Intertwined

and gloom mutterings didn’t help. So much depended on tonight. His life, his time with Victoria. What if he blew it all?

“Will the vampires try to drink from us?” Mary Ann asked.

“They shouldn’t, no,” Riley told her. “They will have their own meals.”

Blood-slaves?

All too soon, they pulled up to a towering monstrosity of a house. It was the only one in sight. Five stories, sprawling, consuming acre after acre, the windows painted black to match the brick. A wrought-iron fence creaked open, allowing them inside. Two wolves stood sentry as the car eased past.

“Wow. I know you said you lived at the edge of town, that your home was hidden and I probably hadn’t ever seen it, but I never expected this.” Mary Ann pressed her nose against the glass.

“We had to renovate it to suit our needs,” Riley said.

The moon seemed to shy away from the house, casting its rays elsewhere and leaving the place in total darkness. Because of the car’s headlights, he could see that there were no other cars present, and no one but wolves lingered outside. Were they the first to arrive?

“You ran back and forth between school and this place?” Aden asked. “Between the ranch and this place? Every day?”

“Kind of,” Victoria answered. “I’ve been working on my…teleporting skills. I think that’s what you humans call it. Moving from one place to another with only a thought. I’m getting better.”

Wait. What? She could teleport?

There wasn’t time to question her about it. The car stopped at the end of the drive and they emerged. The moment their doors slammed shut, the front doors to the house opened and a tall figure stepped out. Aden recognized the figure immediately and scowled. Dmitri. A red haze of fury clouded Aden’s vision.

He stepped in front of Victoria. Dmitri bared his teeth, the only sign he gave of his displeasure.

The vampire closed the distance between them. Victoria’s hand slipped into Aden’s, squeezed, and then she moved beside him.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Dmitri leaned down for a kiss but she turned her head. His irritated gaze flicked to Aden. “I see you failed to heed my warning.”

“Father commanded his appearance, remember?”

And she had craved it. He would not allow himself to believe anything else. She wanted Aden, not Dmitri.

“I do,” the vampire said. “Which is why I thought you’d be interested in the night’s entertainment. Come.” He waved his hand and moved off, expecting them to follow.

They did, up the stairs and inside the house. Aden soon found himself standing in a foyer, surrounded by more wealth than he’d dreamed possible. A shiny white bench that looked as if it was made from Mrs. Reeves’s pearl necklace, Chinese wall decorations of gold and silver, and glass chests filled with colorful vases.

Victoria pulled him along, so he was only given the barest of glimpses. Mary Ann was just as stunned as he was, cranking her neck to gaze at the spacious entryway until the last possible second.

They didn’t climb the spiral staircase, but actually walked straight through the seemingly deserted house to the back door, French doubles that opened before Dmitri could touch them. Suddenly the scent of blood hung in the air, thick and metallic. Chattering voices drifted to his ears, but the words were spoken so quickly they reminded him of crickets chirping.

Dmitri stopped, not exiting the terrace. Twinkling lights were suspended from the trees—trees that flourished with bloodred roses. There was a large silver circle in the center of the yard, flat as the ground but cut into some kind of maze. No one stood upon it.

People were scattered throughout the immaculate lawn. Most of the women wore black robes and most of the men wore black shirts and pants. They drank from chalices, and swayed to a beat of sultry music whisping on the breeze. Those scantily dressed in white were clearly human. They offered their necks, arms, legs, whatever, whenever a vampire gestured them over.

Their eyes were glazed, their motions eager, as if they couldn’t wait to be bitten. Oh, yes. Blood-slaves.

“My apologies that there isn’t time for our two happy couples to dance,” Dmitri said, drawing Aden’s attention. “There’s too much to do, you see.”

“Where are my sisters?” Victoria demanded.

“I’ve had them confined to their rooms.”

She stiffened. “You can’t do that.”

“I can and did.” He didn’t give her time to respond. “So—is it? — Aden, what do you think of the hors d’oeuvres?” He pointed to the two tables at each side of the yard.

Aden followed the direction of his fingers and sucked in a breath. On one table lay Ozzie. He was clad in jeans but shirtless. He was also bound, motionless, gaze fixed straight ahead. Dead, Aden realized numbly. On the other table was Tucker, again shirtless with his jeans and bound, but still fighting and thrashing as a vampire drank from his wrist. He was gagged yet clearly screaming for help, his eyes bulging from strain. Unconcerned, the vampire continued slurping at him.

Mary Ann noticed, too, and gasped in horror. “What are you doing to him? Stop. Stop!” She tried to race forward but Riley retained a firm grip on her, his face grim.

Aden stepped forward, but Dmitri turned out to be his guard, holding out his arm, preventing him from moving a single inch. “The only way to remove a meal is to provide another. Would you like to offer your services, human?”

“How dare you.” Victoria’s fangs were bared and sharp, her eyes glowing pools of hatred. “You’ll pay for this. I’ll make sure of it. My father will not be amused.”

Dmitri whipped around, his own eyes glowing. “No, you’ll thank me for it, my little princess, for I have punished the enemies of your human friend. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

She raised her chin. “And after the party? What did you plan to do with the bodies? Call the human police and blame Aden, have him arrested? Out of my reach?”

“That is just an added bonus.”

“You disgusting piece of—”

Scowling, Dmitri slammed a fist into his upraised palm. “Do not speak to me so. I am your husband and I —”

“You aren’t my husband yet,” she shouted. The voices below them tapered to quiet. Heads turned. Attention fixed on them. “And if I have my way, you never will be.”

She wasn’t taking any crap; Aden wouldn’t, either. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Dmitri,” he said flatly. Julian couldn’t control his ability to raise the dead, which meant Ozzie wouldn’t stay dead much longer.

Even as the thought filled him, Ozzie sat up, dull eyes blinking, tongue flicking out hungrily.

“Oh, thank God. That boy is still alive,” Mary Ann cried, clearly relieved. “We have to save him.”

“It’s too late,” Aden told her, still without emotion. He couldn’t let himself feel. Not now. Not with what he was about to do. “He’s dead, even if he doesn’t look it. And there can be no saving him. Dmitri made sure of that.”

CHAPTER 25

Aden withdrew his daggers, pushed past Dmitri and stalked into the midst of the party. Victoria stayed with him every step of the way, head held high. That strengthened him. She could have been embarrassed to be seen with a human, but wasn’t. She’d even told her fiancé to get lost. A fiancé who trailed just a few steps behind them.

The rest of the vampires reached for Aden, attempting to touch him in some way, perhaps feeling the tug of his energy. He brushed them aside.

The closer he came to Ozzie, the more Ozzie strained against the ties that bound him, hungry for human flesh. Black saliva soon coated the gag in his mouth and dripped from the corners of his lips. Aden knew Mary Ann was watching him, wanting him to free the boy, the innocent human, but he couldn’t. He could only raise his dagger