Unraveled(The second book in the Intertwined series)Gena Showalter
Again, this one is for the real Haden, Seth, Chloe, Riley, Victoria, Nathan, Meagan, Parks, Lauren, Stephanie, Brittany and Brianna. Notice that none of your characters have sprouted horns and tails. I cant promise it wont happen in the next book, but I can tell you that Auntie GeeGee can be bribed.
This one is also for fellow authors Jill Monroe, Kresley Cole and P.C. Cast. I know, I know. You see their names in all my dedications. But I promise you, they deserve every bit of praise. A writers life is often solitary and those three talented beauties remind me that theres a world outside my computerand that theres a party nearby with my name on it.
This one is also for my amazing editor and darling friend, Margo Lipschultz. This woman continually goes above and beyond the call of duty for me. Her insights are brilliant and Im a better writer because of her!
This one is also for The Awesome, aka Natashya Wilson, another amazing editor and advocate in my corner. This lady rocks!
Also, to Harlequin for always being willing to take a chance on my (weird) ideas. To my family for the continued support. And to YOU, my readers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Despite everything I said above, though, this booklike Intertwinedis mostly dedicated to me. What? Writing it was hard.
PROLOGUE
ADEN STONE THRASHED ON his bed, his sheets falling to the floor. Too hot. Sweat poured from him, causing his boxers, the only thing he wore, to stick to his thighs. Too much. His mindoh, his poor, ravaged mind. So many flickering images tangled with consuming darkness, horrid chaos and brutal pain.
Couldnt takemuch more He was human, yet scorching vampire blood now flowed through his veins. Powerful vampire blood that allowed him to see the world through the eyes of its donor, if only for a little while. That wouldnt have been so terriblehed experienced it beforeexcept he had ingested blood from two different sources the night before. Accidentally, of course, but that didnt matter to his scrambled brain.
One sourcehis girlfriend, the Princess Victoria. The other, Dmitri, her dead fiancé. Or betrothed. Whatever.
Now their blood fought a vicious tug-of-war for his attention. A toxic back-and-forth. No big deal, right? Over the years, hed fought zombies, time-traveled and talked to ghosts; he should be able to laugh about a little ADD. Wrong! He felt as if hed drunk a bottle of acid with a chaser of broken glass. One burned him while the other sliced him to pieces.
And now he was
Switching focus again.
Oh, Father, he suddenly heard Victoria whisper.
He winced. Shed whispered, yeah, but, too loud. His ears were as sensitive as the rest of him.
Somehow, he found the strength to push through the pain and center his gaze. Big mistake. Too bright. The heavy gloom of Dmitris surroundings had given way to the sparkling colors of Victorias. Aden peered through her eyes now, unable to even blink on his own.
You were the strongest man ever to live, she continued in a solemn tone, and Aden felt as if he were the one speaking, his throat rubbed raw. How could you have been defeated so quickly? How could I not have known what was happening? she thought.
She, her bodyguard, Riley, and their friend Mary Ann had driven Aden home last night. Victoria had wanted to stay with him, but hed sent her away. He hadnt known how he would react to the two different types of blood inside him, and shed needed to be with her people in their time of mourning. For a while, hed tried to sleep, tossing and turning, his body recovering from the beat down it had givenand received. Then, about an hour ago, the tug-of-war had begun. Thank God Victoria had beat feet. What a freaking nightmare it would have been to see himself through her eyes, in his current pathetic condition, and know what she was thinking.
When Victoria thought of him, he wanted her stuck on the word invincible. Barring that, hed make do with hot. Anything else, no thanks. Because he thought she was perfect, in every way.
Perfect and sweet and beautiful. And his. Her image filled his mind. She had long, dark hair that tumbled down her pale shoulders, blue eyes that glittered like crystals and lips that were cherry red. Kissable. Lickable.
Hed met her only a few weeks ago, though he felt as if hed known her forever. Which, in a warped kind of way, he had. Well, at least for the last six months, thanks to a heads-up from one of the souls living in his head. Yeah, as if vampires and telepathic blood werent enough of an oddity, Aden shared his head with three other human souls. More than that, each soul possessed a supernatural ability.
