Wow. No one had to throw a punch to win the argument. The changing of the guard is working in our favor already. Stephanie popped another bubble. So, anyway, back to Daddy Dearest. Hes lucky, you know. He died here, so he gets to stay here. Had he kicked it in Romania, the rest of the family would have spit on his crypt.
There was a beat of stunned silence before gasps of outrage flooded the congregation.
What? Stephanie splayed her arms, all innocence. You know youre thinking the same thing.
Thank God Victoria wouldnt be heading off to her homeland for the funeral. Aden wouldnt have been able to travel with her since he lived at the D and M Ranch, a halfway house for wayward teens, aka unwanted delinquents, where his every action was monitored.
Everyone assumed he had schizophrenia because he talked to the souls trapped inside him, which had earned him a lifetime of institutions and medications. The ranch was the systems final effort to save him, and if he blew that chance, hed be carted away. Boom, done, goodbye. Hello, lifetime of confinement in a padded room.
Hed lose Victoria forever.
Shut your mouth, Stephanie, before I do it for you. Vlad taught us to survive, and kept the humans unaware of usfor the most part. He made us a legend, a myth. He also taught our enemies to fear us. For that alone, he has my respect. The blue-eyed sisterLauren; her name was Laurentilted her head to the side, suddenly pensive. Now. What are we going to do about the mortal while our fourteen-day reprieve is ticking away?
VictoriasAden? Stephanies brow wrinkled. Thats his name, right?
Haden Stone, known by his people as Aden, yes, Victoria replied. But I
Well follow his rule, a male voice said, cutting her off. Because, and stop me if youve heard this one, hes our ruler. This came from Riley, a werewolf shape-shifter and Victorias most trusted guard, as he approached the half-circle the girls formed. He glared at Lauren. If you dont understand that, let me know and Ill break out the hand puppets. He killed Dmitri, he calls the shots. End of story.
Lauren scowled at him, her fangs sharper than before. Watch how you speak to me, puppy. Im a princess. Youre just the hired help.
More gasps reverberated.
Aden kept losing sight of the crowd, but they suddenly filled his line of vision as Victoria studied them, ready to leap into action if someone attacked her sister. Clearly they didnt like that the wolf had been insulted. But then, neither did she. Wolves deserved respectfar more than what had been demanded even for Vlad. Wolves could
Aden cursed as Victoria blanked her mind, forcing herself to concentrate on what was happening around her. Wolves were more important than vampires? he wondered. More important than vampire royalty? Why?
Riley laughed with genuine humor. Your jealousy is showing, Lore. Id be careful if I were you.
Lauren ignored him this time, swinging her crystal eyes back to Victoria and snapping, Bring Aden here tomorrow night. Everyone will meet him. Officially.
And kill him before the fourteen days ticked away?
Yes. Victoria nodded, but not by word or deed did she reveal her sudden trepidation. All right. Tomorrow, you shall meet your new king. In the meantime, we shall mourn.
The conversation ended, everyone properly chastised.
Victoria sighed and peered over at the body of her father. Which meant Aden peered over at her father. He considered the charred remains, speculating about what the king had looked like before. Tall and strong, surely. Had he possessed blue eyes like Victoria? Or green like Stephanie?
Vlads fingers curled into a fist.
Aden stilled, sure hed just hallucinated. And he must have, he rationalized, because Victoria had not seemed to notice the earth-shattering event and hed watched through her eyes.
Vlads fingers uncurled.
Once again, Aden stilled, waiting, gauging, heart thumping against his ribs. He hadnt imagined that. He couldnt have imagined that because even as the thought formed, those fingers twitched as if trying to make another fist. Movement, true movement, and movement equaled life. Right?
Why hadnt Victoria noticed? Why hadnt anyone? Maybe they were too lost to their grief. Or maybe Vlads once-immortal body was simply expelling the last hints of his existence. Either way, Victoria needed to be told what hed seen.
Victoria, Aden projected, desperate to gain her attention.
Nothing. No response.
Victoria!
She petted Vlads arm before rising, intending to instruct the biggest of the vampires to carry him inside for burial preparation. Obviously, she didnt hear him.
