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

spoke to Ty with clear agitation. I felt tempted to remove my earbuds. Picking up their conversation even from this distance, a good sixty feet away, would be easy. But I decided I really didn’t want to hear what Troy was bitching about. Even if I did suspect it had everything to do with me.
    When the group resumed their course, following the now rocky path back into the depths of the forest, I ambled up to the same spot Ty and Troy had been standing. I pulled my earbuds from my ears, peering out into the plunging valley. Splashes of green, gold and deep-russet covered the treetops with the progression of fall. Above, a single Falcon soared through the air. Its repetitive call was like a fire alarm on overdrive as it dipped and dived beneath a cloudless, pastel-blue sky.
    The air around me was crisp and perfectly clear. Time to move on. I craned my head. The other students were making ground down the path. Ty was tailing a few feet behind. I was about to take after them, when I stalled. The fiery and sweet smell of blood, his blood , reached me.
    Before I could speak or move, Troy appeared before me. His expression was dark and his scent wrapped around me. “Don’t even think about it.”
    Had he seen me looking at Ty? Folding barricading arms over my chest, I took a much needed step back. “Think about what?”
    “Trying your luck with Ty,” he practically snarled. His hand hovered over the pocket of his jacket as if about to pull something free.
    I stole a glace down the long pathway, but it was empty. The group and Ty were already gone.
    “It’s not like he actually likes you,” Troy went on, hatred poisoning his words. “Anything nice he says to you is pure pity. You’re a freak of nature. He regrets not having dealt with you when he had the chance.”
    Freak of nature? Dealt with me? Irritated confusion brought fire to my face. And the smell of him so close had my fangs peeking through the top of my gums. Sick of this guy’s cryptic bullshit, I unfolded my arms and clenched my hands. “Look, you steroid-jacked jerk. I don’t know what your problem is or what the hell you’re talking about…”
    “I’m warning you,” he grated, stepping close enough to poke me in the chest.
    My fangs broke free and I darted back, knowing I’d lunge and bite him if I didn’t. Wrong choice. My Vans slipped on the loose stones at the edge of the cliff. Then my back hit the ‘caution’ tape, snapping it on impact. Instantly my mind and body came alive. Everything was happening in slow motion. A good thirty feet down was a small outcropping. Not enough to kill a vampire, but a human? Definitely. I could leap forward, clearing Troy and saving my skin. But at what cost? My cover would be blown. No, the only human option was to fall.
    Suddenly a hand shot out of nowhere, collecting my wrist in a heated vice-grip. I blinked, bewildered as Ty hauled me to safety. My body flew forward through the air until my feet hit solid ground. “Are you okay?”
    No, I’m not okay. I almost had to fall off a cliff because your so-called friend got in my face , I thought, struggling to retract my fangs with the double-up of their scent. Instead I said, “Where the hell did you come from?”
    Ty narrowed his eyes over his shoulder at Troy. “Leave us.”
    Troy shrugged. “Whatever.” He turned without a word or even a glance at me to jog down the beaten track.
    Ty threw a glance down the path. “I heard arguing, and when I came back around the corner I saw you and Troy. I’d almost reached you when you stepped back into the caution tape.”
    I remembered looking down the empty path before the fall. Could Ty have gotten to us that quickly? Doubt weighed against my mind. He was apparently a good swimmer, but was he a fast runner too?
    Ty’s lips parted with a broadening smile. “So, how are you going to repay me?”
    Wrinkling my nose, I frowned. “Repay you for what?”
    Ty arched one eyebrow. The honey of his irises appeared