Claimed By The Blood Sovereign

Chapter 4: Electric Touch

The silver crest glowing against the glass made my breath catch in my throat. It was two intertwined serpents around a dagger—the ancient seal of the Vance lineage, my family’s bloodline.

I scrambled off the bed, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor. The cold air hit my skin, but my core still throbbed with the lingering heat Julian had left behind. Every step away from the bed sent a tiny, dull ache through my ribs—a warning ping from the Thrall Bond—but I forced my feet forward to the balcony doors.

I unlatched the heavy brass lock and pulled the glass open. Rain lashed into the bedroom instantly, soaking the hem of my thin dress.

The cloaked figure stepped over the threshold, pulling down her hood to reveal a young woman with sharp, angular features and pale violet eyes. A faint scar cut through her left eyebrow.

“Elena,” she whispered, her voice urgent. “I am Clara. Your father’s youngest sister’s guard. I’ve searched for you since your uncle betrayed the house.”

“Clara?” My mind whirled. “How did you get past Julian’s perimeter guards?”

“The Sovereign’s main force left for the High Council session ten minutes ago,” Clara said, reaching out to grab my shoulders. Her touch was warm—human. “The outer guards are distracted. We have a five-minute window before the estate locks down completely. You have to come with me now.”

A sudden, violent tug sliced through my chest, as if a physical rope tied around my heart had been yanked hard. I gasped, dropping to my knees as cold sweat broke out across my forehead. The Thrall Bond flared like liquid fire in my blood.

“I... I can’t,” I choked out, clutching my chest as the air squeezed out of my lungs. “Julian... he bound me. If I cross the estate line without him, the bond will kill me.”

Clara knelt beside me, her violet eyes narrowing in realization. “The Sovereign Thrall. He marked your blood.” She reached into her dark cloak and pulled out a small glass vial filled with a glowing blue liquid. “This is Aconite Spiritus—an ancient potion made to temporarily numb the nervous system against vampire blood bonds. It won't break his mark, but it will freeze the pain for two hours. Enough time to get you to the sanctuary.”

She uncorked the vial and pressed it to my lips. The liquid tasted like bitter mint and snow. Within seconds, an icy numbness washed down my throat, deadening the burning agony in my chest. My breathing leveled out, though a strange, hollow emptiness settled where Julian’s presence usually sat.

“Drink it all,” Clara urged, helping me to my feet. “We leave through the east gardens.”

We slipped out onto the wet stone balcony. Clara launched a thin, metallic grappling line over the balcony ledge, anchoring it to a dense oak tree in the garden forty feet below. Before I could process the height, she wrapped her arm tightly around my waist, pulling me flush against her leather tunic, and slid us down the line into the dark, rain-soaked gardens.

The cold mud squelched beneath my bare feet as we sprinted through the labyrinth of high hedges. My heart hammered against my ribs, each step a wild gamble against the shadows.

We reached the high iron perimeter gate at the edge of the estate grounds. Clara pulled a heavy iron key from her belt and jammed it into the lock.

Click.

The heavy gate swung open into the dark forest beyond. Freedom was one step away.

“Going somewhere, little bird?”

A deep baritone voice echoed from the trees above us—a sound so dark and smooth it made the hairs on my arms stand up instantly.

Before Clara could draw her sword, a shadow dropped from the high stone wall. Julian landed between us and the open gate with soundless, terrifying speed.

He did not wear his dress shirt. His bare, pale chest was exposed, the dark warrior runes carved across his skin glowing with a low, crimson light. Rain streamed down his dark hair and sharp jawline. His silver eyes were completely gone, replaced by glowing pools of blood-red fury.

Clara drew her blade with a metallic hiss, stepping in front of me. “Stay back, monster! She is pure blood—she doesn't belong to your dead Court!”

Julian did not even look at her. His red eyes were locked entirely on me.

“You drank poison to dull my touch,” Julian whispered. His voice was dangerously soft, carrying a cold rage that froze the rain falling around us. “You let another human put her hands on you to escape me.”

