Chapter 01

JULIAN

I inhaled slowly, feeling the acid-like burn hit the back of my throat, consume my lungs, burn my stomach. In my mind, I contemplated leaving but that would have been perceived as rude. It took trivial happenings to initiate a war between two species. Everyone may have associated well around the round table but some things were still amiss.

I hated this. What an utter bore and a waste of my time. Ha! Time? These people should have appreciated the concept more than me considering they had a limited amount of it. I, on the other hand, had been doomed to a lifetime of purgatory. Heaven nor Hell wanted my damned soul; leaving a predator such as I to roam the earth.

But I had my limitations. Even I, as strong as I could be, could not do certain things. Nocturnal. That was the type of preditor I became. From a fleshy, warm-blooded human to a stone, cold-blooded predator. My heart remained still in my chest, unable to pump and warm up the blood I consumed, the blood that kept the mechanics of my body running.

I played it all in my head continuously, compartmentalizing them, thinking off everything at once. My fear of losing my human memories plagued me. They were the only thing keeping me sane in this unfathomable world. But, I still had my ears opened, listening to the droning of the voices in the room. Some too high, too sexualized — the Fae. Others too raw, deep, and animalistic — the Mutts.

I fought to remain in my seat, taking in another lung full of fire. Human blood was my weakness, and in this room swirled the heavy scent of sweet human blood barely tainted by the repulsive stench of werewolf. But I knew better than to follow my instincts. The taste of her blood would still be dreadful against my palette, her half-werewolf heritage tainting what could have been exquisite for me.

The corner of my lips kicked up in a smirk. Would I be so awful to enjoy the imagery if the Half-Blood Werewolf Queen were full human? She would definitely not be able to fend me off. I wouldn't even give her the chance to scream. From where I sat, I could hear the slouch of her blood flowing through her veins, making their way to her arteries and vital organs. I closed my eyes, drowning myself in what could have been.

"Julian, can you at least pay attention for once!" A bell-like sound, sweet and sultry, female in origin. Tiana, I presumed began chastising.

I slid further into my seat, crossing my arms over my chest and not caring to spare her a glance, "I'm listening, isn't that what counts?"

"Not exactly," Ah, the half-blood. She had a mouth on her and yet a gentle voice. A tone she had used on me since our first meeting. Dimitri, the past king, had warned her to keep her distance. Had she listened? Of course not. Fear had lingered in her eyes then, I could vividly picture it now, but she refused to let that hold her back.

For her, I opened my eyes. As much as I fantasized about draining her life force, I respected the half-blood. She earned that respect when she treated me as one of her own and not a monster that had been forced to lurk in the shadows for all of his eternity. There was no longer fear clouding those beautiful doe-like orbs. No. It was worry. She was worried about me but she really shouldn't have been.

I let out an exasperated sigh. How my life had become the circus it was I would never know but if I were going to be a part of it then I'd rather be the ringmaster than a circus prop, "I'm going back to America. There are some things in Oregon that I need to sort out, businesses that Dimitri had left to me."

Quade, the mate of the werewolf Queen, snorted in amusement. I never liked him but he proved to be someone worth having on your team, "You mean the strip club?"

I didn't know what the business was. All I knew was that multiple businesses were being transferred onto my name and I needed to sort out the legalities of it all. Arching an eyebrow in interest, I said, "Yeah, I guess it's the strip club or maybe not. Whatever it is, I need to sort it out. Whatever is out there, they better hope they find me before I find them because when I do..."

I was vengeful. Two important people in my life sacrificed themselves for me and I wouldn't let that sacrifice go in vain. When I found whoever was responsible, I'd drain them of every drop of blood in the most painful of ways.

"Don't be stupid," Sydney rebuked with a stern, motherly voice, "we've all got to watch out for each other now more than ever. Every day it gets worse. It started with us werewolves and then moved on to the vampires, and now they've started with the fae. Because vampires prefer moving on their own, we don't know how many have died by the hands of this unknown enemy."

"I can find out," I sat forward, positioning my elbows on the table and lacing my fingers together. At the crack of dawn, I was dragged out to this cave that was kept hidden by a magical spell cast by Zephyr, "word gets out much quicker amongst vampires. I'm sure they already know there's a new king so if anyone has any information I'll find out through the grapevine."

"I'm sure you will," Zephyr responded with as much sarcasm as he possibly could.

I flashed my fangs at him, hissing with disdain. Dimitri and Ambrosia may have been able to put up with him but I most certainly couldn't. He was a prideful asshole who always forgot that I could suck him dry in a second. I couldn't drink werewolf blood but I could drink from Fae. It wasn't as appetizing as human blood but it didn't taste bad either.

"I will not warn you two again," Sydney growled, her wolf coming forward. Her eyes shifted to a fiery purple before returning to normal.

