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The aches in his body eased with sustenance to fuel him, but it wasn’t enough. Maksim felt his shaky control over his mind slipping and the bloodlust taking precedence. For a while, Maksim ceased to exist. His name became Hunger, and he sought nothing but death and gluttony.
As heavy as the meal had been, he needed more. He still had an unquenchable thirst, and the emptiness in his gut hadn’t subsided. Whatever his new body craved, it wasn’t bear meat. He moved on instinct now, long past logical thought. His powerful muscles bunched as he prepared to leap into the air in search of prey that might assuage his cravings.
Before his clawed feet left the ground, a vision seized Maksim, and he stumbled. He was in an unfamiliar stone courtyard as the sun rose, facing the blonde vampire. She was supervising the stacking of the corpses of headless vampires for a funeral pyre. The beast’s hunger faded as fury rose within him at the sight of Nadya’s body in the stack.
Was killing his love not enough? Must they now subject her to the indignity of burning? The woman did not look happy, but she did nothing to stop the desecration.
How can you do it, traitor? How can you watch them pile your people like garbage?
Her mouth moved, but Maksim couldn’t hear what she said. He watched in horror as they placed the last body on the pyre. Then, the traitor gave the order to light the fire, and it spread quickly. Maksim stared transfixed as flames consumed Nadya’s body. The inferno’s light reflected in the blonde woman’s eyes.
GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD! a female voice screamed, and he was violently expelled from the vision.
The mental bitch-slap stung, and he could still feel her presence in his mind. Rage and frustration overwhelmed him. Maksim felt like he would explode from the pressure building in his skull, and the dragon’s powerful jaws spread wide as he roared out the fury and pain of his broken soul.
Needing to release the pressure before he broke, Maksim exhaled, bathing the forest in obsidian flames. The black fire incinerated everything it touched. He thought it looked like the shadow magic his love had wielded. It didn’t move like fire but climbed and roiled over everything it touched. As the destruction spread, leaving a blackened wasteland, Maksim launched into the air.
Good. Spread like the plague. Let it all shrivel and die.
Maksim retreated into his pain, allowing the dragon to take control while he mourned his lost love. The bloodlust returned in full force as the animal part of his nature dominated their shared body. The beast flew toward the closest source of what it craved—magical blood and flesh.
The vampires scurried around, looking as small and insignificant as ants to the enormous black beast. The predator’s gaze darted back and forth as it tracked its prey, planning which one to eat first. His mind screamed that these were Nadya’s children, and he couldn’t do this, but the dragon ignored it. Those were human concerns. The dragon needed to feed.
Driven by the bloodlust, the dragon dove and crashed into the front yard with a muffled explosion of snow and dirt. Blinded by need, the dragon ignored its new injuries and reached for the closest source of sustenance.
Three vampires had rushed from the house to assist their new king, and Maksim repaid their efforts by tearing into them when they were within reach. He hooked the first with a claw and lifted the screaming vampire to swallow him whole, ending his second life with a single bite.
The dragon then faced the others. The one farther back tried to retreat into the house, but Maksim speared her with the spike on his tail without moving his body, then brought his tail around and dropped the limp vampire into his waiting jaws.
He savored the blood as it dripped down his throat. Bones crunched as he chewed his second victim. The third vampire had frozen but now tried to flee again, getting one of Maksim’s spines through his back for his efforts. The vampire twitched face-down on the snow, and Maksim lazily snagged him with his tail spike and dragged the limp body closer as he screamed for help.
He wasn’t close to full or satisfied, but the dragon couldn’t fight the overwhelming exhaustion that seized his body. The beast curled up on the blood-soaked snow and fell asleep as his body settled into the business of healing.
Maksim returned to awareness before his physical body woke. His memories were still disconnected. The aches from his injuries had faded, and Maksim realized he needed to adjust his diet. Vampire blood slaked his thirst far better than the bears’ had, but it tasted stale. It would keep him alive, but it wouldn’t satisfy his craving. He needed to feed on a Therian, preferably their new king.
It was full night when Maksim opened his eyes. He was back in human form, naked in the bed he’d shared with Nadya. Jean-Pierre sat nearby, waiting for Maksim to awaken.
“My lord. It is wonderful to see you awake,” the French vampire began. “Is there anything I can get you? Blood, perhaps?”
Maksim sat up and let a devious grin spread across his lips. “Bring me a Therian to feast upon.”
Jean-Pierre nodded curtly. As usual, he was dressed in an immaculate three-piece suit and looked like he’d just stepped out of a boardroom. “Judging from your arrival, I would hazard a guess that you require both magical blood and flesh, Your Highness.”
Maksim nodded. “The dragon was beyond reason. I wouldn’t have killed them otherwise.”
Jean-Pierre shrugged, not upset about the three vampires Maksim had eaten. “It is nothing, my lord. All vampires felt Nadya’s final command. You are her successor and will take her place as our king, Sire.”
The quiet in the mansion unnerved Maksim. He was used to seeing dozens of vampires bustling from room to room. He wouldn’t necessarily see them from Nadya’s chambers, but he didn’t hear or sense anyone else in the immediate vicinity.
“Where have they all gone?” he asked, his voice cold.
Jean-Pierre wasn’t bothered by Maksim’s glacial tone or expression. He’d navigated personal service to Nadya and was confident that he could handle his new leader with equal aplomb. He had perfected an expression that conveyed respect but not fear during his many years with the vampire queen.
“You are the alpha vampire, Your Highness. The strongest of our people and a Power. Your presence sends the lesser members of our species into a trance unless you dial it down,” Jean-Pierre explained. “Do you crave a particular type of Therian, Sire?”
Ignoring his question, Maksim studied Jean-Pierre. “You don’t seem to be affected.”
The vampire raised his chin. “I am not a lesser vampire. Nadya modified me and three others to serve as her generals, and we dealt with sensitive and vital missions in her stead. Nadya called us her Horsemen, and while the four of us are loyal, we are not affected by the monarch’s aura to the same degree.”
