Fractured
By
Brenda K. Davies
Copyright © 2016 Brenda K. Davies
Distributed by Smashwords
Ebook formatting by Ebook Launch
Books By The Author
The Alliance Series
Eternally Bound (Book 1) Coming Spring 2017
The Road to Hell Series
Good Intentions (Book 1)
Carved (Book 2)
The Road (Book 3)
Into Hell (Book 4) Coming Spring 2017
The Vampire Awakenings Series
Awakened (Book 1)
Destined (Book 2)
Untamed (Book 3)
Enraptured (Book 4)
Undone (Book 5)
Fractured (Book 6)
Historical Romance
A Stolen Heart
Books written under the penname Erica Stevens
The Captive Series
Captured (Book 1)
Renegade (Book 2)
Refugee (Book 3)
Salvation (Book 4)
Redemption (Book 5)
Broken (The Captive Series prequel)
Vengeance (Book 6)
Unbound (Book 7)
The Fire & Ice Series
Frost Burn (Book 1)
Arctic Fire (Book 2)
Scorched Ice (Book 3)
The Kindred Series
Kindred (Book 1)
Ashes (Book 2)
Kindled (Book 3)
Inferno (Book 4)
Phoenix Rising (Book 5)
The Ravening Series
Ravenous (Book 1)
Taken Over (Book 2)
Reclamation (Book 3)
The Survivor Chronicles
Book 1: The Upheaval
Book 2: The Divide
Book 3: The Forsaken
Book 4: The Risen
Table of Contents
Other books by the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Where to Find the Author
CHAPTER 1
“I’d like for you to come with me to my home.”
Mia glanced over her shoulder at David as he stood in the doorway of her room. She’d known he was there before he spoke; his inherent woodsy scent of earth and trees was one she’d become increasingly familiar with these past few weeks. She hated that his scent sent shivers of anticipation down her spine, hated that she’d come to rely on his steady presence in her life.
Over the past seven years, the only one she’d had to rely on was herself, and she liked it that way. Or at least she had succeeded in finally convincing herself that was the way she liked it. She didn’t want or need someone else in her life. Caring for another only led to heartbreak, and she’d had more than enough of that in her lifetime.
Mia rubbed her hands over her arms before turning back to stare out the window. The snowfall the previous night had left a white coating across the acres of lawn below her. There were castles smaller than this mansion with its sprawling grounds and seemingly endless, rambling rooms. There was plenty of space in this place for the vampires who resided here while they trained to destroy those of their kind who killed humans.
If a purebred vampire came here for training, it was more intense than what the turned vamps experienced. If the purebred passed the training, they would be able to join Ronan’s men afterward. The turned vampires who finished their training would be on their own after, but they would be better prepared to spot and destroy the vampires amongst their kind who killed for pleasure.
Mia had been staying at the training compound ever since she’d been rescued by David and the others from the warehouse where she’d been held captive. David and his family had come to the warehouse in search of their loved one, Vicky. Like Mia, Vicky was another purebred vampire who had been imprisoned so that other vampires could pay to dine on their blood.
Goose bumps broke out on her flesh as memories of what had happened in that warehouse danced across her mind. Easy. Deep breaths, she told herself.
Closing her eyes, Mia struggled against the panic threatening to pull her into its bleak depths. Before she’d been captured and taken to the warehouse, she’d gotten so much better at controlling the attacks. Ever since she’d been held prisoner, controlling anything had become much more difficult for her again.
Lifting her hand, she pressed her fingertips against the glass in an attempt to center herself in the now. She took another deep breath to fight off the vise grip crushing her chest. Despite the cold glass against her flesh, sweat slid down her nape. Opening her eyes, she took in the serene world before her.
One, two, three, look at the tree, she instructed.
She had no idea when or why she’d ever started doing the rhyming thing when she felt the panic closing in, but for some reason, it helped to calm her. At least it helped sometimes. She focused on the skeletal tree in the center of the lawn with its branches swaying in the breeze. Blobs of snow dropped from its limbs to create dents in the snow on the ground. Keeping her gaze on the tree, breathing slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth, the pressure in her chest gradually eased.
David remained where he was, watching Mia as she gazed outside. Her shoulders were set rigidly; he detected the increased beat of her heart as she battled the demons haunting her. He would do anything to slaughter those demons for her, but she wouldn’t let him get close enough to her to do so.
His gaze ran over her slender form. She’d put on weight since she’d been saved from that building, but her collarbones still stood out against her ivory skin, and the borrowed jeans and sweater she wore hung loosely on her small frame. Vicky had recently cut Mia’s sleek, nearly black hair into a bob just below her chin. He’d been surprised Mia had sat and allowed Vicky to do it, but he’d realized that, as Vicky worked, she was careful only to touch Mia’s hair and nothing else.
