Read Online Blood Lust by Zoe Winters - Free Book Online Page B

You couldn’t even trust your own senses. I sent you the dreams.”
    She knew Simon and Jaden had tried to be subtle about their love affair while Greta was growing up. But they hadn’t been subtle enough. She’d grown up thinking of him as her step dad.
    If Jaden had once slept with Dayne to lure him into a trap set by Simon and the tribe, she could see where he might never let that drop. Even if it had been his idea. She’d been born soon enough after; she’d become the new plan. She didn’t have to ask if Simon had killed her real mother.
    “If you do this, it’ll make you insane. We can’t wield magic like they can. What’s the point of having power if you lose your mind?” Greta said.
    “Maybe. Maybe I’m already there. Slowly draining the blood out of my daughter doesn’t sound like rational behavior to me, does it you?”
    She looked stricken. “You can’t be my father.” An image of Darth Vader burst into her head. At any other time, it would have been funny.
    “I’d submit to a DNA test, but I’m sure you can appreciate the time crunch I’m on. Jaden couldn’t reproduce, and I wanted an heir. I figured it was tit for tat as these things go anyway. I wanted a boy, but you more than made up for it.”
    “I don’t believe you.”
    “No? Then how would I know the circumstances of your birth?”
    “I’ll tell the rest of the tribe what you’re doing. They won’t participate in this stupid vendetta against Dayne.”
    Simon sighed and shook his head in fatherly disapproval. “You should feel privileged to give your life to make the tribe strong. Now be a good kitty, and open up.”
    He reached through the bars to shove a gag into her mouth, snapping the leather straps closed behind her head. He stepped back to admire his handiwork.
    “Now only we know our secret.” Simon held an index finger up to his lips and smiled.
    “Mmhmhmpphr.” Greta’s scream was muffled behind the gag. She struggled against the ropes.
    “It’s time.”
    Simon picked up the handle attached to the base and rolled the cage to the door. The wheels squeaked under her. One was uneven, and she lost her equilibrium as he increased the pace. She knew he felt the moon rising.
    Greta no longer could. Suddenly, losing the feel of the moon was all she could think about. The way her skin always felt warm when the moon rose, as if it were sunlight.
    The fluorescent lights blinked on and off as the cage bumped down the nondescript hallways until finally they reached a door with a red exit sign over it. The sign flickered with a little electric buzz, and Greta realized it was Simon. Power already rolled off him, competing with the electricity for dominance.
    Behind the warehouse was an open field surrounded by trees. In the middle of the clearing a large ritual circle had been formed with wooden logs. The small tribe stood reverently outside the circle, wearing identical long black cloaks. Beneath the cloaks, Greta knew they were all naked. This was what they wore when they shifted together.
    The tribe was just twelve members strong now. In the glory days, it had been well over thirty. Jaden wasn’t among them.
    A crude concrete slab stood in the center of the circle. It had been built for the occasion with large steel chains bolted into it. Simon rolled the cage to just outside the circle and produced a key from his pocket.
    Another therian appeared out of the darkness to help. As if Greta could fight one of them with only human strength. How could humans stand to be so weak?
    She struggled against them as they half dragged, half carried her to the stone slab, so much like the one in her dream. Except, she’d dreamed of the wrong executioner. She tried screaming again. Simon was a lost cause, but maybe the other therian.
    His name was Benjamin. She’d grown up with him; they’d played together. He wouldn’t do this to her. Surely, he had to see this was wrong. The gods didn’t deserve worship if they wanted this. Her eyes