Destined by Blood

  DESTINED by

  Blood

  by

  C.C. Wood

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Copyright © Crystal W. Wilson 2016

  EPUB Edition

  Cover by

  Jena Brignola at Bibliophile Productions

  Editing by

  Tania Marinaro at Libros Evolution

  Formatting by

  Paul Salvette at BB eBooks

  Dedication

  To my husband. Thank you for asking me where the vampires in my books came from.

  Introduction

  A few months ago, my husband asked me a question.

  Where did the vampires in your books come from?

  As I stared at him in confusion, I realized I’d never thought about it before, but I started to wonder how they were created.

  Suddenly, that’s all I could think about. I imagined how vampires might have been created. When? Where? Why? Out of hatred? Out of love?

  It became a bit of an obsession. It was then that I decided to write this book. I’d been planning the first book in the Bitten spin-off series, Blood and Bone, and knew that this story could bridge the gap. Plus, by then, Aveta and Alaunus had taken up permanent residence in my brain. It had to tell their story.

  Each chapter is titled after a Tarot card from the Major Arcana (Greater Secrets). There are several types of Tarot, but the one I used closely resembles the Waite deck. Though Tarot is rarely literal, I used the cards I felt best represented what happens in each chapter. I am by no means a Tarot expert, but I felt the symbolism in each card resonated with the chapters and the characters at each stage in the story.

  I hope you enjoy Aveta and Alaunus’ story as much as I did. They are the beginning and, someday, the end.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Introduction

  Prologue

  One: The Lovers

  Two: Death

  Three: The Fool

  Four: The Tower

  Five: The High Priestess

  Six: The Magician

  Seven: The Sun

  Eight: The Devil

  Nine: Wheel of Fortune

  Epilogue

  Contact C.C.

  About C.C.

  Titles by C.C. Wood

  Prologue

  The restlessness was almost unbearable. For days, my body buzzed with energy. No matter how many spells I cast or how often I paced, it never abated. I couldn’t sit still, barely ate or slept, and my temper grew shorter and shorter. I practiced spells in hopes that the casting would drain my excess energy. When that was unsuccessful, I’d tried meditation in an effort to calm the maelstrom brewing inside my body.

  Finally Finn had taken it upon himself to try to exhaust me. He’d made love to me so many times that my legs were still shaky hours later. Not that I would complain. I loved every minute of it, even if it didn’t resolve the problem.

  Still, even after he’d fallen asleep tonight, I lay in bed, wide awake, just staring at the ceiling. After an hour I gave up and got out of bed, opting to make a cup of chamomile tea and putter in the library for a while. Maybe I could find a recipe for a sleeping tonic that would help. I’d tried all the potions I already knew and nothing worked.

  I crept downstairs as quietly as possible. If Finn heard my footsteps, he’d get up as well. I appreciated that he cared so much, but I felt guilty about disturbing his rest. My insomnia shouldn’t dictate his schedule as it did mine.

  The house was quiet. Peaceful. It was one of the reasons I insisted that we kept my mother’s country cottage north of the Dallas area. Though it was only an hour drive from the city, there was tranquility here. At times, it felt as though this property was thousands of miles from the nearest civilization. I often wondered if my mother had cast a spell on the land to make it seem so.

  Fatigue plagued my mind even though my body refused to allow me the rest I craved. I resigned myself to another sleepless night, even as I relished the silence of the house as I made myself a cup of tea. Finn had noticed my penchant for herbal teas and installed an instant hot water tap next to the faucet so I didn’t have to wait for a kettle to boil when I wanted a cup. It was yet another way he took care of me, doing little things to make my life easier.

  I carried the mug into the library at the rear of the house, leaving the lights off. Murmuring an incantation beneath my breath, I snapped my fingers softly and the candles set about the room flared to life.

  I paced the perimeter of the room, slowly walking past the bookshelves while brushing the spines with my fingers. When I felt unsettled or stressed, I would often come to this room and spend time with the books from my mother’s collection. Invariably, I would find a text that spoke to whatever situation I was dealing with. Sometimes I felt as though my mother were there, guiding me to where I needed to be with the same wise hand she’d used during her lifetime.

  “Couldn’t sleep?”

  I looked toward the door to find Finn leaning against the jamb in nothing but his boxer briefs, arms crossed over his chest. Though we’d been together for well over a year, my heart still thumped at the sight of his mostly naked body. His muscular form was relaxed while his golden skin glowed in the dim light.

  It was the look in his gorgeous eyes that affected me the most. Not only the rare purple color of his iris, but the expression they held. He never hid his feelings for me, at least not while we were alone.

  “No,” I sighed.

  He straightened and crossed the room. Taking the cup from my hand, he placed it on a nearby table and pulled me into his arms.

  “What’s going on, Kerry? I’ve never seen you like this.”

