Текст книги "Burning Blood"

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Burning

Blood

by

New York Times & USA Today Bestseller

Pepper Winters

BURNING BLOOD

Copyright © 2026 Pepper Winters

Published by Pepper Winters

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Libraries are exempt and permitted to share their in-house copies with their members and have full thanks for stocking this book. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

No part of this book is permitted to be used in training AI models.

This is human written through numerous plot-notes, annoying rewrites, a painful amount of deletions, and untold number of agonising hours. And yes, receipts can be provided.

Published: Pepper Winters 2026: pepperwinters@gmail.com

Cover Design: Christley Creatives

Editing / Proofreading by: Christina Cornish

Artwork: Valerie

Audio: Noah Trent & Alexa Borys

Contents

Playlist

Prologue

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

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Three

Chapter Fifty-Four

Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Three

Chapter Sixty-Four

Chapter Sixty-Five

Chapter Sixty-Six

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Chapter Seventy

Glossary

Acknowledgements

Other work by Pepper Winters

Playlist

Jared Benjamin – Poison

Jared Benjamin – Believe it

Kygo & Imagine Dragons – Born to be Yours

Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars

Ruelle – War Of Hearts

Ruelle – Monsters

Pink – What About Us

Zac Efron, Zendaya – Rewrite The Stars

Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water

James Arthur – Impossible

Neoni – Darkside

Prologue

I’VE HEARD THAT WHEN DESTINY COMES for you, there’s no escape.

You can fight, fake, and force yourself to believe whatever you want to believe, but fate always finds a way.

No matter if you’re enemies or strangers. No matter if you met in tragedy or sweet romance, once destiny binds you together, that’s it.

You’re no longer your own person; you’re part of a whole.

It doesn’t matter if the person you chose is crazy or angry or suicidal.

Once you’re bound, two hearts beat as one.

Their revenge becomes your revenge.

Their love binds with your love.

And their death...is your death.

Always.

Chapter One

TO GO FROM THE BEST KISS of my life to being asked to commit murder...

He had to be kidding, right?

I gawked at him.

His voice echoed over and over in my head.

“Kill me, kill me, kill me.”

My palm turned slippery around the knife, my lips still stinging from his, my heart a manic monster in my chest.

Raw panic rushed up my throat. “There’s no way I’m—”

“Do it.” His eyes held mine, narrowed and black. “Stab me. Right now.”

I backed up, wrenching my hand from his where he forced me to hold the knife. “You’re crazy.” Tears pricked my eyes. “I can’t. I physically can’t hurt you.”

“Once again, your lack of obedience is infuriating.”

“My obedience?!” My temper got the better of me. “I don’t remember promising to obey you—”

“I told you not to fuck this up for me.” His eyes locked on the drones above. The drones watching everything. “And keep your voice down.”

“Let’s just go back inside—”

“It’s too late for that.” He reached for me. “Come here.”

“Get away from me.” I went to throw the knife into the bushes, but he rushed me, grabbed my shoulders where my rucksack hung, and hissed into my ear. “You will do this for me because I can’t do it on my own. I need you.”

Need you.

Need you.

Up until now, I’d hoarded those words.

I’d relished that someone like Lucien Ashfall—who prided himself on hating everyone and everything—needed me.

Useless stress-phobic me.

To ease his pain.

To give him pleasure.

To share my company and just talk to him...

But this?

Murdering him?

Not possible.

Utterly impossible.

I fought him. “Let me go.”

“I’m not asking, Rook.”

“And I’m not doing it, Lucien.”

“Don’t you get it? I only have one shot. Just one!” His snarl vibrated through my bones, making me ache from head to toe. “And I’m not going to fail.”

“I’ll do whatever you need, but I can’t—”

“Stab me. Before they come.” His fingers dug into my shoulders like pincers. “Stab me, Rook. Do it.”

My name. He hardly ever said my name.

Now he’d said it twice in succession.

It made my heart skip a million beats and feelings to surge that had absolutely no business surging.

The drones suddenly abandoned us, shooting back over the wall as the rain became heavier, drenching us with wet splashes.

Without the drones recording us, I shouted, “You can command me all you want. I will literally do anything else you ask, but I won’t hurt you. I refuse.”

“Don’t you want revenge on me keeping you here?” He gripped me agonisingly hard, his face going black. “Aren’t you furious?”

“What?” My eyes widened. “Why would I—?”

“Don’t you hate me for taking you away from your life?”

“Yes. I mean no.” I scowled. “I mean...it’s not you who did this to me.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m the reason you’re here. I’m the reason you can’t leave.”