"Calm down, love," Quade soothed her, placing an arm around her shoulders. She seemed to calm instantly at his touch.

I could hear her hammering heartbeat slow, could hear the slosh of blood through her veins continue. Focusing on that sound, I filed my hatred for the Fae into another part of my mind and let myself ease.

"There's someone that's going to come with you back to America," Quade began, eyes flashing from green to silver and back, "he won't be following you around. He has his own business there but you both will leave together."

"Who is he?"

"The hellhound Quade and I went to meet," Sydney breathed, "Thorne is doing us a favor but he needs to consult with another Hellhound and there's not many of those in the world. He knows of one in America but the hellhound moves around a lot which makes it difficult to know where exactly to find the hound."

"Vampires are grifters who know other grifters especially if they are supernatural in origin. We tend to know these things so we can avoid them. I'll put the word out that we're looking for a hellhound," I shrugged, standing to my feet a little too quickly, "is that all or is there more we need to discuss?"

"That should be all. If we have to meet again it will be here. It's secured and no one will be able to find or enter the place," Tiana's silky, sultry voice echoed off the cave walls as of it were some sort of symphony.

"Great. I'm out of here in that case," I ran toward the entrance of the cave, grinning when I found the outside dull.

Whenever the sun was away, the vampires came out to play. This place was perfect for my kind, with the sun barely shining through the thick blanket of clouds that constantly hovered above. It was a vampire's paradise and the only reason I hadn't snapped Zephyr's neck for suggesting a council meeting at dawn. For all I knew, he did it with the hope of me singeing in the sun.

I ran through the forest at vampire speed, heading for the castle that sat at the heart of the pack. The constant scent of wet dog that lingered around me was becoming suffocating. I couldn't even go hunting in peace. It had been days since the tender, sweet taste of human blood caressed my pallette, slid down my throat, and fueled my body. My strength was waning because of it and my throat burned with the need to kill to aid in my survival.

I jumped up the castle steps leading to the door, zipping in and up the multiple staircases that led to the room I was in. The wolves in this pack were smart enough to avoid me. They saw me as some sort of demon. Where they wrong? Probably not.

I slowed when I neared my door, grumbling internally at the sight of someone standing outside my room. The scent of smoke and cedar assaulted my senses but something antagonizing and familiar mixed with it. Something that had the switch in my mind flipping, the tracker and hunter embedded in my subconscious coming forward and erasing any human emotion I felt.

My only thought was on the blood. My only instinct was to kill until I could sate the insatiable thirst I was cursed with. My mind was a large space that was currently empty, every part of my being honed into my most primal instincts. With a burst of speed, I lunged forward, ready to attack, to get what I wanted. What I needed. My basic survival instincts couldn't be ignored much longer. If I couldn't have the hot blood pumping through the arteries of the half-blood then I'd have the blood flowing through this poor creature's veins.

Before my teeth could sink into his flesh, the man shifted into a black...dog? He snarled at me with pits of fire for eyes and black fur that had shadows encasing it. Its fangs protruded out of his mouth, disgusting slobber dripping onto the floor. Beside the dog were five bags of blood. Human blood.

I lunged for the bags, taking one between my teeth with a content sigh. It slid down my throat, making its way to my stomach and through my veins, spreading life to my body. Vampires couldn't do a single thing when we had no human blood in our system. It didn't just feed our thirst, it kept every part of our body functioning for the most part — the parts we needed at least.

"Have they been starving you?" The man's voice cut through the blood lust clouding my mind like a solar flare in the dark. It was strange the kind of power I felt radiate off him.

I was on the third bag, back against the door with my chest rising and falling, "I'm not exactly allowed to hunt around here," I deadpanned, running my tongue over my teeth.

"They could have brought you blood. They should know better than to starve a newborn," the man cursed under his breath but I paid no attention, focusing on draining the last of the blood.

I wanted more.

"Who are you?"

"Thorne," he announced proudly and I quickly registered that he was the hellhound everyone had been droning about around the table.

He was tall, buff, deeply tanned skin with striking brown eyes and a buzz cut. In his human form, he looked intimidating but I would have easily been able to overpower him. His shifted form was something entirely different.

I rose to my feet with the bags in my hand and opened the door in one quick succession. Disposing of the blood bags into the trash can, I mused, "You'll be accompanying me."

"Yeah, we'll be leaving soon. Was that enough to keep you from attacking anyone?" The hellhound sounded unsure of my ability to control my thirst. After what he just witnessed, I didn't blame him.

Dimitri was helping me learn to control.  Now, I had to do that on my own.

"I'll be fine," I muttered, fisting my hands until my nails dug into my skin. The pain would keep me sane, "It's only for a few hours. I'll be perfectly fine."