Julian could raise the dead.
Caleb could possess other bodies.
And Elijah could predict the future.
Through Elijah, Aden had known he would encounter Victoria before shed ever arrived in Crossroads, Oklahoma. A place hed once considered hell on earth, but now considered The Awesome, even though it was a total breeding ground for so-called mythical creatures. Witches, goblins, fairiesall enemies to Victoriaand of course, vampires. Oh, and werewolves, the vampire protectors.
And, okay. That was a lot of freaking creatures. But if one myth had been true, it kinda made sense that all myths would be.
What am I going to do with Victoria began again, drawing his attention to the present.
He really wanted to hear her complete that sentence. Before she could utter another word, however, his focus switched. Again. Darkness suddenly enveloped him, consuming him, chasing away his connection to Victoria. Adens thrashing on his bed renewed, pain exploding through him just before he linked with the other vampire. Dmitri. Dead Dmitri.
Aden wanted to open his eyes, to see something, anything, but his lids were seemingly glued together. Through panting breaths, he smelled dirt andsmoke? Yes. Smoke. Thick and cloying, itching his throat. He coughed, and coughed, or was Dmitri coughing? Was Dmitri still alive? Or was the body only reacting because Adens thoughts sparked through their shared mind?
He tried to move Dmitris lips, to force words to emerge, to gain someones attention, but his lungs seized, rejecting the ashy air, and suddenly he couldnt breathe at all.
Burn him, someone said coolly. Lets make sure the traitor stays dead.
My pleasure, another replied, a gleeful edge to the tone.
In the darkness, Aden couldnt see the speakers. Didnt know if they were human or vampire. Didnt know where he was orthe first mans words finally sank in, consuming his thoughts. Burnhim
No. No, no, no. Not while Aden was here. What if he felt every lick of flame?
No! he tried to scream. Again, no sound emerged.
Dmitris body was lifted. Aden felt as if he were suspended from a wire, head flopping back, limbs forgotten. Nearby, he heard the crackle of those dreaded flames. Heat wafted to him, swirling around him, enveloping him.
No! He tried to thrash, to fight, but the body remained motionless. No!
A moment later, contact. And oh, yes. He felt it. The first streams of fire flicked against his feet before catchingspreading. Agony. Agony unlike anything hed ever known. Skin, melting. Muscles and bones, liquefying. Blood, disintegrating. Oh, God.
Still he tried to fight, to pull away and run, and still the lifeless body refused to obey. No! Help! Impossibly, the agony intensifiedsmoldering over him, eating him up bite by tasty bite. What would happen if he remained linked to Dmitri until the very end? What would happen if he
Pinpricks of light winked through the darkness, bloomed and locked together, until he was once again seeing the world through Victorias eyes. Yet another switch. Thank God. He was panting, so drenched with sweat he was practically swimming, but despite the change, residual painfar greater than the acid still swishing through his veinsslithered from his feet to his brain, and he wanted to shout.
He wasshaking, he realized. No, Victoria was shaking.
A soft, warm hand pressed against hishershoulder. She looked up, vision blurry from her tears. Moonlight glowed in the sky, he saw, and stars twinkled. A few night birds even flew overhead, calling to each other infear? Probably. They had to sense the danger below them.
Victoria lowered her gaze, and Aden studied the vampires surrounding her. Each was tall, pale, striking. Alive. Most were not the monsters storybooks painted them to be. They were simply detached, humans a food source they couldnt afford to care about.
Vampires lived for centuries, after all, while humans withered and died. Exactly as Aden was soon to die.
Elijah had already predicted his death. The prediction sucked, yeah, but it was the method that sucked more: a sharp knife through his very necessary heart.
Hed always prayed the method would miraculously change. Until now. A knife through the heart beat burning to death inside a body that didnt belong to him any day of the week. And when the hell was he going to catch a break, huh? No torture, no fighting creatures, no waiting around for the end, just flunking tests and kissing his girlfriend.