“You’re the reason I’m still alive. You’ve saved me from the others. You’ve given me your blood—”

“Purely to keep you alive for this. I needed you well enough—obedient enough—to kill me.”

My heart quit beating. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do. You’re the key. My one chance. I’ve been using you this entire time—”

“No, you haven’t.” I shook my head, clinging to all those moments where our lives had woven together. All those seconds where we’d fallen into something against our wishes but something that was real and true and—

“You mean nothing to me.” He bared his teeth like a beast. “You’re just a tool. A knife I’ve honed to be used at this very moment.”

“No.” I swallowed hard, fighting his words, my reaction, begging stress not to black me out. “I know what you’re doing, and I don’t blame you—”

“I blame me,” he cut me off with a roar. “I fucking despise everything about myself and this place. You’re here because of me. You’re trapped because of me. And if you don’t do what I say, I’ll kill you.”

“You can’t keep threatening me with something we both know isn’t true!” I stomped my foot like a child, splashing droplets from a gathering puddle. “You can’t kill me. We both know that. If you could, you would’ve done it already!”

“I’ll happily kill you right now if you don’t stab me.”

“Do it then. Because I’m certainly not.”

His eyes narrowed with fury even as the silver disc beeped and sent him swaying. “Do it. I’m running out of time. Stab me. Slit my throat before—”

“Stop it.” Tears ran down my cheeks. “Just tell me what the hell you’re up to and—”

“Kill me. Don’t and your only chance—”

“I don’t need a chance.”

“—to stay alive will be gone.”

“Enough!” I kept struggling but he was too strong, too committed. “I know what you’re doing. You’re deliberately trying to antagonise me enough to hurt you.”

“Is it working?” he grunted, fighting to hold me close. His blood loss gave me some advantage but not nearly enough. “Do you hate me?”

“No, it isn’t working. It’s just pissing me off!”

“Goddammit, Rook. You will do this for me.” Dragging me into his embrace, he changed tactics. His chest heaved against mine. His heart was wild and thunderous behind the metal pacemaker. “I’ve been waiting for this day for twenty years. I’ve plotted and planned, all while knowing it would be useless on my own. But with your help...it might work.” His voice roughened with ancient misery. “I need you to do this for me. They’ve ensured I can’t do it myself, so I need you to obey me. I need you to put aside your own fear, stop fucking arguing with me, and drive that dagger straight into my chest.”

“Y-You’re mental.” I tried to look into his eyes, but he kept me trapped against him. “Absolutely nuts—”

“Stab me,” he commanded, snarling through any sentence I tried to hurl. “Let them see the blood they covet so much bleeding out all over this sickening garden.”

“You’re not just mental, you’re a lunatic.” My stomach knotted with thorns. “What about what you just said? About making them pay? About getting free? What about your revenge?”

“There can’t be revenge unless you kill me.”

“Do you hear yourself? How does that even make sense?!”

In the distance, the iron gate swung open.

Our heads snapped in that direction as four men on motorbikes sped toward us, engines snarling, grass spewing behind them as they churned up the manicured lawn.

Lucien’s entire body stiffened; his black eyes alight with rage. “Fuck’s sake. We’re running out of time.” Shoving me away, any signs of the suicidal man vanished as he faced the incoming traffic.

“You will stab me,” he muttered coldly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Tell me what you’re planning and I might be able to—”

“It’s too late.” His eyes locked on mine. “Just trust me. Trust that I know what I’m doing.”

Trust him.

Trust.

Such a huge request, and yet surprisingly...I did trust him.

He’d slowly earned my trust each time he’d come for me when I was in danger and healed me when I was in pain. He’d stolen all my doubt the moment he’d stolen my heart.

I stopped cold.

This was the first thing he’d ever truly asked of me. The first thing of substance that didn’t include bleeding him or cleaning.

And who was I to refuse?

What gave me the power to keep him alive if he didn’t want to be?

A spine-racking shiver made me tremble as I studied him.

Dressed in his signature black, the first couple of shirt buttons had come undone, revealing the metal disc over his heart. It flickered red again thanks to his racing pulse, hurting him. Yet he didn’t stagger or succumb.

If anything, the pain only added to his chaos, feeding the ferocity simmering beneath his skin. His entire energy smouldered, hinting that even without my help, he’d already committed. He’d decided that his death was simply a tool in a war he’d been fighting for two decades.

My heart twisted painfully as I licked my lips, sipping on raindrops as they fell in a quiet lullaby. “I do trust you.”

His gaze snapped in my direction as if I’d given him a gift he’d never expected.

