched the once-dead would-be-murderer look around the alley, taking in the sight of the officers all around him. Half of the man’s skull was missing. His brain matter was sprayed across the cement. His wasn’t one of the symphony of beating hearts in this alley. Yet, there he sat, looking around while he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. His eyes snapped to Zackery once again. Finger pointed at him, gore dripped from the man’s chin as he struggled to his feet. “That’s my daughter!”
For one flash of a moment, Zackery measured the distance between them and considered if he could move fast enough to snap the man’s neck and return to his place before any of the humans realized he’d moved.
But no, the risk was too great. Also, given what was happening now, Zackery doubted a snapped neck would stop the human.
Pity that, because the man continued to wail about Luceam being his daughter, and now about Matricia being his wife; how Christopher had attacked him when he tried to reason with them.
Meanwhile, half of the officers were standing, hands on their gun holsters like they weren’t certain what to do. Not that Zackery could particularly blame them—it was his first time watching a corpse reanimate as well and the effect was jarring to say the least.
The other half of the officers, including the one Zackery had been speaking to, were no longer looking at him with tolerance, but with suspicion.
Zackery sighed, suddenly exhausted. There was no possible way he had anything to do with bringing this evil man back to life, but the humans wouldn’t believe that. They were so willfully ignorant where his kind were concerned. Meanwhile, the man was still wailing about Luceam being his daughter, like he was completely unaware that half of his brain was missing. Zackery could prove Luceam’s parentage easily enough—that part wasn’t a concern—but he needed to return home, to his books and advisors, to consult the Seers who might be able to shed light on whatever had brought this human back from the dead.
Zackery was a vampire, but even he didn’t believe in zombies. That was ridiculous.
He sighed again and wished he could press pause on this whole scenario. This simple cover up had just become much more complicated than he’d bargained for.
Thank you for reading Blood Bond! The story continues with Luceam, Matra and Christopher in Blood Born, coming Q2 2023—preorder now!
Want to know more about the Shifters and the events that led the Immortals to the Beta Sector? You can read the whole tale in The Shift Series (you might even see a few characters you already know from Blood Bond.)
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More by Elle Beauregard
The Shift Series
SHIFT
RECAST
DRIFT
STAND
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The Cloaked Series
The Cloak’s Shadow
The Mediums Possession
The Witch’s Complement
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Dispelled Lineage
Untangled
Worth Melting For
Sleeping Unruly
Little Star
Elle Beauregard, Blood Bond
