Emily. Yes, I was happy to see her; I was grateful that she was alive and well, even though currently she was being treated like an animal, but at least she was alright. However, seeing her with Carter brought back bad memories. Looking at them together, all I could think about was the kiss they shared, the harsh words Emily had said to me the next day at school.I walked forward and slumped in the seat next to Silas. There was food on the table, probably meant for Emily. Even though it was still just green salad, I reached for it and filled my mouth with it, chewing rather loudly just to irritate them."What the fuck, are you an animal?" Silas was the easiest to offend. He looked at me like I had gone crazy."Maybe if you had remembered to feed me, I wouldn't be this hungry.""You ate not long ago.""I ate in the fucking morning. I don't know about you, but humans need to eat at least twice a day!" I told him angrily.Silas was taken aback by my behavior, and so was Emily if the shoc
The pain surged through me as Carter continued to feed, my screams echoing in the darkness. Each heartbeat felt like a drum, pounding in my ears. Tears welled up in my eyes as a mixture of physical agony and emotional betrayal consumed me. The world around me blurred, and I felt a profound sense of weakness.As Carter finally withdrew, a cold numbness replaced the searing pain. I gasped for breath, the metallic taste of blood lingering on his lips. I was too weak to hold myself up and crumbled to the floor. Carter's eyes bore into mine, a strange mix of satisfaction and guilt flickering in them."Forgive me," he whispered, wiping a trace of blood from his lips. "I didn't mean to take so much."I lay there, battered and broken, grappling with the revelation that I was nothing more than a substitute. Emily—the one he loved, the one he would never harm. The truth pierced me like a dagger. I tried to make sense of the conflicting emotions—fear, betrayal, and an overwhelming sense of lonel
I sat there in the bath for a couple of minutes, thinking deeply about how I was going to use this piece of information to my advantage. I never thought it was possible to even kill vampires until this very moment; sure, the media would make jokes about a knife to the heart being enough to take them out, but I had tried that; it was an accident, of course, and I would never have the heart to stab someone, be it a human or a vampire.Silas had just plucked out the vegetable knife from where it had embedded in his chest and told me to stop screaming because it was more annoying than getting stabbed. I could never get that image out of my head; most people would have filed a case against me. Even though it was an accident, I had still hurt him; if he had been human, the wound would have been fatal.Anyway, this just goes to prove that a knife to the chest was not enough to kill a vampire. But the branch of a mystic tree in the middle of nowhere was? If I got my hands on that, would I eve
His kiss was soft and loving. It was different from his kisses before, which were always passionate and possessive. His hands roamed over my body, caressing me. I couldn't bring myself to push him away, even though a part of me was still pissed at him. When he lifted me and had me wrap my legs around him, he deepened the kiss.He carried me out of the bathroom and placed me on the soft bed. He didn't give me time to catch my breath before he kissed his way down my body, leaving marks on my skin.His bites weren't light. At one point, he overdid it and ended up piercing skin. I hissed in pain and raised my leg to kick him away. Silas was quick to catch my leg before I could, giving me an apologetic smile before placing the leg over his shoulders.He was nestled between my legs, and I felt his cold breath fanning my privates. He leaned forward, and I felt his tongue licking away at my wet pussy. The pleasant sensation had my eyes rolling to the back of my head."Shit," I moaned as his t
Silas doesn't think much of humans. They are fragile, a bit annoying, and apart from being food, they aren't good for much else. But there was something different about this girl—he could tell from the moment he saw her. At first, he thought it was just her scent; she smelled so good that he couldn’t resist feeding on her. He almost killed her in the process. Well, not that he had intended to kill her, but if she had died, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. She was just another human, even if she had claimed to know him—claimed she was his sister.Silas had laughed at the ridiculousness of it. A human as his sister? How absurd. But then again, his father had fallen in love with a human once, so it wasn’t entirely impossible. If he did have a half-blood sibling someday, he wouldn’t be too surprised.After feeding on her, Silas assumed the girl was dead and went on with his life without a second thought. But when he saw her again at a party, kneeling at Deric’s feet, something inside him
Silas didn’t know how long he stood there, unsure of what to do with himself. There was nothing worse than trying to recover a memory you knew you had but couldn’t access. He felt nothing but regret as he left the room and went after Kerry. He found her with Deric; the other vampire had her in his embrace. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, and he whispered words of comfort into her ears as she cried on his shoulder. It was truly a romantic scene. If Silas didn’t know better, he would think the two of them were lovers who had just been reunited.Silas knew he was the reason the girl was crying. The harsh words he had said to her echoed in his mind, and he felt nothing but regret. But how could he bring himself to explain to her how hard he was trying? He wished he could be the person she wanted him to be, but it was hard when he didn’t even know who that was. It felt like two parts of him were fighting against each other. It hurt, but not as much as seeing someone you love in t