I sucked in a breath at the stark desperation in his eyes, before whispering, “The question is...do you. Do you trust me?”

The men came closer on their motorbikes, but Lucien never looked away.

Life stopped for a split second. The rain ceased falling and the earth quit spinning as his face softened and he nodded just barely. “If you do this for me, you’ll be the only person in my entire life that I’ve ever wanted to trust.”

I flinched.

Wanted to trust.

Not trust.

Not yet.

Anger etched his mouth, and I expected him to say something cutting but his unreadable mask slipped back into place. “I’m dying today.” His body turned loose as if accepting his coffin already. “You can’t stop it. You can’t change it. And you don’t have a say if I survive once it’s all over.”

Before I could ask what the hell he meant, he turned to face the men and held out his arms. “Here they come.” He smirked, looking positively psychotic. “Let the games begin.”

Chapter Two

MY HEART WILTED AS HE MADE EVERYTHING a million times worse by laughing. Laughing as if he wanted them to come. Laughing as if he wanted to die out here, in the rain, in pain...after kissing me so desperately.

I squeaked as he wrapped a tight arm around my waist, just as the four men surrounded us in a flurry of snarling machines. “Stay close and ready.” In the same breath, he grinned. “Gentlemen.”

The guards secured their bikes and swung their legs off. Reaching into their holsters, they aimed their pistols at...me.

I gulped as four guns locked onto my forehead.

“Step aside, Mr. Ashfall. We’re aware it’s blood-harvesting day and you’re weaker than usual. We could see your fight, but the rain shorted out the audio. We don’t know why she’s chosen to hurt you after being by your side for so long, but...we’ll deal with her for you.”

Deal with me?

My gaze dropped to the forgotten knife still in my shaking fingers.

Oh!

I jolted.

I went to throw it away, but Lucien grabbed my hand, squeezing tight. “You drop that, and you’re dead. They’ll fire before I can stop them.”

I gasped as his hand shook around mine, his eyes locked on the guards. “Put your guns down. That’s an order.”

“Step away, sir.” The closest one moved forward, finger on the trigger. “She’s armed and threatening your life.”

“She’s not threatening my life,” Lucien drawled, bored and arrogant—completely different from the wiry fury of before. “I was the one who gave her the knife. Calm down.”

“You were the one...?” The guard glowered at him. “Why would you...?”

“Because as much as I’m tempted to kill her—as much as I’m struggling not to end her for what she’s done, I’m doing my best to restrain myself.”

Wait...what?

“Why would you restrain yourself?” The guard frowned. “You’ve never stopped yourself before. The girls are just ants for your entertainment and pleasure. To bed and discard as you see fit.”

Great, I was no longer a rat but an ant.

Not exactly an improvement.

“I know.” Lucien tightened his arm around me until I tripped against him. “But this one’s different.”

Different.

My stupid heart reacted, not able to tell the truth from a lie anymore.

I gulped as he nuzzled my neck, murmuring loud enough for the guards to hear, “The moment we met, I knew she’d ruin me. And...I didn’t really care. I certainly wasn’t able to stop myself.”

My pulse skyrocketed.

What was he doing?

What is he saying?!

A couple of the guards glowered. “Regardless, step aside and we’ll remove her for you. Our incinerator has been idle the past few days.” Rain continued to fall, making them glance at the sky with impatience to get back inside.

Lucien huffed and rested his forehead on my temple. Such an intimate position yet it felt so threatening. “I’m quite capable of killing her myself, thanks.” His eyebrows drew together, tickling me. “Don’t you want to know why I haven’t?”

A dark-haired one shrugged. “Look, Mr. Ashfall. We’re all getting wet. Can we wrap it up so we can get dry?” He arched his chin at me. “Whatever you’re doing, it’s not our place to ask questions. This is your turf. Your rules. But she’s holding a knife. You’re our top priority. Allow us to clean up your mess and—”

“My mess?” Lucien snapped, swooping to his full height and glaring at them. “You’re calling the fact that I finally succumbed a mess?”

The guards shared a look, as confused as me. Before they could respond, Lucien added, “I gave her the knife, so I didn’t snap and kill her. I’m protecting her from you, so you don’t get trigger happy.”

“But you’ve never cared before—”

“You’re right. I haven’t. But she’s my ticket out of here. And if you destroy her before I get to use her—if you kill her the moment I let her go—Marcus will be extremely pissed.”

The nearest guard drew himself up. “Mr. Ward would be angry? Why?” He frowned and shook his head. “I...don’t understand.”

