Blood Tie: Changed, #6

By Heather MacKinnon

What happens when you wake up to find out your life is over?

 

Ashton's been in a lot of sticky situations, but never one he couldn't get himself out of—until he took the job working security for a beautiful vampire, and found himself on the wrong side of an organization hell-bent on capturing her. He willingly sacrificed his life for hers, but didn't count on her saving him in return.

Millie swore she was done making vampires. But, when Ashton gets shot protecting her, she doesn't think twice. She'll figure out how to explain her actions to him later. All that matters is he's alive.

But what happens when Ashton wakes up from the change and realizes his humanity is over? Can he accept this new life and forgive Millie for making the choice for him? Or will this tear their tentative new relationship apart?

This book contains sexual themes and violence that is intended for audiences 18 and older.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heather MacKinnon
• Release date: Mar 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201825683

Book preview

Blood Tie

Changed Series: Book Six

Heather MacKinnon

Blood Tie

Copyright Ⓒ 2020 by Heather MacKinnon

Book cover: Fiverr.com/GermanCreative

Editor: Karen Sanders Editing

Proofreader: Dark Raven Edits

Formatting: Blurbs and Baubles Author Services

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All Rights are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

More from Heather MacKinnon

About the Author

Chapter One

Millie

Why the hell isn’t he awake yet?

Abigail sighed through the phone. She was the orientation director for newly changed vampires, so she was probably used to getting calls from erratic makers, but this was a first for me. It’s only been three days, she reminded me, her voice calm.

No, it’s been three days and twelve hours. That’s three and a half days! That’s almost four days! That’s too many days!

I continued to pace the length of the borrowed living room, my body too anxious to sit still.

Millie, calm down.

I will not be calm. How can I be calm when my–

I finally fell silent as I grasped for the right word.

He wasn’t my bodyguard anymore, right?

So what did I call him now? My friend? My lover? Something more? Something less?

With a shake of my head, I said, How can I be calm when my new vampire isn’t awake after three and a half days?

From what you told me, his injuries were extensive. That takes time to heal.

Lacy’s injuries were extensive when I changed her too!

Lacy wasn’t shot.

Just hearing those words made my heart stop and my stomach fall.

I’d been close.

So close to losing him.

All because I’d convinced him we were safe there. That he could let down his guard and focus his attention on me instead of his job. I’d prodded and pouted until I got my way, and that mistake cost Ashton his life.

Or it almost did.

I shook my head to clear those thoughts. Abby, just tell me he’s going to be okay. Please. I squeezed my eyes closed as I waited, a single tear streaking down my face.

He’s going to be fine, Millie. Just have a little patience. I’ve seen vampires take almost four full days to complete the change. This isn’t so unusual. Just try to relax and prepare yourself for when he wakes up.

My eyes shot open as my stomach fell again. What?

How did she know?

How could she know?

Had she already alerted Parliament?

Were there guards on their way to this safe house right now?

Your progeny. He’s going to need you when he wakes up.

I blew out a discreet breath of relief as I sagged against the wall.

Abby didn’t know I’d changed him against his will.

No one did.

If they did, there’d be heavy repercussions. I could be thrown in prison for decades. I could be denied blood.

But all that paled in comparison to the consequences I faced from Ashton when he finally woke up.

He’d specifically said he never wanted to become a vampire. That he’d hate losing the sun and never being able to eat again. He’d told me that not even twenty-four hours before, and I changed him anyway.

But how could I not?

How could I sit there and watch him bleed out on that hotel floor?

How could I let him die knowing it was because of me?

How could I let him go when I’d just found him?

I couldn’t.

Now I just had to live with the fallout of that decision.

Millie?

I shook my head again. Yes. I’m here. Sorry, what did you say?

I was just asking if you’d booked the training facility yet.

My stomach pinched inside me. Oh. Um. No. Not yet.

Why not?

Because I’m not sure my progeny is even going to want to talk to me when he wakes up, let alone go spend two weeks with me learning how to control his new abilities.

But I didn’t say that.

Oh, um, I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve been so worried about my… new vampire, I finished lamely.

I can call for you. I needed to talk to them about something anyway.

I opened my mouth to tell her not to bother, but couldn’t come up with a single reason why she shouldn’t. Reluctantly, I blew out a deep breath. Okay, that would be great, I lied.

I’ll hang up with you and give them a call now.

Okay. Thanks, Abby.

It’s always my pleasure, Millie. Can’t wait to meet your new vampire!

I winced at that last word but finished the call before hanging up and tossing my phone onto the couch. A deep breath gusted out of my lungs as I tilted my head back and looked up at the ceiling.

I heard a soft sound deep within the apartment, and my head whipped toward the bedroom door. Within seconds, I was across the room and twisting the door handle.

I eased it open and froze on the threshold. My eyes zeroed in on Ashton’s form in the middle of the king-sized bed. But there was no movement other than his slow, even breaths.

Whatever I’d heard must have come from one of the other apartments on this floor. But now I was in here, I didn’t want to leave. So, like I’d done for the past three and a half days, I dragged the accent chair from the corner of the room over to his bedside and sat down.

Ashton was so handsome, even with his face slack from sleep, but it wasn’t hard to notice the differences in him now.

His skin was so much paler. Gone was the healthy glow that used to radiate from him. And if possible, he was even better looking. His imperfections perfected and his flaws erased.