My mood was gloomy. Despite all the words of comfort Deric had told me, I still couldn't help feeling like I had lost everything. And in a way, I had. Ever since the day I went to the beach house, my world hadn't quite been the same. It's like I left a perfect life behind and then came back to meet a nightmare. My mom was no longer with me, the man I loved told me to my face that he had no reason to love me—maybe he had only thought of me as a hookup the whole time—and my best friend...well, he was with someone else now. I was left all alone. The only person I could count on was Deric. The same person I had hated before was now the only person who stood by me. Very ironic."Don't worry. We will find a way to fix this. Don't give up hope just yet.""Honestly, I don't even think there is a way to fix this. What are we even trying to fix here? We don't even know what the problem is.""The problem, Kerry, is that the memories of everyone you know have been wiped. Just because they don't r
Deric watched me with disapproving eyes. I could see the gears in his head turning; he was already thinking of the worst-case scenario."If this is your way of telling me that you’re going back to Silas, then I really don’t want to hear it.""That’s not it at all. I had a dream.""Yeah, I heard humans do have those from time to time."Deric smiled at me when he saw the frustrated look on my face. I knew he was riling me up on purpose. His hands came to hold my waist."What happened? What did you dream about?""The Forbidden Tree. You’ve heard about it, right?"I saw the moment Deric’s body tensed up when he heard my words. His hands, which had been tracing invisible lines on my hips, froze."You have lost your mind.""Deric, listen to me—""No, Kerry, that’s enough."He pushed me off and got to his feet. I stayed on the bed and watched Deric as he looked absently outside the window."You should be smarter than that.""I know that it’s supposed to be dangerous. Mom told me about it. It
There was something off-putting about the young man. He looked young anyway, but knowing vampires, he might just be decades older than he appeared. Via wasn’t usually attentive toward other people. Unlike Jess, she preferred her own company. But the stranger was leaning against her car, so she couldn’t just ignore him."Hello, Octavia," he greeted her, extending a hand toward her. Via eyed the hand briefly before reaching out to take it. Her palm tingled as it made contact with the vampire’s cold, stiff skin."Um, I don’t think we’ve met.""We haven’t.""Then, you are...""I’m in love with you.""Huh?" The confession had come out of nowhere and startled her. The incredibly handsome vampire had blurted out the words as though he were simply commenting on the weather. There was no anxiousness, no look of expectation in his eyes. He merely watched her with unblinking focus, as if he were trying to engrave her very features into his memory. Octavia pulled her hand back, feeling relief whe
18 Years Later...The lights in the living room were dim, and if Octavia hadn’t been studying all night—leaving her so tired she felt she might actually pass out—seeing the two figures huddled on the sofa wouldn’t have been an issue. She was almost at the kitchen doorway when the sound of something shattering spooked her. There was a muffled groan and a curse. Octavia blinked into the darkness, willing her vision to pick out the cause of the noise. Nope, she was way too tired for this. If she forced it, she might end up with a migraine.She walked over to where she knew the light switch was and flicked it on. The room brightened, and a yelp echoed as a woman ducked her head to hide.“Mom! What are you even doing?” Octavia asked, mortified as she noticed her mother’s nakedness. Unsurprisingly, a head poked out from beneath the sofa cushions and flashed her an apologetic smile.“Sorry, baby girl. We were hoping you wouldn’t notice.”“You have a bedroom for a reason!” she whined, dreadin
Kerry's POVSilas had me hoisted against the tree, my legs wrapped firmly around him as he thrust into me. He hadn’t even fully removed his pants; they dangled around his ankles, and his belt made a faint clicking sound with every movement.He settled into a steady rhythm, his hands gripping my hips as he drove into me. “God, you feel so good around me, baby—fuck—” he groaned, his forehead resting against mine, his sweat-dampened curls brushing my skin.We’d had sex countless times before, but there was something about this setting that made it feel so much better—more passionate. Or maybe it was because we’d spent the last few days ignoring each other, the craving for touch growing unbearable in the silence.“Silas,” I moaned his name as a particular thrust hit a sensitive spot inside me, sending a tremor through my body. His grip on my hips tightened, and his thrusts came faster, harder. “It feels like you’re in my fucking stomach—God!”“Gotta fuck my baby good if I wanna knock her
