Bound Read online

plane and the human plane are parallel. I wonder if there’s another me

  on the human plane. I bet I’m getting an enormous amount of tail

  there.”

  “Hush,” Rhys said. “It’s starting.”

  Meg leaned forward and watched as a line of men walked out

  from the far side of the arena. A masculine voice boomed loudly,

  announcing each as they walked through. It was easy to tell the Fae

  males from the vampires. The Fae wore only pants and boots. Their

  chests were bare, and their long hair was pulled back and knotted

  behind their heads. The vampires wore long sleeves and gloves on

  their hands. They wore sunglasses like Dante’s, and their shirts came

  with a hood covering their heads.

  “We burn easily,” Dante said when she asked about it. “Our skin

  is very delicate. The sun on our plane isn’t as strong as the others. We

  don’t have a lot of ultraviolet light. Dellacorp is currently working on

  a cream that will protect the skin.”

  “Yes, it’s called sunscreen.” Meg felt a strange sense of pride.

  Score one for the humans. “We piddling humans came up with it long ago.”

  “Seriously? You don’t happen to have any of that on you? I could

  make a killing with that.” Dante’s business sense was quickly shelved

  as a vampire walked into the arena. Dante stood up and went to the

  railing, his sunglasses flowing as he moved into the light. “Well, if it

  isn’t Kinsey Palgrave, you stupid ass. You suck, Palgrave! And your

  profits were down ten percent last quarter! Yeah, everyone saw it, you

  pathetic chump. Your stock’s going to take a nosedive.”

  The other vampire shot Dante the bird and bared his fangs. “Why

  don’t you get down here, Dellacourt? Or do you need your sister’s

  permission?”

  Meg could hear the “eat shit” smile on Dante’s face. “My sister

  would never allow me to fight in this tournament.”

  The big vampire, who looked like he might be taking steroids,

  laughed. So did all his friends. They seemed to be having a laugh at

  40

  Sophie Oak

  Dante’s expense. “Big sister doesn’t want baby brother to get a boo-

  boo?”

  “Big sister knows it’s stupid to fight the warrior half of symbiotic

  twins.” Dante’s face twisted into a sweet little smirk. “Besides, I

  would never fight my cousin.”

  It seemed to Meg like the entire arena suddenly fell silent. The

  vampire named Palgrave went even paler than before as he stared up

  at his rival.

  “Beckett Finn is here?”

  Dante pointed at the back of the arena, and Meg saw that Beck

  was just walking in. He didn’t really walk. He strode. There was

  confidence in his easy gait as he strode into the arena. The rest of the

  males had sunk into the sand, but Beck seemed to almost glide above

  it. He was graceful. He was a shark, and suddenly everyone else

  looked a little like guppies.

  “They’re scared of him,” Meg breathed, sensing the anticipation

  in the crowd. The minute Beck stepped out, the crowd fell silent and

  the whispering began. Every eye in the arena was on the big, dark-

  haired man with the stormy gray eyes.

  “He is a bad ass.” Dante sat back down. He opened his jacket and

  pulled out what looked like an iPad. He pushed the screen a few times

  and then touched his ear. Meg hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a

  small device in his ear. “Yeah, give me my sister. Hey, Susie, you

  gotta dump all the stock we have with the Palgrave funds. No, I am

  not out drinking. Listen to me. Kinsey Palgrave is about to fight Beck.

  Yes, that’s what I said. Even if Beck lets him live, he’ll be out of

  commission for weeks. His even dumber brother will be acting CEO.

  Dump it now before the price goes down. You’re welcome.” He

  smiled smugly at Meg. “That will teach them to call me a screwup.”

  “How many does he have to fight?” It was starting to sink in that

  this was really happening. These men would fight. The one who was

  left standing would expect her to go home with him. She would be his

  slave.

  Bound

  41

  “Stop panicking,” Dante said, leaning back negligently. “It is all

  going to be fine. You’ll love Beck, and you’ll be crazy about Cian.

  No woman can resist Cian when he’s on his game. They’ll treat you

  like a princess. This is going to be a piece of cake for him. There’s

  only twenty-five, no, there they go…fifteen to fight. Wow, they must

  be desperate. I was sure we’d get it down under ten.”

  A group of men shook their heads in disgust or fear and walked

  out of the arena.

  “They don’t want to fight the great Beckett Finn,” Rhys said with

  no small amount of pride. “He’s a legend across the planes. The

  vampires will stay because of pride. If the word got out that they paid

  for an entry and then wasted the money by walking away, they would

  bring their families shame.”

  Dante nodded, agreeing with the gnome. “Vamps are damn

  serious about corporate funds. The Fae can walk away because there’s

  no shame in surrendering to the King.”

  “King?” She’d heard Beck referred to that way, but now it seemed

  serious.

