Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,89

it out.

Dear John,

I know it has been a long time since I’ve contacted you, and, believe me, I wouldn’t be doing it now if I thought I had another choice.

I’m in trouble. They’re getting closer and Mackenzie is in danger. If they catch her, you know what they will do. I need to know that she’ll be safe. It’s a lot to ask, especially because of pack rules, but I need you to look after her for me. I know that she’ll be safe with you. I’ll be in Cornwall in a few days’ time and be able to leave her at the keep. She doesn’t understand what is happening, and it’s probably better that she never does. If she stays with you, then she never needs to know the truth. She’s strong, and she can look after herself, but sometimes when she gets angry I feel afraid. I can see the power inside her. Maybe you can turn her when she’s older and then it won’t matter. I have no idea if it will work. But they can’t find her, John, no matter what.

Please believe me that if there was another way then that’s what I’d do. You’re my last hope, and my daughter’s.

Martha

My mother had already known John before she left me here? And what did she mean that she was afraid of me? “What am I?” I whispered, aghast.

Tom was tense and motionless, but Alex reached out and gently touched me on the arm.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”

I flipped to the next page, heart in my mouth, terrified at what I might read next. It was a medical form with my name at the top. I had a faint memory from not long after I arrived, of John taking me into his study and pulling out a needle. I’d been so frightened and had tried to back away, but he’d soothed me and said it wouldn’t hurt for long. That it was just in case there was an accident and they needed to do a blood transfusion. I hadn’t even understood what that was at the time but something about the look in his eyes made me trust him so I’d offered him my arm and let him draw my blood. I wondered why I’d not remember that until now. John had certainly never mentioned it again after that day.

I stared down at the smudged piece of paper.

“Red?” prompted Tom, softly.

I passed it over him and he read over it, drawing in a sharp breath and then turning it over to Alex.

“Oh my God,” Alex breathed. “Now it all makes sense. This is why you are so strong, and feel fire in your blood. This is why you can hear Voices. And this must be why Iabartu…” His voice trailed off and he looked at me sadly.

“Uh, who’s Iabartu?” Tom asked, brow furrowed.

Tears filled my eyes. It was my fault after all. Craw had been right. John had died protecting me, hiding me. Julia was lying upstairs fighting for her life because of me. Four Brethren shifters were dead because of me. I fought the tears back and felt rage and fire fill me. Without thinking, I stood up, violently kicking back my chair and flung my mug against the tiled kitchen wall, spattering it with dark coffee stains and shattering the porcelain. An inhuman cry fell from my lips and I picked up the chair and began hitting it against the wall.

“No! It can’t be me, it can’t be my fault,” I gasped, slamming the wooden frame against the wall, again and again and again, until a small wooden leg was all that was left in my hands. I threw it to the side and doubled over in pain, hugging myself. It was my blood that the bitch wanted. I howled in grief, anguish and anger.

I was part dragon.

Chapter Twenty Four

Once my sobs subsided, and I was hiccupping in a ball on the floor, Alex came over and picked me up, hugging my body to his.

“It’s not your fault,” he said gently. “You didn’t know and you couldn’t help it.” He pulled out another chair from the table and sat me down. I gazed dully down at the grains of wood, and traced a whorl with my finger.

“I don’t understand.” Tom came round the other side of the chair. “What does this mean?” He waved the piece of paper at me. “What’s not your fault? And, I say again, who the