Page 1 of Bound by Vengeance
CHAPTER 1
Vicky made her way unerringly through thecrowd filling the Boston Garden. The rank scent of stale beer andthe sweeter aromas of whiskey and rum caused her nose to wrinkle asthey mingled with human sweat and cologne. Being around so manypeople usually never bothered her, she’d always enjoyed the companyof humans, but not tonight.
Tonight, she wanted them to get out of herway as she had one thing on her mind: murder.
The thumping music of the ongoing concertvibrated the floor as she passed the drink stands to one of thestairwells leading into the arena. Walking through the tunnel, sheemerged at the top of a set of stairs dividing two sections of themassive crowd. The arena lights were off, but flashing strobes andthe glow of cell phones lit the dark as the concertgoers sang alongwith the band.
The fast pace of the rock music hummedthrough Vicky’s veins, and for a minute she longed for the timewhen she was one of the revelers chugging drinks, singing at thetop of her lungs, and texting her sister, Abby, to let her know shewas missing one hell of a show.
Then, the minute passed, and she was leftwith the reality of her life. The fun went out of it the secondshe’d been taken and imprisoned by other vampires. Absently, sherubbed the scar on her inner right wrist as she surveyed the crowdfor the man she hunted.
Her life had a single mission now: learn howto fight well enough and remain stable enough to hunt and kill herex-boyfriend, Duke.
Her fangs tingled as waves of anticipationpulsed through her. She’d smelled Duke; she wassoclose tohim.
It had been months since she’d been chainedlike an animal in a warehouse and fed on by vampires who werewilling to pay to feast on a purebred. Months since she’d beenabused, cold, battered, and certain she would die.
A chill racked her as she recalled thecoldness of the warehouse floor seeping into her bones and theweight of the chains keeping her hostage. The whimpers and sobs ofthe other purebreds imprisoned with her echoed in her mind. Shecould easily recall the scents of sex, drugs, blood, and rottickling her nostrils.
The aroma of decay had come from the Savagevampires imprisoning her, and there were times when she believedthe scent of that place had permeated her skin and become a part ofher being.
No matter how much time passed, she recalledthe agony of having her blood drained from her against her will bythose vampires.
The elapsing months of her freedom hadn’teased her rage at Duke, the man who sold her into captivity; it hadhoned it. She’d been sure she would die in that warehouse beforebeing tossed aside with the respect given a rat. But she’dsurvived; Duke would not.
The banners hanging from the rafters of thearena drew her attention. She frowned as she studied them beforerealizing they were for the Celtics and Bruins, two sports teamsshe knew little about. Among the catwalks running through thebeams, people operated the cameras and lights.
A loud cheer erupted from the crowd when themusic ended. Then, the band said thank you and left the stage. Theconcertgoers all began stomping their feet and shaking the floor asthey shouted for an encore.
Sniffing the air, Vicky realized the scentthat drew her here was fading. She’d caught the faint whiff ofDuke’s cologne outside the Garden, and though many men wore thefragrance, the scent of it was different on him as it reacted tohis body chemistry. On the hunt, she’d found a guard and compelledhim into letting her enter so she could track Duke through thebuilding.
Vicky slipped back into the tunnel andreturned to the public area of the Garden as the music startedagain. Despite the return of the band, people looking to beat theexodus of concertgoers poured out of the arena to flow into thehallway around her.
Standing on her tiptoes, Vicky strained tosee over the sea of heads, and then she spotted a familiar facewith brown hair. Vicky’s fangs slid free before she could stopthem. It was the first time she’d seen Duke since her captivity,and she barely kept herself from closing the fifty feet separatingthem to take Duke down.
Images of sinking her fangs into his throatand ripping the traitorous heart from his chest assaulted her untilshe could barely tell reality from the bloodlust coursing throughher.
No! Stay in control!Taking ashuddery breath, she dug her nails into her palms to keep herselffocused on the now. If she attacked him, she’d kill him in front ofeveryone.
There would be no concealing a vampireattack in front of so many and no guarantee the crowd wouldn’t takeherdown after. Since being freed from the warehouse,vengeance against Duke was the only thing driving her, but she’dnever do anything to harm her family. Her antics over the yearsconcerned them, but she’d never knowingly done anything to put themin jeopardy.
If she killed Duke now, she risked the livesof her nine siblings, their mates, their children, her parents, andher adopted uncles, the Stooges. Her family was large and loving,and even if she hadn’t been able to return home to face them sinceher imprisonment, they were also her lifeline.
But if she attacked, she risked peoplelearning about the existence of vampires, and the consequences ofthat could be disastrous. Vampires were stronger and immortal, buthumans vastly outnumbered them and had far more weapons. Ifhumanity decided vampires were a threat, they would be hunted anddestroyed. With the number of cameras and cell phones in thisplace, there was no way her attack on Duke wouldn’t berecorded.
Gritting her teeth, Vicky kept herselfrestrained from tearing out Duke’s throat as she bobbed and weavedthrough the crowd and into a stairwell. Packed in like a sardinewith the rest of the mob, she found herself locked in with a groupof girls about her age.
Feet thudded on the concrete stairwell, andsneakers squeaked as laughter and excited chatter filled the air.Humans swarmed her, their heartbeats pulsing in her ears, but sheremained fixated on her target.
So preoccupied with Duke, Vicky didn’trealize he had his arm draped around a brunette woman until thewoman leaned against his side. The woman searched the crowd as ifshe were on the hunt.
I’ll give you something to hunt.
Vicky almost laughed, but nothing wasamusing about this. Through the various scents filling the air,Vicky detected the stench of rot drifting from Duke and the woman.They were both Savages, and that meant they were willing to killanyone who got in their way.
While she’d been with Duke, he’d beenreckless, but he hadn’t been a killer. Apparently, that changed inthe seven months since Duke sold her and made her the equivalent ofa living blood bag for vampires.
Despite their Savage status, Vicky couldhandle these two. Duke was now a killer of innocents, so he’d grownstronger in seven months, but she’d been training with Ronan andhis men, and she was a pureblooded vampire. Duke wasn’t. Shewoulddestroy him tonight.
