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DOWN THE MEMORY LANE
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2024-12-27 17:33:09Related chapters
Bloodbound Destiny THE WEDDING PROCESSION
It was snowing.That was the first thing that struck me when I stepped out of the huge hall. Snow in springtime was rare. The members of Mystic Rune pack came out of their homes to watch me pass, the emotions of those who met my eyes frigid despite the knowledge all would be feasted in the evening by their Alpha. “Your pack does not seem to favor this union,” I remarked softly to Luna Lyra, who strolled to my left, her mouth drawn in an unsmiling line. “Because they do not know the power you bring,” she continued. They see only an insult to their beloved luna. I’d have rolled my eyes at her vanity except that while the pack members scowled at me, they smiled at Lyra, touching her as she went and offered her praise for her strength. “Andronika !” A familiar voice reached me, and I turned my head to see Eleanor standing between two buildings, a blade clasped in her hands. Her brown hair was sodden, and her freckled cheeks flushed from the cold as she stepped toward
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny INKED IN BLOOD
Tristan’s eyes were on Eleanor, who was splashing away in the mud. “I'll take it back,” he said. “She does not deserve better than your brother.” “What do you know?” I mumbled, without trying to lift my skirts again, for the hems were already stained gray and pouring. “Very little,” he said. “But I’m neither deaf nor blind, so I saw how she spun your sacrifice into a gift from the gods so that she need not feel guilt over it. You are fully rid of her.” He wasn’t entirely wrong, but Tristan’s remarks simply made the hollowness in my core increase. Alone, it was how I felt. As though I confronted a giant army, and all those I’d been so convinced would be at my back had fled. My eyes burned and I blinked rapidly to keep tears from forming, but a few still escaped, mixing with the melting snow sliding down my face as I moved toward the beach. I’d barely gone more than a handful of steps when Tristan’s palm closed on my arm. Eleanor’s cowardice does not diminish
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny THE FEAST
“Andronika!Hands seized my arms. I stared up into Tristan’s scared eyes even as I heard Lyra's cry, “You cursed fool! Do you have any notion of what you might have unleashed?”Tristan ignored her, gaze roaming over my body. “Are you all right?” How could he ask whether I was all right after my chest had been ripped open? The thought evaporated when I stared down at my naked body, my chest whole but for a thin white scar, without a drop of crimson marring my white flesh. Not possible. “I…” Is she marked? Alpha Orion was abruptly by my side, lifting my braids and pawing at me, searching. “Did Freyja claim her?” He grew silent when Tristan held up my left hand. On the rear of it, painted in crimson, was a shield. The detail was unlike anything a mortal artist could have produced, and with each thud of my heart, the blood-forming it pumped. “She has been marked!” Alpha Orion roared. Catching hold of my wrist, he hauled me out of Tristan’s embrace and to my feet, holding my tatto
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS
After the attendants promptly fixed my dress, I was placed at the table on the dais to Alpha Orion’s left, Lyra at his right. The Pack filled the spaces of the many long benches, the tables heaped with trenchers of food and pitchers of mead. The hall itself was decked with garlands. The pack members came to offer us their well-wishes, but for all they spoke good words, the sideways stares they gave me were of mistrust and uncertainty. It was hard to blame them.It felt like something out of Skald's fable, except I’d been raised to honor the gods and search for the signs they left us, so no part of me believed that the seer’s words were untrue. But it doesn't mean I don't have questions. Exactly how was I expected to unite the packs? What had the seer observed me performing that would accomplish such a feat? Yes, I was a child of a god, possessed of magic, but Freyja was a goddess of war. It made sense for someone like Tristan to accomplish the deeds the seer had descri
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny TRISTAN'S ADVICE
He turned away from the redhead. His gaze hooked on my balled-up fists. “Why are you wearing gloves in this heat?” “Because of what lies beneath,” I snapped, sensing the gaze of everyone surrounding us. From their frowns, several looked not to take kindly to Tristan’s statements about his father, but I doubted he cared. “You saw the scars. The tattoos. The gods thought I needed a lesson that actions have consequences but it doesn’t mean I need to stare at the repercussions all night.” Tristan’s gaze lifted from my palms to meet mine. “I thought you had no regrets.” “I don’t.” And I didn’t. He rested his elbows on the table. Then why are you hiding your hand?” I blinked, searching for words because my hand wasn’t what I’d come here to talk about. Because it’s ugly. That’s why. No one wants to look at it, least of all me!” Tristan leaned across the table, mouth next to my ear. Nothing about you is ugly, Andronika, least of all the scars you earned defending your honor a
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny THE BLOOD OATH
Born-in-Fire. “Disrobe.”Clenching my teeth, I started to unfasten my dress, but paused when Lyra yelled out, I can’t do this.Turning, I discovered the Luna of Mystic Rune pack slumped, hands pressed to her face. I thought I was strong enough to see this through,” she muttered.But to have you mark another woman? It’s too much to suffer again. It will break me.” Orion’s gaze softened and he knelt before his mate . My love, you know you possess my heart. This, he gave a backward gesture to me,is a political agreement. My heart and body feel nothing for this woman, but the gods intend for her to be under my power, thus it must be done.” Lyra burst into sobs, and guilt stabbed at my insides. All this time, I’d thought her nothing more than a bitch bent on making my life miserable because she enjoyed it. Not once had I imagined how it may feel to watch your darling mate take another. Orion took her into his arms.There is no choice, Lyra. You know this. Unless this marr
