Had he once been whipped with a cat-o-nine-tails? Had he once drained a human to death? Had he once stumbled upon a sick shape-shifting bear clan and doctored them to health?
A muted rumblea yawn?in the back of his mind claimed his attention. The monster. Actually, demon was a better description for Chompers. Aden felt utterly possessed by him. A feeling he should have been used to. Only, Chompers was nothing like the soulshe wasnt affable like Julian, perverted like Caleb, or caring like Elijah. Chompers thought only of blood and pain. The taking of bloodand the giving of pain.
When he took over, Aden became more predator than man. He hated himself as much as he hated Victoria. Which was surreal. Chompers adored Aden. He truly did. He enjoyed being inside Adens mind and didnt fight to leave him as hed always fought Victoria. But even still, Chompers had a violent temperament, and that violent temperament demanded its due.
Sometimes Aden and Victoria switched back, the souls returning to him, Chompers returning to her. They would quickly switch again, however. And again and again and again. And each time edged them closer and closer to insanity. Too many memories swirling together, too many conflicting needs. One day soon, they would tumble off that edge completely.
Aden, Victoria said, panting, his name broken. I musthave to
He knew what came next.
She angled his head, just as hed done to her, and a moment later, her mouth left his. He didnt like that. Her fangs sank into his jugular. He didnt like that, either, and hissed out a breath. Once upon a time, her bite had felt good. In her mindless state of hunger, shed lost her finesse, and those fangs sliced into a tendon. He didnt try to stop her, though. She needed to drink just as much as he did.
Footsteps echoed through their cave, resonating like a buzzer.
Aden didnt panic. Victoria could teleport anywhere shed been before, had even whisked them here the night of his stabbing. He didnt know where here was, or when shed visited, he knew only that hikers occasionally wandered inside. None had ever traveled this far and this deep, and he doubted that would change.
He and Victoria could have gone somewhere else, he supposed, somewhere even more remote. Might have been safer, being as far away from civilization as possible. There was a target on Adens back, after all, Victorias father having come back from the dead to reclaim his throne. Or rather, Vlad the Impaler was trying to reclaim the throne.
Aden might be humanemphasis on mightbut he was now the vampire king. Hed killed for the right to rule. So, he would be reclaiming the throne. Just as soon as he could wean himself from Victorias blood.
His thoughts, he wondered, or the monsters?
His, he decided next. Had to be his. He wanted to be king as intently as he wanted to feed.
You didnt before. In fact, hed been on the hunt for a replacement.
That was before. Besides, there at the end, I had started to make plans for my people. His people?
That was the adrenaline talking.
Yeah? And this is me talkingshut up.
The footsteps reverberated, closercloser
Victoria ripped her fangs from his neck and hissed at the only entrance to the cavern. Normally, if she were lucid, she would simply compel visitors away before they could step inside. Her voice was powerful, and no one human could resist doing what she commanded. Except Aden. He must have built up an immunity to that voice, because she could no longer work her magic on him. Shed tried, here in the cave, every time the madness had come upon her. Tilt your head, offer your neck Yet hed done only what he wanted.
If the human comes any closer, I will eat his liver and rip out his heart, she snarled.
A threat she wouldnt see through, Aden didnt think. These past few daysyears?she craved only Adens blood, as he craved only hers. He could always smell the hikers the moment they entered the winding maze of the caves, just as he knew Victoria could, but the thought of drinking from one of them, even to save his life, caused acid and bile to churn in his stomach. And yet, they were the reason he stayed in this location. If he or Victoria ever needed someone elses blood, whether they wanted it or not, they could get it.
Footsteps, closer and closer still, hurried now, determined. Is someone back there? The mans voice was slightly accented. Spanish, perhaps. I mean you no harm. I heard voices and thought you might need some help.
Victoria was off the dais, and a second later Aden was smashing face-first into the thin T-shirt shed used as a cushion. A tall, lanky man with dark hair and skin, perhaps forty years old, stepped into their private sanctuary. Victoria latched onto the humans shirt, moving so swiftly Aden saw only a blur. The guys backpack rattled against his canteen of water. With a flick of her wristsee?she flung him deeper inside.
