Savage Bonds (The Bonds that Tie Book 2) Read online

  Savage Bonds

  The Bonds that Tie #2

  J Bree

  Savage Bonds

  The Bonds That Tie #2

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  Cover Illustration by Emilie Snaith

  Cover Typography by Bellaluna Cover Designs

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  Copyright © 2021 J Bree

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Also by J Bree

  About the Author

  CONTINUE READING FOR AN EXCERPT FROM

  Also by J Bree

  Prologue

  Prologue

  North

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  Black curls of smoke writhe around Bassinger’s body as he struggles against my nightmares, the disembodied limbs claw at his skin as I keep them from consuming him entirely.

  He’s a pain in the ass and I don’t have time to placate him right now because not even Athena Bassinger’s nephew can distract me from the cluster-fuck of incompetency and mismanagement that happened on the college campus this morning.

  After we’d cleared out the front buildings, we were working our way through the courtyard when Gryphon got the call from Black to say that Oleander had been taken. It was only when we caught up with Gabe and Bassinger that we found out she’d left them behind the moment they’d turned their backs on her.

  Once a runner, always a runner.

  “She’s my fucking Bond, you can’t keep me from going to her,” Bassinger snarls, and I have to force my eyes not to roll at him. It’s the same bullshit he’d been spitting at me from the moment I’d had to disable him when the others had left.

  I was too late to stop Gabe and if the little shit gets himself injured, I’ll have him screaming in terror for the rest of his natural life for running after her. If she were a normal Bond, someone who actually gave a fuck about any of us, then I’d be more forgiving, but she proved how little she thinks of us all a long time ago. There are many names I’ve been called in my life but a blind fool isn’t one of them.

  I tug my tie away from my neck and let the silk slowly unravel. “You were never taught to share, were you? Your ‘only child syndrome’ is showing. She’s our Bond and she ran off at the first signs of chaos, exactly like we all knew she would. Have you seen through her little charade yet? Or are you still so infatuated with the feel of her bond that you can’t think past your dick?”

  The tattoos on his neck stand out as he strains against the smoke again in a futile attempt to get free and, very probably, knock my front teeth out. We’re locked away in my office, waiting on the signal from Gryphon and Nox for an evacuation, and with no witnesses around, I’m comfortable enough to grin at him in an animalistic baring of teeth. No part of me right now is the sophisticated councilman. No, I’m nothing but the monster.

  The next Draven man in a long line of cursed men, never to know peace or comfort.

  I watch as Bassinger’s lip curls at me, no fear in him, which means he either has no idea of what I’m capable of, or that he thinks he can take me on. Either way, he’s stupid and reckless, another liability in our Bond group.

  Oleander is bad enough.

  We’re interrupted by a knock at the door, a hesitant sound that is easy to distinguish as my assistant in an utterly panicked state over everything that has happened in the last four hours. I let the calm and sure mask settle back over my features, the measures I’m forced to take to inhabit this world without being hunted in the night.

  Little do they all know that I’m most comfortable in the dark.

  “Come in.”

  Penelope looks terrified as she enters, taking a deep breath as she approaches me. Every inch of her body is shaking as she clears her throat twice before she can speak. “The Delta TacTeam has made their way through all of the students who were on campus during the attack. We have forty-two with injuries, but thankfully no deaths to report yet.”

  Her eyes flick over to where Atlas is being restrained and what little color her face was desperately holding on to vanishes until she’s the shade of a fresh powder of snow. I take a half step in front of him and give her a reassuring smile. “Mr. Bassinger isn’t thinking rationally. I’ve been forced to take extreme measures to keep him here but rest assured, he is both safe and unharmed.”

  She swallows again and her eyes flick back to mine as her chin wobbles just a little. She’s new around here, the daughter of one of the more affluent families, and she’s been sniffing around after me as though she thought that sleeping with the boss was the best way to get a cushy ride and easy paycheck.

  I’ve been through dozens of assistants with the same attitude but none of them make it past this moment, the moment where the curtain is pulled back and there’s no mistaking exactly what I am.

  She clears her throat again and holds out a sheet of paper to me, her hand trembling a little. “There’s also reports that Miss Fallows went after her friend, Sage Benson. She didn’t attempt to run, despite the earlier… speculation. We spoke to Gracie Davenport and she was adamant that Miss Fallows went after her friend. I thought you’d want to know this information.”

  I find that very hard to believe.

  My chest is still tight, my jaw aching from how hard I’m grinding my teeth together, and when she visibly gulps at me, I can’t muster up the energy to placate her. She excuses herself and practically runs from the room, stumbling at the door.

