Bloodbound: The Vampire's Mate

Chapter 2

Esther sat at the dinner table, trying her hardest to hold her temper at bay. With her mother sitting across the table, chattering away without noticing that Esther was silent, it was hard to keep from exploding.

“And then there’s Abraham in Bradenton, who is quite brave and a good provider. He’s already offered quite a portion for you, and it is much more than most men can afford. You’d have a comfortable life and want for naught with him as your husband.”

Esther pushed her food around her plate, ignoring her mother’s chipper voice as she went on incessantly about the pros and cons of each man. Esther dreamed of marrying her prince charming.

All this talk of suitors was exhausting her.

“Darling, are you ill?”

Her mother’s voice jarred her out of her thoughts, forcing her to engage in a conversation she wanted to avoid at all costs.

“No. I’m just tired.” Esther shook her head but kept it down, hoping her mother wouldn’t see the telltale pink in her cheeks and realize that she was angry.

“Well, if you must, retire for the night so you can rest. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

Esther was shocked. A busy day?

“Whatever do you mean, Mother?”

“Our phaeton will be finished on the morrow, and we need to find a second horse to pull it.”

“What do we need with a bigger carriage? It is only you and I traveling around town in it.”

“Darling. It isn’t about need. The phaeton is all the rage in the city and we’ve the best wheelwright in the region.

It’s a solid investment, and I thought for certain that you would be happy with a second horse and more room in our carriage.”

Esther resisted the urge to roll her eyes and focused on the task of pushing her food endlessly around the plate. Hannah didn’t understand her daughter and probably never would.

The nice clothes, the constant accumulation of material possessions to keep up with what was fashionable now, were too much for her. Esther had a simple heart and simple desires.

And the last thing she wanted to be was a kept woman for some old man in another village where she was a virtual stranger.

“May I be excused?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, of course. Shall I accompany you?”

“No, Mother, I can make it to my bed.” She stood slowly, though she wanted to flee from the room. She bent low and kissed her mother on the cheek before shuffling off to bed.

She measured her pace so that her mother held onto the notion that she was tired and possibly ill. It would be easier to avoid all this talk of suitors, and she could avoid the shopping trip into town altogether if Hannah thought Esther needed her rest.

Esther slipped under the large, hand-made quilt and pulled it up to her chin. She turned on her side, facing away from the door.

It wasn’t long before Esther heard her door creak open slowly, the light of her mother’s candle casting a soft glow on the room.

Hannah stood for a moment, watching Esther sleep. When she was satisfied that Esther was indeed asleep, she closed the door softly and went to her room for the night. The big, empty bed awaited her, and she was counting the days when her husband would return from the latest battle, or if he would return at all.

But fighting the growing vampire population was necessary work, and Nathaniel Hawkes was doing God’s work. Because of his leadership, vampires were rarely able to make it beyond the front line of human resistance.

As long as brave souls like Nathaniel and his men continued the good fight, the rest of the world could rest easy. The empty bed was lonely, but it was worth the sacrifice.

In the other room, Esther listened quietly through the wall. She could hear her mother moving around in the bed, trying to get comfortable.

She waited for a few minutes until she was certain that her mother had fallen asleep.

Quietly, she moved the covers back and slipped out of bed. She was still dressed, wearing a heavy gown in deep red. She slid her feet into her slippers and turned to the bed.

With pillows lined up just so, it was easy to believe she was still lying in the bed. Unless her mother came all the way into the room, she would never know that it wasn’t Esther lying so snuggly beneath the heavy quilt.

She climbed onto the low dresser and out her window. Esther was careful to push the shutters closed completely, making it appear that they were locked from the inside.

Keeping to the shadows, Esther crept along the side of the house and through the rows of modest houses. From a few houses came the sound of quiet laughter or boisterous conversation, but most of the houses were dark and completely quiet.

Esther left the narrow row of homes and stole through the village proper, careful to stay deep in the shadows to avoid detection.

She heard footsteps and quickly ducked into a narrow space between stands and waited. She held her breath as two guards passed, talking to pass the time while they protected the tiny village from intruders, while the townspeople slept.

“I’ve heard tell that they’re going to start making duty compulsory.”

“That will never work. Some men aren’t born brave.”

“They have no choice. More and more, the vampires are breaking through the ranks and making their way into the villages and woods beyond the battlegrounds. It won’t be long before they’ve made their way here in droves.”

Their conversation faded as they continued, and Esther realized she’d been holding her breath as she listened.

Vampires? Here? She wondered how much of that was simply idle chatter among the men. Here and there, a vampire had slipped through their defenses, getting closer to the villages than anyone was comfortable with.

But, for the most part, the evening patrols were able to catch and kill them long before the villagers were ever in danger.

Esther was willing to bet this was just a case of two young people trying to one-up each other.

She moved on, slipping through the gates and out into the clearing between the main fence and the forest.

When she reached the forest’s edge, she picked up the pace. She knew this area like the back of her hand, so the soft glow of the moonlight was sufficient to guide her way.

She came upon a small clearing, and her breath caught when she saw a man step out of the shadows.