And then it was too late. His world shifted, realigned, darkness closing in around him. No, not darkness. Light. So much light. Blue-white flames covered Dmitris entire body, and therefore Adens body. Scorching him, blistering what was left of him.
This time, Aden did scream.
He did thrash.
He also died.
ONE
MARY ANN GRAY STUDIED HERSELF in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. Makeuplight and unsmeared. Dark hairnot a tangle. Perhaps even, dare she think it? Silky. Clothesan unwrinkled lacy T-shirt and clean skinny jeans. Shoeshiking boots. Shed replaced the plain white laces with thick pink ones, giving them a feminine flair.
Okay, then. She was officially ready.
Breathing deeply, shaking a little, she gathered her books, stuffed them into her backpack, swung that pack over her shoulder and headed downstairs toward the kitchen. Where her dad was waiting. With breakfast she would be required to eat.
Her stomach churned in protest. Shed have to fake-eat because she doubted she would be able to keep a single bite down. She was simply too knotted with nerves.
From the living room, she heard pans clattering, water pounding into the sink and a man sighing indefeat?
She stopped just before snaking the final corner and leaned her shoulder against the wall, losing herself to her thoughts. A few weeks ago, she and her dad had entered new territory. Ugly, deceitful territory. Well always be honest with each other, he used to tell her. All. The. Time. Of course, at the same time, hed been feeding her lies about her birth mother. The woman who had raised her had not given birth to her, but had in fact been her aunt.
In truth, her real mother had possessed the ability to time-travel into younger versions of herself, yet hed refused to believe her, had considered her unstable. She couldnt prove otherwise, either, because she was dead and her spirit had moved on. Lost to Mary Ann forever.
God, the loss still hurt.
Mary Ann had gotten to spend one day with her. One amazing, wonderful day because Eve, her mother, had been one of the souls trapped inside her friend Adens head. Then, boom. Eve was gone.
Tears burned Mary Anns eyes as she remembered their parting, but she blinked them back. She couldnt allow herself to cry. Her mascara would run, and then shed look like a domestic abuse victim when Riley arrived to pick her up.
Riley.
My boyfriend. Yes, shed think about him instead, looking forward to the future rather than wallowing in the past. Her lips even curled into a small smile as her heart raced uncontrollably. She hadnt seen him since theyd attended the Vampire Ball together, when his king had been murdered and Aden had been named the new vampire sovereign. Not that Aden wanted the titleor the responsibilities that would surely come with it.
Sure, that had only happened on Saturday. But two days apart felt like forever when Riley was involved. She was used to seeing him every day at school, as well as every evening when he snuck into her room.
And, to be honest, shed never liked anyone the way she liked him. Maybe because there was no one quite like Riley. He was intense and smart, sweet (to her) and protective. And sexy. All those muscleshoned from years of running as a werewolf shape-shifter and fighting as a vampire guardian. Both of which forged the many facets of his personality.
While acting as guardian, he was unemotional and distant (to everyone but her). He had to be, to do such a violent job. But as a werewolf, he was soft, warm and cuddly. I cant wait to cuddle him again, she thought, her grin spreading.
Are you going to stand out there all day? her dad called.
She snapped to attention, grin fading. How had he known she was there?
Just get the mornings emotional bloodbath over with. Raising her chin, she marched the rest of the way into the kitchen and settled at the table, dropping her backpack at her feet. Her dad set a plate of pancakes in front of her, the scent of blueberries and syrup suddenly coating the air. Her favorite. Her stomach had settled considerably as shed thought about Riley, but even so, she didnt think she could eat. Or rather, didnt want to risk the possible consequences. Like vomiting in front of her brand-new boyfriend.
Her dad eased into the chair across from her. His blond hair was spiked around his head, as if hed raked his fingers through it a few thousand times, and his usually bright blue eyes were dull, with dark circles underneath them. Lines of tension branched from his mouth, making him look as if he hadnt slept in weeks. Maybe he hadnt.