In a blur faster than human sight, Julian moved.

Clara swung her blade, but Julian caught the steel edge with his bare palm, snapping the metal sword in half as if it were a toothpick. With his other hand, he grabbed Clara by the throat, lifting her five feet off the ground. Her legs kicked wildly, her hands clawing uselessly at his iron wrist.

“No! Julian, stop!” I screamed, throwing myself forward. I grabbed his bare bicep with both hands. “Don't kill her! Please!”

Julian froze. His head snapped toward me, his nostrils flaring as he took in my scent. The blue potion in my system was wearing off, its temporary numbing effect crumbling under the raw pressure of his proximity.

The moment my skin pressed against his bare arm, an electric shock surged straight into my veins. The Thrall Bond snapped back to life with terrifying force, flooding my body with an intense, dizzying heat that made my knees buckle.

Julian dropped Clara to the muddy ground. She coughed violently, dragging herself backward into the shadows of the forest, but Julian ignored her completely.

He turned his full attention to me. His large, blood-stained hand wrapped around the back of my waist, yanking my hips hard against his front.

I gasped as my chest slammed into his hard, bare torso. The contrast was overwhelming—the rain soaking us was freezing, but his bare skin radiated a feverish, intoxicating heat that scorched through my thin gown.

“You thought a simple potion could hide you from me?” Julian growled against my lips.

His hand slid down from my waist, his long fingers hooking beneath my thigh and lifting my leg up around his hip. The movement pulled my dress high up my leg, exposing my skin to the cold wind and his scorching touch. His thumb pressed firmly into the sensitive skin of my inner thigh, tracing circles that sent a jolt of pure desire straight to my core.

“I... I hate you,” I breathed, my hands trembling where they rested on his muscular shoulders. My fingers dug into his flesh, but I couldn't pull away. My body was betraying me, leaning into his solid frame as my pulse raged against my throat.

“Lie to me again,” Julian murmured, his face dropping into the crook of my neck.

He did not bite. Instead, he dragged his lips slowly up my collarbone to the sensitive spot beneath my ear, biting down softly enough to pull a loud, needy gasp from my throat. My head fell back against his shoulder, my hips arching into his touch on pure, shameful instinct.

“You belong in my bed, Elena,” he whispered, his fangs grazing my skin, teasing the heavy pulse point. “Not running through the mud like a stray.”

“She... she carried my family’s crest,” I rasped, trying to hold onto my fading anger as his thumb dug deeper into my thigh, pulling me closer until there was zero space between us. “I want to know who I am.”

Julian lifted his head, his crimson eyes burning down into mine with possessive fire. His hand shifted, his fingers tangling into my wet hair and gently pulling my head back to expose my entire throat to him.

“You are mine,” he said, his voice an absolute declaration. “That is the only identity you need.”

He leaned down, his mouth smothering mine in a deep, punishing kiss that tasted of rain, iron, and dark temptation. My hands slid around his neck, holding onto him as the world spun out of control. The physical heat between us felt like a fire burning away every thought of escape.

When he finally broke the kiss, we were both breathing heavily. His red eyes glowed brighter as he looked down at my swollen lips and flushing cheeks.

Suddenly, a loud screech tore through the night sky above the forest.

Three massive, winged creatures with leather wings and glowing yellow eyes swooped down from the storm clouds, landing heavily on the stone perimeter wall. They were Shadow-Stalkers—the High Council’s elite executioners.

One of the creatures landed on the stone ledge above us, its sharp claws tearing through the granite.

“Sovereign Julian!” the creature rasped, its voice like grinding stones. “By order of the High Council! Hand over the pure blood female, or be declared a traitor to the Blood Court!”

Julian did not release his grip on my thigh. He pulled me closer against his chest, his gaze shifting up to the executioners with a cold, deadly smirk.

“Tell the Council,” Julian growled, his fangs extending fully as dark shadow energy swirled around his bare arms, “that if they want her, they will have to come down here and die for her.”