"Blood Bound"

Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved

**Edited By LadyDawn

Chapter 33, Part 2

Leo glanced down at his watch. It was 9:30 and he'd endured about as much as he could take for one evening. This farce of a so called dinner was beginning to grate on his last nerve. He was beyond ready to get this show on the road so he could hold his Shelby in his arms again.

Faking a wide mouthed yawn, he started to stand and turned so that he was staring directly at his mother. "It's getting late," he told her stiffly. It took every fiber of his being to stare at the woman that gave him his very life in the eye and remain cordial when the beast inside of him was demanding her blood for the threat she posed to his new family.

He stepped back from the table and a servant scurried to his side with his coat, ready to push his chair in. "I'm feeling a little on the exhausted side myself. I think I'm going to call it a night."

Isabella forced a smile and gave him a slight nod of the head. "You look tired, son. Taking on a new bride of that human's ilk has obviously done quite a number on you. Why don't you leave her in the Lucidio rooms for the night and head to your own room for a good night's rest? I'll stop by and check in on her before I go to my own rooms for the night."

It was on the tip of his tongue to bar her from going anywhere near his Shelby, but he knew that he had to bide his time until it was right. Out the corner of his eye he saw Alexander standing up, murmuring to Marko what he assumed was an excuse for him to leave the dinner table as well. According to their plan, Victor would be next to leave the table.

Little did his mother know that instead of his newly turned sleeping bride that it would be Alex and Victor waiting in the Lucidio rooms for both her and Ric's arrival? When they walked into those rooms they would undoubtedly be in for quite a surprise to see that Shelby was in fact not there. Since they were part of Leo's family, Alex was under instruction to hold them there until he had finished dealing with Tatiana. It was his responsibility to deliver justice and Leo was determined to do just that.

The Council guards had already been instructed to take custody of Marko the moment that Isabella left the room. He would be held in a confinement cell so that they could make an example of him, showing the night world that the Council would act swiftly in its punishment to any rebel that decided to stand against them.

Alex was careful to assure him the vampire would die and it wouldn't be an easy death by no means. For now, that would be enough. It had to be.

Knowing that Marko was being competently handled, that only left his Tatiana, his mother and Ric. Leo had already decided that he would be the one to end his mother's treasonous life in the Lucidio rooms. He couldn't leave it to chance that she would go after his bride or his son again. He would make her death swift out of respect of which the woman was, the same person that gave him his very life- but that was all he could afford her. Anything less was left to chance and chance wasn't something that he wanted to deal with when it came to the two people that mattered most to him.

Now Ric on the other hand, that was a different story entirely. He had been tenured as a servant to his family for years. Leo had grown up with him, thinking of the vampire as more of a friend than a servant. Ric knew how much Shelby meant to him and has known for years. He was there every time Leo watched Shelby, making sure that she stayed safe until that fateful day.

It was his betrayal that hurt most because he alone knew exactly how deep Leo's feelings ran for the blond haired beauty that carried his blood in her veins. He would pay dearly, he told himself. He would make damn sure that he paid for ever even thinking about harming a single hair on his precious Shelby's head.

Leo would have his vengeance tonight, one way or the other, this threat would end here- and it would now. There was no other viable option.

Shrugging his coat over his shoulders, Leo quickly exited the dining hall. His strides were long as he made his way down the narrow hallway that led him back to the room he was supposed to be staying in. The draft that blew across the small space felt cool against his heated skin. The path he took was ironically enough dimly lit by ancient sconces giving off candle light. The Council got a real kick out of designing this house according to Hollywood's ideals.

As a kid, Leo loved running through these halls, pretending to be the renowned Count Dracula. Tonight, those easy times was the last thing on his mind. He had no compunction to pretend tonight. Tonight he would be the cold hearted ruthless killer that the humans branded his kind to be. Tonight he would kill and he would enjoy every minute of it.