Aden forced himself to concentrate before he worked himself into a rage he couldnt hope to assuage. The vampire mansion rose behind the crowd, shadowed and eerie, like a haunted house melded with a Roman cathedral. Victoria had told him the house had been here, in Oklahoma, for hundreds of years, and her people had borrowed it from its owner when they first arrived. Hed taken that to mean the former owner had supplied the vampires with a nice lunch buffetof his organs.
He was powerful, youre right about that, a girl who looked to be Victorias age said. She had hair the color of newly fallen snow, eyes like a meadow and the face of an angel. She wore a black robe that bared one pale shoulder, traditional vampire garb, but somehow she seemedout of place. Maybe because shed just popped a Juicy Fruit bubble.
A great king, another girl added, placing her hand on Victorias other side. Another blonde. This one had crystalline eyes like Victoria and the face of a fallen angel. Unlike the other girls, she wore a black leather half-top and black leather pants. Weapons were strapped to her waist, and barbed wire circled her wrists. And no, the wire wasnt a tattoo.
Yes, Victoria replied softly. Darling sisters.
Sisters? Hed known Victoria had them, yeah, but hed never met them. Theyd been locked in their rooms during the Vampire Ball meant to celebrate Vlad the Impalers official awakening from his century-long slumber. Aden wondered if Victorias mother was here, too. Apparently, shed been imprisoned in Romania for spilling vampire secrets to humans. Vlads orders. A real nice guy, that Vlad.
Aden was human, and he knew way more than he should. Some vampireslike Victoriacould teleport, traveling from one location to another with only a thought. And if word had already reached Romania that the vampire king was dead, mommy vamp could have arrived in Crossroads seconds later.
He was a terrible father, though. Wasnt he? the first girl continued while chewing gum.
The three shared a rueful half-smile.
He was indeed, Victoria said. Unbending, exacting. Brutal to his enemiesand sometimes to us. And yet, its so hard to say goodbye.
She peered down at Vlads charred remains. He was the first human ever to change from human to vampire. Well, the first anyone knew about. His body was intact, though burned beyond recognition. A crown perched haphazardly atop his hairless head.
Several rings decorated his fingers, and a black velvet cloth draped his chest and legs.
His dead body still lay where Dmitri had dropped it. Was there some kind of protocol about moving a royal corpse? Or were his people still too shocked to touch him?
Theyd lost him the very night they were to be reunited with him. Dmitri had burned the guy to death just before the ceremony and claimed the vampire throne as his own. Then Aden had killed him, which meant Aden was now supposed to lead the bloodsuckers. Aden, of all people, of all humans, which was honest to God craziness. Hed make a terrible king. Not that he wanted even to try.
He wanted Victoria. No more, no less.
Despite our feelings, hell have a place of honor, even in death, Victoria said. Her gaze swept past her sisters to the vampires still looming around them. His funeral must be
In a few months, the second sister interrupted.
Victoria blinked once, twice, as if trying to jumpstart her thoughts. Why?
Hes our king. Hes always been our king. More than that, hes the strongest among us. What if hes still alive under all that soot? We need to wait, watch him. Make sure.
No. Aden felt the glide of Victorias hair on her shoulders as she shook her head violently. That will merely offer everyone false hope.
A few months is too long a wait, yeah, the green-eyed gum chewer said. Her name was Stephanie, if he was reading Victorias thoughts correctly. But I do agree waiting a little while before burning him is smart. Well let everyone get used to the idea of a human king. So why dont we compromise, huh? Lets wait, oh, I dont know, a month. We can keep him in the crypt below us.
First, the crypt is for our deceased humans. Second, even a month is too long, Victoria gritted out. If we must wait she paused until they nodded then lets waithalf a month. Shed wanted to say a day, maybe two, but had known the suggestion would be met with resistance. And this way, Aden would have time to acclimate to the idea of being king.
The other sister ran her tongue over her very sharp, very white teeth. Very well. Agreed. Well wait fourteen days. And we will keep him in the crypt. Hell be sealed inside, preventing any lingering rebels from hurting him further.
Victoria sighed. Yes. All right. You agreed to my stipulation, so Ill agree to yours.