Despite everything, she hated seeing him like that. He loved her, she knew that. But that was what had made his betrayal sting so badly. And by sting she meant toss-her-into-a-meat-grinder-and-use-the-pieces-as-fish-bait.
Dad, she said at the exact moment he said, Mary Ann.
They peered at each other for a moment, and then grinned. It was the first easy moment theyd shared in weeks, and it wasnice.
You go first, she told him. He was a doctor, a clinical psychologist, and he was tricky as hell. With only a few words, he could get her to spill her feelings without her realizing shed even opened her stupid mouth. But shed chance a spilling today because she had no idea how to kick things off.
He heaped a few pancakes onto his plate. I just wanted to tell you that Im sorry. For every lie. For everything. And that I did it to protect you.
A good start. She followed his lead and filled her plate, then proceeded to push the food around, pretending to eat. To protect me from?
The stigma of thinking your own mother was unbalanced. The thought that you had somehowthat you had
Killed her? The words croaked from Mary Anns suddenly tight throat.
Yes, he whispered. You didnt, you know. It wasnt your fault.
Her real mother, Anneknown to Aden as Evehad died giving birth to her. That happened sometimes, right? No reason for her father to blame her. But then, he didnt know the whole truth. He didnt know that Mary Ann muted paranormal abilities.
She had only just learned of it herself, and all she knew was that her mere presence prevented peopleand creaturesfrom using their gifts.
If not for Aden, she never would have discovered even that. He was the biggest paranormal magnet of all time. (And if he wasnt, he should be. Cause anyone who was strongershudder.) Her mother had weakened each day of her pregnancy, little Mary Ann literally sucking the life right out of her. And then, at the moment of her birth, Anne/Eve had simply slipped away.
Right into Aden, Mary Ann thought with a sigh. Aden, who had been born on the same day, in the same hospital. Aden, who had also drawn three other human soulsghostsright into his head.
Only, Anne/Eve hadnt remembered Mary Ann right away, her memories wiped when shed entered Aden. Once theyd figured everything out, her mom had been granted the thing shed wanted most in life, that which shed been denied by her death. A single day with Mary Ann. And once her mom had gotten her wish, shed vanished. Never to be seen or heard from again. Stomachchurningagain
Her dad didnt know any of that, either, and Mary Ann wasnt going to tell him. He wouldnt believe her. He would think she was as unbalanced as her real mom had been.
Mary Ann? her dad prompted. Please. Tell me how youre feeling. Tell me what you thought when I
The doorbell rang, saving him from finishing and her from having to form a reply. Heart dancing wildly, she popped to her feet. Riley. He was here. Ill get it, she said in a rush.
Mary Ann.
But she was already racing from the kitchen to the front door. The moment that thick cherry wood swung open, Riley visible through the netted screen, her stomach calmed completely.
He smiled his bad boy smile, half wicked, half really wicked. Hey.
Hey. Yep. Sexy. He had dark hair and light green eyes. He was tall, with the body of a dedicated, cant-be-sacked football player having an affair with weights. His shoulders were broad, his stomach roped. Tragically, she couldnt see those mouth-watering ropes under his black T-shirt. His jeans bagged a little on his strong legs, and he wore boots caked with dirt.
Wait. Had she just given him a total body scan? Yep. Cheeks heating, she brought her gaze back to his face. Clearly, he was trying not to laugh.
Do you approve? he asked.
The heat intensified. Yes. But I wasnt done, she added. He wasnt beautiful in a male model kind of way, but he was ruggedly appealing, with a slightly crooked noseprobably from being broken so many timesand a strong jaw. And she had once kissed him, right on those gorgeous lips.
When will we kiss again?
She was ready. More than ready. That was the most fun her tongue had ever had.
He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it closed. Footsteps echoed behind her, and she turned. Her dad approached, her backpack dangling from his arm. She closed the distance between them, claimed the pack and stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek before she could talk herself out it.
Ill see you later, Dad. Thanks for breakfast.
The tension in his face eased just a bit. See you later, honey. I hope you have a wonderful day.
You, too.
His gaze shifted to the boy still standing in the doorway. Riley, he acknowledged stiffly.