The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5)

by Jonathan Yanez

  “And what would that be?”

  “Leadership to finally stand up against New Hope.”

  “The power the queen possesses, and the amount of soldiers and magic she has would overwhelm Term if it came to an all-out fight.” Sloan rubbed at her tired eyes. “We can hold off the next wave of soldiers that come, but after that, they’ll send an entire battalion.”

  “You sound like you have experience with the crown.” Kade shifted his orange eyes in her direction. A hint of anger laced his words. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were involved somehow.”

  “Yeah, well, good thing it’s none of your business.” Sloan stood from her seated position. “Listen, you’re cute and you were nice to me, but unless there’s something else, I should really get some rest. I’m dead on my feet.”

  Kade stood from his spot leaning on the rail. He looked like he wanted to say more, but all he said was, “I’m sorry. I can get a bit aggressive when it comes to New Hope. You don’t deserve that. Once you’ve gotten some sleep, you’ll need to eat. I’ll swing by, and we can go grab a bite.”

  The first thing Sloan thought of was: what would Kade’s reaction be if he knew she was an ex-soldier from New Hope? And … had he actually just asked her out on a date? He had, hadn’t he?

  Sloan blinked, trying to buy more time. Her sleep-deprived mind wasn’t cooperating at the moment. Although she wanted to make a quick decision, the thoughts just weren’t coming fast enough. The idea of living life without regrets pushed forward. She knew what she had to do.

  “Are you asking me out on a date?” Sloan did her best attempt at batting her eyes, but the whole flirting thing had never been her strong suit.

  “Yeah.” Kade leaned in closer. “Are you okay? Do you have something in your eye?”

  “What?” Sloan immediately stopped blinking. The sly, seductive smile she thought she was sending him disappeared. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” Kade raised an eyebrow. “You had some kind of nervous tic or something going on with your eye, and your lips were all crooked.”

  “Are you messing with me?” Sloan let out an unexpected laugh. “I should punch you right now or something. I would, if I had the strength.”

  “Of course I’m messing with you. But you didn’t give me an answer.”

  “Yes, that sounds nice.”

  “Great, get some sleep. I’m sure Kimberly will want to talk with you, as well. I’ll swing by her estate tonight.”

  Sloan looked at Kade, wondering what she was supposed to do next. She had never been out on an official date before. Sure, she had hung out with members of the opposite sex, but terms were always muddied. When she really thought of it, this was the first time anyone had ever used the word “date” when talking with her. The proper etiquette for the moment escaped her.

  “Earth to Sloan.” Kade waved his hand in front of her face. “Go, get some sleep.”

  “Right, well.” Sloan was about to offer a salute, then just patted Kade on the shoulder with an awkward motion of her hand. “See you tonight, then.”

  Sloan walked off the porch, too tired to be embarrassed. She walked down the dirt roads of Term like she was in a dream. Shadows of the citizens passed by on either side of her, but Sloan was too tired to tell if they were looking her way or not.

  When she reached the estate, none of Kimberly’s guards moved to stop her. Sloan trudged up the long flight of stairs and found the room where Oliver Livingston had passed. The bed he had died in was there. Blankets messed and a shallow impression of his body still lay on the sheets.

  The midday sun still streamed through the open window when Sloan curled up in a ball by the side of the bed. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she did remember the nightmare that came for her after.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sloan

  The woman had red hair like a torch had been lit on her scalp. The robes that covered her body were dark blue, maybe purple, it was hard for Sloan to tell. Her eyes were penetrating, like bright mage lights directed only at her. She stood above Sloan’s sleeping figure.

  Sloan stumbled from her sleeping position on the thick, red-carpeted floor. Everything was how she remembered. The bed that had held her dead friend was still there beside her. The chairs, table, and sofa that used to be in the middle of the room had been pushed against the walls to provide room for the bed.