Deric had an arm wrapped around my waist as he guided me toward the bar. With a simple gesture of his hand, the bartender mixed a drink and slid it over to me. I took a sip and frowned. "This is orange juice," I complained.Deric grinned in amusement. "There’s a hint of alcohol in there. I’m not about to let you get wasted in my bar, Kerry.""Why not?" I said with a pout. "I want something stronger.""Is this because of your brother? Are you jealous that he’s down there having fun with his fuck buddy?""Are you trying to make me feel worse?""Obviously not. I’m just saying, Silas is a dumbass. You can’t let him get what he wants by acting like this. If he’s trying to make you jealous, why don’t you do the same to him?"Deric took the glass from my hand and placed it aside. Seated on the barstool with his legs parted, he reached for my hand and pulled me off my seat, guiding me to stand between his legs. I leaned back slightly, aware of how intimate this position might appear to others
Kerry's POVSilas and I didn’t speak for two days. Well, more like he didn’t speak to me. I tried. I really tried. I’d corner him in the kitchen or on the stairs, but every time, he’d breeze past me like I didn’t exist. One second he was there, and the next, I was staring at an empty hallway. He acted so human most days that I forgot he wasn’t—until moments like this, when his supernatural ability to avoid me came into full display.It was infuriating. Especially because I hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, Carter and I had a history, but that was ancient history. I wasn’t a cheat—I would never stoop that low. Silas knew that. He had to know that. So, what was his problem?To make things worse, we were living with our parents. Bill and Sarah had to have noticed the tension by now. Sarah had given me a look earlier, the kind that promised she’d corner me for a motherly chat about "understanding men." God, the last thing I needed was advice from her about "winning my man back." My man—wh
Third POVSilas was a lot of things, and most of them weren’t positive character traits either. Possessive, a bit obsessive, stalkerish—he could be a bit of a rogue sometimes. His dad had spent a fortune paying therapists he thought might help Silas “get better.” But how could Silas get better when he didn’t think he had a problem to begin with? He knew what he was, and he wasn’t really bothered by it. After all, he only acted this way toward the people that mattered most to him. The moment he’d seen Kerina Jones, he knew she was his. She would be his entire world. And he would be hers.It should have been easy, really. Silas was a catch—not to toot his own horn or anything. Girls went crazy for him, and he’d had his pick of them since high school. He hadn’t even cared when his father had gone ahead and married Serah. Their relationship status didn’t mean a damn thing to him.But Silas had underestimated Kerry. She wasn’t like the other girls he’d been with in the past. She didn’t sw
Kerry's POV"What the fuck?!"At this point, I was certain Molly was trying to provoke me for some reason. I didn't even know her, so I saw no reason for her to act this way toward me. Hinting that Octavia might not be Silas's child? The fucking audacity! She had no idea what we'd been through—what right did she have to speak to me this way?!"What?" The woman had the audacity to look offended by my outburst."I'm not saying you're one of those girls, I just meant—""I know what the fuck you meant! And honestly, it's none of your damn business. You don't know me, and I don't know you. You have no right to poke your nose in other people's business!""Silas is my friend. We've known each other since before your parents got together. I'm only looking out for him." Molly placed a hand over her lips to hide her taunting smile. At the moment, I couldn't even find it in myself to wonder how she knew about Bill and my mom's marriage. What bugged me more was how she kept emphasizing her relati
I hadn't been in school for a total of three weeks, and honestly, it was the last thing on my mind. Silas had a job now; he was planning to build a real estate firm from scratch without his father's support. It would take a while before he saw his dream through, which meant Octavia was mostly my responsibility during the day.When I got the call from my father, I didn’t think it would be about me missing classes. I couldn’t help but think, after all that has happened, is that all my dad cares about? He hadn’t come to see me even once since I was brought home. I had a feeling he was avoiding me, and when he finally called me, it was to scold me about missing classes."Are you kidding me?" I asked, anger and genuine shock evident in my voice."I'm serious, Kerina. I know you're dealing with a lot, but school is important. If you want to study something else, we can figure it out.""Dad, school is the last thing on my mind right now.""I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you need to put your life
Kerry's POVIt’s odd. Being a mother was odd—not in a bad way, though. I suppose I just wish I’d had enough time to prepare myself for it, and I wish there wasn’t always a threat looming over my daughter’s head, one I couldn’t do anything about. I could tell Silas, of course, but I had a feeling Asher wouldn’t like that. The last thing I needed was to anger him; he might actually take Via away from me this time.Anyway, aside from the negatives, it was refreshing to look at the world from a different angle. I’d always thought of myself as just human—nothing special. But now I was learning that my lifespan far surpassed that of a human. I had enhanced strength, better vision, and, with enough training, I could grow a killer pair of wings like my dad. It was strange at first, but once the idea stuck, I found that being supernatural wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. Still, I was thankful I didn’t have to stick to just one diet like Silas.“Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think,” Silas had s