Blood Bound
B***d Bound Prologue

Seeped from gloved fingers like wisps of gray smoke, sliding through the slight gap in the ledge of a decrepit window towards the dusty latch. Upon the magic’s touch, the lock

slowly turned, squeaking a small tune of resistance before giving in.

Standing at the dark corner of a decrepit building, Maya pressed one hand against the windowpane and nimbly pried open the aperture to cautiously leap inside.

Once her feet were on the stiff and worn floorboards, she deftly removed the black hood from her head and revealed her ethereal features, vermillion lips, and tousled locks of vibrant red. As she carefully scrutinized her surroundings, her bright green eyes narrowed into slits.

There was absolutely no one in the library—except for her and the columns of shelves, holding thousands and thousands of books and scrolls.

Just the way she wanted it.

Maya’s lips curled up as her gaze settled on a set of unkempt shelves hidden in the far corner from prying eyes.

Something about the darkness hovering in that area called to her, so she followed the instinctive desire to search there first.

With light steps, she walked across the old wood and reached out a gloved hand towards the shelf closest to her, moving her long fingers across the fine print etched upon the aged wood.

Her touch caused the letters, indicating the contents of the shelf, to immediately light up and cast a slightly golden-green glow upon her pixie-like face, sparkling like glitter in the dark.

Love Hexes.

Maya moved on, uninterested in the subject. As she walked past the next few shelves, her shadowed eyes glanced rapidly at the glowing words.

Faustian Contracts.

Binding spells.

Repelling mantras.

Subduing charms.

Her mouth pinched into a grim line, and she quickly peered at the last shelf in the column.

B***d Rituals.

Maya paused.

Bingo.

Her dainty fingers hurriedly fumbled through the ancient scrolls and heavy books stacked haphazardly on the shelf. They were all riddled with layers and layers of dust that must have collected for over decades or centuries now. It was as if no one had gone through these scrolls in a long time.

Maya didn’t doubt it. No good white witch would corrupt themselves in search of dark powers like she was. But then again, she wasn’t a “good” little white witch.

How absurd.

Maya sneered.

She hadn’t been one for over a decade now; although, her entire family were wholly “good” white witches and wizards. Even her estranged half-sister was a white witch—whatever that meant. But how

ironic was it that a coven full of liars and murderers claimed to be all “good”?

They were just a bunch of hypocrites covered in a thick layer of sheepskin. The rot and ugly underneath had to be covered somehow.

Maya couldn’t stop the vicious smirk from collecting on the corners of her lips. She quickly tossed the thoughts aside and resumed her scavenging through the dust and soot.

Where is it?

Her brows pinched tightly together in building frustration. For all the trouble sneaking in, she didn’t plan on leaving empty-handed, not if she could help it.

With her right hand outstretched and reaching further into the back of the bookshelf, a concealed object brushed against her exposed wrist and scratched the delicate skin, making her recoil upon

instinct.

After a second of hesitation, she dug it out and saw that it was an old scroll, seemingly made of dried animal skin. It smelled like something dead. Like it had been dropped into a swamp and stayed at

the bottom for twenty days before someone even thought to fish it out.

Her nose wrinkled in distaste.

t smelled horrid, and she was tempted to toss the scroll away because of the smell, but decided otherwise.

Maya carefully removed the deformed and crusty ribbon before unrolling the hard fabric and using a spell to look over the cryptic language.

As the decoded words moved from the page and into her mind, exhilaration inflated her lungs and sweat gathered on her palms.

Found it.

Maya snapped the scroll together and climbed back out of the window.

The sky was still as dark as when she first entered and the mist was still strong, making it even harder to replace which direction she needed to traverse. But Maya pushed forward.

She trekked blindly across the land, using bits of magic to lead her towards the north, where the dark forest stood tall and imposing.

If she were to use any more of her powers, the white witches would notice something was amiss, would taste the fragments of darkness oozing in minute amounts from Maya’s alabaster skin. Then, they would come running for her.

And there was no way she could fight them all off and remain unscathed enough to escape.

Maya had attained this knowledge from experience covered in b***d, sweat, and tears. Regardless of how much she hated to admit it, Maya knew her limitations. She wouldn’t be searching for supreme

power otherwise.

As she walked, her eyes darted from side to side and cold sweat dripped in rivulets down her face, wetting her slim neck in long streaks.

The dark forest was just several yards away.

You can make it, she told herself. You’ve already made it this far, don’t let your efforts be in vain.

From the corner of her eye, the thick clouds in the sky slowly moved until the bright moon was revealed.

And little by little, the light started to extinguish the dark, causing the entire meadow to

illuminate from area to area and become bright enough for her to see across the land.

If she didn’t move fast enough, she would be caught by the luminous rays.

Maya’s heart pounded rapidly in her chest. She gritted her teeth and breathed heavily through her nose.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, she broke into the magnificent forest and was blanketed by the heavy branches that created shadows similar to figures in the night.

With her free hand, Maya wiped the cold sweat off her temple and glanced at the scroll.

After reading the contents, she knew this was a b***d-binding ritual reserved mainly for werewolves and used on werewolves.

Maya wasn’t too sure about the use of it on dark sorceresses, but she was willing to give it a chance.

The instructions were rather simple on how to draw power from a werewolf’s b***d, since their b***d played an even bigger role than most creatures on the planet.

It classified them as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, or Omega.

It gave them power.

It gave them status.

And it also gave them the ability to mark and subdue those beneath them.

In order to obtain their power, Maya had to consume their b***d. Though this wasn’t something she looked forward to, Maya was willing to do anything at this point. If this was the path to success, she would walk it without a single look back.

According to the scroll, the first steps of the ritual would give her temporary use of their powers—like a trial run—but she needed more than a trial run.

She needed something reliable and consistent, and the ritual would only give her that once she completed all the steps.

Permanently.

Maya really liked the sound of that.

Just the thought of it made her entire body tremble with excitement, alike to replaceing a float in the midst of the ocean when one had been drowning for too long. But she figured, if she wanted to go through with this, she had to go big.

Who wanted an Omega or a Beta?

Maya wanted an Alpha.

Not just any Alpha.

She wanted the most powerful.

She wanted a Cardinal Alpha.

“Everette,” she drawled, voice crisp and raspy with concealed excitement.

At her call, a snow-white dove perched itself on a small tree branch high above her.

Its shining eyes glowed red in the dark, eerie and sharp, as it stared down at her still form and cocked its head to the side, as if in question of her demands.

“I want you to help me locate the Southern Cardinal Alpha, Alpha Xavier Thaeos.”