Aldric's POV “No!” I call out and fly across the lawn just as the wolf sets upon Simone. I heard him just a second too late. A fleeting thought crosses my mind before I reach my mate. 'How the hell did he get in here?' Vesper comes charging past me, kicking the wolf off my bride as he descends. The black wolf yelps and rolls away just as I kneel next to Simone, trying to take in the carnage that he wreaked on her. It all happened so fast that I can't seem to get my head wrapped around it. If it weren't for the gaping, bleeding wounds staring at me, the scent of her rose-water blood, I would convince myself that it is all just a dream. At least he didn't get her neck or throat. Thank God. Her blood spills over my hands and soaks into my clothes, clinging warmly to my skin. “No, no, no,” I whisper and pat her cheek. “Come on now, baby, open your eyes. You cannot die like this. Please look at me.” She coughs and blood bubbles from her mouth in a thick, frothy milkshake. My eyes slid

Aldric's POV Simone flies past me and runs blindly in the direction of the exit. Our blood bond is unlike any I’ve ever had before, strong and intense in ways I don't understand. It's ten times stronger than it was before I turned her, and if the both of us aren't careful, it will consume us. I’m not as remorseful as I should be. I’m elated in fact. She’s angry, but she doesn’t hate me, and anger is to be expected. Very few vampires are in a good mood right after they’re reborn. It’s a painful process and it’s not over for her yet. There's a reason we keep our neophytes close for the first ten, sometimes more, years of their lives. They're completely out of control. I catch up with her at the entrance of the cave. She’s standing in the opening staring straight down. My stomach lurches before I remember that she’s a vampire now, and while the fall will probably liquefy all her internal organs and break every bone in her body, she won’t die. She’ll just wish for death before she’s don

Aldric's POV “Are you sorry you made me?” Simone asks. I slowly shake my head from side to side. “I know you want me to be, but I’m really not.” She pulls her knees up to her chest and folds her arms around her ankles. “Did you fight it? The change?” “Yes,” I reply. “For a long, long time.” “But you didn’t get the blood madness thingy?” I laugh softly. “No. It doesn’t happen to everyone who resists the change.” “So we don’t know how I’ll turn out?” I shake my head at her again and get to my feet. “I want to find out who sent that werewolf. Do you want to come with me?” “What?” she asks surprised. “I’m not supposed to stay locked up in my room?” “You can, if you want, but I thought you’d like to get some answers.” “You trust me?” Smiling at her, I nod. “As long as I can keep an eye on you.” “When Baron made new vampires, he sequestered them for six months.” “How many vampires did he make while you were there?” She shrugs. “Is it important?” “Yes. He’s a powerful vampire

Simone's POVMy eyes snap open and I jerk upright. Blinking rapidly, I try to figure out where I am.A bedroom of some kind. The room is big, twice the size of the one I had at Baron’s mansion, but the windows are boarded shut. The rustic old furniture is well kept, and the bed I’m lying on is soft and luxurious. The linen is like a feather, softly draping over me. I swallow against the drought in my throat and hold a palm to my steadily pounding head.On the far side of the room, a door opens and Aldric steps inside. “Oh,” he says, sounding surprised. “You’re awake already.”“Yes,” I croak through dry and cracked lips. “I don’t feel great though.”He darts across the room and hands me a blood bag. My hands are shaking so much that I can’t tear it open. “Tomorrow morning you should feed before you rest for the day,” Aldric says as he takes the bag from me and opens it. "It helps."My stomach churns when I see the blood, but it smells fantastic. I suck the tube into my mouth and sigh

Aldric's POV I wish I didn’t have to bring the subject of sex up with Simone. I should have left well enough alone, but I am afraid that the same thing that happened with Victoria will happen with her, and I’d rather find out sooner than later if she doesn’t feel the same way I do. It would spare us both a lot of heartache down the road. It wasn’t until Vicky and I had sex after I turned her that the bond changed. We both knew the moment I entered her. We knew that it was wrong and we both stopped it at the same time. It was one of the worst moments of my life, and it came back to haunt me at various times over the years. The other reason we need to complete the union is more practical. While my bond with Simone is incomplete, I can’t be away from her for more than a few hours at a time. I couldn’t concentrate on my meeting with Richard, and it took all of my substantial willpower to get through the sentencing of the neophytes. All I could think about, all I wanted, was to be with