Mia inhaled a jerky breath and lifted her head. In the glass, he saw the powder blue of her eyes before she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. His breath caught as those eyes landed on him. The gentleness of her features belied the steel rod of strength he knew ran down her spine. With every passing day, she grew lovelier as she healed further.
His pulse quickened as he resisted the impulse to stalk across the room and take her into his arms. Touching her was a sure way to get her to shut down completely on him though. She’d made improvements while here—she was friendlier and not nearly as skittish as when she’d first arrived—but she still went out of her way to avoid anyone’s touch.
When they’d discovered her in the warehouse, Mia had thrown herself into his arms. It had been the last time she’d willingly touched anyone for any length of time. He could still recall the feel of her body shaking in his embrace. Her bones had pressed against his palms as he’d held her, trying to ease the terror she radiated.
The image of her in that warehouse, chained to a wall and covered in bite marks, flashed through his mind, causing his hands to fist. Her skin had been raw from those marks, red and swollen to the point where it had hurt her to lie in bed for over a week after she’d been brought here. He’d sat in a chair beside her bed for many nights, listening to her whimpers as she’d tried to get
comfortable and wishing he could go back to the warehouse to slaughter every vampire that had been there all over again.
A purebred vampire such as Mia should have healed faster than she had after she was freed, but because of her severe blood loss and the amount of abuse she’d endured, her wounds had lingered for weeks after.
He could still see the faintest hint of bite marks marring the skin around her neck. A human never would have seen them, and maybe most other vampires wouldn’t see them anymore, but he did.
His fingers dug into his palms, pulling back skin. He took a deep breath to calm himself as Mia turned to face him. She couldn’t see him grappling to maintain his control. It might frighten her, and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do to her.
Over the past few weeks, he’d developed more than a passing suspicion as to what she was to him. He couldn’t get her out of his head, the smell of her followed him everywhere, and when he wasn’t with her, all he wanted was to see her again and know she was safe.
He’d been around enough mated vampires to recognize the signs of what happened to one when they stumbled across their mate. There had been many women in his life; none of them had ever kept him as riveted as Mia did. He’d be a fool to try to deny the changes in him and his growing need for her. David had considered himself many things over the years, but a fool was not one of them.
If they didn’t complete the mating bond, it would only be a matter of time before he lost control of himself. He had to get her to open up to him more, somehow. He had to know for certain if she was his mate or not, and he had to gain her trust. He didn’t know how likely that would be as she’d kept herself as untouchable as the clouds in the sky behind her.
But then, maybe his mind would remain fully intact, and he would retain control if the two of them didn’t get any closer. His friend Liam hadn’t started to completely unravel until after his relationship with Sera became more intimate. He knew Isabelle had tried to push Stefan away, and it had nearly destroyed them both, but he had no idea how much their relationship had progressed before then.
Maybe if he didn’t deepen his bond with Mia, he wouldn’t go mad. However, it would mean he’d have to leave her in order to put some distance between them, and all he wanted was to feel her against him and know what she tasted like.
Even as he thought about leaving, he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk away from her. He had to know she was safe, and though this place had more security than the White House, he trusted no one else to protect her as fiercely as he would.
Which meant it was only a matter of time before he did lose his mind. The looming probability terrified him. He wasn’t a control freak by any means; he liked being a little out of control. It was one of the things he loved most about sailing, knowing that even though he had control of the helm, the sea could tear it all away from him in a second. There was something freeing in that knowledge.
However, there was nothing freeing in knowing he could snap and force a bond on Mia that she may not want. He’d rather stake himself before he ever harmed or scared her.
She’d already had far more than her share of crazy and abuse in her life; he didn’t want to bring her more, and there was a good possibility he would. Liam had nearly forced the change and the bond on Sera. David had sworn that could never be him, but he was beginning to realize he’d been wrong.
Mia closed her eyes for the briefest of moments to inhale David’s crisp scent when he walked over to stand beside her. She knew she should step away from him, yet she found herself unable to resist the warmth he exuded. The last thing she’d planned was to ever get close to another again, but something about him drew her like a fish to a lure. Despite the fact she cursed herself for it, she looked forward to seeing him when they were apart.
Mia focused on the tree in the yard again. Her warm breath created a fog against the glass. Lifting her finger, she drew a small heart within the fog. Tears pricked her eyes as she stared at the heart and the beads of water sliding down it.
“When I was a little girl, my mom and I would leave each other messages on the bathroom mirror,” she murmured.