Wow. No one had to throw a punch to win the argument. The changing of the guard is working in our favor already. Stephanie popped another bubble. So, anyway, back to Daddy Dearest. Hes lucky, you know. He died here, so he gets to stay here. Had he kicked it in Romania, the rest of the family would have spit on his crypt.
There was a beat of stunned silence before gasps of outrage flooded the congregation.
What? Stephanie splayed her arms, all innocence. You know youre thinking the same thing.
Thank God Victoria wouldnt be heading off to her homeland for the funeral. Aden wouldnt have been able to travel with her since he lived at the D and M Ranch, a halfway house for wayward teens, aka unwanted delinquents, where his every action was monitored.
Everyone assumed he had schizophrenia because he talked to the souls trapped inside him, which had earned him a lifetime of institutions and medications. The ranch was the systems final effort to save him, and if he blew that chance, hed be carted away. Boom, done, goodbye. Hello, lifetime of confinement in a padded room.
Hed lose Victoria forever.
Shut your mouth, Stephanie, before I do it for you. Vlad taught us to survive, and kept the humans unaware of usfor the most part. He made us a legend, a myth. He also taught our enemies to fear us. For that alone, he has my respect. The blue-eyed sisterLauren; her name was Laurentilted her head to the side, suddenly pensive. Now. What are we going to do about the mortal while our fourteen-day reprieve is ticking away?
VictoriasAden? Stephanies brow wrinkled. Thats his name, right?
Haden Stone, known by his people as Aden, yes, Victoria replied. But I
Well follow his rule, a male voice said, cutting her off. Because, and stop me if youve heard this one, hes our ruler. This came from Riley, a werewolf shape-shifter and Victorias most trusted guard, as he approached the half-circle the girls formed. He glared at Lauren. If you dont understand that, let me know and Ill break out the hand puppets. He killed Dmitri, he calls the shots. End of story.
Lauren scowled at him, her fangs sharper than before. Watch how you speak to me, puppy. Im a princess. Youre just the hired help.
More gasps reverberated.
Aden kept losing sight of the crowd, but they suddenly filled his line of vision as Victoria studied them, ready to leap into action if someone attacked her sister. Clearly they didnt like that the wolf had been insulted. But then, neither did she. Wolves deserved respectfar more than what had been demanded even for Vlad. Wolves could
Aden cursed as Victoria blanked her mind, forcing herself to concentrate on what was happening around her. Wolves were more important than vampires? he wondered. More important than vampire royalty? Why?
Riley laughed with genuine humor. Your jealousy is showing, Lore. Id be careful if I were you.
Lauren ignored him this time, swinging her crystal eyes back to Victoria and snapping, Bring Aden here tomorrow night. Everyone will meet him. Officially.
And kill him before the fourteen days ticked away?
Yes. Victoria nodded, but not by word or deed did she reveal her sudden trepidation. All right. Tomorrow, you shall meet your new king. In the meantime, we shall mourn.
The conversation ended, everyone properly chastised.
Victoria sighed and peered over at the body of her father. Which meant Aden peered over at her father. He considered the charred remains, speculating about what the king had looked like before. Tall and strong, surely. Had he possessed blue eyes like Victoria? Or green like Stephanie?
Vlads fingers curled into a fist.
Aden stilled, sure hed just hallucinated. And he must have, he rationalized, because Victoria had not seemed to notice the earth-shattering event and hed watched through her eyes.
Vlads fingers uncurled.
Once again, Aden stilled, waiting, gauging, heart thumping against his ribs. He hadnt imagined that. He couldnt have imagined that because even as the thought formed, those fingers twitched as if trying to make another fist. Movement, true movement, and movement equaled life. Right?
Why hadnt Victoria noticed? Why hadnt anyone? Maybe they were too lost to their grief. Or maybe Vlads once-immortal body was simply expelling the last hints of his existence. Either way, Victoria needed to be told what hed seen.
Victoria, Aden projected, desperate to gain her attention.
Nothing. No response.
Victoria!
She petted Vlads arm before rising, intending to instruct the biggest of the vampires to carry him inside for burial preparation. Obviously, she didnt hear him.
