Chapter One
Iwoke with a start. Darkness surrounded me, causing my heart to pound with dread. Never had I been unable to see in the dark with my vampire and shifter heritage. The nighttime was my friend. I pulled the soft comforter up with shaking hands, listening to the quietness of the room.
“It was just a dream,” I whispered, but it had seemed too real.
Flicking the lamp on, I shrieked as a tall, imposing figure jumped on top of me. “Hush, little girl. We don’t want to wake the entire castle now, do we?” Black eyes flashed red, and the raspy tone of his voice sent a shiver of fear down my spine.
“What do you want? How did you get in here?” My father was the Vampire King, and I knew without a doubt he didn’t let this being into our home.
A snake-like tongue came out of the being’s mouth. I froze, hoping he didn’t plan to touch me with it.
“If you come with me and don’t say a word or make a sound, I will make sure nothing happens to your precious family. However, if you put up a fight, I’ll become worse than the beast under your bed you’ve always feared,” he hissed.
I tried to control my alarm at the knowledge he had of my family and me, and even more of my dreams—or more aptly, nightmares. “Where are you taking me?”
Fingers tipped with blade-like talons gripped around my throat, cutting off my oxygen and slicing into my skin at the same time. “Master wants you. I was sent to bring you to him. By the way,” he paused. “This might hurt a little.”
Pain exploded through every fiber of me, from my head to my toes. Fire burned through my veins like lava flowing out of a recently erupted volcano. Before I could wish for death—which I’d never thought I’d do—darkness consumed me once again. My last images before losing consciousness were of my parents and twin brothers, Damien and Lucas. How I wished I could hold them one last time. If I could have reached out to them, I knew they’d have saved me. The mental block the demon had surrounded me with kept me from all those I loved. Now, with my life flashing before my eyes, I hoped they knew how much I loved them and that they were safe.
The next time I woke, I was sure I was dead. Only the oppressive heat couldn’t be where my next life would begin. I wasn’t meant to go to hell. Sitting up, the room spun as my stomach lurched.
“Oh god, I’m going to be sick,” I groaned.
“I wouldn’t advise that. Master doesn’t like his chosen to be flawed.”
Hearing the grating voice let me know I wasn’t dead. That at least gave me hope. I blinked my eyes open, taking in the surroundings, and wished I hadn’t. Red rock walls with black furniture were everywhere. Sweat poured down my face and body, soaking my nightgown to my skin. Oh, shit, I realized with a start—all I wore was a tiny slip of satin.
The beast who stole me from my bed raised his brows. “You’ll be wearing a lot less when Master gets here.”
“Why?” Hating the quiver in my voice, I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“He has plans for you.” His red gaze looked me up and down. “I’ve no clue why. You look too human for my tastes.”
And I hated the way he made his words sound like a snake was hissing. Thank fuck I looked too human for his tastes. The black horns on top of his head, along with the green tint to hisskin, made my skin crawl. Again, I caught the hatred in his gaze and thought he was reading my mind.
My brothers had tried to ingrain in me the need to keep my mind protected from intrusions, but I’d never had a reason to be so on guard. Now I pushed him out with ease, making sure nothing and no one could read what I didn’t want them to.
After my mind was secure, I moderated my body temperature, instantly cooling my overheated flesh. Instinctively, I reached out on the familial path, trying to reach my father or my brothers. The ability was blocked, sending me to the black ground, and blood oozed out of my nose from the agony of trying. Dry heaves wracked my frame.
“I told you not to make a sound or try to reach out to your family. Did I not?” Black talons lifted my chin.
“You didn’t say I couldn’t once we were here,” I gasped. On my hands and knees, I was sure the monster squatting down to my level was getting a hell of a show through the gap at the top of my gown, but I couldn’t gather the energy to pull myself up.
He shook his head, the horns growing straight instead of curving. “Nobody disobeys me.” He pinched my chin between his fingers.
I tried not to flinch at the new pain shooting through me. Didn’t he say his Master didn’t want me damaged?
“Please let me go. I won’t tell a soul.” The scent of my fear and blood flooded my senses.
I was lifted with seeming ease, one hand wrapped around my throat, the other pulled back in a fist, ready to pummel me. “The only souls to tell, don’t care.”
The sound of a door opening made the beast drop me to the ground. My fast reflexes kept me from injury.
“Yo, Yomy, what you got there?”
“None of your business, Creed. Leave before Master gets here.”
Creed. I tried to see who owned the delicious voice. I rolled the name around in my head as my wolf raised its head and wanted to howl. I felt my canines drop and wanted to push the being named Yomy out of my way to get to the newcomer. What kind of name is that anyway? Yo and my put together.