My head throbbed, trying to follow along with this disjointed script Lucien hadn’t allowed me to audition for. Bitterness flooded my tongue as he slipped into the man he’d been when we first met: cold and heartless and savage.

His arm tightened like a cobra, binding me to him as if he truly did hate me. As if every word out of his mouth was real. “I vowed I’d never lose control and touch one of Marcus’s little rats, but...” He shrugged and shot me a careless smile before locking gazes with the guards again. “This one was too tempting. I touched her. Rather a lot, actually.”

Wait...

I choked.

I coughed.

I threw him a look that he completely ignored.

Lucien snaked his arm tighter around me, slipping beneath my rucksack to splay his hand directly over my lower belly. The same hand that had made me come this morning. The same hand that had clenched in agony and reached in tenderness.

His fingers dug into my flat stomach. The move was so possessive—so inherently, proudly male that my core clenched, believing, just for a moment, that he was talking about a miraculous conception and he’d somehow knocked me up.

“Of course, once I’d slipped...it was easy to keep slipping.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and shrugged. “Every day that she’s been in my quarters—away from your little cameras—I’ve had all kinds of fun.”

He shot me a smirk before his face shadowed. “But that fun ended when I found out.”

“Found out?” a guard asked, perplexed even as my heart started to race. “Found out what?”

No...

He couldn’t mean to—

“I was going to kill her the moment it was confirmed. But...I’m tired. I’ve had enough. I’ve reached the end of my limit and...Marcus has finally won.”

The guards shifted on the spot; their guns still trained on me. “Won? What did he win?”

“I’m finally willing to take Marcus up on his offer. So run along like good little dogs and tell him.” He wafted his hand condescendingly. “Go on. Shoo.”

The men shared a look.

Dressed all in black, they ranged in age, but the handsome middle-aged redhead seemed to be in charge. His fingers flexed around his gun as he cocked his chin at the blade in my hand. “We’ll happily pass on any message you want to Mr. Ward. However, we can’t leave while she’s armed. You’re weak from blood loss and can’t afford to stand in the rain any longer. Either disarm her and give her to us or we’ll use our full authorised force to protect you.”

“I told you,” Lucien snarled, a surge of heat flaring from his body. “I was the one who gave her the knife. Are you not listening?”

“Regardless of whether you gave her the knife or not, we can’t stand down unless—”

“No one is touching her,” Lucien hissed. “Including me, do you hear? She can’t be killed. Under any circumstances.”

My ears ached at the foreshadowing in his tone. At his unspoken commitment toward whatever was about to happen. He wasn’t doing this to get himself free—he was doing this to ensure I stayed alive when he died.

Oh God.

My chest seized and grey spots danced over my vision.

“Our orders are that no one is allowed to harm you, sir. Even you. No matter what is going on, we—”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Lucien cut in. “Your idiocy is ruining my big moment.”

“Excuse me?” the guard barked.

Lucien rolled his eyes. “Ask yourself...why am I delivering her to you? Why am I doing my best not to kill her? Why the fuck would I give her a knife to protect herself from me when I’ve spent the last couple of decades exterminating every woman you’ve thrown in here?”

“Um...” The guards shared a worried look.

Lucien’s sanity strayed far too close to that crazy line again.

“Look, sir.” An older one cleared his throat. “How about you just tell us—”

“I’m delivering her to you because I want her out of my sight before I change my mind.” Lucien rolled his eyes with a dramatic groan. “Get it?”

“You’re going to have to be clearer, sir.” The redhead guard scowled.

“Fuck, if I knew you were this dumb, I would’ve staged a coup years ago,” Lucien muttered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

“What did you say?” The redhead leaned closer. “You’ll have to speak louder, sir. And clearer if you don’t mind, I’m confused.”

God, I knew the feeling.

My vision went hazy again.

“Fine.” Lucien exhaled hard. “Let’s just get this over with. Allow me to unconfuse you.”

Unwinding his arm from my waist, he slung it over my shoulders and dragged me into him. My hand swung—bringing the knife dangerously close to his chest.

The guns shot up, drilling into me. “Mr. Ashfall. Either disarm the girl or we’ll shoot.”

Lucien ignored them.

His body vibrated with hidden tension and his energy burned me alive. His lips burned my cheek as he kissed me, mocking and cruel.

My heart cracked right down the middle.

I wished it was just us.

I wished he’d talked to me.

Whispered his plan and told me what I was supposed to do.

But then he nuzzled my ear, looked at the guards, and announced loud enough to inform all of Cinderkeep. “She’s pregnant, you idiots. Now, do you understand?”