  “Like what?” I asked, tilting my head back to look up at his face.

  “Wound up and restless. As if your skin is too tight.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. “I’m worried about you.”

  I wrapped my arms around him, sliding my palms over his shoulders and absorbing the smooth heat of his skin. “I’ll be okay. I just…” I trailed off because I didn’t have the words to describe how I felt.

  “Just what?” he prompted.

  “I feel like I’m waiting for something to happen,” I murmured. “Like I need to be ready.”

  It was then that I heard it; the high, clear chime of a small bell.

  “Did you hear that?” I asked Finn.

  “Hear what?”

  The chime came again but Finn seemed oblivious. Immediately, I sensed it was coming from the bookshelf and looked in that direction. “That,” I repeated.

  He grew still against me and I knew he was listening with more than his ears. When the chime came once more, he tensed. “I hear it.”

  “It’s calling for me,” I murmured, stepping out of Finn’s arms.

  “Wait,” he stated, putting a hand on my bicep. “We don’t know what it is or who it is.”

  “I do,” I answered. “It’s from my mother.” I knew it with every fiber of my being. The bell might as well have been her voice.

  This wasn’t the first time a book in the library called to me. When we fought The Faction, it triggered a spell my mother cast to hide a text that contained a prophecy, one
that pertained to my friends and me.

  Finn released me, though I could tell he was reluctant. I let instinct guide me as I approached the shelves. When I reached up, a leather-bound book slid forward on the shelf and directly into my hand.

  I felt him approach my back, leaning over my shoulder so our cheeks brushed. Without thinking, I settled back into his body, basking in his strength. It had become second nature for me to sink into his touch when we were together.

  I opened the cover, running my hand over the first page. In elegant, flowing script were the words, For Kerry. When the time is right, the book will call you. Love, Mom.

  My eyes dampened at the words. As much as I loved finding something my mother left for me, it still hurt to see it.

  I turned the page to find an incantation, also in my mother’s handwriting.

  Invoke the words and see.

  The story of the First,

  A love that created eternity.

  Heed the warning within,

  For the one who seeks power still lives.

  “It’s a spell,” I murmured to Finn. “I think it’s something my mother wants me to see.” I ran my fingers over the text, seeking more information about the power the words contained. “It’s a vision spell.”

  Vision spells were tricky things. They brought the witch who invoked them into another time and place. They were often used in tribunals when a witch or warlock was accused of wrongdoing. It was a way for a third party to witness events long after they happened and with an unbiased eye. The witch who cast the vision spell could see and hear everything, even some of the thoughts of those involved.

  They required a great deal of power and control to not only create but to invoke. Once inside the spell, a witch would be unable to do anything to stop the vision until it played out. Becoming trapped inside a spell such as this would be terrifying and dangerous.

  “I wonder what she wants me to see,” I murmured, gently tracing the bold, swooping script of my mother’s handwriting. “I suppose I should cast the spell and find out.”

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Finn asked.

  I glanced at him wryly. “Absolutely. My mother was not only a talented witch but a methodical perfectionist as well. Everything had to be done with the best of her prodigious ability. There is no way this spell is anything but safe.”

  “I mean, with the way you’ve been feeling lately. Could that affect your ability to invoke the spell correctly?”

  His question gave me pause. “I doubt it.” I frowned at the page in front of me. “In fact, this might be the reason why I’ve been feeling so restless.” I turned to face him. “I need to cast the spell to find out,” I stated.

  “Then we’ll do it together,” he answered firmly, leading me to the loveseat against the far wall.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked him. “These sorts of incantations can be…unsettling.”

  “Where you go, I go,” he replied.

  “I don’t think I’m going anywhere. At least not physically,” I replied dryly.

  “We’ll do this together,” he repeated, adamant in his decision.

  I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Then let’s see where it takes us.”

  Together, we spoke the invocation. The library seemed to fade around us, images of the bookshelves superimposing over others.

  I felt no fear or worry. Whatever the journey my mother intended for me, I would not walk alone.

  The light pulsed, darkness invading before a brilliant flash of sunlight and we were thrown into another time and place.

  Chapter One

  The Lovers

  Millennia in the past, in a mythic land long forgotten

  She knelt in a field of lavender, the sun shining down upon her. Aveta felt as though this was what eternity should be like. A sea of beautiful flowers, warm summer wind, and the golden light of the sun touching every surface of the land. The afterlife should be this simple and beautiful.

  Humming softly beneath her breath, she used her knife to cut another handful of stalks. The scent of the blooms surrounded her and brought her joy. She wanted to plant lavender next to her little stone house, but it would take over the herb garden she grew. It was too strong, too wild to be controlled. Much like the man she loved.