  Dante’s arrogance was gone, and in its place was an earnestness

  that made him almost angelically attractive. “Yes, Beckett Finn is the

  rightful King of the Seelie Fae. A pretender sits on his throne and has

  since Beck was seventeen years old. Beck lost his mother, father,

  sister, home, and kingdom all in one day. He has been on the run ever

  since. He has been forced to live as a peasant, barely getting by. He

  sells his sword to put food on the table. All he has in the world is his

  brother.” Dante sat forward. He placed his hand on hers. It was

  slightly cool to the touch. “You can change that for him. You can

  make his life worth living. I love my cousin. He’s more like a brother

  to me. If Cian makes a comeback, it is entirely possible I can get my

  sister to back them financially. Once the money starts flowing, Beck’s

  loyalists will come back.”

  42

  Sophie Oak

  Meg sighed. She knew there had been more to this than simple

  lust-at-first-sight. He had ambitions, and she figured into them. “He

  wants to take back his throne?”

  “Yes,” Dante replied, as though it should have been blatantly

  obvious. “He wants to overthrow his murdering uncle. I know that

  you intend to run at the first opportunity. Don’t try to deny it. I would

  do the same thing in your place, but I’m asking you to give him a

  chance. Is there anything you could do on your home plane as

  important as freeing an entire population from tyranny?”

  Well, put like that, getting back so her TiVo didn’t fill up seemed

  a little silly. The store where she worked wouldn’t be a problem.

  When she didn’t show up, the district manager would just fire her and

  put another in her place. She’d been told on more than one occasion

  that she was a dime a dozen. There were overeducated morons
r />   everywhere who needed a job. Her parents had divorced years before

  and started new families. It would be months before they even

  realized she was gone.

  She could feel her face setting in stubborn lines. She hadn’t asked

  to be brought here. Just because her life was a little dull didn’t mean it was inconsequential. She had friends. Well, she’d had Michael’s

  friends, and they had all taken his side in the divorce, but she intended

  to make friends one day. She couldn’t do that if she didn’t get home.

  Cara’s small hand patting her in a comforting way didn’t count as

  friendship. The little gnome was her jailer.

  No, no matter what that vampire said, she was leaving as soon as

  she could.

  A loud horn sounded, and the crowd leaned forward expectantly.

  The battle was beginning. Meg’s breath caught as she saw Beck look

  for her. Their eyes met, and he bowed formally to her.

  Yes, she would leave. Even though he made her heart pound, she

  couldn’t stay. Could she?

  Bound

  43

  Chapter Four

  Beck watched Meg in the stands. It would be difficult, but he had

  to keep a firm grip on his emotions during this fight. Everyone

  thought Cian was the only one feeling the lack of a bondmate, but

  Beck had felt his hold on his temper slowly dissolving over the last

  few years. He felt his rage build after a fight rather than dissipate. He

  had become brutal when he didn’t need to be.

  Just weeks ago, he had been hired to clean out a group of bandits

  plaguing the road to the marketplace. When he’d been surrounded by

  them, he’d gone a little crazy. He killed all thirty, and only just held

  off killing the females who had been travelling with them. His rages

  were getting worse. He wouldn’t be able to cover them for much

  longer. If they were forced to try to put him down, many people he

  cared about would die.

  Cian might fade from existence like a candle being slowly snuffed

  out, but Beck feared he would go out in a blaze of blood and death.

  Dante was under strict instructions to use vampire technology to kill

  him if necessary, but he doubted his cousin would be able to do it.

  Meg was the answer to all his problems. He bowed formally to the

  woman he intended to wed. At least she wasn’t trying to run, yet. He

  would have to deal with that eventually. He’d felt a small piece of her

  soul when he’d made her come before. He knew she was a stubborn

  girl. She was also a lonely girl. He didn’t need to see into her soul for

  that. She was lonely and scared. Beck wondered what she had left

  behind on the Earth plane. Had she left behind a husband, or worse,

  children? She was of an age to be a mother. His conscience hurt at the

  thought of leaving a baby without a mother, but there was nothing he

  44

  Sophie Oak

  could do about it. She would learn that there was no way back to her

  plane. Only a Planeswalker could take her, and she wouldn’t like the

  cost of the trip.

  Beck felt the sand beneath his feet. He’d trained in an arena like

  this one back when he’d had loyalists who thought they could get him

  on the throne. He knew well how to fight here. The vampires were

  struggling, though. It wouldn’t take them long to adjust. Beck didn’t

  underestimate the vampires. They might seem soft because their true

  passion was business, but they were fierce predators. When the fight

  began, they would be in touch with their primal natures.

  “Your Highness,” a young Fae said, not quite meeting his eyes as

  he walked past.

  He was the first of ten men who walked past him. Beck could feel

  their disappointment. They had paid their money and laid their hopes

  on the line, too. Beck tried not to feel guilty. He had to do whatever it

  took to save his brother.

