All Chapters of BLOOD BOUND: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

A community centre in a mixed area was the scene of the attack. During an integration workshop, the building was firebombed by an unidentified individual. There are twenty-three people inside, five of them youngsters. The message was unmistakable: not everyone welcomed peace, even though everyone was safely evacuated.Sera felt ill as she stood in front of the charred structure. Dietrich had forewarned of this very situation—peace on paper not matching reality on the streets.Lucien said, "We knew there'd be resistance," but his tone sounded hollow. "Extremists on both sides who prefer war. "Seeing a burned-out building where children were housed is not the same as knowing it intellectually. Sera kicked at the wreckage. "Who was responsible for this?Extremist vampires? Who are the hardliners? People who are afraid of both?"Is it important? People are afraid, support for integration is waning, and we appear inept for not stopping it. The outcome is the same.The masked criminal was ca

It was over a year after the treaty was signed, and people were divided over whether to celebrate. Margot said during planning meetings that we should celebrate the event. "Show how far we've come and thank everyone for their hard work." "Or we admit how far we still have to go," said a vampire councillor in response."Public ceremony might seem tone-deaf because of the problems we're having." Chen responded, "What problems in particular?"There were a lot of things on the list. Integrated schools still had trouble getting money and getting students to sign up. Mixed neighbourhoods had settled down, but they were still separated by wealth: affluent vampires lived in one section, poor witches lived in another, and humans lived all over the place. Even though there are laws against it, workplace discrimination still occurs.And violence had gone down, but it wasn't gone. Elara's replacement, a young vampire named Marcus (not Sophie's father), said there had been forty-two attacks in the

Three years after the treaty signing.Aurora was 18 months old, strolling around with confidence and showing off magic that scared and amazed her parents at the same time. She could use witch magic to make things float and vampire strength to fling them across the room. She aged a little more slowly than human kids but faster than full vampires. She was a beautiful mix of both species and something completely new."No, Aurora, we don't set the curtains on fire," Sera remarked for the third time that week, putting out little flames with a wave of her hand. "Fire is not for fun; it's for emergencies."Aurora giggled, showing that she knew more than she was letting on. By the time she was 18 months old, she was already showing the rapid growth typical of hybrid children. She could speak in short words, understand complicated ideas, and use magic that most witch children couldn't until they were five."She's going to be a handful," Lucien muttered as he picked up his daughter before she c

The pressure from the Fourth Species movement forced the council's hand. Three months after Sophie's manifesto, official negotiations began on amending the treaty to recognize hybrid children as a distinct category.It was contentious from the start."We're creating artificial divisions," one human representative argued. "Hybrid children are the offspring of two existing species. Why do they need separate recognition?""Because being offspring doesn't define identity," Sophie responded.She had been given an official voice in negotiations, which was unusual for someone her age but appropriate because she was in charge. "I'm not 'daughter of vampire and witch.' I'm hybrid. It's not about my parents. It's about me.""But legally, practically, how do we categorise you? What rights, what obligations, what governance?" "That's what we're here to figure out. But first step is acknowledging we exist as ourselves, not as fractions of our parents." The negotiations were public, broadcast, and

The proliferation of Fourth Species schools triggered coordinated opposition. Not from conspiracy remnants or extremists, but from mainstream politicians and concerned citizens who saw it as a reversal of integration progress."We spent years fighting segregation," a human senator said on national television. "Now we're allowing it voluntarily? That's not progress—that's giving up.""It's not segregation," Sophie responded on the same program. "It's community building. There's a difference between forced separation and chosen congregation.""The outcome is the same—children separated by species.""By identity, not species. And Fourth Species children deserve education that centers their experiences. That's not controversial for any other group."But it was controversial. Editorials condemned Fourth Species schools as "self-imposed apartheid." Parents of vampire and witch children complained their kids were being "left behind" as hybrid families left integrated schools. Funding became