Free What Lies Inside (A Blood Bound Novel, Book 1) by J.L. Myers

a passion. Give me hot chocolate any day. Wait, was Ty asking me out? Not that it mattered. What did matter was that I not give in to my primal instincts. And I could only do that if I eliminated my biggest temptation.
    “Look Ty,” I said, keeping my eyes ahead. My fingers itched to raise the decongestant to my nose again. “You need to stay away from me.”
    “And why is that?” Ty’s voice sounded amused and light, devoid of the confusion I had expected given my words.
    Because I’m a monster, and every moment I’m near you I contemplate ripping your throat out to drain every last drop of your sweet-smelling blood. I glanced back at him, studying him head-to-toe. His black hair shimmered in the broken sunlight that filtered through the thick canopy above. The black shirt that clung to his body emphasized his defined arms and abs. His casual, black jeans were torn across one knee. In so many ways he appeared like a regular teenage boy. Yet in others he was distinctly different. Ty’s eyes were watching me, the green of his irises sparkling.
    Knowing he was waiting for me to respond, I drew in a deep breath. “Because, I’m not someone you want to know.”
    Ty’s smile didn’t waver, nor did his forehead crease with misunderstanding. It was like my response hadn’t confused him, almost like he had expected it. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
    My stomach churned. What did he want from me? The notion that Dorian could have been right crossed my mind. That Ty was, for some unconscionable reason, attracted to me. Just as fast as the thought flooded my mind, I shook it away, laughing internally. No, I told myself. He can’t be. Dorian was wrong. Because if Ty did watch me the same way I watched him, then that would mean that I would have to be attracted to Ty, too. Me, a monster, drawn to my prey for more than just its flesh and blood.
    I shook my head. “Please, Ty.” I hated having to say the words. But I had to. It was the only way. My arms clamped over my chest, almost bracing as I glared through the trees and into the surrounding mountainside. It was so beautiful and peaceful, a stark contrast to how I felt. “Just leave me alone.”
    “Fine,” Ty said, picking up his pace beside me. That one word as he half-stalked away from me stung, like pins poking through my flesh and into my stomach. I stumbled, pulling to a stop, coiled arms lowering to tighten around my gut. You don’t like him. You want to kill him. This is best for everyone. The words did little to reassure me, or to lift the discomfort I felt. I took a ragged breath and forced my body to straighten, arms dropping to my sides. Non-tainted air swirled through my lungs, washing away some of the sting from my insides. It was just his blood, I assured myself. Still a little voice inside my head that I couldn’t quite dislodge whispered that I was deluding myself, believing only what I wanted to believe.
    Needing a distraction to quell the contradicting voices in my head, I pulled my purple-cased iPod from my pocket. I sighed, missing Kendrick. Then I plugged in my earbuds and blasted the words to Red’s song ‘Fight Inside’ . The sting of their words reflected my constant struggle to hide the monster inside of me. The monster I would always be.
    Slowing my pace helped dull the scent of the group’s blood, including his. After walking for almost an hour, I began to relax, began to believe that maybe Dorian had been right. Maybe I could do this.
    When the group neared the summit, the taste of salt in the air intensified from their perspiring bodies. The group had paused for a break at the lookout, and everyone was peering out over the timber railing. I paused further down the track, keeping my distance while watching the group. Ty stood to one side of the students before a damaged piece of railing. There was bright yellow ‘caution’ tape cordoning off the hazard. Troy stood by his side. His face as usual, was strained as he