  “Your change is coming.” The woman looked Sloan up and down like she was inspecting a prize horse up for auction. “And you are not prepared for the thirst that will follow.”

  “What?” Sloan winced, trying to make sense of what the woman was saying. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she had to be dreaming, but that part was buried down deep, locked away in light of the realness she felt. “Who are you?”

  “Who I am is not important. Listen to what I have to tell you. You’re about to go through a very harsh transition. The chemicals that have altered your body are not as much of a gift as you think they are. You’ll thirst for the blood of others once you have fully turned, sleep will be a memory, and you’ll have the ability to change others with a single bite.”

  “What … what are you talking about?”

  Sloan looked the woman up and down again. Her fair skin, the light sprinkle of freckles on her face reminded Sloan of someone, she just couldn’t recall who.

  “Look at yourself!” The mystery woman was on her in a moment. Somehow, she was stronger than even Sloan. She grabbed Sloan by the arms and dragged her to a bookshelf where a circular mirror sat facing outward. “Look at yourself!”

  Sloan winced at the deathlike hold the woman had on her arms. Her skin was already melding to the woman’s hands like there would be imprints there forever. A part of Sloan wanted to fight, but stronger still was the part of her that wanted answers.

  What she saw in the mirror’s reflection terrified her to the bone. There was no doubt that the woman looking back at her was herself. But something had gone horribly wrong. Two needle-like canine teeth came down from her upper jaw. They were so long, they overlapped her bottom lip. Her eyes were a shade of blood red she had never seen before.

  “What … what am I becoming?” Sloan managed to get the words out.

  The woman finally relaxed her grip on Sloan. She stood beside her, gazing into the mirror. “You are becoming something this world has never seen. Your enemies are also growing in strength and number. They will also become monsters.”

  “I’m not a monster.” Sloan didn’t even believe the words as they came out of her mouth. “I’m not.”

  “You’ll be forced to fight a battle on two fronts.” The woman’s voice was so commanding, it made Sloan finally look away from the mirror. “One against your physical enemies, and one against the enemy that now lies within you.”

  “I need more answers.” Sloan shook her head. She moved her right hand to her mouth to feel her mutated teeth. They were still there, hard and dangerous under her fingers. “What’s going to happen to me?”

  The woman shook her head, sending her long red hair into a frenzy. She raised her left hand that glowed with an aura of white magic.

  “Wake up. Go and seek your answers Charlotte Sloan.” The woman snapped her fingers.

  Sloan woke, sitting bolt upright. She looked everywhere in the room for the woman, but she was alone. A heavy layer of sweat covered her brow and had gathered in her armpits. Sloan swallowed non-existent saliva down her dry throat.

  She had no idea how long she had slept. The only way to gauge the passage of time was by the moon instead of the sun that now shone through the window. Sloan hated herself for trying, but she had to know.

  With a trembling hand, Sloan raised her fingers to her mouth. Her teeth were as normal as ever—straight, standing in a row like a line of soldiers she had commanded in a previous life.

  “Get yourself together,” Sloan said out loud, then took in a long breath. “It was a dream.”

  Whether th
ere was truth to her nightmare or not, one thing was for certain: Sloan needed answers, and she knew exactly where to get them.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sloan

  “You’re better than all right,” Sloan heard Edison talking through the door before she entered the room. “You’re in perfect health.”

  “I don’t feel like I’m in perfect health.” Aareth’s voice also came through the cellar door. “What’s happening to me?”

  “Come on now, it should be obvious to you at this point.”

  “Yeah, well, not everyone is as smart as you are, Edison. Explain it to me like I’m a child.”

  Sloan wanted to know more about what was going on, but she knew eavesdropping wasn’t the way to go about it. She raised her right hand to knock on the door. At that exact moment, her stomach let out a loud rumble that actually felt like it vibrated through her intestines.

  “Someone’s at the door.” Aareth sniffed so loudly, Sloan could hear him on the other side of the barrier. “It’s Sloan. Come in.”