He landed with a hard thud, skidding backward until he hit the wall. Instinctively he rolled and sat up. Confusion and fear battled for supremacy in his expression.
What He held out his hands in a protective gesture.
Another blur of motion, and Victoria was crouched in front of him, gripping his chin. Adens blood dripped from the corners of her mouth. That jet-black hair was a wild tangle around her head, and her fangs extended past her upper lip, cutting into the bottom one. She was a hauntingly lovely sight, as nightmarish as she was angelic.
Little beads of sweat broke out over the mans brow. His eyes widened, fear finally winning and glazing his irises. His chest rose and fell quickly, shallowly, his breath wheezing from his nostrils.
IIm so sorry. Didnt mean towill leavenever tellswearjust let me goplease, please.
Victoria continued to study him as if he were a rat in a wheel.
Tell him to go away, Aden said. Tell him to forget. She would despise herself if she hurt an innocent human. One day. Not today, probably not tomorrow, but one day, when their wits returned.
If they returned.
Silence. Her fingers tightened on the man. So much so, he grimaced in pain, bruises already branching along his jaw.
Aden opened his mouth to issue another command, but in the back of his mind, he heard another rumble. Stronger this time, more than a yawn. Every muscle in his body tensed.
Chompers had awakened.
A sense of urgency filled Aden. Victoria. Now! Or I swear Ill never feed you again.
Another beat of silence, then, You will go away, she said, thrums of subdued power wafting from her voice. Why subdued? You saw no one, spoke to no one.
Unlike before, several seconds passed before the human responded to her command. In the end, his brown eyes dulled, and his pupils contracted. No trouble, he said in a monotone. Leave. No one.
Good, she said, anger pulsing from her now. Her arm fell to her side. Go. Before its too late.
He stood. Walked to the entrance. Exited without looking back. He would never know how close hed come to dying.
The rumble in Adens head intensified yet again. Any moment now, and the rumble would become
A roar.
So loud, consuming, rocking him to his soul. Aden covered his ears, hoping to block the sound, even though he knew how ineffective the action was. Louder and louder, the roar became a scream, high-pitched, slashing through his mind like a razor until his thoughts broke apart and two words hacked their way to center stage.
Feed.
Destroy.
No, no, no. I did feed, he said to Chompers. Lets not
FEED. DESTROY.
The spiderwebs returned to his vision, interspaced with red. Both zeroed in on Victoria. Still she crouched, her gaze leveled on him, wary. She knew what would happen next.
FEEDDESTROY.
Yes. Aden rolled from the rocky dais and settled his weight on unsteady legs. Victoria unfolded to her full height, reed slender and lovely. Wild. Her hands curled into fists. Hed just eaten, true, but he needed more. Had to have more.
Feed, he heard himself say, two voices layered together, one familiar, the other smoky and harsh. Fight this, he had to fight this. Couldnt let Chompers tug his puppet strings.
A whimper escaped Victoria as she scratched at her ears. The souls must be waking up. He knew how loud their voices could be. As loud as Chompers roar.
Protect, she said, her eyes suddenly sparkling with brown, green and blue. Oh, yes. The souls were in there, chattering.
Protect her, as shed said. He must protect her. But he ground out, Destroy. And even though he tried to root his feet into the floor, he found himself stalking toward her, his mouth watering.
D e s t r o y d e s t r o y d e s t r o y. DESTROYDESTROYDESTROY.
Chompers had always been insistent. But thisthis was savagery at its most basic.
Somehow, some way, Adens time with Victoria was about to come to an endthe knowledge was suddenly as much a part of him as his healed heartand he had a feeling only one of them would be walking away.
TWO
VICTORIA TEPES, DAUGHTER of Vlad the Impaler and one of the three princesses of Wallachia, braced herself for impact. Good thing. A split second later, Aden slammed into her, knocking her into the same cave wall against which shed thrown the human. Goodbye, beloved oxygen.