He was so beautiful it was hard to look at him.

And I knew he was going to hate it.

As I sat there watching him, cataloguing all the minute differences, Ashton’s eyelids shot open, and I jumped in my seat.

He lay there, staring at the ceiling for a moment, before his head turned to me. The moment his eyes met mine, they widened, and he jolted upright in bed.

Millie! Are you okay? he asked as he scurried toward me and grabbed my biceps. His wild eyes assessed me before they darted around the room. Where are we? What happened?

Ashton, I–

Why does everything look so weird? It’s like I’m looking through a microscope, he continued as he studied my features. His eyes darted down to my chest and back up to my face. And why can I hear your heart racing right now?

My pulse thudded harder in response as I tried to figure out what to say to him. Or at least which question to answer first.

Ashton looked away again to glance around the room. Where are we? he asked again.

That I could actually answer.

Alexander Hausle put us in a safe house.

He nodded slowly, his eyes still scanning everything in the room. Where?

We’re still in Manhattan.

He took a deep breath and then coughed. We’re on the west side?

I frowned. Yeah. How did you know?

He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. I can smell the Hudson from here.

I froze in place, but thankfully, he didn’t notice that a human shouldn’t have been able to smell that.

What happened? How did we get here? he asked as he pulled away.

I brought us here.

He turned to me. But what happened? The last thing I remember is those assholes breaking down the door of our hotel room and you coming out of the bathroom.

I bit my lip and looked away.

This was it.

I finally had to do the thing I’d been dreading for over thirty-six hours.

You were shot, I croaked. Just hearing those words out loud again made me sick to my stomach.

What? he asked softly. One of Ashton’s hands drifted to his stomach, the other to his chest, before he looked at me again. I remember now. That son of a bitch got me twice. His face was angry for a second before it creased in confusion. I remember all the blood and then everything went black.

Every single one of my organs cramped in anticipation of what I had to do next. And every single molecule in my body didn’t want to. My feet itched to run, but I sat there. I owed him this much at least.

You were dying, I finally said. I swallowed hard. Your heart was failing.

Ashton pulled his hands away and held them in front of his face, almost like he expected them to still be covered in blood. He turned to me. You healed me?

I pressed my lips together hard as I shook my head. I couldn’t. It was too late for that.

He frowned as he stared at me. I watched as the gears turned in his head and he slowly fit the pieces together. As he did, his eyes widened further and further until they were like saucers in his face. Then how am I still alive?

He knew the answer already. I could tell by the way he sat there, tensed, every muscle in his body tight. But he was still going to make me say it.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I couldn’t watch him hear me say this. I changed you into a vampire.

I counted to three in my head before I opened my eyes again. When I did, I found Ashton still staring at me, his expression frozen, not a single inch of him moving. Finally, he spoke. What? he whispered.

I clenched my hands tight in my lap and looked down again as the words spilled from my mouth. You were shot twice in the back and you were bleeding internally. I swallowed past my dry throat. You were dying, I said, my voice cracking at the end.

The silence was so deafening it made my ears ring. But I kept my eyes trained on my white knuckles. I couldn’t bear to watch him slowly grow to hate me.

"You… changed me? Into a vampire?"

I glanced up at him and opened my mouth, but no words would come out, so instead, I nodded.

Ashton looked back down at his hands, studying them closer this time. What do you mean? I’m a vampire now?

I just nodded again.

Ashton shook his head in response. No, he muttered, his eyes darting around the room like he was searching for an answer. His gaze finally fell on me. Can I be changed back?

My stomach twisted so painfully I winced. No, I whispered.

Ashton’s whole face fell as his shoulders drooped and a big breath burst out of him. This… is permanent?

Yes, I whispered again.

Ashton started shaking his head again. I’m a vampire now? So, I can’t go out in the sun anymore? I can’t eat food anymore?

No, I breathed. I’m sorry.

He met my eyes again. Why would you do this to me?

This time the ache in my gut was so severe my shoulders hunched, and my body curled inward. I had to. You were dying.

Did you even try to heal me first? Or call the fucking paramedics?

I winced at his harsh words. No. I didn’t.

Why the fuck not? he yelled as he surged to his feet. "Your first solution was to fucking change me into a vampire? Why would you think I’d want to be like you?"

I actually jumped this time and tried to make myself even smaller. I didn’t have a choice. You were going to die.

How do you know that? he screamed. "You didn’t even fucking try! You just decided to fucking end my life?"

In that instant, something inside me snapped, and I uncurled myself and stood up.

I’d allowed myself to fall into an old habit. I was cowering from an angry man like it was still the 1930s and I was still married to a violent drunk.

But my ex-husband was dead. This was Ashton, and no matter how mad he got at me, I knew he’d never hurt me.

I straightened my spine and met his eyes. I have a medical degree. I know a fatal injury when I see one.

So, your solution was to make me a fucking vampire? he roared.

I waited a moment before responding. It was either that or let you die.

Then maybe you should have let me die!

His words rocked me to my core. You’d really rather be dead?

"No. I’d rather be alive and a fucking human."

Okay, now I was getting irritated.

I understood this was a lot to take in, and I knew he’d be upset, but now he was blaming me for something that wasn’t my fault.

Then maybe you shouldn’t have run in front of a pair of bullets!

Ashton’s eyes went wide before they narrowed. "I was protecting you."

"I’m a vampire! They