Leo stopped in front of his door. Tatiana was supposed to be on the other side of this door; the same Tatiana that his mother wanted him to wed. There was no way in hell that was happening. That woman didn't hold a candle to his Shelby- hell she didn't even hold a match light.

He thought about opening the door and decided that wasn't his style. He just wanted this night over with. Taking to the form of mist he evaporated and quickly reappeared inside of the room just outside of the alcove that held his bed. He assumed that was where Tatiana would be waiting for him.

Leo remembered the plan that Alex had explained to him in such detail. The same plan concocted by members of his own family and people that he once considered dear friends. They wanted to take away everything that he held dear- they wanted to take away his heart... his soul.

No! Leo wouldn't let it happen. He would die before he let his bride or his son come into harms way. His fangs began to lengthen in his mouth and he felt his anger start to take control. This time he didn't try to hold back, he let the anger seep inside what little heart he had and feed the beast. His eyes narrowed into slits and the desire for blood started to consume him.

Standing at the entry to the alcove Leo couldn't hold back any longer. The beast raged inside of him. With a loud roar, he stormed into the room hands raised above his head, ready to do battle. Reaching the edge of the bed he sliced his talon like finger nails downwards and across the bed with both hands, shredding the sheets to mere scraps. All he could think about was the moment that Tatiana thought she could break his bond with Shelby was the moment that she signed her own death sentence and he was the executioner.

Fisting his hands, he pounded the bed ruthlessly, determined that the wench would die by his hands. He pounded again and again and again until the bed frame cracked and splintered, bringing the entire king sized bed crashing to the floor.

For a moment everything just stopped. Standing there, Leo's chest rapidly rose up and down from the chaotic exertion. He stared sightlessly at the bed and it took him several minutes to realize that it was just a broken bed- nothing else was there.

No Tatiana- nothing.

He bared his teeth, ready to scream his rage when Leo heard the slightest sound at the window behind him. He snapped his head to the side and froze.

"I told them that you wouldn't be that stupid," Tatiana said to him softly. "I knew their idiotic plan was too simple for someone as smart as you. That's why I had my own backup plan. But this isn't the last you'll see of me, my dear sweet Leo. We still have some unfinished business. Our time will come though, love. You'll see soon enough. " She offered him a wicked grin. "Until then I bid you adieu."

A bright flash of light illuminated the room with a stark golden color, temporarily blinding Leo. By the time the glow was gone and his vision readjusted, Tatiana was gone. He put a feeler out on her aurora and received nothing as to where she went. There wasn't a trace of her presence anywhere.

"No!" Leo ran to the window. He could still smell her rose water perfume but that was it. She was well and truly gone and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. He had too much riding on this for anything to go wrong. His heart, his unborn child... the future ... It all depended on his ability to keep his family safe.

Opening up his eyes, he glanced back at the window and hissed. As long as Tatiana breathed the threat was still there. He didn't want to live with that kind of threat dangling over their heads.

Leo was itching for the chance to rip Tatiana's heart out of her chest with his bare hands, but right now, he had more pressing matters to deal with- namely Ric and his mother. Once they were taken care of then he would just have to go hunting because there was no way in hell he would allow that female to roam the earth and pose that kind of threat to the ones he cared about most.

Forcing himself to back away from the window, Leo left the room. There was nothing left for him in there and he needed to get his ass down to the Lucidio Rooms. It only took him seconds to cross the Council House and arrive at his destination. This time he didn't hesitate when he walked into the set of rooms, he slammed his palm on the front of the door and sent it flying backwards, dangling off the hinges.

"Where are they?" he breathed out roughly through his fangs. Alex and Victor both stood in front of him, their faces a mask of confusion.

"You mean you didn't see them?" Alex stepped forward and asked.

"No, I haven't seen them. They were supposed to be here with you," he barked. He could feel the beast pacing back and forth inside of him. Ric and his mother were supposed to be here in this room. That's the way the witch envisioned it. If they weren't here then where the hell were they?

Alex placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Something is wrong; I can feel it in the house. What about you, can you feel it?" He looked over at Victor whose eyes had glazed over and paused. They typically looked like that when he was using his thoughts to communicate with someone.