And then it was too late. His world shifted, realigned, darkness closing in around him. No, not darkness. Light. So much light. Blue-white flames covered Dmitris entire body, and therefore Adens body. Scorching him, blistering what was left of him.
This time, Aden did scream.
He did thrash.
He also died.
ONE
MARY ANN GRAY STUDIED HERSELF in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. Makeuplight and unsmeared. Dark hairnot a tangle. Perhaps even, dare she think it? Silky. Clothesan unwrinkled lacy T-shirt and clean skinny jeans. Shoeshiking boots. Shed replaced the plain white laces with thick pink ones, giving them a feminine flair.
Okay, then. She was officially ready.
Breathing deeply, shaking a little, she gathered her books, stuffed them into her backpack, swung that pack over her shoulder and headed downstairs toward the kitchen. Where her dad was waiting. With breakfast she would be required to eat.
Her stomach churned in protest. Shed have to fake-eat because she doubted she would be able to keep a single bite down. She was simply too knotted with nerves.
From the living room, she heard pans clattering, water pounding into the sink and a man sighing indefeat?
She stopped just before snaking the final corner and leaned her shoulder against the wall, losing herself to her thoughts. A few weeks ago, she and her dad had entered new territory. Ugly, deceitful territory. Well always be honest with each other, he used to tell her. All. The. Time. Of course, at the same time, hed been feeding her lies about her birth mother. The woman who had raised her had not given birth to her, but had in fact been her aunt.
In truth, her real mother had possessed the ability to time-travel into younger versions of herself, yet hed refused to believe her, had considered her unstable. She couldnt prove otherwise, either, because she was dead and her spirit had moved on. Lost to Mary Ann forever.
God, the loss still hurt.
Mary Ann had gotten to spend one day with her. One amazing, wonderful day because Eve, her mother, had been one of the souls trapped inside her friend Adens head. Then, boom. Eve was gone.
Tears burned Mary Anns eyes as she remembered their parting, but she blinked them back. She couldnt allow herself to cry. Her mascara would run, and then shed look like a domestic abuse victim when Riley arrived to pick her up.
Riley.
My boyfriend. Yes, shed think about him instead, looking forward to the future rather than wallowing in the past. Her lips even curled into a small smile as her heart raced uncontrollably. She hadnt seen him since theyd attended the Vampire Ball together, when his king had been murdered and Aden had been named the new vampire sovereign. Not that Aden wanted the titleor the responsibilities that would surely come with it.
Sure, that had only happened on Saturday. But two days apart felt like forever when Riley was involved. She was used to seeing him every day at school, as well as every evening when he snuck into her room.
And, to be honest, shed never liked anyone the way she liked him. Maybe because there was no one quite like Riley. He was intense and smart, sweet (to her) and protective. And sexy. All those muscleshoned from years of running as a werewolf shape-shifter and fighting as a vampire guardian. Both of which forged the many facets of his personality.
While acting as guardian, he was unemotional and distant (to everyone but her). He had to be, to do such a violent job. But as a werewolf, he was soft, warm and cuddly. I cant wait to cuddle him again, she thought, her grin spreading.
Are you going to stand out there all day? her dad called.
She snapped to attention, grin fading. How had he known she was there?
Just get the mornings emotional bloodbath over with. Raising her chin, she marched the rest of the way into the kitchen and settled at the table, dropping her backpack at her feet. Her dad set a plate of pancakes in front of her, the scent of blueberries and syrup suddenly coating the air. Her favorite. Her stomach had settled considerably as shed thought about Riley, but even so, she didnt think she could eat. Or rather, didnt want to risk the possible consequences. Like vomiting in front of her brand-new boyfriend.
Her dad eased into the chair across from her. His blond hair was spiked around his head, as if hed raked his fingers through it a few thousand times, and his usually bright blue eyes were dull, with dark circles underneath them. Lines of tension branched from his mouth, making him look as if he hadnt slept in weeks. Maybe he hadnt.
