Page 4 of Bound By Blood
He could onlyremember distinct things about each of them. His mother’s haircascading over her shoulders, his father’s large, strong hands, andBrie’s unusual eyes were the only memories of their appearancesthat remained vivid in his mind.
But Brie was dead.He saw her body; she wasdead! Yet, the possibility he couldbe looking at his little sister kept niggling at his mind.
“Brie?” hebreathed.
When the womanglanced toward Asher, he sensed her unease, but he wouldn’t let herleave here without knowing the truth. Asher glanced questioninglybetween them, and, as he did, Saber sensed the hunter’s growingannoyance. Asher had no idea what was happening, but then, neitherdid Saber.
He stared at thewoman as he waited for her to say something… anything.Justfucking speak!
He could feel hiscontrol unraveling as something sinister tried to rip away all therestraint he’d spent centuries meticulously erecting. It was how hekept himself from slipping back into the bloodlust that once ruledhis life.
Taking a deepbreath, he carefully locked his emotions away again. No feelingsmeant he could stay alive and useful. If he gave in to either ofthose things again, many would die, including him.
The woman’s eyesswung back to him, and when they did, the truth in them nearlydrove him to his knees. The sadness, the resignation, and the tearsburning there answered him.
“Hello, Gabriel,”his sister replied.
Too stunned tomove, Saber didn’t breathe as he tried to process how he wasstaring at a woman who died almost five hundred years ago. But shecouldn’t be dead if she was standing across from him.
“Holy shit,” Asherwhispered.
The turned hunterrested his hand on his mate’s shoulder as he studied Saber, butSaber couldn’t tell what was in Asher’s gold-flecked, brown eyes.It was no longer antagonism; there was definitely someastonishment, but something else reflected in them too. Maybe itwas understanding or perhaps pity; either way, he couldn’t dealwith them right now.
“I stopped beingGabriel centuries ago,” Saber said.
“I know,” Briesaid in a tear-filled voice.
Unable to toleratethis strange standoff and determined to have answers, Saber ignoredall the others, who were glancing rapidly between them as theytried to figure out what was happening. He hoped, if they got theanswer, they’d tell him.
“How thefuckare you alive?” Saber demanded. “I saw your body in thefire.”
Now it was Brie’sturn to look completely confused. “I crawled out of the fire andinto the lake.”
“I saw yourbones!” Saber exploded.
That odd look inAsher’s eyes vanished as his eyes narrowed. Saber could easily killhim, but the foolish ex-hunter might be dumb enough to try fightinghim.
In the mood he wasin, he’d kill the hunter and, therefore, his sister, but he sobadly wanted to kill something. Right now, he didn’t care if it washis brother-in-law.
Asher nudged Brieback a little more as he positioned himself in front of her. Saberdidn’t know if he should applaud the hunter for taking such goodcare of his sister… or tear his throat out.
He’d spentcenturies learning to control his darker instincts. For some ofthat time, he lived away from humanity and other vampires.
It took nearly twodecades before he felt strong enough to emerge from his isolation,but his compulsion to kill never faded. Like many other purebredvampires, he’d lived with that increased impulse since hittingmaturity at twenty-four, and it still resided in him.
Death was thething he craved most, and the urge to kill churned incessantlyinside him as it beckoned for him to give in again. It taunted himwith memories of how wonderful it was to slaughter withoutremorse.
And now it wasscreaming insistently again as everything he’d been so certain ofdissipated like smoke on a windy day. His mother and father weredead. His sister was dead… except she wasn’t.
He blamed thehumans for taking away those he loved so dearly. Once he saw Brie’sbones in the fire, he slaughtered the humans who killed her withoutremorse. But he’d done it all for the wrong reasons, because shewas standing across from him.
If he’d known Briewas alive, he wouldn’t have lost control like he did. Yes, hesought revenge for his mother’s death, but his dad was alreadymeting out punishment for that.
They couldn’t bothbecome Savages and leave Brie behind. He would have taken her andfled, leaving his father to kill them all.
But once he sawher dead, he had nothing to hold on to. He believed he’d lost hiswhole family that day and had nothing left to live for. Instead,he’d abandoned her when she needed him most.
Ronan and Nathanedged closer while Willow lifted her sword from the table. Some ofthe others came closer, but Saber didn’t pay any attention to them.He’d encountered much scarier things in his lifetime; he was stillone of those things.