There was no time to refill her lungs, either. One of Adens hands closed around her neck and squeezed. Not enough to damage her but enough to trap her. He was fighting the monsters urges with every bit of his strength, she knew. Otherwise he would have already crushed her.
Soon, he would lose the battle.
Anger would have helped her push him away, but she couldnt summon a single spark of it. She had done this to him, and the guilt ate at her, a malignant cancer without a cure. Hed told her not to try and save him. Hed told her bad things would happen if she did. But as shed peered down at the boy shed come to love, the one person who had ever accepted her for who and what she was without any strings or expectations, she hadnt been able to let him go. Shed thought, Hes mine, I need him.
So, before death could claim him, shed acted. She still didnt regret what shed donehow could she? He was here!and that was why the guilt had chewed such a big hole in her. Her Aden had to abhor what he was becoming. Aggressive, domineeringa warrior without a soul.
Normally he was gentle with her, treating her like a precious treasure, a need to safeguard her somehow hardwired into his brain. Even though she could rip him apart in seconds. Or rather, could have ripped him apart. More than changing mentally, he was changing physically. Already he was taller, stronger, quickerand hed been tall, strong and quick to begin with.
His eyes, usually a collage of glittering colors as the souls he (once) possessed peered through them, were now the startling shade of a violet. Thirsty, he rasped, and she would have sworn she felt the singe of smoke wafting from him.
Isnt this just a peach, a male voice piped up inside her head. Were with the vamp again. And there was Julian, the corpse whisperer. He could raise the dead. So far, however, all hed raised was her blood pressure.
Sweet! Hey Vicki. Another voice immediately joined the conversation. You should take a shower. You know, get that blood cleaned off you. And remember to scrub really hard. Everywhere. Cleanliness is next to godliness. This one belonged to Caleb, the body possessor and naked-curves aficionado.
Let me take over Adens body, she said. Shed seen him step into and disappear inside other people, snapping up the reins of command. Just boom, one second he was there, and the next he was a part of them, forcing them to do whatever he wanted.
He no longer needed Calebs help to perform the task. He could control the ability, turning it on and off at will. Not her, though. Shed tried multiple times and failed miserably. Maybe because the souls were not a natural extension of her being. Maybe because they were new to her, there was a certain way to deal with them, and she hadnt yet found that way. Maybe because they constantly fought her. Whatever the reason, she needed theirgagpermission to use them.
A chorus of No, no, no, rang out. As always.
Ill be careful with him, she added. Ill force him to sit still until the madness passes. If she could. Sometimes the madness overtook her, and she forgot her purpose.
Nope, sorry. The guys and Iwait, the guys and mewait, how do you say that properly?
Does it matter? she snapped.
Anyway, Caleb went on smoothly, we talked, and were not gonna help you use us. That might create a permanent connection, you know? Like a bond. Youre hot, and Id love to bond with you, and in fact, I voted in your favor, but majority rules and were not staying any longer than necessary. Now about that shower
Congratulations on your little talk. If hes hurt, you have only yourselves to blame.
No, well know who to blame. Because youre right. This will not end well, Elijah, the death predictor, suddenly chimed in. He never had anything good to say. At least, not to her. Caleb snorted. Bite your tongue, E. Showers always end well if you know what youre doing.
Aden shook her, his grip tightening in a demand for her attention. Thirsty, he repeated, clearly expecting her to do something about it.
I know. So. She was on her own. Foolish souls. Not only did they refuse to help her, they stole her concentration, preventing her from helping herself. But you cant drink from me. I havent yet fully recovered from the last time. Especially considering last time had happened roughly five minutes ago. He shouldnt have been this desperate.
Thirsty.
Listen to me, Aden. This isnt you, but Chompers. Such a silly name for such a ferocious beast. Fight him. You have to keep fighting him.
You wont get through to him, Elijah told her. The souls new nickname, she decidedThe Good News Bear. Ive seen this encounter play out. Adens lost in there.
Oh, just shut up! she snapped. I dont need your commentary. And you know what else? Youve been wrong before! Aden didnt die after he was stabbed. Either time!