  Bassinger waits until it’s shut behind her before he snaps, “See? Hate her all you want but you’re wrong. She’s not running from her Bonds. She’s not running from me.”

  My phone starts buzzing in my pocket and when I fish it out, I find Gryphon’s name flashing at me, GPS coordinates, and a single line to tell me he has Oleander and Gabe secured.

  “Keep thinking that, Bassinger, and she’ll lead you right into hell.”

  Chapter One

  The only positive to the entire situation I’ve found myself in is that I’m not facing North Draven’s wrath by myself.

  We all watch as the plane touches down on the dirt runway, the engine roaring as it kicks into reverse to slow and finally come to a stop only a couple of hundred feet away from where we’re all standing around. The moment my hands had stopped shaking from using my gift, Sage had come over to stand with me, holding Gabe up between us. She’d moved slowly at first, but it wasn’t the same fear that Gryphon’s TacTeam was throwing my way. Instead, she was being understanding of just how volatile bonds can be when their Bonds are threatened.

  She was respecting the insanity of this entire situation because she’s the best goddamn friend a girl could ever ask for.

  Gabe still isn’t looking great, his face is green
and he’s swaying a little on his feet, but he has that same stubborn look on his face as always. I glance past him at Sage and she shoots me a look like she’s praying for me to survive whatever the hell is about to come from all of this mess.

  My gift hums in my chest like it’s eager to be formally introduced to the rest of my Bonds. My legs still feel a little weak and my head is pounding. I need a nap to recharge from using my gift and I’m hoping that plane is as luxurious as the rest of North’s possessions.

  There’s murmuring behind us and an argument between a couple of the TacTeam guys, but my head is hurting too much for me to really take in their words. When Gabe’s arm tightens around my shoulder and Gryphon steps back up to my side, I make the calculated guess that my honor is being torn apart.

  Like I give a fuck.

  “You need a new fucking team,” Gabe snarls and Gryphon shrugs at him, his eyes sharp as the back of the plane finally starts opening.

  “I’m finding out who’s loyal and who’s not, adjustments will be made.”

  Jesus, he doesn’t sound angry about it either, and I start to wonder how long he’s worked with this group. Kieran and Nox are both standing with Gryphon and when the word monster filters into my brain again Kieran curses viciously under his breath and turns on his heel to ream the two squabbling team members out.

  Gryphon glances down at me like he’s expecting me to react to them, but I couldn’t care less about their opinions.

  I care about what hell North is going to put me through over this. I care about the way that Nox had reached out to my gift with his own, like he wanted to know exactly what I’m capable of.

  I care that Gabe is still swaying on his feet with whatever drug he was dosed with.

  “Any explanation for us yet, Fallows? Anything to say about lying to us all for months about what you can do?” he says, and Gabe turns to glare at him in my defense.

  The eight-pack hottie is really growing on me, dammit.

  When Gabe opens his mouth, I cut him off because there’s no way I’m going to sit back and let him fight my wars for me, that just isn’t my style. “Nope. Just because you’re my Bonds doesn’t mean I owe you shit. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way that you’re stuck with a monster.”

  The sarcasm is dripping from my tone and I’m expecting him to react but he doesn’t, his eyes still just staring me down coldly. From the corner of my own eye, I see the snarl on Nox’s face pointed right in my direction, but fuck him and his shitty mood.

  Gabe also moves to glare at me instead of Gryphon and snaps, “Don’t fucking say that shit. You just saved us all. A monster wouldn’t do that, and every last one of the people here that are saying that shit are ungrateful, spineless assholes who would burn their saviors at the stake just because they’re stronger than them. Gutless and jealous fucking assholes.”

  Huh.

  There’s a nerve there that I didn’t even know existed and when I take a second to look at the rest of my Bonds, it’s clear on their faces as well. Something about what’s being said about me is triggering them and I know for sure it isn’t on my behalf, because Nox is looking particularly bloodthirsty about it and he really, really fucking hates me.

  Gryphon is staring around at his team with cold eyes, taking in exactly what’s happening around us. Kieran is still verbally tearing strips off of the men behind us and there are others watching on in disgust, but when my eyes hit the other students staring at me in horror, my blood chills a little bit.

  Then I remember that they’re all here right now, breathing and torture-free, thanks to me, and instead of feeling like shit about who I am and what I can do, I smirk and wiggle my eyebrows a little at them, taunting them.

  I swear one of the girls nearly faints.

  She would never have survived the Resistance and their camps.

  The back of the plane finally opens completely and another group of TacTeam members, all clad in black, come streaming down the ramp and over to us, order being called out in code words that mean absolutely nothing to me. Gabe’s arm tightens around me again, his jaw clenching as he stares out over the newcomers as though he’s expecting another attack. I’m kind of hoping we’re past that though, as past that as we can be, when I see two more figures descend from the plane that have me gulping a little.