Leo's frustrations were beginning to get the best of him.  "What do you mean you can feel it? Feel what, Alex? Talk to me here because I have zero patience left. Where are my mother and Ric?"

Victor held is hand up to silence Leo. The tension in the air was so thick that you could almost feel it like a heavy weight bearing down on you. Leo's eyes burned bright red as he glared at Victor. He didn't have time for this. He needed a resolution and sitting around her wasn't getting anything done.

Victor blinked and his eyes came into focus. He ignored Leo and faced Alex. "We have a problem," he clipped.

"What is it?"

"Marko has disappeared. When we left, security made their move and he just vanished into mist. No one can get a bead on him."

Alex's face paled and his grew to the size of the saucer as the information sank in. "But, how? How is that even possible? You can't just vanish inside the Council house. It's protected. And what about his Council ring? Can't they use that to put a tracer on him?"

Victor was already shaking his head. "They found his ring left behind on the dining room chair. He left it behind but it's strange they still couldn't sense him. We can usually track each other unless they have some sort of protection."

"That is odd. And you sure that security said they can't sense him at all?"

"Positive. But that's not all." Victor turned his attention to Leo. "They found the servant you refer to as Ric."

Leo was still stunned about the news of Marko. He was trying to understand what all this was going to mean to his Shelby. "Where is he?" he asked mechanically.

"He's dead," Marko said flatly. "And it's a messy death. The only way that he was identified was by the Risso pendent he wore around his neck. Security said it looked like the work of shifters."

"Dead?" Leo was long past his limit. First Tatiana escapes with no trace at all, then Marko is said to be gone too which was virtually impossible and now he was being told that the only retribution he had left had been taken from him?

"What is going on here? We are in the Council's house. It's supposed to be safe." He roared and then turned to Alex, staring at him accusingly. "You said that your witch saw this evening, knew how it was going to go down. You took my Shelby away from me, away from my protection, so that we could end this thing tonight." He jerked his arm out wide. "Now, Marko is out there, only the devil himself knows where...Tatiana is missing-"

"You mean she wasn't in your room?"

"No, she was in my room alright but she was ready for me," Leo spat out. "Somehow I think she knew that I was prepared for the blood root. She vanished too, just like Marko. There was no aura for me trace either."

Alex interrupted them. "That doesn't explain your mother. Where is she? She should have been here by now."

"Your right," Victor agreed. "Unless she went to find Ric first..."

Leo didn't wait for Victor to finish his statement. He spun on his heel and ran out the door. His mother's death was already a certainty but it was to be by his hands and his hands only. If she disappeared the same way that Tatiana and Marko had then he wasn't sure what he was going to do. He didn't even want to think about all the possibilities that could happen.

An hour later and after traversing the entire second and third floors Leo was at his wits end. His mother was obviously gone too. Even with the help of the most powerful coven in the world they hadn't been able to eliminate the threat to his love or to his son. His mother was bound and determined that his bride would die and his son would never come to fruition. She wanted him paired up with Tatiana to lead the rebellion against the humans and Leo was just as determined that they would never happen.

He came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and leaned his back against the wall. His eyes shuttered closed as he recalled an image of Shelby from their honeymoon as she lay out completely naked on the beach sands. She was smiling at him, her eyes darkened with desire. Since he couldn't sense Shelby's aura he felt so bereft and empty without her. He dug his nails into his palms. He would do anything right now just to be able to hold Shelby in his arms. He wanted her close to him so he could breathe in her heavenly scent. He wanted to be able to feel her perfectly rounded curves pressed intimately up against him....

"Leo, I think you need to come to the kitchen," Alex called out.

Leo pushed himself off of the wall and saw Alex disappear into the dining room. He frowned and decided to follow him. Walking through the dining room he noticed the servants as they carefully averted their gazes from him.

Already irritated, he kept walking until he entered the kitchen. Again, he froze at the sight in front of him. It seemed as if this night was just full or surprises.