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny CASSIUS ATTACK
Removing the pieces of wood concealing the escape route, I climbed outdoors. It was a dark night, the moon and the stars shrouded by heavy clouds that smelt more of snow, and I leaned against the great hall as I tightened my cloak against the chill. There was little point in dwelling, for the deal was done. Better to focus my mind on learning how I was expected to achieve the results the gods fore saw for me.What were the possibilities that Alpha Orion didn’t keep the individual who’d stated his prized prophecy close? I hadn’t seen Odin’s mark, which I knew was a raven, on anyone at the feast, but that didn’t mean the seer wasn’t elsewhere in the pack. And this might be my only chance to communicate with them without someone lurking over my shoulder. Praying that Orion would take his time with Lyra, I stepped away from the hall. I kept my head low as I marched down the short passage between buildings. Mud squashed beneath my shoes, my nostrils filled with the stench of
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Bloodbound Destiny SAVE ANDRONIKA
I need a weapon in as much as l can shift. Orion leveled a finger at me. You need to stay here with those who can’t fight, where you can be kept safe. But I can fight!” For the first time in my life, I finally had the chance to defend my pack against raiders without hiding my magic and it was being taken from me. For twenty years I hunted you. Orion gripped my arms hard enough that I’d have bruises tomorrow. “I refuse to lose my promised destiny within hours of possessing you.” Possessing. The word made my muscles tighten as though my body itself rejected such a notion, but I said nothing as I watched him pull on a shirt and then a vest of mail before belting on a sword. “Keep her here,” he ordered Lyra, then strode out into the chaos of the great hall. I paced back and forth as Lyra pulled a dress over her naked body, which was a combination of long lines and rich curves that helped explain Orion’s devotion to her, though, in my opinion, even perfect breasts coul
Last Updated : 2024-12-27
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Bloodbound Destiny FIGHTING THE IMMORTAL 2
Well, I’m not one of them.” I peered into his eyes, which mirrored the fire of his axe. His quick breath was hot across my cheeks, his fingers still grasping me hard, my mail-clad breasts touching his chest.“And before you start arguing, allow me to remind you that I don’t give a damn about what you think when what you think is complete nonsense.”Tristan heaved out a laugh.If the gods decide you are not an alpha kingmaker, Born-in-Fire, you should become a skald. People would gather from all around to hear the poetry of your words. Philomela would be out of a job.”My cheeks reddened.You are ridiculous, Tristan .A smirk forced its way onto his face. “Perhaps later. I doubt it was the last we’ve seen of the orcs, and while meeting my end with my lips pushed against your backside would not be the worst death, I don’t think it will earn me a spot in the underworld.”My skin was flaming, but I managed to get out, “I’m sure you wouldn’t be the first backside licker to enter the underw
Bloodbound Destiny FIGHTING THE IMMORTAL 1
Great shuddering shrieks emanating from every direction and none. Voices beyond number, their shouts full of sadness and pain and anger. Drums not of this world took the place of cries, the quick pace accented by sounds of footfalls. Not boots or shoes or even the slam of bare feet, but the scratch of… bones against a stone.And they were growing closer.“Run!” I gasped, but Tristan had already hooked his hand around my wrist, forcing me upward.Terror chased away my fatigue and I took the steps three at a time, shield thumping against my back. The steps ended, and Tristan cut right down a narrow tunnel, taking me with him.Then he slid to a stop.I slammed with him, his chain mail biting into my forehead as my skull rebounded off his shoulder.Stunned, I gazed past him.Part of me wishes I hadn’t.Four skeletal beings rushed toward us, their shapes lit by a peculiar green light. Scraps of leather and armor hung from their emaciated frames, frightening war cries booming out of thei
Bloodbound Destiny TRUTH UNRAVEL
I’d imagined the tunnel would immediately rise in some staircase inside the rock, but what greeted us instead was a path that dug further into the mountain. Gouts of steam hissed from crevices in the floor, forcing us to time each step lest we be scalded. Tristan ’s axe shed a pool of light that reached only a half dozen feet, the darkness seeming to swallow the brilliance of the god-fire.“Do you think she’s spying for Alpha Orion ?” “Of course she is,” Tristan said.She’s the perfect spy, for everyone answers her questions in the hope of a mention in one of her songs. Even if they didn’t, she’s constantly lurking in the corners, watching and listening. You’d do well to heed your words around her.” On that, he could have a point, but…“I feel bad for her.”“Why? She’s given everything.”“There’s something sad about her. I shook my head, unable to provide a rationale for the feeling. Besides, Philomela, and whether or not she was spying for Alpha Orion , was hardly my main concer
Bloodbound Destiny THE BASE