Despite everything, she hated seeing him like that. He loved her, she knew that. But that was what had made his betrayal sting so badly. And by sting she meant toss-her-into-a-meat-grinder-and-use-the-pieces-as-fish-bait.
Dad, she said at the exact moment he said, Mary Ann.
They peered at each other for a moment, and then grinned. It was the first easy moment theyd shared in weeks, and it wasnice.
You go first, she told him. He was a doctor, a clinical psychologist, and he was tricky as hell. With only a few words, he could get her to spill her feelings without her realizing shed even opened her stupid mouth. But shed chance a spilling today because she had no idea how to kick things off.
He heaped a few pancakes onto his plate. I just wanted to tell you that Im sorry. For every lie. For everything. And that I did it to protect you.
A good start. She followed his lead and filled her plate, then proceeded to push the food around, pretending to eat. To protect me from?
The stigma of thinking your own mother was unbalanced. The thought that you had somehowthat you had
Killed her? The words croaked from Mary Anns suddenly tight throat.
Yes, he whispered. You didnt, you know. It wasnt your fault.
Her real mother, Anneknown to Aden as Evehad died giving birth to her. That happened sometimes, right? No reason for her father to blame her. But then, he didnt know the whole truth. He didnt know that Mary Ann muted paranormal abilities.
She had only just learned of it herself, and all she knew was that her mere presence prevented peopleand creaturesfrom using their gifts.
If not for Aden, she never would have discovered even that. He was the biggest paranormal magnet of all time. (And if he wasnt, he should be. Cause anyone who was strongershudder.) Her mother had weakened each day of her pregnancy, little Mary Ann literally sucking the life right out of her. And then, at the moment of her birth, Anne/Eve had simply slipped away.
Right into Aden, Mary Ann thought with a sigh. Aden, who had been born on the same day, in the same hospital. Aden, who had also drawn three other human soulsghostsright into his head.
Only, Anne/Eve hadnt remembered Mary Ann right away, her memories wiped when shed entered Aden. Once theyd figured everything out, her mom had been granted the thing shed wanted most in life, that which shed been denied by her death. A single day with Mary Ann. And once her mom had gotten her wish, shed vanished. Never to be seen or heard from again. Stomachchurningagain
Her dad didnt know any of that, either, and Mary Ann wasnt going to tell him. He wouldnt believe her. He would think she was as unbalanced as her real mom had been.
Mary Ann? her dad prompted. Please. Tell me how youre feeling. Tell me what you thought when I
The doorbell rang, saving him from finishing and her from having to form a reply. Heart dancing wildly, she popped to her feet. Riley. He was here. Ill get it, she said in a rush.
Mary Ann.
But she was already racing from the kitchen to the front door. The moment that thick cherry wood swung open, Riley visible through the netted screen, her stomach calmed completely.
He smiled his bad boy smile, half wicked, half really wicked. Hey.
Hey. Yep. Sexy. He had dark hair and light green eyes. He was tall, with the body of a dedicated, cant-be-sacked football player having an affair with weights. His shoulders were broad, his stomach roped. Tragically, she couldnt see those mouth-watering ropes under his black T-shirt. His jeans bagged a little on his strong legs, and he wore boots caked with dirt.
Wait. Had she just given him a total body scan? Yep. Cheeks heating, she brought her gaze back to his face. Clearly, he was trying not to laugh.
Do you approve? he asked.
The heat intensified. Yes. But I wasnt done, she added. He wasnt beautiful in a male model kind of way, but he was ruggedly appealing, with a slightly crooked noseprobably from being broken so many timesand a strong jaw. And she had once kissed him, right on those gorgeous lips.
When will we kiss again?
She was ready. More than ready. That was the most fun her tongue had ever had.
He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it closed. Footsteps echoed behind her, and she turned. Her dad approached, her backpack dangling from his arm. She closed the distance between them, claimed the pack and stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek before she could talk herself out it.
Ill see you later, Dad. Thanks for breakfast.
The tension in his face eased just a bit. See you later, honey. I hope you have a wonderful day.
You, too.
His gaze shifted to the boy still standing in the doorway. Riley, he acknowledged stiffly.