  I really don’t have much fight left in me and North’s particular brand of it isn’t great, even when I’m at full strength. Right now, with everything I’ve had to do? Shit, we might just be scraping his innards off of the side of the plane if he so much as looks sideways at me, because my bond is not fucking around anymore.

  I have my gift back and it’s eager to come out to play.

  I squeeze my eyes shut for a second just to take a deep breath and clear my mind, to find some sort of calm or peace or something to get me through this without destroying everyone around me.

  “Fuck, he looks pissed. We’re both in for it, Bond,” Gabe mutters under his breath at me, and my eyes snap back open to find Sage cringing and looking terrified about the hell that’s heading towards us all.

  North starts off charging towards us but his footsteps slow as he takes in the damage lying all around us in the fields, all ninety-two of my victims writhing and twitching on the ground as blood pours from their eyes and ears as their brains begin to break down in their skulls.

  Atlas doesn’t miss a beat, his feet propelling him to me without a single glance in any other direction. Only at the last second does he seem to notice Gabe and the way that we’re wrapped around each other, but he doesn’t comment as he slams into me with enough force to knock the breath out of me and tears me away from Gabe, swinging me into his arms and clutching me close to his chest.

  “What the fuck was that, Oli? Why the fuck did you take off without me? I would’ve come with you to find Sage,” he murmurs into my hair and my arms feel as though they weigh a thousand pounds as I lift them to return his embrace.

  I let out a shuddering breath as I let myself just melt into his arms, too exhausted from using my gift in such a huge way after years of hiding it. I let my face tuck into his neck as I mumble back, “There wasn’t time. They already had her and I couldn’t let her go without backup, that’s not who I am, Atlas.”

  His arms tighten around me even more, constricting me until I can’t breathe, but there’s something so goddamn comforting about it that I’m willing to just die here rather than ask him to ease up. His hand cradles the back of my head as he whispers back, “I never doubted that or you for a minute, Sweetness. Fuck the rest of them, I already told you that it’s us against the world.”

  I accept that I’m going to die here wrapped up in him and I’ll never regret it, not even while I’m rotting six feet under and burning in the pits of hell for all of my sins.

  “Bassinger, get off of her, we need to get her out of the open before the riot starts,” North snaps, but his words make no sense.

  Riot?

  Why the hell would there be a riot and exactly which people would be starting it? But Atlas drops his arms away from me slowly, which is great because my legs give out on me.

  He catches me and swings me back up into his arms, snapping at North, “She needs a healer, did you think to bring one? Fuck Ardern, he can wait. Over my dead body are any of you being attended to before my Bond.”

  And then he stalks forward with me still securely wrapped around him until he reaches Sage, dropping one arm to offer her some help if she needs it. When she shakes her head, he motions at her to follow him back to the plane, keeping my friend safe without a word from me, because even in the short time he’s known me, he’s figured out just how to reach my ice-wrapped heart.

  I let my eyes slip shut, mumbling a quiet thank you even as I slip out of consciousness.

  I slip back into some semi-consciousness as Atlas takes his seat and adjusts his hold on me, moving me around a little until I’m secure in his arms.

  I feel Sage’s hand slip onto my forehead a
s she murmurs with Atlas about finding a healer for me, but I manage to croak out, “I’m fine. Take me to Felix when we get home, I don’t want anyone else to touch me while I’m out of it.”

  Atlas’ arms tighten again and for a second, I think he’s pissed at me but then my bond feels Gabe take the seat next to us, jostling me a little as he collapses there. When Atlas snarls at him, he snaps, “Give me a fucking break, I’ve just been drugged and had the shit kicked out of me.”

  My bond doesn’t like that at all and my gift bursts out of me before I can stop it.

  Gabe yelps as it hits him, scrambling up like he thinks I'm about to tear his mind apart. I don't have the energy to feel bad about it. I mean, they don't know about the other things I can do.

  They don’t really know anything.

  Gabe figures it out first. "My headache and dizziness is gone."

  I hear footsteps and my bond recognizes Gryphon as he approaches us, his voice low and gravelly as he snaps, “What the fuck was that? What the fuck just happened?”

  I feel the Draven brothers both approaching and even in my paralyzed-like state, I tense a little and then Gabe speaks again, harsher than I've ever heard him before, "Don't take another fucking step near my Bond or I'll rip your fucking throat out with my bare teeth."

  I wonder which one of the crew has been stupid enough to try to approach us because he cannot be talking to one of the Dravens like that, but then Nox says, snark dripping down his words, "She's my Bond as well."