The conversation was impossible as Tristan led me through the woods paths, my attention all for steering my horse, a small bay mare that Alpha Orion had picked for her mild temper, for I was not the most accomplished rider.We did not ride alone. Philomela ran at my horse’s heels, along with one of Alpha Orion ’s men.The king had requested the skald come with us to witness our trial and the warrior to carry the horses back to the main group, retreat was not an option.Given what the skald had told me about how her magic functioned, I didn’t understand why her presence was required, but Alpha Orion refused to accept my plea that the woman remain with the main group.The air grew colder as we climbed, patches of snow clinging to the shadows of the pine trees, the horses’ hooves crunching in the bed of needles and filling my nose with their aroma. Ahead, Hammar loomed.The mountain was truly hammer-shaped, the north, east, and west sides near-vertical cliffs, though Tristan reported
Bloodbound Destiny DIVERSION
Alpha Orion ’s face clouded and, turning his axe head up, he rammed the haft into Cunt’s mouth, gloating as the man choked and gagged, grabbing at his throat until eventually going motionless. No one talked as Alpha Orion straightened. “Ready the horses. We bike through the night to Vanda. Tristan cleared his throat.They cut the lines and scattered the horses. It will take some time to trace them down.” “We don’t have time,” Lyra remarked. “You heard him—every king in the Southern region is coming for her.” “We’ve lost a third of our men,” Tristan remarked. We should return to the Mystic Rune pack. Blood dribbled down Alpha Orion ’s face, and I found myself staring at what seemed like fragments of skull trapped in his beard. “No,” he said. The specter said that if Andronika isn’t able to give sacrifice on the first night of the full moon her thread will be cut short. And if she’s dead, I shall not realize my destiny. How many will die in the endeavor to
Bloodbound Destiny THE ARMED BUSH
The women doled out bowls to everyone, and I sat apart while I ate my food and stewed over my circumstances. When I finished, I laid my bowl down and opened the ointment Lyra had given me.The contents were waxy and smelly, but though the smell was not terrible, I sealed it.“You need to use it because it will help.” I twitched at Tristan ’s voice, having not heard him approach out of the shadowed trees.He sat across the fire from me, picking up a stick and poking pensively at the embers before adding more wood. Then he looked up. “Well? Aren’t you going to put it on?”My fingers were stiff and would be worse come the morning, but for reasons I couldn’t explain, I set aside the jar.And was rewarded with a cry of exasperation from Tristan , who rose and circled the fire. “Give me the poultice.” Deeply aware that all eyes were on us, I handed over the tiny pot, cringing as he removed a large glob, the frugalness in me rejecting the excess.“You aren’t aware of the chests of silver
Bloodbound Destiny FAMILY MATTER
“Careful!” I tensed, frightened that the power might fracture his hand. But with absolute courage, he pushed his palm against the magic. Instead of resisting his touch, my magic allowed Tristan ’s palm to sink into it like water. I felt the moment he touched the pot itself, a soft pressure, whereas, with the blow of his axe, I’d felt nothing. The sensation traveled up my arm and down into my core, as though he touched not magic and metal, but my bare skin, and I shivered.“You get what you give,” he mumbled, then lifted his eyes from the magic to face mine. “Or perhaps more accurately, you give what you get.” The rest of the world slipped away as I considered his remarks, it felt for all the world like he was the first person to ever understand me. Except…that wasn’t quite it.My family understood me. My friends understood me. But there were things about me that they wanted to change, but Tristan appeared to accept the way I was. Seemed to foster the parts of my character that ev
Bloodbound Destiny PERILOUS JOURNEY
The mountain top is a sacred ground.” Tristan’s palm pressed into my ribs to hold me stable. “No weapons are allowed, as all deaths must be in sacrifice to the gods, which means some level of safety within Vanda’s borders.” I didn’t take much comfort in that. “How long will it take us to reach the mountain?” “Tomorrow we’ll reach the village at the base of the mountain, where we’ll leave the horses,” he continued. Then another half day’s climb.” A night out in the open. I swallowed hard.“I think we should ride faster.” By the time dusk arrived, the horses were laboring hard and my body hurt from bouncing up and down for hours on Tristan’s lap. Judging from his groans as he gently dismounted his horse, collapsing on his back in the dirt and shouting at the heavens that he’d lost the ability to sire offspring, he’d not fared much better. Yet it was the first time since we’d left Mystic Rune pack that anyone laughed, so I appreciated the release of tension even i
Bloodbound Destiny THE WARNING
Vanda was the sacred temple on the very summit of the mountain known as Hammar. Every nine years there was a gathering that attracted people from near and far to pay tribute to the gods and offer their sacrifices. I’d never been before, my parents had always declared that it was not a place for children, and this would be the first time it took place since I’d come of age.The great hall was in a bustle of activity, two dozen horses and several pack animals were mounted and loaded when I emerged in dry clothes and a heavy cloak. Lyra was guiding the procedure, the Luna of Mystic Rune pack no longer attired in a costly dress, but in warrior’s gear, including a mail shirt, and a long axe hanging from her belt. I had no question that she knew how to utilize it. Particularly when her opponent’s back was turned.“You will remain with the warriors I’m leaving behind to protect Mystic Rune pack,” Orion remarked to Owen. “You will be alpha in my absence. Send word across my domains call