  As she continued to harvest the herbs she used for fragrance and healing, Aveta knew he was watching her, moving closer, and she smiled. He often tried to sneak up on her, but never knew that she always sensed him. His presence only made the sweetness of the afternoon more precious.

  “You make an enchanting picture,” he murmured, lying down next to her. His body crushed the flowers beneath him, releasing even more of their luxurious fragrance. He reached out and toyed with a long, curling strand of her golden hair. “In the sunlight, your hair is like a shimmering gem.”

  Aveta looked over at him. “Sweet words trip too easily off your tongue. Sometimes I wonder if you truly mean them.” Though her tone was teasing, there was an underlying honesty beneath it, for she had often questioned why the favored son of the chieftain would seek her out, a widow and outcast. Though they were the same age, she often felt decades older in experience.

  Alaunus leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. When he ended the kiss, he stared into her eyes without blinking. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon. Every time I gaze upon you, it takes my breath away. I doubt that will ever change.”

  Aveta smiled, her insecurities fading. “It is easy to say that now, while we are still young. Someday, I will no longer look like this.”

  He tugged her hair gently. “You will always look like this to me.”

  As always, Aveta could not resist him when he spoke so many lovely things and looked at her with eyes of gold and green. She closed the distance between them and kissed him, her eyes drifting shut as she lost herself in the magic they wove together.

  Alaunus reached back and tugged the thin band of fabric she used to tie her hair back, cradling her head in his hands. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers.

  Moaning softly, she slid her hands beneath his tunic, running her palms up his side. His skin was hot and the lean muscles of his torso rippled beneath her touch. Aveta loved to feel the flesh and bone that housed the other half of her soul. When they were like this together, she forgot the world existed.

  Alaunus removed the tunic, pulling it over his head. He spread the fabric on the ground and positioned Aveta on top of it. She smiled as he lifted her hair and fanned it around her head.

  Leaning over her, he slipped his hand beneath the hem of her dress. The material bunched around his wrist as his fingers traced over her knee and up her thigh.

  Aveta sucked in a breath as he touched her, her entire body quaking beneath his sure fingers. “How can you make me feel this way?”

  She had not meant to share that aloud, but it was too late to snatch the words from her lips.

  Alaunus kissed her again, his fingers pressing inside her slowly. Then he pressed the heel of his hand to the most sensitive part of her body. When she hovered on the edge of release, he lifted his head and answered, “The goddess created you for me and me for you. Whatever you feel for me, I feel for you as well.” He watched her arch into his caress, her back curving as she reached for the promise of bliss. “And this is when you are completely mine. All other times, you keep a part of yourself hidden. But when you let pleasure overtake you, you belong to me.”

  As he spoke, Alaunus pushed her over the edge. The breath caught in Aveta’s throat and her entire body convulsed as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. She was flying, completely out of control.

  Alaunus had no idea how true his words were. It was in these moments that she felt the full strength of her bond to him. Not just the connection, but also his emotions. Knowing how he felt about her made it impossible for Aveta to keep her heart closed to him.

  Alaunus refused to allow her to drift back to earth. He dragged t
he hem of her dress up and over her head. Then she was lying among the lavender, clothed in only sunshine.

  His mouth closed hotly over the tip of her breast, tugging and licking, and Aveta moaned. She trailed her fingers from his chest down to his trousers, sliding beneath the material. Alaunus groaned against her breast as she stroked him.

  He pulled away from her seeking hands. “You make me feel like a boy with his first woman,” he complained, shoving his trousers down.

  Aveta reached out and wrapped her fingers around his length. “Is that so bad?”

  Alaunus laughed, lunging forward so that he stretched over her. She made a soft sound as his bare skin came into contact with hers. She reached between them, guiding his shaft to her entrance. He did not make her wait, merging his body with hers with a slow, single thrust. “Only if you want me to last longer than a few moments.”

  She could not reply. Every time they came together, it overwhelmed her and today was no different. As Aveta gave herself over to the ecstasy his body created within her, Alaunus laced their hands together, pressing them into the fragrant blossoms above her head.

  He moved inside her, and the slide of his body and his scent mingled with the lavender was intoxicating. As he pushed her closer and closer to the crest once again, Aveta wound her arms around his back and her legs around his hips, clinging to him.

  “I love you,” she whispered. “I will love you forever.”

  He kissed her, his own release following on the heels of hers, making him shudder. In that moment, though he didn’t speak the words, Aveta could feel what was in his heart. His love for her was as strong and deep as what she offered him.

  In the heat of wild abandon, she felt it, a tiny spark of life. They had created something wonderful on this glorious afternoon, an everyday magic that men and women had been making for centuries. A new life.

  Alaunus lifted his head and propped his weight on his elbows. Still, his weight crushed her deeper into the soft pile of blossoms beneath them, but she cared little. She loved him even more in that moment as he cradled her head in one hand.