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Authors: Larissa Ione
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she checked the third cell. The fourth cell.
The fifth cell... dear God, the fifth cell .
Inside, sitting with his back to the wall, wearing only black cargo pants and a metal collar around his neck, was Kaden. Andrea's breath lodged in her throat, her pulse went double-time, and though she knew better than to hope, she did exactly that.
"Kaden?"
His head swung around, his gray eyes bright and wide with surprise. His dark blond hair was alternately grooved and spiky, as though he'd been thrusting his fingers through it, and his tan skin was marred by fading bruises and cuts.
If the vampires had had him for the full two weeks he'd been missing, she was surprised he hadn't been hurt more. Then again, maybe they had put him through hell, but he'd healed already, thanks to a vampire's rapid regeneration abilities.
But so far, she saw no signs of him being turned. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. God, please let it be okay .
"Kaden, don't move. I'm going to get you out of there."
"No!" He lurched forward, only to be drawn short by the chain linking his collar to the wall. Panic put a chilling, grim light in his gaze. "You can't."
Dread draped her like a shroud, suffocating her last breath of hope. She knew what he was going to say. She didn't want to ask, but the question fell from her lips before she could stop it. "Why not?"
"Because," he said, opening his mouth to reveal two extra-long canines, "I'll kill you."
Chapter Two
Kaden Quinn braced himself for Andrea's reaction. The sight of the stake in her hand put ice cubes in his blood, but whether his reaction was an instinctive one brought about by his new vampire status, or whether it was because he was a Guardian who knew exactly what that pointed shard of wood would do to him, he didn't know.
What he did know was that he'd been here for two weeks, tortured for the first five days and then turned into a vampire on the sixth.
Oh, and he was starving .
Andrea's gorgeous brown eyes glistened with tears. "No," she rasped, shaking her head so hard her ebony hair slapped her pale cheeks. "Those bastards ."
Her curses echoed through the chamber as she worked the slide-lock on the cell door. She was going to kill him. The knowledge should have comforted him. Upon becoming a Guardian, every Aegi swore that they would never allow themselves to be turned into any kind of monster -- not vampire, were-beast, or demon. If you had to take your own life in order to uphold that vow, you did it.
Kaden hadn't been able to make good on his promise -- he'd been knocked unconscious during the battle, and by the time he came to, it was too late. He'd awakened to find himself hanging from hooks outside this very cell. The physical torture hadn't been nearly as bad as the mental torture. The alpha vamp, an ugly bastard named Cedric, kept threatening to turn him. When Cedric finally latched onto Kaden's throat and began to drink, Kaden had prayed for death. The alternative had been too horrible to imagine.
Then his nightmarish imaginings had warped into reality when Cedric opened a vein in his own wrist and, while another vamp held Kaden's mouth open, forced him to swallow Cedric's blood, activating the turn.
Kaden had drifted into blackness. When he'd come to the next night, his heart no longer beat.
He'd expected to feel different, as if getting dead and sprouting fangs would turn him into an insane, evil beast.
But nothing had changed. He still...felt. He still thought Andrea was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He still hated vampires. Oh, sure, his senses were more acute and the sound of Andrea's blood rushing through her veins was making his mouth water, but he felt like he could handle being with her.
He'd warned her anyway, because what if he was wrong? What if she got close and he jumped on her, ripped into her neck, and let that sweet lifeblood pour down his
The fifth cell... dear God, the fifth cell .
Inside, sitting with his back to the wall, wearing only black cargo pants and a metal collar around his neck, was Kaden. Andrea's breath lodged in her throat, her pulse went double-time, and though she knew better than to hope, she did exactly that.
"Kaden?"
His head swung around, his gray eyes bright and wide with surprise. His dark blond hair was alternately grooved and spiky, as though he'd been thrusting his fingers through it, and his tan skin was marred by fading bruises and cuts.
If the vampires had had him for the full two weeks he'd been missing, she was surprised he hadn't been hurt more. Then again, maybe they had put him through hell, but he'd healed already, thanks to a vampire's rapid regeneration abilities.
But so far, she saw no signs of him being turned. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. God, please let it be okay .
"Kaden, don't move. I'm going to get you out of there."
"No!" He lurched forward, only to be drawn short by the chain linking his collar to the wall. Panic put a chilling, grim light in his gaze. "You can't."
Dread draped her like a shroud, suffocating her last breath of hope. She knew what he was going to say. She didn't want to ask, but the question fell from her lips before she could stop it. "Why not?"
"Because," he said, opening his mouth to reveal two extra-long canines, "I'll kill you."
Chapter Two
Kaden Quinn braced himself for Andrea's reaction. The sight of the stake in her hand put ice cubes in his blood, but whether his reaction was an instinctive one brought about by his new vampire status, or whether it was because he was a Guardian who knew exactly what that pointed shard of wood would do to him, he didn't know.
What he did know was that he'd been here for two weeks, tortured for the first five days and then turned into a vampire on the sixth.
Oh, and he was starving .
Andrea's gorgeous brown eyes glistened with tears. "No," she rasped, shaking her head so hard her ebony hair slapped her pale cheeks. "Those bastards ."
Her curses echoed through the chamber as she worked the slide-lock on the cell door. She was going to kill him. The knowledge should have comforted him. Upon becoming a Guardian, every Aegi swore that they would never allow themselves to be turned into any kind of monster -- not vampire, were-beast, or demon. If you had to take your own life in order to uphold that vow, you did it.
Kaden hadn't been able to make good on his promise -- he'd been knocked unconscious during the battle, and by the time he came to, it was too late. He'd awakened to find himself hanging from hooks outside this very cell. The physical torture hadn't been nearly as bad as the mental torture. The alpha vamp, an ugly bastard named Cedric, kept threatening to turn him. When Cedric finally latched onto Kaden's throat and began to drink, Kaden had prayed for death. The alternative had been too horrible to imagine.
Then his nightmarish imaginings had warped into reality when Cedric opened a vein in his own wrist and, while another vamp held Kaden's mouth open, forced him to swallow Cedric's blood, activating the turn.
Kaden had drifted into blackness. When he'd come to the next night, his heart no longer beat.
He'd expected to feel different, as if getting dead and sprouting fangs would turn him into an insane, evil beast.
But nothing had changed. He still...felt. He still thought Andrea was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He still hated vampires. Oh, sure, his senses were more acute and the sound of Andrea's blood rushing through her veins was making his mouth water, but he felt like he could handle being with her.
He'd warned her anyway, because what if he was wrong? What if she got close and he jumped on her, ripped into her neck, and let that sweet lifeblood pour down his
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