  Sloan reached for the cold, iron handle of the door. It met her grip like a firm handshake. When Sloan pushed the door open, she wasn’t sure what she expected to see, but it wasn’t the sight that met her eyes.

  The estate’s underground cellar was one massive room filled with weapons of every make and model, from bladed weapons like sabers and axes, to more conventional tools of death like rifles and pistols.

  “I know, right?” Edison looked over at Sloan from a table were Aareth sat. “It seems our guest is quite the doomsday prepper.”

  Sloan couldn’t believe her eyes, not only at the amount of weapons filling the walls and standing in racks around the room, but also deeper in the massive storehouse. Things like food and water were stocked atop wooden pallets.

  “Someone has a hoarding problem.” Sloan finally released her gaze on the room and looked at what Edison and Aareth were doing. “Lucky for us she’s hoarding exactly what we need.”

  Aareth nodded along with Sloan’s words.

  “Agreed.” Edison moved away from the table to allow Aareth to jump off. “I’m assuming you would also like to hear what’s going on with Aareth and his new … condition.”

  “You can call it what is, Edison.” Aareth looked over at Sloan, then back to the inventor. “It’s a curse.”

  “Scientifically speaking, there’s no such thing as curses.” Edison raised a finger and lightly tapped Aareth on the nose. “I don’t know why I just did that. I’m sorry, I’m really tired.”

  Sloan took a closer look at the two men. While she was sleeping, it was clear they had been hard at work trying to uncover exactly what was going on with Aareth.

  Edison was wearing a pair of black slacks with black shoes and a white button-up shirt. Bags hung under his tired eyes. Aareth didn’t look much better; fatigue was clear on his face. An improvement had been made on his wardrobe, though. It seemed somewhere along the way he had managed to find clothes that actually fit his large frame. He wore boots with dark jeans and a black shirt.

  “Hey, where’s Elwood?” Sloan asked, realizing what was wrong with the scene. “I don’t think I’ve seen you two apart. Well, besides when you were in jail and he was scarfing down Kimberly’s cereal.”

  “Oh, right.” Elwood slid a box out from underneath one of the tables. A slumbering Elwood was curled up with a blanket, the thumb of his left hand plopped in his puckered lips. “The little guy’s tuckered out. Too much excitement for him. Awww … he’s so cute.”

  Sloan had to admit that Edison was right. Despite her insistence that babies and gnomes were just things, Elwood did seem rather cute in his content, peaceful state.

  “Uh, so anyway…” Aareth gently slid Elwood and his box back under the table with the toe of his boot. “You were about to tell me what all this testing has given us.”

  “Right.” Edison moved to a microscope where a sheath of glass held a drop of Aareth’s blood. “As far as I can tell, the genetically mutated wolf changed your very DNA. We’re just lucky that he didn’t bite anyone else. It seems the full moon triggered some kind of reaction in your biology, letting the wolf-creature take over your body. I don’t want to say that there is no cure, but if the wolf lives inside you and you inside it, then you should be able to control it.”

  “Easier said than done.” Aareth leaned against the table, looking down at his boots. “When I was in the wolf state, I tried getting out and it wouldn’t let me. To be completely honest, there were times when I even liked it. I was stronger and faster than I had ever been. When I was fighting those New Hope soldiers, a few of them even managed to shoot me. I don’t think my hide is unbreakable, but those bullets glanced right off.”

  “Maybe it’s nothing to do with science or magic at this point.” Sloan crossed her arms, studying Aareth. “Maybe it’s psychological now.”

  “What do you mean?” Aareth looked up with a puzzled expression.

  “I mean, if this wolf is part of you now, maybe you need to reconcile with it instead of trying to fight it.”

  Aareth rolled his eyes. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

  “I might have a better idea than you think.” Sloan shook her head, remembering her dream. “Something’s happening to both of us, and while it’s not exactly the same, it is similar.”