David’s breath became trapped in his chest. She’d spoken very little about her family since he’d met her, but he sensed an opening in the walls she’d built around herself. He didn’t know how to proceed without having her lock down on him again. For the first time since he was a teen, he felt completely incompetent around a woman again.
Mia placed a single C in the center of the heart.
“What does the C stand for?” he asked.
“My mom’s name was Cleo.” With a single swipe, she erased the heart. Unfortunately, she couldn’t as easily erase the memories of better days long gone by.
“Was? Is your mother dead?”
Mia brushed back a strand of hair falling annoyingly to tickle the corner of her eye. She found herself gazing at the tree in the yard again. A single cardinal landed on one of its branches, fluttering its wings before settling. The vivid red of its color stood out starkly against the snow surrounding it.
“Yes,” Mia replied as she remained focused on the cardinal. The striking bird was far more soothing to her than the tree.
“What of your father?”
For a second, David saw sorrow lance through her beautiful eyes.
“Dead,” she said flatly.
“Were they both purebreds too?”
“No. They were both turned vampires.”
Her clipped tone made him tempted to back off, but his hunger for more knowledge about her far exceeded his hunger for blood.
A stab of disappointment twisted Mia’s heart when the cardinal flapped its wings and flew away. She missed its beautiful hue even while she envied its ability to fly so easily away from a place it no longer wished to be. She would flap her wings and fly far from here if she could.
No, I wouldn’t, she realized when David shifted beside her.
She didn’t want to leave him behind; it was more that she wanted to leave her memories behind. It had taken her a long time to learn it was impossible to escape the past. She’d spent years running from her memories, but they’d doggedly haunted her every step of the way.
“What happened to your parents?” he inquired.
“They were killed in a fire when I was eighteen. I got out. They didn’t,” she said.
Mia stepped closer to the window as the vise grip bore down on her chest once more. Breathing became difficult and tears burned her eyes.
“I don’t know what started it, but it moved so fast. I lost everything that night,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine the pain of that.”
Few could and she was grateful for that. No one should have to know what their mother’s dying screams sounded like, what it felt like to be helpless to save someone they loved, or the hideous guilt of surviving. It was a burden she wouldn’t wish on anyone, not even the pricks who had captured and locked her away.
She still had no idea why she’d survived the fire when her parents had perished. She didn’t think she would ever know the answer, but the question plagued her to this day.
“What of your parents?” she inquired.
“My father passed last year. My mother is still alive. Before my dad passed, I saw my parents a few times a year, and I still see my mom. Over the years, I’ve changed their memories of the encounters and made myself appear older to them.”
“I see,” she murmured. From her time here, she knew Vicky and Abby’s older sister, Isabelle, was mated to Stefan.
“Where did you go after the fire?” David asked.
Mia stepped away from him. His presence may have been relaxing in some ways, but it also brought a sense of closeness that she didn’t want to share with another. Her heart clenched when hurt flashed through his eyes. Lifting her hand, she rubbed her breastbone over her heart in order to try to ease the sting. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t try to get closer to him again.
“Everywhere and nowhere,” she replied.
“Was there someone you could go to for help after?”
“I’ve had no one for seven years now.”
“You’re twenty-five?”
“Yes.”
He hadn’t realized he didn’t know her age until then, nor did he know her last name. “What is your last name?”
The distrust in her eyes cut him. He tried to remind himself she’d been through a lot, but he’d thought she’d learned to trust him at least enough to reveal this.
“What is yours?” she asked.
“Perin.”
He found himself lost in the soft blue of her eyes while she stared at him from under the thick fringe of her black lashes. Being close to someone was terrifying for her, but for the first time he got the sense she wanted to trust again.
Let her trust me, he silently pleaded.
CHAPTER 2
“Arden,” Mia finally answered. “My last name is Arden.”
David smiled at her. “I like it.”
“Glad you approve,” she snorted, but she had to admit that for some bizarre reason she felt happy about revealing it to him. She believed it might have to do with the fact someone knew her last name again. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d told anyone, nor the last time she’d spoken it aloud. Even the coffee shop where she’d worked before being kidnapped hadn’t known her last name, as she’d used a fake ID when she’d applied for the job.
“Mia Arden,” she said again and smiled.
It’s who I am. How many times had she forgotten that over the years? How many times had she tried to forget it? More times than she could count, that was for sure.
“How old were you when you stopped aging?” David asked.
From being around Liam and Sera’s children, he knew that purebred vampires didn’t know when they would stop aging, but they recognized it instantly when that day arrived. Purebloods had some vampire abilities before then, but they came fully into their powers on the day they reached maturity. Those powers continued to grow over the years, but they never aged another day.
Fractured (Vampire Awakenings, Book 6) Page 1