Bound to Blackwood Read Free

obviously.
    She hit reply on her phone and wrote, “On way.”
    Then she stripped and hit the shower at breakneck speed. Wouldn’t do to see the King with Fallen blood all over her, now would it?
     

 
     
    Chapter 2  
     
    Kaden slammed the heavy, oak door to his room and rushed down the hallway, his heavy footfall echoing off the flagstones. The code 1 had caught him by surprise, so he was still tugging his uniform into place as he moved. He pushed his white-blond hair from his eyes as his mind turned over the implications of the order.
    Like everyone in the Order, his uniform sported the Blackwood Crest. Unlike everyone else, three gunmetal-grey keys adorned the epaulettes on each of his broad shoulders. Kaden had stood as Keeper of the Watch for the last seven hundred years. He was the head of the Order — second only to the King. Responsible for missions, the safety of the Royal Family, his Guardians, and the general Vampire population. He was custodian of the most dangerous of secrets, yet he had no idea what this meeting was about.
    He strode towards what used to be House Blackwood's wine cellar but had long since been the nucleus of the Order. It was underground, completely secure and could act as a safe house for months, if not years. This was where Kaden was King. This was his Command Centre. It was surrounded by banks of OLED transparent touchscreens, the latest in technologically advanced equipment and a host of other gear that had yet to hit the military, let alone mainstream markets.  
    Kaden looked down at his phone and then to the empty room. “Where in the name of Blackwood is everyone?”
    He'd sent the order out over 20 minutes ago. Even Thorn was late. Since Thorn really was the King, in this room and everywhere else, Kaden cut him some slack.
    Kaden lifted his head at the sound of boots hitting the corridor outside. Normally laughing, joking, and high spirits would accompany that sound. Not tonight. Tonight it was just the sound of feet hitting stone.
    The door to the Command Centre swung open and the rest of the Order filed in. Mercury, Lena, Skylar, Phoenix and Ryver all nodded at Kaden and took up various positions around the room. They sported uniforms that matched Kaden’s own clobber. Except for Lena , the men in the room were all from Warrior stock and each and every one of them was well over six foot.  
    The room felt cramped.
    The feeling only got more intense when Thorn Blackwood strode in. His hair was almost as black as Lena’s though he didn’t have the same blue tones in his. His face was angular like Kaden’s, but broader, which helped to soften the lines and his high cheekbones. At six-foot-seven, he towered above all of them.  All that paled into insignificance with just one glance into his arresting eyes. Amber on pure gold, those eyes demanded the attention a King deserved.
    “About time,” Kaden grumbled. There were several mumbles of apology. Kaden ignored them. “Thorn you gonna tell us what the hell is going on?” Kaden asked.
    As the King walked to the front of the room, Kaden had to stop himself wincing at the look of surprise on his colleagues’ faces. It wasn’t the way in which he addressed the King that sparked the surprise. No, Kaden had earned the right to talk to Thorn like that, and they knew it. It was the fact that Kaden was as much in the dark as they were. He didn’t like it, not one bit.
     Thorn put his hand on Kaden’s shoulder as if to pacify him; it didn’t work. He was still brooding as the King met the faces of the rest of the team and leaned against the desk. Kaden plonked himself down in his usual position behind it and glowered at the audience
    “Thanks for coming in everyone.” Though they attempted to give polite responses, it seemed Thorn had no time for niceties. “I know this is unusual. It’s not every day I order a CODE 1, much less issue one for everyone, but something’s come up. I had a visit from Heath Greenshire last