blood 03 - blood chosen Read Free Page A

tickling his face and he tucked it behind her ear.
    “Tell me,” Julia said.
    “Is that a command, my Queen?” Scott asked.
    Julia's soft smile melted away. “Does it need to be?” Steel taking the place of the golden warmth inside her eyes.
    He shook his head, looking into those large golden, cat-like eyes. Eyes that changed color according to her mood. “No,” he answered softly. “It's not over.” There, he'd finally said it.
    “What? Which part?” Her eyes darkened at the implied threat in his words.
    Scott closed his eyes against the raw look he saw in hers. “The Were and... your former husband... relinquished their hold on you by simultaneously giving you their essence, thereby giving yours back to you...”
    “I understood that...” Julia said slowly, a furrow formed between her eyes. “What's this about?”
    His eyes opened, piercing her. “It's been so long since we've had a Rare One that... some of the finer words have gotten lost in the bolder ones.”
    Julia huffed.
    “You have been prophesied about. And, in some of the oldest scrolls...”
    “Like... as in 'dead sea'?”
    Scott cocked a brow, nodding at her comparison. “It's not much different from the human's Bible... however, we're not ...”
    “Human,” Julia stated and Scott nodded.
    “Not entirely. We mimic them but it's not enough. Not nearly enough to claim true kinship. As long as you are truly my mate, the Combatant will be necessary.”
    “And how would they not... be necessary?” she asked. Then she clarified her question, “What would need to happen so they could just flounce around and do their thing.”
    Scott chuckled, but his laughter died, his face bleeding to a solemn expression. He paused so long Julia thought he might not answer. She opened her mouth to ask again.
    His face became pained, his voice a low growling whisper, “You would have to be mated with the vampire and Were as well.”
    Julia sat up in the bed, shoving away from him like he was a hot coal. “No!” she squeaked, flapping her arms in agitated denial.
    He gave such a slow nod it looked painful.
    “I will never do that,” she said with conviction, folding her arms across her chest. Scott watched the bright pink color spread across her cheekbones. Agitated and angry. And underneath that, embarrassed.
    Scott sat up, scooping her against himself. “It might not be a matter of want.” He paused. “It might be a matter of unifying the species. The Were and vampire will never take a Singer pair seriously as leader unless she is tied to them in more than treaty alone.”
    Julia tried to let that sink in.
    Essentially, three husbands. She shook her head, her hair flying around with her physical denial.
    She'd had a husband- Jason, and he tried to harm her. She'd had a vampire but... no . And then there was Scott... who she felt like one body with, but it was all tied to the meld.
    Scott caught her tear as it fell, with a sweep of his thumb across the soft skin of her flushed cheek. His eyes bored into hers. “You don't have to even consider this, Julia. I did need to tell you. To keep it from you,” Scott felt his eyes tighten, “would not be fair... to keep you in the dark because of my feelings.” His dark eyes captured hers in his intense gaze as he gave a small shake of his head. “The Combatant are in place so that you have that security... and choice,” Scott said.
    Julia could hear the sharp click of Scott's throat when he swallowed. Dear God, this was a mess. She searched for something, anything at all that could undo those words that Scott had uttered. But that was the thing about words, they couldn't be unsaid. “Why didn't Marcus mention this little tidbit to me?” she finally asked and realized she couldn't keep the despair out of her voice, no matter how much she wanted to. And maybe Julia didn't.
    Scott sighed. “We hoped it wouldn't come to this...”
    Julia put the falling pieces of the puzzle back together. “You mean... you