Page 50 of Bound By Blood
“Mates oftendo.”
It took her acouple of minutes to completely regain control of her emotionsenough to continue speaking. “If you were so close, why didn’t hetell you about us?”
“Probably becausehe wanted me to meet you in person. Also, although I still soundednormal on the phone, he would make sure I hadn’t turned Savageagain before he ever let me near either of you.
“And while I’msure he didn’t think I’d become a Savage again, he wouldn’t putyour lives at risk. For a purebred male, battling the inner demonthat drives us gets more difficult with age unless we find a mate.He wouldn’t take the chance I might be a threat to those heloved.”
“What makes you sosure he didn’t think you’d turned Savage again?”
“He called me afew years ago and asked me to come check out his new store, but Ididn’t have the time. I had joined the Alliance by then and wasneck deep in all the shit that came with it.”
“What’s theAlliance?”
“A group ofvampires and hunters who have united to fight against the demonsand Savages.”
“You’re workingwithhunters?”
She didn’t knowmuch about them, but she did know that, as a vampire, sheneverwanted to encounter one. Yet he was willingly workingwiththem.
“I am,” Saberconfirmed.
And then, decidingit would probably help her to trust him more, he told her moreabout the Alliance. He revealed what they fought for and howvampires and hunters had joined together to fight the Savages anddemons.
He also revealedeverything about the stuff the demons and Savages were injectinginto hunters and vampires. He told her more about the stones andweapons they needed to help defeat the demons.
By the time hefinished speaking, Caro felt physically ill, and even if she didn’tcompletely trust him, she gave him her address. It felt like asmall betrayal to her dad, who went to great lengths to keep thelocation hidden, but she believed he would have made the samechoice.
She couldn’t standby and watch the world burn when she could do something to helpstop it. If Saber decided to chop off her head or lock her in thebasement when they arrived, she’d bereallypissed and wouldhaunt his ass until the day he died, but she had to do something tohelp stop this.
There was no wayshe could turn her back on what was happening. The world wasalready a brutal, horrible place, but it could get so much worse ifshe turned her back on him and this cause. Millions of innocentpeople, hunters, and vampires could die if she did.
And while shecouldn’t be completely certain he was telling her the truth, shehad seen what his stone did to the remains of those Savages. Shecouldn’t understand why he would lie about everything but tell thetruth about the stones.
And he didn’tsmell like a Savage. He knew them, he’d been one of them, but hewasn’t one now. The idea of doing this made her nauseous, but shehad to do it.
CHAPTER 37
They were abouttwenty miles from her house, and he’d been driving in circles andon different side roads for an hour. Finally, he went down a dirtroad between power lines surrounded by woods on both sides of themassive structures.
Caro braced herhand against the ceiling as the vehicle bounced and squeakedthrough ruts and over hills. After a while, he drove in between agrouping of trees and parked beneath some maples.
“What are youdoing?” she asked when her teeth finally stopped clackingtogether.
“It’s time to findanother car, preferably older, with no tracking system.”
The idea of doinganything other than sleeping caused her to groan, but she undid herseat belt and exited the car. Her cramped legs protested themovement after being in the car for hours, and her eyes burned fromexhaustion, but somehow, she managed to trudge up and down thehills and through the ruts back to the road with him.
When shefinallygot home, she was going to sleep for a day.
“How far are wefrom your house?” he asked.
“About twentymiles.”
“I’m assuming yourfather has a good security system.”
“Top of theline.”
“Good. Now stickyour thumb out. I’ll follow you from the tree line, but no one isstopping for me; they’ll stop for you.”
