Page 67 of Bound By Blood

“What is this?” Drayton gasped. “What are you doing?”

Landon cocked his head to the side as he stalked forward. “I’m protecting what’s mine,” he stated simply as he knelt in front of his father. “And Carly is mine.”

Before his father could respond, Landon gripped the sides of his head and twisted until it popped off the spinal cord with a sickening snap. Blood splattered down his front, drenching his dirty shirt and jeans, and Landon just tossed his father’s head unceremoniously. He didn’t feel an ounce of sadness for his father at all. His sole focus was Carly, who hadn’t moved from the bed.

Loxton had taken out the guards easily. Some pacifist he was. Their bodies lay headless on the carpet around the room, and there wasn’t a scratch on the elder at all.

Knowing that the threat was taken care of, Landon rushed to the bed and grabbed Carly, flipping her over. Her eyes were squeezed shut comically, filling him with relief.

“Carly, are you okay?” he asked instantly.

“Can I stop playing dead now?”

Despite her joke, her voice was weak and shaky. Landon’s eyes searched her for wounds that he possibly could have missed. “Did I hurt you or the baby? Are you guys okay?” he continued quickly. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Carly. I didn’t mean anything I said, I swear. I just had to make him believe it enough to let his guard down.”

He couldn’t stop the words spewing from his mouth. He was so worried that he had hurt her or their baby that he couldn’t think straight. It didn’t help that she had yet to give him an actual answer. Loxton stood off to the side by the window, watching the two of them with rapt interest as he wiped the blood from his hands with a handkerchief.

“Yes, Landon. I’m okay,” she muttered. “A little woozy, but it’s nothing.” All of a sudden, her eyes widened as she met his gaze. “Did you say ‘baby’?”

Relief flooded his system, and instead of responding to her, Landon pulled Carly into his arms and held her tightly against his chest. He couldn’t even begin to put what he was feeling into words at that moment. His father was gone, he and Carly were no longer in danger and were free to live out the rest of their immortal lives however they wanted to. The two of them and their baby.

Landon knew that he was also required by vampire law to take his father’s place as the coven leader, but he didn’t care. He’d had a lot of time to think when he had been locked inside the cell, so he had a few ideas. But that was a problem for another day. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was hold onto Carly. It didn’t matter that they had all of eternity to do so. To him, that still wasn’t going to be long enough.

Chapter 26

Carly Harris

Carly pulled up to the house and parked the car by the curb. It was a bright and sunny day in Gravesdale. The blackbirds flitted from tree to tree, and the brown squirrels chased each other across the road, weaving and bobbing as they raced to the other side.

She bent a little so she could stare at the house better, a house that was her home. It looked exactly the same, yet it felt so different. The same because nothing had changed – and different because everything had changed. At least, it had with Carly, and soon, with Lily. Lily just didn’t know it yet.

The only thing that Lily knew was that Carly was back in town. They had texted over the last few days, but Carly had been so busy with Landon’s takeover and her endless duties by his side that she hadn’t been able to sneak away and have this vital talk with her best friend. She had asked Lily to take the morning off so that they could have it. She was going to tell her everything. Well, almost everything. She’d leave out all the blood and death that had occurred since she met Landon.

Carly released a shaky breath through loose lips. Today, she would pack her things to officially move in with Landon. Today, she would say goodbye to her old life, and today, she was to say goodbye to Lily. It wasn’t like they’d never see each other again, but it sort of felt that way in that moment. They’d still be best friends; they’d still go to the bar with the others, but she wouldn’t be having cereal at the table anymore, and she wouldn’t be sitting on the couch, watching movies late at night with her either.

Because she was so nervous about this conversation, Carly had asked Landon to come with her, but Landon gently turned her down. “This is an important moment with her. Having me there will make it seem like you’re leaving her for me,” he had said. And eventually, she agreed because he was right. She didn’t want Lily to think that way. It just sucked that she had to do this alone, but Lily also deserved it, deserved the truth and only the truth, directly from Carly’s mouth. She just hadn’t figured out how she was going to word everything yet.

There were three things she had to talk to Lily about today. 1) That she was moving in with Landon. 2) That she was immortal and that he was a vampire. And 3) Surprise, she was pregnant with a baby, and they had no idea whether it would be a vampire or an immortal, or just plain human.

Carly knew that Lily would have questions, and truth be told, Carly had plenty of questions herself. She just hoped that Lily would be satisfied with what Carly could answer rather than focusing on what questions she couldn’t.

Blowing out another breath, Carly turned off the engine. “You can do this,” she muttered to herself before grasping the door handle and shoving the car’s door open. The car was brand new and in her favorite shade of purple. Landon had bought it for her the day after his father’s death. Carly had protested, but he wanted her to have a reliable car, and she couldn’t necessarily argue with that. He was just trying to take care of her and the baby.

She could already tell he was going to be a good dad, just by that gesture alone.

Whenever they could sneak it in during all the events of the last few days, all the chaos, they’d spent time together either fucking or cuddling with his hand splayed protectively over her lower abdomen. They’d talked and dreamed about what their child would be like, and they discussed how they wanted to parent him or her. Landon was already setting up a spare bedroom for the baby at his penthouse.

Their penthouse.

It still felt strange to her, calling it theirs. Even though she was still giddy that they were finally together and that nothing was standing in their way anymore, it hadn’t all caught up to her yet. She didn’t know when that would happen, but she knew, eventually, she’d get used to it.

Carly strode up to the house, wringing her hands in front of her. She stood in front of the door, took a few deep breaths, and then pushed the door open. Familiar scents hit her and she sucked it in, basked in the comfort of it.

“Lily?” she called, shutting the door behind her. All the lights were on, so Carly couldn’t exactly pinpoint where she was, but she knew she was there. Lily promised she would be.

“In here,” Lily said from the kitchen.

Carly nodded her head to herself, convincing herself to grow a backbone, and licked her lips as she made her way across the living room to the kitchen. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. Nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she couldn’t seem to tame them.