  “Bastard,” one of the vampires spit as he walked up to Beck. His

  fangs were out, a sure sign of his rage. “Don’t even try to pull that shit on me, Finn. You aren’t a late entrant. Those fucking gnomes kept

  you out of sight until it was too late. None of us would even have

  tried, knowing you were going to be here.”

  Beck was very still, though his eyes watched every move the

  vampire made. He looked vaguely familiar, but then, vamps often

  looked the same to Beck. “I paid my money like the rest of you. I

  wasn’t responsible for the list of competitors.”

  The vampire sneered, and now he had others backing him up. The

  sidhe had all left, but the vampires were standing against him. “Right.

  You don’t have any sway with the gnomes.” His voice was filled with

  sarcasm. “They still see you as their king. Are you taking a cut?”

  Beck’s eyes narrowed. A few of the smarter vampires took a step

  back. “I just want the girl. I’m not getting anything out of this except

  the girl.”

  Bound

  45

  He tamped down his rage with ruthless precision. He thought

  about Meg sitting in the stands watching. He’d have given years off

  his life for her not to watch him. He didn’t want her scared of him.

  “We’ll see about that.” The vampire’s fangs were already long in

  his mouth as the referee entered. The vamps retreated. They talked

  amongst themselves as the gnome needlessly explained the rules.

  Everyone knew them. No technology was allowed. Ancient

  weapons were the only ones allowed. The vampires were able to use

  their fangs and claws. If Cian had been here, Beck would have been

  allowed to use their psychic connection. Other than that, there were

  very few rules. Mercy must be given if asked for. If a combatant

  requested quarter, the warrior fighting him must give it. The fallen

  fighter would leave, and the battle would resume. If no quarter was

  asked, then death was an acceptable outcome.

  Beck felt the weapon in his hand. It was his sword, once his

  father’s. He had managed to save it as he fled Tir na nÒg. He had

  heard that his uncle mourned its loss. It was the traditional weapon of

  the Seelie King. No amount of money or power could replace what it

  meant to their culture. Some said that as long as Beckett Finn still

  carried the sword, there was hope. Beck wasn’t sure about that. A

  large part of him simply wanted to live out his life in some form of

  comfort. The idea of being king was a vague dream. Now he only

  wanted to save his brother and find a stable life. Winning Meggie was

  the first step.

  There was a roar in the crowd as the referee held up a small black

  flag. A battle horn sounded, and the tournament began.

  There wasn’t a burst of fighting. Beck knew that the vampires had

  used their time well. The vampires stalked him, attempting to distract

  him while some worked their way around to his back. Beck sighed.

  They intended to surround him. They would work together to take

  him out, and then they would fight each other.

  They didn’t understand a thing. He very much preferred it this

  way. Chaos was his enemy. If he knew they were all coming after

  46

  Sophie Oak
>
  him, he knew exactly who to kill—every blasted one of them.

  Adrenaline began to course through his body like an old familiar drug

  in his system. Beck held his sword calmly at his side, patiently

  waiting for them to get into position.

  “Fucking idiots! He loves the pack rotation” Beck heard his

  cousin shouting. It shouldn’t have surprised him that even in a crowd

  of peasants watching a fight, Dante stood out as obnoxious.

  It was a technical term for this type of fight. The vampires were

  circling him like a pack of wolves. Beck was particularly talented

  when it came to defending against a pack rotation, but Dante didn’t

  need to point that out.

  Beck shot the vampire a look. Dante was standing at the edge of

  the railing. Meg was standing right beside him, her face sheet-white

  as she watched the men surrounding him. She felt the connection, he

  realized. Beck had expected the connection. He had opened himself to

  it, but if Meg had felt it, too, it must be strong. Something warm filled

  Beck at the thought of it. It was the only explanation for why she was

  standing there, looking like her world was about to fall apart. She

  knew they belonged together. She might not be willing to admit it,

  even to herself, but the bond was already being formed.

  And then Beck sensed something coming at him, fast. He had a

  bare second before the vampire was on him. Beck leaned down, trying

  to time it perfectly and get just the right angle. The vampire hit his

  back. Beck shoved up with everything he had. It sent the vamp flying

  through the air, knocking down a rival on the other side of the circle.

  Beck was immediately back on his feet, anticipating the attack from

  the other side.

  Vampires were fast. They talked fast, and moved even faster when

  they needed to. When fighting a vampire, Beck knew it was more

  important to rely on his fighting instincts than his eyes. Sometimes a

  vamp could move faster than the eye could track. It came down to

  anticipating the next move. Vampires were immensely logical

  creatures. They trained and tended to do everything by the book. It

  Bound

  47

  was why Dante had trouble fitting in. Dante thought more creatively.

  In this case, the vampires’ slavish devotion to the method came in