Hanging from a noose that was tied to the rafter above the stove was his mother. Her eyes had been gouged out of their sockets and her body decimated. Her heart was cut out too which was the ultimate cause of her death.

"Shifters," he muttered unable to even come up a tiny morsel of sympathy. The woman that swung from the rafter was the same one that gave him his very life but right now he couldn't even conjure up a tear of regret for her death.

"More than likely," Alex said quietly from beside of him. "Smells like hyena's."

Leo grunted. "Marko and Tatiana are working with shifters," he commented.

"Yes," Alex agreed. "And something else with magical ability. "Clara will be here shortly with your bride. She wants to use the coven to hide the two of you until your son is born."

"I've never hidden from anyone, Alex.," he all but growled. "I'm not about to start now. I will find Marko and Tatiana and hunt down anyone else who thinks that they can harm what belongs to me. I will not hunker in the shadows like a sniveling recreant."

"You don't have a choice, Leo. The Council has made the decision for you. You and your bride are going under the Clara's coven's protection until the birth of your son. He is too important to our future for you to let your improprieties get in the way."

Leo's face burned with unfettered anger, his eyes started to glow an eerie dark red color. "I'm a Risso, God Damn it! Risso's aren't cowards- we don't..."

"Leo, what about what I want?"

At the sound of Shelby's voice Leo swung around. She was standing by the door looking straight at him. He remembered his mother's body hanging from the ceiling behind him and wanted nothing more than to get her out of there where she didn't have see it. After everything that his beautiful bride has been forced to endure, the last thing he wanted her to see was this type of death.

"Shelby, sweetheart," he started towards her with his arms held out. His only thoughts were to get her out of this kitchen. "Let's go into the dining room and talk about what it is that you want."

Shelby's face hardened and she held her hand up. "Stop right there, mister. I want to talk about what I want, right now."

Leo wavered. He ached to hold Shelby in his arms but the hard look she was giving him warned him to not even think about it. "Let's be reasonable, sweetheart. We can go into the dining room and ..."

"And what, Leo? You want me to go in there while you tell me all your reasons for not wanting to go into hiding?"

He briefly nodded glad that she was understanding.

"Screw that! I've sat in a chair and watched you for the last few hours. I saw what happened with Tatiana, I know what happened with Marko. I saw Ric's body and now I see your mother's. I know what we are up against and my concern is right here," she told him patting her belly. "Our baby."

He took another cautious step forward and then stopped, suddenly feeling so helpless.  "That's my main concern too, Shelby. Both of you, you and our son."

Shelby took a couple of steps forward so that she was standing in front of Leo. His large body dwarfed hers and she had to look up to see him. "If you care about us, then come. Come with us into hiding. Let the Council handle Marko and Tatiana."

Leo warred with himself. It went against his every instinct to go into hiding. He was a person of action and he wanted to be the one to take out the threat to his Bride.

Shelby stood up on her toes and cradled his stubbled cheek with the palm of her hand. "Please," she begged him, "come with me. Choose us."

It was the way that she looked at him, that was his final undoing. Her eyes bore into his and he swore that she could see him all the way down to the depths of his soul. "Is this what you want, Shelby?"

She opened her mouth to speak and he reached out, pressing his fingers to her lips. "Think before you speak. We may never be able to come out of hiding once we make this decision. We have no idea how long it could take to eliminate all the threats to you and our child."

"It's what I want," she reiterated.  "I will do whatever it takes to protect our child. If it means I'll have to hide in a dark castle for the rest of my life then that's what I'll do- with or without you."

Leo swallowed hard and leaned his head down so that he hovered just above her lips. The strength of this woman simply amazed him. She would go to hell and back to protect their son, how could he deny her anything. "Then I'll be right there with you," he whispered, "holding your hand every step of the way."

She smiled at him. "I love you."

"And I love you, too," he replied, and unable to deny himself any longer he stamped his mouth over hers in a kiss that stole her breath away.