  “You’re right.” Aareth scratched his black hair. “I forgot, you’re going through all of these changes, too. I never did thank you for saving me from the queen’s soldiers when I was in that cage.”

  “You’re welcome.” Sloan thought back to the night that seemed so long ago. “I’m glad we got out, and I’m glad you were reunited with your wife.”

  “My wife,” Aareth said, a sad smile crossing his lips.

  “She’ll remember,” Edison put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll take a look into her condition to see if I can decipher what was done to her. Brenda’s still in there.”

  “I hope so.” Aareth took a step toward the door. “I’m not going to give up on her. We have to figure out what our plan is now. Maybe some time away from all of this madness will be good for her.”

  Sloan had to make sure she had heard Aareth’s words correctly. Was he planning on going away with Brenda? Sloan made sure her feelings at his leaving were ones void of any intimacy, and they were. She had thought he would be with them to see this journey with the queen through to the end. She never assumed he would up and leave.

  “You’re planning on leaving?” Sloan looked up at Aareth as he passed her on the way to the cellar door.

  “Yeah, I have no reason to stay now. I’m done. The mystery of the Burrow Den beast is solved. We were used like puppets for that psychotic queen, and where I would like nothing more than to take a bite out of her and give her a taste of her own medicine, I have to think about my wife.” Aareth took a deep breath before he continued. “Listen, Sloan, I know she made us all feel like fools. It couldn’t have been easy for you, either. I know how long you were in her army and how close you two were, but you don’t owe her, or anyone else, anything. Move on with your life. Get out of this town and run somewhere far away, free from all of this insanity.”

  “What about Jack and Abigail and Elizabeth?” Sloan couldn’t believe the words coming out of Aareth’s mouth. “What about Oliver’s sacrifice? What about all of these people in Term? You know the queen will retaliate as soon as she gets word of what happened. She’s hunting you as much as anyone else.”

  “I don’t owe any of these people anything,” Aareth growled. “I’m sure Jack and the girls are fine.”

  The tension in the room was beginning to build. Sloan knew she should try to diffuse the situation, but she had to speak her mind or else she’d regret it.

  “Maybe I should give you two a minute to talk this out.” Edison raised his hands in sign of peace.

  “No, we’re fine.” Sloan didn’t look at Edison when she spoke, but instead held Aareth’s gaze. “This won’t take long.�
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  “You’re not my captain anymore.” Aareth glared at Sloan. “Your no one’s captain. I’m free to live my own life.”

  “You mean you’re free to run and hide like you’ve been doing for the last five years.” Sloan crossed her arms to hide the anger she felt in her trembling fists. “I know where Edison found you. You were drowning yourself in a bottle of whisky while you were on vacation from all of your mercenary jobs in the Outland.”

  “Really.” Edison reached down to pick up a wide-awake Elwood. “I should stay out of this. You two need your privacy—”

  “We’re fine.” Aareth raised a finger to Edison. “What the captain is failing to realize is that we’re not all as high and mighty as she is. We’re not all so eager to spend the rest of our lives fighting a war against an empire that can’t be won.”

  “It won’t be won if cowards like you keep running in the opposite direction.” Sloan clenched her fists and rested them by her sides.

  “Wow.” Edison visibly gulped. “So let’s just sit down and talk this out. I think you two are going a bit overboard here. We should—”

  “WE’RE FINE!” both Sloan and Aareth shouted.

  “You can call me a coward all you want”—Aareth took a step forward, baring his teeth—“but I’m not the one with survivor’s guilt because someone I knew took a bullet. You’re just emotional because the guy who wanted to be your boyfriend died.”

  Red crossed Sloan’s vision, heat from the anger raging inside, reaching a boiling point. In one fluid motion, she reached out with her right fist and struck Aareth across the jaw so hard he stumbled backwards into a rack of swords. With a giant clang, he fell into a mass of piled weapons.