Read Online Made By Design (Blood Bound Series Book 2) by J.L. Myers - Free Book Online

“It’s a vision thing. The reactions are getting worse.”
    Ty glanced away from the straightening road and held out his hand, wrist up. “Take my blood.”
    Kendrick snorted and I cringed, blurry vision darting to see that Ty’s driving had slowed. Jumping out of the car wouldn’t cause much damage at this speed.
    I groped for the door handle, but before I could escape, the smell of peppery blood invaded my nose. Unable to think, I snatched the source and pressed my lips to its cool round edge. About half way through I realized I was draining a bottle. Right in front of Ty. I hunched away, increasingly aware of Kendrick’s and Ty’s voices.
    “She still could have drunk from me.” Ty yanked on the steering wheel, rounding a bend sharper than necessary.
    Kendrick snorted a laugh. “Yeah, if you’re into beating down your own girlfriend.”
    Ty punched the clutch and shifted gears. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “That she wouldn’t have been able to stop.” There was a clank from the backseat as the red left my vision and my voice started to return. “And I sure as shit wouldn’t have stepped in to save your pretty-boy ass.”
    “Stop it,” I croaked, blinking away the last of the red. “Please don’t fight. Not about this.”
    Ty smiled at me but kept his hands to himself. “You’re alright now?”
    I nodded, wondering if he was worried about my still extended fangs or if he was trying to keep the peace.
    My brain tingled and Kendrick eased back into his seat. “Wanna tell him what you saw?”
    After reliving my vision through the bond, Kendrick knew what I’d seen. I sighed, glancing away from the thickening fog and snowfall through the windshield to look at Ty. “Caius imprisoned vampires at the cabin.” I shuddered, hearing even now their cries and the rattling chains. “He was experimenting on them too.”
    “Shit!” Ty slammed on the brakes and flung his arm across my chest as the car screeched to a skidding halt. Snow fell even harder than a minute ago, the wipers flinging back and forth at full speed.
    I squinted through the shield of white. Something was blocking the car. It was wide enough and long enough to cut off the entire one-lane road. “Is that a tree?”
    I lifted my hood as we all exited the car. The air was chilling, the thick forestry bordering the narrow winding road showing no evidence of its lush foliage. Instead it was a frosted white expanse that was deathly quiet.
    Kendrick made his way to the roadside and jumped onto the base end of the fallen mammoth-sized tree. Then he faced us with a look I couldn’t quite read. Still the reason behind the look wasn’t a mystery.
    “The tree was cut?” I strode forward to see for myself.
    Ty was right behind me, head poking over my shoulder to catch a glimpse. “That was done with an electric chain saw.”
    “Loggers?” Kendrick questioned, surprisingly without an ounce of condescension as he looked to Ty.
    Ty frowned past the fallen tree, running a hand over its rough bark. “Loggers would never leave a road blocked like this. And don’t they usually mark the trees they take down?”
    “Trees?” I followed Ty’s line of sight past the fallen log Kendrick stood on to the road ahead. Through the thick fall of white was an obstacle course of fallen tree after fallen tree, disappearing only with the bend in the road. “That’s not loggers.”
    Dread pooled in my stomach, making my ears open while my eyes darted. The road we were on was familiar enough for me to know that it was the last stretch before the cabin. No other properties came off this road and hadn’t done so for the last twenty or so miles. This road never saw unexpected traffic.
    My fingers curled, toying with the amethyst pendant at my wrist. It was cool to the touch without even a hint of warmth to indicate encroaching danger. “Whoever did this is gone now. But they did it on purpose.”
    “To keep us from the cabin,” Kendrick finished for me,