Free Bound to Fear by Nina Croft

 
     
Bound to Fear
    “ I’m fine,” Maria muttered. She was tired of saying the words.
No one believed her anyway.
    “No, you’re not,” Sebastian replied. “And we
can’t help you if you won’t open up to us.”
    Maria ground her teeth. “I don’t need
help.”
    “You wake every night screaming.”
    Heat flushed her face. Trust Sebastian to
know everything that went on in his pack. She wandered over to the
edge of the rooftop and peered over the low wall at the city far
below. Up here, far above the bustle of people, was the only place
she felt safe. She missed the forest.
    A few weeks ago, the same group who had
captured and tortured Maria, had destroyed the pack’s house. Jack,
the leader of the local vampires, had offered them sanctuary in
London, and until Sebastian was sure they were safe, here they
would stay.
    “You need to face your fears—banish them,”
Sebastian said, dragging her from her thoughts.
    The ever present despair rose up inside her,
and she swung around to face him. “How can I, when the thing I fear
most is myself?” She took a deep breath. “Every night, I dream I’m
back in that cell. But it’s not the pain of torture I fear. In my
dreams, I’m broken. I tell them anything they want to know.” She
blinked away her tears. “In my dreams, I’m weak.”
    “But you weren’t weak. You told them
nothing.”
    “Only because Anya got me out of there.” She
bit her lip until she tasted blood. “If they’d kept me any
longer….”
    “You would have died first.”
    “I want to believe that, but I just don’t
know.” She looked away, not wanting to see his pity.
    “I’ve decided to split the pack,” Sebastian
said.
    Maria frowned at the change of subject.
“Why?”
    “We’re getting too big. I’ve already sent
Connor up north to look for new hunting grounds. I’d like you to go
south to Cornwall.”
    “Sure—no problem.”
    She tried to sound enthusiastic, but knew
she’d failed when he shook his head. But it wasn’t only fear that
plagued her right now. Lately, she’d found enthusiasm beyond her.
She’d seen it happen to others of their kind, as they grew
older.
    She knew Sebastian had as well.
    “You’re one of the bravest people I know,”
he said. “Find some way to prove it to yourself, and move on.”
     
    His words lingered in her mind through the
long day, and an idea slowly took form.
    Could she do it, and if she could—would it
work?
    Sebastian had known her for over fifty
years. He knew what she feared. Her “little vampire phobia” as he
called it.
    Hardly little.
    But perhaps Sebastian was right. Maybe, if
she faced her oldest fear, then she could put this new one behind
her. She would have to wait until nightfall, and if she was going
to do this then she needed to do it properly. So, who was the
biggest, baddest vampire of them all? Maybe not the strongest—that
would be Jack—but definitely the meanest.
    A shudder ran down her spine. She’d rather
be tortured.
    ***
    Seth awoke, instantly alert, as he always
did when the sun went down. Tonight though, something was
different. He breathed in and caught the musky aroma of
werewolf.
    That was nothing odd. Since Jack had offered
a home to the pack, the building was saturated with their scent; it
was driving Seth crazy.
    He had nothing against werewolves. In fact,
he liked them a lot, and what he liked best about them was the
taste of their blood. It put him on edge to have so many, so near,
and for them to be off limits.
    “Don’t eat the guests.” Jack had warned him.
He’d smiled as he said the words, but Seth knew he was deadly
serious.
    That Jack trusted him enough to think the
warning would work pleased Seth more than he would ever admit. Ten
years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to control his hunger. By
now, he would have sated himself on were blood and not considered
the consequences.
    But he’d made a conscious decision to
change, and Jack had enough faith in him to give him a